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Chris Powers is the Founder & Executive Chairman of Fort Capital. Fort Capital is a Fort Worth, Texas-based Real Estate Private Equity firm.
In 2016, Chris made the decision to focus on Class B Industrial full time and that is where the firm has dedicated the majority of its resources since. After graduating in 2008, Chris started a leasing and property management business and flipped houses on the side. Wells Fargo gave him a $250,000 line of credit, and the plan was to keep flipping homes near TCU. Chris started buying foreclosed homes all over the Dallas Fort Worth area. From there, he started building high-end custom homes. He later got into land development and entitlement for several years, where he would assemble unentitled urban land and take the entitlement risk to develop from ground-up. He has since learned the value of focusing on a specific niche. In this episode, Aaron and Chris talk about how he's built his team, how he balances the identity of investor and entrepreneur, and how focusing on a specific niche of real estate has led to stratospheric growth. Chris Powers’ Challenge; if you don't have a mentor, go find someone that you trust that will pass their wisdom on to you. Connect with Chris Powers
If you liked this interview, check out our episode with Brent Beshore. His firm, Permanent Equity, specializes in buying small businesses and has built that specialty niche focus.
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David Tobin is the Founder and Managing Partner of TobinLeff, where they help clients convert business value into family wealth.
David is a serial entrepreneur who has founded, grown, and sold four companies. David has worked with over 100 businesses to build value, retain key employees, and achieve profitable exits. TobinLeff is an M&A advisory and exit planning firm that assists business owners in maximizing enterprise value and converting it into personal wealth. They offer consulting services to prepare companies for transactions, M&A services for acquisitions and sales to strategic buyers and private equity groups, and exit planning services such as management buy-out plans. In this episode, Aaron and David talk about how these mergers and acquisition transactions occur, who the important parties are, what the most important terms are as a part of these deals, and a whole lot more. David Tobin’s Challenge; Do vision planning, and make sure you have a mission that truly ties to this vision. Connect with David Tobin
If you liked this interview, check out our episode on How to Sell a Midsize Digital Agency w/ Amanda Dixon (Barney)
Kevin Kelly co-founded Wired magazine in 1993, served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years, and was a pioneer from the early days of the internet. He is an author of several bestselling books and is a return guest on this podcast.
Kevin’s book Excellent Advice for Living is a small book of wisdom, in a pocketable format with 450 tweetable bits of advice that he wished he had known earlier. Kevin was prompted to collect these thoughts after a recent birthday caused him to reflect on which lessons he could pass to his children. In this episode, Aaron and Kevin talk about aphorisms, why it was important for him to write this book now, and the impact he hopes he has on his family. Kevin Kelly’s Challenge; Think about how to be a good ancestor. Work on one good thing that you think your future generation will thank you for, or thank your great grandparents for something that they have done that you’re proud and thankful for. Connect with Kevin Kelly
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about Four Huge Startup Exits w/ Jason Wolfe
Jason Wolfe is the definition of a serial entrepreneur. He sold MyCoupons.com for roughly $23 million in 2000, shortly before the DotCom bubble burst.
Jason rolled over his proceeds into successive wins with his companies Direct Response Technologies (acquired by Digital River for $22 million), Jambo Media (for $15 million) and Giftcards.com (by Blackhawk Network for $120 million). Pretty impressive. Even more so when you consider how he grew up. After growing up in the Milton Hershey School, an orphanage founded by Milton Hershey, Jason was living out of his car. He taught himself how to code by using books at the local library and CompUSA's 'Building the Perfect Web'. This led to building the first coupon website and launching his first internet business. From 1995 to 2000, Jason built the business, raising $500k in VC from Jupiter Media and garnering >$1 million in annual sales and 20 million page views per month. Today, he is building GiftYa, GiveInKind, and PerfectGift, which have the potential to be his biggest businesses yet. Jason’s Challenge; Give more. Be Kind. Pull someone else up. Connect with Jason Wolfe567 EOS and The Transformation of Digital Marketing Agency w/ Lyn Askin (Raxxar Digital Marketing)4/10/2023
Lyn Askin is the founder and CEO of Raxxar Digital Marketing, a leading digital marketing agency based in Louisiana. Lyn has over 20 years of experience in digital marketing and has expertise in SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing to create comprehensive campaigns that drive results.
