"My Ego Cost Me, Not My Faith" - Scott Wilson
Or listen wherever you podcast!
Episode Description
On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast, host Jeremy Dyer talks with Tony Figliola, founder of Passive Investment Pros, who helps engineers and technical professionals diversify beyond the stock market into private multifamily real estate. A mechanical engineer himself, Tony shares how he moved from trying to operate deals solo to building a rigorous vetting process for investing passively. The conversation digs into the non-negotiables when evaluating operators and deals, the assumptions that make pro formas unrealistic, why analysis paralysis holds smart investors back, and how retirement accounts can be repositioned into real estate. A practical listen for analytical investors weighing their first passive deal.
Summary
Faith can't be a Sunday-only thing.
Scott describes years where faith was "something I did on Sundays occasionally" while his Monday-to-Saturday life looked very different. His recovery forced him to make faith holistic rather than compartmentalized — the heart of his "ragamuffin" story.
It's a relationship, not a religion.
The turning point for Scott was realizing faith isn't a to-do list or a don't list, but a one-on-one relationship where he lets God be "the architect of the path I walk." Knowing he was loved unconditionally — first modeled by his parents — carried him through.
There's beauty in the brokenness.
Scott compares life to a stained glass window: you can keep walking on the broken glass, or get on your knees, ask for help, and eventually look back on something beautiful and purposeful that God assembled from the broken pieces.
Back faith-led founders, not just "Christian companies."
Beyond Capital has deployed three funds across roughly 32 companies led by faith-based founders doing innovative work — a coffee company creating safe jobs for trafficking survivors, a drone AI firm, VR language learning for refugees. The common thread is founders who want to do good and do business well.
Weigh return on impact alongside return on investment.
Scott believes mission-driven companies can still deliver venture-style returns. Increasingly, what's on his heart is the "return on impact" — the social good a company creates — and he sees financial viability and impact going hand in hand.
Be still, and trust the plan.
For anyone sitting on an idea but afraid to leave something safe, Scott anchors on two scriptures that carried his own leap: Psalm 46:10 ("be still and know that I am God") and Jeremiah 29:11. Neither promises it will be easy — only that there's a plan and God will be present.
Ego is what costs you — not faith.
Asked what his faith cost him in business, Scott reframes it: for years he hid his faith at work out of fear he wouldn't be respected or trusted. His faith never cost him anything; his ego cost him everything.
Integrate faith by living it, not promoting it.
Scott doesn't "beat anyone over the head with the Bible" — he shows up, is kind, does the right thing, and lets people notice something different. A simple one-line description of his faith-based fund consistently sparks someone to lean in and say, "tell me more."
Resources
Website: wscottwilson.com
LinkedIn: scott@beyondcapitalfunds.com
