POWERS

Rob Chadwick, Founder of Holdfast Security Group, a consultation and training company, specializing in helping organizations and private individuals understand how to stay safe in today's uncertain world. Rob recently retired as the head of the Tactical Training Program for the FBI. He started as a police officer in 1994 before joining the FBI in 2001. His first assignment for the Bureau was working against Colombian Drug Cartels in Miami. Following assignments to several other cities, Rob served as an Agent In Charge of Attorney General William P. Barr's protection detail. His final assignment was as Chief of the Tactical Training Unit at the FBI Academy where he was responsible for ensuring the operational readiness of all FBI employees. He has traveled the world providing training for local, state, federal, and international law enforcement officers. 

On this episode, Chris and Rob discuss the background story of his career in the FBI and other law enforcement roles. They chat about best practices for securing your home or business, data on criminal activity around the US, and the current state of Law & Order in America.

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Holdfast Security Group

(01:59) - Rob’s Career and Background

(05:56) - What’s the difference between the police and the FBI?

(8:17) - How the FBI changed after 9/11

(9:32) - How are federal agencies able to gather such massive amounts of intelligence?

(12:23) - Is there more physical violence risk or cyber risk in today’s world?

(14:16) - Why is it so hard to combat drugs coming over the border?

The Fort with Tegan Broadwater

(17:11) - What were the core competencies you were teaching in your tactical program at Quantico?

(20:15) - Working Security at The Masters in 2021

(25:07) - How Policing Has Changed Since George Floyd

The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

(35:35) - What should people know about personal security that matters most? 

Master Lock Door Security Bar

(45:29) - What’s the most common time of day people’s homes are broken into?

(47:18) - Do most burglars go in prepared to be violent?

(48:45) - How much time is spent in the planning process for burglarizing a home?

(50:09) - Where will a burglar usually enter the home?

3M Window Security

(52:09) - Do most burglars act solo or work in teams?

(53:13) - Who is the clientele who you work with?

(58:00) - How do the civil suits around deadly force usually pan out?

(1:06:12) - The Anti-gun Sentiment

(1:07:56) - What is the biggest deterrence to those who want to break into your home or business?

(1:13:55) - The Current State of Policing and Law Enforcement in the United States

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Part 2 of the exciting webinar session that Nick Huber had with Chris Powers on The Nick Huber Show. They talk about current events, highlights of our acquisition process, the market for GP, and many more!

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

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Listen to #209 for Part 1 of this episode

Topics:

(01:46) - If you were a 25-year-old interested in Small Business, what would you do right now?

(03:24) - Acquisition Strategies

(09:51) - What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in the first 12-24 months of your Real Estate career?

(14:33) - How have you identified buildings that are likely to sell?

(17:54) - What are the 3 highest-leverage activities in your business?

(20:05) - How do you want to maximize your impact on the world?

(22:09) - How can a beginner in RE buy a property into their no-history LLC?

(25:42) - Can the minimum investment be lowered to allow unaccredited investors to invest with Sweaty Startup or Fort Capital?

(26:23) - What would you be betting on over the next 10 years?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Robert Prather, Jr, has been with Vision Research for more than 15 years and brings more than 23 years of relevant experience to the team in his role as a member of the senior research staff and President. Vision Research is an independent equity research firm that provides hedge funds with investment ideas.

On this episode, Robert discusses his process for uncovering a short idea and what he looks for, why SPACs have recently done so poorly, and the incentives that currently drive them. Chris and Robert also chat about how a short works (Shorting 101) and how he was able to see something off with Enron before the general market did.

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Vision Research: https://www.visionro.com/

(01:43) - Roberts’s Career and Background

(03:53) - When $50m is missing, where is it?

(04:45) - Is it fair to say that people blindly trust public companies for the numbers they put out?

(05:47) - Discussions with Leaders in Public Companies vs. Private Companies

(0 7:25) - Robert Uncovers the Enron Fraud

(14:03) - Robert’s career today in research and shorting equities

(22:10) - Deciphering whether a company is going to go to 0 or is simply worth less than its stock price

(26:16) - When do CEOs find out about the research you’ve done on them?

(29:56) -  How does shorting work?

(32:19) - Meme Stocks

(39:13) - What happens if everyone takes you up on your ideas at the same time?

(40:33) - Thoughts on Tesla

(43:01) - How often have you shorted a company and then changed your mind about it?

(45:23) - SPACs

(1:12:03) - How long does someone predicting a short have to be right?

