Family Office Investing Podcast and Investor Insights. Arthur’s Round Table.

Arthur Andrew Bavelas
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  • Investing
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Arthur’s Round Table is a leading family office investing podcast featuring conversations with top investors, venture capitalists, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Each episode explores how elite allocators source deals, evaluate opportunities, and deploy capital across private markets. “What You’ll Learn” How family offices invest in private markets. Venture capital and private equity strategies. Deal flow sourcing and evaluation. Insights from UHNW investors.

  1. 2d ago

    The Hidden Cost of Being at the Top | Tim Brown

    Success can create extraordinary freedom. But it can also create a kind of isolation that few people ever see. In this episode of Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur's Round Table, Arthur Bavelas welcomes back Tim Brown, CEO and co-founder of three family office communities, for a deeply personal conversation about leadership, mental fitness, trust and the importance of genuine human connection. Tim works with family office principals, next-generation family members and professional managers who carry significant responsibility, often in environments where confidentiality makes it difficult to speak openly about the pressures they face. He raises a powerful question: You may know 5,000 people, but how many could you call during a difficult moment and know they would answer? That distinction between having a large network and having meaningful relationships is central to Tim's work. Through Somos 22, Fortaleza and Firefly, Tim is building communities designed around peer learning, trust, confidentiality and relationships that extend beyond business transactions. He explains why his communities prohibit investment solicitation and why genuine relationships need room to develop without a fundraising agenda. But the conversation goes much deeper. Tim shares his own experience with depression, the personal work that followed and the practices that helped him develop what he now calls mental fitness. He discusses gratitude, walking, mindfulness, service, creativity and the importance of intentionally building habits that support a more fulfilling life. Arthur and Tim explore why professional success does not protect anyone from stress, why leaders need trusted peers outside their immediate organizations, and why the person making the investment decisions deserves as much attention as the assets being managed. Tim also introduces Catalyst 22, a planned seven-hour, peer-driven roundtable focused on mental fitness within the family office community. Topics include: • Why leadership can become increasingly isolating • The difference between networking and genuine trust • Mental fitness and the habits that support it • Why family office principals and executives need peer relationships • How confidentiality creates space for honest conversations • The role of mindfulness, movement, gratitude and service • Why success does not eliminate emotional pressure • Building family office communities without investment solicitation • How shared experience can improve perspective and decision-making About Tim Brown Tim Brown is the CEO and co-founder of Somos 22, Fortaleza and Firefly, three communities serving family office principals and professional leaders. Through in-person gatherings, smaller trusted groups and virtual peer connections, his work focuses on helping family office participants develop meaningful relationships, share experiences and learn from one another. Tim is also the author of Jumping Into the Parade, a book inspired by his personal journey toward greater joy, awareness and fulfillment. #FamilyOffice #MentalFitness #Leadership #FamilyWealth #FamilyOfficeCommunity #MentalWellbeing #PeerSupport #ArthursRoundTable This episode shares personal experiences and perspectives for educational purposes. It is not mental health treatment or medical advice. Peer support can complement, but does not replace, professional care.

    The Hidden Cost of Being at the Top | Tim Brown

  2. Oct 11

    The Tax Savings Your CPA May Be Missing | Ron James

    What if your business is entitled to tax savings that nobody has ever told you about? In this episode of Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur's Round Table, Arthur Bavelas sits down with Ron James, founder of Opscale Exchange, to explore why many businesses may be missing valuable tax credits, incentives and refund opportunities. Ron spent 13 years at H&R Block, overseeing a five-state region responsible for approximately 450,000 tax returns each season. He later became SVP of Operations at Innovation Refunds, where he says the company helped clients recover approximately $6 billion in Employee Retention Credits. That experience revealed a problem: large corporations can afford specialized tax attorneys and advisory teams dedicated to identifying incentives, while smaller businesses often rely on traditional tax preparation and never discover what else may be available. Ron launched Opscale Exchange to help close that gap. Arthur and Ron discuss research and development tax credits, cost segregation, depreciation strategies, tariff refunds and how companies can identify potential opportunities using information already contained in their tax returns. One example stands out. Ron describes a business that his team identified as potentially eligible for approximately $400,000 in R&D credits. The owner was frustrated that the opportunity hadn't been identified years earlier. The conversation also moves into a much larger business opportunity. Ron believes AI and specialized software can help tax professionals spend less time on routine processing and more time delivering valuable advisory services. He is also working with partners on acquiring and combining tax practices, with the goal of improving revenue, client retention and year-round profitability. Arthur and Ron explore how IRS tax transcripts could support better financial decisions, why fintech lenders are expanding access to capital, and how family offices and private equity firms might benefit from examining overlooked tax opportunities across their operating businesses. What You'll Learn • Why traditional tax preparation may overlook specialized incentives • How R&D credits can apply beyond technology companies • Why cost segregation matters to business and property owners • How Ron approaches potential tariff refund opportunities • How AI could change the economics of tax practices • Why tax advisory services may become a valuable recurring business • How IRS tax transcript data could support lending decisions • Why family offices and private equity firms should examine tax strategy across portfolio companies About Ron James Ron James is the founder of Opscale Exchange. His background includes leadership roles at Walmart, Best Buy, H&R Block and Innovation Refunds. He focuses on making specialized tax credits, incentives and related financial opportunities more accessible to businesses through technology and professional partnerships. Website: opscaleexchange.com Email: ron@opscalepartners.com #TaxCredits #SmallBusiness #TaxStrategy #FamilyOffice #PrivateEquity #ArtificialIntelligence #BusinessFinance Educational discussion only. Tax laws, eligibility requirements and refund procedures vary. Nothing in this episode constitutes investment, legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Consult qualified professionals before acting on any strategy discussed.

