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?

--

♻️ Repost if this resonates.

Follow me Anthony Carlton for more posts on building wealth and independence.

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?"

--

♻️ Repost if this resonates.

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Nick Stromwall

Principal Fund Manager @ Oak and Vine Upstream Energy Fund | Real Estate Investing, Syndications

What if we lived on 10% and gave 90% away?

I’m an entrepreneur at heart and an alternative asset fund manager who loves educating faith-driven investors on how to invest in alternative assets like real estate and energy.

Can you multiply money and impact with your current investing strategy?

I’m on a mission to build a thriving business that propels generosity—helping investors multiply their income so they can multiply their impact.

I spent 15 years in ministry developing leaders and building systems that empowered people to thrive. Now, I help people invest, train leaders, and build scalable systems that create lasting impact.

… And I help leaders get the #TripleWin:

✅ Winning at Work – Building scalable, high-impact businesses
✅ Winning with Family – Creating financial freedom for the people they love
✅ Winning in Community – Investing in opportunities that serve a greater purpose

As the VP of Efficiency and Innovation at Rise48, I focus on:
→ Streamlining systems to help our investors and team operate at peak efficiency
→ Developing scalable processes to support growth and maximize returns
→ Optimizing investor experience so they can confidently invest in high-quality, cash-flowing multifamily real estate

As the founder of Oak and Vine Capital, I focus on partnering with world-class operators in the best asset classes. I’ve served as a General Partner and Managing Partner in multiple real estate and energy syndications. 

My mission is clear:
→ To invest in businesses that create Kingdom Impact and empower investors to do the same.

Let’s multiply your resources for greater Kingdom impact.

Principal Owner

I help people multiply their money and impact through passive real estate investing in commercial real estate and alternative asset syndications.

We closed out the year together in Phoenix at the Rise48 Christmas Party  a western-themed evening that brought our teams from Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina into the same room.

Not for meetings.
Not for metrics.
But for connection.

It was a night of conversations, shared stories, and time with the people who put in the work every day behind the scenes. The kind of environment where relationships deepen, trust strengthens, and culture is reinforced in real time.

Because great execution doesn’t start in spreadsheets.
It starts with alignment.
With shared values.
With teams who believe in the mission and in one another.

I left the event reminded of how far we’ve come as an organization and how much opportunity is ahead as we continue building, growing, and serving together in the new year.

Grateful for our teams, our leaders, and every person who plays a role in the work we’re doing.

What was one meaningful moment you experienced with your team last year?

#Rise48Group #TeamCulture #LeadershipInAction #EndOfYearReflection

I help faith driven leaders multiply their money and impact through investing in alternative assets like real estate

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I was terrified raising money for my first syndication.

Not surface level nerves.
Real fear.

Can I actually do this
What if I mess this up
What if people trust me and I fail

Up to that point, I had proven one thing.

I could buy a duplex.

But a syndication is different.
It’s not just your money anymore.

It’s a responsibility.
Stewardship.
Weight.

The McKinley project forced a new internal question.

Not “is this a good deal?”
But “am I ready to lead?”

Here’s what changed everything.

I stopped trying to do it alone.

I found partners I deeply trusted.
People with track records.
People with shared values.
People who were willing to say no if something felt off.

Then I focused on three fundamentals.

→ A growing market with real demand
→ A conservative business plan
→ Offering investors something better than what they were settling for

But the real work wasn’t underwriting.

It was identity.

I had to move from
“Can I do this?”
to
“I’m responsible to do this well.”

Once that clicked, the fear didn’t disappear.

But it stopped leading.

That first raise wasn’t about scale.
It was about obedience.
Preparation.
Integrity.

Looking back, the hardest part was never raising capital.

It was believing I was ready to carry it.

This week I’m unpacking the goals behind the deals.
And the mental barriers that came before the breakthroughs.

No hype.
No theory.
Just the real progression.

If you’re staring at your next step and asking
“Can I really do this?”

You’re probably closer than you think.

Follow along this week.

And next week
I’m opening a space to go deeper
Fundamentals
Mindset
Execution

More soon.

Would you rather play it safe
Or grow into the weight of responsibility?

(I've raised capital on 17 deals, and who you partner with is most important)

 The picture is from our McKinley project, a 48-unit multifamily apartment in Iowa

My little girl is potty trained after a holiday weekend potty training blitz! We used a secret weapon that I'm happy to share with you today.

The Potty Dance Song.

After successful poops and pees in the potty
we rewarded her with a special song.

we get down low, and sing

the potty dance
the potty dance

number 1
number 2

in the potty
(then we drumroll low to high)

and pick her up while saying
WAHOO

simple, and yet the smile gives it all away.

Should we put this to music?

What were some of your potty training tricks?

The hardest part of raising $1,000,000
Was believing I was allowed to ask.

Before that, I had raised $300,000.
Five investors.

That wasn’t small to me.

