In this episode, Craig McGrouther interviews Mike Sullivant from Aspen Funds, discussing Mike's journey in real estate, the differences between corporate and small business environments, and the various investment strategies offered by Aspen Funds. Mike shares insights on mortgage notes, investment returns, and the importance of data-driven decisio…

Send us a text Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest in education technology, AI developments, and key edtech funding moves. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:53] 🗽 Recap of New York EdTech Week, highlighting key themes and vibrant energy from the event. [00:04:37] 📈 Discussion on the rise of micro companies, with lower barri…

Colin Hanna - Partner at Balderton Capital. Balderton is multi-stage venture firm with over twenty years of expertise in aiding European founders from the initial seed stage through to IPO. According to Dealroom they have invested in over 30 companies valued at over a billion euros - among them Revolut, Sinch and Waye among many others. Recently th…

In this episode of the Lone Star Capital podcast, @Craig McGrouther and I discuss personal updates, upcoming events, and significant improvements within our company. We dive into operational changes, financial insights regarding cash-on-cash returns, and the current market conditions affecting investment strategies. The conversation highlights the …

Send us a text Brian Shaw is the CEO of Discovery Education, a global leader in educational technology that reaches over 45 million students and 4.5 million educators across 100+ countries. With a background in finance and corporate strategy from his roles at Red Ventures and Time Warner Cable, Brian has extensive experience in M&A and business int…

In this episode of Fund Friday, Craig McGrouther hosts, Travis Smith and Seth Bradley from TribeVest discussing the evolution of fund management, particularly the shift from the co-GP model to the fund of funds approach. They explore the challenges faced by capital raisers and accredited investors in accessing quality deals, the compliance benefits…

In this episode of Spotlight On, Alex Dyke sits down with Mike Essex, Senior Partner at Wipro, to discuss how effective leadership can thrive in the face of complex, global digital transformation challenges and the fast-evolving dynamics of today’s workforce. Mike shares his experience leading digital transformation programs across global teams, em…

In this episode of the Lone Star Capital podcast, Craig McGrouther and I discuss various aspects of commercial real estate investing, focusing on the importance of understanding investor sophistication, the differences between institutional and retail investors, and the significance of storytelling in securing investments. We also delve into the cu…

Send us a text Auditi Chakravarty is CEO of AERDF (the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund). AERDF applies Advanced Inclusive R&D to find potentially transformative teaching and learning solutions that can scale, centering on the assets, strengths, and needs of Black and Latino learners and all learners experiencing poverty. Auditi als…

In this episode, Craig McGrouther and Brad Oliver, our Director of Acquisitions at Lone Star Capital, discuss the current state of the real estate market, focusing on acquisitions, deal flow, and the impact of foreclosures. They explore the challenges and opportunities in the marketplace, particularly in Texas, and delve into the importance of unde…

Send us a text Stephen Jull was the COO/CFO and co-founder of GeoGebra GmbH (acquired by BYJU’S in 2021), and a limited partner at Emerge Education. With a PhD from Cambridge and over two decades of experience in EdTech, Stephen has led transformative projects in mathematics, STEM education, and AI-driven learning at a global scale. He is also the …

George Henry - General Partner at LocalGlobe - the seed fund which is according to Dealroom figures, EMEA’s most successful investor in unicorns at seed stage. LocalGlobe invests across Europe and some of its notable investments include Wise, Improbable, Motorway, Tide and Automata. George himself focuses on finding the next generation of industry-…

In this episode of the Lone Star Capital podcast, Craig McGrouther and I discuss a range of topics including personal updates, current deal flow, upcoming events, market insights, and the complexities of prepayment penalties in real estate financing. We delve into the differences between fixed, floating, and bridge loans, and how market conditions …

Send us a text Katie Kurtz is Managing Director and Global Head of Youth and Learning at YouTube where she is responsible for developing the ecosystem to engage, inform, and educate kids, teens, and adults. Katie joined YouTube in 2019 after serving as Chief Product Officer at Noodle Partners, an online program manager designing and building fully …

In this episode of Fund Friday, Craig McGrouther interviews David Priest from Paratus Commercial Group. They discuss David's journey in real estate, focusing on his transition from single-family homes to multifamily investing. David shares insights on the current market trends, the importance of experience in capital raising, and his investment cri…

Send us a text Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest in education technology, AI developments, and key edtech funding moves. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:05:12] 👩‍🏫 OpenAI raises $6.5B and launches OpenAI Academy [00:09:05] 📚 Google’s $120M AI Education Fund and NotebookLM tools [00:15:03] 🦜 Duolingo’s AI strategy and recor…

Send us a text Oliver Page is the Co-founder & CEO at CyberNut. Starting his journey as a teenage founder of NutKase Accessories, Oliver scaled the business to 60 countries before transitioning to cybersecurity. Now, with CyberNut, he focuses on providing schools with gamified, easy-to-use cybersecurity training. He is also an Angel Investor, and S…