    The Tax Savings Your CPA May Be Missing | Ron James

  3. Oct 1

    Can Affordable Housing Build Wealth Too? | Andrew Cramer

    In this episode of Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur’s Round Table, Arthur Bavelas sits down with Andrew Cramer of Bridgeview to explore an overlooked question in America’s affordable housing debate: what if affordable housing could also create homeownership and wealth? Andrew took an unusual path into real estate. He studied chemistry and polymer chemistry before working for a REIT focused on laboratory and office space. After the 2008 financial crisis, a family loan at 12% interest helped him purchase his first manufactured home park. He spent the next year managing it directly and became fascinated by an asset class he believes has been misunderstood and underused. Today, Bridgeview owns, operates and manages approximately 1,200 units across the greater Pacific Northwest, with a particular focus on manufactured housing and affordable homeownership. Andrew’s thesis goes beyond simply owning mobile home parks. Bridgeview looks for communities where it can uncover lost density, rehabilitate vacant homes, pave roads, add playgrounds and community centers, improve utilities and ultimately transform the character of the property. The goal is to create a better community while also creating a more valuable investment. Andrew argues that those objectives don’t have to conflict. Residents can benefit from better communities and an opportunity to own their homes. Investors can benefit from improving the property, expanding financing options and increasing its value. The surrounding community benefits from additional unsubsidized affordable housing. Andrew describes this as a model where everybody should be able to win. The conversation also explores one of his most interesting observations: many people buying manufactured homes through Bridgeview originally expected to rent an apartment. Instead, they may be able to spend a similar amount each month while paying down a mortgage and building equity. Andrew says Bridgeview’s research found a roughly $55,000 five-year wealth difference between one of its homeowners and a comparable person renting a two-bedroom apartment. Arthur and Andrew also discuss park redevelopment, rent control, utility costs, agency financing, smaller-market investing, recapitalization and why Andrew believes manufactured housing needs to overcome a stigma that no longer reflects the quality of the product. What You’ll Learn • How manufactured housing can create affordable homeownership• Why new manufactured housing communities are difficult to build• How operators can recover lost density in older communities• Why community improvements can create investment value• How converting renters into homeowners changes a community• Why better properties can attract better financing• How smaller markets can create overlooked opportunities• Why Andrew believes residents, communities and investors can all benefit About Andrew Cramer Andrew Cramer is a real estate investor and operator with Bridgeview, a comprehensive real estate development company that owns, operates and manages approximately 1,200 units across the greater Pacific Northwest. His work focuses heavily on manufactured housing, affordable homeownership and transforming underperforming communities into sustainable long-term assets. Website: bridgevassetmanagement.com #ManufacturedHousing #AffordableHousing #Homeownership #RealEstateInvesting #FamilyOffice #RealEstate Educational discussion only. Nothing in this episode constitutes investment, legal, tax or financial advice.