That was five families creating margin.
Five people accelerating toward freedom and impact.

So I set a new goal.
Raise my first $1,000,000.

And immediately, the doubts showed up.

I was working in ministry.
Different industry.
Different network.

I kept telling myself:

I haven’t earned the right yet
I need more touchpoints
I should steward the relationship better first

That belief almost stopped everything.

Here’s what finally clicked.

Asking isn’t pressure.
It’s an invitation.

You’re not asking for a yes.
You’re asking for interest.

Yes or no
Both are acceptable.

The real responsibility isn’t the ask.

It’s being prepared if someone says yes.

→ Clear education
→ Simple systems
→ The right team
→ A next step that serves them

Once I reframed that, the fear lost its grip.

God brought the connections.
Old relationships resurfaced.
New conversations opened.

Not because I was perfect.
But because I was willing.

If you’re stuck wondering
“Have I earned the right yet?”

You probably have.

And if you want help building the systems behind the ask
I’m teaching it live on Tuesday.

How to raise your first $1,000,000
And how to think about $10,000,000 next.

Link in the comments.

Yes or no
Is the fear more about rejection
Or believing you’re allowed to ask

I wanted my first real estate deal so badly.

Not because I wanted to be “in real estate.”
Not because I cared about titles or numbers.

I wanted it because my family was growing.
And because we were mentoring students who needed support.
And generosity requires margin.

At the time, I honestly didn’t know if I had what it takes.

I questioned myself constantly.
Am I capable of this
Am I thinking too big
Am I built for this path

That first goal wasn’t syndication.
It wasn’t raising capital.
It was owning our first duplex.

But behind that small step was a much bigger vision.

How do I create more capacity to give
How do I meet the needs around me
How do I steward what God has entrusted to us well

That single duplex changed how I saw myself.
Later came syndicating deals.
Later came raising capital for trusted partners.

But the hardest part was never the deal.

It was the mental question
Do I have what it takes

This week, I’m going to start breaking down my goals
And the mental challenges I had to overcome at each stage
Not theory
Not hype
Just the real progression

If you’re setting goals right now
Start with your vision
Not the tactic

Follow along this week as I share more.

And next week
I’ll be opening up something new
A space to go deeper
A forum built around fundamentals, mindset, and execution

More soon.

𝘗.𝘚 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘧?

Most capital raisers talk about strategy.
The ones who scale focus on results.

That’s why we built the Fundamental Forum, a live working session for capital raisers and fund managers who want real frameworks they can apply immediately.

In recent conversations, we’ve walked through:
→ The blueprint to raise your first $1,000,000 with clarity and structure
→ How to build the systems required to scale toward $10,000,000+
→ Messaging, follow-up cadence, and relationship-driven capital flows
→ Lessons from peers who are actually in the market right now

Our next session is Tuesday, January 13th at 12 PM MST / 2 PM EST.

If you’re ready to move from effort to outcomes, this is the room to be in.

👉 Register here to save your seat: https://lnkd.in/gBU2eNQq

#FundamentalForum #CapitalRaising #FundManagers #ScalingCapital #Rise48Equity

Today we're hosting this month's Fundamental Forum - 

a live conversation for capital raisers who want to scale with intention, structure, and execution.

This session is centered around one theme:
Goal Setting That Works
 

We’ll walk through:

• Building a repeatable, scalable system

• Reverse engineering your capital raise

• Investor conversion funnel

If you’re raising capital, you don’t need more noise.

You need clarity, alignment, and momentum.

We go live today at 12 PM MST / 2 PM EST.

👉 Join the session here: https://lnkd.in/gq2qidYb

#CapitalRaising #FundManagers #InvestorRelations #FundamentalForum #Rise48Equity

Implement this small hack and get more done in your day 👇

mind dump or mind purge all of your open loops into a trusted system.

I like asana.

Block out 30 minutes today and do this.

𝗗𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿:
• tasks
• ideas
• projects
• things you've delegated or been delegated
• sticky notes on your desk, fridge, etc.
• notes on your desktop
• emails you've been saving in your inbox
• notes in your notes app
• voice memos
• slack messages
• think personal and work!

→ I feel so free after getting everything down and out ... a trusted system really helps.

This mental space gives me more capacity to win at work, with family, and in my community!

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲?

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲?

Comment below 👇

P.S. - Please repost ♻️ if you found this useful

p.s.s. if you are local in Minneapolis and want to learn more I'm teaching my business systems early tomorrow, send me a DM

Closed! Apartments of Westgrove in Raleigh, NC Rebranding as “Rise Westgrove”

To learn how you can invest in multifamily properties like this, set up a call with us on our website.

#multifamilyinvesting #Arizonamultifamily

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The Battle

Anthony Carlton

Nick Stromwall

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taplio

The Battle

Anthony Carlton

Nick Stromwall

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 ScoreNick Stromwall's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreAnthony Carlton's LinkedIn Performance