{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"Drawing the Blueprint ","home_page_url":"https://drawingtheblueprint.fireside.fm","feed_url":"https://drawingtheblueprint.fireside.fm/json","description":"Hosted by Blueprint CEO \u0026amp; Co-Founder Ben Firestone, Drawing the Blueprint brings you raw access to the movers and shakers in healthcare real estate and beyond. From industry pros, Blueprint insiders, and legends from completely different arenas, each episode explores career origin stories and dives deep into the guests’ journey, uncovering how dynamic people grow, lead, and build.\r\n\r\nFun, provocative, and always conversational, Ben brings curiosity (and his signature “Fire’s Hot Seat”) to every guest. Whether you’re an insider hungry for insights, an emerging professional looking for mentorship, or simply a culture-curious listener who loves entrepreneurial stories, this is your front-row seat to the mindsets and moments that shape success.\r\n\r\n\r\nFind Ben and the Blueprint Crew on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@drawingtheblueprint. ","_fireside":{"subtitle":"Drawing the Blueprint brings you raw access to the movers and shakers in healthcare real estate and beyond.","pubdate":"2025-10-01T09:30:00.000-04:00","explicit":false,"owner":"Ben Firestone","image":"https://media24.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images-2024/podcasts/images/1/1616b0e3-8f2b-4966-aa13-5ce0fca5f0dd/cover.jpg?v=1"},"items":[{"id":"e329f31c-8883-4721-8602-ad1ca6015e54","title":"Episode 4: From Hedge Funds to Helping Hands: Neal Goss on Dignity-First Home Care","url":"https://drawingtheblueprint.fireside.fm/4","content_text":"Ben sits down with longtime friend and founder of Lakeshore Helping Hands, Neal Goss, to explore what great non-medical caregiving really looks like and why it can restore independence for clients while easing stress for families. Paralyzed at 15 after a hockey accident, Neal has relied on caregivers for 25 years. That lived experience shaped his system for recruiting, interviewing, and training caregivers around what matters most: empathy, reliability, clear boundaries, and a relationship grounded in mutual respect.\n\nTogether, they unpack:\n\n\nThe difference a dignity-first caregiver makes in daily life and family dynamics\nHow to vet agencies and individual caregivers (green flags vs. red flags)\nWhy values and communication often matter more than résumés or prior tasks\nLessons learned the hard way (and a few humorous missteps) about keeping professional lines intact\nNeal’s purpose-driven leap from finance to entrepreneurship to help others avoid common pitfalls\n\n\nIf you’re navigating care for an aging parent, living with a disability, or building a caregiving team, this conversation offers practical takeaways and a hopeful blueprint for better support at home.","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eBen sits down with longtime friend and founder of Lakeshore Helping Hands, Neal Goss, to explore what great non-medical caregiving really looks like and why it can restore independence for clients while easing stress for families. Paralyzed at 15 after a hockey accident, Neal has relied on caregivers for 25 years. That lived experience shaped his system for recruiting, interviewing, and training caregivers around what matters most: empathy, reliability, clear boundaries, and a relationship grounded in mutual respect.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTogether, they unpack:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe difference a dignity-first caregiver makes in daily life and family dynamics\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow to vet agencies and individual caregivers (green flags vs. red flags)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhy values and communication often matter more than résumés or prior tasks\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLessons learned the hard way (and a few humorous missteps) about keeping professional lines intact\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNeal’s purpose-driven leap from finance to entrepreneurship to help others avoid common pitfalls\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’re navigating care for an aging parent, living with a disability, or building a caregiving team, this conversation offers practical takeaways and a hopeful blueprint for better support at home.\u003c/p\u003e","summary":"Discover how dignity-first caregiving empowers independence, eases family stress, and builds better home care teams.","date_published":"2025-10-01T09:30:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/1616b0e3-8f2b-4966-aa13-5ce0fca5f0dd/e329f31c-8883-4721-8602-ad1ca6015e54.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":13018155,"duration_in_seconds":537}]},{"id":"8608dcbb-20b9-44f9-88ab-f43eb7610e1b","title":"Episode 3: Building Solera, Backing Innovation, \u0026 Defining the Future of Senior Living","url":"https://drawingtheblueprint.fireside.fm/3","content_text":"In this episode of Drawing the Blueprint, we sit down with Adam Kaplan, entrepreneur, operator, venture capitalist, and family man. As CEO of Solera Senior Living and co-founder of Equitage Ventures, Adam shares his unique perspective on building best-in-class communities, investing in age-tech innovation, and navigating today’s capital markets. From his Chicago roots to his Denver reinvention, Adam reflects on parallel paths, lessons in entrepreneurship, and what drives him to keep evolving. A candid conversation on leadership, innovation, and the future of senior housing you won’t want to miss.