    Can Affordable Housing Build Wealth Too? | Andrew Cramer

  4. Sep 26

    The Affordable Housing Investment Nobody Is Building Anymore | Nathan Jameson

    In this episode of Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur’s Round Table, Arthur Bavelas sits down with Nathan Jameson of ARX Capital to explore an overlooked corner of real estate: manufactured housing. Nathan has spent roughly 25 years in real estate, largely in residential development. Earlier in his career, he helped build and exit a large privately owned homebuilding company and says he was involved in building and selling roughly $1 billion of new single-family housing. Today, ARX Capital manages approximately $200 million of real estate assets and close to $100 million of equity, with a focus on manufactured housing communities and a smaller allocation to seasonal RV properties. The investment thesis begins with a simple imbalance: demand for affordable housing continues to grow, while Nathan says the supply of manufactured housing communities is actually declining. New communities are difficult to permit, existing properties can disappear to higher-and-better uses, and housing construction continues to become more expensive and time-consuming. That creates an unusual real estate opportunity. ARX typically looks for undercapitalized or under-managed communities where it can improve infrastructure, operations, safety and the overall quality of the property. Residents generally own their homes while ARX earns rent from the underlying sites, creating a different operating model from traditional multifamily housing. Nathan and Arthur discuss why many of these properties remain owned by aging mom-and-pop operators, what happens when subsequent generations live off the cash flow instead of reinvesting in the property, and why properly capitalizing infrastructure can create value. They also explore one of the asset class’s most interesting characteristics: depreciation. Nathan explains why manufactured housing and RV communities can have substantial depreciable land improvements and why those deductions can be particularly valuable to certain investors and family offices. The conversation covers deal sourcing, regulation, private utilities, rent control, value-add investing, institutional buyers and ARX’s strategy of improving smaller properties into assets that larger investors may eventually want to own. What You’ll Learn • Why manufactured housing supply is declining• Why residents typically own the home but rent the land• How value is created in underinvested communities• Why aging owners are creating acquisition opportunities• How depreciation changes the investment economics• Why regulation can be both a risk and a competitive moat• Why institutional investors are increasingly interested• How ARX thinks about value creation and eventual exits About Nathan Jameson Nathan Jameson has spent approximately 25 years in real estate. Today, his work through ARX focuses primarily on manufactured housing communities, along with selected seasonal RV properties, with an emphasis on value-add opportunities where active management and capital investment can improve existing properties. Website: arxventures.comEmail: nathan@arxventures.com #ManufacturedHousing #RealEstateInvesting #FamilyOffice #AffordableHousing #AlternativeInvestments #RealEstate Educational discussion only. Nothing in this episode constitutes investment, legal, tax or financial advice.

    The Affordable Housing Investment Nobody Is Building Anymore | Nathan Jameson

  5. Sep 14

    Why Building a Product Is Not the Same as Building a Company | Elizabeth McCalley

    In this episode of Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur's Round Table, Arthur Bavelas sits down with Elizabeth McCalley, founder of Start Stack, to explore one of the biggest mistakes founders make: Building a product is not the same as building a company. Elizabeth spent approximately 15 years at IBM before working with companies including Workday and Salesforce. Across sales, strategy, product management, commercialization, and enterprise technology, she developed a deep interest in taking new ideas into markets and figuring out what customers will actually buy. Today, Start Stack focuses on the often-overlooked period between having an idea and achieving product-market fit. AI has dramatically reduced the cost and difficulty of building software and launching products. But Elizabeth argues that easier building creates a new danger: Founders can now build the wrong thing faster. The fundamental questions haven't changed: • What problem are you solving? • Who actually cares? • Who will pay for it? • What market are you serving? • How will you acquire customers? • Do the economics work? Elizabeth describes Start Stack's roughly 45-step business-planning methodology, covering company purpose, market strategy, resource planning, commercialization, and an investable business plan. A key philosophy is: The founder does the work. AI supports the process. Rather than generating disconnected reports, the goal is a coherent business where product, market, financial assumptions, buyers, resources, and go-to-market strategy all fit together. Arthur and Elizabeth also discuss the hidden cost of startup pivots. Elizabeth says pivots can cost roughly $40,000 to $500,000, making earlier validation potentially one of the highest-return investments a founder can make. They also explore how the same structured information could eventually help investors perform faster, more standardized early-stage diligence. What You'll Learn • Why product creation and company building are different • How founders can validate demand earlier • Why AI does not replace commercialization • How to reduce expensive startup pivots • Why disconnected AI reports can create false confidence • How better planning reduces marketing waste • Why corporate executives often underestimate entrepreneurship • How investor diligence may become more efficient About Elizabeth McCalley Elizabeth McCalley is the founder of Start Stack and a commercialization specialist whose career includes IBM, Workday, Salesforce, enterprise technology, sales, strategy, product management, and go-to-market execution. Today she is building systems designed to help founders make better decisions before scarce capital is spent. Big Insight: AI has reduced the cost of building. It has not eliminated the need to know what is worth building. #Startups #Entrepreneurship #ArtificialIntelligence #ProductMarketFit #StartupStrategy #FamilyOffice #VentureCapital #Founder Educational discussion only. Nothing in this episode constitutes investment, legal, tax, business, accounting, or financial advice.

