In this conversation, I sit down with my partner and Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter to talk about our current fundraise, company wins, building out Fort’s custom AI, deal pipelines, profitability, how the team has grown, and an outlook for 2024.

Past 'Year in Review' episodes:

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

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

(00:04:17) - Reflecting on 2023

(00:08:07) - Fundraising

(00:16:16) - Company Wins (AI, Company Challenges, Team Meeting Structures)

(00:35:05) - Fort Capital’s custom AI - Foster

(00:52:30) - Pipeline

(01:00:49) - Profitability

(01:07:20) - Highlighting the Team

(01:10:33) - 2024 Outlook

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Chris on Social Media:

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Devon Eriksen grew up with images of the galaxy and the imagined worlds of the golden age of science fiction. Now a retired software engineer, he writes with one purpose in mind: to give the reader something to love.

On this episode, Chris and Devon discuss:

Links:

Devon on X

Devon's Book: Theft of Fire

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. 

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Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:23) - Devon’s multiple careers

(00:03:42) - “Culture is upstream of law, and law affects us.”

(00:17:33) - How does the non-left get back into the cultural dialogue?

(00:30:54) - The era of whining is over.

(00:34:43) - Property Rights

(00:41:48) - Pushing back on bad ideas

(00:46:13) - Artificial Intelligence

(01:00:26) - Predicting the future

(01:03:11) - Rent-Seeking

(01:07:05) - Who are the fiction gatekeepers?

(01:14:18) - Who is ‘they’?

(01:16:53) - The Principle-Agent Problem

Support our Sponsors:

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

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Chris on Social Media:

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Chris Hoffmann currently serves as the CEO at Deutschmann Lane Holdings (DLH), which operates a family of companies including Hoffmann Brothers, Ferguson Roofing & Exteriors, Deutschmann Lane Real Estate, and HBH Investment Company. Before joining DLH, Chris served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, leaving active duty in 2014.

On this episode, we discuss:

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. 

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Links:

Chris Hoffmann on X

Chris Hoffmann on LinkedIn

Hoffmann Brothers

Nexstar Network

Tugboat Institute

ServiceTitan

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:19) - Chris’ time in the Marines

(00:10:17) - Taking over the family business

(00:14:41) - Scaling the business

(00:19:18) - The first year in the business

(00:23:04) - What metrics matter in your industry?

(00:25:25) - Scaling the business after $20mm

(00:27:30) - Successfully retaining labor & Hoffmann Brothers University

(00:32:43) - The future of the trades

(00:34:06) - Purpose-driven ownership vs. PE

(00:41:09) - What questions should sellers be asking buyers?

(00:45:12) - Scaling acquired businesses

(00:48:01) - Call centers

(00:50:34) - The future of marketing is not paid search

(00:51:58) - The importance of Google reviews

(00:52:29) - Is B2C harder than B2B?

(00:54:13) - Recession resistance

(00:57:06) - Business ideas: House managers

(00:59:29) - What do the next 10 years look like for Hoffmann Brothers?

(01:02:40) - The family dynamic within the business

(01:06:19) - Do you have a succession plan?

(01:09:03) - Mistakes made

(01:12:23) - What do you see for the future of your industry?

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Chris on Social Media:

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

David Moore is the founder and Managing Partner at Knightvest. Under David’s leadership, Knightvest has acquired over 55,000 units at a total capitalization of approximately $10.0 billion. Since inception, Knightvest has sold over 15,000 units with an average IRR and multiple of over 30% and 2.2x, respectively.

On this episode, Chris and David discuss:

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. 

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Links

Knightvest Capital - https://knightvestcapital.com/

David on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-moore-03005a39/

Topics

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:45) - David’s first property 

(00:13:08) - The decision to focus on multifamily

(00:20:46) - Scaling Knightvest

(00:24:01) - Multifamily is HARD work

(00:27:25) - Becoming the best renovator

(00:29:47) - Making key hires to grow the company

(00:34:40) - The Class B MF market taking off

(00:42:32) - Walkthrough of a typical deal

(00:46:20) - The American renter in 2024

(00:54:09) - Thoughts on construction & labor cost hikes

(00:58:17) - State of the Market Update 2022-2024

(01:19:22) - Technology innovations

(01:21:32) - What do you think about often in multifamily?

Support our Sponsors

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

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Chris on Social Media:

X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Billy is the founder and Managing Partner of Pearl Energy Investments and manages the firm. He currently sits on the board of most Pearl portfolio companies including Permian Resources, SLANT Energy, Infinity Natural Resources, and Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.

