Welcome to the Inside Deal!

If you've ever wondered what it really takes to build something extraordinary — not from a textbook, but from the trenches — this is The Inside Deal Podcast. I'm Sam Schneider, Managing Partner at Imperium Capital, and on this show, I sit down with the operators, investors, entrepreneurs, and dealmakers who've built remarkable careers and businesses from the inside out. Real estate is in our DNA, but the conversations go far beyond it — because the principles behind great deals, great companies, and great careers are universal. These aren't surface-level conversations about headlines or hype. They're real stories about risk, resilience, relationships, and the decisions that changed everything. From launching firms in the aftermath of the financial crisis, to building billion-dollar platforms across industries, to navigating massive pivots and coming back stronger after failure — these conversations are candid, tactical, and deeply human. This show is for ambitious people who want to understand how great careers and great businesses are actually built. Whether you're an investor, entrepreneur, operator, student, or just fascinated by high-stakes decision making, you'll hear the lessons that rarely make it into conference panels or social media posts. You'll learn how exceptional people think through uncertainty, build trust, raise capital, spot opportunities others miss, and create relationships that compound over decades. And what makes these conversations different is that I'm not interviewing from the outside. I've lived this world myself — so these episodes feel less like interviews and more like sitting in on an honest conversation between people who've spent years navigating the business together. This is The Inside Deal Podcast.