Do you own a business or just a taxing, high-stress, often low-paid job?

Without knowing how to delegate tasks, the “business” you run slowly begins to run you. You’re making every decision, signing every check, putting out every fire, dealing with every client communication, and before long, you burn out. I’ve been there too, but made a pivot at the right time, choosing to delegate in business rather than drown. 

Now, with over 75 employees, we know the playbook for delegating effectively, whether you’re running a few employees or hundreds.

Before we had a performance business, we had only a few people, rowing toward the same destination. I’ll share the Sage principles we followed to build our high-impact first hires, which allowed us to scale with intention, without losing quality along the way. Then, how we went from a dozen or so mission-driven people to a true team of over 50—and that’s when the rubber really hit the road.

I’m giving you our delegation playbook, the tests we use before we hire any employee, and the way I personally prioritize what to hand off and what to keep on my plate. With 30+ consecutive quarters of on-time distributions and nine-figures in assets under management, we've proven the system works—and you can repeat it.

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• How to delegate tasks (effectively) so you can scale your business faster 

• The first roles you must delegate to protect your focus and scale with confidence

• What type of business are you? The two paths you can go (with very different hiring needs)

• How to delegate your capital like an expert CEO (the Warren Buffett method)

• Missionaries over mercenaries: why hiring for a great paycheck isn’t enough 

• The tools we use to ensure every hire will fit our organization’s culture (and needs)

—

The Predictive Index

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months?Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team!

A decade ago, Kevin Bupp and I ran Sunrise Capital Investors as a lean lifestyle business. There were no huge teams, global workforces, or hundreds of millions in assets under management. It was Kevin and I, finding deals, closing, integrating, and repeating, with some family and friends along the way.

Now, in 2026, we manage over $400M in assets. No capital calls. Zero principal loss. Close to a decade of uninterrupted, on-time distributions. This wasn’t from luck, buying at the bottom, or taking advantage of low rates in 2020. This was achieved through disciplined investing and Sage principles, which took us to nearly the half a billion dollar mark. Today, Kevin is on to help me wind back the clock and share the story of how we did it.

We’re going through all the lessons: How we went from a lifestyle company to an income-producing engine with a global workforce, the core value that’s made the ride so worth it, how our fund structure evolved to get investors the highest true return, and how we made it through the pandemic, interest rate shocks, and learned a new asset class we knew nothing about that in turn made our investors millions. 

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• How we scaled from a small lifestyle company to a $400M+ AUM business 

• Why outsourcing the wrong things as you grow can slow you down, not speed you up 

• Making your way through “the fog” when running a small (but quickly scaling) business 

• The principles that allowed us to buy, while our competitors were stuck on the sidelines 

• The mom-and-pop asset class still years behind other industries that we’re doubling down on 

• How our fund structure evolved to give investors the greatest benefits possible

—

Invest with Sunrise Capital

Listen to Kevin’s Podcast, Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn 

Lessons That Took Me from a Mobile Home to Millionaire | Ep. 3

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months?Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team!

00:00 Intro

01:33 The V1 of Sunrise Capital

04:39 Becoming a True Business

07:36 Enjoy the Ride!

09:49 The "Fund" Evolution

14:31 The "Massive Shift" We Needed to Make

19:38 Growing Fast...Pandemic Hits

25:12 Remote Hiring Changed Everything

27:37 Moving Through "The Fog"

29:15 The "Buying Spree" Begins

35:03 A Massively Underrated Asset

41:46 Surviving the Interest Rate Shock

56:22 Next Goal? $1B AUM.

58:29 Kevin's Sage Principle

This is what financial freedom looks like. Within a matter of months, Adam Cranmer is packing up his family and moving abroad to Spain—not for a few weeks, but for good. His goal of expanding his son’s worldview is becoming reality, and Adam’s life of European travel, slow days, and savoring Spanish wine has only just begun—and it’s being funded by passive cash flow.

When most people think of financial freedom, they think of a pile of money, enough to stop them from worrying—but Adam is thinking of it another way. Will my investments produce steady, durable cash flow that can cover my family—even when work stops?

In this episode, Adam shares his wisdom from over a decade of battle-tested investing, how he grew a sizable active portfolio, became an LP, and eventually switched from aggressive acquirer to Sage steward of his family’s wealth. He’s hit his financial freedom goal and shares the pitfalls that could have delayed his journey as a passive investor by years if he had listened to all the noise from speculators.

