POWERS

Today I sit down with Jason McCann, Co-Founder and CEO of Vari - a company that started when his business partner stood at a cardboard box complaining of back pain and turned that moment into a brand that has shipped millions of desks and transformed over a thousand offices. Jason built Vari direct-to-consumer in an industry that had never seen it. He bootstrapped the company while every instinct...

In this episode, I sit down with Jordan Levi to explore how he’s built a unique edge in the cattle industry by combining deep analytical thinking with real-world market experience. Jordan walks me through how he approaches cattle trading, the key biological and financial variables that ultimately determine profit and loss, and how he developed his framework without growing up in the business. We s...

In this episode, I sit down with JB Mauney to unpack the mindset, discipline, and resilience required to become one of the greatest bull riders in the world. We talk through the realities of competing at the highest level while constantly dealing with injuries, and how mental toughness separates the best from the rest. JB shares how he approached his career with a singular focus, what it meant to...

In this episode, I sit down with NASCAR legend Carl Edwards to explore the unlikely journey that took him from a dirt track in Missouri to the highest levels of professional racing. Carl shares how a childhood fascination with his father’s racing career sparked a relentless pursuit that eventually led to NASCAR success. Along the way, we unpack the strategy behind racing, the persistence it took f...

Today I sit down with Christopher Zook to explore how he built and scaled CAZ Investments into an $11B alternative investment platform.   Christopher shares the early vision behind launching his firm at age 31 and the philosophy of investing his own capital first before inviting others to participate alongside him. We discuss how a chance confrontation in a country club locker room ultimately forc...

Today’s episode is with a great friend of mine, Chris Huckabee, Founder @ MORE Group.   We unpack his company's remarkable private equity journey and why it was so successful.  Chris shares how the unexpected loss of his business partner pushed him to rethink the future of his company, leading to a strategic shift, a private equity partnership, and rapid national expansion.  We talk candidly about...

 I sit down with my friend Todd Peterson to unpack some of the most meaningful conversations we have had over the years about faith, leadership, marriage, and the hidden risks that come with success. We talk candidly about why so many men fall at the peak of their influence and how isolation, pride, and lack of accountability quietly take hold. Todd shares hard-earned perspective from his own life...

Today I sit down with two of my best friends, Moses Kagan and Rhett Bennett to reflect on how ReSeed has evolved since their first appearance (ep. 278) on the show three years ago.   ReSeed is on a mission to back the next generation of elite real estate operators. We unpacked what has actually happened since launch, how their original vision has held up in practice, and what they have learned by...

In today’s episode, I sit down with Ryan Heath, Founder of Trustpoint Legal, to explore what a modern “Family Office 2.0” actually looks like and why the old models are falling short. We talk about how family offices are evolving from static wealth preservation vehicles into operating businesses built around people, purpose, and multi-generational decision making. Ryan shares lessons from working...

Today, I sit down with Steve Gatena, Co-Founder & CEO of PRAY, for a conversation about faith, leadership, and building a company with long-term purpose. Steve shares his journey from growing up in Los Angeles and playing college football at USC to founding Pray.com and thinking deeply about stewardship, culture, and responsibility. We talk about what it means to lead in moments of tragedy, why co...

Today, my good friend Colt McCoy joins me for a deep and personal discussion about his path from small-town Texas to 14 seasons in the NFL, the mentors and moments that shaped him, and the intentional process of stepping away from the game. We talk through his early years growing up on the sidelines, the day he went from being a complete unknown to over 100 Division 1 offers, and the mindset he bu...

Today's guest, Cody Campbell, digs into the forces reshaping college athletics and his plan to ensure a solution that works for every stakeholder.  We discuss: • How changing laws and court decisions created a brief window for Tech to act boldly • Why Texas Tech’s culture, alumni base, and momentum made the strategy work • How court rulings displaced the NCAA and fueled today’s chaotic environment...

Today, I sit down with my good friend Wiley Curran to break down the story behind CPC, a family-built perpetual holding company that buys and holds businesses indefinitely. We also discuss how CPC approaches acquisitions, management incentives, and organizational design to create enduring value across industries. We discuss: The evolution of CPC from a family chemicals business to a multi-company...

