Anthony Carlton

Founder @ CRE Digital | Helping commercial real estate funds raise capital with premium branding and investor acquisition systems

I built my personal brand to escape the corporate grind.

After working with clients across finance, private equity, venture, and real estate—I doubled down on one clear problem:

Most CRE firms struggle to raise capital online.

That’s why I founded CRE Digital — a content and brand strategy partner for capital raisers, fund managers, and private equity firms.

We turn your expertise into influence, using systems that drive:

• Brand authority that builds trust
• LP investor leads and committed capital
• Off-market deal flow and JV partners
• Speaking invites and top CRE podcast features

What sets us apart? 

We’ve sat on both sides of the table — advising high-net-worth investors and partnering with top CRE operators.

Now, we build digital brands that attract capital at scale.

If you’re serious about raising capital and want your brand to do the heavy lifting, book a call in my featured section or visit credigital.io

Founder & Brand Advisor

Build Your Brand @ FinGhost.io

Your independence isn't violently taken from you.

It vanishes with 100s of "safe" decisions.

Here's how it happens (and ends up becoming a cage):

Age 18: You choose the "smart" major.

• Law.
• Finance. 
• Engineering. 
• Computer science.

Your parents are relieved. You're rewarded with scholarships and summer internships.

Age 22: You take the corporate job.

Goldman. McKinsey. Google. Whichever pays most and has the best brand.

Your professors congratulate you. Your classmates envy you. You're rewarded with a signing bonus and an impressive title.

Age 25: You accept the promotion.

More responsibility. More money. More visibility to senior leadership.

Your manager says you're on the "fast track." You're rewarded with status and a salary that justifies the lifestyle inflation you didn't plan.

Age 30: You take the management role.

People report to you now. You attend 10-15 meetings a week. You have influence—or at least the appearance of it.

You're rewarded with prestige and the comfort of knowing you're winning the game everyone else is playing.

Age 35: You wake up.

Your calendar isn't yours.
Your decisions aren't yours.
Your time isn't yours.

You're unhappy and burned out, but you can't move because you have a mortgage, car payment, daycare, and stock options vesting.

Every individual choice was rational.

But somewhere along the way, your autonomy disappeared.

The trap works because it's not obviously a trap.

It's comfortable. 
Respectable. 
Safe.

It's what winning looks like from the outside.

But from the inside, it feels like you're capable of more...smart enough to see the problems but powerless to fix them.

Successful by every conventional measure.

But somehow still not free.

This is the trap to avoid. 
Now you know what it looks like.

What you are working on in 2026 for more personal freedom in 2027?

--

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I build media systems for operators who want influence, growth, & capital at scale | $50M raised through social | Founder & Writer

Don't quit your 9-5 to go "all in" as a solopreneur until you have 4 things: 
 
- Proven offer 
- Clients paying you 
- Results and case studies 
- Consistent lead gen systems 
 
Give yourself 6-12 months to build skills and undeniable social proof before you leap. 
 
In 2019 I quit my job, spent a fat chunk of my life savings, and failed at going solo. 
 
I had 0/4 essentials above. 
 
Didn't know how to write. 
Didn't know how to sell. 
Didn't know how to build. 
 
In 2022 I made a successful transition from 9-5 to building a full-time creator income. 
 
But I worked for 12 months alongside my 9-5: 
 
• Testing ideas 
• Growing on LinkedIn 
• Finding proof of concept 
 
I'm confident everyone who reads this can build a full-time income as a creator. 
 
But only if you set yourself up for success. 
 
That's why I write weekly guides giving actionable strategies for making the leap. 
 
Need a good place to start? 
 
Read this: https://lnkd.in/e-RX6KFj

“Set a goal to become a millionaire—not for the money, but for what it will make of you.”

Jim Rohn damn near invented the category of personal development.

This is one of his hardest-hitting quotes.

In one sentence, it shifted my mindset around goals.

