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In today’s episode, I sit down with Juniper Square Co-Founder & CEO Alex Robinson for a conversation on the seismic shifts reshaping private markets and the future of investing.
We dig into the impact of interest rate changes, the rise of retail investors, and why GPs face both opportunity and disruption in today’s environment. We also go deep on artificial intelligence, how it’s already transforming knowledge work, and the role it will play in redefining private market operations. Alex shares both a macro view of these changes and the mindset he’s using as a CEO to navigate them inside Juniper Square.
We discuss:
- How rising rates have affected private credit, real estate, and venture capital differently
- Why retail investors will be a defining force in the next decade of private markets
- The tension between becoming a mega-cap manager or staying a differentiated sharpshooter
-Why liquidity is one of the hardest challenges to solve for private investors
- How AI will fundamentally rewire every role inside a GP and beyond
Links:
Alex on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrob22/
Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
Support our Sponsors
Collateral Partners: https://collateral.com/fort
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Chris on Social Media:
Chris on X: https://x.com/fortworthchris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
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POWERS is produced by https://www.johnnypodcasts.com/
Alex Nyhan is the CEO of First Washington Realty and an owner in FWR's entities. FWR owns interests in and manages approximately $9 billion of top-quality grocery-anchored shopping centers across the United States.
Alex is one of the sharpest minds in real estate and this episode is proof of that. I’ve had the good fortune of learning from Alex for many years and is someone who always brings good insight.
We discuss:
- Lessons from structuring complicated public-private development projects
- The investment philosophy behind First Washington’s 22 million square feet of neighborhood retail
- Why grocery-anchored shopping centers have proven so resilient
- How demographics, education levels, and supply constraints shape long-term value
- The role of relationships and human connection in both tenant selection and consumer experience
Links:
First Washington Realty - https://www.firstwash.com/
Alex on LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/alex-nyhan-b2b4914/
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
Support our Sponsors
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Collateral Partners: https://collateral.com/fort
Chris on Social Media:
Chris on X: https://x.com/fortworthchris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch POWERS on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://www.powerspod.com/
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
POWERS is produced by https://www.johnnypodcasts.com/
My Co-Founder, Jason Baxter, joins me once again to discuss the growth at FOSTR and how our team is thinking about the future of AI inside companies.
Since our last conversation, Jason has sharpened his perspective on where the real value lies for businesses—moving beyond surface-level AI use cases to building the infrastructure that allows organizations to actually compound knowledge over time. We dig into how FOSTR is solving the data problem, why knowledge graphs are critical, and what it means for the next wave of AI adoption in business.
We discuss:
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:52) - How FOSTR has evolved since the last time Jason was on the show
(00:10:02) - FOSTR’s infrastructure stack
(00:21:51) - The importance of clean data
(00:28:03) - FOSTR’s Knowledge graph
(00:44:00) - How FOSTR would work in a Real Estate Brokerage firm
(00:49:34) - Who owns the data?
(00:57:34) - What’s coming from FOSTR in the next 45-60 days
Links:
Request early access to FOSTR - https://fostrai.com/
Reach out to [email protected] for notifications on the Slack Community Launch
Chris on Social Media:
Chris on X: https://x.com/fortworthchris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepowerspodcast/
Watch POWERS on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://www.powerspod.com/
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
POWERS is produced by https://www.johnnypodcasts.com/
Chad Lavender is the President of Capital Markets - North America @ Newmark.
In this episode we talk about his journey through commercial real estate, from starting out in development during the 2008 financial crisis to building one of the leading senior housing brokerage and advisory practices in the country. We cover how he navigated tough markets early in his career, the lessons he learned from cold calling legends of the industry, and the growth of alternative asset classes like senior housing, medical office, and data centers. Chad also shares his perspective on current real estate markets, from multifamily and industrial to the resurgence of office and the expansion of build-to-rent housing.
