#58: Adam Blake - Starting, Scaling, and Exiting Ventures
Adam Blake is a real estate and technology entrepreneur that has started, scaled, and exited multiple ventures and private equity-backed companies. He and Chris met early in their studies at Texas Christian University as they developed their own real estate careers. Adam has played a huge role in Chris's life as he served as the inspiration and provided the mentorship that led Chris to make his first real estate purchase during his freshman year at TCU. They have since held a close relationship over the last 16 years. On this pod, they talk about Adam building his first real estate company in college, his first million dollar deal, pivoting into Solar software, the process of exiting multiple companies, and his thoughts on a future with COVID-19. Enjoy! To learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on Twitter! @FortWorthChris 02:05 — Adam’s Story and What Lead Him to Be an Entrepreneur 06:32 — Adam’s Father and The Impact His Death Had on Him 07:38 — How did your first real estate company come together while you were at TCU? 11:08 — When was the first time you did a deal that made you a significant amount of money? 12:34 — How did you raise the money for that deal at only 18 years old? 13:34 — Adam’s Experience Winning The Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award & Meeting Chris Powers 15:41 — Adam’s First Million Dollar Deal 17:18 — Adam’s Journey Through The '08 Recession and His Success Through a Dallas Condo Deal 21:31 — Moving to Kansas City and Pivoting Away From Real Estate and Into the Solar industry 23:51 — What did you like about the solar industry and what was your experience like growing & exiting this company? 28:50 — You started building software at Brightergy yet how does a non-technically oriented leader create a software culture? 32:32 — Why did you exit the solar industry? What mistakes were made during this process that you’ll never forget? 37:23 — Is there anything you would’ve done differently in the selling process? 39:16 — How did you get the inspiration for your next company, Zego? 42:10 — What made you decide to sell Zego at an early stage? 46:05 — Should more people take the route you did in selling Zego? 47:57 — What is it about Vista that makes them such a great PE company? 49:17 — How do you develop an "awesome" product? 50:52 — How has your perspective changed over time with a wife, 4 children, and a son with Autism? 53:58 — Adam’s Son 56:17 — Adam’s Core Values in His Weekly Rundown and How He Came Up With This Concept 58:36 — What are you thinking, seeing, and feeling right now as it relates to the COVID-19 situation? 1:01:49 — What do you see happening for yourself in the next year? 1:06:05 — Does this give you a different perspective as to what your next career move will be? The FORT is produced by Straight Up Podcasts