POWERS

Joe Shelerud is Co-Founder and CEO of Ad Advance, a digital advertising agency and Amazon Advertising Advanced Partner. Joe’s career in business and engineering quickly pivoted into the Amazon space after he started selling on Amazon back in 2014. After scaling his own 7-figure brand, Joe and his business partner founded their agency Ad Advance in 2017. Together with his team, Joe has helped brands all over the globe scale their brands. Joe is also the host of The Ad Project podcast, a show that helps eCommerce brands scale and push their advertising to the next level.

On this episode, Joe and Chris discuss:

Links

Ad Advance

The Ad Project Podcast

Joe on Twitter

Topics:

(00:01:54) Joe’s career

(00:07:31) Getting on Amazon’s radar and working with them

(00:10:29) How does bidding work?

(00:15:08) Is there anything that worries you about increased browser privacy?

(00:17:13) Are our devices “listening” to us?

(00:18:33) Are you an outsourced ad buyer?

(00:19:40) What does a great client look like and who do you screen out?

(00:21:18) How do you know if you’re doing an excellent job for the client?

(00:22:52) What are sellers prioritizing on Amazon today?

(00:25:16) Could Amazon dethrone Facebook as the largest digital advertiser?

(00:26:22) Do you plan to expand to retail media?

(00:27:20) What have you learned from Amazon about running your business? (Twitter Vid)

(00:31:03) Is the winner in e-commerce who can advertise online the best?

(00:33:11) How do you deal with algorithm changes?

(00:34:30) Who was most affected by the iOS14 update?

(00:35:38) What are some big changes you’re seeing from sellers?

(00:37:35) How does AI play in your business?

(00:44:18)Amazon DSP

(00:45:13) Selling to Permanent Equity

(00:56:04) Visiting all 50 states with your kids

Support our Sponsors

Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Chris on Social Media:

Twitter: 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

Chris is proud to be a 6th generation Utahn and a 3rd generation commercial real estate developer. His career has focused on helping people build their cash flow in commercial real estate and having fun while doing it. Chris has been involved in over 1,000 drive-thru deals throughout the mountain and desert states throughout his career. Chris joined the brokerage community in 2002. He spent tireless hours helping multiple national retailers such as Dollar Tree, Starbucks Coffee, Verizon, Wendy’s, and Wells Fargo expand throughout the Intermountain area. In 2008 he chose to pivot his career into the investment sales side of the shopping center business. From 2008 to present he has been involved in over $2.0 Billion of retail investment sales with a primary focus of representing family offices looking to acquire additional assets for their portfolios.

On this episode, Chris and Chris discuss:

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

Chris Hatch on Twitter

NNN Income Blog

The Net Lease Podcast

Topics

(00:02:02) The hidden gem of Salt Lake City

(00:05:32) “We need to have another baby”

(00:14:33) Chris’ role at Triple Net

(00:16:07) What makes a great site-selection person?

(00:18:14)What are the characteristics of a tenant you want to work with?

(00:20:42) How do you get in the door with these tenants to become their developer?

(00:25:08) How should one look at buying a Dutch bros. vs. a building that could host multiple tenants

(00:28:15) The importance of the Drive-thru

(00:31:33) Exclusive use provisions

(00:33:02) Best practices for structuring leases

(00:35:01) Providing a developer’s perspective

(00:37:23) Why would someone buy a building like yours instead of buying treasuries?

(00:42:01) The decision to enter MF development

(00:45:16) Family breakups

(00:52:30) The Red Lobster to Olive Garden story

(00:59:18) Modular buildings

(01:02:46) Chris on taking 30-day vacations

Support our Sponsors

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:

Twitter: 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

Growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas, Donald Zale watched his father, a Russian Jewish immigrant from an orthodox family, turn a small jewelry store into the Zale Corporation. Don worked alongside his father in the jewelry store and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 1980.

In addition to being a successful businessman, Don and his wife, Barbara, became known as a philanthropist, using their wealth to help build hospitals, fund scholarships and aid the homeless. Don works chiefly on his family’s foundation, which funds community services and programs involving health, education, and Jewish heritage across several states.\\

On this episode, Chris and Don discuss:

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

(00:02:28) The founding of Zales

(00:13:38) The power of relationships

(00:15:13) The biggest changes from the 40s to today

(00;16:52) Don’s relationship with his father and experiences growing up in the business

(00:24:38) When did the business really start to take off? 

(00:29:47) The shift to focusing on Diamonds

(00:37:21) How do you think about marketing?

(00:39:27) Lessons learned growing up in a family business

(00:42:32) Managing shareholders within the family as well as external shareholders

(00:43:41) Don on Zale’s hostile takeover

(01:03:38) The potential in the diamond industry

(01:06:59) Life lessons for listeners

Support our Sponsors

Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Chris on Social Media:

Twitter: 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

Emily Holdman is Managing Director of Permanent Equity - a firm using 30-year funds to invest with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In her role, Emily is principally responsible for leading the firm's origination and investment process, and its marketing.

