The Dealmakers’ Edge with A.Y. Strauss

The Dealmakers’ Edge with A.Y. Strauss dives deep into the world of commercial real estate, bringing you exclusive stories, insights, and strategies from the industry’s top investors, developers, and dealmakers. Hosted by Aaron Strauss, founder and managing partner of A.Y. Strauss, a leading real estate law firm, this podcast offers a behind-the-scenes look at what drives success in commercial real estate. From uncovering the unique edge of industry leaders to exploring the challenges and triumphs they’ve faced, this podcast is a must-listen for commercial real estate investors, developers, brokers, and professionals looking to sharpen their skills and stay ahead in the competitive market. Whether you’re navigating real estate law, structuring deals, or scaling your portfolio, The Dealmakers’ Edge delivers actionable insights and inspiring stories to help you take your career to the next level. Tune in to gain valuable knowledge and discover what it takes to thrive in

The Dealmakers’ Edge with A.Y. Strauss is a business podcast hosted by A.Y. Strauss, with 85 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

A.Y. Strauss hosts The Dealmakers’ Edge with A.Y. Strauss, a business show with 85 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #83

  From Legal Execution to Business Leadership with Andrew Morris

  Jul 23, 202625 min

  Andrew Morris is a Managing Director at Blue Owl, where he supports the firm’s Real Assets business as a member of the Legal Team. His work spans the firm’s net lease, real estate credit, and digital infrastructure strategies. Before joining Blue Owl, Andrew served as Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at First Eagle Alternative Credit. Earlier in his career, he practiced at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, advising private fund sponsors on legal, regulatory, fund formation, and capital markets matters. He earned his JD, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and his BA in International Affairs, magna cum laude, from The George Washington University. Insights from Andrew Morris on Moving from Legal Execution to Business Leadership Technical expertise can take someone a long way in commercial real estate. The next level requires something different. Leaders have to understand how the business fits together, how decisions affect multiple stakeholders, and where their team can create value beyond the work immediately in front of them. Andrew Morris has built his career around that broader view. As his role expanded, so did the questions he was responsible for answering. The work became less about executing one transaction or solving one legal issue and more about helping people make better decisions, stay aligned, and move the platform forward. In this episode of The Dealmakers’ Edge, Aaron Strauss and Andrew Morris discuss the shift from technical execution to business leadership, what it takes to earn trust across an investment platform, how leaders manage competing priorities, and why understanding the whole picture matters as responsibilities grow. 1:39 - Starting in finance during the financial crisis and finding his path into investment management 3:08 - Advising fund managers at Kirkland and learning how their businesses operate 4:25 - Moving to Chicago and transitioning from outside counsel to an in-house role 6:18 - Joining Blue Owl after the Oak Street acquisition 8:29 - How the role changes from legal execution to managing people and process 10:06 - Staying focused on durable, income-oriented assets in an uncertain market 11:59 - Where digital infrastructure fits within the mission-critical asset strategy 13:37 - Seeing the whole picture and creating value beyond transaction execution 17:58 - Learning the real estate business and earning trust after joining Blue Owl 19:59 - Why understanding a client’s business is the foundation of trust 21:06 - Building a culture where people feel valued and empowered 22:23 - Developing the next generation as the platform continues to grow Mentioned In From Legal Execution to Business Leadership with Andrew Morris Blue Owl | LinkedIn Andrew Morris on LinkedIn Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at podcast@aystrauss.com to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode. Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team: Our website ( www.AYStrauss.com ) Aaron's website bio page ( Aaron's bio page ) Aaron's LinkedIn account ( LinkedIn ) Our Twitter account ( @AYStrauss )

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  Episode #82

  Strategic Capital Solutions in a Recalibrating Market with Seth Fisher

  Jul 13, 202625 min

  Seth Fisher is a Principal and Head of Special Situations at Prime Finance and a member of the firm’s Special Situations Investment Committee. He is responsible for investment, portfolio construction, and asset management activity for the strategy, which Prime now refers to as Strategic Capital Solutions. Prior to joining Prime Finance, Seth was Chief Investment Officer of Equity Investments for Starwood Property Trust’s REIS segment, where he led middle-market investment activity tied to CMBS exposure and commercial real estate special situations. Earlier in his career, he held roles across predecessor business lines at LNR Property, including credit investment activities, note sales, and loan workouts. Seth graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics. Insights from Seth Fisher on Strategic Capital Solutions A borrower may need a stretched senior loan, preferred equity, mezzanine debt, structured equity, or another capital solution altogether. For Seth Fisher and the team at Prime Finance, the advantage is being able to match the capital structure to the sponsor, the asset, and the situation. That flexibility matters in a market where commercial real estate capital structures are still recalibrating for a normalized rate environment. Banks are being more strategic with capital, borrowers are hesitant to lock into long-term fixed-rate debt, and private credit is playing a larger role in how real estate borrowers solve for flexibility. Prime’s rebrand from Special Situations to Strategic Capital Solutions reflects a business that includes secondary loan acquisitions and partnership capital for complex situations. In this episode of The Dealmakers’ Edge, Aaron Strauss and Seth Fisher discuss how today’s recapitalization environment is shaping private credit, why Prime shifted from Special Situations to Strategic Capital Solutions, how flexible capital solutions are structured in practice, and why repeat relationships remain central to deal flow, credibility, and execution in commercial real estate. 1:53 - Learning real estate basics in industrial brokerage 3:15 - How the GFC shaped Seth’s view of risk and downside protection 4:14 - Building the three legs of special situations investing 6:31 - Moving back to Chicago and joining Prime Finance 7:57 - Strategic Capital Solutions and the specialized platform model 10:27 - The current era of recapitalization 16:58 - Rebranding from Special Situations to Strategic Capital Solutions 21:18 - Building relationships before you need them 23:18 - Managing stress by breaking problems into smaller pieces Mentioned In Strategic Capital Solutions in a Recalibrating Market with Seth Fisher Prime Finance | LinkedIn Seth Fisher on LinkedIn Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at podcast@aystrauss.com to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode. Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team: Our website ( www.AYStrauss.com ) Aaron's website bio page ( Aaron's bio page ) Aaron's LinkedIn account ( LinkedIn ) Our Twitter account ( @AYStrauss )

