by Thomas Powell | Sep 26, 2025 | Commercial Real Estate, Economics, Global Real Estate, Investing, Opportunity Zones, Six Keys of Capital™, The Founders Office™
In today’s market, many founders are finding that funds, not banks, are stepping in as lenders. This shift is not necessarily riskier and it can open the door to better terms if you know how to negotiate. From shared appreciation structures to covenants without...
by Thomas Powell | Sep 25, 2025 | Commercial Real Estate, Economics, Global Real Estate, Investing, Oil & Gas, Opportunity Zones, Six Keys of Capital™, The Founders Office™
Two founders can both sell their companies for a hundred million dollars. One walks away wealthy while the other calculates years of work at less than minimum wage. The difference is not luck. It is the capital stack. Think of it like Jenga. Pull the wrong piece at...
by Thomas Powell | Sep 24, 2025 | Economics, Just Ask Dad, Six Keys of Capital™, The Founders Office™
What is the appropriate compensation for a founder? Too often, founders find themselves caught between two roles, operator and owner, without clarity on how each should be measured. Compensation as an employee should be benchmarked against comparable roles, while...
by Thomas Powell | Sep 23, 2025 | Economics, Energy, Global Real Estate, Investing, Oil & Gas, Opportunity Zones, Six Keys of Capital™, The Founders Office™
Not all capital is created equal. In the U.S., we’re watching more companies choose to stay private or even go private because the regulatory burden of public markets has become too heavy. Interestingly, while domestic firms step away, international companies are...
by Thomas Powell | Sep 19, 2025 | Economics, Just Ask Dad
When we talk about stagflation, it’s easy to jump back to the 1970s, but today’s reality looks different. The Fed is navigating rising prices fueled by tariffs and the uncertainty that drags on job growth, which means they’ll likely move interest rates only slightly....
by Thomas Powell | Sep 18, 2025 | Commercial Real Estate, Economics, Global Real Estate, Oil & Gas, Six Keys of Capital™, The Founders Office™
Two founders can sell their companies for the same $100M and walk away with very different outcomes—one wealthy, the other barely breaking even. Why? It comes down to the capital stack. Think of it like Jenga: pull from the wrong place early, and the whole structure...
