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Recent episodes
From Busing Tables at 15 to CEO: Kevin Gudejko's Four Decades Moving Through American Dining History
Jun 12, 2026
Unknown duration
Jordan Rodriguez on Why Business Owners Need More Than a Portfolio Manager
Jun 12, 2026
Unknown duration
From Educational Psychology to Staffing COO: Marnie Byford's Path to Supreme Staffing
Jun 11, 2026
Unknown duration
Greg Mahoney on What Breaks Inside a DSO When Acquisitions Move Faster Than Operations
Jun 11, 2026
Unknown duration
Meir Spiegel Built His Own Systems From Scratch. Now He Does It for Everyone.
Jun 11, 2026
Unknown duration
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| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/12/26 | From Busing Tables at 15 to CEO: Kevin Gudejko's Four Decades Moving Through American Dining History | Kevin Gudejko is the president and CEO of Main Street Ventures Restaurant Group, a collection of 21 upscale scratch kitchen restaurants across five states that donates more than $2 million annually to local community charities. He started busing tables at 15 because his mom was a server and his dad was a meat cutter. What followed was four decades moving through 13 states and some of the most formative kitchens in American dining history, from Bennigan's during the fern bar era, to Hillstone under its perfectionist founder, to Hops Grill during its growth from three to 200 locations, to Carrabba's joint venture work, before completing a buyout of Main Street Ventures in February 2019.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Starting at 15 busing tables at a country club, caddying summers, moving into restaurant management coming out of collegeEarly career at Bennigan's: opening 40 locations a year, navigating a market where alcohol revenues had to drop from 60% to 50% to comply with state lawMentor Jim Pollard's core teaching: you can't muscle your way through, you have to build a bench and develop peopleHillstone and its obsessive standards: a founder who delayed a Manhattan Beach opening two weeks to replace the wrong color booth cushionsHops Grill and Brewery: scaling from 3 to 200 locations using a joint venture market partner modelSix years as a Carrabba's joint venture partner across four Midwest states, learning to manage from hours awayJoining Main Street Ventures in 2007 as director of operations and partner under founder Mike GibbonsCompleting the full company buyout on February 5, 2019 — thirteen months before COVID shut the industry downFlat management structure: eliminating district managers during the 2008 financial crisis and never going backOver $2 million donated annually to local community charities including the Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund for pediatric research🌟 Kevin's Key Mentors:Jim Pollard: First supervisor at Bennigan's who taught Kevin that developing people and building a bench mattered more than muscling through situationsGeorge (Hillstone Founder): Showed Kevin what obsessive standards look like in practice, including delaying a restaurant opening over booth cushion colors to preserve the brand's visionMike Gibbons (Main Street Ventures Founder): Brought Kevin in as a director of operations and partner, trusted him with the day-to-day running of the company, and made the eventual buyout possibleDennis Saris (Real Seafood Company Founder): Original 1975 founder of the first Real Seafood Company whose founding vision still shapes the company's approach to quality and communityHis Son Xander: Now director of beverage and a district manager, has helped Kevin understand the COVID generation's workforce challenges from the inside👉 Don't miss Kevin's account of closing on the company buyout thirteen months before COVID, how his son Colin's autism diagnosis reshaped his perspective on resilience and community, and why he believes today's restaurant environment is harder than anything he's seen in forty years.🔗 Connect with Kevin Gudejko:Website: mainstreetventuresinc.com📋 Transcript Available: From Busing Tables at 15 to CEO: Kevin Gudejko's Four Decades Moving Through American Dining History📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/12/26 | Jordan Rodriguez on Why Business Owners Need More Than a Portfolio Manager | Jordan Rodriguez is the founder of Chagrin Valley Legacy Advisors in Beachwood, Ohio, a planning firm built for owners of closely held family businesses, multi-generational families, and high net worth early retirees. A certified financial planner and certified exit planning advisor, he spent nearly a decade at Warnock Spear Wealth Managers before leaving to build a practice specifically structured around the client types where he could deliver real depth, not a generalist service model dressed up to look specialized.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Starting career as a college intern at Warnock Wealth Management, doing data entry and back-office workEarly lessons at Northwestern Mutual and Wells Fargo on commission versus fee-only models and where incentives leadThe difference between wirehouse advisors and independent fiduciaries, and why that distinction matters to business ownersSpinning out Chagrin Valley Business Strategies as a separate entity to provide business valuations and consulting within a compliance constraintUsing Quist Insights software to give business owners a range of values, a gap analysis, and thirteen actionable drivers to close itWhy 75% of a business owner's wealth in an illiquid company requires a fundamentally different financial planning approachThree client demographics: closely held family business owners, multi-generational families, and high net worth early retireesThe case for renaming exit planning, because the