Setting goals is less about the end result, and more about who you become in the process of achieving it.

Early in my career, I chased all the wrong things.

→ If I only got that raise...
→ If I could just get that VP title...
→ If I check one more big goal off my list...

I thought if I just hit the next milestone, then I’d feel free. Then I’d feel successful.

But learning from people like Jim Rohn, I realized:

The goals weren't a magic checklist.

The goals were about who I had to become to achieve them.

→ A person who can communicate better
→ A person who can be self-reliant
→ A person who can grow and improve

Writing did that for me.

It gave me clarity.
It built proof of work.
It opened doors that used to be locked.

But more than that, it forced discipline. It exposed gaps in how I think. And it helped me build leverage instead of just more output.

So yeah, set big goals.

But understand: the real win isn’t the number.

It’s who you have to become to earn it.

That’s where the compounding starts.

What's the WHY behind your biggest goal right now?

Anthony Carlton

Do you want to be impressive or independent?

99% optimize for an "impressive" cage.

Achievement looks like:

- Climbing the corporate ladder
- Adding prestigious titles to LinkedIn
- Hitting salary milestones
- Getting promoted faster than peers
- Building a resume that impresses strangers

Achievement is external validation.

It's playing a game someone else designed and winning by their rules.

Agency looks like:

- Owning your calendar
- Making decisions without approval
- Building assets that compound
- Disconnecting time from income
- Designing work around your life, not the other way around

Agency is internal freedom.

It's designing your own game and defining what winning means.

Here's the trap:

Achievement is measurable, visible, and celebrated.
Agency is quiet, personal, and invisible to others.

So we chase achievement because it's easier to see we're making progress.

We climb faster, earn more, get promoted sooner. And wake up one day realizing we built an impressive cage.

I spent my 20s optimizing for achievement.

• Better titles. 
• Higher salary. 
• More responsibility.

I looked successful on paper but felt trapped in practice.

Now I optimize for independence.

• More decisions I own. 
• Fewer meetings I didn't schedule. 
• Systems that don't require my constant presence.

It's less impressive to people on LinkedIn.

But infinitely more valuable to me.

The question isn't "How do I achieve more?"

The question is "How do I build for optionality?"

--

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Jesse Futia

Fin Ghost

Helping Real Estate Professionals build $1M brands on LinkedIn.

Co-Founder and Ghostwriter

Executive Equity Investing 

Helping busy professionals build generational wealth and retire comfortably through passively investing in real estate.

Chief Executive Officer

Wealth Science Podcast 

Interviewing the top real estate and financial experts in the World.

Host

Writer and Co-Founder @ CRE Digital | Copywriting & social media management for the world's most innovative real estate companies

Creating content on social media is digital leverage for real estate professionals. 

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲. 

You now have two choices:

1. Create content

2. Be passed by those that do 

My story 👇

Broke college kid turned 7-figure real estate investor and writer. 

I help 7-figure real estate professionals grow their brands and drive qualified leads on LinkedIn. 

--

Hit the 🔔 and follow along each day for free tips.

Ready to grow your brand on LinkedIn to drive more qualified leads?

𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲.

My last day in uniform was December 2025.

And I still don’t know how to put 9 years into a single post.

I joined the Army because of 9/11.

I’m born and raised in upstate New York, and I was a kid watching the world change in real time. 

I didn’t fully understand everything that day…

But I understood enough to know I wanted to serve.

Fast forward:
-> 50+ countries.
-> 9 years in uniform.
-> More early mornings than I can count.
-> More lessons than any classroom could ever teach.

I learned a lot in that time. A lot.

One of the biggest lessons:

Murphy’s Law is real.

Things will break. 
Plans will change. 
The unexpected shows up right on time.

And there are thousands of things in this world we can’t control.

But our preparation and our attitude are not two of them.

The reps. 
The discipline. 
The standard.

The ability to stay steady when everything gets chaotic.

People will ask what I’m doing next.
And yes—I’m excited about what’s ahead.

