Jesse Futia

Fin Ghost

Helping Real Estate Professionals build $1M brands on LinkedIn.

Co-Founder and Ghostwriter

Executive Equity Investing 

Helping busy professionals build generational wealth and retire comfortably through passively investing in real estate.

Chief Executive Officer

Wealth Science Podcast 

Interviewing the top real estate and financial experts in the World.

Host

Writer and Co-Founder @ CRE Digital | Copywriting & social media management for the world's most innovative real estate companies

Creating content on social media is digital leverage for real estate professionals. 

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲. 

You now have two choices:

1. Create content

2. Be passed by those that do 

My story 👇

Broke college kid turned 7-figure real estate investor and writer. 

I help 7-figure real estate professionals grow their brands and drive qualified leads on LinkedIn. 

--

Hit the 🔔 and follow along each day for free tips.

Ready to grow your brand on LinkedIn to drive more qualified leads?

𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲.

My last day in uniform was December 2025.

And I still don’t know how to put 9 years into a single post.

I joined the Army because of 9/11.

I’m born and raised in upstate New York, and I was a kid watching the world change in real time. 

I didn’t fully understand everything that day…

But I understood enough to know I wanted to serve.

Fast forward:
-> 50+ countries.
-> 9 years in uniform.
-> More early mornings than I can count.
-> More lessons than any classroom could ever teach.

I learned a lot in that time. A lot.

One of the biggest lessons:

Murphy’s Law is real.

Things will break. 
Plans will change. 
The unexpected shows up right on time.

And there are thousands of things in this world we can’t control.

But our preparation and our attitude are not two of them.

The reps. 
The discipline. 
The standard.

The ability to stay steady when everything gets chaotic.

People will ask what I’m doing next.
And yes—I’m excited about what’s ahead.

But I want to say this first:

The biggest blessing of my career isn’t a rank, a title, a deployment, or a bullet point on a résumé.

It’s getting to walk away with the respect and honor of the men and women I served with.

That’s the only “retirement package” that actually matters.

To every leader who bet on me.
To every soldier who carried the weight with me.
To every teammate who showed up when it was hard, and exhausting…

Thank you.

I’m proud of what we did.

And I’m even more proud of who I got to do it with.

I'll look for you on the next objective. 

---

I'm Jesse Futia - I help CRE professionals build digital brands online to drive more leads and revenue. Send me a DM to connect.

Co-Founder, CRE Digital | Capital Raising Engine for Commercial Real Estate Investors | $50M Raised with Digital Systems | DM me to learn more

Matthew McConaughey made $18,000,000 in a single year…

…and still chose the harder path.

Not because he needed more money.

Because he wanted more meaning.

At the peak of his rom-com run, Hollywood kept offering him the same role with a different script.

Same character.
Same story.
Same safe paycheck.

He could’ve stayed in that lane forever and nobody would’ve blamed him.
Instead, he said “no” — over and over — until the industry stopped calling.

He intentionally walked into a dry season.
Not because he was lost.

Because he was refusing to be used up.

And then the pivot happened.

The roles shifted.
The respect shifted.
The legacy shifted.

Here’s the part people miss:

That wasn’t luck.
That was identity.

He wasn’t chasing attention.
He was building alignment.

And I think that’s the real lesson for the rest of us:

If you keep saying yes to the version of you that pays well…

you eventually lose the version of you that’s meant to lead.

Sometimes the most profitable decision is the one that looks like a setback from the outside:
→ saying no to the “safe” path
→ taking the uncomfortable turn
→ betting on the work that actually feels like you

Because comfort doesn’t build legends.

Commitment does.

If you’re in a season where you’re being pulled to level up, but it’s scary…
Good.

That usually means you’re close.

What’s one “safe yes” you need to turn into a “hard no” this year?

The median American has just $8,000 in the bank.

Not $80,000.

Eight.

And this is why “the economy is fine” and “people are struggling” can both be true at the same time.

Because the average balance is way higher (it’s pulled up by high earners)… but the median is the reality for most households.

Now zoom out:

→ A meaningful chunk of Americans have zero emergency savings
→ Less than half can cover 3 months of expenses with savings
→ One surprise expense turns into credit cards missed payments

Here’s why I care about this as someone watching Commercial Real Estate:

When households are thin, rent collections become fragile.

Spending shifts fast. Tenants trade down. Delinquencies creep. Turnover rises.