(1:18:16) - What do you predict will happen in the near future?

(1:24:22) - Robert’s mantra: Helping others help themselves

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

On this episode, Chris chats with Twitter's Anonymous @StudentRentPro on every trick in the book for how to strategically manage student rental properties. They deep dive into the economics of how to put together a profitable student housing deal, what matters in a student lease, and funny stories from the trenches of managing students. Enjoy! 

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

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Support our Sponsors:

Juniper Square: https://www.junipersquare.com/

Lex Markets Corp: https://www.lex-markets.com/fort

(03:15) - Student Rental Pro’s background and RE portfolio

(05:12) - How did you get into student rentals?

(07:50) - What makes a great location for a student rental?

(10:58) - What’s your process for leasing a house for the upcoming school year?

(13:31) - What are the big things that matter in a student housing lease?

(15:54) - Why do you not include parental guarantors in the lease?

(18:59) - Do you do any kind of due diligence or application on the students who want to lease?

(20:13) - How do you handle parent complaints & work orders?

(26:05) - What’s the process of turning the house over from previous tenants to new tenants?

(30:40) - What amenities do you provide?

(32:48) - What are the tenants allowed to do in terms of drilling into the walls, painting, etc?

(34:35) - Pets or no pets?

(35:21) - Do you provide appliances?

(36:26) - How do you think about deposits?

(50:44) - How do you deal with police being called over a party?

(53:23) - How do tenants communicate with you and what is your manager’s job during the year?

Appfolio

(58:47) - What’s the process of selecting a tenant to be “House Manager”?

(59:43) - What stands out to you when looking at properties that will maximize rent?

(1:05:55) - Who does the yard work?

(1:07:35) - What are the most common maintenance issues you see and are there any preventative measures you take?

(1:11:10) - What’s the % increase you’re getting on rent with students as opposed to traditional tenants?

(1:13:28) - What’s the direction of your portfolio?

Twitter Questions:

(1:15:05) - Do you compete against institutional capital?

(1:16:20) - What would you prefer if you were to extend into a new market: A college-town or a town with a college in it?

(1:20:23) - SRP’s MF acquisition was based on listening to the podcast

(1:24:35) - Storytime w/ Student Rental Pro

Lloyd was a successful real estate developer and owner of luxury senior housing facilities when his idea of success changed dramatically, and his life’s focus shifted to second-half significance. Together with his mentor, the late Bob Buford, Lloyd helped launch the Halftime Institute, a global team that teaches, coaches, and connects successful men and women in pursuit of significance. For over 20 years, Lloyd has helped leaders make their second half their best half. He has clocked over 20,000 hours of coaching and has taken this message around the world.

On this episode, Lloyd and Chat chat about what it means for high capacity leaders to finish well, preparing to live the 2nd half of our lives with significance and best practices early in life and career to set yourself up for success later in life. Enjoy!

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris 

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(02:15) - Lloyd’s Background and Career

(16:28) - Partnering with Bob Buford 

Halftime by Bob Buford

Managing oneself by Peter Drucker

(20:37) - What are things you’ve witnessed folks have done early in their life that set them up for success or failure in the second half of their life?

(26:46) - Why do we not naturally gravitate toward focusing on the “priceless” things in life?

(30:55) - The Crash and Burn Lots of People Experience in the Second Half of Life

The Sigmoid Curve

(36:15) - How do you begin to decouple yourself from tying your identity to your work?

(41:49) - What are some practices or success stories where you’ve seen folks reinventing themselves within their own business?

(48:30) - What does The Halftime Institute do?

(50:51) - What are some characteristics of leaders who finish well?

(56:17) - Are there best practices for finding what your next calling will be?

(1:09:25) - What are the characteristics of people who can build a great business and a great family?

What I want my children to know before they leave home by Lloyd Reeb

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Connor Haley founded Alta Fox in 2018 and is responsible for managing all aspects of the firm’s investment process and strategy.  He has over ten years of investing experience and a passion for investing in small-cap equities. Before founding Alta Fox, Connor was an Analyst at Scopia Capital Management LP in New York. Connor is a top-ranked investor on MicroCapClub.com1 and a member of the ValueInvestorsClub.com. Connor was an active investor in college: he was the President of Harvard’s largest undergraduate financial club and led the club to its highest-ever annual return.

On this episode, Connor and Chris chat about how Alta Fox performs DD and reaches conviction on a new investment thesis, the benefits of activism and why it's more important than ever before, and the DNA of an exceptional business. Lastly, Connor shares his thoughts on the current investing landscape.