    Why Building a Product Is Not the Same as Building a Company | Elizabeth McCalley

  6. Sep 7

    Why Capital Follows Consciousness | Cate Wilkes

    In this second conversation with Cate Wilkes on Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur's Round Table, Arthur Bavelas and Cate move well beyond traditional conversations about capital. The central question is not simply: How do you raise or deploy money? It is: Who are you becoming as you do it? Cate's background spans banking, mortgage finance, Fannie Mae, conscious human development, and now private capital through 638 Capital. After leaving corporate life in 2018, she worked with Bob Proctor and his team on global expansion before moving into private capital. That journey shaped her belief that financial structures alone are incomplete if we ignore the human beings who inhabit them. Cate explains that when she entered the private-capital world, she found abundant discussion of ROI, tax structures, governance, succession, and strategy—but kept asking: Where is the human in all of this? That question sits at the center of 638 Capital. Cate describes the firm as a gateway into private-placement relationships and platforms, with a philosophy built around access, trust, reputation, character, and long-term capital positioning. But for Cate, the real question is not simply whether capital can be multiplied. It is: What will that capital ultimately be used to create? Arthur and Cate discuss: • Why capital follows consciousness • Why relationship and reputation are forms of currency • How character influences capital relationships • Why access in private markets is relational • The difference between genuine purpose and virtue signaling • Why motives matter • How to decide when a relationship is not the right fit • Why money should be viewed as a tool rather than the objective itself • Why generosity and capitalism are not contradictions • How money can replicate human effort • Why identity influences decision-making • How mindset shapes outcomes • Why transaction-only thinking can limit long-term opportunity • The value of putting people before transactions • How a small number of strong relationships can drive the majority of business • Why capital may be easier to raise when service comes first • Why mutual qualification matters in business • How intention and attention shape behavior • Why procrastination may be useful feedback • The importance of self-knowledge in leadership • Why continuous growth matters more than retirement as an endpoint • The role of reciprocity in relationships One of the strongest parts of the episode is Cate's explanation of relationship as currency. She describes evaluating people not only on financial qualification, but through a broader human lens: Are they respectful? Are they humble? Are they demanding? What is their reputation? Who surrounds them? What is actually motivating them? Cate's approach is not to make a rigid moral judgment, but to understand whether there is enough alignment and trust to continue the relationship. That matters because, in private capital, transparency and access often emerge over time. There may not always be a public prospectus, annual report, or open-market information package available at the beginning of the relationship. That makes trust, judgment, and reputation especially important. Cate describes one prospect who became increasingly demanding for information she was not authorized to provide. Rather than force the relationship forward, both sides ultimately concluded that it was not the right fit. That becomes a recurring theme throughout the episode: Not every opportunity needs to become a transaction. The right answer can be: No harm. No foul. Not a fit. Move on.