But I want to say this first:

The biggest blessing of my career isn’t a rank, a title, a deployment, or a bullet point on a résumé.

It’s getting to walk away with the respect and honor of the men and women I served with.

That’s the only “retirement package” that actually matters.

To every leader who bet on me.
To every soldier who carried the weight with me.
To every teammate who showed up when it was hard, and exhausting…

Thank you.

I’m proud of what we did.

And I’m even more proud of who I got to do it with.

I'll look for you on the next objective. 

---

I'm Jesse Futia - I help CRE professionals build digital brands online to drive more leads and revenue. Send me a DM to connect.

Co-Founder, CRE Digital | Capital Raising Engine for Commercial Real Estate Investors | $50M Raised with Digital Systems | DM me to learn more

Matthew McConaughey made $18,000,000 in a single year…

…and still chose the harder path.

Not because he needed more money.

Because he wanted more meaning.

At the peak of his rom-com run, Hollywood kept offering him the same role with a different script.

Same character.
Same story.
Same safe paycheck.

He could’ve stayed in that lane forever and nobody would’ve blamed him.
Instead, he said “no” — over and over — until the industry stopped calling.

He intentionally walked into a dry season.
Not because he was lost.

Because he was refusing to be used up.

And then the pivot happened.

The roles shifted.
The respect shifted.
The legacy shifted.

Here’s the part people miss:

That wasn’t luck.
That was identity.

He wasn’t chasing attention.
He was building alignment.

And I think that’s the real lesson for the rest of us:

If you keep saying yes to the version of you that pays well…

you eventually lose the version of you that’s meant to lead.

Sometimes the most profitable decision is the one that looks like a setback from the outside:
→ saying no to the “safe” path
→ taking the uncomfortable turn
→ betting on the work that actually feels like you

Because comfort doesn’t build legends.

Commitment does.

If you’re in a season where you’re being pulled to level up, but it’s scary…
Good.

That usually means you’re close.

What’s one “safe yes” you need to turn into a “hard no” this year?

The median American has just $8,000 in the bank.

Not $80,000.

Eight.

And this is why “the economy is fine” and “people are struggling” can both be true at the same time.

Because the average balance is way higher (it’s pulled up by high earners)… but the median is the reality for most households.

Now zoom out:

→ A meaningful chunk of Americans have zero emergency savings
→ Less than half can cover 3 months of expenses with savings
→ One surprise expense turns into credit cards missed payments

Here’s why I care about this as someone watching Commercial Real Estate:

When households are thin, rent collections become fragile.

Spending shifts fast. Tenants trade down. Delinquencies creep. Turnover rises.

So the CRE winners in 2026 won’t be the “sexiest” deals.

They’ll be the deals tied to durable demand:

→ workforce / attainable housing
→ necessity-based retail
→ medical / essential services
→ anything that people keep paying for even when life gets tight

If you’re underwriting deals right now, this is a reminder:

Don’t just underwrite the property.

Underwrite the consumer.

Curious what you’re seeing: are tenants getting tighter… or holding steady in your market?

$1,000,000,000,000 is sitting on the sidelines… 

watching Commercial Real Estate.

And most people are missing what that means.

The CRE narrative has been:

“Office is dead.”
“Rates killed deals.”
“Nothing pencils.”

Reality is more nuanced.

Here’s what I’m seeing heading into 2026:

1) CRE is splitting into winners and losers faster than ever
Not “CRE” vs “no CRE.”

It’s good deals vs bad sponsors + bad basis.

2) Capital is still available… but it’s pickier

The bar is higher:
→ cleaner rent rolls
→ real demand drivers
→ stronger operators
→ realistic exit assumptions

3) Distress isn’t everywhere — it’s concentrated

Some owners need liquidity.
Some need time.
Some need a partner.

That creates opportunity… if you can move fast and underwrite clean.

