Episodes

  • #351 - Preston Holland - CCO @ FLYING Finance - Private Aviation 101

    #351 - Preston Holland - CCO @ FLYING Finance - Private Aviation 101
    May 2 2024
    Preston Holland is the Chief Commercial Officer of FLYING Finance, which is an aircraft financing company. Before taking over the finance business, Preston ran FLYING Media Group (now known as Firecrown) as Chief Operating Officer. We discuss: When folks should consider flying privately Costs of owning a plane Chartering, jet cards, and fractional ownership A walkthrough of how to purchase an aircraft We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Preston on X Preston's Newsletter Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:05:33) - Preston’s career (00:18:44) - When to consider flying private (00:21:20) - Chartering (00:36:20) - Costs of plane ownership (00:48:40) - Dry leases (00:54:21) - Jet card memberships (00:59:52) - Fractional ownership (01:03:45) - Pilots (01:06:06) - Partnerships (01:07:50) - The process of buying an aircraft (01:23:02) - Tax implications (01:33:58) - How to know ownership is the right path Support our Sponsors Oshman Aviation: https://bit.ly/3Qr9STF Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 42 mins
  • #350 - Mike Beckham - Co-Founder & CEO @ Simple Modern - A Former Pastor Built One Of The Fastest Growing E-Commerce Businesses In The US

    #350 - Mike Beckham - Co-Founder & CEO @ Simple Modern - A Former Pastor Built One Of The Fastest Growing E-Commerce Businesses In The US
    Apr 30 2024
    Mike Beckham is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Simple Modern, a leading producer of premium drinkware and lifestyle products. Founded in 2015 and based in Oklahoma, SimpleModern currently generates a nine-figure annual revenue and is committed to generosity, donating at least 10% of annual profits to nonprofit organizations. Under Mike’s leadership, the company has grown into a category leader for Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. We discuss: Building Simple Modern during the peak of Yeti’s domination Hypergrowth strategies and living in a future with AI The power of product licensing and building moats The disadvantages of selling products online We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Simple Modern Mike on X Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:48) - Starting Simple Modern (00:15:46) - How much thought do you need to put into a product as simple as a cup? (00:17:51) - The Stanley Phenomenon (00:22:06) - Influencer marketing (00:24:15) - The pros of hiring your friends (00:33:21) - Learnings from spending 10 years as a pastor (00:43:43) - Hypergrowth (00:48:05) - AI (00:55:23) - Product Licensing (01:04:00) - Building moats (01:09:07) - Does Amazon take more and more margin out of products as you grow? (01:18:35) - Becoming an ESOP (01:27:01) - Offshoring and China (01:34:22) - What are some disadvantages to selling online? Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 43 mins
  • #349 - Mark Hart - CEO/CIO Corriente Advisors - How He Predicted The ‘08 Housing Market Crash (And Won BIG)

    #349 - Mark Hart - CEO/CIO Corriente Advisors - How He Predicted The ‘08 Housing Market Crash (And Won BIG)
    Apr 25 2024
    Mark Hart is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Corriente Advisors and an active investor in private technology companies. Throughout his career, Mark has developed a unique process and reputation for identifying potentially powerful macro and investment trends and opportunities ahead of consensus. Mark’s contributions and concepts have been widely showcased across various popular media platforms, earning him invitations to speak at prestigious gatherings of investment professionals in the Western world. We discuss: - Betting against the housing market in 2008 - How Mark developed his macro thesis - Thoughts on China, inflation, bitcoin and AI We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Mark on X Corriente Advisors Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:54) - Mark’s career (00:10:49) - How do you think about research? (00:15:44) - Betting against the housing market in ’08 (X) (00:23:52) - The China trade (00:25:19) - The European sovereign debt crisis (00:29:00) - How do you research a global trade? (00:31:52) - Mark on rebuilding his approach to life (00:37:44) - Thoughts on China in 2024 (00:46:55) - Inflation (00:53:12) - Bitcoin (01:00:52) - AI (01:04:56) - Cannabis Support our Sponsors: Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • #348 - Omar Morales - Investment Sales @ Berkadia - Meet The 30-Year-Old Who’s Sold $3.3B Of Miami Real Estate