word exit scares off founders who aren't thinking about sellingWhy second and third generation owners are often easier to advise than founders who treat the business as their identityEOS Lite: using the VTO, quarterly rocks, and weekly scorecards without the full EOS complexity🌟 Jordan's Key Mentors:Warren Warnock (Managing Director, Warnock Wealth Management): Lifelong family friend who gave Jordan his first look at the industry through a high school shadow and then his first internshipWarnock Spear Team: A decade of shared growth that taught Jordan how to build client longevity, transition from wirehouse to independence, and think about fiduciary standards in every interactionHis Wife: His primary model of doing things the right way, and the person who first noticed the stress the departure took on himTax and Legal Professionals in His Network: The source of most introductions into his practice, because his model integrates them rather than working around themBusiness Owner Clients: They taught Jordan what gap existed in the market by telling him they wanted their business integrated into their financial plan in ways standard advisory firms couldn't deliver👉 Don't miss Jordan's account of leaving a decade-long professional partnership, why a $413,000 enterprise value number on a to-do item is the most motivating thing he can show a business owner, and his honest take on why exit planning needs a name change.🔗 Connect with Jordan Rodriguez:Website: chagrinvalleylegacy.com📋 Transcript Available: Jordan Rodriguez on Why Business Owners Need More Than a Portfolio Manager📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/11/26 | From Educational Psychology to Staffing COO: Marnie Byford's Path to Supreme Staffing | Marnie Byford is Chief Operating Officer at Supreme Staffing, a national employment agency connecting workers to opportunities in manufacturing, logistics, customer service, and office support across 22 locations. She came to the role through an unlikely path: a degree in educational psychology, nearly five years in disability day services, and a career in workforce management that her industry repeatedly told her she wasn't right for. Under her leadership, Supreme Staffing launched its own forklift training center, built a travel recruiting team, and achieved 7% turnover in an industry that averages over 400%.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Degree in educational psychology, early career working with adults with disabilities at Open Arms CareTransition into workforce management through a Nike warehouse staffing role focused on training and developmentFive years at SIMOS Insourcing Solutions, rising from safety and training manager to executive director of recruitingJoining Supreme Staffing in February 2020, two weeks before COVID changed everythingKeeping doors open during COVID while competitors closed, providing grocery money and flexible schedules to retain workersGrowing organically through the pandemic and beyond through word-of-mouth customer referralsLaunching a forklift training center after four years of planning to address a critical driver shortageDeploying a travel recruiting team to stabilize client sites across the country, including onboarding 200 workers in three weeksPhone system automation that cut response time from four hours to one hour and grew Memphis walk-in traffic from 50 to 200 per dayExpanding to 22 locations with plans for Pennsylvania, Boston, Canada, and beyond🌟 Marnie's Key Mentors:Eduardo Sanchez (Owner, Supreme Staffing): Saw Marnie's potential, handed her the operational mandate, and gave her the private-company flexibility to build something the corporate world wouldn't allowOpen Arms Care Leadership: Grounded Marnie in humanization, patience, and learning people before judging them, skills she brought directly into staffingJason Nunez (Director of Operations): Started at the front desk at 18 and grew into the role under Marnie's mentorship, representing the internal development model she championsHer Four Daughters: Daily motivation to model what it looks like to push past nos and build something in spaces where women are told they don't belongHer Staffing Teams Across 22 Locations: Young, hungry, and eager to learn, they have been both the proof of her leadership philosophy and the engine behind Supreme's growth👉 Don't miss Marnie's account of being told repeatedly that the industrial world wasn't for women, how she kept Supreme Staffing's doors open during COVID when everyone else closed, and the moment a former colleague called to say they had underestimated her.🔗 Connect with Marnie Byford:Website: supremestaffing.agencyLinkedIn: Marnie Byford📋 Transcript Available: From Educational Psychology to Staffing COO: Marnie Byford's Path to Supreme Staffing📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/11/26 | Greg Mahoney on What Breaks Inside a DSO When Acquisitions Move Faster Than Operations | Greg Mahoney is Associate Director of Management Consulting at Skytale Group, a Dallas-based firm helping dental support organizations and multi-site healthcare platforms grow profitably, prepare for M&A, and exit with positive outcomes. He came to that work through a decade of building his father's single-location dental practice from $1 million to $7.5 million in revenue, discovering along the way that he had accidentally built something too profitable for any associate to buy — which sent him inside some of the country's largest PE-backed dental platforms before he landed on the consulting side.