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris 

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Learn more about Alta Fox: Altafoxcapital.com

Connor on Twitter

(01:53) - Connor’s Background and Career in Investing

(5:40) - Winning Investing and Trading Competitions at Harvard

(8:33) - Connor’s Hedge Fund Experience in College

(10:25) - What did working on the trading floor do to shape your knowledge in investing?

(11:45) - What is your investment philosophy?

(13:29) - Activist Investing

(15:02) - Alta Fox

(16:13) - What does a typical day look like for you?

(17:57) - How do you know what to focus on?

(22:39) - How quickly do you get to a “no”?

(24:40) - Are you contacting a management team before buying their stock?

(25:51) - Do public companies have to take a meeting with you?

(27:47) - How do you rank your priorities for investments?

(29:53) - How many ideas are you usually working on at a given time?

(31:25) - Do you have Billions-style idea meetings?

(32:18) - What categories are you weighing your decisions on?

(34:17) - What are some common characteristics of great CEO’s?

(37:59) - What is Capital Allocation and what makes someone good at it?

(41:30) - What’s your goal once you’ve decided to buy stock in a company?

(44:18) - How long do management calls usually last and do you have a favorite thing to ask them?

(47:14) - How has the size of your business and focus changed over the years?

(50:37) - How do you decide to sell stocks in your portfolio?

(54:09) - What was going through your mind during the first 30 days of Covid?

(58:07) - Deep Dive on Activism

(1:06:23) - Thoughts on ESG

(1:08:45) - How are you thinking about the market right now?

(1:11:30) - How do you think we can curb inflation?

(1:12:55) - What do you think Warren is thinking right now?

(1:14:06) - Do you have an investing idol?

Joel Greenblatt's Columbia Business School Notes on Investing

(1:16:54) - Why did you choose Fort Worth to run your Hedge Fund?

(1:19:29) - Connor’s Case Studies

The Makings of a Multibagger

(1:21:47) - Thoughts on Trading Options

(1:23:20) - What is cheap vs. expensive volatility?

(1:24:26) - Betting Against Warren Buffet on Hedge Fund Performances

(1:26:33) - Thoughts on the Meme Stock Revolution

(1:31:55) - Connor’s Distaste for sushi

(1:32:39) - How can people find you?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Stephen Bailey, Senior Managing Director at JLL, joins Chris again to discuss the current state of capital markets and the ideal situation for sellers going to market - hint: Low WALT. They also dive into land prices, forwards, and cost to construct and how the demand continues to rise, despite the volatile market. Enjoy!

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

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

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(03:15) - The State of the Market Post-2022 and Where Stephen Sees the Opportunity

(07:15) - When did you start noticing volatility in the market?

(08:59) - How are capital flows reacting to this?

(12:03) - Are Lenders getting hesitant?

(14:40) - The State of the Capital Markets

(15:50) - How many buyers are shifting their focus to industrial from other assets?

(18:45) - What due diligence do you conduct on a buyer?

(20:23) - What Are Some Interesting Terms You’re Seeing in Leases

(23:17) - How is Texas performing compared to other hot markets?

(24:32) - Thoughts on Amazon

(27:17) - Thoughts on Large Industrial Tenants & Development

(33:09) - Land Prices

(34:49) - Construction & loan rates

(35:44) - Class B Industrial

(37:06) - Forwards

(38:04) - Thoughts on Industrial Outdoor Storage

(41:11) - What happens to debt when you get above a certain purchase price?

(42:39) - How Fort Capital is Applying What Stephen is Seeing

(54:29) - Final Thoughts

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Aaron Graft is the Founder, Vice Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Triumph Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiary TBK Bank, SSB. He also serves as a Director and Vice Chairman of The Bank of the West of Thomas, Oklahoma. Before establishing Triumph, Mr. Graft served as the Founder and President of Triumph Land and Capital Management, LLC.

On this episode, Aaron shares the story of how he bought Triumph Bank as a 28-year-old during the GFC. Chris and Aaron deep dive into the trucking industry, how truckers get paid, and building factoring technology that will change the future of the trucking industry.

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris 

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(01:14) - Aaron’s Backward Entrance Into the Banking Industry

(12:40) - Why did you say a bank should always generate cash flow?

(14:42) - What was your original thesis behind acquiring a bank?

(19:26) - Would you be approved to buy a bank if you were in the same situation again today?