So the CRE winners in 2026 won’t be the “sexiest” deals.

They’ll be the deals tied to durable demand:

→ workforce / attainable housing
→ necessity-based retail
→ medical / essential services
→ anything that people keep paying for even when life gets tight

If you’re underwriting deals right now, this is a reminder:

Don’t just underwrite the property.

Underwrite the consumer.

Curious what you’re seeing: are tenants getting tighter… or holding steady in your market?

$1,000,000,000,000 is sitting on the sidelines… 

watching Commercial Real Estate.

And most people are missing what that means.

The CRE narrative has been:

“Office is dead.”
“Rates killed deals.”
“Nothing pencils.”

Reality is more nuanced.

Here’s what I’m seeing heading into 2026:

1) CRE is splitting into winners and losers faster than ever
Not “CRE” vs “no CRE.”

It’s good deals vs bad sponsors + bad basis.

2) Capital is still available… but it’s pickier

The bar is higher:
→ cleaner rent rolls
→ real demand drivers
→ stronger operators
→ realistic exit assumptions

3) Distress isn’t everywhere — it’s concentrated

Some owners need liquidity.
Some need time.
Some need a partner.

That creates opportunity… if you can move fast and underwrite clean.

4) The “boring” stuff is winning

Every cycle rewards durability:
→ essential services
→ sticky tenants
→ functional layouts
→ demand you can actually explain in one sentence

The next 12–24 months will create more wealth in CRE than the last 3 years…

…but only for the people who stop chasing headlines and start tracking fundamentals.

If you’re in the trenches right now — what are you seeing?

Where do you think the best opportunities show up first in 2026?

You can work 70 hours a week…

And still fall behind someone who owns cash-flowing assets.

For years, I believed hustle was the answer:

→ Wake up earlier
→ Grind harder
→ Outwork everyone

But here’s the truth no one tells you:

Time-based income has a ceiling.
Asset-based income doesn’t.

I’ve shifted my entire focus from active hustle → to passive systems:

✅ Land that pays me every month through long-term leases
✅ Real estate that compounds in value while tenants pay down debt
✅ AI-driven outreach that brings in opportunities while I sleep

The goal isn’t to work harder.

It’s to build leverage.

Because if your income depends on you showing up every day…

You don’t own a business — you own a job.

Want real freedom?

Start buying back your time.

99% of entrepreneurs never make it past year 3.

Not because they aren’t smart.
But because they can’t take the silence.

→ The silence when no one clicks your offer. 
→ The silence when your big launch flops. 
→ The silence when you're building something great — and no one notices.

That silence? It kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Here’s the truth no one tells you: 

Your first 1,000 days are supposed to suck.

→ No revenue. 
→ No recognition. 
→ No validation.

Just relentless iteration. 
Just stubborn belief. Just proof of work stacking in silence.

Because real entrepreneurs don’t wait for signs they’re winning. 

They keep going until it’s undeniable.

The ones who break through? They all share this:

→ Proof of work. 
→ Clarity through consistency. 
→ A message that scales without them.

They build. They share. They outlast.

That’s how you go from overlooked to unavoidable.

Keep going.

Your breakthrough is waiting.

In 2026, AI will replace 80% of what most capital raisers do all day…

Not the relationship part.
The busywork part that kills momentum.

Most capital raising still looks like this:

-> A thousand tabs open.
-> A half-written follow-up email.
-> A spreadsheet nobody trusts.
-> A CRM that’s “mostly up to date.”

And a founder wondering why “warm” leads keep going cold.

That’s not a capital raising problem.
That’s a systems problem.

Here’s the shift happening right now:

The best operators are building AI-powered capital raising systems that run whether they’re “feeling motivated” or not.

Meaning:

AI becomes the machine.

You become the signal.

Here’s what that actually looks like in 2026:

→ Every inbound lead is instantly tagged, scored, and routed
→ Follow-ups go out based on behavior (opens, clicks, replies, site visits)
→ Investors automatically receive the right info at the right time (case studies, decks, webinars, FAQs)

→ Meetings are booked without you chasing anyone
→ Your pipeline stays clean without you touching it every day
→ Your updates get drafted for you, with your voice, from your deal data

And the biggest one:

You stop “raising capital.”
You start running an investor acquisition engine.

Because capital raising is not a personality contest.

It’s a throughput game.

The winners in 2026 won’t be the loudest on LinkedIn.