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Growing up in a dental family and planning to become a dentist before organic chemistry redirected the pathDiscovering a natural strength in economics, accounting, and finance after his GPA transformed with the switchEarly career in corporate finance at a startup, then product management at Heraeus Kulzer dental manufacturingJoining his father's $1M practice with a mandate to build everything except the dentistryAdding TMJ, sleep apnea, and implant service lines as standalone practices within the practiceGrowing from $1M to $7.5M in two and a half years through internal marketing and specialty cross-referralRealizing the practice was too profitable for associate buyout and choosing private equity as the exit pathJoining Elite Dental Partners post-acquisition, scaling from 66 to 114 locations while building support infrastructureThe shift from buy-and-hold DSO arbitrage to same-store growth as the new operating imperativeJoining Skytale Group to serve founder-led healthcare practices across dental, aesthetics, dermatology, and beyond🌟 Greg's Key Mentors:His Father (Dr. Mahoney): Lifelong role model who handed Greg the business mandate and whose example continues to shape how Greg works with founder-led practicesElite Dental Partners Leadership: Gave Greg the opportunity to go from single-practice operator to multi-location infrastructure builder across 114 locationsSkytale Group Team: A meritocracy where the best idea wins, giving Greg the environment to apply operator experience to consulting without politicsFounder-Led Practice Owners He Has Served: Consistently reinforce why the emotional investment of a founder creates different problems and different opportunities than PE-backed groupsHis Wife: Grounded him when he was still considering dental school mid-MBA with a newborn at home, and redirected him toward the path that fit👉 Don't miss Greg's account of the moment he realized the practice he built was too profitable for anyone to buy, how a failed organic chemistry class shaped a career in dental operations, and why he believes today is the golden age of dentistry for operators.🔗 Connect with Greg Mahoney:Website: Skytalegroup.com📋 Transcript Available: Greg Mahoney on What Breaks Inside a DSO When Acquisitions Move Faster Than Operations📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/11/26 | Meir Spiegel Built His Own Systems From Scratch. Now He Does It for Everyone. | Meir Spiegel is a CPA and partner at B2B CFO, the nation's largest CFO consulting firm, working with privately held businesses in New Jersey and beyond. He spent over a decade as CFO and controller at VIP Wireless, where he built financial systems from the ground up, implemented NetSuite, and developed automated processes that enabled the company to scale through multiple acquisitions before the industry fundamentally shifted. That experience now drives his fractional CFO work helping business owners see what their own numbers can't tell them.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Joining VIP Wireless two days before a merger went live with no accounting infrastructure in placeBuilding billing, payment, and residual systems from scratch using pseudocode handed to developersNetSuite implementation: nine months, full ERP buildout, itemized inventory tracking for cell phone ESNsAutomated a two-person, two-day residual payment process down to a 90-minute scriptRecognizing a credit system house of cards before COVID hit and rebuilding it to survive the shockMoving from single-company CFO to fractional partner at B2B CFO after the wireless industry restructuredIdeal client: five million to one hundred million in revenue, outgrown their infrastructureB2B Exit: preparing companies for sale by boosting EBITDA and choosing the right exit structureThe management buyout option: benefits, risks, and why pulling back the offer can destroy moraleStaying focused: a short daily priority list as the simplest and most overlooked productivity fix🌟 Meir's Key Mentors:Jerry Mills (Founder, B2B CFO): Author of the B2B CFO and B2B Exit books; built the fractional CFO model Meir now operates withinPartner at Early Accounting Firm: Trusted introduction to VIP Wireless that launched Meir's in-house CFO careerVIP Wireless CEO: Made fast, decisive calls on NetSuite and gave Meir the runway to build for scaleProgramming and Tech Community: Meir's pseudocode-to-developer workflow and current AI coding tools have been shaped by years of working alongside developersClients Over the Career: Business owners facing exits, growth ceilings, and distress have each sharpened his diagnostic instincts👉 Don't miss Meir's account of walking into a merger with no systems and no team two days before go-live, and what that experience taught him about building for scale, staying focused, and knowing when a company has outgrown itself.🔗 Connect with Meir Spiegel:Website: b2bcfo.comEmail: meir.spiegel@b2bcfo.com📋 Transcript Available:Meir Spiegel Built His Own Systems From Scratch. Now He Does It for Everyone📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/10/26 | The Deal Gap Nobody Sees: Pat Voltapetti's Strategy Against Overpaying | Pat Voltapetti is the co-founder and managing partner of Pinnacle One Capital, a private equity and advisory firm focused on multifamily and commercial real estate in high-growth markets across the Southeast and Sun Belt. A third-generation investor who spent nearly four years managing investor relations at Cardone Capital, Pat left to build something built entirely on his own terms, grounded in transparency, operator alignment, and the philosophical foundation his Italian grandfather laid when Pat was still a teenager.