He Quit IT After 25 Years and Built a $250M Real Estate Portfolio | Jens Nielsen

How Billionaire Families Invest in Real Estate — From the Man They Trust | DJ Van Keuren

70% of family wealth is gone by the second generation. 90% disappears by the third. DJ Van Keuren has seen it happen firsthand, including one family that lost $800 million in a single generation. DJ, Co-Founder of Evergreen Property Partners, President of the Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization, Top 10 Family Office Real Estate Professional, and the Founder of the Family Office Real Estate Institute — joins Sam Sells for a rare inside look at how billionaire families invest, preserve, and sometimes lose their wealth. With 25+ years advising prominent families — including the Marriotts, the founder of Giorgio Perfume, and an MLB team owner — DJ breaks down family governance, the generational divide between returns-first and impact-first investing, and why the only three mandates he ever receives are: don't lose money, don't lose money, don't lose money. Sam and DJ also explore why patient family office capital is the ideal partner for impact-driven startups, how AI is reshaping investment strategy, and why nothing will ever replace face-to-face relationships. In this episode, you'll hear: → Why 70% of wealth is lost by Gen 2 — and the $800M loss DJ witnessed → How the next generation prioritizes saving the world over maximizing returns → The three mandates every family gives DJ: don't lose money (x3) → Family governance: how to structure a family for multi-generational success → Why family office portfolios target 7% — and how tax offsets boost to 10-15% → The generational risk divide: conservative real estate vs. PropTech → Why family offices are better partners than VC for impact companies → How AI is moving faster than even AI companies can keep up → Why face-to-face will always beat Zoom ⭐ Love the show? Leave a rating & review — it helps more people find us! 🔗 Connect with DJ Van Keuren: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djvankeuren Website: https://djvankeuren.com 🔗 Connect with Sam Sells: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsells/ https://www.facebook.com/impactsamuel ⁠facebook.com/sam.sells.16⁠ ⁠instagram.com/thedisruptivecapitalists https://grantauthority.org https://impactgrowthcap.com https://brightstead.com 🔗 Follow The Disruptive Capitalists: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/id1644437927 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1I5tdqJNcxCB2Qiu1lfZyJ?si=4a4cf07923394bb9 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@disruptivecapitalists/podcasts Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDW71563?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PZGDSPN2ASGH1HR8PADY Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/PC:1001025132 Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests. The content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. Listeners should seek legal or professional advice before making any decisions based on the discussions in this podcast.

He Quit IT After 25 Years and Built a $250M Real Estate Portfolio | Jens Nielsen

After 25 years in IT and a midlife crisis at 45, Jens Nielsen made a decision that changed his life: he was done working for the man. A decade later, he's a general partner in 2,700+ apartments worth $250 million, co-founder of Incrementum Equity Partners, and a Certified High Performance Coach with over 100 clients. In this episode, Jens joins Sam Sells for an honest conversation about the state of real estate in 2026. He explains why he hasn't bought a multifamily deal in two years, why the old underwriting formulas are dead, and how he's finding double-digit cap rates in light industrial — an asset class most investors overlook. He also shares what his 82 year-old mentor taught him about surviving every market crash. Sam and Jens explore where AI is actually impacting real estate (property management), where it can't (title insurance — 99% accurate is still wrong), and how Jens uses his coder's brain to approach deals with the precision of writing code: one wrong character and the whole thing breaks. In this episode, you'll hear: → How Jens built $250M in real estate after leaving a 25-year IT career → Why he stopped buying multifamily and pivoted to light industrial → Double-digit cap rates and simpler management in industrial → Why the old underwriting formulas are dead → What 525 basis points in 18 months did to the market → The 82-year-old mentor who survived every crash → Where AI works in real estate and where it fails → The coder's brain: vision, clarity, and precision in deals and coaching → High performance coaching: vision before goals ⭐ Love the show? Leave a rating & review — it helps more people find us! 🔗 Connect with Jens Nielsen: https://www.facebook.com/jens.nielsen.5243 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jens-nielsen-multi-family-real-estate-coach/ https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@JensNielsenCoaching⁩  [https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCaZPuTCUaTJ04PXie_B5SAg] Website: https://jensnielsen.us Open Doors Capital: https://opendoorscapital.com Incrementum Equity: https://incrementumequity.com 🔗 Connect with Sam Sells: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsells/ https://www.facebook.com/impactsamuel ⁠facebook.com/sam.sells.16⁠ instagram.com/thedisruptivecapitalists https://grantauthority.orghttps://impactgrowthcap.com https://brightstead.com 🔗 Follow The Disruptive Capitalists: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/id1644437927 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1I5tdqJNcxCB2Qiu1lfZyJ?si=4a4cf07923394bb9 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@disruptivecapitalists/podcasts Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDW71563?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PZGDSPN2ASGH1HR8PADY Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/PC:1001025132 Disclaimer:    The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests. The content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. Listeners should seek legal or professional advice before making any decisions based on the discussions in this podcast.

He Built Two 8-Figure Companies and Crashed Six. Here's What He Learned. | Tom Dunkel

Tom Dunkel has built two 8-figure companies, crashed six, raised over $65 million in private capital, and survived the 2008 financial crisis as a brand-new entrepreneur. He's not here to tell you real estate always goes up. He's here to tell you what actually happens, and how to win anyway. As Managing Director of Eagle Capital Investments, Tom invests alongside his investors in every deal. If he's not writing a check, you never see it. In this raw conversation with Sam Sells, Tom breaks down the three lessons that cost him millions to learn: surround yourself with the right people, find a niche and dominate it, and go deep until you're the best in the country at one thing. He also introduces the SAFE Method (Sponsor, Asset, Financials, Exit), a due diligence framework that starts with the sponsor, not the spreadsheet. Because as Tom puts it, "If it's JoeDealGuy@Gmail.com, you probably want to move on." Sam matches the honesty, admitting that every bad deal he ever did was outside his niche, and both agree you shouldn't take mentoring from anyone who hasn't lost at least a million dollars. In this episode, you'll hear: → The 3 costly lessons: right people, niche, go deep → Why Tom crashed 6 businesses and what each failure taught him → The SAFE Method for vetting real estate deals → Why sponsor due diligence matters more than financials → Why you must fund your operators, or your investment is toast → The 2008 crisis, 525 basis points, and hard lessons learned → Why cash flow and preservation beat home run deals every time 🔗 Connect with Tom Dunkel: Website: eaglecapitalinvestments.com https://tomdunkel.ai https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomdunkel instagram.com/dunkeltd Book: The Wealth Builder's Playbook 🔗 Connect with Sam Sells: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsells/ https://www.facebook.com/impactsamuel ⁠facebook.com/sam.sells.16⁠ ⁠instagram.com/thedisruptivecapitalists https://grantauthority.org https://brightstead.com 🔗 Follow The Disruptive Capitalists: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/id1644437927 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1I5tdqJNcxCB2Qiu1lfZyJ?si=4a4cf07923394bb9 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@disruptivecapitalists/podcasts Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDW71563?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PZGDSPN2ASGH1HR8PADY Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/PC:1001025132 ⭐ Love the show? Leave a rating & review — it helps more people find us! Disclaimer:    The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests. The content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. Listeners should seek legal or professional advice before making any decisions based on the discussions in this podcast.