    #348 - Omar Morales - Investment Sales @ Berkadia - Meet The 30-Year-Old Who’s Sold $3.3B Of Miami Real Estate
    Apr 23 2024
    Omar Morales is an investment sales broker at Berkadia that sells land & multifamily properties across South Florida. He has sold over $3.3 billion worth of real estate ranging from $130M land deals to $355M multifamily properties, even though his average deal size is roughly $50M. In this episode, Chris and Omar discuss: - The state of the Miami RE market - Building a world-class network - The importance of building an online brand We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:34) - The Morales family coming to America (00:10:49) - What’s the state of the Miami RE market? (00:13:52) - Miami sub-market analysis: Brickell (00:19:05) - How have you built a world-class network? (00:28:11) - Blackstone (00:30:40) - How hard is it to enter the Miami market? (00:35:16) - Are there noticeable differences between domestic and foreign buyers? (00:36:31) - What’s your activity been like this year? (00:43:31) - How are people dealing with insurance in your market? (00:46:25) - The Condo crisis (00:55:59) - What are the things that get you to a quick ‘no’? (00:59:01) - Where would invest $20m in Miami and where would you invest $200m? (01:00:52) - Miami sub-market analysis: The Wynwood market & Design District (01:03:48) - What characteristics do your smartest clients have that separate them from the rest? (01:06:54) - What has building a brand online done for you? Omar Morales: Follow Omar on X Omar on LinkedIn Berkadia Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • #347 - Elaine Agather - Chairman of DFW Region @ JP Morgan Chase - How A Texas Cowgirl Became The Chairman Of JPMorgan Chase (DFW)

    #347 - Elaine Agather - Chairman of DFW Region @ JP Morgan Chase - How A Texas Cowgirl Became The Chairman Of JPMorgan Chase (DFW)
    Apr 16 2024
    Elaine Agather is Chairman of the Dallas Region for JPMorgan Chase & Co. She also serves as the Central Region Head and Managing Director of The Private Bank at J.P. Morgan. Elaine joined Chemical Bank of New York in 1979, working in London, San Francisco, and New York until she relocated to Dallas in 1984. After the 1986 merger of Chemical Bank and Texas Commerce Bank, Elaine was promoted to Chairman of Texas Commerce Bank in Fort Worth in 1992 and joined the Private Bank to manage client advisory groups across the state in 1997. In 1999, she was elected Chairman and CEO of Dallas. On this episode, Elaine and Chris discuss: - Working with Jamie Dimon - Wealth Management 101 - Bank runs, cyber threats, AI, and the state of Banking We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:43) - Elaine’s early career in banking (00:15:40) - Taking over an underperforming bank (00:18:46) - Elaine’s rodeo career (00:28:11) - Working with Jamie Dimon (00:31:17) - Wealth Management (00:34:08) - How to transition wealth well (00:39:07) - The process of bringing in a generationally wealthy client (00:42:19) - The SVB & First Republic bank runs (00:45:04) - How to find an exceptional wealth manager (00:46:11) - Cyber threats, crypto & AI (00:48:40) - The state of banking (00:51:36) - DFW (00:55:03) - How do you know you’ve done a good job? (00:58:29) - Elaine’s 8: Get over it Support our Sponsors Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUqFort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • #346 - David Perell - How Writing On The Internet Can Change Your Life