Adam’s life may seem like a dream, but for many passive investors, it’s closer to reality than they think. 

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• How Adam, only in his 40s, is already living the life most investors dream of 

• The different levels of financial freedom and the one that will secure you a worry-free future

• Why the shift from accumulation to stewardship is the most important move a Sage investor makes

• How the operator, not the deal, gives investors peace of mind and real passive income 

• Mistakes passive investors make and easily fall into that will lose them money, and delay their freedom

• Why the wealth you build today is really about the worldview you give your children tomorrow

—

Connect with Adam on LinkedIn

Bet on the Jockey: Why a Great “Deal” Doesn’t Guarantee Returns  | EP. 19

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

• Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months? Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team! 

  
  

00:00 Intro

01:32 You've Built Wealth, Now Keep It

05:17 THIS Is Financial Freedom

11:16 Passive Investors Get This Wrong

21:04 What Adam's Investing in Now

28:53 Giving Your Kids a Fuller Life

37:53 The Perfect Day

41:33 Adam's Sage Principle

44:16 Invest in Your Dream Life

Most wealthy investors don’t need more deals—they need to structure deals more intelligently to survive taxes. Imagine keeping the same portfolio and getting higher after-tax returns without gimmicks, risky tax strategies, or chasing every deduction. 

It’s more than possible if you’ve got the right real estate tax strategy. 

Today, we’re welcoming our first guest to The Sage Investor podcast, Kim Lochridge, EVP of Engineered Tax Services. Kim has personally helped me and our investors save substantial sums in taxes by doing what most average CPAs overlook. 

We’re going deep on something beyond depreciation, beyond the short-term rental tax loophole—partial asset disposition. Unlike some deductions, partial asset disposition is a one-time opportunity—once the window closes, it's gone permanently. And passive investors, you aren’t counted out of this. These paper losses can lead to sizable passive losses on your taxes, which could benefit your other investments or properties. 

Kim unlocks one of the most overlooked tax benefits available to real estate investors, and shares her Sage Principle that every investor needs to hear before signing their tax returns.

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode:

• How partial asset disposition supercharges your tax benefits far beyond regular depreciation 

• What investors must do before 2027 if they’re investing in one specific tax-advantaged asset

• Why depreciation recapture is much less severe (and much more avoidable) than you think

• How passive investors can use paper losses to offset other income streams  

• The two tax “strategies” that (often) aren’t worth the effort 

—

Connect with Kim on LinkedIn

Engineered Tax Services

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

• Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months? Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team! 

00:00 Intro

03:10 Pay Less on Your CURRENT Portfolio

06:06 Do This Before 2027

07:42 Greater Than Depreciation? (Partial Asset Disposition)

15:48 You're Wrong About "Recapture"

18:05 Every Investor Should Do This

22:39 Paper Losses for Passive Investors

27:58 Dangerous Tax "Strategies"

31:29 Kim's Sage Principle

34:43 Connect with Kim!

Many investors spend their entire life building wealth, amassing a sizable nest egg, on the premise that it will fund their retirement, support their children, and give them the peace they’ve spent decades sacrificing for.

This is a lie—and it’s why many Americans, even high-net-worth investors, are riddled with anxiety, sitting on a fragile foundation that won’t support their life the way they intended. The nest egg retirement withdrawal strategy you’ve been told to follow is more fragile than you think.

There are two ways to retire: one that gives you peace of mind and ultimate life autonomy, and the other that keeps you worrying at night, wondering if your next withdrawal could be your last. This is the Sage Principle of the golden goose vs. the nest egg. Buying with forever in mind and owning durably wonderful assets vs. withdrawing until your account runs dry. And today, I’m explaining why one works, and the other is merely misinformed speculation hidden under the guise of smart retirement planning.

The true question isn’t how do you invest enough to sustain yourself in retirement, the actual question worth solving is the cash flow riddle: How much passive income do you need coming in to give you ultimate optionality with the least stress possible?

Here's how to take the first step toward replacing fragile withdrawals with durable cash flow.

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• Why nest egg retirement withdrawal strategies are much more fragile than you think

• How to create a “golden goose” that produces durable cash flow while your net worth grows 

• What are you chasing: more freedom or a bigger bank balance when you’re gone?

• The “cash flow riddle” that, once solved, gives you access to your freest life 

• Perform this exercise to find the true “freedom number” you truly need to live the life you want 

—

The Cash Flow “Riddle”: Solve It, and You’re Free for Life | Ep. 4

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months?Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team!

