POWERS

Latest Episodes:

#383 - Hunter Pond - Founder @ Vandelay Hospitality Group - The Hottest Restaurateur in America Apr 15, 2025

Show notes

Hunter Pond is the founder of Vandelay Hospitality Group, one of the most recognizable restaurant portfolios in Texas. From dropping out of law school mid-exam to launching East Hampton Sandwich Co. with no industry experience, Hunter shares how a love for restaurants kickstarted a hospitality empire.

We dive into the creation and evolution of VHG. Hunter breaks down the art and science behind successful concepts, why restaurants fail, and how his team approaches everything from vendor relationships to tip pooling and fraud prevention.

This episode covers:

- The impulsive moment that launched his restaurant career

- How a $20K investment and Craigslist chef shaped East Hampton’s early days

- The balance of creativity and discipline in full-service dining

- Building menus for flavor, efficiency, and profitability

- Lessons learned from private equity and selling his first concept

- Why restaurant success is often more about square footage than food

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:

Vandelay Hospitality Group - https://vandelayhospitality.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:20) - Dropping out of law school to pursue a career in the restaurant industry

(00:10:31) - Lessons learned from working the back of the house

(00:14:01) - Developing and opening East Hampton Sandwich Co.

(00:23:47) - How to build a menu

(00:29:44) - The importance of seat count

(00:34:57) - How DoorDash killed the fast-casual restaurant

(00:37:02) - Service vs. product in the success of a restaurant

(00:42:21) - Blocking and tackling in the business

(00:44:06) - Where people fail in the restaurant industry

(00:49:56) - Selling East Hampton

(00:52:56) - Cloud Kitchens

(00:54:43) - Developing Hudson House

(00:58:01) - Determining seat count ratios

(01:01:03) - Lessons from working with PE

(01:05:29) - Sources of turnover in restaurants

(01:06:49) - Why certain concepts don’t work in different cities

(01:08:48) - The impact of real estate on restaurants

(01:12:02) - Creating new concepts vs. acquisitions

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#382 - Hiten Samtani - Founder @ ten31 Media - CRE is the Ultimate Business Bloodsport Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Hiten Samtani is the founder and editorial director of ten31, a new media company focused on market-moving insider coverage of the most important and least understood industries. He is the author of The Promote, a newsletter that readers have likened to commercial real estate's answer to Matt Levine's "Money Stuff," and a publication that has built the most highly engaged audience in B2B media (open rate: 70%). Hiten founded ten31 after a decade at The Real Deal, where he ran the newsroom and shepherded coverage of the most important stories in real estate.

Chris and Hiten get into the early days of the brand, what inspired it, and why the real estate world needed a publication that’s bold, sharp, and unapologetically honest. They talk about the stories that hit hardest, what makes for a good scoop, and how Hiten has built trust with sources while keeping the content unfiltered and highly readable.

They also cover:

Why commercial real estate is full of big personalities and even bigger stakes
How operators and investors can actually get covered by the media
What it’s like growing a niche media company from scratch
Lessons from Hiten’s years at The Real Deal and why he walked away
Navigating the gray areas of journalism—anonymity, accuracy, and when to publish

Links:

Hiten on X

The Promote CRE newsletter

The Promote Podcast

A specialist playbook on how to get ink for your deal or company

Understanding the different modes of talking to the press

Key industry storylines for 2025

Support our Sponsors:

Vesto - https://www.vesto.com/fort

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Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:05:33) - Hiten’s journey into real estate journalism

(00:08:24) - Lesson from working at the Real Deal

(00:12:39) - Who is the audience?

(00:16:28) - Is your style of journalism unique to real estate?

(00:19:40) - What it took to launch ten31 Media

(00:27:55) - Where do you get inspiration, and how do you get access to the information you can get?

(00:35:32) - HFCs

(00:39:03) - How do you determine what is truth and what isn’t?

(00:48:42) - How can CRE companies get press?