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  The Dealmakers’ Edge with A.Y. Strauss

  Best Of: How Courage and Consistency Close Deals with Henry Stimler

  Jun 18, 202631 min

  Henry Stimler serves as an Executive Managing Director on Newmark’s Capital Markets Strategies team, where he specializes in originating and structuring in multifamily debt and equity with an emphasis on large bespoke portfolio transactions. Based in the firm’s New York headquarters, Stimler is known for guiding traditions Tri-State investors into new high growth markets across the U.S., including the Midwest, Texas and South Florida, while also sourcing global equity from key international cities like London, Tel Aviv and Johannesburg. Prior to joining Newmark, Stimler founded and served as Director of London Green Capital, a debt origination firm. Insights from Henry Stimler on How Courage and Consistency Close Deals Henry Stimler runs a full calendar. Client meetings, travel, prospecting, closings, and pipeline follow-ups take up most days, yet he still takes calls from young professionals, makes time for anyone genuinely trying to learn the business, and sees mentorship as part of the job. That mindset was shaped by starting from zero after the 2008 crash. He went from a thriving business to being overdrawn at the ATM and had to rebuild his career piece by piece. It taught him to focus on real opportunities, protect his time and rely on a team where everyone brings a different strength. In this episode of The Dealmakers’ Edge, Aaron talks with Henry about rebuilding from the ground up, sourcing and structuring large multifamily transactions, and keeping deals on track in challenging market conditions. Henry discusses rejection, resilience, mentorship and what it takes to close complex deals. 1:50 – Henry’s background growing up in London and leaving the traditional path 2:35 – Discovering an arbitrage opportunity and building Phoenix 2:50 – The 2008 crash and losing everything, including assets and business 3:20 – Rebuilding through club promotion, opening venues, and returning to finance 3:53 – Turning a shuttered Chinese restaurant into one of NYC’s hottest nightclubs 6:12 – Closing his first deal and earning a $25K commission before his son was born 6:21 – Transition to Newmark when Cantor rolls platforms together 7:03 – Building a national platform and taking NYC investors into new markets 7:57 – Success is not linear and why connection skills drive outcomes 10:51 – How to spot time wasters and protect your capacity 12:12 – “Fish with a net” and why small maybes drain time 14:24 – Making time for students and early-career outreach 16:35 – Keeping a billion-dollar pipeline moving toward closing 18:53 – Team structure in practice and the yin and yang with Bill Weber 21:32 – Developing junior talent and the cold outreach that led to a $230M closing 29:02 – The perspective and humility carried forward from the 2008 crash Mentioned In How Courage and Consistency Close Deals with Henry Stimler Newmark | LinkedIn Henry Stimler on LinkedIn Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at podcast@aystrauss.com to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode. Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team: Our website ( www.AYStrauss.com ) Aaron's website bio page ( Aaron's bio page ) Aaron's LinkedIn account ( LinkedIn ) Our Twitter account ( @AYStrauss )

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  Episode #81

  Finding the Right Partners and Building for Generations with Sharon Solomon

  May 28, 202631 minS0

  <p>Sharon Solomon is a principal at Northlake Development Group, a family office development business with a pipeline of residential and multifamily projects across Santa Fe, New Mexico and South Florida. At Northlake, Sharon leads development strategy, capital planning, and partnership structuring, building the firm alongside her two sons as a multi-generational platform.</p><p>Prior to launching Northlake, Sharon spent 25 years in financial services, including 11 years at RBC Capital Markets, where she served as US Head of Brand and Client Strategy. Before RBC, she was a member of the executive team at Carlin Financial Group and a founder of...

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  Episode #80

  Raising Capital and Co-GP Investing with Abraham Cooper

  May 14, 202622 minS0

  <p>When Abraham Cooper left JLL in January 2020 to launch Polly Park Capital, the world shut down within weeks. He saw it as an opening. By summer, he had financed Hudson Heritage, a $65 million construction loan for a ShopRite-anchored mixed-use community in upstate New York and one of the few retail construction loans to close anywhere in the country during the pandemic.</p><p>Polly Park was built as a merchant bank with two business lines. On the advisory side, Abraham has placed capital for transactions ranging from a $360 million construction financing for a senior living community in Tysons Corner...

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