Let Peace Be Your Umpire - Faith-Driven Leaders With Mitchell Morgan
Or listen wherever you podcast!
Episode Description
On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast's Faith Driven Leaders series, host Nick Stromwall talks with Mitchell "Mitt" Morgan — entrepreneur, fund manager, and self-described financial architect who has structured over $1 billion in equity and debt. Mitt shares how he cut his teeth building capital stacks in a mentor's "war room," why he went out on his own in 2009, and how he recently shifted from structuring deals to becoming a "curator of good sponsors." Along the way he weaves in 30+ years of marriage and parenting wisdom — learning to "tell on yourself," serving without an ulterior motive, letting "peace be your umpire" in decisions, and prizing "influence over obedience." A rich conversation on stewardship, trust, and faith.
Summary
Balancing family and finance takes intention.
Mitt credits intentionality for holding a demanding capital career and a close family in the same hand. Entrepreneurship carries real risk, but one of its benefits is control of his time — time he chooses to invest in his marriage and kids.
Learn to "tell on yourself."
Mitt and his wife developed the "muscle" of taking responsibility — going back to a spouse or child and admitting, "that wasn't about you, that was me." He notes that the problem you think is in front of you is often the baggage behind you, and keeping short accounts builds trust everywhere.
The "war room" made him a financial architect.
A friend from church pulled him into structuring medical-office and surgery-center deals. In a garage "war room" with a giant dry-erase board and an Excel spreadsheet, Mitt learned to translate his mentor's ideas into capital-stack models — an MBA you can't get in school.
Faith is a step into the unknown.
Going out on his own in 2009, just after the crisis, meant "100% risk." Mitt likens faith to the Indiana Jones step onto an unseen bridge — you can't see it until you move, and the pattern repeats throughout a life of following the Holy Spirit's nudge.
He became a curator of good sponsors.
After watching irresponsible sponsors mishandle investor capital — "handing someone a loaded gun" — Mitt shifted to partnering only with operators who do it right. Those principles led him to Rise 48, whose transparency and communication matched his own convictions.
Serve first, without an ulterior motive.
Echoing Zig Ziglar ("you can get everything you want if you help enough people get what they want") and Tom Landry ("with freedom comes responsibility"), Mitt reaches out to build relationships with no angle — and finds far more peace, and better partnerships, that way.
Watch how and when sponsors get paid.
Mitt's biggest diligence tell is fee structure: large fees taken before investors get paid are a red flag. He also champions lesser-known tools like CPACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) — cheaper, non-recourse financing for energy-efficient budget items, especially useful in ground-up development.
Let peace be your umpire — and choose influence over obedience.
When a deal pencils but doesn't sit right (or the reverse), Mitt lets peace decide. And the legacy he wants isn't money but relationship: leading his daughters through "influence over obedience," and coming back to repair when he gets it wrong.
Resources
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchellmorgan18/
Website: https://mlane-inc.com/