On this episode, Chris and Emily discuss:

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

Permanent Equity

Emily on Twitter

Topics

(00:02:34) Emily’s background and career

(00:06:47) Acquiring MediaCross and growing the business

(00:13:00) Moving into Acquisitions at 23 years old

(00:18:06) Going three years without acquiring 

(00:24:10) How to know when a seller is ready

(00:31:50) Emily’s role at PE

(00:33:25) When do you know it’s time to move forward with a seller?

(00:38:40) How many businesses do you see before moving on one?

(00:45:21) Why does everyone disagree over working capital?

(00:47:23) How to underwrite a business in Alaska

(00:56:21) Why PE loves Texas & Enthusiast Businesses

(01:02:02) Buying an Amusement Park Ride Manufacturer

(01:07:04) What are some questions you ask early on to become familiar with an industry?

(01:12:32) How do you know if a seller is giving good answers if you’re unfamiliar with an industry?

(01:16:52) Transaction tensions

(01:23:46) Why the Twitter sentiment on self-reliance is annoying

(01:32:02) Women in Investing

(01:39:23) Advice for girls

Support our Sponsors

Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Chris on Social Media:

Twitter: 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

Chris is joined by his business partner and Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter to celebrate the 300th episode of the Podcast.

On this episode, Chris and Jason answer listener-submitted questions regarding:

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

Ego is the enemy by Ryan Holiday

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Fort Ep.180 - GP Fees and The Pathway to Building a World-Class REPE Operating Platform

Jeremy Giffon on Invest like the Best

Topics

(00:04:13) Reflecting on 300 episodes

(00:06:22) Jason and Chris deep dive and answer questions about partnerships

(00:46:44) Answering questions about Fort Capital

(01:14:10) How Fort Capital is incorporating Artificial Intelligence

Support our Sponsors

RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY

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:

Twitter: 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

Born in Siberia, Artem immigrated to the United States at the age of nine. In 2009 he formed SCHON | TEPLER Partners to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities in distressed residential real estate during the GFC and has evolved into a full-service, vertically integrated, multi-family real estate development firm. Since his first purchase of a single-family house as an investment for $300k at the age of 23, Artem has been involved as a principal in the development/redevelopment of more than $400m of real estate.

On this episode, Chris and Artem discuss:

➡️ life in Siberia under Communism

➡️ immigrating to the United States

➡️ the thread between Jiu Jitsu and Career success

➡️ a walkthrough of putting together a Los Angeles Multifamily project

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

Additional Resources

👉Artem on Twitter

👉Schon Tepler Partners

Timestamps

(00:04:02) Discovering Zyn

(00:05:41) Life in Siberia under Communism

(00:13:14) Immigrating to America

(00:19:14) Thoughts on Russia/Ukraine

(00:27:21) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

(00:32:58) Artem’s early RE career

(00:48:56) Buying a home from a murderer

(00:51:10) Artem’s business today

(00:54:10) Self-performing construction vs. outsourcing

(01:03:54) Measuring success in construction

(01:14:19) How an LA project comes together

(01:25:10) Covid’s Impact on Multifamily

(01:31:26) Affordable housing

(01:34:00) Thoughts on the near-term market

Links

➡️ Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

--

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Chris Hutchins is the host of the award-winning All the Hacks podcast, where he helps listeners upgrade their life, money and travel. Previously, he was the founder/CEO of Grove (acquired by Wealthfront), an investor at Google Ventures, and a co-founder of Milk (acquired by Google).

On this episode, Chris & Chris Hutchins discuss:

➡️ Chris' filter for finding hacks in life

➡️ the business of credit card points

➡️ travel hacking

➡️ the business of Podcasting

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

Additional Resources

👉 All the Hacks

👉 Chris' Website

👉 Chris on Twitter

👉 How Airlines Quietly Became Banks

👉 AllTheHacks.com/CardValue

👉 AllTheHacks.com/TP

👉Point.me

👉Roame.travel

👉Seats.aero

👉Oceansxyz.com

👉 The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray

Timestamps

(00:03:03) Chris’s career 

(00:07:57) Is it fair to say almost everything is hackable?

(00:08:55) What filter do you apply to find a hack?

(00:20:22) The business of credit card points

(00:33:32) Choosing the right credit card and travel hacking

(00:52:31) Business hacks for entrepreneurs

(00:57:38) The Business of Podcasting

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

--

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Mark Brooks is Chief Operating Officer and Co-President of Permanent Equity - a firm that invests with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In his role, Mark and his team are responsible for the operations of PE's 13 (and counting) portfolio companies spanning multiple industries including aerospace, construction, manufacturing, ad tech, and professional services.

On this episode, Mark & Chris discuss:

➡️ what makes a great and a terrible manager

➡️ how Mark manages owners of acquired businesses

➡️ how to create alignment and incentives

➡️ why Management is not a Trade

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

Additional Resources

👉 Permanent Equity

👉Mark on Twitter

👉The Permanent Equity Podcast

Timestamps

(00:03:05) Mark’s career at AOL and The Motley Fool

(00:08:21) What is a good manager and what is a bad manager?

