What happens when a wealth manager applies institutional discipline and global insight to hospitality investing?

In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene interviews William Huston, Founder and General Partner at Bay Street Hospitality, who discusses his journey from a call center business to creating global hospitality-focused funds designed to deliver high yields through quant-driven strategies. William shares deep insights into hospitality investment, covering topics from student housing in Hong Kong to tourism growth in India, and how his firm’s data-driven approach maximizes returns for institutional investors. He explains how combining local market intelligence, government partnerships, and strategic acquisitions has enabled Bay Street to scale rapidly while maintaining high-quality service for asset owners, operators, and developers worldwide.

Key Takeaways:

→ Long-term success depends on backing proven operators and developers—not just attractive properties.

→ Student housing shortages in Hong Kong, India’s tourism boom, and Australia’s Olympic-driven infrastructure investments all represent distinct, time-sensitive market drivers.

→ The same disciplined frameworks used in wealth management, including risk assessment, alignment, and scalability, can be successfully applied to hospitality.

→ Hospitality is an experience-driven business, shaped by human connection, culture, and memory.

→ Growth should align with life priorities.

In 2018, William Huston founded Bay Street Hospitality, where he currently serves as General Partner. Bay Street started as a call center based in El Salvador, structured as an LLC, serving his own investment fund rather than other companies' clients. The firm operates globally across public and private markets and applies a proprietary quantamental investment framework that integrates quantitative scoring models with fundamental underwriting discipline and targets hospitality operators, developers, and asset owners, offering equity, credit, and hybrid capital solutions. In May 2025, Huston launched a $430 million hospitality investment fund aimed at combining financial returns with positive social impact, targeting underinvested hotel markets globally, with a particular emphasis on India’s fast-growing tourism sector.

Connect With William:

Website: https://www.baystreethospitality.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huios/

Leadership isn’t about control. It’s about presence, character, and who you choose to be when things get hard.

In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene interviews Mick Hunt, creator of the MICK Factor™, who shares the deeply personal story that shaped his leadership philosophy. From a promise he made at age ten to change his mother’s life to building a successful career in entrepreneurship, consulting, and podcasting with over 20 million downloads, Mick explains why emotional intelligence and presence now matter more than authority. He breaks down his MICK Factor framework and explains why leadership today requires empathy, accountability, and the courage to keep going.

Key Takeaways:

→ How leadership has fundamentally changed in a world where everything is instantly validated.

→ Trust, transparency, and empathy outweigh titles, perks, and compensation packages.

→ Sustainable success is never about the individual; it’s about developing people.

→ Growth comes from committing to your own development, not just from working harder.

→ Your standards and values are visible before you ever say a word.

Mick Hunt is the unapologetic voice of modern leadership. As the creator of the MICK Factor™—a leadership framework rooted in Mastery, Impact, Courage, and the drive to Keep Going—he helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs and executives lead with clarity, courage, and authenticity.

He's the founder of Mick Hunt Official and host of Mick Unplugged, the #1 Self-Improvement podcast with over 2 million monthly downloads. A dynamic speaker, business builder, and mentor, Mick has been featured in Forbes, collaborated with brands like Nike and McDonald's, and been mentored by icons like Les Brown and Daymond John.

Connect With Mick:

Website: https://mickhuntofficial.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickunplugged/

X: https://x.com/MickUnplugged

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickunplugged

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickhunt/

If AI answer engines stopped reading your brand tomorrow, would anyone searching for your solution still find you?

In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene interviews Julian Lopez, Head of Research at AEO.co, who explains how brands can become the answer AI is most likely to recommend. Drawing on months of deep research with co-authors Perry Belcher and Kasim Aslam, Julian explains why branding, structure, and multimodal content now sit at the heart of discovery in an AI-driven world. He also outlines what small businesses can do over the next 6–12 months to become compliant with this new landscape, increase AI visibility, and prepare for shifts such as zero-click search and wearables.

Key Takeaways:

→ How AEO builds on top of traditional SEO rather than replacing it.

→ Why branding is becoming the key differentiator in AI recommendations.

→ Why you shouldn’t chase schema hacks and listicle formats without first building a solid foundational structure.

→ How video, transcripts, and repurposed clips give AI the rich data it craves.

→ How profiles, mentions, and consistent brand signals across platforms help engines confirm you’re real and relevant.

Julian Lopez is a 'recovering' graphic designer with over 8 years of branding experience who decided to get into marketing as a new challenge to sharpen the skills that can make or break a business. Julian has co-authored The AEO Blueprint, the first full-length book on Answer Engine Optimization, which guides business owners and entrepreneurs in future-proofing their brands and becoming the AI-recommended answer in their market.

Connect With Julian:

Website: http://aeo.co/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aeo.co

X: https://x.com/AEOdotCO