They’ll be the ones with:
→ the cleanest data
→ the fastest follow-up
→ the clearest narrative
→ and the strongest trust flywheel

AI doesn’t make you authentic.
It makes you consistent.

And consistency is what builds belief.

If you’re still doing capital raising manually in 2026…

you’re not behind on “tools.”

You’re behind on leverage.

What part of your capital raising process do you still do manually that you know should be automated?

$10M in CRE capital commitments came from just 16% of our investor database.

Most sponsors think more contacts = more capital.

Wrong.

The sponsors closing 8-figure raises aren't the ones with the biggest lists. 

They're the ones with the tightest systems.

After analyzing what actually moved investors from "interested" to "wired funds," here's what the data showed:

1. The drip campaign architecture

Your investors don't wake up ready to wire $100K. They need 7-12 touch points before they trust you with their money.

2. The CRM you actually use

I've seen sponsors with 500+ "investor relationships" in a spreadsheet they haven't opened in 6 months.

If you can't tell me which 20 investors to call for your next deal in under 60 seconds, your system is broken.

3. The content flywheel

-> One market update email becomes:
-> A LinkedIn post
-> A video for your investor portal
-> Content for 3 drip emails
-> Material for investor calls

Create once. Deploy everywhere.

The reality nobody talks about:

That 16% of their database? 

They received 3x more touchpoints than everyone else.

Not because we spammed them. Because we had a system that identified who was ready and kept them warm.

Trust compounds.
Systems compound. 
Relationships compound. 

Most sponsors are out here hunting. The best ones built farms.

What's your capital-raising system look like?

P.S. - If you're still manually tracking investor follow-ups in your notes app, we need to talk.

A kid starting college this month will spend $100,000+…

…training for a job that might not exist by the time they graduate.

That sounds dramatic.

But it’s already happening.

AI isn’t “coming.”
It’s here.

And it’s eating the middle of the workforce first:
→ entry-level analysts
→ basic marketing execution
→ customer support reps
→ paralegal/admin-heavy legal work
→ junior accountants/bookkeeping
→ simple coding / QA
→ recruiters doing manual sourcing

Not because those people aren’t smart.

Because those jobs are built on repeatable tasks.

And repeatable tasks get automated.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

College isn’t the problem.

Blindly picking a major without a leverage plan is.

If you’re 18 right now, the goal isn’t “get a degree.”
The goal is: build a stack that makes you hard to replace.

My simple rule for 2026:

Don’t become the person who does the task.
Become the person who owns the outcome.

That means:
→ learn how to use AI tools like a power user
→ build real-world proof (projects, offers, results)
→ practice communication + persuasion
→ learn basic business economics (how money moves)
→ get close to revenue (sales, partnerships, deal flow)
→ specialize in a domain AI can’t “understand” without you (industry context, relationships, judgment)

AI will replace skills.

It won’t replace agency.

It won’t replace a person who can:

see the problem → make a plan → execute → communicate → lead.

That’s the new degree.

What’s one job you think is getting automated faster than people realize?

23% of people quit their New Year’s goal this week.

And by the end of January, it’s closer to 48%.

So if you’re still in the fight right now…

You’re already ahead of most people.

Week 1 is where motivation dies.

Not because the goal was wrong.
Because the process wasn’t built.

Most people rely on a feeling.
Winners rely on a system.

A system looks like:

-> same time, same place, same trigger
-> smaller daily targets (so you can actually win)
-> a scoreboard (so progress is visible)
-> a reset plan for the days you fall off

Because falling off isn’t the problem.

Staying off is.

So yeah—congrats if you’re still here.

Now tighten the screws and stack another week.

Drop a comment with what you’re still committed to in 2026. I’ll reply to every one.

After driving over 100,000,000 impressions on LinkedIn 

Here's what every client wants to know:

Who you are.

Stop talking about returns.

I've watched 100s of sponsor pitches get ignored.

The ones that landed? 

They answered the questions LPs are actually asking:

"Can I trust you with my money for the next 5-7 years?"

Your 18% projected returns don't answer that.

Here's what does:

→ How you handled your worst deal 
→ Whether you return calls when things go sideways 
→ If you've ever taken less so your investors could take more 
→ What your previous investors say when you're not in the room

The best sponsors I know don't lead with their track record.

They lead with their values.

Because here's the truth most won't tell you:

LPs can find deals anywhere. 

They can find returns anywhere.