(00:55:40) - On the record vs. off the record

(00:59:12) - CRE themes of 2024 and what to look for in 2025

(01:04:19) - Attending a Jewish circumcision ceremony in a NYC boardroom

Chris on Social Media:

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast

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Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

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#381 - Chris Powers & Jason Baxter - Launching Fostr AI - The Right Way to Use AI at Work Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

Today’s episode is with Co-Founder, Jason Baxter, to introduce our latest venture, FOSTR AI—a company built to solve one of the most pressing challenges facing businesses today: how to implement AI in your business in a meaningful, aligned, and scalable way.

We unpack the fragmented state of AI adoption across small to mid-sized businesses and explain why most organizations, despite interest, are either stuck in experimentation or using disconnected tools that don’t move the business forward.

FOSTR AI is the answer to that problem—an execution intelligence layer that creates a company's “digital twin,” aligning AI usage with team structure, goals, and strategy from day one.

We discuss how FOSTR helps companies:

- Onboard and operationalize AI in a matter of minutes

- Centralize AI usage across teams while maintaining control, security, and context

- Reduce risk from siloed tools and misaligned AI use

Links:

FOSTR AI - https://fostrai.com/

If you are interested in investing, please email: chris@fostrai.com

If you are interested in becoming a customer or getting involved with/joining the Fostr AI team, please email: jason@fostrai.com

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:00:52) - Introducing FOSTR

(00:02:40) - The Challenges Businesses Face with AI Today

(00:05:14) - How Companies and Employees Are Misusing AI

(00:10:29) - Additional Challenges

(00:12:33) - How FOSTR Is Creating Alignment Between Companies and AI Solutions

(00:25:57) - Where FOSTR Is in Its Life Cycle

(00:30:39) - How to Get in Touch With, Work At, or Invest in FOSTR

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

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

#380 - Paul Hedrick - Founder @ Tecovas - How Tecovas Became A Western Wear Empire Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

Paul Hedrick is the Founder of Tecovas, the leading high-quality western footwear, apparel, and accessories brand.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

- the origins of Tecovas and early founding stories,

- what it takes to build an incredible brand

- Tecovas’ retail “moat” - radical hospitality

- how they managed through COVID

- and more

As Executive Chairman, Paul works with the Tecovas board and executive team on brand, product, and marketplace strategy so that Tecovas fulfills its mission to steward the next generation of western.

Tecovas is in its 10th operating year in business and now operates over 40 retail stores in over 30 cities and 20 states, with total annual revenue eclipsing $250 million in 2024.

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:

Tecovas - https://www.tecovas.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:02:35) - Starting Tecovas

(00:13:01) - The Mission of Tecovas

(00:16:29) - Finding Manufacturing

(00:24:55) - Moving from Online to In-Person Retail

(00:32:27) - Store Design

(00:38:23) - Radical Hospitality

(00:42:22) - "Don’t Say No to the Customer" vs. "The Customer Is Always Right"

(00:45:12) - Scaling Radical Hospitality

(00:52:47) - Surviving Covid

(01:01:27) - Developing a Great Brand

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast

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

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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

#379 - Steve Cockram - Founder of 5Voices - Know Yourself, Influence, & Building Stronger Relationships Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

Steve Cockram is an inspirational communicator, serial entrepreneur, and confidante to elite leaders worldwide. He is a best-selling author, creator of the 5 Voices communication system, and co-founder of GiANT, a global leadership consultancy working in 143 countries. His latest venture is called the “Relationship Revolution.”

We discuss:

- Why successful business people have failed relationships

- How to mend failed relationships

- How to become self-aware as an entrepreneur

- How to lead and gain influence

- Why wealth is not a powerful indicator of success

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:

5 Voices - https://5voices.com/

Steve on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejcockram/

Myers-Briggs - https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/

FIRO-B - https://www.themyersbriggs.com/en-US/Products-and-Services/FIRO

GiANT - https://www.giantworldwide.com/

Support our Sponsors

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Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:55) - The Importance of Relationships

