In this episode of 4200%, Anthony talks with Ben Fertig, CEO of Constructive Capital, who shares how he built and scaled multiple businesses in the private lending space over three decades.

From starting as a loan officer with no mortgage experience to leading a 200+ employee company funding up to a thousand loans a month, Ben breaks down the mindset shifts leaders must make to scale, the lessons from selling to private equity and Blackstone, and how adapting to crises shaped his approach.

He explains the difference between management and leadership, the value of constant iteration, and why focusing on people is the real key to growth and market share.

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(00:00:26) Ben Fertig's unconventional entry into the mortgage industry

(00:01:50) Starting in sales and moving into management in under a year

(00:05:45) How leadership and management differ as teams grow

(00:08:30) Adapting leadership to a changing employee base post-COVID

(00:10:59) Using structured feedback to strengthen culture and efficiency

(00:12:33) Transparency and anonymous feedback at scale

(00:14:27) Selling Jordan Capital twice: lessons from both exits

(00:17:12) Why you shouldn't run a company just to sell it

(00:20:11) The "three milestones" mindset for scaling operations

(00:21:00) Kaizen and constant iteration in building resilient companies

(00:23:06) How crises and market shocks build better businesses

(00:25:06) Planning liquidity and capital relationships to weather downturns

(00:28:19) Why investing in people is the key to durable scale

(00:30:39) Ben's top advice for founders ready to scale

(00:32:20) Book recommendations for modern leaders

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Links:

Anthony Geraci on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-geraci

Ben Fertig on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-fertig-23604170

Constructive Capital:

https://www.constructiveloans.com/