Recently, Lyn’s agency has hit a new level, thanks in large part to implementing the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) outlined in the book Traction by Gino Wickman. His revenue triple, team size doubled, and profit 7xed in a short period of time. Lyn was so impacted that he’s become a professional EOS implementer, helping business owners and leadership teams implement this powerful framework to improve their business processes, increase productivity, and drive growth. In this episode Aaron and Lyn talk about his experience in the digital marketing industry, how he cracked the code in making his business much larger and more profitable, and how a personal health scare catalyzed change. Lyn Askin’s Challenge; Sit with your leadership team, define and live your business’ Core Values. Connect with Lyn Askin
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about the Million Dollar Agencies and Elite Mindsets w/ Jordan Ross (8 Figure Agency)
Jordan Ross is the founder and CEO of 8 Figure Agency. He is a systems expert with over 15 years of experience advising startups, mid-sized companies, and Fortune 500 organizations.
8 Figure Agency is a consultancy specializing in helping agencies scale their revenue and profitability. He and his team help agencies specializing in search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, and website design and development. In this episode, Aaron and Jordan talk about how his consultancy helps marketing firms scale from 6 to 8 figures, the systems of success, what he learned from working at Amazon, and neuro linguistic programming. Jordan Ross’ Challenge; Go all-in on yourself. Learn how to meditate and center yourself. Connect with Jordan Ross
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about Revenue in Year One Selling Saas Companies with Andrew Gazdecki
Simon Huntley is a farmer and entrepreneur who is passionate about helping small farmers succeed. He is the founder and CEO of Harvie, a company that helps farmers sell their products directly to consumers through a customizable subscription service.
Harvie is a software platform that connects small farmers with consumers in their communities. The platform allows farmers to create customizable subscription services that offer weekly or bi-weekly deliveries of fresh, locally grown produce and other farm products. Harvie works by allowing farmers to create their own subscription services on the platform. Farmers can choose the products they want to offer, set their own prices, and customize the delivery schedule. Consumers can then sign up for the service and receive regular deliveries of fresh, locally grown produce and other farm products.. For farmers, Harvie provides a way to sell their products directly to consumers without having to go through middlemen like distributors or grocery stores. This allows farmers to earn a higher profit margin and build a stronger relationship with their customers. For consumers, Harvie provides access to fresh, locally grown produce and other farm products that are often of higher quality than what is available in grocery stores. Simon Huntley and Harvie are making it easier for small farmers to succeed by connecting them with consumers in their communities. With Harvie's customizable subscription service, farmers can sell their products directly to consumers, which benefits both parties. In this episode, Aaron and Simon talk about the decades of experience how he has grown his company, how they’re able to do it bootstrapped, and the lessons he learned building the logistics infrastructure to serve this function. Simon Huntley’s Challenge; Cook a meal for yourself and think about the people that made it possible. Connect with Simon Huntley
If you liked this interview, check out our episode with Christian Simmons who’s Changing the Liquor Landscape in Pennsylvania
Spencer Krause is founder & Director of Product Development for SKA Custom Robots and Machines. With over twenty years of experience in executing electrical and mechanical projects, Spencer has worked on some of the hardest problems in the world of technology and led teams tackling novel and thrilling projects.
SKA Custom Robots & Machines is a contract-engineering firm that utilizes their expertise in mechatronics and hardware to solve robotics, mechanical systems, electrical engineering, design and software development problems for their clients. Spencer is also the host of Collaborative, where he interviews other leaders in the industry and discusses the interesting challenges of building robots. In this episode, Aaron and Spencer talk about being hired to solve bleeding edge technology problems, good client relations, and the future of autonomous robots.
Spencer Krause’s Challenge; Allot 15 minutes of your day to think about ways to make your job more efficient.
Connect with Spencer Krause
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about Robot Pioneer Saving Lives & Improving Quality of Life w/ Jorgen Pedersen.
Andy Berman is the co-founder of Vowel, a software that allows dynamic remote teams to inject artificial intelligence into their calls. In 2021, Vowel secured a venture round of $13.5 Million to pursue the goal of making meetings more useful.
Their virtual meeting platform has an embedded set of tools that aid in the planning, preparation, execution, and follow-up of meetings. Smart summaries, transcriptions, and search are already live for their users. Andy is an experienced entrepreneur who previously founded Nanit, an industry-leading smart baby monitor. In this episode, Aaron and Andy talk about competing with Zoom, the potential for AI to change the way we work, and how he thinks about building a compound start-up. Andy Berman’s Challenge; Try Vowel and see if we can make your company more productive. Connect with Andy Berman
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about How AI Changes Healthcare Forever w/ Dr. Shiv Rao (Abridge)
Anthony Constantino is the co-founder of Sticker Mule, one of the most popular custom sticker websites in the United States and Europe.