We discuss:
Links:
Newmark - https://www.nmrk.com/
Chad on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-lavender-03551bb/
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
Support our Sponsors
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Collateral Partners: https://collateral.com/fort
Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort
Chris on Social Media:
Chris on X: https://x.com/fortworthchris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepowerspodcast/
Watch POWERS on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://www.powerspod.com/
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
POWERS is produced by https://www.johnnypodcasts.com/
We welcome back Barrett Linburg to the podcast for a deep dive into the evolution of Opportunity Zones and also his firm, Savoy. Barrett shares how his focus on Opportunity Zone projects has shaped Savoy, why these tax-incentivized investments are so compelling for long-term real estate strategies, and how his team has expanded into property management, construction, and development. The discussion also highlights the transformation of Dallas neighborhoods, navigating legislation, and lessons learned from working with contractors and city partnerships.
We discuss:
Links
Barrett on X - https://x.com/DallasAptGP
Barrett on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrett-linburg-32070310/
Savoy Equity Partners - https://savoyequity.com/
Barrett’s first appearance on the show - https://youtu.be/6WkWK3BldgI
Topics
(00:00:00) - Intro
Support our Sponsors
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Collateral Partners: https://collateral.com/fort
Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort
Chris on Social Media:
Chris on X: https://x.com/fortworthchris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch POWERS on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://www.powerspod.com/
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
POWERS is produced by https://www.johnnypodcasts.com/
Imran Khan is the Founder at Proem Asset Management. In this episode we explore the arc of his remarkable career—from his early days as one of Wall Street’s top-ranked analysts to leading global IPOs and eventually launching his own hedge fund.
We discuss:
- Why gross margins are a critical indicator of fundamental shifts in a business
- How he met Joe Tsai and helped lead Alibaba’s record-setting IPO
- The vision Evan Spiegel had that made Snap a generational product
- His criteria for identifying high-quality public companies and warning signs to avoid
- How private market hype has skewed investor incentives—and why that might be changing
Links:
Proem Asset Management - https://www.proemasset.com/
Imran on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dotkhan/
Imran on X - https://x.com/dottkhan
Support our Sponsors:
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort
BetterPitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
Chris on Social Media:
The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
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
Today’s guest is Mark Toro, Chief Vision Officer @ Toro Development Co, based in Atlanta, GA.
Mark unpacks the philosophy, economics, and human-centered detail behind some of the most successful mixed-use developments in the country. We talk through his journey from building suburban power centers to pioneering immersive experiences like Avalon, Colony Square, and the upcoming Medley.
Mark shares how the 2008 financial crisis sparked his rethinking of real estate as a service business rather than just a physical asset—and how ideas like hospitality, branding, and community integration became central to his playbook.
This episode is packed with specific examples, war stories, and lessons on what it really takes to develop places people never want to leave.
We discuss:
- Why demographics and household income drive everything in site selection
- How do vertically integrated, mixed-use developments function financially and operationally
- The importance of patios, music, and concierge-level service in creating “third places”
- Why tenant selection is both science and art—and what betting on the right jockey really means
- How a bottle of tequila became a company tradition symbolizing intentionality and pride in execution
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(01:07:12) - Eric Weatherholtz & extending patio season
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort
BetterPitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I
Links:
Mark Toro on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marktoro/
Toro Development Co. - https://torodevco.com/
Chris on Social Media:
The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
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
Since 2016, Ken Hersh has served as President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center which houses the George W. Bush Library and Museum and the George W. Bush Institute.
In 1988, he co-founded NGP Energy Capital Management, one of the nation’s largest natural resources private equity firms which pioneered private capital investing in the sector. Until 2016, he served as CEO, investing over $12 billion, earning a 27-year 30% annualized rate of return, making it one of the nation’s leading private investors. In 2023, the Oil and Gas Investor magazine inducted Ken into its Hart Energy Hall of Fame as one of the top 50 “pioneering men and women who have shaped energy over the last half century.”
Additionally, Ken manages his family office that invests across multiple industries. He sits on numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards, including the Texas Rangers Baseball Club. He sits on the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Links:
George W. Bush Presidential Center - https://www.bushcenter.org/
Support our Sponsors
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
Chris on Social Media:
The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
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
Trent and Tyler Leon are the Co-Founders of Tilden Capital. Today, their business, Tilden Capital, has deployed billions of dollars into oil & gas minerals, royalties, and non-operated positions across the Permian and other domestic basins.
We talk about growing up in a golf-obsessed family, attending IMG Academy, and competing at the highest levels of amateur and professional golf—then making the decision to walk away and start something new.