(20:55) - What was your experience on Day 1 as the CEO?

(24:29) - How were you offloading assets during your first year of ownership?

(25:49) - Buying a Trucking Company

(32:02) - Why did it make sense to buy this business inside of a bank as opposed to another venture?

(37:31) - How have you scaled the business to where it is now?

(40:34) - Are you really a bank? Or are you a transportation company?

(42:53) - When did you start building technology for the bank?

(45:58) - Would you consider yourself a visionary?

(47:49) - The Back-Office Offering For Truckers

(50:26) - Is the trucking industry heading towards consolidation?

(52:24) - Do you help truckers determine what to charge?

(54:16) - Do you finance trucks?

(54:40) - How does Triumph Pay work?

(1:05:23) - How is Amex different from Visa?

(1:06:13) - Do truckers keep deposits with Triumph?

(1:07:00) - Do you trade like a bank or a fintech company?

(1:08:21) - Why did you go public, to begin with?

(1:11:10) - What are you buying these days?

(1:12:49) - Why are shipments slowing down?

(1:15:04) - How does the trucking industry change in size as more people buy things online?

(1:16:48) - Is there anything that keeps you up at night about the trucking industry?

(1:20:38) - Is there any other industry you could model what you’re doing in?

(1:22:21) - What do you predict for your company in 10 years?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Drew Pearson, Managing Partner at Pearson Partners, began his commercial real estate career at Latter & Blum in Baton Rouge in 2008. He moved to a boutique firm named Waters & Pettit in 2011 and within a few years became a top-selling agent there. To date he has sold over $100MM dollars of investment property in more than 15 states. In 2015, he began to work at the real estate private equity firm Promanas in Ann Arbor, MI. There he served as head of acquisitions helping the firm to grow to over $250MM of real estate asset value. He considers his time at Promanas instrumental in his growth and development process.

On this episode, Drew and Chris sit down for a live mentoring session on how to build a REPE operating company. They discuss how to go from 4-5 people to 20, the benefits of bigger deals over smaller deals, and how to create leverage in your business. Drew ends this session by asking Chris the things he would teach himself 5 years ago. Enjoy! 

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

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CRE Models

(03:36) - Honoring Friendships

(05:28) - Drew’s Evolution Since Meeting Chris

(06:29) - What are some major hurdles people have when going from 4-5 employees to 15-20? 

(11:47) - Setting Goals & Always Refining Your Process

(19:22) - The Dark Side of Pursuing Greatness

Relentless by Tim Grover

(24:05) - Drew’s Background in Real Estate

(27:29) - The New Language of the Next RE Cycle

(41:03) - What are some roadblocks you see young GPs make as they advance in their careers?

(49:58) - What were some big leverage points in your career?

(55:37) - How do you cultivate your relationships?

(1:00:15) - Thinking and Reflecting vs. Consuming Information

(1:06:10) - What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?

(1:11:44) - What advice would you give yourself 5 years ago?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Alex Epstein is a philosopher and energy expert who argues that “human flourishing” should be the guiding principle of energy and environmental progress. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels and the forthcoming Fossil Future. 

On this episode, Alex and Chris discuss why being against fossil fuels is being against humanity, what happens in a world with fewer fossil fuels, and the impact of alternative energy sources on the world. Alex explains why "Human flourishing" should be the guiding principle of energy and environmental progress and why driving a Tesla isn't changing the environment. Enjoy!

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Alex's New Book: Fossil Future

(02:07) - Why did you get into writing about fossil fuels?

(05:08) - How long were fossil fuels viewed positively and when did that change?

(13:11) - The Chaos That Ensues When We Don’t Have Machines That Work

(19:39) - Russia’s Role in the Current Fossil Fuel Debate

(23:33) - Why does the USA think it’s better to outsource oil production rather than produce it at home?

(26:30) - Why is the cost of fertilizer and agriculture going up in relation to fossil fuels?

(31:32) - The Benefits vs. Risks of Oil and Fossil Fuels

(35:25) - What is the opposition’s biggest reasoning for hating fossil fuels?

The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich

(40:08) - The Hypocrisy of the Biggest Climate Advocates

Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger

San Fransicko  by Michael Shellenberger

(51:33) - Is there anyone on the left changing their tune on fossil fuels?

EnergyTalkingPoints.com

[email protected]

(55:08) - Thoughts on Elon Musk and Electric Vehicles

(1:00:06) - Who benefits from the green movement being implemented?

People’s Climate March on YouTube

The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein