Path of Progress

💰 The Opportunity Zone Strategy MOST Investors Miss — Ashley Tison shares why In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Ashley Tison, one of the nation’s leading Opportunity Zone experts, who has helped investors defer over $1B in taxes and structure 900+ OZ deals. Ashley breaks down Opportunity Zones in the simplest way you’ll ever hear — what they are, how they work, and...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Sharon Riddle — a seasoned real estate investor, mentor, and widely known as Podcast Queen in real estate world — who turned her early single-family rentals into a thriving multifamily portfolio across multiple states. Starting her journey at age 40, Sharon built her real estate business with integrity, systems, and a deep belief in...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Michael Lerman, founder of Flamingo Homes, who transformed from a restaurant manager and wine broker into one of Florida’s most respected real estate developers. From marketing admin to leading $100M+ in ground-up construction, Michael’s story is proof that resilience, adaptability, and integrity can build more than homes—they can bu...

From Combat Boots to 300+ Land Deals: Brent Bowers’ Journey from Military Service to Real Estate Freedom | Ep 47 Path of Progress In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Brent Bowers, Brent a former U.S. Army officer who turned military discipline into entrepreneurial success. What started with a few struggling rental properties turned into over 300 successful land deals,...

From maintenance tech to managing 300-unit buildings — and now owning 44 multifamily units across two states. In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Hayden Duer, a hands-on real estate investor from San Diego who scaled from property management to syndication — raising over $1.4 million from private investors. Hayden’s story is a masterclass in learning from the ground up...

From losing two properties in the 2008 crash to owning 70+ affordable housing units in Pennsylvania — Melvin Landry’s journey is a masterclass in resilience and reinvention. In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Melvin, co-founder of Moreland Equity Capital, to uncover how he rebounded from short sales, mastered Section 8 investing, and built a thriving portfolio while k...

From NFL player to fired W-2 employee to leading a $275M commercial real estate pipeline — Logan Freeman’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, discipline, and vision. In this episode of Path of Progress , Alex Kononov sits down with Logan Freeman — former athlete, broker, investor, developer, and founder of MWCRE Advisors. Logan shares how he flipped his first homes, scaled into multifamily an...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Andrew Freed  ⁨@InvestorFreed⁩  — a former MIT & Harvard project manager who broke free from the W2 grind to build a 400-unit multifamily portfolio across Massachusetts and Rhode Island in just 4 years. Andrew didn’t climb the ladder slowly through endless single-family flips. Instead, he leveraged house hacking, partnerships, an...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Joe Killinger, a farm kid from a 281-person village who went on to scale multiple real estate companies to over $5M in revenue. Joe’s journey wasn’t traditional—he started at 18 with no experience, hustled through auctions and flips, built a national brokerage, launched a tech company, and invested in multifamily across Texas and Cal...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with ‪@WeCloseNotes‬ Scott Carson — a nationally recognized note investor, educator, and host of the Note Closers Show. While most investors chase flips, rentals, or syndications, Scott built his business around buying distressed mortgage notes directly from banks. Instead of owning the property, he owns the debt — becoming the bank. That...

The Dark Side of Syndication: Tate Simmer’s Unfiltered Journey ⚡In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Tate Simmer — real estate investor, serial entrepreneur, coach, and podcast host. Tate has led 10+ multifamily syndications, scaling from flipping single-family homes to over $50M in apartments in under 2 years. But behind the growth came painful lessons. Tate reveals t...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Ginger Crystal Faith  ⁨@gingercrystalfaithgoldenca5485⁩  — a real estate broker, investor, and visionary who has spent over 30 years building wealth, flipping 57 homes, and creating women-led wealth networks. Ginger didn’t follow the traditional single-family path for long. She jumped straight into multifamily in the ’90s, grew her p...

In this episode of Path of Progress, host Alex Kononov sits down with Maria Zondervan  ⁨@bluevikingscapital⁩  CEO of Blue Vikings Capital, who manages over 2,000 multifamily units and leads with both financial acumen and purpose. Maria’s path wasn’t traditional. From buying her first house with a lease option as a broke student, to launching a Massage Envy franchise before the 2008 crash, and then...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Vlad Arakcheyev — a former graphic designer who pivoted from creative ads to creating a 900+ unit multifamily portfolio across the Midwest and Sunbelt in just 4 years. Vlad didn’t climb the ladder through endless single-family flips. Instead, he went all-in on partnerships, large-scale deals, and building trust in the multifamily com...

In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Caleb Johnson, a young investor who scaled from a fourplex house hack to a 374 + -unit portfolio—all by 27 years. Caleb didn’t follow a traditional real estate path. Instead of obsessing over door count, he focused on building real cash flow and impact-driven assets. His co-living model not only boosts margins but solves housing chal...

From Welding Sparks to Real Estate Strategy: Eddie Austin’s Unfiltered Journey 🔥 In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with Eddie Austin, a former welder turned real estate fund manager, entrepreneur, and operator. Eddie didn’t follow the traditional path. Instead of starting with syndications, he launched a real estate fund from day one—modeling his strategy after instituti...

How do you build a 40+ unit rental portfolio while working a full-time W2 job? For Duane Brown, it started with a HELOC—and a serious mindset shift. In this episode of Path of Progress, host Alex Kononov sits down with Duane Brown, a full-time electrical field engineer who went from wiring homes to owning dozens of them . Duane shares how he used a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to buy his fir...

How do top operators win deals AND protect investors in today’s market? It all starts with underwriting that actually works. In this episode of Path of Progress , host Alex Kononov sits down with Hitomi Yasuda , co‑founder of Underwrite2Win , who has personally underwritten 1,500+ multifamily and commercial deals across 10 states. Hitomi reveals how she screens markets, stress‑tests deals, and why...

Can real estate be traded like stocks or crypto? Tyler Vinson says — yes. And it’s already happening. In this eye-opening episode of Path of Progress , Alex sits down with Tyler Vinson , founder & CEO of REtokens , the world’s first SEC-regulated secondary marketplace for real estate tokens . We dive deep into how real estate tokenization works, how it’s transforming capital raising, and what...

From rebuilding $20K crack houses with a baby in tow… to losing 8 units in a fire… and still growing a $30M portfolio — Rachael Jones is redefining resilience in real estate. On this episode of Path of Progress, Rachael shares her incredible evolution from mechanical engineer in the energy industry to a powerhouse multifamily investor and operator in the Carolinas. She opens up about building Clov...

From a full-time legal career to owning over $420 million in real estate — Jade Laye’s story is a masterclass in discipline, vision, and faith-driven action. In this episode of Path of Progress , Jade reveals how a housing market crash forced him into landlording, and how that reluctant first rental led to a 65-property portfolio, a booming syndication business, and over 3,000 multifamily units ac...

From a single $1,000 rent check to building a thriving real estate business, Tyler Gibson’s journey is a masterclass in smart investing, creative financing, and empowering others to achieve financial freedom. In this episode of Path of Progress, host Alex Kononov dives deep with Tyler Gibson, founder of GPG, a real estate consulting team in Central Florida, to uncover how he turned his first renta...

From bartending in New York City to building a $300 million multifamily real estate empire — Jason Yarusi’s story is one of grit, discipline, and relentless action. In this episode of Path of Progress, Jason reveals how a life-changing accident pushed him to break free from a dead-end job and create lasting wealth through real estate. You’ll hear how he started with a 94-unit apartment deal, maste...

From being kidnapped at gunpoint in Venezuela to delivering balloons in Miami — Hans Seelinger's journey to building a $50 million real estate portfolio is nothing short of extraordinary. In this episode of Path of Progress, Hans breaks down how he overcame trauma, started over in his 40s, and climbed his way up through multifamily investing, syndications, and strategic underwriting. Learn how he:...

Join host Alex Kononov on Path of Progress as he sits down with Trevor B. West, a U.S. Air Force veteran turned multifamily real estate investor . Trevor shares his incredible journey from $20,000 in credit card debt to owning a 72-unit portfolio across 19 buildings in Canton, Ohio. Discover how his military discipline , faith-driven mindset, and strategic use of the VA loan propelled him to finan...