Hiten Samtani is the founder and editorial director of ten31, a new media company focused on market-moving insider coverage of the most important and least understood industries. He is the author of The Promote, a newsletter that readers have likened to commercial real estate's answer to Matt Levine's "Money Stuff," and a publication that has built the most highly engaged audience in B2B media (open rate: 70%).  Hiten founded ten31 after a decade at The Real Deal, where he ran the newsroom and shepherded coverage of the most important stories in real estate.

Chris and Hiten get into the early days of the brand, what inspired it, and why the real estate world needed a publication that’s bold, sharp, and unapologetically honest. They talk about the stories that hit hardest, what makes for a good scoop, and how Hiten has built trust with sources while keeping the content unfiltered and highly readable.

They also cover:
- Why commercial real estate is full of big personalities and even bigger stakes
- How operators and investors can actually get covered by the media
- What it’s like growing a niche media company from scratch
- Lessons from Hiten’s years at The Real Deal and why he walked away
- Navigating the gray areas of journalism—anonymity, accuracy, and when to publish

Links:
Hiten on X - http://x.com/hitsamty
The Promote CRE newsletter - https://ten31.beehiiv.com/
The Promote Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-promote-podcast/id1801355295
A specialist playbook on how to get ink for your deal or company - https://x.com/hitsamty/status/1740463045795791243
Understanding the different modes of talking to the press - https://x.com/hitsamty/status/1831126949059788985
Key industry storylines for 2025 - https://ten31.beehiiv.com/p/cre-storylines-that-defined-24-and-will-shape-25

Sponsors:
Vesto - https://www.vesto.com/fort
Better Pitch - https://betterpitch.com/

Topics:
00:00 - Intro
05:33 - Hiten’s journey into real estate journalism
08:24 - Lesson from working at the Real Deal
12:39 - Who is the audience?
16:28 - Is your style of journalism unique to Real Estate?
19:40 - What it took to launch ten31
27:55 - Where do you get inspiration, and how do you get access to the information you can get?
35:32 - HFCs
39:03 - How do you determine the truth and what isn’t?
48:42 - How can CRE companies get press?
55:40 - On the record vs. Off the record
59:12 - CRE themes of 2024 and what to look for in 2025
01:04:19 - Attending a Jewish circumcision ceremony in a NYC Boardroom

Chris on Social Media:
The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd

Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
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