(00:05:04) - Steve's Journey to Emotional Intelligence

(00:11:06) - The Impact of Self-Awareness on Relationships

(00:22:54) - The Value of Meaningful Relationships

(00:36:26) - The Entrepreneur's Dilemma: Sharing Fears and Finding Support

(00:39:00) - The Breakdown of Relationships: Communication and Trust Issues

(00:42:08) - Understanding Personality Differences in Relationships

(00:49:22) - The Five Voices: Simplifying Personality Assessments

(00:55:41) - The Importance of Humility in Leadership Communication

(01:00:41) - Mending Broken Relationships

(01:04:18) - Gaining Influence as a Leader

(01:06:24) - The True Measure of Wealth

(01:10:29) - Legacy and Purpose

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

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

#378 - Kyle Bass - Founder/CIO @ Hayman Capital Management, L.P. - Invest In America Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Kyle Bass is the Founder/CIO of Hayman Capital Management, L.P., an investment manager of private funds focused on global event-driven opportunities, and the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Conservation Equity Management, an impact and natural capital private equity firm.

Kyle is also the Co-Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Rochefort Management, a private credit firm focused on the Critical Technology Initiative – a joint effort between the Small Business Administration and the Department of Defense to attract private investment into technology areas deemed critical to national and economic security.

Mr. Bass is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the recipient of the 2019 Foreign Policy Association Medal for his responsible internationalism. Mr. Bass has lectured on global economics, national security, geopolitics, and the architecture of the Chinese financial system at various universities. Mr. Bass is the former Chair of the Risk Committee of the Board of Directors of the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), which manages approximately $75 billion.

We discuss:

- Predicting the GFC and attempting to warn Bear Stearns and the SEC of the coming collapse

- The global state of affairs: China, Taiwan, Russia, Iran and BRICS

- How the U.S. and Trump should combat China

- The rise of the U.S. Defense-Tech industry

- Why Texas is the Growth Engine for the world

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:03) - Introducing Kyle

(00:05:58) - Short-Selling Thesis

(00:11:45) - Predicting the GFC

(00:19:50) - Trying to warn Bear Stearns & the SEC

(00:25:39) - How to hire a contrarian

(00:29:23) - China-Taiwan

(00:33:34) - How Trump can have a successful presidency concerning China

(00:44:17) - Iran

(00:46:34) - Why some wealthy Americans are pro-China

(00:49:32) - The Chinese land grab in America

(00:52:41) - Texas: The growth engine of the world

(00:58:47) - The Defense-Tech Industry in America

(01:02:03) - What Kyle will invest in

(01:05:19) - The Texas migration and influence

(01:09:23) - What do you want to be known for?

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Chris on Social Media:

The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast

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

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

#377 - Morgan Housel - The Psychology of Money, Incentives, Investing, & Human Misjudgement Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

Morgan’s books have sold over seven million copies and have been translated into more than 60 languages.

He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and winner of the New York Times Sidney Award. MarketWatch named him one of the 50 most influential people in markets. He's a partner at The Collaborative Fund and serves on the board of directors at Markel.

We discuss:

- Human Psychology and Risk

- Tribalism, Anger & Humor

- Investing Philosophies

- Writing and Book Publishing Lessons

- The Drive of Successful Entrepreneurs

- Balancing Wealth and Happiness

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

(00:01:41) - Lessons from a Skiing Tragedy

(00:05:51) - The Impact of Personal Experiences on Risk Tolerance

(00:08:18) - The Tribal Nature of Human Behavior

(00:14:42) - The Role of Anger and Humor in Online Interactions

(00:20:16) - Behavior vs. Knowledge in Investing

(00:39:44) - The Halo Effect and Perception

(00:40:55) - Warren Buffett's Personal Sacrifices

(00:42:05) - The Cost of Professional Success

(00:43:36) - Balancing Personal and Professional Life

(00:45:37) - The Complexity of Wealth

(01:02:53) - Teaching Kids About Money

(01:13:54) - The End of History Illusion

(01:15:35) - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Links:

Morgan on X - https://x.com/morganhousel

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel - https://bit.ly/4gwuu6T

Same as Ever by Morgan Housel - https://bit.ly/4jS5ry4\

Collaborative Fund - https://collabfund.com/

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Chris on Social Media:

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

#376 - Kevin Lavelle - Building Mizzen+Main, Influencer Partnerships, His New Startup Harbor Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

Kevin Lavelle is the CEO & Cofounder of Harbor. He’s also the Founder and Chairman of the Board at Mizzen+Main, where he invented the world’s first performance fabric dress shirt, ultimately driving it to hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.

