Podcasts about 40m

Cade Silva breaks down how he flipped $40M in just one year across 15 deals by building agent-first relationships instead of chasing sellers. He explains why paying full commissions unlocked better deals, how he scaled into high-end flips, and the systems he uses to manage risk, contractors, and capital in today's market. KEY TALKING POINTS:0:00 - Intro0:45 - Cade Silva's Real Estate Business1:34 - Working With Investors As An Agent2:57 - The Deals He's Done This Year & Scaling7:41 - His Current Deals & The Formula He Uses11:28 - What His Day To Day Looks Like12:56 - Why He Went All In On Flipping17:21 - His Biggest Challenge So Far21:20 - More Tips From Cade23:02 - Deals Where He Lost Money & Lessons Learned27:24 - Keeping Deals As Rentals & Direct To Seller Marketing31:07 - Getting Funding32:50 - What He Wants To Learn From CG33:58 - Who He's Learned A Lot From35:54 - The Worst Advice He's Ever Gotten & Podcasts He Likes38:29 - What He Likes Other Than Real Estate39:50 - Extra Questions From Moustafa42:07 - Outro LINKS:Instagram: Cade Silvahttps://www.instagram.com/cadejsilva Instagram: David Leckohttps://www.instagram.com/dlecko Website: DealMachinehttps://www.dealmachine.com/pod Instagram: Ryan Haywoodhttps://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments Website: Heritage Home Investmentshttps://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

Robin Eissler is the founder and CEO of BoosterHub, a vertical SaaS platform built for high school booster clubs. After selling her prior business as a private jet broker, Robin volunteered to run a local booster club and discovered a messy problem run with spreadsheets, emails, and manual accounting. She decided to build a single system that could actually handle it. BoosterHub now serves nearly 600 booster programs, representing over 100,000 users. With just two full-time employees and a small dev team, the company processes more than $40M in transactions across payments, fundraising, merchandise sales, and accounting. Annual contract value typically runs $1,500–$2,000 per customer, with strong retention and expanding usage. Still independently-owned and bootstrapped, BoosterHub is approaching $1M ARR and profitability. Robin shares lessons on building complex software with a tiny team, selling to volunteer buyers, surviving seasonal revenue swings, and why slow, compounding growth can create durable SaaS businesses without venture capital. Key Takeaways Tiny Teams Work - Two employees plus contractors can build serious SaaS with focus, systems, and modern tooling. Sticky Beats Big - Hundreds of small customers compound more reliably than a handful of enterprise deals. Seasonality Is Real Education-adjacent - SaaS must survive cash spikes and winter slowdowns without panic. Founder-Led Marketing - Consistent content from the founder still drives inbound growth in niche markets. All-In-One Wins in Verticals - Being the system of record makes churn low and customer value expand naturally over time. Quote from Robin Eissler, Founder and CEO of BoosterHub "The numbers are much better than what we projected. so we're starting to see that compounding effect is really what's happening is there's just enough users and enough people in the system that they're using more of the add-on products and we're processing more volume.  "So it's starting to have that compounding effect. And so I really just admitted to myself this month, like, I think we're seeing it.  "I think we're finally seeing it. I feel like, OK, maybe for me, it's almost that I can exhale. I've been holding my breath for four years, so maybe I can breathe." Links Robin Eissler on LinkedIn BoosterHub on LinkedIn BoosterHub website Podcast Sponsor – Full Scale This podcast is sponsored by Full Scale, one of the fastest-growing software development companies in any region. Full Scale vets, employs, and supports over 300 professional developers, designers, and testers in the Philippines who can augment and extend your core dev team. Learn more at fullscale.io. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

On this episode of Bulture podcast:61st St on Netflix maybe the best show based out of ChicagoHappy Birthday goes out to Denzel Washington - He Turned 71 Years Old Today, Denzel Washington has been in 52 movies Welcome to Derry is the best series of 2025Shilo Sanders asked how Karrueche convinced Coach Prime to put up a Christmas tree for the first time in 10 years, Coach joked that the last time they had one, “Santa & the Tooth Fairy” were broke because they were in courtHardworking mother breaks down after her 7-year-old son complains to a stranger that she's only getting him 7 gifts for Christmas this year. She says one of the gifts is a PS5 and is sad that her son is behaving this way.Mother wants to know how to deal with a disrespectful teenage girl who sleeps wherever she wants—including at her boyfriend's house—and comes back whenever she pleases. She says, ‘I've tried everything, but nothing works"025Woman says she had the perfect man and relationship but still ended her engagement and moved on because she changed her mindWoman is upset because the man she put in the friend zone at the gym didn't introduce her to his daughter when she walked up to them. She said, “I walked out on my gym date because I HAVE STANDARDS"I think the NBA on Christmas was better than NFL on Christmas. All that streaming (Netflix & Prime) for lackluster games was unnecessary. They could've left it on cableNot taking 50 Cent as a serious MC anymore & more of a Comedian NBA Star Jaylen Brown Jokes About Hair Loss — Then Announces Deal with Hair-Growth Brand NutrafolKai Cenat Continues to Speak Out About Mental Health Despite Negative Feedback: ‘IDC If People Look at Me as a JokeDerrick Henry is the first player in NFL history to have 4 Rush TD in a game for two different franchisesSocial media keeps lying about Black men not being attracted to Serena Williams like we didn't all grow up surrounded by Black men who were attracted to Serena WilliamsVenus Williams Marries Actor Andrea Preti, holding two separate ceremonies in Italy & FloridaDrake reveals he bought back Quavo's Bentley, which he had gifted to Saweetie before their breakup, and then returned it to QuavoAccording to CBS NFL Insider, Johnathon Jones, Steelers WR DK Metcalf's 2-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the league will cost him $555k in salary this year. It also voids $40M in future guaranteed moneyFather went off on his kids for saying “Thank you, Santa” for the gifts he bought he tells them “Santa ain't did a thing, daddy did that"JJ Redick says the Lakers have had issues since LeBron returned “Since we've gotten LeBron back, we haven't been as organized offensively. "Too many random possessions"Khia comments on Nicki Minaj attending Turning Point USA in new videoAngel Reese Is the Highest-Paid Black Woman in Basketball—And Nearly All of It Comes Off the Court

THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW Guest host, Tony Colombo newstalkstl.com/colombo 0:00 SEG 1 St. Louis City sheriff Montgomery removed from his position 15:53 SEG 2 DAVID STOKES, Director of Municipal Policy at the Show-Me Institute || TOPIC:Chiefs are leaving Missouri for Kansas in 2031 || David has a new report out, A Free-Market Guide for Missouri Municipalities, Part Four: Parks and Recreation. He can walk through how cities should think about funding parks and recreational assets. || St. Louis to build modular homes in tornado-damaged north city with federal funds: || $40M condo building approved for part of Caleres campus in Claytonhttps://showmeinstitute.org/author/david-stokes/https://x.com/DavidCStokes 34:58 SEG 3 Rene Artman, Chair of the Republican Central Committee of St. Louis County || Recap of the Feed My People food drivestlcorepublicans.org https://newstalkstl.com/ FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps 24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMS RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW Guest host, Tony Colombo newstalkstl.com/colombo 0:00 SEG 1 St. Louis City sheriff Montgomery removed from his position 15:53 SEG 2 DAVID STOKES, Director of Municipal Policy at the Show-Me Institute || TOPIC:Chiefs are leaving Missouri for Kansas in 2031 || David has a new report out, A Free-Market Guide for Missouri Municipalities, Part Four: Parks and Recreation. He can walk through how cities should think about funding parks and recreational assets. || St. Louis to build modular homes in tornado-damaged north city with federal funds: || $40M condo building approved for part of Caleres campus in Claytonhttps://showmeinstitute.org/author/david-stokes/https://x.com/DavidCStokes 34:58 SEG 3 Rene Artman, Chair of the Republican Central Committee of St. Louis County || Recap of the Feed My People food drivestlcorepublicans.org https://newstalkstl.com/ FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps 24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMS RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Maller talks about DK Metcalf being suspended two games without pay by the NFL for swinging at a Lions fan and losing $40M in guaranteed money, Jaguars DE Trevon Walker ranting about keeping bandwagon fans away, and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business, and you'll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- Are you running your business, or is it running you? In this episode, we sit down with Alexis Sikorsky, co-founder of Nightscale, who reveals the brutal truth about the "Grind" and the specific strategies he used to exit his banking software company for a massive multiple. If you are a founder stuck at the $5M–$10M revenue plateau, this episode is a masterclass in cashing out. Alexis breaks down the "$50 Million Mistake", a calculation of the money and time he lost by not knowing the secrets of Private Equity earlier, and how you can avoid it. What You'll Learn: The "Fish and Chip" Trap: How Private Equity firms lure founders with high valuations only to chip away at the price during due diligence—and how to stop them. Nominal EBITDA vs. EBITDA: The financial metric that matters more than your bottom line. Learn how "dressing the bride" and identifying add-backs can instantly increase your valuation. The Magic Number: Why a $40M valuation is the specific target for a lifestyle where you never have to touch your capital again. The Due Diligence Reverse Card: How to investigate a PE firm by calling the founders they don't want you to talk to. Escaping the Operator Trap: Why you need to fire yourself from day-to-day operations to make your company sellable. -- Alexis Sikorsky is a seasoned entrepreneur, strategic advisor, and #1 international best-selling author who helps founders and SMEs scale with confidence, make smarter strategic decisions, and prepare for long-term growth and successful exits. Over his career, he has founded, scaled, and led multiple companies, including building and selling a software business to private equity in a nine-figure transaction. He is the founder of Sikorsky Consulting Ltd. and a co-founder of KnightScale Partners, where he works closely with founders as a true operator partner, providing experienced, founder-to-founder guidance on scaling, leadership, and value creation. Holding an EMBA from Oxford University, Alexis blends real-world entrepreneurial experience with strategic insight to help business owners future-proof their companies and navigate critical inflection points. Website - https://www.knightscalepartners.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-sikorsky-consulting/ -- Time Stamps: (01:11) Surviving the 2008 crash: Losing 75% of revenue overnight. (03:46) The "Unbelievable" Offer: Selling for 11x EBITDA based on a future plan. (06:00) Calculating the $50 Million / 5-Year Mistake. (08:59) When is the right time to sell? (The mathematics of the exit). (14:00) Red Flags: Detecting the "Fish and Chip" strategy. (20:30) How to boost valuation using Nominal EBITDA and non-recurring costs. (27:30) Why you should do M&A earlier than you think. -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

Send us a textWelcome to The GamerGuild Podcast! Your weekly show where three best friends round up and discuss all the week's gaming stories and news.00:00:40 - Welcome/Housekeeping00:06:15 - What We've Been Playing00:14:30 - The NEWS!00:16:45 - Bungie's Marathon Launch Date00:28:00 - FIFA is back! With Netflix Games…00:40:25 - Hogwarts Legacy passes the 40M mark!00:46:10 - Dispatch heading to Switch 1 & 2 on January 28th00:49:20 - Dead Island 3 expected 202800:53:00 - Tomb Raider Timeline01:00:55 - Sucker Punch Co-Founder Steps Down01:04:05 - StarField PS5 + Switch01:12:50 - Fallout Season Two ReviewsEnjoy more GamerGuild content!

Jason Eubanks on Building Oracel: Raising $30M in 28 Hours to Disrupt the $236B Go-To-Market Tooling Market with AI-Native Sales AutomationJason Eubanks, CEO and Co-founder of Oracel, discusses how the company raised $30 million in just 28 hours—oversubscribed at $40 million—by solving a critical problem in the go-to-market industry. With a $236 billion market opportunity and only a "desert of innovation" since the late 1990s, Aurasell is building an AI-native platform to intelligently automate sales workflows and consolidate the 12-15 fragmented tools that plague modern sales teams. Jason shares how his experience scaling revenue from $1M to $100M+ across five startups—including Twilio (IPO), Meraki (acquired by Cisco for $1.2B), and Harness—directly informed the founding vision of AurasellEpisode Timestamps- 00:00 - Introduction and Jason Eubanks joins the podcast- 00:26 - Why Oracel raised $30M in 28 hours despite initial $40M oversubscription- 01:24 - The "desert of innovation" in go-to-market tooling since the late 90s- 01:42 - History of CRM evolution from mainframe to cloud to niche products- 03:12 - Founding vision: One intelligent GTM sales platform to replace them all- 03:39 - How pain as a CRO across five startups led to Oracel's creation- 05:58 - The X-Ray productivity assessment revealing tool sprawl inefficiencies- 07:59 - Sellers spending 28% of time selling and 70% on manual tasks- 09:03 - First principles AI-native approach with whiteboards in the kitchen- 09:29 - Five key personas: SDR, seller, IC manager, executive, ops team- 12:18 - AI-native architecture: multimodal interface, lakehouse, and 10,000 agents- 14:39 - Unified data model importance for contextualized AI automation- 15:45 - Current hat wearing: product focus and 50% building go-to-market engine- 18:43 - Platform features and customer experience design philosophy- 19:05 - Three wow moments per persona as success metric- 20:39 - Onboarding experience: automatic territory building and customer choice- 21:40 - 10,000 agents discovering ICP, personas, and competitors automatically- 24:07 - Automated account research and value hypothesis creation- 25:34 - Outbound prospecting content generation with propensity scoring- 26:32 - Outbound sequencer integration and email platform plugins- 27:00 - AI voice dialer coming in three weeks with closed-loop automation- 28:47 - What's missing: deep marketing and customer success automation- 30:49 - Ideal customer profiles: startups and enterprises with tool sprawl- 31:30 - Solution for heavily customized legacy systems coming in December- 34:24 - Dynamic change detection layer solving technical debt- 36:23 - Jason's career arc from BMC Software through Harness- 37:09 - Why: helping go-to-market operators solve problems he experienced- 39:55 - Meraki's disruptive cloud-managed network architecture- 41:51 - Three constants: great product builders, important problems, massive markets- 43:22 - Intrinsic motivation as foundation for hiring and culture- 45:31 - Hiring from first job onward to assess character and values- 51:24 - Understanding why someone wanted to work at 14 years old- 53:21 - Importance of formative years for work ethic and intelligence- 55:46 - AI adoption culture: using own product and building agents internally- 56:36 - All employees use AI daily across PMs, engineers, and operations- 59:25 - Ask AI features: analytics dashboards, data enrichment, natural language-

In this episode of Daily Influence, host Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Carolann Valentino, 15-time award-winning entertainer, positive psychology practitioner, and creator of the Heart Coherence Method, to explore what happens when purpose, humor, and heart all align. From running a $40M steakhouse in the heart of New York City to performing her sold-out Off-Broadway show Burnt at the Stake, Carolann has spent her life at the intersection of entertainment, emotional truth, and leadership. Today, she helps leaders, teams, and audiences reconnect with their why, regulate their emotions, and show up more authentically on stage, at work, and at home. In this conversation, Carolann shares: • How blending entertainment and psychology helps people shift from the inside out • The story of a keynote that became a turning point for audience members on the edge of big life decisions • What the Heart Coherence Method is and how it helps leaders move from chaos to clarity • Why presence beats perfection, and how authenticity becomes a tool for real influence • Practical ways to recalibrate purpose, build resilience, and lead with more humanity (not just hustle) • How humor opens the heart and makes real transformation possible Carolann reminds us that influence doesn't have to be complicated or “perfect” it has to be aligned. When we lead from the heart, stay present, and allow ourselves to laugh, we create the kind of connection that changes rooms, organizations, and lives.  Tune in and discover how heart coherence, purpose, and humor can transform the way you live and lead. Connect with Carolann: www.carolannvalentino.com

Read more: Charlie Schmidt wins firehouse primary in House of Delegates District 77 Other links:George Washington's mansion at Mt. Vernon reopens after 2-year, $40M renovation (AP) Brown shooting victim was pursuing dream of becoming brain surgeon (The Washington Post)* The Mysterious Life and Afterlife of Private Fitz Lee (The New York Times)* What is a 'tent casino'? Petersburg prepares for temporary facility to open (The Richmonder) Faculty Senate passes resolution calling for presidential search finalists to ask for pause (The Cavalier Daily) Va. considers nearly $700 million rail and trail plan in Shenandoah Valley (Virginia Mercury) Our award-winning work is made possible with your donations. Visit vpm.org/donate to support local journalism.