Sticker Mule was founded after Anthony was asked by his 72-year-old friend, his cofounder, how to use the internet. More than a decade later, Sticker Mule is one of the most popular custom sticker websites with over 100 employees world-wide and printing operations in the United States and Europe. Anthony oversees an operation that spans 16 countries in 4 continents with customers including Google, Facebook, Twitter and many of the world’s best brands. Anthony is also the founder of the new social media platform Stimulus and has spent most of the past four years in Mexico City, one of boxing’s biggest hubs. He became a pro boxer at the age of 39. In this episode, Aaron and Anthony talk about how he started his company, the constraints he faced operationally, and the marketing strategy that they deployed for more than 12 years that continues to work for them. Anthony Constantino’s Challenge; Go try something new. Connect with Anthony Constantino
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about 3 Generations of Family Business w/ Scott Heeter
561 $7 Million Annual Recurring Revenue 100% Bootstrapped w/ Adriane Schwager (Growth Assistant)2/20/2023
Adriane Schwager is the co-founder and CEO of GrowthAssistant, a global talent solution helping marketing teams focus on brand, strategy and results. They help startups and direct-to-consumer brands accelerate the growth of their businesses by offering full-time offshore employees to handle the manual tasks of marketing campaign management, design and reporting.
GrowthAssistant was founded in February 2021 and has already scaled to over $7 million in annual recurring revenue. More impressively, they’re completely bootstrapped.. They began offering companies digital marketing assistants and then graphic designers, but have expanded their offering to sales development, email marketing, business operations, and customer success. In this episode, Aaron and Adriane talk about how she helps companies save money, how to be a more empathetic and clear-minded decision maker as the head of an organization, and how Jesse Puji laid the groundwork for her company to have enormous success after just 2 years in business. Adriane Schwager’s Challenge: Write down every task you do for a day, put a check mark on the tasks you do more than once a week, then ask yourself which of the tasks you can document so you can delegate it and it’ll give you more time to focus on more high-level strategic work. Connect with Adriane Schwager
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about Gateway X and TikTok Ads w/ Jesse Pujji
Daniela Osio is the Founder and CEO of the procurement-focused start-up Kloopify. Daniela is a former supply chain specialist for DuPont and was a CPIM certified and ISM 30 under 30 rising corporate start.
Today, she uses her expertise in logistics procurement, supply chain management, and risk management to run Kloopify, a data platform aimed at the global supply chain. Kloopify introduces sustainability to the procurement process with the data, analytics, and visibility into the environmental impact of all purchases. In this episode, Aaron and Daniela talk about procurement, its desperate need for innovation, and how her platform helps companies implement sustainability goals in their procurement process. Daniela’s Challenge: Take a look at where you’re spending your money. Do you spend your money on companies that align with your personal goals? 
Connect with Daniela Osio
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about the $2 Million to $80+ Million Family Business w/ Kristy Knichel
Steve Jobs was deeply influenced by Edwin Land, the founder of Polaroid. He took many of the top strategies that Land employed and used it to build Apple.
If you're interested in this video essay, watch the full video here.
John Jonas is the Founder of OnlineJobs.Ph. His company has helped more than 100,000 companies successfully hire Filipino talent by simplifying the outsourcing experience.
John was extremely early to the trends of remote work, international hiring, and niche job boards. His reward has been more than 15 years in business and a day-to-day in the present that is low stress and highly impactful. In this episode, Aaron and John talk about the origins of OnlineJobs.Ph, what he’s learned about delegating tasks to his team, and why his team members have stuck around with him for more than a decade. John Jonas’ Challenge: “Take the leap” Connect with John Jonas
If you liked this interview, check out the episode Making Mental Wellness Remotely Available with Sara Makin.
Kevin Gibbon is the CEO and cofounder of Airhouse, an end-to-end operations and logistics platform for modern e-commerce companies.
Airhouse works with companies to make distribution of their consumer goods products easy. They use a platform that is an all-in-one, cloud-based warehouse that maintains itself, helping direct-to-consumer companies get orders from factory to front-door. This company is informed by Kevin’s previous experience founding Shyp, a verticalized startup tackling the same problem. He raised over $60 million for the company, but it eventually shut down. In this episode, Aaron and Kevin talk about what he learned from Shyp’s failure, the challenges of operating a good distribution center, and the opportunity for DTC brands to expand internationally. Kevin Gibbon’s Challenge: Go set a scary goal and act on it. Connect with Kevin Gibbon
If you liked this interview, check out our episode with 3PL operator Kristy Knichel on how she took her Family Business from $2 Million to $80+ Million.