In this episode of the Lone Star Capital podcast, Craig McGrouther and I discuss the recent acquisition of Cortland Med Center, navigating market volatility, and the complexities of the Baby REIT structure. We highlight the importance of teamwork in the acquisition process, share insights from our recent summit, and delve into the topic of generati…

Send us a text Tal Havivi is the Managing Director of R&D at ASCD + ISTE, focusing on initiatives to improve the health and effectiveness of the EdTech market. He leads research around high-quality EdTech design, programs focused on improving evaluation processes in school systems, and supports EdTech providers. Previously, he led Education Strateg…

In this episode, Austin Palacios, founder of Co-hosting Acquisitions, shares his transition from wealth management to becoming a thriving Airbnb manager. Starting with house hacking and a small multi-family property, he quickly saw the potential of short-term rentals and scaled his portfolio across various markets. Austin highlights the importance …

Send us a text Join hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the latest developments in education technology, from AI breakthroughs to new VC investments and edtech reports. ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:16] 🧠 OpenAI’s New Reasoning Model - ChatGPT o1 (Strawberry) [00:07:20] 📚 AI's Role in Education - Practical Use Cases [00:14:03] 👩‍💻 Comm…

Send us a text Jennifer Holland is the Director of Program Management at Google for Education. With over 17 years at Google, she has been a pivotal figure in the development of Google for Education and Google Classroom. Jennifer has played a key role in shaping the tools that have transformed teaching and learning in K-12 and higher education. 💡 5 …

Lukas Saari - CEO and Co-founder of Tandem Health. Tandem is building an AI co-pilot for healthcare practitioners. Their first product is an ambient scribe that listens during the patient-doctor consultation, transcribes the conversation and generates the draft of the medical note. They were founded only 1 year ago, and recently closed a ~$10M seed…

In this episode, we welcome Matthew Carnuccio and John Gaynier from Rogers Gray to discuss the evolving insurance needs of multifamily property owners. Matthew, a Partner and Vice President with expertise in real estate insurance, and John, an Executive Vice President specializing in insurance for property, hospitality, and construction sectors, br…

Send us a text ThinkHumanTV delivers evidence-based emotional skills training and assessment by integrating with major streaming sites like Netflix and Disney+. The platform employs a research-based training methodology and curricula developed by our founding team of Columbia cognitive scientists. The methodology involves explicitly teaching emotio…

In this episode, Craig McGrouther sits down with Tyler Lyons, Chief Investment Officer at ASYM Capital. Tyler shares his journey into real estate and his experience joining the firm. He emphasizes the importance of skill-building, persistence, and local relationship-building for success. Tyler provides an inside look at ASYM Capital’s shift from ca…

Florian Brand co-founder and Co-CEO of ATAI Life Sciences. ATAI was founded in 2018 and is a global, listed, biopharma company with the vision to heal mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life. They were one of the pioneers to use psilocybin in treating mental health and they have raised around $400M equity…

Send us a text Jomayra Herrera is a Partner at Reach Capital, where she leads investments in companies like Guild Education and Handshake. She is passionate about diversity in venture capital, serving on the board of SomosVC to promote Latino representation. Lyman Missimer is the former Head of M&A and Partnerships at Newsela, where he led key acqu…

In this episode, Sam Silverman dives into the latest updates in his business, discussing both the deal and agency sides. He highlights how his mastermind community, Fully Funded, supports capital raisers and operators by helping them raise capital, grow their businesses, and network. Sam breaks down the additional services offered by Fully Funded, …

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell, as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week! ✨ Episode Highlights: [00:03:25] 💰 OpenAI in Talks for $100B Valuation, 200M Weekly Active Users, Considers Higher-Priced Subscriptions [00:15:18] 🖼 Google launches Gems and Imagen 3 [00:18:53] 🐝 Anthropic …

In this episode, Craig McGrouther and I dive into real estate investment and operational improvements. Learn how partnering with experienced managers can reduce risk and how the looming recession might impact your investment strategies. We also explore the benefits of streamlining reporting and communication processes and why prioritizing fewer, hi…

Michael Lazarenko, founder and CEO of Embedd. With Embedd they provide a unified framework so that all the components coming from tens of different manufacturers can communicate with each other on the circuit board. They raised $1.2M Eur pre-seed round led by Cocoa in May last year and now they are ready and gearing up to raise their seed round. Du…

In this episode of Fund Friday, Craig McGrouther sits down with Scott Croul, Senior Vice President at PeakHill Capital. Scott shares his extensive experience in commercial real estate, spanning several decades and multiple market cycles. From his beginnings at CBRE to his current role focusing on preferred equity and loan workouts, Scott provides i…