Your Money Is About to Become a Weapon Against You | David Morgan

What happens when your money becomes programmable, and someone else decides what you can buy, where you can go, and how much meat you're allowed to eat? David Morgan, publisher of The Morgan Report, author of The Silver Manifesto, and creator of the Silver Sunrise documentary, has spent over 40 years warning that the real threat to our wealth isn't a market crash. It's the system itself. In this episode, David joins Sam Sells to break down why programmable money is coming, how China's social credit system is the beta test for the world, and why a billionaire in the new system could live like a pauper if they say the wrong thing online. He traces his journey from noticing silver disappear from U.S. coins at age 11 to becoming one of the most respected voices in the sound money movement — starting with a single subscriber who paid $60. David also introduces the technocratic era: a system where AI and engineers replace the political class, and everything you buy, say, and think is tracked. Sam confirms from inside the AI industry that the technology David warns about isn't hypothetical — it's already here. In this episode, you'll hear: → Why programmable money is the biggest threat to financial freedom → How China's cashless system is the global beta test → Why you could be a billionaire and live like a pauper under social credit → David's 40-year journey from "kook" to one of the most respected voices in sound money → The technocratic era: AI and engineers replacing politicians → How predictive analytics already track your every purchase → Why AI is not a bubble — it's the future → The connection between Elon Musk's grandfather and the technocracy movement 🔗 Connect with David Morgan:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedavidmorgan/ Website: https://www.themorganreport.com Book: The Silver Manifesto 🎬 Watch Silver Sunrise for FREE: silversunrise.tv 🔗 Connect with Sam Sells: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsells/ https://www.facebook.com/impactsamuel ⁠facebook.com/sam.sells.16⁠ ⁠instagram.com/thedisruptivecapitalists https://grantauthority.org https://brightstead.com 🔗 Follow The Disruptive Capitalists: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/id1644437927 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1I5tdqJNcxCB2Qiu1lfZyJ?si=4a4cf07923394bb9 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@disruptivecapitalists/podcasts Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDW71563?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PZGDSPN2ASGH1HR8PADY Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/PC:1001025132 ⭐ Love the show? Leave a rating & review — it helps more people find us! Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests. The content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. Listeners should seek legal or professional advice before making any decisions based on the discussions in this podcast.

AI Is Bigger Than the Internet. A Top VC Explains Why. | Mike Collins

Mike Collins founded Alumni Ventures at 49. People called him crazy. Now it manages $1.5 billion in assets, has invested in 1,500+ companies including 31 unicorns and 14 IPOs, and is one of the most active VC firms on the planet. In this episode, Mike joins Sam Sells for a deep dive into the venture capital model he built to democratize access for individual investors, why AI represents a super cycle bigger than the internet, and why the Innovator's Dilemma guarantees that small, agile teams with AI will outpace giant incumbents at every inflection point. Mike also delivers sharp fundraising advice: secure a lead investor first, demonstrate real customer traction, and prove your product can't be swallowed by platform giants like OpenAI or Google. Sam adds his own perspective as a founder building AI tools for government grants, where hallucination filters aren't a feature — they're a regulatory requirement. In this episode, you'll hear: → How Mike built Alumni Ventures from a $1.5M Dartmouth alumni fund to a $1.5B unicorn → The co-investing model that gets AV into the best deals without leading rounds → Why AI is a super cycle with cross-industry impact bigger than the internet → The Innovator's Dilemma and why big companies lose at inflection points → Why durable advantage comes from staying on the leading capability curve → Moats AI can't break: live sports, human experiences, entrenched SaaS → Tactical fundraising advice for founders raising in 2026 → Why your startup feature must survive platform risk → Sam's hallucination filter for high-stakes government grant AI 🔗 Connect with Mike Collins: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-collins-362100/ Alumni Ventures: https://www.av.vc Twitter/X: @MikeCollinsAV 🔗 Connect with Sam Sells: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsells/ https://www.facebook.com/impactsamuel ⁠facebook.com/sam.sells.16⁠ ⁠instagram.com/thedisruptivecapitalists https://grantauthority.org 🔗 Follow The Disruptive Capitalists: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/id1644437927 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1I5tdqJNcxCB2Qiu1lfZyJ?si=4a4cf07923394bb9 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@disruptivecapitalists/podcasts Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDW71563?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PZGDSPN2ASGH1HR8PADY Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-disruptive-capitalists/PC:1001025132 ⭐ Love the show? Leave a rating & review — it helps more people find us! Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests. The content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. Listeners should seek legal or professional advice before making any decisions based on the discussions in this podcast.