Podcast Summary: The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Episode 664: David Adelman – Campus Apartments CEO & Philadelphia 76ers Co-Owner
Release Date: December 1, 2025
Guest: David Adelman

Overview

In this wide-ranging conversation, Ryan Hawk interviews David Adelman – CEO of Campus Apartments, founder of Darko Capital, and co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers. The episode focuses on Adelman's unique path from making early real estate investments as a teenager, rising to CEO at 25, his family’s powerful Holocaust story, the lessons he draws from high-stakes losses, and his philosophy on leadership, risk, lifelong learning, and community. Throughout, Adelman reflects candidly on the trade-offs of ambition, the impact of upbringing, building Philadelphia’s future arena, and what excellence looks like among leaders.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Learning Life’s Lessons Young: Losing a Bet at 11

• [02:03] Adelman recounts how losing a series of basketball bets to family friend "Uncle" Alan Horwitz taught him the value of work and debt. Instead of money, Adelman lost childhood possessions and had to “work off” his debt by stacking lumber and sweeping sawdust every Saturday.
  • Quote:
    "He just said, 'I'm going to teach you about betting.' ... I lose my baseball glove, my football, my basketball ... [then] I had to go down to his office... he says, 'you gotta come down here and stack lumber every Saturday and sweep sawdust. I'll give you one item back. You have to work it off. It's called working off your debt.'" — David Adelman [02:39]

2. The Early Entrepreneur: Investing Bar Mitzvah Money

• [04:00] At age 13, instead of spending his Bar Mitzvah money on music or games, Adelman invested $2,000 with Uncle Alan into his first real estate deal, becoming a partner at a young age.

  • Quote:
    "So literally, like, I hand him my $2,000 and I'm a partner in real estate. He taught me the business from a kid on." — David Adelman [04:58]

• Motivation:
  Adelman links this foresight to the financial discipline taught by his family and Alan, plus witnessing Alan’s own entrepreneurial journey from a young age.

3. Enduring Perspective: Family Holocaust Survival

• [06:23] Adelman details his grandfather’s harrowing experience in the Holocaust: losing his wife and children, escaping from Sobibor labor camp (story featured in Escape from Sobibor), joining the resistance, then immigrating to the US as a displaced person, becoming a carpenter, and inspiring generations.

  • Quote:
    "There's two lines, one for men and then one for women and children. And never saw his wife and kids again… He wound up escaping from his prison camp…and became a freedom fighter against the Nazis." — David Adelman [06:29]

• This history gives Adelman grounding:

  • "No matter what, when I'm getting the crap kicked out of me in business, I don't know struggle… I'd kind of say, like, I have to stop being a little bitch about it and lean in and let's go." — David Adelman [09:04]

4. Wealth, Motivation, and Purpose

• [10:02] Adelman reflects on how the pursuit of wealth evolves: at first it's about making money, but later, true motivation must be about impact, growth, and providing for others in your sphere.

  • "You either are wired to get up and work hard every day and do it and it has to be about something else. It can be about the people who work with you… or solving complex problems." — David Adelman [11:13]
  • "Whatever you do in life, it shouldn't feel like work. I have never, never said I'm going to work. I say I'm going to the office." — [12:08]

• He acknowledges the trade-offs and the regrets about missing family moments, but also underscores the possibility for positive change and “making up for it later on.” [16:29]

5. Lessons in Failure and Resilience

• [14:10] Embracing risk and learning to pull the plug when necessary; the older and more experienced you get, the more targeted your risks.
  • "If you don't fail, you're not trying hard enough." — [14:43]
  • "Embrace the suck. Not everything's going to be fun. Sometimes when you push through them, you get to another side. Sometimes you don't—and pulling the plug is okay." — [14:57]

6. Sustained Excellence: Common Traits of High-Performers

• [18:44] Adelman observes that drive and self-motivation, often seen in athletes and business leaders, are key. He calls out partners and co-owners in the Sixers (Josh Harris, David Blitzer) for building multiple major ventures post-success.

  • "It makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one whose wiring is broken... It's different. It's not conventional." — [19:44]

• He strongly believes curiosity and the ability to continually learn are essential leadership traits.

  • "The entrepreneurs that I see [as] very successful are the ones that are open to learning." — [20:59]

7. Leading and Building Great Teams

• [32:16] When hiring and promoting leaders, Adelman prioritizes trust, communication, listening, and hiring people better than himself in specific lanes.

  • "For me, it's about having people that, in their individual swim lanes, are better at those jobs than you are." — [32:44]

• He innovates by empowering staff closest to the customer (e.g., maintenance staff in student housing) to be sources of insight and customer relationship.

