Path of Progress

Most investors chase apartments and multifamily deals... But Leo Young found opportunity where others weren't looking. In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Leo Young — Founder & Managing Partner of Cornell Communities — to discuss his journey from immigrant roots and becoming a top performer at Tesla to building a private equity real estate company focused on af...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Mychele Bisson, an investor, entrepreneur, and RV park operator who has built a portfolio approaching 1,000 RV sites across the United States. Mychele’s journey didn’t begin in commercial real estate. She started by buying long-term rental properties during COVID, then expanded into short-term rentals, resort development, RV parks, m...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Joel Friedland, CEO of Brit Properties, a veteran industrial real estate investor with more than four decades of experience navigating multiple market cycles. Unlike most syndicators, Joel built his business around a simple philosophy: avoid debt whenever possible. But that wasn't always the case. During the 2008 financial crisis...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Nicholas Delmonico, Founder and CEO of Iron Focus Investments, a multifamily investment firm with 387 units and over $34 million in assets under management. Nicholas's journey didn't start in real estate. After working long hours in finance at firms like, he realized the traditional career path wasn't giving him the freed...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Brad Weber, a Cleveland-based real estate investor who transformed from a young college student studying to become a teacher into a full-time investor involved in 900+ real estate transactions. Brad shares the raw reality of surviving the 2008 market crash, working 90-hour weeks as a realtor, and discovering wholesaling before most a...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Justin Goodin — a real estate developer who made the jump from analyzing deals at a bank to building multimillion-dollar projects from the ground up. After years of underwriting multifamily deals, Justin noticed a pattern: most of them didn’t actually make sense. Instead of forcing bad acquisitions, he pivoted. Today, he’s developing...

In this episode of Path of Progress , Alex Kononov sits down with Dan Costantino, an operator who scaled from flipping houses on the side to acquiring a 305-unit, $18M multifamily portfolio. Dan didn’t start in real estate full-time. While working a W2 in logistics and sales, he began flipping houses and slowly building a rental portfolio on the side. Over time, he transitioned into larger deals,...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with William Liu, multifamily investor, operator, and co-founder of GiveRise Capital. Together with his wife Anita, William oversees 160+ units and $37 million+ in assets under management — all while prioritizing family, values-aligned partnerships, and long-term wealth. William’s journey is anything but traditional: from 4 years in the U...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with a unique guest who followed an unconventional path—from studying engineering to practicing law, and ultimately building wealth through real estate investing. While continuing his career as a real estate lawyer, he strategically leveraged his knowledge of the legal system to invest smarter and scale his portfolio. This episode breaks...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Jonathan Paz, founder of KPI Capital Partners, who oversees a $72M+ investment platform spanning multifamily, land development, and energy infrastructure. Jonathan shares his journey: starting in subprime mortgages right after high school, moving into hedge funds and mortgage-backed securities, surviving the 2008 crash as a limited p...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Charles Seaman, a multifamily investor, managing partner at Cashflow Champs, and coach at Master Passive Income, who went from having zero professional experience to becoming a general partner in 500+ units and completing multiple full-cycle deals. Charles didn’t follow the “guru playbook.” Instead of chasing hype, he built his caree...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with former NHL defenseman Alexei Semenov, who transitioned from professional hockey into real estate investing and development. After spending 11 seasons in the NHL, Alexei began studying real estate during the final years of his career. Through discipline, relentless networking, and analyzing dozens of deals daily, he built a growing po...

In this powerful episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov interviews Jeremy Brown, a land investor who specializes in complex deals like rezoning, subdividing, and acquisitions others avoid—with over 100 deals across states. Jeremy's journey is more than deals: from a single dad at 19 starting PC repair, to building a 17-year publishing business (authoring/ghostwriting books, mailing thousand...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Larry Mastropieri, a South Florida-based real estate broker, investor, and founder of Discover South Florida ⁨ and The Mastropieri Group. Larry scaled from house-hacking duplexes in 2010 (right after the crash) to owning ~130 multifamily units—all without raising outside capital—while building a boutique luxury brokerage hitting $125...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Tim Street, former Marine, federal air marshal, tech sales leader, top-producing real estate agent, and now founder of FoolProof FSBO — a platform that helps homeowners sell without agents and keep tens of thousands in equity. Tim shares his raw journey: surviving a brutal failed FSBO attempt during his divorce, getting his license o...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Ari Rastegar, Founder & CEO of Rastegar Capital—a vertically integrated real estate powerhouse operating across 38 cities and 13 states with billions in development underway. Ari shares his unfiltered origin story: flipping burgers at Johnny Rockets, delivering pizzas, borrowing $3,500 in law school to build his first house, surv...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Marco Barbaro, a chef-turned real estate investor, capital raiser, and mentor who has partnered in 3,700+ multifamily units across multiple market cycles. Marco didn’t start big — he started with a single four-unit property, learning property management firsthand by fixing roofs, handling tenants, and managing cash flow himself. Over...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Jens Nielsen, a former IT professional turned full-time real estate investor and high-performance coach who scaled from a single fourplex to 2,000+ apartment units—and is now expanding aggressively into industrial real estate. Jens shares a transparent look at what scaling really involves: seller financing, joint ventures, syndicatio...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Dave Holman, a commercial real estate investor, broker, and founder of Holman Homes and Katahdin Property Management. Dave has built and manages over 300 units, with hundreds more in development—by focusing on local markets, mixed-use assets, and vertically integrated operations. Dave’s journey didn’t start with massive apartment bui...

In this episode of Path of Progress, host Alex Kononov sits down with Gino Barbaro — co-founder of Jake & Gino, multifamily investor with 1,800+ units, educator, and entrepreneur. Gino shares his real journey from owning a restaurant to building a scalable multifamily business. He breaks down the hard lessons learned from early losses, the importance of mentorship, and why treating real estate...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Jay Conner, also known as The Private Money Authority—a real estate veteran who has rehabbed 500+ homes, completed $120+ million in transactions, and built a business that runs in under 10 hours per week. Jay reveals how getting cut off by banks in 2009 became the turning point that led him to master private money lending—allowing hi...

💰 From Losing $50 Million to Rebuilding a Multifamily Empire — Rod Khleif shares the raw truth behind resilience, mindset, and the comeback of a lifetime. Rod Khleif joins Alex Kononov on Path of Progress to break down how he lost his entire $50M portfolio in 2008 and rebuilt himself into a world-class investor, podcast host, philanthropist, and mentor to thousands. Rod didn’t just survive the 20...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Leslie Awasom ⁩ — a CRNA, multifamily investor, and co-founder of Excite Capital, who has helped acquire $240M+ in multifamily assets while building a powerful platform for healthcare professionals. Leslie’s journey is one of discipline, sacrifice, and vision. From grinding through 24-hour hospital shifts… to studying underwriting in...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with turnkey legend Terry Kerr — the founder behind Mid-South Homebuyers and Mid-South Best Rentals. Terry started with nothing but a borrowed toolbox and a Honda Civic, and built one of the most respected vertically integrated operations in the country. Today, his team has: 🏠 Renovated & sold over 5,800 homes 🏢 Manages nearly 6,000...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Chris VanDeWeert, the founder & CEO of Crestline Ventures, who left a 20-year corporate sales career — and jumped straight into multifamily with zero real estate background. After years of burnout, high taxes, and the Wall Street roller coaster, Chris found one book that changed everything. Within months, he joined a mastermind,...