Absolute Return Podcast

December 17, 2023 - On today’s episode we welcome special guest, Hodes Weill Managing Partner and Co-founder, Doug Weill. Hodes Weill is a leading, global capital advisory firm focused on the real estate and real assets investment and funds management industry. On the show, we discuss:

• How real estate plays a role in investment portfolios
• Which segments of the real estate market are most favourable, and which investors should avoid
• The biggest risk facing real estate investors currently
• His real estate “top pick”
• And more!

October 24, 2023 - On today’s show we welcome special guest, Zapata AI Co-Founder and CEO Christopher Savoie. Zapata AI is an industrial generative AI software company developing solutions and applications to solve enterprises’ hardest problems.On the show we discuss:

• How Christopher went from getting his PhD in a medical field to founding several tech startups
• A deep dive into what artificial intelligence is and what it can accomplish
• Some use cases for industrial generative AI
• How the company offers faster, cheaper, and more accurate generative AI
• And more

 

August 14, 2023 -  On today’s show we welcome special guest, Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz. Bitcoin Depot operates the largest bitcoin ATM network in the world. On the show, we discuss:

• Brandon’s “bitcoin moment” and what initially got him interested in the cryptocurrency
• His entrepreneurial journey and where he got the idea to start the company
• Why their customers use ATMs instead of online exchanges to buy bitcoin
• Bitcoin Depot’s growth initiatives, including their approach to M&A
• What he believes is in store for the future of bitcoin

February 27, 2023 - On today’s show we welcome special guest and the 2022 Dealmaker of the Year, Danny Rice. Danny was the CEO of Rice Acquisition 1, which merged with Archaea Energy in a $1.15 billion deal and then subsequently sold to BP for $4.1 billion. Danny is now the CEO of Rice Acquisition 2, which recently announced a $1.5 billion merger with NET Power, a clean energy technology company.

On the show, Danny discusses:

• Key lessons learned from the Archaea Energy SPAC merger and subsequent sale to BP
• A primer on NET Power’s innovative clean energy technology
• The case for U.S. shale gas powering reliable, clean and low-cost power
• What inspires him as an entrepreneur and business leader
• And more

January 6, 2023 - On today’s show we welcome special guest Phil Bak, CEO of Armada ETF 

Advisors. Phil has been innovating in the ETF industry for over 15 years. He has previously served as Founder/CEO of Exponential ETFs, an ETF issuer and sub-advisor acquired by Tidal ETF Services in 2020. Phil has also served as Chief Investment Officer at Signal Advisors, a venture-backed startup in Detroit and Managing Director at the New York Stock Exchange. On the show, Phil discusses:

 

• Characteristics of ETFs that make them a great tool for investors
• Some major innovations in ETFs over the past 15 years
• The bull case for residential real estate
• What is happening in the private REIT space
• The major risk investors face in private REITs
• And more

On today’s podcast we welcome special guest, Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus. Intuitive Machines is a diversified space exploration, infrastructure, and services company.

On the show, Steve discusses:

-Some of his main learning experiences at NASA and what inspired him to leave to launch a startup
-The current state of the space race
-The potential for long-term lunar infrastructure and commerce
-What he thinks is in store for space exploration over the next 50 years
-And more