Tucker Brown is the 6th generation rancher of the R.A. Brown Ranch. He has grown his followers on TikTok to 199k+, and garnered 3.7 million likes on his videos. He went viral overnight by sharing a video on TikTok of him lassoing a cow. Since then, he’s been constantly sharing tidbits of their ranch operations content in the said platform that help grow his business.
R.A. Brown Ranch is a progressive family ranching business that has been producing some of the most superior cattle and Quarter Horses in the industry since 1895. They raise and sell four breeds of cattle: Angus, Red Angus, SimAngus, and Hotlander. In this episode, Aaron together with Hannah and Tucker talked about how he transformed his family ranching business using video marketing. Connect with Elite Video MarketingSign up in Elite Video Marketing’s newsletter
Shawn Allen is the co-founder of M@C Discount. Previously, he was President and GM of Asset Auctions, COO of AssetNation and Senior Product Manager of Giftcards.com which were all successful internet marketplace businesses.
M@C Discount stands for Merchandise at Cost. The company buys truckloads of closeouts merchandise and customer returns from major retailers. They receive "New" and "Used" items that are sold individually at aggressive discounts, in-store and online. What’s great is that all items in their online auctions start at $1 with no reserve price. His background in reverse logistics started by working at another company that was acquired by FedEx. The shipping company lost interest in that portion of the business, which was dealing with the returned items many retail stores accumulate. Shawn used his background in auctioneering and his partner Kellen’s expertise in buying products in designing their current business model. In this episode, Aaron and Shawn talk about the rapid growth of his company, how they have done it profitably, and why auctions are such a great model for selling online. Shawn Allen’s Challenge: When you have the opportunity, give people you’re on the fence with a second chance Connect with Shawn Allen
If you liked this interview, check out our episode about Storing Family Memories Forever & Losing $1 Billion w/ Glen Meakem
Justin Welsh is a solopreneur that has made more than $3 million running from a collection of digital products. He has leveraged a large boutique advisory firm for entrepreneurs and creates digital products for creators.
He has a decade of experience building two $50M+ ARR businesses, teams of 150+, and helping raise over $300M in capital from VC firms like HLM Ventures, Leerink Transformation Partners, Vivo Capital, Toba Capital, and athenahealth. Over that period, he played the role of Chief Revenue Officer and SVP of Sales at high-growth transactional SaaS companies. His company is an early-stage start-up sales consulting firm that drives revenue growth from an experienced SaaS revenue operator and start-up consultant with proven go-to market strategy and playbooks for scale to $50M+. Justin Welsh’s Challenge: Make one Dollar, then go to https://carrd.co/ Connect with Justin Welsh
If you liked this interview, check out our episode with Marshall Haas: Peel, Shepherd, Need/Want
In 2019, Joe Cardosi founded Free Market Health to tackle the complicated specialty pharmacy marketplace. In less than four years, the firm has raised over $13 million, grown to 50+ team members, and scaled revenue into the millions.
Free Market Health is a healthcare technology platform focused on fixing the company dedicated to improving the specialty pharmacy ecosystem with a care-driven marketplace platform. They support forward-thinking payers and specialty pharmacies of all sizes who need to operate in a complex and opaque market. Previously, Joe worked in specialty pharmacy for 15 years and saw the market opportunity firsthand. In this episode, Aaron and Joe talk about what drives the enormous costs in specialty pharmacies, why Joe was perfectly positioned to found the company, and why patients win when pharmacies compete. Joe Cardosi’s Challenge: If you have an opportunity or a great idea, where you can create a job around it, take a chance, say yes, and just do it. Connect with Joe Cardosi
If you liked this interview, check out our episode on Building a Billion Dollar Company Treating Rare Diseases w/ Dr Gordon Vanscoy
Austin Rief is the CEO and cofounder of the Morning Brew. In 2020, the Morning Brew was majority acquired for a $75 million dollar valuation, just five years after being founded by two University of Michigan students.
Morning Brew is a media company with an email list of over 3 million people. Their content informs, educates and empowers readers on the business world, money and their career. They bring informative and digestible daily news and information about businesses from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. In this episode, Aaron and Austin talk about the metrics that matter to the Brew, what Austin learned about hiring and scaling, and how they implemented the EOS model to get outstanding results. Austin Rief’s Challenge: Harness the power on the internet and learn from it. Leverage technology to make money. Connect with Austin Rief
If you liked this interview, check out our episode on How Sam Parr Builds Businesses.