What if every hard-earned lesson in your business came with a simple mandate: how dare you do nothing with what's been given to you? In this episode, Bill Sherman talks with serial entrepreneur and systems strategist Apple Levy, author of "The Apple Effect". Apple has spent decades in construction, manufacturing, home flipping, and retail. She combines operational grit with financial discipline to help entrepreneurs stop firefighting and start scaling with intention. Her core belief is simple and provocative: if you know something that works, you have a duty to share it. Apple walks through how she turned years of wins and failures into a repeatable framework for growth. She explains why she began capturing notes, call recordings, and data from every client, and how that archive became The Apple Effect—a practical playbook for owners running businesses from $1M to $40M in revenue. The book distills what actually moves margin, cash flow, and culture, and she uses it as the backbone for her firm, Obsidian Thorne, when helping companies scale. You'll hear the real problems that keep owners up at night. Not just cash flow and margin, but rework that kills profit, weak follow-up on sales, and the emotional landmine of hiring family you can't hold accountable. Apple shows how to move from "leading by personality" to "leading by systems," so the process becomes the bad cop—not you. That shift frees leaders to exit someday, build a legacy, or simply step out of daily chaos. Apple and Bill also explore the mindset required to grow. Apple challenges entrepreneurs to ask, "How badly do I want this?" and to accept that scaling may mean dismantling what no longer serves the business—including long-standing people, habits, and assumptions. She shares how she applies her own advice inside Obsidian Thorne, using automation, hiring a business development lead early, and treating every pain point in her firm as data she can use to better serve clients. Finally, Apple looks ahead. She talks about taking her message to bigger stages—through construction trade shows like Build Expo, her growing calendar of workshops, and future events she plans to host herself. She's already filling the next scratch pad with insights for future books and building a team of people who share her attitude: hungry, accountable, and obsessed with helping entrepreneurs go from $1M to $10M and beyond. If you're an owner who's tired of firefighting, wrestling with family in the business, or worried about what you're leaving to the next generation, this conversation—and The Apple Effect—offers both a wake-up call and a roadmap. Three Key Takeaways: • Systemize your expertise. Turning real-world lessons into a documented framework is the foundation for scaling any business. • Measure what matters. KPIs and process discipline reduce rework, protect margin, and move the company out of constant firefighting. • Use your book as a strategic tool. A well-structured book can double as a thought leadership platform and an operating guide for clients and teams. If this episode has you thinking about systems, scale, and getting out of firefighting, the next step is to focus on your leaders. Pair this conversation with the episode "Scaling Leadership: Making Coaching Accessible at Every Level" with Kristin Lytle and you'll see the other side of the equation: how to build repeatable, scalable ways to grow people, not just processes. Both episodes explore how to move from one-off heroics to structured, repeatable solutions—whether that's tightening operations and KPIs, or creating blended coaching and learning programs that reach leaders at every level. Listen to them together and you'll walk away with a more complete roadmap: how to systemize the business and build a culture of high integrity, accountability, and leadership growth across the organization.

In this episode of the Kiss My Assets Podcast, Kyle Macdonald and Neighborhood Ventures CEO Jamison Manwaring break down one of the most surprising storylines in U.S. real estate: the historic 2025 multifamily absorption boom that stunned analysts nationwide. We unpack why over 725,000 units were absorbed in just two quarters—surpassing all of 2024—and what's driving renters away from homeownership and into newly built apartments across the country. Jamison also dives into how Phoenix compares to challenged markets like Austin, why institutional forecasters missed the mark, and why long-term investors should care about the "lock-in effect" reshaping housing supply. The episode then shifts to projected rent growth in 2026, why many operators are preparing for a rebound, and what savvy investors should watch for as the national supply pipeline normalizes. Finally, Kyle and Jamison discuss one of Arizona's most eye-opening recent transactions: Next Wave Investors acquiring The Avi in Tempe for $40M—a 40% discount from its 2022 peak price. They break down how distressed deals are emerging, why 2022 buyers are struggling, and how Neighborhood Ventures is navigating this moment with disciplined acquisitions. A data-backed, candid conversation for anyone tracking the future of multifamily investing.

Welcome to AI Unraveled (December 10, 2025): Your daily strategic briefing on the business impact of AI.1. Microsoft AI turns tissue samples into cancer maps

Today's HEADLINES for December 3UK Passes Landmark Law Formally Recognizing Crypto as PropertyLiquidity Regime Flips: Fed Ends QT as JPMorgan, Vanguard, and Bank of America All Move Into CryptoAave DAO Considers Rolling Back Its Multichain ExpansionPolymarket Begins U.S. App Rollout, Starting With Sports Markets$1B Legal AI Platform Exposed 100,000+ Confidential Files After Researcher Reverse Engineered Its Core SystemsLittle BITZCircle launches the Circle Foundation, a nonprofit focused on standards, education, and public-good infrastructure for global digital money.Uniswap integrates Revolut, enabling seamless fiat → crypto onramps for 40M+ users directly inside the DEX interface.MetaMask releases Transaction Shield, a built-in protection layer that flags malicious addresses and phishing signatures before users sign transactions.Tether Prints Another $1 Billion in New USDT as Liquidity Wave BuildsWHERE TO FIND DCNdailycryptonews.nethttps://twitter.com/DCNDailyCryptoEMAIL or FOLLOW the HostQuileEmail: kyle@dailycryptonews.netX: @CryptoQuile——————————————————————***NOT FINANCIAL, LEGAL, OR TAX ADVICE! JUST OPINION! WE ARE NOT EXPERTS! WE DO NOT GUARANTEE A PARTICULAR OUTCOME. WE HAVE NO INSIDE KNOWLEDGE! YOU NEED TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS! THIS IS JUST EDUCATION & ENTERTAINMENT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NASCAR's Antitrust case explodes: leaked texts, insults, secret plans, and money numbers NASCAR definitely didn't want anyone to see. We dig through the newly released documents from the NASCAR lawsuit. Plus: team and sponsor news.The Rundown:- Lawsuit Bombshells:- Spire's Jeff Dickerson looks suspiciously like NASCAR's inside man- Richard Childress gets called out in a few hilarious ways- Put a knife in SRX? ESPN did that, instead- Owners as stupid, short sighted, and self-serving. One of those things they actually should be- RTA explored launching its own SRX-style breakaway series- Financials release - including Chicago Street Race losses, and Team balance sheets- Charter Sales: from $1M in 2016 to $40M in 2024- NASCAR tries to block MJ, Hamlin & Polk from being in the room- Silly Season & Sponsor News:Find the latest episodes at InTheDraftShow.com, follow on Bluesky and Instagram @InTheDraftShow – and like the show on Facebook at facebook.com/InTheDraftShowThanks for listening!