    Why Capital Follows Consciousness | Cate Wilkes

  7. Sep 2

    Why Family Wealth Fails Without a Mission | Dr. Larry Stybel

    In this episode of Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur's Round Table, Arthur Bavelas sits down with Dr. Larry Stybel, co-founder of Stybel Peabody Associates, for a thoughtful conversation about one of the hardest problems in family wealth: How do you preserve the entrepreneurial spirit after the money has already been made? Larry's own story begins far from the family office world. The son of German immigrants in New York City, he grew up believing he was intellectually limited after being placed near the bottom of his school's academic tracking system. Everything changed when a high-school English teacher recognized something others had missed and moved him into honors English. Larry ultimately went on to earn a doctorate in psychology from Harvard University. That experience shaped a career devoted to helping people navigate difficult transitions. Larry founded Stybel Peabody Associates in 1979. The firm's work has evolved into what he describes as smooth leadership change—helping family businesses professionalize leadership, identify first non-family CEOs, recruit independent directors, and help family members successfully transition when they are no longer the right fit for the business. His entrance into the family office world came through an engagement with the Kennedy family, eventually leading to referrals across the broader family-office community. Arthur and Larry explore: • Why family wealth often erodes across generations • The “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” problem • Why successful founders may accidentally shelter children from the lessons that created the wealth • How entrepreneurial identity gets transmitted • Why talking about business at the dinner table can be valuable • Why hiding work from children can make business seem mysterious or intimidating • The role of family mission across generations • Why a family office needs something deeper than financial performance • How to prepare the next generation for responsibility • Why first-generation entrepreneurs often struggle to let go • Why finding the first non-family CEO can be difficult • The role of independent directors in family businesses • Why emotional readiness matters in M&A • Why founders often sabotage transactions they think they want • How CEOs should prepare for life after leadership • Why private equity buyers and founders frequently begin relationships with unrealistic expectations • How faster business cycles reduce executive peripheral vision • Why family offices can become difficult career environments for professionals One of the strongest themes in the episode is Larry's belief that families should not hide the business from the next generation. He describes a client whose older children grew up listening to their father's business challenges and became successful businesspeople themselves. A younger child, raised later in life with considerably more wealth and little exposure to the father's work, had no comparable understanding of the effort required to succeed. Dr. Larry Stybel is a psychologist, executive advisor, and co-founder of Stybel Peabody Associates. The firm was founded in 1979 and today focuses on what Larry describes as smooth leadership change. Its work includes executive transition, retained CEO search, family-business succession, independent board recruitment, and helping family members or senior executives successfully navigate professional transitions. Larry's personal story also informs his work. After being labeled academically limited as a child, the intervention of one teacher changed the trajectory of his education. He eventually earned a doctorate in psychology from Harvard University. His decades of work with family businesses and family offices give him a distinctive perspective on leadership, identity, succession, governance, and preserving entrepreneurial purpose across generations.

    Why Family Wealth Fails Without a Mission | Dr. Larry Stybel

  8. Aug 28

    The Small Businesses Private Equity Is Missing | Hudson Lewis

    In this episode of Family Office Investing Podcast & Investor Insights | Arthur's Round Table, Arthur Bavelas sits down with Janae Rapps, Deanna Brown, and Kristina Hutchison-Burdette of Hudson Lewis to explore an overlooked segment of the American economy: Profitable small businesses that are too small for traditional private equity—but potentially too valuable to ignore. Hudson Lewis is building an investment strategy around acquiring controlling interests in established, cash-flowing businesses, improving their operations, introducing technology and AI where appropriate, and ultimately combining multiple companies into larger platforms that may become attractive acquisition targets for private equity. The businesses they are targeting aren't speculative startups. They're companies already serving real communities: • HVAC businesses • Pest control companies • Plumbing and electrical businesses • Roofing companies • Bookkeepers and CPAs • Dental practices • Veterinary practices • Chiropractors • Other essential local service businesses These companies often have customers, recurring revenue, positive cash flow, and decades of operating history. What many don't have is the technology, processes, operational systems, management bandwidth, or strategic capital required to reach the next stage of growth. That is where Hudson Lewis sees the opportunity. Hudson Lewis doesn't view AI as something that should simply be dropped into a company because it is fashionable. Kristina explains that many small businesses first need their foundations fixed. Some still rely heavily on tribal knowledge. Important processes may live entirely in one person's head. Customer communications may flow through individual cell phones. Operations may depend on spreadsheets and manual workflows. The first job is therefore to identify where the business is leaking capacity, wasting time, or operating inefficiently. Only then does AI become useful. Deanna describes AI broadly—not just as generative AI, but as workflow automation, knowledge libraries, and eventually agentic tools that can help businesses standardize processes and scale more efficiently. Janae brings a real-world example. While managing a dental practice, she helped acquire older practices that had not modernized their technology or operating systems. After upgrading processes and systems, the business expanded from one location to six. In some practices, she says revenue increased four- to fivefold. The team sees a similar opportunity across fragmented small-business sectors today. Their thesis is straightforward: Buy profitable businesses that are stuck. ↓ Improve operations and systems. ↓ Use technology and AI to expand capacity and margins. ↓ Acquire additional businesses in the same sector. ↓ Aggregate them into a larger platform. ↓ Create an asset large enough to become relevant to private equity. This matters because Hudson Lewis believes many companies with roughly $1 million to $5 million in annual revenue sit below the size at which traditional private equity is actively shopping. Individually they may be too small. Combined, they can become much more interesting.

    The Small Businesses Private Equity Is Missing | Hudson Lewis
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About

Arthur’s Round Table is a leading family office investing podcast featuring conversations with top investors, venture capitalists, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Each episode explores how elite allocators source deals, evaluate opportunities, and deploy capital across private markets. “What You’ll Learn” How family offices invest in private markets. Venture capital and private equity strategies. Deal flow sourcing and evaluation. Insights from UHNW investors.

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