Before founding Pearl, Billy served as Co-Managing Partner of Natural Gas Partners (NGP) for almost 20 years. As Managing Partner, he co-managed NGP’s investment portfolio and played an active role in the full range of NGP’s investment process. In addition, Billy gained valuable investment experience working for Rainwater, Inc. and Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst, Inc. He also worked as an analyst in the investment banking divisions of Bear Stearns & Co. and BT Securities Corporation.

On this episode, Chris and Billy discuss:

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. 

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Links

Pearl Energy Investments

Billy on LinkedIn

Topics

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:46) - Billy’s career in Oil and Gas PE

(00:10:01) - Finding equilibrium in owning oil and buying oil

(00:13:21) - Running due diligence on a fund and an operator

(00:19:05) - Backing Permian Resources

(00:24:05) - The importance of being close to the asset you operate

(00:25:12) - How can you predict the potential success of a company you acquire?

(00:29:10) - How to know you’re being a good partner

(00:33:02) - Experiences during Covid

(00:40:22) - Leaving NGP and forming Pearl

(00:49:38) - How has the industry changed over 30 years

(00:54:00) - What’s the best price for oil?

(00:54:59) - Consolidation in the industry

(00:56:43) - The Future for PE-backed Oil and Gas Companies

(00:59:20) - Is capital coming back into the industry?

(01:04:13) - What’s your strategy around fundraising?

(01:13:08) - How do you think about hiring and relationships?

(01:14:34) - Billy’s love for MMA

Support our Sponsors

Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY

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Chris on Social Media:

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LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Marc is Chief Executive Officer at DigitalBridge and has been an investor and operator in the digital infrastructure sector for over 25 years. He has led DigitalBridge’s transformation to become a premier platform for digital infrastructure and real estate investment.

Marc founded Digital Bridge Holdings in 2013 and, as its CEO, built the firm into a leading global manager of digital infrastructure assets with more than 20 billion in AUM, until its merger in July 2019 into the current public company, DigitalBridge Group, Inc.

On this episode, Marc and Chris discuss:

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. 

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Links:

DigitalBridge

Marc on LinkedIn

DigitalBridge on X

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:36) - Marc’s early career

(00:07:28) - The world of cell towers

(00:17:05) - Gauging the needs of small providers vs. large ones

(00:20:18) - How has the industry changed over the past few decades?

(00:24:08) - Is there going to be an increase in demand for AI data centers?

(00:26:54) - The different verticals of data centers

(00:31:03) - Do Amazon and Microsoft dominate the cloud industry?

(00:31:48) - How far out can companies see how far out on how much data they’ll need?

(00:33:32) - Is all data equal?

(00:36:13) - Value add digital

(00:38:15) - Is your work spec build or do customers commit to a location first?

(00:40:27) - Data center lease structures

(00:41:52) - Cybersecurity

(00:43:13) - How do you enhance a fiber optic cable?

(00:44:02) - Can offices be converted to data centers?

(00:46:01) - Will electric vehicles be an issue regarding power availability?

(00:48:30) - Is crypto putting a dent in the industry?

(00:49:44) - The US’ strength in cybersecurity

(00:51:28) - How do you run your business ops in the Middle East and Asia?

(00:54:08) - Digital real estate

(00:56:03) - Were there any shifts coming out of covid?

(00:57:02) - What’s the bear case for digital?

Support our Sponsors

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

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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

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Herb is Executive Chairman of Weitzman. In 1990, after nearly 30 years in the real estate business, Weitzman founded the company, a full‐service commercial real estate brokerage firm that now ranks as one of the largest retail‐focused real estate services firms based in Texas. On the brokerage side, Weitzman leases a retail portfolio of approximately 44 million square feet in Austin, Dallas‐Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. As a property manager, Weitzman is responsible for managing a statewide portfolio of more than 22 million square feet of retail and commercial properties.

On this episode, Chris and Herb discuss:

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. 

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Links

Weitzman

Support our Sponsors

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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

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Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:06) - Herb’s career in RE

(00:16:02) - Timeless lessons for being successful in RE

(00;16:42) - Future growth for DFW

(00:18:18) - The opportunity to buy 25% of Highland Park Village for $100k

(00:22:21) - What it takes to see the future potential of a market

(00:24:38) - Starting Weitzman

(00:33:10) - Experiencing the 80’s Savings and Loan Crisis

(00:42:08) - Raising capital

(00:43:45) - Why have you chosen to stay exclusively in Texas?

(00:49:30) - Leadership philosophies

(00:52:25) - What makes a great retail deal and what do people get wrong?

(00:55:01) - Suburban vs. urban retail

(00:59:22) - Ikea

(01:00:53) - The importance of relationships in retail

(01:05:33) - Thoughts on construction pricing

(01:10:02) - What areas of DFW are going to explode over the next 10 years?