00:00 Intro

01:52 Freedom over Net Worth

03:36 Nest Egg vs. Golden Goose

09:01 This Changes Everything

13:57 How Long Will YOU Wait for Freedom?

18:12 Do This Before It's Too Late

Most limited partners spend hours analyzing the deal, the market, and the potential returns. They see a high IRR, growing demand for a property, and maybe even economic tailwinds. They put tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars into the deal, assured that it would be a home run. Then months go by, distributions are paused, a capital call email lands, and the investors are wondering how much of their capital will be returned.

The deal was great. The numbers were solid. Everything checked out. So what happened? They bet on the horse, not the jockey.

At Sunrise Capital Investors, we believe in a Sage Principle: Bet on the jockey, not the horse. A deal can look great on paper, but if a “lucky” operator is running it during a bad market, all those projections go out the window. They get paid their fees, and you walk away with, sometimes, a significant loss of capital. 

So, how do you spot a great real estate sponsor from a lucky one? Today, we’re diving into this principle in detail, including the three traits every great operator has, and the single most important one. Plus, what to ask every single operator before you invest to flag whether they’ll make it during a downturn or change in the cycle. 

This doesn't just help you avoid the wrong operators. It helps you find the extraordinary ones.

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• Why it’s the operator (not the deal) that loses investor capital 

• The one crucial trait that every great operator must have that lucky and average ones lack

• How to evaluate whether your operator can navigate a downturn (ask every sponsor these questions)

• How much of my own money I’ve put into our deals at Sunrise Capital Investors 

• Why the best operators look like fools during the biggest bull markets (they called Buffett an idiot)

—

Why Most Investors Misunderstand Risk | Ep. 14

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

• Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months? Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team! 

0:00 Intro
1:00 Sponsors (NOT the Deal) Lose Money
2:42 Bet on the Jockey
4:21 One Thing Great Operators Have
5:54 Revealing the Bad Operators
9:02 Ask Every Sponsor This
10:39 Have Skin in the Game
13:53 The REAL Problem

Most high achievers spend their lives accumulating—growing their bank accounts, growing their investment portfolio, growing their legacy. But what if you’re saving for a life you’ll never live? All those millions of dollars represent decades of discipline, every penny put in its place so your family can live a fuller life than you experienced. And while it’s a noble pursuit to strive to put your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in a better place, what about the time you’re trading with them to accumulate more?

When I first read the book Die With Zero, I realized that I, too, might be sacrificing too much for the sake of my legacy. I want my wealth to compound and grow, to provide my family with the life they deserve, but not at the cost of never seeing me. On my deathbed, will I be thinking about how much money I made or how much time I spent with the ones I cherish?

Today, we’re unpacking the Die With Zero philosophy, the framework to get you the highest return on life, the largest “experience dividends,” and the most quality time with your loved ones.

Your years aren’t created equal—how long do you have until the experiences you tirelessly planned to fulfill are out of reach? What would it be like to die with zero regrets? 

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• Die With Zero: a simple framework that allows you to optimize for experience, not just money

• Why many high-achievers invest too much in the future and not enough in the present 

• The single biggest regret most people have on their deathbeds (will you be the same?)

• The risk of not spending enough money on your experiences 

• How I successfully plan my year to have dozens of “adventures” and meaningful time with my family 

• The “trap” that competitive entrepreneurs commonly fall into (the one that costs you the most—and it's not financial) 

—

Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months?Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team!

0:00 Intro

1:44 Die With Zero (Regret)

4:08 Die With Money or Memories?

9:58 Time Means More Than Money

14:04 Optimizing for Life vs. Money

15:28 What's Your Return on Life?

17:43 Plan Your Year's Experiences NOW

24:15 Stop "Overfunding" Your Future

One day, I woke up in a single-wide trailer, thousands of miles away from home, months away from my wife. On paper, it looked like I made it. The business was growing, we were scaling, and I was accomplishing what I set out to do. But as I stepped into the shower that barely had enough water pressure to keep a constant drip, a thought entered my mind, “How did I get here?” 

Our business was booming, but personally, I was floundering. This isn’t the lifestyle I set out to build, so I decided to change it.

If this sounds familiar to you, don’t be alarmed—almost every business owner who’s built something real goes through this, but most of them never make it out. They put their businesses before their life, their family, their kids, and their happiness. Today, I’m going to offer an alternative path—a way to break free, regain control of your life, and be more successful than ever.

