Anthony Carlton

Founder @ CRE Digital | Helping commercial real estate funds raise capital with premium branding and investor acquisition systems

I built my personal brand to escape the corporate grind.

After working with clients across finance, private equity, venture, and real estate—I doubled down on one clear problem:

Most CRE firms struggle to raise capital online.

That’s why I founded CRE Digital — a content and brand strategy partner for capital raisers, fund managers, and private equity firms.

We turn your expertise into influence, using systems that drive:

• Brand authority that builds trust
• LP investor leads and committed capital
• Off-market deal flow and JV partners
• Speaking invites and top CRE podcast features

What sets us apart? 

We’ve sat on both sides of the table — advising high-net-worth investors and partnering with top CRE operators.

Now, we build digital brands that attract capital at scale.

If you’re serious about raising capital and want your brand to do the heavy lifting, book a call in my featured section or visit credigital.io

Founder & Brand Advisor

Build Your Brand @ FinGhost.io

Your independence isn't violently taken from you.

It vanishes with 100s of "safe" decisions.

Here's how it happens (and ends up becoming a cage):

Age 18: You choose the "smart" major.

• Law.
• Finance. 
• Engineering. 
• Computer science.

Your parents are relieved. You're rewarded with scholarships and summer internships.

Age 22: You take the corporate job.

Goldman. McKinsey. Google. Whichever pays most and has the best brand.

Your professors congratulate you. Your classmates envy you. You're rewarded with a signing bonus and an impressive title.

Age 25: You accept the promotion.

More responsibility. More money. More visibility to senior leadership.

Your manager says you're on the "fast track." You're rewarded with status and a salary that justifies the lifestyle inflation you didn't plan.

Age 30: You take the management role.

People report to you now. You attend 10-15 meetings a week. You have influence—or at least the appearance of it.

You're rewarded with prestige and the comfort of knowing you're winning the game everyone else is playing.

Age 35: You wake up.

Your calendar isn't yours.
Your decisions aren't yours.
Your time isn't yours.

You're unhappy and burned out, but you can't move because you have a mortgage, car payment, daycare, and stock options vesting.

Every individual choice was rational.

But somewhere along the way, your autonomy disappeared.

The trap works because it's not obviously a trap.

It's comfortable. 
Respectable. 
Safe.

It's what winning looks like from the outside.

But from the inside, it feels like you're capable of more...smart enough to see the problems but powerless to fix them.

Successful by every conventional measure.

But somehow still not free.

This is the trap to avoid. 
Now you know what it looks like.

What you are working on in 2026 for more personal freedom in 2027?

--

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I build media systems for operators who want influence, growth, & capital at scale | $50M raised through social | Founder & Writer

Don't quit your 9-5 to go "all in" as a solopreneur until you have 4 things: 
 
- Proven offer 
- Clients paying you 
- Results and case studies 
- Consistent lead gen systems 
 
Give yourself 6-12 months to build skills and undeniable social proof before you leap. 
 
In 2019 I quit my job, spent a fat chunk of my life savings, and failed at going solo. 
 
I had 0/4 essentials above. 
 
Didn't know how to write. 
Didn't know how to sell. 
Didn't know how to build. 
 
In 2022 I made a successful transition from 9-5 to building a full-time creator income. 
 
But I worked for 12 months alongside my 9-5: 
 
• Testing ideas 
• Growing on LinkedIn 
• Finding proof of concept 
 
I'm confident everyone who reads this can build a full-time income as a creator. 
 
But only if you set yourself up for success. 
 
That's why I write weekly guides giving actionable strategies for making the leap. 
 
Need a good place to start? 
 
Read this: https://lnkd.in/e-RX6KFj

“Set a goal to become a millionaire—not for the money, but for what it will make of you.”

Jim Rohn damn near invented the category of personal development.

This is one of his hardest-hitting quotes.

In one sentence, it shifted my mindset around goals.

Setting goals is less about the end result, and more about who you become in the process of achieving it.

Early in my career, I chased all the wrong things.

→ If I only got that raise...
→ If I could just get that VP title...
→ If I check one more big goal off my list...

I thought if I just hit the next milestone, then I’d feel free. Then I’d feel successful.

But learning from people like Jim Rohn, I realized:

The goals weren't a magic checklist.

The goals were about who I had to become to achieve them.

→ A person who can communicate better
→ A person who can be self-reliant
→ A person who can grow and improve

Writing did that for me.

