Masters of Moments

In this episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak sits down with Ethan Orley to unpack his unconventional path into boutique hotel development and management. What started as a post-GFC leap of faith on a 28-room hotel in Knoxville evolved into a design-driven hospitality platform focused on secondary and tertiary markets. Ethan shares how creativity, operational intensity, and disciplined real e...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak sits down with Kurt Alexander to unpack how Omni Hotels has built a differentiated hospitality platform by staying deeply rooted in ownership, operations, and long-term thinking. Kurt shares his unconventional path from accounting and investment banking into hotel operations, including the formative experience of working every frontline role at Om...

In this solo year end episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak reflects on the highs, lows, and hard lessons from 2025 across his hospitality portfolio and broader business journey. He walks through recent acquisitions, operational wins, and exits, while candidly unpacking mistakes around debt timing, goal setting, and team management. Jake also shares how shifting guest preferences, declining R...

In his return to Masters of Moments, Sean Hehir joins Jake Wurzak for a deeper dive into the future of hospitality, technology, and investment strategy. Building on their first conversation, Sean shares how his firm has embraced AI to transform operations and asset management, using data to predict market shifts and enhance efficiency across a global portfolio. He also discusses the evolving lands...

In his second appearance on Masters of Moments, John Grossman joins Jake Wurzak for a deep dive into the philosophy behind his company’s approach to design, operations, and long-term ownership in hospitality. John discusses why “not fighting the building” remains a guiding principle for every renovation, how his team balances creativity with practicality, and the mindset that drives their additive...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, host Jake Wurzak sits down with his colleague and DoveHill’s Chief Investment Officer, Charles Paloux, to discuss their firm’s recent acquisition of the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine. Jake and Charles take listeners behind the scenes of the deal, from the story of how it came together to the strategy behind investing in luxury experiential hotels. Th...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak sits down with hospitality leader Adam Crocini for a deep dive into the intersection of food, beverage, and hotel design. Adam shares his journey from working as a teenage barback in Connecticut to shaping global hospitality experiences with iconic brands like Wolfgang Puck, Capella Hotels, and Hilton. Together, they explore how restaurant culture...

In this episode, Jake Wurzak sits down with Ben Weinberg to discuss the intersection of entrepreneurship, hospitality, and real estate. Ben shares his journey from investment banking into building Trailborn, a brand focused on transforming three-star properties into four-star experiences in iconic outdoor destinations. The conversation covers the strategy behind unlevered value creation, the compl...

Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE: HT) is a self-advised real estate investment trust in the hospitality sector, which owns and operates luxury and lifestyle hotels in urban gateway and regional resort markets. The Company’s 25 hotels totaling 3,811 rooms are located in New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, South Florida, and California. Jay is involved in all areas of the business with a p...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak sits down with Matthew Mering to explore the evolution of lifestyle hotels and the founding story behind Outbound Hotels. From his early experiences in the hospitality industry, starting with bartending at Club Med to co-founding a nightclub while attending business school. Matthew shares how his path ultimately led to building a distinct hotel br...

This episode is a repost of Jake's appearance on the Street Smart Success Podcast, hosted by Roger Becker. You can learn more about Street Smart Success here - https://www.streetsmartsuccess.com/ Jake shares his journey from working in his family's hotel business to building a portfolio of unique, experience-driven hotels. The conversation explores why commoditized limited-service hotels have beco...

Ian Ross founded SomeraRoad in 2016, bringing a fresh, entrepreneurial approach to opportunistic real estate in growing secondary cities nationwide. He has since led the firm’s rapid expansion, overseeing nearly $2.5 billion in acquisitions of 25+ million square feet in more than 70 unique markets. Ian has also augmented SomeraRoad’s core value-add business, building new verticals in industrial ne...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak sits down with Isaac Toledano for a wide-ranging conversation on his entrepreneurial journey, development philosophy, and deep commitment to Florida real estate. Isaac reflects on his early start in business at age 15 in Israel, how his risk appetite has evolved, and why partnerships are at the center of his approach. He offers a behind-the-scenes...

Jeremy Sasson joins Jake Wurzak to unpack his obsessive, guest-first approach to hospitality and share how he’s built a thriving portfolio of restaurants without external investors or debt. The conversation traces Jeremy’s evolution from a post-college startup grind to crafting some of Detroit’s most beloved dining experiences. He explains how design, service, and team alignment all flow from a si...

In this solo Coaching Call episode of Masters of Moments, Jake Wurzak breaks down how to create investor reports that people actually want to read. Drawing from his experience in real estate and hospitality, Jake walks through the fundamentals of reporting with clarity, consistency, and purpose. He shares the essential elements of an effective update, including what data to include, how to tailor...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, host Jake Wurzak sits down with Greg Kennealey, CEO of Peregrine Hospitality, for an in-depth conversation on building and operating a diversified hotel platform with a focus on performance, alignment, and long-term value creation. With a career that includes time at Strategic Hotels and KSL Capital, Greg brings both institutional experience and an owner-oper...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, host Jake Wurzak sits down with Hunt Rose, co-founder of TruCore Investments, to dive into the business of Class B industrial real estate and what makes it one of the most resilient, overlooked asset classes in today’s market. Drawing on his experience in brokerage and acquisitions, Hunt explains how TruCore’s national platform finds value in under-managed, s...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, host Jake Wurzak sits down with Brian Harper, co-founder of 11North Partners and former CEO of RPT Realty, to discuss leadership, reinvention, and the enduring relevance of retail real estate. With a background spanning General Growth Properties, Rouse Properties, and RPT, Brian brings decades of insight from navigating some of the most complex moments in the...

Channeling a passion for the hospitality industry, Mitch Patel established Vision Hospitality Group in 1997 on a foundation of values that guide the organization to this day.   With an unwavering commitment to excellence, Mitch oversees every aspect of the company, from investment procurement to the seamless execution of daily operations. Additionally, he oversees strategic development and impleme...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, host Jake Wurzak sits down with Micah Lacher, founder of Anchor Investments, for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation about real estate, entrepreneurship, and the power of second chances. From growing up in a struggling household in North Memphis to building a respected investment and development firm in Nashville, Micah’s story is both gritty and...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, host Jake Wurzak sits down with Jesse Rack, founder and CEO of Rack Electric, to unpack one of the most impressive and unconventional entrepreneurial stories in the home services industry. Jesse shares his journey from Queens, New York, where he played college football and briefly pursued the NFL, to running a fast-growing business empire focused on electrica...

In this special “Coaching Call” Jake Wurzak goes solo to share everything he’s learned from over a decade of raising capital in real estate. Drawing on personal experience—from his first $7 million deal with no clear path to funding, to building DoveHill into a hospitality investment platform—Jake walks through the real, unfiltered playbook for getting deals financed. This episode is packed with i...

Patrick Carroll is the founder and CEO of CARROLL, a prominent real estate investment company. From a young age, Patrick Carroll envisioned building a real estate company from the ground up. The ambitious entrepreneur leveraged what was initially a multi-family and retail assets company into a leading real estate empire.  As CEO, Patrick helps define and implement strategic plans designed to furth...

In this episode of Masters of Moments, I sit down with Chris Hatch, Principal at Forza Commercial, to break down the high-stakes world of retail real estate development. Chris grew up in a real estate family, learning the business from the ground up, and those early lessons shaped how he approaches site selection, deal structuring, and scaling development projects today. We dive into: How to ident...

Katharine is CEO and Co-Founder of Stuf, one of Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2022. She was named to Inc. Magazine’s Female Founders 100 list in the same year. Katharine is passionate about reinventing consumer experiences in the physical world and leads the company’s strategic vision and overall strategy in transforming the self-storage industry.     From 2015-2020, Katharin...