What would you do if your business lost 75% of its revenue overnight? In this episode, Kevin Bees sits down with Alexis Sikorsky, a profit maximisation expert who not only survived the 2008 crash but went on to sell his software company for over $100 million. Alexis shares the real, behind-the-scenes lessons on scaling, crisis management, and navigating private equity — the stuff founders rarely hear until it's too late. In this episode, you'll discover… Why every business needs a 9-month war chest How to spot private equity red flags before signing the deal Why long-term plans fail,  and why 4-year strategies work The surprising $40M exit target most founders should aim for How virtual C-suite teams help $8-10M companies scale faster Connect with Alexis Sikorsky at asikorsky.com Or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asikorsky/ Happy listening! To discover more marketing strategies, make sure you join us at the next Marketing Ecosystem™ workshop to map out your one-page marketing plan. Here's the link to register (no cost!): http://basicbananas.com/virtualsummit Or apply to join the popular Clever Bunch program to accelerate your business growth: https://www.basicbananas.com/cleverbunch Here's to creating ripple effects of brilliance everywhere we go! The Basic Bananas TeamThe post S15 EPISODE 21: How a 75% Revenue Collapse Became a $100M Exit with Alexis Sikorsky first appeared on Basic Bananas.

Download Gary's 13 Keys to Creating a Multi-Million Dollar Business from https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/Tim Stojka (@TimStojka) is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and board leader who has spent three decades building technology companies from the ground up. From programming an Apple II in his parents' basement to founding three major SaaS firms — including one that raised $40 million during the dot-com boom — Tim has lived the full arc of innovation, hype cycles, and hard-earned product-market fit. His latest chapter: applying AI and language models to reshape enterprise software through his new venture, Nexus Three Capital.In this conversation with Gary Rabine, Tim breaks down the real mechanics behind creating, scaling, and surviving as a founder — from vitamins vs. painkillers, to why most tech is overhyped early and under-hyped later, to how AI will transform the next decade of entrepreneurship.In this episode, Gary and Tim discuss:Product-Market Fit: why vitamins lose money and painkillers scaleHow a failed stuffed-animal startup taught him everything about inventory and demandThe dot-com rollercoaster: raising $40M, preparing for a $1B IPO, then crashing to zeroWhy founders should go slow now to go fast laterLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timjstojka/  Website: https://nexus3capital.com/ Connect with Gary Rabine and DDCEO on: Website: https://www.DitchDiggerCEO.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DitchDiggerCEOTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ditchdiggerceopodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DitchDiggerCEOTwitter: https://twitter.com/DitchDiggerCEO YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ditchdiggerceo 

Hello and Welcome to the DX Corner for your weekly Dose of DX. I'm Bill, AJ8B.Ihope you have been tuning around the bands this past week. It won't be long until the sunspots start to decline and you will long for the days of opening like we have now! Stay tuned next week for an announcement about a way you can learn some tips and tricks for finding and logging great DX. Each week I try to focus on those entities that will be available in the next 7 days. There is so much data to sift through that I thought a focus on the next week might be helpful Here is what you should find QRV when you tune the bands. The following DX information comes from Bernie, W3UR, editor of the DailyDX, the WeeklyDX, and the How's DX column in QST. If you would like a free 2-week trial of the DailyDX, your only source of real-time DX information, justdrop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com5X, Uganda:G3XTT, Don Field, will return to Uganda for the CQ Worldwide DX Contest, DX, having had to cut his trip short last year for a domestic emergency. He will be entering the contest as 5X1DF, single operator, single band (40M), high power. QSL via G3XTT or Club Log.  G3XAQ, Alan Ibbetson, will again be on as 5X1XA from Bwerenga, near Kampala, November 17-December 3, “mostlyCW with perhaps some FT8.” He will be in the CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW, probably single band, (15M). QSL direct only to G3SWH or go through LoTW.    Hereare details on a DXPedition to Cambodia that should be QRV by now. The XU7RRCIOTA DXPedition is QRV until December 3, and is proceeding as planned, withupdates to be provided to the DX community via their website.  Wikipedia describes Koh Ta Kiev as “thebiggest of a small group of Cambodian islands situated four kilometers offOtres beach, Sihanoukville City, and one kilometer off the coast of Ream National Park.”  TY- BeninRed, DL1BUG, plans to be in Cotonou(JJ16fj) where he will operate as TY5FR. He will utilize an IC-7300 transceiverand CG3000 auto tuner, running 100 watts into either a 40-meter wire or G5RVantenna. He is QRV using CW and SSB across the 80-to-10-meter bands untilDecember 11. This period includes participation in the CQ Worldwide DX CWContest as a Single Operator All Band Low Power (SOAB LP) entry. All QSOs willbe uploaded to Club Log. QSLs may be sent direct or via the bureau to DL1BUG. ZD7- St. HelenaG3AB (aka 5Z4VJ), Andy, will be departingJohannesburg, South Africa on Friday November 21st heading to St. HelenaIsland. He'll be there and active as ZD7VJ from November 22 to December 7, includingthe CQ Worldwide DX CW Contest. ZL7- Chatham IslandsZL3I, Holger, is returning to the ChathamIslands and will be operating as ZL7IO. He plans to participate in the CQ WW DXCW Contest as a Single Operator All Band (SOAB), utilizing a newly installedsolar system with increased capacity. His stay is scheduled from November 24until December 4.  The DX Mentor features a new YouTubeepisode this coming weekend – a discussion with young op, Pia, DL7PIA. Pia isone of the youngest hams to win the CQ Marathon contest in Europe in 2024. Sheis also an accomplished contester, POTA operator, Violinist, pianist, …..  Check it out and let me know what you think!If you want to follow all the latest DXPodcasts and YouTube releases, you should check out the DX Mentor Facebook pageand subscribe to be kept up to date on all of the DX activities. Until next week, this is Bill, AJ8B saying 73 and thanks to my XYL Karen for her love and support. I Hope to hear you in the pileups! Have a great DX week! 

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but no one said they had to be real. This week on SUPERWOMEN, I'm joined by Melinda Maria, founder and CEO of the $40M jewelry brand that's redefining luxury. From selling handmade pieces in Starbucks to seeing her designs on the red carpet, she's built an empire without caving to investors, gimmicks, or the pressure to conform. We discuss how focusing on one thing helped her brand stand out, making “fake” diamonds feel more aspirational than the real thing. Two decades in, Melinda still owns 100% of her business, crediting every major decision to what's right for the brand, not her ego. Episode Guide: (00:00) Meet Melinda Maria, founder of Melinda Maria Jewelry (03:45) Moving to big cities with $2,000 and no plan (07:18) Making luxury accessible for every woman (10:44) Turning down retailers to go all-in on e-commerce (15:43) Slow growth is the winning strategy  (21:05) Trade-offs between work and personal life (24:39) Inside Melinda Maria Jewelry's first flagship store  (28:59) Why you need to build brand equity (31:13) Luxury isn't about price, it's about how you feel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biggest Takeaways From Our Live Hard Money Mastermind Event in Atlanta GA - #309 We just got back from our Hard Money Mastermind event in Atlanta, GA — and this was one of the best meetups yet. In this episode, Jason and Chris from Hard Money Bankers break down the biggest insights, strategies, and conversations shared by top private and hard money lenders from around the country. Whether you're scaling your private lending business, raising more capital, or trying to improve deal flow, this recap is packed with real-world tactics that are working right now in the industry.

Lemlist revenue has passed $40M revenue with strong profit margins as CEO Charles Tenot breaks down their $25M Claap acquisition and Lemlist's path to $100M revenue by 2028. He explains how Claap reached $2M ARR with a 7-person team and why Lemlist used a mix of cash, vendor loans, and convertible bonds to structure the deal.  

Most service business owners make the same hiring mistake: they either clone themselves or swing too far in the opposite direction. Dave MacDonald, founder of The MacDonald Group, has cracked the code on bringing in leadership that elevates your business without losing what makes it profitable. In this episode, Dave shares his battle-tested approach to hiring leaders who bring proven systems from larger operations—without the disconnect that kills profitability. If you've ever wondered how to scale past $10M, $20M, or beyond without chaos, this conversation is your roadmap. The "Descending Ladder" Hiring Strategy That Changes Everything Dave's counterintuitive approach: hire leaders from companies roughly double your size. Not too small (they won't bring new systems), not too large (they'll lose touch with the hands-on work that drives profit). The sweet spot: If you're running a $20M service business, target leaders from $40M firms. They've seen the systems that work at scale, but they're still close enough to remember the grind. The danger zone: Hiring someone from a $100M operation for your $20M business. They'll design systems for problems you don't have yet—and profitability vanishes while they build their empire. "Throw Them in the Pool" - The Onboarding System That Reveals Everything Forget the standard two-week onboarding playbook. Dave's approach tests what really matters: can they swim when unexpected challenges hit? Phase 1 - The Pool Phase 2 - The Brick Phase 3 - Juggling The Three I's: Building a Culture That Repels the Wrong People Dave's non-negotiable cultural framework filters out mismatches before they become expensive problems: Integrity - Takes a full year to truly assess. You can't shortcut this one. Intensity - Either they match your pace or they don't. Create an environment where low intensity feels awkward. Intentionality - Can be taught, but natural focus is gold. Look for people who think three steps ahead. Systems That Actually Improve (Instead of Just Existing) The Annual Rewrite: Every Standard Operating Procedure gets completely rewritten yearly. Yes, completely. This forces evolution and prevents "we've always done it this way" from killing your growth. The Weekly Rhythm Feedback loops that matter The People-First AI Strategy for Service Businesses Dave's refreshingly practical take on AI: "Old-world values with today's most robust technology." What they're actually using AI for: Writing and presentation creation Back-office automation (invoicing, payroll) Initial candidate screening What they're NOT doing: Chasing bleeding-edge tools that aren't proven Replacing the human connection in recruiting Top-down AI mandates Why This Matters for Your Service Business If you're stuck between $5M and $20M, you're probably missing one thing: leaders who've already solved the problems you're facing. The systems you need exist—you just need someone who's lived them. Dave's approach removes the guesswork. Hire people who've already built what you're trying to build. Test them hard and fast. Build a culture so strong that mediocrity feels uncomfortable. Most importantly: don't let your systems gather dust. Annual rewrites might sound exhausting, but it's the difference between a business that scales and one that plateaus. Want to transform your hiring and onboarding systems? These aren't just recruitment tactics—they're the foundation for scalable growth. The question isn't whether you can afford to implement these systems. It's whether you can afford not to.

In this episode, Eric Coffie breaks down the real secret to getting access, opportunities, and contracts in the federal space — showing up. He shares exactly how he built relationships with $40M, $75M, and even $1.6B players simply by being intentional, proactive, and unafraid to ask. From pre-planning seven to eight networking lunches before even moving to D.C. to publicly posting "Invite me to everything" on LinkedIn, Eric reveals the mindset that puts you "in the room" where decisions are made. If you've ever wondered how to connect with top GovCon leaders like Frank Spencer (Aztec Contractors) or Anthony from Colossal, this is your roadmap. Key Takeaways: Relationships beat resumes: Getting in rooms with $1.6B firms like Colossal starts with one simple step — ask to be invited. Plan before you arrive: Eric lined up 7–8 meetings in advance before moving to D.C., proving preparation creates opportunity. Advocate for yourself: If you're too shy to talk about what you do, no one else will — confidence builds credibility. Learn more: https://federalhelpcenter.com/ https://govcongiants.org/  Listen to the FULL Youtube Live here: https://youtube.com/live/CSj43yA6vcI  All the video links discussed. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zEcjpP-CcDTdVggNyY1qsJUGECZNGZeW9luftdAS39U/edit?usp=sharing

We sit down with retail expert Vicky Patterson with Wiggins Properties live from NAIOP's Tulsa Trends Conference at Southern Hills to break down Bixby and Broken Arrow's explosive retail growth, $40M+ deals, and what's driving CRE momentum heading into 2025. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:35 - Live at the 2025 Tulsa Trends Conference 0:48 - Meet Retail Expert Vicky Patterson 1:11 - CRE Panelist Optimism 1:19 - Why Retail is Exploding in Broken Arrow & Bixby 2:06 - Aspen Creek & Hackberry Market Spotlight 2:41 - Other Tulsa Metro Hotspots 3:00 - Adams Town Center Redevelopment Details 3:21 - Retail Lease Rates & Pre-Leasing Activity 3:49 - Major Retail Sales in Tulsa ($11M–$40M+) 5:04 - Cap Rates & Massive $1.8B Portfolio 5:15 - Leasing, Absorption, and Construction Outlook 6:18 - City of Bixby Retail Growth Incentives 6:33 - Why the Outskirts Are Dominating Tulsa CRE 7:01 - Retail is Thriving Despite the Doubters 7:18 - Wrap Up with Vicky Patterson TulsaTrends #CommercialRealEstate #RetailInvesting #BrokenArrow #BixbyOK #CREgrowth #RetailBoom #HobbyLobby #HomeDepot #TulsaInvestments #RealEstatePodcast #RetailRealEstate #CREstrategy #PreLeasing #OklahomaRealEstate #HackberryMarket #MultifamilyDevelopment

Book a free Discovery Call to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/3TvGiNW or call us at: (214)-453-1591   

In this episode, John Wilson and co-host Jack Carr unpack one of the biggest transitions in home service — going from owner to operator. What does it really take to scale beyond yourself? We dive deep into building layers of leadership, knowing when to delegate, hiring vs. promoting internally, and what the first real leadership hire should look like. From service managers and field supers to accountability systems and EOS, this one's for owners ready to break through bottlenecks and build real organizational depth.You'll hear real playbooks from $1M to $40M+ companies—how John and Jack each handled growth bottlenecks, where they stumbled, and what they'd do differently.What You'll LearnBottlenecks by Design: How to identify when you've outgrown your org chart. First Leaders: The real tipping point for adding service managers, CSRs, and field supers. Hiring vs. Promoting: When internal leadership makes sense—and when it doesn't. Accountability That Sticks: How to keep KPIs and culture aligned as you scale. Delegation Done Right: The tasks owners should've offloaded yesterday. Revenue-Focused Management: Why your first manager should drive numbers, not just tech skill.

The Information's Anita Ramaswamy talks with TITV Host Akash Pasricha about Lyft's surprising stock performance and its strategy in the autonomous vehicle space. We also talk with Jeff Hollan about Snowflake Intelligence, a new group of AI agents, and how the company differentiates itself in the crowded enterprise software market. Loop Global CEO Olga Shevorenkova discusses the state of EV charging infrastructure in the US, the impact of high interest rates on adoption, and her 10-year view of the market. Lastly, we get into robotics valuations and data infrastructure for physical AI with The Information's Rocket Drew and Foxglove CEO Adrian Macneil, after the company announced a $40M funding round.Articles discussed on this episode:https://www.theinformation.com/articles/lyft-investors-enjoying-rideTITV airs on YouTube, X and LinkedIn at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Or check us out wherever you get your podcasts.Subscribe to: - The Information on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinformation- The Information: https://www.theinformation.com/subscribe_hSign up for the AI Agenda newsletter: https://www.theinformation.com/features/ai-agenda

In this fascinating episode of Heartbeat for Hire, host Lyndsay Dowd sits down with Brian Galke, a communication strategist, keynote speaker, and founder of Subtle Skills, to explore the science of face reading, body language, and connection in an increasingly digital world. Known as The Decoding Detective, Brian reveals how understanding facial features can unlock deeper human connection and more effective communication — whether you're in leadership, sales, or just trying to better understand the people around you. From overcoming social anxiety to managing a $40M book of business, Brian's journey proves that anyone can learn to decode others and communicate with confidence. He breaks down the subtle cues that reveal how people process information, make decisions, and prefer to be spoken to — and how applying these tools can make you more influential, authentic, and connected.

We trace the rebirth of a historic downtown theater into Wareham Hall, a flexible, high-tech home for performance, learning, and community. Blade Mages lays out the $40M plan, the acoustic and rigging innovations, and how donors and partners make the vision real.• renaming the opera house to a community hall• origins of the project and early ambitions• fundraising strategy and historic tax credits• cost drivers, square footage, and value• fully motorized rigging and show control• adjustable room acoustics for amplified and acoustic shows• object-oriented mixing and spatial sound• construction timeline and the marquee coming down• nonprofit governance and broad donor base• limited public funds and streetscape changes• community impact and vision for 2027Follow us online, Facebook or Instagram. We will be putting updates up just about every dayWearhamhall.org has a lot of detailed information where you can find out more about that effortGMCFCFAs

Is your website working for you… or against you?In this episode, Jasmine shares a behind-the-scenes conversation with a friend who sold his company for $40M—and why his next big move depended on one thing: a website that actually converts.You'll learn:Why your website—not social media—is your most powerful digital asset3 must-haves for building trust and driving leadsHow AI search (like ChatGPT) is changing how clients find youAnd the real talk Jasmine had with herself about updating her own siteIf you've ever questioned whether your site is helping or hurting your business, this is your wake-up call.Click play to hear all of this and:[00:56] I sat down with a friend (who casually sold his biz for $40M

Topics- Chris Rock's 40M settlement with Will Smith is a hoax- Former V.P. Dick Cheney dies at 84- Henry Winkler turns 80! His career is celebrated!- 2 Florida women attack married couple at a 7/11- Message in a bottle sent Aug 15, 1916 is found in Australia!- Shaq's 200K custom SUV is stolen during transport- Chaucey Billups rigged card shuffling machine is released to the public- MLB Pitcher Luis Ortiz is suspended for possible gambling ties to his pitching- World Series is decided in a dramatic 7 games! Congrats to the Dodgers- NFL week 9 is reviewed while week 10 is predicted by Jack

How does a solo agent sell 60+ homes and $40M a year? In this Stay Paid interview, Olyvia Salyer, a top-producing luxury agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Williamsburg, Virginia, shares exactly how she built a $40M solo business through referrals, community, and smart systems. From running client events and pop-bys to leveraging AI for listing presentations and coaching, Olyvia proves that success comes from a mix of old-school connection and new-school tools.

Vitaliy Gnezdilov is the co-founder of Raise Ready Systems, a capital-raising platform helping real estate operators attract six- and seven-figure checks through paid social campaigns. With a background in user experience design, Vitaliy blends creative branding with performance marketing to help sponsors scale beyond friends and family capital. He has raised over $40M alongside strategic partners and formerly worked at CrowdStreet to streamline investor acquisition and conversion at an enterprise level.     Make sure to download our free guide, 7 Questions Every Passive Investor Should Ask, here.     Key Takeaways Social media can drive serious capital—but only if you build trust, credibility, and speed into your funnel. "Speed to lead" is the difference between a committed investor and a missed opportunity. Avoid pitching too early—use the first call to understand investor goals and qualify the fit. Human touchpoints (real calls, manual follow-up) outperform automation when raising large checks. Sophisticated investors do respond to ads—if you tailor your messaging and sales process to their needs.     Topics From UX Design to Real Estate Capital Vitaliy began his career in software and UX before partnering with a high school friend in advertising. Together, they leveraged design and paid traffic to raise capital in exchange for GP equity. Worked with sponsors across multifamily, mobile home parks, and ATMs—raising $40M+. Building Raise Ready Systems Created a framework to generate investor conversations using paid ads and optimized funnels. Emphasizes "speed to lead" and relationship-building, not just lead generation. Most clients aim to raise $1M/month per investor relations rep using his system. What Actually Works in Paid Campaigns 15–20 ad hooks are tested at launch; funnel must earn attention seconds at a time. Webinar funnels often fail due to lack of contextual awareness—must match platform behavior. Content and UX must be laser-targeted; the platform algorithm does the rest. Human Touch vs. Over-Automation Raise Ready added an appointment-setting team that calls leads within 5 minutes. Human contact builds credibility before handing leads to IR teams. Created diligence packets and follow-up sequences to support investor conversion. Common Mistakes Operators Make Lack of sales process is the biggest bottleneck—not lead volume. Founders often pitch too early; better to listen, qualify, and align investment opportunity. Raising from strangers is a different game than friends and family—adjust your approach.    

Discover what makes or breaks a high-performance sales team in this enlightening episode featuring Chris Sanchez, a veteran sales leader who has built multiple seven and eight-figure teams across agencies, coaching programs, and consulting businesses. Chris shares his journey from being a busboy to managing nine-figure sales organizations, explaining how customer service, relationship-building, and conviction laid the foundation for his success. This episode covers: ✅ How to diagnose why most sales teams fail — and the simple fixes that work ✅ The power of discovery: understanding a prospect's frustrations, fears, and goals before selling ✅ Why automation and pre-sold lead systems can drive 80–90% show rates ✅ The importance of repeatable frameworks for closing high-ticket deals ✅ Building a team that scales itself: training setters, closers, and sales managers effectively ✅ Creating an internal culture of accountability with daily huddles, live call reviews, and sales contests ✅ Balancing passion and process: influence vs. hard-selling Chris's bio: He helps agencies, coaches, and consultants build 8-figure sales teams with a focus on time freedom. As creator of the "8-Figure Sales Team Playbook," Chris equips teams to scale without burning out. He's generated tens of millions in revenue for hundreds of businesses using cash reserve strategies, pre-sold lead systems, high-converting frameworks, and scalable sales playbooks. Recent wins include growing a client's revenue 40% year-over-year, taking another from $15k to $85k/month in 90 days, and building sales teams that have produced over $40M. Website and Socials: Website: https://influentialpassion.io/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-sanchez-ip/ Follow Digital Niche Agency on Socials for Up-To-Date Marketing Expertise and Insights: Facebook:   / digitalnicheagency   Linkedin:   / digitalnicheagency   Instagram: DNA - Digital Niche Agency @digitalnicheagency  Twitter:   / dnagency_ca   YouTube:    / @digitalnicheagency

Ever seen an ad so bizarre you couldn't look away? A woman eating a boiled egg for 90 seconds. A cigarette brand that never showed the cigarette. A $40M Burger King campaign about a guy named Herb who'd never eaten there. In this episode, Nate and Sarah play Two Truths and a Lie: 1980s Ad Edition and then break down why the strangest, most nonsensical ads of the decade actually worked. We'll talk about:

Want to invest in real estate without getting that 2 A.M. tenant call? In this throwback episode, Chris Craddock interviews Anthony Scandariato, co-founder of Red Knight Properties, to break down how syndications work—and why they're a powerful path to passive income.Anthony shares how he went from flipping two-family homes to building a $40M portfolio through strategic investments and partnerships. Whether you're a full-time agent, part-time investor, or looking to escape your 9–5, this episode shows you how to invest smarter, scale faster, and build long-term wealth.What You'll Learn:What real estate syndication is and how it worksWhy refinancing beats flipping (and how it creates tax-free returns)How Anthony scaled from side hustle to full-time investorThe BRRR strategy applied to apartment buildingsWhat to look for in a syndicator before you investHow agents can earn more by bringing deals to investorsHow to start investing passively with just $25KConnect with Anthony Scandariato:Website: RedKnightProperties.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonymscandariato/ Reach out to Chris:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ChrisCraddockBusiness/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/craddrock/RESOURCES: 

✏️ Join Detailers Growth Academy: https://detailgroove.co/detailers-growth-academy/Websites are hyper important to grow your business. But the big problem is, too many detailers focus on the wrong part of the website. I've seen detailers spend $5,000 on a website and still get zero customers. In this episode, I'll show you examples of websites that are simple and not-very-custom, but they generate $40M to $140M in annual revenue. That's because the design is no where near as important as the optimization.Resources⚡️Give Jobber a try with a FREE 14-day trial plus a special discount: https://go.getjobber.com/detailgroove

SUMMARY: In this episode, Aaron and Terryn dive deep into one of the hardest questions every entrepreneur faces: “When is it time to roll out something new?” Drawing from their decade of working side by side and coaching business owners across industries, they share practical insights on how to test new ideas without destroying what's already working. You'll learn how to count the cost, validate ideas on the cheap, manage risk, and know when to pivot or shut down a failing project. From the value of failure to the art of starting small and scaling smart, this candid conversation delivers both laughter and lessons for operators and visionaries alike. Whether you're running a $1M startup or a $40M operation, this episode helps you build with intention—and bounce back when things don't go as planned.   Minute by Minute: 00:00 – Introduction 02:20 – The Real Question: When to Roll Out Something New 04:00 – How Long Should You Stick with a New Idea? 05:10 – Why Founders Must Be Fully Bought In 06:00 – Counting the Cost Before You Build 07:20 – Testing Ideas Cheaply and Simply 10:00 – Pricing, Value, and the Power of Starting Low 13:00 – Seasons of Business: Knowing When to Go All In 16:00 – Knowing When to Pivot, Persist, or Pull Back 20:00 – Learning Through Failure and the Art of the Comeback

From broke in his 20s to retiring his parents and buying a boutique hotel—this is how you build generational wealth from the ground up.In this episode, Rich sits down with real estate investor and entrepreneur Blake Rocha, who's built a $40M portfolio before turning 26. Blake opens up about growing up middle-class, moving back in with his parents to stack cash, and how he used Airbnb arbitrage, discipline, and relentless focus to buy his freedom.They cover:How Blake scaled from $0 to $40M in real estate by his mid-20sTurning family into business partners and retiring his parentsWhy mindset and consistency beat motivation every timeThe real reason men lose purpose—and how to get it backHis first boutique hotel deal in New York (and the dream that led to it)If you've ever wondered how to break free from average and start stacking assets that change your family tree, this episode is your blueprint.Join our investor waitlist and stay in the know about our next investor opportunity with Somers Capital: www.somerscapital.com/invest. Want to join our Boutique Hotel Mastermind Community? Book a free strategy call with our team: www.hotelinvesting.com. If you're committed to scaling your personal brand and achieving 7-figure success, it's time to level up with the 7 Figure Creator Mastermind Community. Book your exclusive intro call today at www.the7figurecreator.com and gain access to the strategies that will accelerate your growth.

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training What would happen if one client lawsuit, one hacked account, or one missed renewal completely wiped out your agency? Have you ever stopped to think about how exposed your business really is even if you're “doing everything right”? Today's featured guest started his career working in the insurance industry and eventually found a love for marketing. He talks about the side of agency life most people ignore: protecting what you've built, and breaks down how to safeguard your business with the right insurance, why every agency should have cyber liability coverage, and how a “give first” mindset has helped him land major clients like Daymond John, Chris Voss, and Dr. Benjamin Hardy. Draye Redfern is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Redfern Media and FractionalCMO. Over the past decade, he's built and sold multiple companies, including a $40M insurance agency acquired by one of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries. With 15 years in risk management and a passion for modern marketing, Draye now helps businesses scale smarter while protecting their downside. In this episode, we'll discuss: How “Growth Blindness” Can Hurt Your Business. The Hidden Risk Most Agencies Ignore. Why You Probably Need a Cyber Liability Insurance. How to Get Big Clients by being in the Right Rooms. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources This episode is brought to you by Wix Studio: If you're leveling up your team and your client experience, your site builder should keep up too. That's why successful agencies use Wix Studio — built to adapt the way your agency does: AI-powered site mapping, responsive design, flexible workflows, and scalable CMS tools so you spend less on plugins and more on growth. Ready to design faster and smarter? Go to wix.com/studio to get started. The Unlikely Path From Insurance to Marketing Draye grew up in a household where entrepreneurship was a way of life. His dad owned a business, and by age 12, Draye was doing the grunt work: filing papers, scanning documents, and learning what it really meant to keep a company running. He had a front-row seat to the chaos and grit of small business. Over time, Draye realized he had a knack for marketing. His early ideas sometimes outperformed everyone else's, and by his early 20s, he was leading the marketing division of a $28 million firm. Under his direction, they scaled past $40 million in annual revenue. That success led to the company's eventual sale to none other than one of the Berkshire Hathaway companies. Stop Being Growth Blind and Start Protecting the Downside While most marketers are obsessed with lead flow and growth, Draye brings a completely different mindset to the table: protect the downside first. After spending 15 years insurance and the risk management world, he learned that too many businesses are “growth blind.” They're chasing top-line numbers while leaving themselves totally exposed if something goes wrong. For his part, Draye thinks about how to mitigate downside risks first and then, once he has that locked down, then he starts thinking about growth. Admittedly, it's backwards from how most people do it, but it's what makes the most sense to him.  The Hidden Risk Most Agencies Ignore Why does Draye prioritize mitigating downside growth? Most agencies don't think about errors and omissions (E&O) insurance until it's too late. One poorly worded ad, a leaked password, or a miscommunication with a client could lead to a lawsuit that costs hundreds of thousands—if not millions—in legal fees. That's why he recommends a basic “risk protection stack” for agency owners: General Liability – Covers physical damages or slip-and-fall type issues. Employment Practices (EPLI) – Protects against HR-related claims. Errors & Omissions (E&O) – Covers mistakes or oversights in your work. Cyber Liability – Protects against data breaches and hacks. As Draye puts it, marketing agencies hold the keys to dozens of client kingdoms. If you get hacked, they get hacked. Protect yourself first, then scale. Why Every Agency Owner Needs Cyber Liability (and What Happens If You Don't) Most agency owners assume general liability insurance has them covered. Slip-and-fall in the office? Sure. But what about when a client's site gets hacked because one of your team members reused a password? Or when a campaign you ran unintentionally exposes customer data? That's not covered: this is where cyber liability and errors & omissions (E&O) insurance come in. Here's where most people go wrong: they forget to renew. Unlike car or home insurance, E&O and cyber liability policies are “claims-made” policies. That means you're only covered if the policy is active when the claim is filed, not when the incident happened. So if you let your policy lapse, even for a few weeks, you could lose coverage for everything that happened in previous years. That's why many experienced owners “tail out” their policies when they sell or sunset a business. Tail coverage locks in past protection for a set number of years. It costs more upfront but prevents millions in potential exposure later. Keep your coverage active, review it annually, and don't cut corners to save a few hundred bucks. Think of it as part of your agency's operating system, not an optional add-on. Lessons From Selling to Berkshire Hathaway When Berkshire Hathaway came calling, he learned just how deep corporate due diligence can go. “They fly out all their MBAs and basically give your business a financial colonoscopy,” he joked. But that process forced him to see business from a different lens—as an asset, not a job. He walked away with not just a successful exit, but also a new appreciation for how structure, systems, and compliance create enterprise value. How to Get Big Clients: Ask Questions, Be in the Room, and Give First Draye's agency has publicly traded companies in its current client roster, with some notable names including Dr Benjamin Hardy and Chris Voss, and almost all of those brands came to his agency because Draye was in the right rooms to strike up conversation. As he puts it, successful people like to hang around other successful people. To him, his job in the agency at this point is figuring out how to get invited into the room with the right people, which includes joining masterminds and attending events. Even with big clients, Draye recommends offering value first without expecting anything in return. I'll give them an idea of the work you do and, if they like it, they'll have you in mind the next time they need agency services. For instance, after attending a talk by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, Draye had the chance to chat with him and learned he was pulling in over 30,000 email opt-ins a month but wasn't monetizing them. Instead of pitching a retainer, Draye built him a simple funnel — for free — that started generating $10,000 a month in passive revenue. A few months later, Hardy came back and asked, “What else can you do?” That turned into a long-term partnership and a roster of launches that ran for years. How to Stand Out and Make People Feel Seen Draye's other secret weapon is personalization. Not the lazy kind where someone drops your name into a cold email template. Real personalization. When a prospect says they're interested, his team clones a landing page, updates the name in the headline (“Welcome, John!”), and records a 30-second video personally greeting them. The whole process takes fifteen minutes, but it makes people feel like they matter, and that's the part most agencies forget. That simple touch has led to multiple referrals, long-term clients, and lasting loyalty. As Draye puts it, “People don't want to feel like a number. They want to feel like they matter.” This type of simple gesture is usually something clients talk about non-stop, because the more automated the world gets, the more human connection stands out. Old School Is the New Advantage While everyone else is obsessing over AI and inbox deliverability, Draye see a lot of potential on a forgotten channel: direct mail. “People's inboxes are full, but their mailboxes are empty,” he explained. “So, when something real shows up, it stands out.” He's seen massive ROI from direct mail, especially when paired with personalized URLs (PURLs) and custom video. It's more expensive upfront, sure, but it cuts through the noise. Something to keep in mind for agency owners trying to stand out at a time when your client's emails are probably inundated with the same offers everyone is sending out. From his own experience, he says “if I were to look at our client base across the various businesses, the vast majority came from direct mail.” Protect Your Business and Hang Out in Different Rooms Draye shares two pieces of advice for agency owners: You never know what's around the corner, so protect your business. Spend the couple thousand bucks on proper coverage. Don't risk your agency's future over something preventable. Change your rooms. If you only hang out with other marketers, you're limiting your reach. Take Jay Abraham's advice and go fishing in someone else's swimming hole. Attend events for other industries, add value, and you'll be amazed at who you meet. In short, Draye's philosophy blends practical protection with proactive growth. Be bold enough to give first, smart enough to protect what you've built, and intentional enough to show up where the right people are. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