The sponsors crushing it right now are sharing:

-Stories about deals they walked away from 
-The mentor who shaped their investment philosophy 
-How they built their team and why culture matters 
-What they learned from their failures 

This isn't about being vulnerable for likes.
It's about being known.

What's the most important thing an LP should know about you that has nothing to do with your returns?

Raised $30 MM in capital for real estate through LinkedIn and Guest Podcasting | Posts about Real Estate, Writing, and Audience Building

99% of Real Estate LinkedIn is Chat GPT posts and noise.

There's a better way to stand out online ⤵️

If this sounds like you:

❌ Lack of capital
❌ Feeling tired and burned out
❌ Not growing your presence online

Now, imagine this:

✅ Securing more deals
✅ Successfully raising $5 million in capital
✅ Having a loyal following that knows, likes, and trusts you

If you're a 6-figure real estate entrepreneur who's serious about raising more capital and closing more deals, join my free newsletter, Digital Leverage. 

You'll be in good company with over 300+ entrepreneurs who are making their mark online. 

(See featured section above ⤴️)

Matthew Baltzell 🌴

Matt Damon said Netflix has to repeat the plot 3–4 times because people are on their phones (Now apply that to investors.)



If you think...

- “I already explained the deal”

- “They saw the deck”

- “We covered this on the last call”

You’re overestimating attention.

Investors are scanning, not studying.

They’re comparing you to 5 other deals this week.

They remember patterns, not paragraphs.

That’s why the best sponsors:

- Repeat the thesis

- Reinforce the why now

- Re anchor the risk story

- Re state the downside protection

Same message.
Different format.
Every touchpoint.

Call.
 Deck.
  Email.
  Podcast.
   Follow-up.

If Netflix needs repetition to keep viewers…
...You need it to move capital.

If your deal feels “obvious” to you,

it’s probably still unclear to them.

Matthew Baltzell

$20M+ Raised | LP Pipeline Systems for $20M–$100M Real Estate & PE Sponsors | Build Trust, Fill Rounds, Raise Without Resetting

Everyone’s mad about housing...but no one wants to admit it’s a zero sum game...

Young people want cheaper homes.

Boomers want prices to keep going up forever.

Then Donald Trump said the quiet part out loud:

You can’t make housing affordable without nuking existing wealth.

And suddenly everyone clutched their pearls.

But here’s the truth no one wants to sit with:

The system is working exactly as designed.
It protects asset holders.
Not hopeful buyers.

So if you’re under 40 and your plan is:

- “Wait for prices to fall”

- “Vote harder”

- “Complain on X”

Good luck. For real.

Because nobody is coming to make things cheaper and keep everyone rich.

That math doesn’t math.

The real move?
Bet on yourself.

Not vibes.
Not manifesting.
Not outrage.

Skills that compound.
Income that scales.
Ownership early even if it’s uncomfortable.

Because the fastest way out isn’t fixing the system.

It’s becoming antifragile inside it.

Harsh? Maybe.
True? 1,000%

Agree or disagree?

$7,000 staging job replaced by a $12 AI render. 

Here’s what happens next...

Look again.

Left → AI staging.
Right → a $3,000/month vacant liability pretending it’s “almost ready.”

Buyers decide in 8 seconds.

Physical staging costs you:

Trucks
Movers
Insurance
Two days of chaos
Thousands in cash

AI staging costs you:

$12
12 seconds
A mouse click

That’s it!

Virtual staging isn’t some “future trend.”

It already won.
It’s cheaper.
It’s faster.
 
And it converts better than your perfectly fluffed couch ever will.

The investors who pivot now?

They won’t just win more deals.

They’ll take them—quietly—while everyone else is still waiting on the movers.

Agree or disagree?

$20M+ Raised | LP Pipeline Systems for Real Estate & PE Firms | Build Trust, Fill Deals, Raise Faster

At a certain level, capital raising stops being about persuasion...


It becomes about positioning.

I’ve noticed a common ceiling among capable sponsors around $30–$50MM AUM.

They’re competent.
They have a track record.
They can raise capital.

But their conversations still subtly frame LPs as the senior party.

That framing breaks the raise.

Sophisticated capital doesn’t want to be chased.
And it doesn’t want to be sold.

It wants to be invited into something credible.

The dynamic shifts when capital is treated as an allocation decision between peers - not a favor.

The strongest raises don’t feel like asks.

They sound like...

- Here’s what we’re building.
- Here’s who it fits.
- Decide if this belongs in your portfolio.