It gave me clarity.
It built proof of work.
It opened doors that used to be locked.

But more than that, it forced discipline. It exposed gaps in how I think. And it helped me build leverage instead of just more output.

So yeah, set big goals.

But understand: the real win isn’t the number.

It’s who you have to become to earn it.

That’s where the compounding starts.

What's the WHY behind your biggest goal right now?

Anthony Carlton

Do you want to be impressive or independent?

99% optimize for an "impressive" cage.

Achievement looks like:

- Climbing the corporate ladder
- Adding prestigious titles to LinkedIn
- Hitting salary milestones
- Getting promoted faster than peers
- Building a resume that impresses strangers

Achievement is external validation.

It's playing a game someone else designed and winning by their rules.

Agency looks like:

- Owning your calendar
- Making decisions without approval
- Building assets that compound
- Disconnecting time from income
- Designing work around your life, not the other way around

Agency is internal freedom.

It's designing your own game and defining what winning means.

Here's the trap:

Achievement is measurable, visible, and celebrated.
Agency is quiet, personal, and invisible to others.

So we chase achievement because it's easier to see we're making progress.

We climb faster, earn more, get promoted sooner. And wake up one day realizing we built an impressive cage.

I spent my 20s optimizing for achievement.

• Better titles. 
• Higher salary. 
• More responsibility.

I looked successful on paper but felt trapped in practice.

Now I optimize for independence.

• More decisions I own. 
• Fewer meetings I didn't schedule. 
• Systems that don't require my constant presence.

It's less impressive to people on LinkedIn.

But infinitely more valuable to me.

The question isn't "How do I achieve more?"

The question is "How do I build for optionality?"

--

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I help founders of 5+ years build better systems that work for them - Not against them.

Hey, I'm Adam. 

I started my first company 17 years ago, overdrawn $350 in my bank account, in the middle of the 2008 recession. 

I never borrowed money or brought on partners. 

And that company was officially acquired on March 3, 2025! 

I've worked with companies like Goodwill Industries, Redbull, Bass Pro Shops, Tito's Handmade Vodka,
and Gibson Guitars.

I had what looked like success from the outside - 
Growing revenue, expanding team, industry recognition. 

But what's less visible on the balance sheet is that in year 6, after weeks of not sleeping, barely eating, and feeling completely isolated despite being surrounded by people who loved me and depended on me, I hit rock bottom. I found myself ready to end my life.

I’m here today because play pulled me out of the dark. 

And now I help entrepreneurs, leaders, and companies rediscover unstructured play as a catalyst for creativity, collaboration, and prioritizing mental wellbeing.

I do this 3 ways:  
1. Speaking engagements
2. The Creative Builder 1:1 advisory
3. My newsletter
 
Play isn't an action, it's an environment. 

Let's create yours!

Adam Tanaka

I want to take this Monday morning to shout out 3 people that have had a significant impact on my life.

If I can be even just half as kind, talented, creative, and brilliant as them, then I'd be well on my way….

Sam Davidson 
13 years ago, I went from screen printing on the floor of my studio apartment to a garage. Sam owned an apparel brand I wanted to work with, so as you would do back in 2012, I sent him a Facebook message. He showed up in my dingy, dark garage with barely any equipment and said "Let's do this."

That lit a fire, showing me that as long as I keep showing up, doing the work, and being myself, I'd be ok. A customer, turned mentor, turned dear friend.

Antonio Neves 
I found out about Tony through Sam, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I had built a successful company but felt like there was more to the work I was doing. Tony pushed me (in the best way), asked the hard questions, and gave me the space to think. He changed my life - reminded me that I’m in control and that the most powerful thing I can do is focus on today.

Jess Ekstrom 
I was connected to Jess through Antonio. The thing about Jess is that she is a straight up powerhouse human. I made the decision in late 2024 to focus on 3 core pieces of work moving forward, and one of those was speaking. Jess helped me develop a keynote around a topic that is personal for me - Permission to Play. Our work together gave me the confidence to really bring this talk to life. 

The work that all 3 of them are doing to this day are changing lives in big ways. 

You never know where one in-person interaction will lead. It could completely change your life…It did mine.

And each time, I wasn't overcomplicating or over-thinking. I left myself open to opportunity with no urgency attached. Just wanting to grow. 
And honestly, I couldn’t imagine life without those 3 people in it. 

Who is someone you'd tag that impacted your life in some pretty incredible ways?