(00:11:29) What does your role look like at PE?

(00:17:37) What’s the cadence of communications with the businesses under PE?

(00:23:14) Are there cues in conversations with owners of a potential acquisition that put a deal in question?

(00:25:07) Do any of the businesses you buy already have a board in place?

(00:27:03) How do you handle owners who may not be as open to being managed?

(00:31:22) How do you incentivize owners differently than other Private equity shops?

(00:39:22) The 'Working with Mark' document

(00:43:41) Management is not a trade

(00:48:53) Do you agree that people leave managers, not companies?

(00:51:23) What’s the difference between a Manager and a Principal?

(00:56:03) What do you use in addition to personality tests to identify talent?

(01:01:11) How do you play out a scenario when you have two equals in a business and need to have one move up to manage the other?

(01:07:23) How do you know you’ve struck a balance between being too flat and being too management-heavy?

(01:12:17) How do you create alignment and incentives for teams that may not necessarily be impacting the bottom line?

(01:22:39) Why are incentives so much easier to understand in hindsight?

(01:27:34) What should the communication cadence between managers and teams look like?

(01:30:39) True Management is an inversion

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

--

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Sean Burton is CEO of Cityview, a vertically integrated real estate investment management and development firm that specializes in developing, acquiring and operating opportunistic and value-add multifamily projects in gateway markets across the Western U.S. Cityview has invested in more than 130 projects and was named the decade’s largest multifamily developer in LA by Los Angeles Business Journal.

On this episode, Sean and Chris discuss:

➡️ land entitling

➡️ an overview of the Los Angeles market

➡️ what makes a great multifamily developer and operator

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

Additional Resources

👉Cityview

👉Sean on LinkedIn

Timestamps

(00:03:57) Sean's journey into Real estate

(00:05:11) Learnings from working in the White House

(00:07:26) An Overview of Cityview

(00:10:25) What matters to you when considering a market or an asset to acquire?

(00:12:02) Are you finding sites that are already entitled or do you need to entitle before closing?

(00:14:48) Is it taking longer to entitle land these days?

(00:16:05) The desire to build more housing in LA, the homeless crisis, and an overview of the LA market

(00:21:38) Where in LA are you looking for sites?

(00:22:51) Do you see any similarities between today’s market and the GFC?

(00:25:11) Have building costs stabilized?

(00:26:56) What would it take for a development deal to make sense right now?

(00:31:22) What makes a good tour when showing equity a project?

(00:32:47) Is Office to Residential even realistic?

(00:35:06) What makes a great MF developer and operator?

(00:36:51) Is there any from an amenities standpoint that you’re focusing on?

(00:39:21) Is there any technology you’re implementing?

(00:41:55) How are you positioning yourself for the next few years?

(00:45:47) How do you capitalize deals?

(00:48:15) Thoughts on the First Republic Bank takeover 

➡️ RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

--

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Jim O'Shaughnessy serves as Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Stability.ai. He is the Founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures, LLC (OSV). O'Shaughnessy Ventures focuses on his deeply rooted interest in art, science, investing, and tech, marrying them with his long-held desire to establish positive sum scenarios through partnerships and investments. OSV focuses on 4 specific areas: Infinite Adventures (venture capital), Infinite Films, Infinite Media, and the O'Shaughnessy Fellowship program.

Prior to OSV, Jim was the Founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC (OSAM), an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton acquired in 2022.

Jim is the author of four books on investing, was awarded several U.S. Patents on investment strategies and investment technologies, and was called a "Legendary investor" by Forbes.com.

On this episode, Chris & Jim discuss:

➡️ the cumulative cultural evolution

➡️ quant investing

➡️ the difference between probabilities and possibilities

➡️ how Jim is navigating O'Shaughnessy Ventures

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

Additional Resources

👉 Jim on Twitter

👉O'Shaughnessy Ventures

👉Stability.ai

👉Jim's Books

👉The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich

👉 The Flynn Effect

👉Wait but Why by Tim Urban

👉The True Believer by Erif Hoffer

👉 The Internet Contrarian by Jim O'Shaughnessy

👉A Generational Buying Opportunity by Jim O'Shaughnessy

👉Claude Shannon's information theory

Timestamps

(00:02:17) Jim’s grandfather

(00:04:15) “You can always understand the son by the story of his father.”

(00:14:00) Cumulative Cultural Evolution

(00:26:16) What is Quant Investing?

(00:36:54) How does a Quant investor know they have their algorithm right?

(00:45:29) How does our emotional predisposition affect our investing approach?

(00:50:43) The huge difference between probabilities and possibilities

(00:54:43) How TV news devolved into propaganda

(01:01:48) How America is distinguished from other countries

(01:07:28) The Great Reshuffle

(01:22:00) What’s something you’ve done at OSV you wouldn’t have been able to do with LPs?

(01:23:13) Why did you invest in Stability AI?

(01:28:35) What does success look like for OSV?

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

--

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts