The story of Alex Pissios is inspiring and provides lessons for those who wish to build businesses and a legacy. He trained to become a professional teacher at Northeastern Illinois University, following in his father’s footsteps. He started his profession in 1994 as a student-teacher but did not practice for long after his maternal uncle, Nick Mirkopoulos, quadrupled his teaching compensation for a position in his leather company. 

For a decade, Alex Pissios worked in the fur and leather industry for twelve hours, every day of the week. Times changed and presented new opportunities for Pissios, who was willing to take on a challenge. He pursued a career in real estate development, meeting local developers and starting almost immediately. He launched his new career in Bucktown, where he bought land and built a house that later sold for $100,000. 

Alex Pissios entered the real estate business when it was big, with most lenders eager to give their money to developers at 10% interest. This rapidly propelled his business to becoming a renowned real estate developer. However, when the real estate crisis struck, hewas heavy in debt. His real estate career ended at 35 years of age, with a debt of $13 million at hand.

This changed when he and his uncle, Nick Mirkopoulos, met at a relative’s wedding. Mirkopoulos was willing to assist him with his situation and posed a challenge to him to find a 100,000-square-foot facility in Chicago. 

Alex Pissios is not known for backing out of challenges. He accepted and purchased the former Ryerson Steel site, approximately 60 acres in North Lawndale. Nick Mirkopoulos and Alex Pissios created Cinespace Chicago Film Studios and opened it in 2011. It is one of the largest film studios in the world having employed more than 20,000 people.