Make sense?

Equal footing.
Clear standards.
No urgency theater.

At scale, capital raising is less about convincing
and more about filtering.

The moment a sponsor stops signaling need
and starts signaling inevitability,
the quality of capital changes.

Same deals. Different posture. Very different outcomes.

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Entrepreneurship and New Venture Formation, Real Estate Finance

$20M+ Raised | Helping Real Estate & PE Firms Turn Interviews Into LP Trust Engines | Built for Raises $10M–$1B+

$20M+ raised. 500+ placements. Here’s the system we use to turn interviews into LP trust engines.

How Sponsors Raise $10M–$1B+ Through Podcasting

For real estate & PE firms raising $5M–$1B+ | $20M+ raised

See If You Qualify

Markets aren’t “up.”
The measuring stick is broken.


Ray Dalio said the quiet part out loud:

“If you depreciate the money, it makes everything look like it’s going up.”

The problem…

Most people measure success in nominal numbers.

Revenue up.
Portfolio up.
Valuation up.

Looks like progress.

Think about it.

Same house.
Double the price?

Get out of here.

Inflation is a savage disguise.

It makes weak businesses look strong.
It rewards leverage over discipline.
It convinces people they’re winning… while their purchasing power shrinks.

That’s how you get:

• “Growing” companies with no margin expansion
• Record highs that feel worse at the grocery store
• Operators confusing price appreciation with value creation

This is where people blow up in the next cycle.

Change the scoreboard.

Real operators and serious investors optimize for:

• Free cash flow, not paper gains
• Pricing power, not cheap money
• Businesses that work when capital isn’t easy

A simple test:

Would this still work if money wasn’t cheap?

If the answer is no, it’s not a business.
It’s a trade riding monetary policy.

The next decade won’t reward hype.
It’ll reward what actually works.

Where do you see “fake growth” showing up right now?

I just changed my LinkedIn followers to 100,000. Watch how.


Six seconds later… 100k followers.

Here’s what didn’t change:

• No new capital commitments
• No wires hitting the account
• No new investors

Because nothing about their visibility actually changed.

• Same fund.
• Same credibility.
• Same bank balance.

Same Same but NOT different. 

That’s the problem with how most people think about capital raising.

LPs don’t invest because your follower count looks impressive.

They invest because:

They trust you
They understand the deal
They’ve seen consistency over time

I’ve watched sponsors chase vanity metrics…
…and then struggle to fill a $5M raise.

Followers are a signal.
Trust is the currency.

If your capital raising strategy depends on optics instead of relationships,
you’re building noise not conviction.

Real capital is raised through:

• Repeated exposure
• Clear communication
• Direct conversations
• Long term credibility

Not a number that can be edited in the source code.

If you’re a sponsor raising (or planning to raise) capital and this resonated, happy to share what actually converts attention into committed LPs.

I asked a LinkedIn connection for $100,000. 

His response exposed everything wrong with capital raising on LinkedIn.


Are your DMs full of strangers pitch-slapping you deals?

Same.

Most of them go straight to the “Other” folder.

Unread.
Unanswered.
Emotionally deleted.

Except this one time.

A guy I was connected with kept following up about his real estate deal.

Message after message.
Soft nudges.
Hard “just circling back.”

I never replied.

So I decided to play along.

I wrote back:

“Would you be open to investing $100,000?”

He replied instantly.

“Sorry...I don’t really know you.”

There it is.

The irony is undefeated.

You can’t cold DM strangers for capital…
...and then be surprised when they don’t trust you.

Deals don’t create trust.
Trust creates deals.

Capital doesn’t move because your pro forma is tight.
It moves because you are familiar, credible, and respected.

If you’re serious about raising money:

- Stop leading with the deal

- Start leading with trust

- And show up long before the ask

Because capital doesn’t flow through inboxes.

It flows through relationships.

If you’re a real estate investor who wants more investor visibility and plans to raise $3M+ on your next raise, DM me “real estate.”

𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

I stress tested a great looking Offering Memorandum with ChatGPT and found this surprising...


I asked it one question:

“Why does this deal look better on paper than it will in real life?”

It flagged 4 things the OM made look harmless...but aren’t.

𝟭. “𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲” 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸

2–3% annual growth doesn’t sound aggressive.
Until you realize it’s the only reason the IRR works.

If leasing slows, the deal quietly breaks.