  • "We focused hugely on making sure that that person understood what the resident was going through ... so we thought that data was valuable and we still use it today." — [34:05]

8. Community, Philanthropy, and Compassion

• Driven by family history, Adelman dedicates significant energy to Holocaust education and philanthropy.

• He recounts how he resolved a controversy around anti-Semitic comments by Philadelphia athlete DeSean Jackson with empathy and education rather than “canceling.”

  • "Some people shoot first and ask questions later. I just don't roll that way… I need to figure... what his intent was." — [35:52]
  • Jackson visited the Holocaust memorial with his mom to learn, no media present.

• Unconditional Compassion

  • "I think you can either be frustrated and it turns to hate, or you can just try to say … let's try and educate people." — [43:35]

9. Investing and Mentoring Startups

• Adelman likes to invest in products he or his daughters understand, but above all backs founders he admires—especially those where he can add value beyond money.

  • "If I know I can make a difference, it's like a, you know, advisor, mentor, board member or whatever that is." — [39:10]

• His current favorite Philly startup: Credit AI, a fintech using debit cards to help consumers build credit. [40:09]

10. The New Philadelphia Arena and Civic Optimism

• Adelman is leading a $1.5–1.6B project to build a new arena for the Sixers and Flyers, revitalizing downtown Philadelphia for opening in 2030, plus a new WNBA franchise.
  • "We're going to build it in downtown Philly, bring it back to life, not take any city capital, and also do some really good things for the city." — [41:51]
  • "For those of you counting Philly out, you're wrong. Give us a chance." — [42:46]

11. Advice for the Next Generation

• "Make lots of mistakes—just don't make the same one twice."
  "Don't be afraid to put yourself out there, the worst thing that happens is someone says no." — [26:34]
• Show up, introduce yourself, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to suggest bad ideas at work; this is respected by leaders.
  • "Don't be afraid to put out a bad idea... something great happened because somebody had an idea and had the courage to come forth with it." — [45:12]

Memorable Quotes

• On Enterprise & Purpose:
  "Why not me and why not now? If you're not afraid to fail, it's a freedom." — David Adelman [13:11]

• On Perspective:
  "What my grandfather went through, that's pressure. So I have to stop being a little bitch about it and let's go." — David Adelman [09:04]

• On Leadership:
  "If you're embarrassed for looking stupid, isn't it worse if you don't know what you're doing down the road because you didn't ask someone how?" — David Adelman [24:47]

• On Curiosity:
  "People don't know how to listen anymore. People wait to talk, right? And they don't listen." — [25:38]

• On Team Building:
  "It's about having people who in their individual swim lanes are better at those jobs than you are." — [32:44]

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• Losing a Bet at 11, Learning Through Work: [02:03–05:03]
• Investing Bar Mitzvah Money in Real Estate: [04:15–06:11]
• Grandfather's Holocaust Story and Meaning: [06:23–09:53]
• Philanthropy & Holocaust Memorial: [09:53–10:59]
• Becoming CEO at 25, Not Afraid to Fail: [13:11–14:43]
• Trade-offs of Ambition & Family: [15:56–18:14]
• Traits of Sustained Excellence: [18:44–20:59]
• Nature vs. Nurture for Entrepreneurship: [20:27–21:39]
• Building a $1.6B Arena & Minutiae That Matter: [22:04–23:42]
• Resolving Controversy with Compassion (DeSean Jackson): [35:42–37:05]
• Advice to Young People/Early Career: [44:30–45:19]

Tone & Style

• Adelman is direct, energetic, and candid—using humor and sometimes salty language.
• Hawk is warm, curious, and encourages Adelman’s storytelling, maintaining an atmosphere of mutual learning and reflection.

Final Takeaways

• Curiosity, humility, and the willingness to risk and fail (and admit mistakes) are hallmarks of genuine leaders.
• Personal history and family stories can drive one’s purpose, grit, and compassion, shaping a leadership style rooted in perspective and service.
• Compassion in action—whether educating rather than “canceling” or investing back in a hometown—creates lasting impact.
• Seemingly small gestures in business (empowering all employees, even maintenance staff, to be culture carriers) can be transformative.
• Relationships, integrity, and open communication matter at every level, from hiring to investing to family.
• Entrepreneurship is not merely for founders; it can be practiced anywhere, by being proactive, inquisitive, and bold in one’s work.

For more about David Adelman and his ventures:

• Darko Capital Website
• [Campus Apartments]

Summary by The Learning Leader Show Podcast Summarizer