We also cover:
- What they learned from life on the road as pro golfers
- How and when they knew it was time to pivot into business
- Early lessons from starting an oil and gas company from scratch
- The current outlook on the Permian Basin and broader energy trends
- How they build conviction around long-term bets and stay optimistic
- What it’s like working together as brothers and business partners
You’re in for a wide-ranging conversation about life, business, and the journey from competitive sports to entrepreneurship.
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:
Tilden Capital - http://www.tildencapitalllc.com/
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson - https://a.co/d/ax5DRLz
Support our Sponsors:
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort
BetterPitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:04:16) - Trent and Tyler’s early childhood and developing a passion for Golf
(00:15:36) - Moving to IMG Academy to pursue Golf
(00:23:19) - The college recruiting process
(00:31:54) - The parenting style that leads to 3 kids becoming Division 1 athletes
(00:35:39) - Winning a national championship in college
(00:41:25) - The realities of life as professional golfers
(00:47:49) - The state of Oil and Gas
(00:51:40) - The Permian Basin
(00:55:18) - Trent and Tyler’s approach to buying mineral rights
(00:58:08) - Drill Baby, Drill!
(01:02:26) - Will AI play a part in drilling rigs?
(01:04:10) - Running a lean team at Tilden
(01:09:19) - Developing relationships in the industry
(01:12:09) - Staying laser-focused
(01:13:48) - 4-year predictions
Chris on Social Media:
The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
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
Andrew Yaffe is the CEO of Dude Perfect. Prior to joining Dude Perfect, he served as Executive Vice President, Head of Social, Digital and Original Content at the NBA, leading the department responsible for all video, editorial, and documentary content produced and distributed by the NBA.
We dive into the evolution of content strategy, how vertical video, AI-driven editing, and fan-driven content are reshaping how people consume sports and entertainment. We also talk about the massive shift toward family-friendly entertainment, why authenticity matters more than ever in building a trusted brand, and how Dude Perfect is capitalizing on a deep relationship with its audience to expand into products, experiences, and live events.
We also cover:
- Why YouTube dominates digital content consumption and how Dude Perfect leverages it
- How user-generated and behind-the-scenes content outperforms traditional highlights
- The growth of Dude Perfect’s live shows and the company's focus on family-first experiences
- Building long-term brand equity without sacrificing core values
- How the next wave of growth will come from new talent, products, and experiences under the Dude Perfect umbrella
This conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the most iconic creator-led brands is thinking about the next decade of growth—and why the future of entertainment looks a lot more personal, community-driven, and mission-focused.
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
(00:02:55) - Andrew’s career in the NBA: Starting as a Ticket Pricing Analyst and becoming the EVP of Content
(00:07:54) - How “Content” has evolved in the past 5 years
(00:13:50) - The NBA vs. NBA China
(00:14:37) - Content distribution strategies
(00:16:20) - Are professional sports audiences declining?
(00:19:46) - Becoming CEO of Dude Perfect
(00:23:23) - How do you filter opportunities for the brand?
(00:28:37) - Battling the algorithm: Family content
(00:30:39) - Cultural differences between Dude Perfect and the NBA
(00:33:54) - Who’s coming up with content ideas at this stage of the brand?
(00:38:21) - The Gravity of YouTube
(00:41:51) - What kind of production goes into a typical Dude Perfect video?
(00:44:20) - What does working with YouTube look like when you have 62 million subscribers?
(00:47:05) - What types of data matter at Dude Perfect?
(00:52:01) - What is the target market for Dude Perfect?
(00:54:09) - Should we be encouraging our kids to be content creators?
(00:57:24) - What are the primary revenue streams?
(00:59:15) - Why do the live shows perform so well with audiences?
(01:00:12) - Are there plans for more “Dudes”?
(01:01:37) - Does the brand's growth mean taking audiences away from professional sports?
(01:03:22) - Does the audience age out?
(01:04:39) - Is there one metric that matters more than anything else?
(01:06:04) - What does this brand look like in 5 years?
Links:
Dude Perfect - https://dudeperfect.com/
Support our Sponsors
Ramp: https://ramp.com/fort
BetterPitch: https://betterpitch.com/
Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies
Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/
Chris on Social Media:
The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
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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