Today’s guest is my good friend Jason Illian, Co-Founder @ Highmount Capital.  Jason returns to the show for a meaningful conversation about faith, fatherhood, leadership, and living with eternal purpose.  We explore how Jason integrates ministry into his home and family life, using sports as a vehicle to teach character and faith. He shares how he and his wife intentionally guide their children t...

Jamie Winship has decades of experience bringing peaceful solutions to some of the world’s highest conflict areas. After a distinguished career in law enforcement in the metro Washington D.C. area, Jamie earned an M.A. in English and developed a unique process of resolving inner conflict that results in the ability to lead and innovate from a position of authenticity and freedom. His unconventiona...

Today I’m I sitting down with Scott Arnoldy, Founder & CEO of Triten RE Partners, to explore his journey from the frothy real estate markets of the mid-2000s to building Triten into a multi-vertical investment and development firm with ~$2B in investment volume. We talk about the lessons he learned at Goldman and Stockbridge during the GFC, the early days of striking out on his own, and how he’s e...

In today’s episode, I sit down with Juniper Square Co-Founder & CEO Alex Robinson for a conversation on the seismic shifts reshaping private markets and the future of investing.  We dig into the impact of interest rate changes, the rise of retail investors, and why GPs face both opportunity and disruption in today’s environment. We also go deep on artificial intelligence, how it’s already transfor...

Alex Nyhan is the CEO of First Washington Realty and an owner in FWR's entities. FWR owns interests in and manages approximately $9 billion of top-quality grocery-anchored shopping centers across the United States. Alex is one of the sharpest minds in real estate and this episode is proof of that.  I’ve had the good fortune of learning from Alex for many years and is someone who always brings good...

My Co-Founder, Jason Baxter, joins me once again to discuss the growth at FOSTR and how our team is thinking about the future of AI inside companies. Since our last conversation, Jason has sharpened his perspective on where the real value lies for businesses—moving beyond surface-level AI use cases to building the infrastructure that allows organizations to actually compound knowledge over time. W...

Chad Lavender is the President of Capital Markets - North America @ Newmark. In this episode we talk about his journey through commercial real estate, from starting out in development during the 2008 financial crisis to building one of the leading senior housing brokerage and advisory practices in the country. We cover how he navigated tough markets early in his career, the lessons he learned from...

We welcome back Barrett Linburg to the podcast for a deep dive into the evolution of Opportunity Zones and also his firm, Savoy. Barrett shares how his focus on Opportunity Zone projects has shaped Savoy, why these tax-incentivized investments are so compelling for long-term real estate strategies, and how his team has expanded into property management, construction, and development. The discussio...

Imran Khan is the Founder at Proem Asset Management. In this episode we explore the arc of his remarkable career—from his early days as one of Wall Street’s top-ranked analysts to leading global IPOs and eventually launching his own hedge fund.  We discuss: - Why gross margins are a critical indicator of fundamental shifts in a business - How he met Joe Tsai and helped lead Alibaba’s record-settin...

Today’s guest is Mark Toro, Chief Vision Officer @ Toro Development Co, based in Atlanta, GA.   Mark unpacks the philosophy, economics, and human-centered detail behind some of the most successful mixed-use developments in the country. We talk through his journey from building suburban power centers to pioneering immersive experiences like Avalon, Colony Square, and the upcoming Medley.  Mark shar...

Since 2016, Ken Hersh has served as President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center which houses the George W. Bush Library and Museum and the George W. Bush Institute.  In 1988, he co-founded NGP Energy Capital Management, one of the nation’s largest natural resources private equity firms which pioneered private capital investing in the sector. Until 2016, he served as CEO, investing...

Trent and Tyler Leon are the Co-Founders of Tilden Capital. Today, their business, Tilden Capital, has deployed billions of dollars into oil & gas minerals, royalties, and non-operated positions across the Permian and other domestic basins.   We talk about growing up in a golf-obsessed family, attending IMG Academy, and competing at the highest levels of amateur and professional golf—then making t...