In this episode, join us as we talk about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and our goal to secure select sponsor status. I dive into the perks of this status, such as better rates and treatment. We also discusses the obstacles podcasters face with these agencies. Our conversation then moves to current market trends, focusing on occupancy rates and rent g…

In this episode, Craig McGrouther sits down with Matt Fore, co-founder of Next Level Income, to dive into his real estate journey and investment strategies. Matt shares his shift from a corporate job to real estate, highlighting Next Level Income’s diverse investments in multifamily, mobile home parks, car washes, and private credit. They discuss t…

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell, as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week: 🎯 Rumors about OpenAI's "Project Strawberry" 📰 ChatGPT now includes Wired, Vogue, and The New Yorker 🤝 New AI fund by GitLab Foundation, Ballmer Group, and OpenAI 🔊 Google launches Gemini Live to rival Chat…

In this episode of Spotlight On, Josh White, Co-Founder & CEO of Cano Water discusses his mission to combat plastic pollution. Inspired by a trip to Thailand, Josh and his friends created a sustainable water brand using aluminium cans. The discussion explores the rewards of building a business with a strong environmental focus and how Cano Water ha…

In this episode, Craig McGrouther and I discuss various facets of our real estate business, touching on capital raising, syndication, and operations. We compare syndication and joint venture equity, examine private equity trends, and discuss the challenges of operations. Our conversation also covers the importance of small wins, balancing business …

Send us a text Dr. Paul J. LeBlanc is the Board Chair for Human Systems, a new AI and Education company he co-founded with noted researcher George Siemens. Until June 2024, he served as President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). He remains at SNHU as a researcher, writer, and advisor. Under the 20 years of Paul’s direction, SNHU has mor…

In this episode, Craig McGrouther interviews Nick D'Angelo, President Saint Investment Group, about his journey in the investment industry and his insights on the current market. cover topics like recession concerns, inflation's impact on American families, and opportunities in the industrial and debt sectors. Nick shares his expertise in debt inve…

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and guest host, Matt Tower, as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week: 🧠 OpenAI's ChatGPT 5 is Coming 🚪 High-Level Departures at OpenAI 🚫 AI Detection Technology Still Unreleased 🦙 Meta Launches LLAMA 3 and AI Studio 🤝 Google Hires Character.AI Co-founders 🎓 Communi…

Are you aware of the hidden expenses affecting your multifamily investments? In this video, we’ll explore the three critical types of expenses: operating expenses (OPEX), capital expenses (CAPEX), and those tricky non-recurring expenses that aren’t on your P&L but still impact your NOI. Plus, learn how these expenses influence your DSCR and why it’…

Alexandre Momeni - Partner at General Catalyst. Alex specialises in healthcare and AI and has been instrumental in bringing some of Europe’s biggest AI deals to General Catlayst’s door. For background General Catalyst, has $28bn assets under management and is one of the world’s best known VC firms. They backed some of greatest businesses that you p…

In this episode, Craig and I discuss various topics including the upcoming summit event, the impact of a recession on multifamily investing, our recent lunch with the Houston Housing Authority, and the different types of expenses in a multifamily investment. We highlight the importance of networking events and the value of meeting high-level indivi…

Send us a text Prashant Raizada is a serial entrepreneur deeply committed to changing the status quo in education, future of work & sustainability. He was part of the founding team of Infosys BPM, playing a key role towards a $2B exit. Later, he built EnglishUp as Brazil's 3rd largest but most loved online English learning platform as a flagship co…

In this episode of Fund Friday, I sit down with Danny Danny Gould, CEO of Gould Capital, as he shares his fascinating journey from the residential real estate market in the Bay Area to the dynamic world of hotels. Danny dives into his passion for hospitality, the intricacies of hotel operations, and the current state of the market, especially in li…

Robert Jäkle is a Partner at Visionaries Club. Visionaries is a leading European early-stage VC fund with offices in London and Berlin. The fund is backed by over 30 unicorn founders - such as the founders of UiPath, Flixbus, Miro and Skype - as well as leading European family business entrepreneurs. Bobby joined the fund on day one and has helped …

In this episode, Craig and I dive into the stock market, break down the differences between JV equity and syndicated equity, and discuss why we’ve decided to move away from advertising with on some of the mainstream apartment listing sites. We also explore the psychological aspects of investing and the benefits of exploring alternative advertising …

Send us a text Andrew Goldman joined HMH in 2024 when HMH acquired Writable, where he, as Co-Founder and CEO, oversaw business and product strategy. Andrew joined HMH as the EVP of HMH Labs, a newly formed division that pursues innovative product development through a highly cross-functional team structure. Previously, he was the Founder and CEO of…

In this episode, Craig McGrouther sits down with Jeremy Roll, a legendary investor renowned for his expertise in real estate and market trends. With a wealth of experience, Jeremy has navigated various economic cycles and is known for his strategic insights into investment strategies. His focus on stabilized cash-flow properties and understanding m…