Burning The Ships

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Bryce Matheson—founder of Lender, a fast-growing software platform built specifically for private and hard money lenders. Bryce’s story is a perfect example of how real businesses are built: through trial and error, painful lessons, and the willingness to take action before everything feels “ready.”

We walk through Bryce’s journey from house hacking and rentals, to flipping homes...

In this solo episode of Burning the Ships, I talk about something that drives nearly every decision I make: the example I’m setting for my kids. This isn’t about parenting hacks, discipline strategies, or telling your kids how to live—it’s about modeling the life you hope they grow into by how you show up every single day.

I walk through how my wife and I think about love, gratitude, kindness, health, work ethic, independence, and e...

In this solo episode of Burning the Ships, I’m wrapping up the year with a raw, unfiltered conversation about the single most powerful skill that has shaped my life, my business, and this podcast: consistency. This episode also marks a milestone I didn’t even realize we had hit—200 episodes over two years—and that realization sparked a deeper reflection on why showing up matters more than talent, metrics, or motivation.

I talk about...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Joe Jones—the inventor of the Roomba and one of the most fascinating engineers and thinkers I’ve ever had on the show. Joe’s story isn’t just about robotics; it’s about curiosity, patience, resilience, and spending decades chasing meaningful work without ever obsessing over fame, money, or an “exit.”

Joe walks through his journey from growing up in a small rural town, to discover...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with my business partner and longtime friend, Bill Phillips, for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what the last year has really been like inside 608B Capital Funding. Bill has been buried deep in the operational trenches—underwriting loans, managing the chaos of fast growth, and keeping the machine running while we’ve scaled from “hoping for one good loan a month” to consistently ...

In this solo episode of Burning the Ships, I’m breaking down one of the most important topics in our business: raising capital. Instead of interviewing a guest this week, I’m pulling back the curtain on how we built 608B Capital Funding from an idea to a $20 million debt fund in under two and a half years—without sales gimmicks, without shortcuts, and without ever losing sight of consistency.

I walk through the real story of how we ...

Description

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with my friend and mentor, Mary Hart—retired attorney, real estate investor, and founder of Fair Oaks Funding to talk about private lending, abundance, and legacy. We unpack how Mary went from practicing law to running a zero-foreclosure lending company, why she believes collaboration beats competition, and how she’s helping investors all over the country build true financ...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with my friend and one of the most encouraging humans I know, Chuck Glover—a former school teacher and administrator who didn’t find his true calling in real estate and private lending until his late 60s.

Chuck spent decades doing things “the right way”: 27 years in education, a handful of “solid but stagnant” businesses, and a consulting career that never quite broke through. Then, a...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Nathan Janocka, a Central Virginia investor who went from nearly losing everything in construction to flipping over 80 properties a year and building a thriving real estate company rooted in discipline, systems, and humility.

Nathan shares how he learned to rebuild after early failure, what it really takes to scale a flipping operation, and how he’s using that momentum to move in...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Lisa Englehart, a powerhouse real estate investor, developer, and mentor from Richmond, Virginia whose story is a masterclass in perseverance, grit, and reinvention.

Lisa shares how she went from working in banking to selling REO properties after the 2008 crash, and how one life-changing event with mentor Jim Ingersoll completely transformed her path. Today, she’s known for devel...

In this solo episode of Burning the Ships, I dive deep into the BRRRR strategy for real estate investing—the exact method my business partner, Bill Phillips, and I used to build a profitable rental portfolio, create long-term wealth, and eventually leave our W-2 jobs behind.

I walk you through each stage of the BRRRR method—Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, and Repeat—the proven framework popularized by BiggerPockets investors Brandon Tu...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Leah Coleman, a powerhouse realtor, investor, and connector from Richmond, Virginia, who’s redefining what it means to build wealth and resilience, one relationship and one property at a time.

Leah’s story spans decades of transformation: from working in finance and retail management to mastering wholesaling in her 20s, navigating the 2008 crash, and reinventing herself as a real...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Kyle Doriety, a South Carolina investor who just did what most people only dream about: quit his job after 11 years to go all-in on entrepreneurship.

Kyle’s journey started on a family farm, where he learned the value of hard work from his parents and grandparents. He spent more than a decade in a secure, well-paying corporate job before deciding that comfort wasn’t the same as c...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Antonio Edwards – a 757 native, real estate investor, and visionary tech founder who’s merging automation and real estate in ways that will blow your mind.

Antonio shares his wild journey from producing beats in Virginia Beach to flipping over 20 houses his first year in business all sparked by a single book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. We dive into his early days of wholesaling, how ment...

In this solo episode of Burning the Ships, I continue our tactical series on taking down a single-family investment deal, this time focusing on the most dangerous part of the process: managing rehabs and contractors.

It’s one thing to find and fund a deal. It’s another to execute the rehab efficiently, on budget, and without losing your mind. In this episode, I walk through the entire rehab management process—from pre-closing prep a...

In this powerful episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Sandra Arnold — a real estate investor, wife, mom of three, and Sweden native whose journey embodies grit, resilience, and reinvention.

Sandra shares how growing up with a father battling addiction shaped her drive to create a better life, one built on independence, hard work, and purpose. From leaving Sweden for college in the U.S., to balancing motherhood, homeschoolin...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with my friend Caleb Pearson, a Charleston-based real estate investor who’s built an impressive empire through brokerage, fix-and-flip, multifamily, and hard money lending.

Caleb shares his journey from selling 100 homes in his first 18 months, to flipping 75–100 properties a year, to building a diversified portfolio of multifamily and mobile home parks. We also dive into how he struc...

In this solo episode of Burning the Ships, I break down one of the biggest questions new and seasoned real estate investors face: how do I fund my deals?

I walk through every major funding option I’ve personally used—cash, self-directed retirement accounts, HELOCs, unsecured lines of credit, private money, hard money loans, and even seller financing. Each comes with its trade-offs, costs, and opportunities for scale. I share real ex...

In this episode of Burning the Ships, I sit down with Brandon Lindsey, founder of The Rehabber’s Playbook, to talk about his journey from baseball dreams to real estate investing and community building.

We cover his first deal inspired by Rich Dad, Poor Dad, learning construction from scratch, and how he built a thriving national network that helps hundreds of investors succeed in rehabs. Brandon opens up about growing up in adversi...