\n\nWatch the full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV4XgFoKx0U","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eIn this episode of Drawing the Blueprint, we sit down with Adam Kaplan, entrepreneur, operator, venture capitalist, and family man. As CEO of Solera Senior Living and co-founder of Equitage Ventures, Adam shares his unique perspective on building best-in-class communities, investing in age-tech innovation, and navigating today’s capital markets. From his Chicago roots to his Denver reinvention, Adam reflects on parallel paths, lessons in entrepreneurship, and what drives him to keep evolving. A candid conversation on leadership, innovation, and the future of senior housing you won’t want to miss.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWatch the full conversation on YouTube: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV4XgFoKx0U\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003ehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV4XgFoKx0U\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","summary":"In this episode of Drawing the Blueprint, we sit down with Adam Kaplan, entrepreneur, operator, venture capitalist, and family man. ","date_published":"2025-09-10T10:30:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/1616b0e3-8f2b-4966-aa13-5ce0fca5f0dd/8608dcbb-20b9-44f9-88ab-f43eb7610e1b.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":41476697,"duration_in_seconds":1722}]},{"id":"e5863416-64a6-4e1a-93c2-1e2cd799e803","title":"Episode 2: New Capital Enters Senior Housing: Health Wave Partners","url":"https://drawingtheblueprint.fireside.fm/2","content_text":"In this episode, we sit down with longtime friend and industry veteran John Cobb to trace his journey from a successful run at Blueprint to launching Health Wave Partners—a new healthcare real estate investment platform backed by Macquarie Asset Management.\n\nJohn shares how his career pivot led to co-founding a startup with serious momentum, the strategic advantage of building a complementary senior team, and why his investment focus is on core-plus, high-quality senior housing assets. We talk about the underestimated challenges of starting a new venture, lessons from assembling the right culture, and how AI is already streamlining due diligence in real estate.\n\nWhether you’re an investor, operator, or just curious about where healthcare real estate is headed, this conversation offers an inside look at launching with intention, scaling with speed, and modernizing an industry still catching up to other asset classes.","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eIn this episode, we sit down with longtime friend and industry veteran John Cobb to trace his journey from a successful run at Blueprint to launching Health Wave Partners—a new healthcare real estate investment platform backed by Macquarie Asset Management.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn shares how his career pivot led to co-founding a startup with serious momentum, the strategic advantage of building a complementary senior team, and why his investment focus is on core-plus, high-quality senior housing assets. We talk about the underestimated challenges of starting a new venture, lessons from assembling the right culture, and how AI is already streamlining due diligence in real estate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you’re an investor, operator, or just curious about where healthcare real estate is headed, this conversation offers an inside look at launching with intention, scaling with speed, and modernizing an industry still catching up to other asset classes.\u003c/p\u003e","summary":"We sit down with longtime friend and industry veteran John Cobb to trace his journey from a successful run at Blueprint to launching Health Wave Partners","date_published":"2025-09-04T09:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/1616b0e3-8f2b-4966-aa13-5ce0fca5f0dd/e5863416-64a6-4e1a-93c2-1e2cd799e803.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":23868165,"duration_in_seconds":989}]},{"id":"a6929d50-fd77-40af-bff1-6d997a541a91","title":"Episode 1: Blueprint's Co-Founders and Their Story","url":"https://drawingtheblueprint.fireside.fm/1","content_text":"In this episode of Drawing the Blueprint, co-founders Ben Firestone and Jacob Gehl rewind to the earliest days of Blueprint—before the playbook was written and when everything felt like an experiment. From the surprising outpouring of market support to the avalanche of behind-the-scenes challenges (legal, accounting, tax, compliance, and more), they share the real story of what it takes to move from producers to business builders.\n\nExpect candid reflections on mistakes made, lessons learned, and the foundation that ultimately shaped Blueprint’s success. It’s a conversation about grit, growth, and the unglamorous—but essential—work that turns vision into reality.","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eIn this episode of Drawing the Blueprint, co-founders Ben Firestone and Jacob Gehl rewind to the earliest days of Blueprint—before the playbook was written and when everything felt like an experiment. From the surprising outpouring of market support to the avalanche of behind-the-scenes challenges (legal, accounting, tax, compliance, and more), they share the real story of what it takes to move from producers to business builders.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExpect candid reflections on mistakes made, lessons learned, and the foundation that ultimately shaped Blueprint’s success. It’s a conversation about grit, growth, and the unglamorous—but essential—work that turns vision into reality.\u003c/p\u003e","summary":"In this episode of Drawing the Blueprint, co-founders Ben Firestone and Jacob Gehl rewind to the earliest days of Blueprint—before the playbook was written and when everything felt like an experiment.","date_published":"2025-08-29T11:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/1616b0e3-8f2b-4966-aa13-5ce0fca5f0dd/a6929d50-fd77-40af-bff1-6d997a541a91.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":17762763,"duration_in_seconds":735}]}]}