He successfully raised a growth round from L Catterton and established partnerships with athletes like Phil Mickelson, JJ Watt, and dozens of others. Today, Mizzen+Main has more than ten of its own stores with 1,000 retailers also carrying its products.

We discuss:

- Starting and growing Mizzen+Main

- The intricacies of celebrity-equity deals

- The inspiration for founding Harbor

- The realities of building physical products vs. software

- Stories with Phil Mickelson and J.J. Watt

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:

Mizzen+Main - https://www.mizzenandmain.com/

Harbor - https://harbor.co/

Kevin on X - https://x.com/kevinslavelle

The Phil Mickelson Commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45xF1C76I88

Support our Sponsors:

BetterPitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I

Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies

Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:49) - Kevin’s early career and inspiration to found Mizzen+Main

(00:07:25) - Building the prototype

(00:11:38) - The early days of building the brand

(00:15:16) - The impact of sponsoring the Tim Ferriss Podcast (x)

(00:21:35) - Choosing the name “Mizzen+Main”

(00:23:50) - Inventory Management

(00:26:55) - Starting today, what would be your hiring order?

(00:28:32) - Celebrity partnership stories: J.J. Watt & Phil Mickelson

(00:48:17) - The inspiration for founding Harbor

(01:03:17) - Bringing on a Co-Founder and building hardware

(01:17:19) - Marketing approaches

(01:14:56) - How celebrity equity deals work

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

#375 - Jesse Tinsley - CEO @ Employer.com - Rescuing Bench, TikTok Purchase?, Battle Tested Acquisition Playbook Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Jesse is a founder who bootstrapped and scaled Employer.com, Recruiter.com, Before You Apply, and BountyJobs.com into a $500M+ HR Tech powerhouse. He built these brands by solving global problems in EOR, payroll, hiring, and workforce management for companies of all sizes.

Most recently, Jesse has gone viral for his public bid to acquire TikTok, alongside some of the most influential names on the internet. He also recently acquired Bench within 48 hours of its announced shutdown and was able to keep the company online for the bookkeeping needs of its thousands of users.

We discuss:

- Acquiring Bench via X

- How Jesse structures his acquisitions and organization

- The People’s Bid for TikTok

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:

Jesse on X - https://x.com/JesseTinsley

Bench.co - https://www.bench.co/

Employer.com - https://www.employer.com/

Support our Sponsors

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

Vesto - https://www.vesto.com/fort

Bullpen RE - https://www.bullpenre.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:13) - Acquiring Bench

(00:21:29) - Jesse’s background

(00:24:10) - Talent Density

(00:25:57) - Acquisitions and integrations

(00:27:55) - Building an ops playbook

(00:31:46) - Setting annual goals

(00:33:45) - What makes a great VC Partner?

(00:36:22) - What kind of acquisitions do you pursue?

(00:40:50) - Making the bid for TikTok

(00:52:42) - What entrepreneurs do you admire?

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

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

#374 - Krish Menon - Founder @ Angry Gods - How The World’s Most Iconic Brands Are Built Jan 13, 2025

Show notes

Krish is the Founder and CEO of Angry Gods, a strategy and creative consultancy. He has been involved in some of the most iconic brand stories of the past two decades, including the launch of the iMac, the resurrection of Adidas Originals, the explosion of Vitaminwater, American Express, and the rebrand of Virgin Galactic.

As a partner at Culture, a next-generation venture incubator, Krish helps the world’s most popular influencers and personalities build efficient business empires from their passion and reach.

Krish recently co-founded Alter, where they believe the coaching, health innovations, and technology available only to professional athletes and the 1% should be accessible to all.

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

(00:03:39) - What is a brand?

(00:08:22) - What happens in our brains when we react to a brand?

(00:15:34) - Influencer marketing fragility

(00:17:21) - Where do people get branding wrong?

(00:21:14) - Who should weigh in on brand design?

(00:25:18) - The 1-9-90 concept

(00:28:37) - Elon vs. Buffet

(00:31:30) - CEO Branding + Mark Zuckerberg