(01:12:50) - Innovation in retail

(01:19:44) - What does work look like for you today?

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Micah is the President and Founder of Anchor Investments, which is on a mission to Build America’s Most Generous Real Estate Company. Micah focuses on identifying real estate investment opportunities for Anchor, raising capital, and leading the team. 

He is also the founder of Mission Hotels, the only hotel brand in America that gives away the majority of its profits to support underserved communities. 

On this episode, Chris and Micah discuss: 

Links:

Anchor Investments

Micah on LinkedIn

Lloyd Reeb on The Fort

Die with Zero by Bill Perkins

Halftime by Bob Buford

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

(00:03:07) - Growing up on the wrong side of Memphis

(00:07:40) - The working poor

(00:09:58) - The importance of good schools

(00:17:05) - Micah’s early career

(00:19:28) - Experiences in the GFC

(00:23:27) - Micah’s job today

(00:28:36) - Thoughts on the retail market

(00:29:39) - Developing a trait of generosity

(00:33:30) - Building America’s Most Generous Real Estate Company

(00:41:15) - Buying churches and converting them to hotels

(00:47:51) - How to give away money

(00:54:06) - What does the inner-city need to change?

(00:57:03) - Charter Schools

(00:58:20) - How to get people involved in giving

(01:02:22) - Raising grounded children  

(01:08:55) - Why people with money don’t give

(01:12:53) - How to know where to give

(01:17:22) - Thoughts on giving across the street vs. across the ocean

(01:18:50) - The Halftime Institute

(01:24:38) - Final thoughts

Support our Sponsors

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Chris on Social Media:

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Edward Pitoniak is the founding Chief Executive Officer of VICI Properties, one of America’s largest real estate investment trusts and the first American REIT to go from IPO to S&P 500 inclusion in less than 5 years. Since its inception in late 2017, VICI has carried out over $30 billion of transactions. VICI is the largest real estate owner on the Las Vegas Strip, the most economically productive street in America, where VICI owns such iconic assets as The Venetian, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay. VICI also has partnerships with Cabot Destinations, Canyon Ranch, Great Wolf Resorts, and other leading experiential operators. 

On this episode, Chris and Ed discuss:

- Maximizing the hospitality experience in Vegas

- The story of building VICI

- Investing in Canyon Ranch

- The Inevitable Gaming Future in Texas

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

Vici

Ed on LinkedIn

Topics

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:04) - Ed’s career

(00:07:42) - How career “obsession” has changed since the 1970’s

(00:18:05) - The history of the ski industry

(00:28:10) - Maximizing the 24-hour experience of Las Vegas

(00:30:35) - Are people craving experience more than ever?

(00:35:06) - The Las Vegas Sphere

(00:39:33) - Risk-taking 

(00:42:06) - VICI

(00:47:57) - What makes a great purchase for Vici?

(00:51:50) - How did you achieve the highest gross margins of any publicly traded company?

(00:54:17) - Who else does what you do?

(00:55:36) - Project ShitCo

(00:56:48) - Canyon Ranch 

(01:04:37) - The Fontainblue Las Vegas

(01:06:45) - The impact of influencer marketing on in-person casino experiences

(01:09:19) - The future of Texas & Gaming

Support our Sponsors

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

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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

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Craig Fuller is the founder and CEO of FreightWaves, the leading provider of global supply chain market intelligence and news. Before FreightWaves, Craig was the founder of TransCard, a major provider of fleet fuel and debit cards. He is also the CEO of FLYING Magazine, the world’s most widely read aviation magazine. Previously, Fuller founded the Xpress Direct division of US Xpress, the leading provider of on-demand expedited truckload services.

On this episode, Chris and Craig 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:

Craig on Twitter

FreightWaves

FLYING Magazine

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:04) - Reflecting on correctly predicting a freight recession

(00:06:24) - What are you seeing today in the industry?

(00:15:29) - Are supply chains better now than pre-2020?

(00:20:44) - China

(00:30:54) - The Reshoring renaissance

(00:34:42) - The Panama Canal

(00:36:11) - The Merger of Canadian Pacific w/ Kansas City Southern

(00:42:42) - Yellow’s bankruptcy

(00:47:53) - What’s your media strategy?

(00:53:49) - Valuing a media business

(00:56:36) - Buying Flying Magazine

(01:05:38) - How would you double the size of an established niche media company?

(01:11:38) - How would you enter the Golf industry?

(01:16:11) - Craig on buying an e-commerce business with his son

Support our Sponsors

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

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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