Dr. Shiv Rao is the CEO and cofounder of Abridge. He was previously a senior executive at UPMC Enterprises and serves as a cardiologist at the Heart and Vascular Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Abridge is an Artificial Intelligence app that listens to the doctor-patient conversations, provides a transcription, and categorizes specific details such as medications, symptoms, diagnoses, procedures, and the care plan. Dr. Rao and his team have cataloged more than five million medical next steps for users. Abridge is focused on the rich data in the conversation beyond the required information and providing it to medical professionals and patients. In this episode, Aaron and Dr Shiv talk about artificial intelligence, how little we remember from our medical visits, and the rise of doctor burnout. Dr. Shiv Rao’s Challenge: Make it a habit of going to sleep grateful. Connect with Dr. Shiv Rao
If you liked this interview, check out our episode with Dr. Timothy Wong where he shared why He Won't Take Health Insurance
Bill Hauser is the CEO of SMB Team, the Fastest Growing law firm growth company in the US. The firm currently has more than $20 million in annual revenue and a team of 60 full-time employees.
SMB team uses digital marketing, staffing, and coaching, to help law firms grow. Their mission is to help 10,000 law firms double their revenue and grow to $256 million in revenue within 10 years. Bill also shares how (and why) he spends over $600,000 annually on personal development. From personal coaches to high-level masterminds, he is committed to becoming the executive capable of leading his company to their lofty goals. In this episode, Aaron and Bill talk about why it is important to have resolve when setting a goal for yourself, his difficult upbringing, and how he overcame his addiction to anxious thinking. Bill Hauser’s Challenge: Take the most direct path to your goal. Keep writing that goal down so you don’t stop believing in yourself until you achieve that goal. Connect with Bill Hauser
If you liked this interview, check out our episode on Pivoting from Bankruptcy to Financial Freedom w/ Jim Shorkey.
Po-Shen Loh is the Founder and CEO of Expii, a free personalized learning website with thousands of math and science lessons.
Po-Shen Loh is a social entrepreneur and inventor, working across the spectrum of mathematics, education, and healthcare, all around the world. He is a math professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and the national coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad team. He has also pioneered a scalable way to learn challenging math live online and a new way to control pandemics by leveraging self-interest. Expii supports crowdsourced lessons to encourage peer to peer learning. It is an online learning platform that lets students choose how to learn high school level math and science by providing multiple learning styles, and encourages students to learn in their own way. In this episode, Aaron and Po-Shen Loh talk about why conventional remote classes fail, how he creates win-win for everyone, and the business model of education. Po-Shen Loh’s Challenge: Take the uncomfortable step of learning a new skill. Connect with Po-Shen Lo
If you liked this interview, check out the episode with Sam Parr where we discuss compounding skills and selling the Hustle for tens of millions.
Andrew Herr is the founder and CEO of Fount, a health and performance advising platform trusted by the world’s top performers. He started Fount to make cutting edge performance insights more widely available and change the quality of health outcomes for all.
Fount is backed by Founders Fund, Elysian Park, and Allen & Co to apply, and scale, their expertise from optimizing the minds and bodies of US Military, professional sports teams, and leading business executives. Andrew is a graduate of Health Physics, Microbiology & Immunology, and Security Studies from Georgetown University. He was honored as a Mad Scientist by the U.S. Army (twice) and as a Fellow by the Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program, the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative, and others. In this episode, Aaron and Andrew talk about how he can change human health and performance at scale, how he helped the Department of Defense allocate millions of Dollars towards the optimization of the military, and how structures, data & machine learning make this the perfect time to build a disruptive personalized health company. Andrew Herr’s Challenge: Run experiments on yourself. Pick an experiment for the next two weeks – nutrition like decreasing sugar, cutting down meat, or wearing blue light blocking glasses before bed – and observe if it affects you. Connect with Andrew Herr
If you liked this interview, check out the episode How Sam Parr Builds Businesses and the biggest sales of his career.
Jacob Hanchar is the CEO of Digital Dream Labs. He is a neuroscientist by training who loves entrepreneurship, video games, and learning.
Jacob started out as an angel investor for Digital Dream Labs, an ed-tech company founded in 2012. They are the makers of AI robotic companions such as Cozmo, Vector, Puzzlets, InfiniDrive, and Butter Robot. They lead the field of assistive technology that improves the lives of all ages and backgrounds. In this episode, Aaron and Jacob talk about selling robots as companions, they also break down how he bought IP associated with his robots for pennies on the dollar, and why robots of all shapes and sizes need to be designed to be a little more cute. Jacob Hanchar’s Challenge: Volunteer a couple hours in your local library or museum to get young people more interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Connect with H. Jacob Hanchar, Ph.D.
If you liked this interview, check out the episodes GPT-3 & Robotics w/ Tom Galluzo and Ice Cream Empire Secrets w/ Chad Townsend (Millie’s Ice Cream).
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