4) The “boring” stuff is winning

Every cycle rewards durability:
→ essential services
→ sticky tenants
→ functional layouts
→ demand you can actually explain in one sentence

The next 12–24 months will create more wealth in CRE than the last 3 years…

…but only for the people who stop chasing headlines and start tracking fundamentals.

If you’re in the trenches right now — what are you seeing?

Where do you think the best opportunities show up first in 2026?

You can work 70 hours a week…

And still fall behind someone who owns cash-flowing assets.

For years, I believed hustle was the answer:

→ Wake up earlier
→ Grind harder
→ Outwork everyone

But here’s the truth no one tells you:

Time-based income has a ceiling.
Asset-based income doesn’t.

I’ve shifted my entire focus from active hustle → to passive systems:

✅ Land that pays me every month through long-term leases
✅ Real estate that compounds in value while tenants pay down debt
✅ AI-driven outreach that brings in opportunities while I sleep

The goal isn’t to work harder.

It’s to build leverage.

Because if your income depends on you showing up every day…

You don’t own a business — you own a job.

Want real freedom?

Start buying back your time.

99% of entrepreneurs never make it past year 3.

Not because they aren’t smart.
But because they can’t take the silence.

→ The silence when no one clicks your offer. 
→ The silence when your big launch flops. 
→ The silence when you're building something great — and no one notices.

That silence? It kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Here’s the truth no one tells you: 

Your first 1,000 days are supposed to suck.

→ No revenue. 
→ No recognition. 
→ No validation.

Just relentless iteration. 
Just stubborn belief. Just proof of work stacking in silence.

Because real entrepreneurs don’t wait for signs they’re winning. 

They keep going until it’s undeniable.

The ones who break through? They all share this:

→ Proof of work. 
→ Clarity through consistency. 
→ A message that scales without them.

They build. They share. They outlast.

That’s how you go from overlooked to unavoidable.

Keep going.

Your breakthrough is waiting.

In 2026, AI will replace 80% of what most capital raisers do all day…

Not the relationship part.
The busywork part that kills momentum.

Most capital raising still looks like this:

-> A thousand tabs open.
-> A half-written follow-up email.
-> A spreadsheet nobody trusts.
-> A CRM that’s “mostly up to date.”

And a founder wondering why “warm” leads keep going cold.

That’s not a capital raising problem.
That’s a systems problem.

Here’s the shift happening right now:

The best operators are building AI-powered capital raising systems that run whether they’re “feeling motivated” or not.

Meaning:

AI becomes the machine.

You become the signal.

Here’s what that actually looks like in 2026:

→ Every inbound lead is instantly tagged, scored, and routed
→ Follow-ups go out based on behavior (opens, clicks, replies, site visits)
→ Investors automatically receive the right info at the right time (case studies, decks, webinars, FAQs)

→ Meetings are booked without you chasing anyone
→ Your pipeline stays clean without you touching it every day
→ Your updates get drafted for you, with your voice, from your deal data

And the biggest one:

You stop “raising capital.”
You start running an investor acquisition engine.

Because capital raising is not a personality contest.

It’s a throughput game.

The winners in 2026 won’t be the loudest on LinkedIn.

They’ll be the ones with:
→ the cleanest data
→ the fastest follow-up
→ the clearest narrative
→ and the strongest trust flywheel

AI doesn’t make you authentic.
It makes you consistent.

And consistency is what builds belief.

If you’re still doing capital raising manually in 2026…

you’re not behind on “tools.”

You’re behind on leverage.

What part of your capital raising process do you still do manually that you know should be automated?

$10M in CRE capital commitments came from just 16% of our investor database.

Most sponsors think more contacts = more capital.

Wrong.

The sponsors closing 8-figure raises aren't the ones with the biggest lists. 

They're the ones with the tightest systems.

After analyzing what actually moved investors from "interested" to "wired funds," here's what the data showed:

1. The drip campaign architecture

Your investors don't wake up ready to wire $100K. They need 7-12 touch points before they trust you with their money.

