State of the Union 2026: Economy, Housing Market, and Why Private Lending May Be the Best Risk-Adjusted Strategy

Let me start by saying: I spent way too many years in corporate America.

And yeah, I was in senior leadership at places like Kodak and Disney…which had its perks.

But I also had zero freedom.

And here’s the part that hits a nerve for a lot of high-achieving professionals: my problem wasn’t ignorance. It wasn’t laziness.

About the author

Dave Stech

Founder at Stech Family Office

Dave Stech is the founder of Stech Family Office, built with his sons, Josh and Blake, nearly two decades ago. Their family office has completed thousands of real estate and private lending transactions, launched 17 real estate, lending and venture capital funds, and invested in close to 100 private technology companies. Dave’s edge is research, timing, and disciplined capital allocation. He has spent decades studying market cycles, identifying inflection points, and shifting the family office’s strategy as conditions change. Through Just Be the Bank (justbethebank.com), Dave now teaches high-income professionals and investors how his family approaches private lending: finding the right borrowers, structuring safer loans, protecting capital, and creating a repeatable income strategy outside Wall Street.