𝟮. 𝗔 𝗽𝗿𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱

The OM showed a cleaner expense line than the property has ever produced.

It wasn’t fraud.
It was optimism, dressed up as efficiency.

𝟯. 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲

The numbers only worked at yesterday’s rates.

No sensitivity.
No downside case.
Just vibes.

𝟰. 𝗔 𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗽 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

Half the projected return came from the exit, not operations.

That’s not "value add."
That’s hoping the next buyer is more optimistic than you.

None of this was hidden.

It just wasn’t emphasized.

That’s the trick with great looking OMs...

They don’t lie. They distract.

If you only read the upside, you’re underwriting the broker NOT the asset.

Sometimes it takes a robot with no commission to slow you down (deep sigh)

I spoke with an operator who needed to raise $3M in six months…but the warning signs arrived faster than the pitch deck.


On paper?
Easy yes.

In reality?
I sprinted the other direction.

Here’s why 👇

𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 #𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲.

Not my business.
Not my background.
Not even a “Hey, I saw you do X.”

Just showed up like,
“So… what do you do exactly?”

If you won’t do 5 minutes of homework on the person raising your capital.

I assume you underwrite deals the same way.

Vibes. Hope. Prayer.

𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 #𝟮: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗻.

Days between replies.
Same questions.
Same explanations.

Every message felt like the first date in 50 First Dates.

At some point I wondered:
Am I talking to the operator…
their VA…

or an AI trained exclusively on confusion?

Trust doesn’t survive lag, ambiguity, or “Sorry just circling back.”

𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 #𝟯: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹.

“I sent you the info.”

They didn’t.

If follow-through is optional before you touch investor money,
I already know what happens after the wire hits.

So yes...I turned down a deal that would’ve paid very well.

And no...I didn’t hesitate.

Because capital raising is just a magnifying glass.
It doesn’t fix dysfunction.
It puts it on a billboard.

Money is easy to replace.
Bad operators are not.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥?

Waste Management might be one of the best AI businesses in America.


Most people miss it because they think it’s just a trash company.

Yes, they haul waste.

But the real advantage is what they already control...

• Irreplaceable landfill assets
• Long term municipal contracts
• Route density no startup can replicate

Now add AI.

AI doesn’t replace Waste Management.

It tightens the machine.

• Route optimization → lower fuel and labor costs
• Predictive maintenance → fewer breakdowns
• Automation → higher margins on the same assets

The assets don’t change.

The efficiency curve bends upward.

This is the part of the AI conversation that gets ignored.

AI doesn’t just create new software companies.

It widens the gap between asset owners and everyone else.

As an investor, I’m less interested in...

• AI wrappers
• Chatbots with churn
• Tools that can be cloned in a weekend

And more interested in...

• Asset-heavy businesses with data moats
• Physical infrastructure AI can optimize
• Boring 5% improvements that stack year after year

AI is leverage.
Assets are the base.

The winners aren’t choosing between tech or real assets.

They’re combining both.

Which “boring” businesses you think AI quietly supercharges.

I dropped a rent roll into ChatGPT and it flagged 3 issues the broker never mentioned.


Not because the broker was lying.

Because most people don’t actually read rent rolls.

They skim them.

Here’s what AI caught in under 60 seconds...

- A lease expiration cliff hiding behind “looks occupied.”
- Under market rents stacked in the same unit type (that’s pricing, not demand).
- A delinquency trend you only see when you stop staring at rows like a CPA.

None of this was obvious at first glance.

All of it mattered before an LOI...
...AI doesn’t replace underwriting.

It replaces lazy underwriting.

The winners won’t be the ones with the fanciest models.
 
They’ll be the ones who ask better questions, faster.

This isn’t “future tech.”
 
This is table stakes.

Bullish… or still doing this line by line in Excel like it’s 2014?

62 miles, 1 Ultra Marathon, 2 lost toenails, 5 life lessons (My Story)




𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰:

My first ultra marathon...

26 hrs and 22 mins through the Thai Jungle Mountains. 

It kicked my ass, but I finished. 

Thank God. 

The course? 

1,000 times harder than I expected. 

Think: 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘁. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 (kidding but not kidding)

Picture this...

It’s 3 a.m. after 40 miles of running. 

You’re staring up at an 80% slope of mountain jungle and told, “Climb for the next 4 miles.” 

Sounds awful, right? It was. 

Bodies were dropping like flies - no joke. 

A train of 20 runners with headlamps crawled uphill. 