2. The CRM you actually use

I've seen sponsors with 500+ "investor relationships" in a spreadsheet they haven't opened in 6 months.

If you can't tell me which 20 investors to call for your next deal in under 60 seconds, your system is broken.

3. The content flywheel

-> One market update email becomes:
-> A LinkedIn post
-> A video for your investor portal
-> Content for 3 drip emails
-> Material for investor calls

Create once. Deploy everywhere.

The reality nobody talks about:

That 16% of their database? 

They received 3x more touchpoints than everyone else.

Not because we spammed them. Because we had a system that identified who was ready and kept them warm.

Trust compounds.
Systems compound. 
Relationships compound. 

Most sponsors are out here hunting. The best ones built farms.

What's your capital-raising system look like?

P.S. - If you're still manually tracking investor follow-ups in your notes app, we need to talk.

A kid starting college this month will spend $100,000+…

…training for a job that might not exist by the time they graduate.

That sounds dramatic.

But it’s already happening.

AI isn’t “coming.”
It’s here.

And it’s eating the middle of the workforce first:
→ entry-level analysts
→ basic marketing execution
→ customer support reps
→ paralegal/admin-heavy legal work
→ junior accountants/bookkeeping
→ simple coding / QA
→ recruiters doing manual sourcing

Not because those people aren’t smart.

Because those jobs are built on repeatable tasks.

And repeatable tasks get automated.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

College isn’t the problem.

Blindly picking a major without a leverage plan is.

If you’re 18 right now, the goal isn’t “get a degree.”
The goal is: build a stack that makes you hard to replace.

My simple rule for 2026:

Don’t become the person who does the task.
Become the person who owns the outcome.

That means:
→ learn how to use AI tools like a power user
→ build real-world proof (projects, offers, results)
→ practice communication + persuasion
→ learn basic business economics (how money moves)
→ get close to revenue (sales, partnerships, deal flow)
→ specialize in a domain AI can’t “understand” without you (industry context, relationships, judgment)

AI will replace skills.

It won’t replace agency.

It won’t replace a person who can:

see the problem → make a plan → execute → communicate → lead.

That’s the new degree.

What’s one job you think is getting automated faster than people realize?

23% of people quit their New Year’s goal this week.

And by the end of January, it’s closer to 48%.

So if you’re still in the fight right now…

You’re already ahead of most people.

Week 1 is where motivation dies.

Not because the goal was wrong.
Because the process wasn’t built.

Most people rely on a feeling.
Winners rely on a system.

A system looks like:

-> same time, same place, same trigger
-> smaller daily targets (so you can actually win)
-> a scoreboard (so progress is visible)
-> a reset plan for the days you fall off

Because falling off isn’t the problem.

Staying off is.

So yeah—congrats if you’re still here.

Now tighten the screws and stack another week.

Drop a comment with what you’re still committed to in 2026. I’ll reply to every one.

After driving over 100,000,000 impressions on LinkedIn 

Here's what every client wants to know:

Who you are.

Stop talking about returns.

I've watched 100s of sponsor pitches get ignored.

The ones that landed? 

They answered the questions LPs are actually asking:

"Can I trust you with my money for the next 5-7 years?"

Your 18% projected returns don't answer that.

Here's what does:

→ How you handled your worst deal 
→ Whether you return calls when things go sideways 
→ If you've ever taken less so your investors could take more 
→ What your previous investors say when you're not in the room

The best sponsors I know don't lead with their track record.

They lead with their values.

Because here's the truth most won't tell you:

LPs can find deals anywhere. 

They can find returns anywhere.

The sponsors crushing it right now are sharing:

-Stories about deals they walked away from 
-The mentor who shaped their investment philosophy 
-How they built their team and why culture matters 
-What they learned from their failures 

This isn't about being vulnerable for likes.
It's about being known.

What's the most important thing an LP should know about you that has nothing to do with your returns?

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The Battle

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