John sits down with Christian Rattin, CEO of Five Star Home Services, to unpack how he helped transform a single-family HVAC shop into a $40M+ multi-market powerhouse across Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati.From growing through chaos to professionalizing with purpose, Christian shares Five Star's evolution — blending faith, strategy, and servant leadership to build a home service company that gives back millions. They go deep on: the “profit on purpose” philosophy, scaling across markets without losing culture, leadership development for second-chance employees, and using systems like Scaling Up to sustain growth.If you're serious about building a multi-location business, leading through values, or turning revenue into real impact, this episode is a masterclass in intentional scaling.

Send us a textA gleaming studio with a fence that listens. That's the paradox at Gold Base, Scientology's international HQ, where Golden Era Productions presents a pristine creative campus while security systems hum beneath the hedges. We take you through both worlds at once: pausing a polished promo film to identify the faces, jobs, and backstories you weren't told, then riding a drone's-eye map across soundstages, villas, tunnels, and the private grounds built for one man's comfort and control.We start by dissecting the “making movies to help the world” narrative and replace it with working reality. Why did manufacturing vanish while “training films” persisted? What does a lecture mix actually involve—and who decides which words get removed? We show the departments behind the doors and explain why an expensive film lab became obsolete on arrival. Then we move outside: the Cine Castle sitting directly on the perimeter, ladders and gear on hand; birthing blocks sized for a mythical 1,600 staff; the G Units reserved for VIPs; and the lower/middle/upper villas that formed an executive citadel. Building 50 and Bonnie View come into focus: a $40M command wing with a private tunnel under the highway and a lavish compound prepared for a founder who never returned.Security isn't a rumor here; it's infrastructure. We point out the main guard booth, ground mics on the fence, floodlights that turn night into noon, and the drills that lock everyone down. The “intruder” they train for is often a staffer trying to leave. That's why the escape stories matter: the trunk ride from talent parking, the riverbed sprint under night vision, the quick lie at a gate to “cross” the highway. Even the lake and pool have two meanings—resort imagery and ritual humiliation dressed as maritime tradition. By the end, you'll have a mental map of how Crime AdjacentThe never-ending true crime thriller told weekly. This season: The Rest Stop Killer.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

(00:00-27:59) Doug's worried we're not gonna know what's real anymore. Niko Mikkola gets a $40M extension with the Panthers. Ball Knowers Corner. Audio of Chaim Bloom talking with The Cat about the Cardinals giving him the proper resources. Gorman and Walker and their future with the Cardinals. Mo will live on forever on this show. Doug interviewed Aaron Judge's personal hitting coach for SoundStory. Kurt is on the phone lines and he has an issue with being groomed for CBC. An affinity for Porta Pottys.(28:07-37:48) Paramore. Bicycle accidents. Greg Amsinger and St. John The Baptist. Livin' on the periphery got him. Driving to 7th grade and doing donuts in the parking lot.(37:58-38:57) QuickieSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alison drops new music from Rezz, YDG, Hex Cougar, AVELLO, MEMBA, VILLA, St. Mary, Nia Archives and more!Don't forget to rate & review on all of your favorite podcast apps! Post your comments on twitter @awonderland #RADIOWONDERLANDTracklist:RADIO WONDERLAND OPENER 00:00Rezz & fknsyd - INCANTATION 00:41TroyBoi ft. BombayMami - Beggin 02:42Jai Wolf & REHMA - Say My Name 05:46Slowboy, Dabow & Lenny - DESTRUCTION 09:13VILLA - WATCHME 11:08MEMBA & Łaszewo - THINGS I DO 4U 12:57A Hundred Drums - Sensation 15:40M?STIC & MANADA - BANDZ 18:26Zoey808 & bbno$ - FIGHT OR FLIGHT 22:04Alison Wonderland, Erick The Architect, QUIX & MEMBA - PSYCHO 24:24Dabin & NURKO ft. Skylar Grey - I See You (Hex Cougar Remix) 27:06Playboi Carti - Rockstar Made (WHIPPED CREAM Remix) 31:46nate band & AVELLO - Drugs I Like (AVELLO Remix) 34:27SPORTMODE - flute song 36:30St. Mary & Matthew Adam Green - AMEN 39:29Gryffin & GRiZ - Deep Clear Water 41:47saka - ALL4U 44:55SIDEPIECE ft. Bobby Shmurda - Cash Out (YDG Remix) 47:26KLAXX ft. Luxtides - can't come down 49:02Sub Focus, Irah & Fireboy DML - Original Don 51:27Nia Archives & CLIPZ - MAIA MAIA 54:12TroyBoi - Kamli 57:08

On today's Daily Windup, I dive into how certifications can be the catalyst for massive growth in government contracting. From real-world success stories like Sarah scaling her 8A business to $30M, Marcus building his SDVOSB to $25M, and Lisa cracking $40M through combined certifications, this episode reveals why credentials aren't just paper—they're profit multipliers. I also unpack why certifications like PMP, Agile, and Lean Six have become essential in today's government contracting landscape, with over 600,000 project management roles available and the DoD increasingly requiring PMP for leadership. Whether you're a veteran translating military skills or a contractor chasing scale, you'll learn how credibility and capability must align to win. Key topics covered: Real success stories of entrepreneurs scaling to $25M–$40M with certifications (8A, SDVOSB, and combined approaches). The rising necessity of professional certifications like PMP, Agile, and Lean Six in the government space. Why credibility, combined with capability and relatability, is critical for winning government contracts. Learn more: https://govcongiants.org/