    #346 - David Perell - How Writing On The Internet Can Change Your Life
    Apr 8 2024
    David Perell is a writer, teacher, and podcaster. He believes writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. David seeks to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. More than 1,500 people from more than 70 countries have participated in David’s Write of Passage programs. The five-week bootcamp draws on David’s experience writing online, building an audience, and his interviews with dozens of great writers on his How I Write Podcast. On this episode, Chris and David discuss: David's upbringing and influences David's writing and creative processes How the Internet has changed the goals of writers The Jetski Theory, the Never Ending "Now" Theory, and other great takes explained We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links: David on X How I Write Podcast - YouTube, Apple, Spotify Write of Passage David's website The 11 laws of show running What the hell is going on? By David Perell - https://perell.com/essay/what-the-hell-is-going-on/ Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:32) - David’s upbringing (00:07:43) - The influence of Walt Disney (00:10:48) - The loss of soul and creativity (00:15:18) - David’s creative process (00:17:54) - How David writes (00:25:50) - Why should other people start writing? (00:29:14) - Writing in text vs. Google Docs (00:31:15) - How have people benefitted from your writing program? (00:33:10) - Storytime (00:38:17) - Great writers on Twitter (00:42:38) - How has the internet changed the goals for writers? (00:42:28) - Setting out to prove or disprove the story of Jesus (00:51:51) - The Internal Struggle of American Idolatry (01:01:24) - David explains various takes (01:22:33) - How will AI impact the world? (01:24:35) - The shiny dime theory Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 28 mins
  • #345 - Chuck Anderson - Co-Founder @ Bandera Ventures

    #345 - Chuck Anderson - Co-Founder @ Bandera Ventures
    Apr 2 2024
    Charles Anderson founded Bandera Ventures with Pryor Blackwell and Thomas Leiser in May 2003. The Partners have over 140 years’ of experience in commercial real estate development, encompassing more than 62 million square feet of development and acquisitions throughout the United States and Canada. Bandera’s real estate development expertise includes office, industrial, retail, medical, data centers, and build-to-suit projects. We discuss: How Trammell Crow was able to produce so many successful RE operators Building Bandera Ventures Why DFW is the best real estate market in America We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Bandera Ventures Trammell Crow Company Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:06) - Chuck’s background (00:07:39) - Experiences working at Trammell Crow (00:10:39) - Thoughts on the current market (00:15:20) - How Trammell Crow was able to have so many All-stars under one roof (00:17:58) - Chuck’s role at Trammell Crow (00:19:57) - Ideating Bandera (00:22:35) - Battling cancer & the power of Bible study (00:32:32) - Advice for young folks (00:34:58) - Inside Bandera (00:40:50) - Data centers (00:47:08) - Bandera’s org structure (00:50:13) - Recourse Debt (00:52:54) - What would it take for you to do an office deal? (00:53:59) - TI (00:57:22) - Super luxury markets (01:00:27) - Capitalizing deals (01:05:42) - Development (01:07:08) - Why DFW is the best market in the country (01:15:43) - Permitting and Zoning (01:18:50) - Market predictions Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • #344 - Rusty Reid - CEO @ Higginbotham - Building An Insurance Business That Has Compounded 20% YoY for 35+ years

    #344 - Rusty Reid - CEO @ Higginbotham - Building An Insurance Business That Has Compounded 20% YoY for 35+ years
    Mar 26 2024
    Rusty Reid was named president and CEO of Higginbotham in 1989 at the age of 27. At that time, he implemented the firm’s defining “single source” service model whereby customers can obtain all their insurance and financial services under one roof. He also had the foresight to establish Higginbotham’s employee ownership structure, aligning all employees’ interests in the success of the firm. Under Rusty’s leadership, Higginbotham has grown to become the nation’s 21st-largest independent insurance brokerage firm and Texas’s largest—one with full property/casualty, financial, and HR service capabilities through offices coast to coast. We discuss: How to recruit well and build a culture Successfully integrating acquired companies Philosophy of generosity We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Higginbotham Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:56) - Infectious energy (00:04:38) - Rusty’s early life and career (00:22:34) - Company growth strategies (00:31:30) - How to recruit well (00:37:35) - Building culture (00:42:15) - Rusty on ‘buying themselves’ (00:56:18) - Going on offense and acquiring companies (01:01:27) - The value in staying busy (01:05:52) - How to value an insurance business (01:11:16) - How do you integrate an acquisition? (01:17:10) - StonePoint partnership (01:20:45) - Thoughts on AI (01:26:51) - Philosophy on generosity Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
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    1 hr and 36 mins