The pace? Slow AF. 

I'm talking the people who tracked me thought I gave up because my pace never updated on the tracking app slow. 

1 by 1, ppl stepped off the line, fading into the dark abyss of the jungle as the pack pushed on. 

By the time we reached the top, our group was half its size. 

My legs were screaming, and doubt flooded my mind. 

At .02 miles to the summit the steepest climb yet. I saw a young runner sitting lifelessly, staring into the jungle, broken. 

He’d given up, not knowing the next aid station was within reach. 

The mountain broke him. 

It nearly broke me too. 

Running 62 miles is insane. 

Running 62 miles in 80% humidity is even crazier. 

Running 62 miles in the Thai jungle with 14,000 feet of elevation? 

Mental. 

But I learned 5 unforgettable lessons: 


𝟭. 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝘁 > 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

A 100k ultra isn’t a beauty contest. 

Forget makeup and Instagram poses. 

This is mud, sweat, blood, and grit. 

Nobody cares how you look out there. 

It’s you vs. you, mentally taxing and raw. 

𝟮. 𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

Ultra running = an eating competition with running in between. 

I downed: 

- 20 GU Gels 
- Lays chips 
- Diet Coke 
- Bananas 
- Ramen 
- Coconut water 
- Beef jerky (mistake). 

Anything to survive. 

At first, I felt over prepared. 

By mile 50, I realized I wasn’t. 

Being ready for the unexpected, cramps, fatigue, mental fog, is everything. 

𝟯. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝘆

I met a Kiwi named Craig. 

He was 50, in a midlife crisis, and running his second ultra to see what he was made of. 

He asked me my "why." 

Here’s what I told him: 

To honor my dad, who passed in 2023
To lead by example for my boys
To end 2024 strong

“Sounds like you’ve got a solid why,” Craig said 

He was right

Without it, I’d have quit when things got dark

4. Please Lie to Me

My buddy Jimmy, part of my pit crew, promised me “flats and downhill” after B7 aid station

He lied

There were no flats

The downhill? 

Worse on the knees than climbing

But his lie kept me moving

Sometimes, a little hope...

Even if it’s false is what you need to push through

Final Thoughts:

Would I do it again? Absolutely

Hard choices make life easier. Easy choices make life harder

I pushed my limits and left me with lessons for life

9,000 Followers On LinkedIn, But Did You Know This About Me... 
 
 
Allow me to reintroduce myself. 
 
I'm Matthew... 
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱: 
 
- Played football for a year (but no touchdowns!) 
- Got my degree from Colorado State University 
- Running a 100k on December 7th 2024
- Co-founded a landscaping business 
- Own a portfolio of over 400 units 
- Proud dad of 2 awesome boys 
- Started lawn mowing biz at 12 
- Grew up in Denver, Colorado 
- Passionate about real estate 
- Traveled to 23 countries 
- Brother's lives in the UK 
- Run an online business 
- Finished 7 marathons
- Have 4 best friends
- Spirit animal is wolf 
- Acted for 8 years 
- Mom's in Mexico 
- Big Michigan fan 
- Live in Thailand 
- Coffee is life 
- 39 yrs old 
- Bitcoiner 
- Married
- Loyal
- Chill
- Golf
- Ski
- 💪
 
 
And...
 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗱: 

- I'm loud
- 💙 sugar
- Judge ppl
- Self Sabotage
- Held onto spite
- Lose small things
- Got arrested once
- Rocking a dad bod
- Have a kidney stone
- College GPA was 2.2
- Can get irritated easily
- Got scammed for $500
- My dad passed in 2023
- Worry about my grey hairs
- Acting didn't work out for me
- Struggled with debt in my 20s
- Sometimes I take on too much
- Tried and failed with HerbaLife
- Expat life feels lonely sometimes
- Feel I should be further in my career
- Didn't succeed in door-to-door sales
- Spent 2 years at N Colorado University
- My vid editing business didn't work out
- Started and stopped social media 17 times
- Struggle with thinking there's never enough
- Parents split for over 20 years (never divorced)
 
Do I have regrets? 
 
Nope. 
 
Everything in my life has brought me to where I am today and made me who I am. 
 
If you're reading this, know that I'm grateful for you and your support. 
 
Having ride or die friends family, and followers means the world. 
 
Let's keep spreading abundance in 2024 and succeed together. 
 
P.S. Where and how did we meet? Let me know in the comments.

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