Helping adults rediscover play | Disrupting burnout culture | TEDx Speaker | Redesigning the way kids are supported (not managed) at Cavehouse Supply

The only question I started asking at networking events to create meaningful relationships. 

And it wasn't - "What do you do?"

Early on when I stepped into a crowded room, I always felt out of place...
The scrawny dude in a black tshirt, beanie, jeans, and colorful shoes while everyone is looking awesome in sports coats, button downs, dress shoes, beautiful dresses, and everyone smells amazing.

For a founder who navigates social anxiety, I mostly stuck around, mainly because there was always someone there I knew. (safety)

I'd fill out the name tag - "Adam Tanaka, founder of ____" and slap it on the left side of my chest and go. 

And every time, someone would squint at the name tag and asked "so what do you do?"

In order to get through each "level" of the same question, I turned it into a game to help me dial in my brand statement to just one clear sentence. It worked!

But I admit - One of the mistakes I made was never having a clear strategy before walking into these rooms. 

After attending tons of these events, I realized something...
If I wanted to work with someone and really get to know them, I don't want to know what they do. I want to know what they're working on right now that excites them. What fires them up. What does adventure mean to them...

From that point forward, the name tag changed - 
"Adam Tanaka, Adventurer"

They'd ask - "Adventurer? Is that the name of your company?" 
I responded - Nope. I like to be in the mountains, I like to hike and be buried in the trees...ride my bike, play music, write. 

From this, I got to know amazing humans on a deep level and hear their stories.

*The CEO said - "I'm building a treehouse for my daughter and she loves helping me. I'm learning how much I enjoy woodworking"
*The accountant said - "I'm working on a series of photographs around my neighborhood. I've always loved taking photos."
*The restaurant owner said - "I love painting model trains and have a full track set up in my attic."
*The SDR said - "I make sure to go to a different art show, exhibit, museum almost every weekend. That's where I find peace which helps me kick off a good tone for the week ahead." 

They opened up about what truly excites them as human beings and that created a safe space for real conversation. I learned their version of what it meant to give themselves permission to play.

“Just post about the things you actually care about.”

You read this kind of stuff on LinkedIn all of the time. 

Except this time, it hit different. 
(Probably because it was a post from Magali De Reu. She knows how to cut through the BS and get to the good stuff) 

I started writing on LI in late 2023. I felt like I had so much to share but not enough to write about at the same time. 
I stopped being consistent because it started feeling like a joke. But I never really knew what I wanted my outcome to be because my thoughts were in a million places. Showing up in the digital space to build, create, and connect felt foreign, especially as someone in their 40s. 

I’d been building businesses in real life since 2008 but reading about people 15 to 20 years younger than me crushing the online space, of course I became Captain Grumps. How could I connect the dots? How do I make this work? Does this matter? 👴🏼

The final answer for me was - It depends. 
And this was the best answer because it gave me confidence to know it can be whatever I want it to be...which reminded me of when I started my first business.
I had almost forgotten what it was like to give myself space to just create freely.

I realized that I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve from this platform because it’s the same thing I do offline. 

So, the stuff I actually care about? 

Empowering kids and supporting families. 
Helping long-time entrepreneurs take back control. 
Connecting with people on a deep level. 
And adventure. 

I didn’t know what that looked like until December 2024 and then it became: 
↳Speaking
↳Writing
↳Cavehouse Supply

I didn’t know how to put it into practice until July 2025, and by the end of last year:
→ 6 speaking engagements + my first TEDx talk (thanks for believing in me Amanda Banks) + cover story in one of Nashville's business publications (huge thanks to Nicole Childrey and Lucas Hendrickson)
→ Over 12 articles as a contributing writer (love working with you Cassie Green) + children’s picture book (final coming soon, thanks to my talented collab partner Leroy Dawson) + outline for something new
→ Launched a kids magazine + video series for families + kid-powered storytelling app prototype (close to V1!!)
And so much more that fell into those buckets. 

2026 is already blowing my mind and we’re only 3 weeks into the year!

What I've always carried around with me is that no one can achieve anything alone, but...

What probably took me way too long to learn: 
Outcomes get clearer and opportunities become greater when you stop over-complicating and just stay true to who you are and what you actually care about.

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The Battle

Anthony Carlton

Adam Tanaka

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taplio

The Battle

Anthony Carlton

Adam Tanaka

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Anthony Carlton's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAdam Tanaka's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreAnthony Carlton's LinkedIn Performance