This is how to run your life like a business and succeed in the dimensions that define a life well-built—family, friends, relationships, and freedom. This is the blueprint for the Sage Investor who builds the life they love, not just to accumulate without a life to show for it. I travel, dine well, spend time with my wife and children, and have “free days” where work thoughts don’t cross my mind, all while being the most successful I’ve ever been. This is how you do it, too. 

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• Why most elite entrepreneurs are winning at business but failing at life

• Free, Focus, and Buffer Days: How to use each to build your business without burning out 

• Defining your “freedom”: What do you really want to get out of this life?

• The Sage framework I use to run my personal life and business that benefits each other 

• Are you building freedom for your children or passing down a “burden” they’ll refuse?

• Too busy to take time for yourself? Stop asking “how” to do a task, and ask this instead 

—

Strategic Coach 

The EOS Life

Think2Perform Values Exercise 

Who Not How

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months?Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team!

00:00 Intro

02:55 Taking Control

06:02 1. Free, Focus, and Buffer Days

10:06 2. Define Your "Freedom"

12:46 3. Run Life Like a Business

17:57 4. Ask Who, NOT How

21:32 5. Build "Gifts," Not Burdens

24:04 6. Revisit Regularly

Everyone is chasing the next big thing in real estate. 20%+ IRR (internal rate of return), a two-year exit, a quick, profitable flip on their deal. 

You’ve probably been handed an offering memorandum that says the same thing: high IRRs, a quick and easy exit, and a plentiful return for you in a matter of years. Many investors took the chance on deals like this in 2021 and 2022—now they’re facing paused distributions, capital calls for more, or total loss of capital. 

Everyone has IRR wrong. Sponsors have IRR wrong. Limited partners have IRR wrong—and it’s costing investors. 

In my business, we've held to a different standard—no capital calls, no paused distributions, across 30+ consecutive quarters. The difference comes down to three traps most investors never see coming, and the principles that keep your capital compounding for decades instead of disappearing in a matter of years. 

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• Why IRR is the most dangerous metric in passive real estate investing

• The three IRR “traps” that cause investors to lose their entire investment 

• Why fund structures, not syndications, give passive investors the edge (and hold the sponsor accountable) 

• These beat IRR every time: The metrics that matter most for long-term wealth, not quick flip speculation 

• Why strong sponsor track records do not protect you from total capital loss

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months?Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team!

0:00 Intro

0:51 Everyone Has IRR Wrong

3:49 How Sponsors Got Caught

5:49 3 Dangerous IRR Traps

11:44 Bet on the "Jockey"

15:25 Total Loss of Capital Risk

19:01 What Beats IRR

Black swan events don't announce themselves. At any point in the market cycle, one is closer than it appears. This is how you survive the next one.

September 11th. The Great Financial Crisis. The pandemic. Nobody was prepared for these events. Many investors lost their entire legacy in a matter of days, even hours, as markets reacted to the chaos. Most people act as if a black swan event isn’t coming, but the truth is, they’re unavoidable.

How do prudent capital stewards prepare for something they can’t see coming, something they can’t even describe, and something outside of what seems like the realm of possibility? The principle has stayed the same for millennia—avoid “fragility.” And right now, “fragile” investments holding billions of dollars in wealth are hiding in plain sight. 

This is the Sage Investor’s black swan survival framework, a four-step process that any proactive investor can use to survive (and even build wealth) during the next black swan event. These Sage principles can be applied at any point in the market cycle to eliminate the risk of ruin and seize opportunity—when the time is right. 

Sage Wisdom from Today’s Episode: 

• The black swan survival framework: four Sage principles to survive any unexpected world event 

• Signs of a “fragile” investment that is one bad day away from collapsing 

• The “single zero event”—why many operators are playing Russian roulette with their deals

• Inevitable risks coming for your wealth and the ways to protect yourself from ruin 

• Don’t blame the market—why experienced operators should not be letting interest rates, liquidity, or credit dictate their returns 

—

Why Most Investors Misunderstand Risk | Ep. 14

Recommended Resources:

• Learn more from Brian and listen to past episodes of The Sage Investor 

• Connect with Brian on LinkedIn

• Are you a high net worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months? Build passive income and wealth by investing in real estate projects alongside Brian and his team! 

0:00 Intro

1:01 Black Swans Are Coming

3:16 Don't Blame the Market

5:02 Signs of "Fragile" Investments

12:17 The Black Swan Survival Framework

15:03 The "Single Zero" Event