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Three generations of real estate: from grandfather Gino's Italian restaurant and flea markets to Pat's private equity firmGrandfather's innovation: using a broker's license to source off-market deals, then holding paper on salesAccounting and public auditing background: understanding how businesses are valued and where numbers are hiddenFinding Grant Cardone through YouTube cold-calling content, joining as an early team memberCardone Capital's crowdfunding evolution: from friends-and-family funds to managing thousands of investorsHitting the corporate ceiling and leaving to build Pinnacle One Capital from scratchTargeting distressed commercial deals where debt is coming due and basis has resetOperator alignment: bringing developers in as partners so incentives match across the dealAdvisory model: helping operators on bigger deals find valuation errors before signingStoicism, metaphysics, and teaching children to notice the limits of the five senses🌟 Pat's Key Mentors:Grandfather Gino: Introduced Pat to accounting, self-improvement books, stoicism, and Eastern and Western philosophy starting at age 14Grant Cardone: Showed Pat how to build investor infrastructure, crowdfunding systems, and scale a real estate brand at speedHis Father: Modeled the brokerage side of real estate and reinforced the value of staying close to the transactionLong-term Operators in His Network: Taught Pat what 15-plus years of successful asset management actually looks like from the insideHis Children: Drive his continued exploration of purpose, legacy, and how to pass real knowledge forward across generations👉 Don't miss Pat's account of leaving a recognized brand to start over, the philosophy his grandfather handed him at 14, and why he still believes in finding partners even after being burned.🔗 Connect with Pat Voltapetti:Website: PinnacleOneCapital.comLinkedIn: Pat Voltapetti📋 Transcript Available: The Deal Gap Nobody Sees: Pat Voltapetti's Strategy Against Overpaying📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/10/26 | Lloyd Lewis: How a Son With Down Syndrome Turned a Finance Career Into a Mission | Lloyd Lewis: Building a Social Enterprise Around the People Most Workplaces OverlookLloyd Lewis, President and CEO of Arc Thrift Stores, shares how his son Kennedy’s birth with Down syndrome launched a mission that transformed a struggling thrift chain into one of Colorado’s largest social enterprises — with 34 retail locations, nearly 1,900 employees, $120 million in annual revenue, and 600 employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities at its heart.Key Insights You’ll Learn:Leaving finance at Smith Barney and IBM after his son Kennedy was born with Down syndromeInheriting a turnaround situation with same-store sales falling double digits and cash burning fastThe back to basics plan: walking out of the meeting so experienced managers could lead itRebuilding Arc with weekly reporting, store visits, accountability, and mission emphasisGrowing from 10 IDD employees to 600 — and why it’s half the reason for 14 record yearsWhy hiring people with IDD improves morale, productivity, and ultimately revenueThe Arc University: post-secondary classes, certificates, and PhD designations for IDD employeesProcessing 200 to 300 million donated items annually with no barcodes and no SKUsExpanding from Colorado into New Mexico and Texas with IDD employment at the coreWhat Satya Nadella, Jamie Foxx, and Winston Churchill all have in common: life-changing relationships with people who have disabilitiesLloyd’s Key Mentors:Kennedy Lewis (Son): Changed his values, his mission, and his understanding of what matters in lifeIBM Management Training Program: Laid the operational and financial foundation he brought to ArcDr. Linda Crnic (Neuroscientist): Sparked the Down Syndrome research advocacy that preceded ArcExperienced Store Managers at Arc: The people he trusted with the turnaround by leaving the roomRandy Lewis (Walgreens): Demonstrated at scale that IDD hiring works across distribution centers nationallyDon’t miss this conversation about what happens when you hire the people most companies overlook, why mission is as powerful as any business strategy, and how one man’s son changed the lives of hundreds.Connect with Lloyd Lewis:Website: arcthrift.comEmail: llewis@arcthrift.comTranscript Available: Lloyd Lewis: How a Son With Down Syndrome Turned a Finance Career Into a MissionWatch on YouTube: Inspired Stories PodcastOur Website: The Inspired Stories PodcastSpecial Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/5/26 | How Nathan Anderson Built Nimbl Tech Inside Someone Else's Company | Nathan Anderson is the co-founder and head of operations at Nimbl Tech, a fractional IT firm in Lehi, Utah serving small remote accounting and financial services companies with device management, cybersecurity, and compliance. He built it from scratch inside Nimbl, the parent company where he serves as head of tech, after being turned down from a master's program and redirected by a CEO who offered to show him how to build a business instead.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Managing 1,500 employees to remote work overnight during COVID at the Missionary Training CenterJoining Nimbl part-time while finishing school, starting with basic IT and early automationRecognizing a market gap when cloud accounting peers kept asking how Nimbl secured its remote teamCEO Dave Olson's offer: skip the MBA and build the company insteadSigning first client July 2024, reaching six figures by end of year oneThree core services: device management, access management, and data security complianceFTC and IRS compliance documentation: written information security plans and incident responsePhishing emails as the most common real-world threat, not sophisticated outside attacksAI safety for accounting firms: paid plans, SOC 2 certification, and the right privacy settings15-minute help desk response time as a non-negotiable standard, not a marketing claim🌟 Nathan's Key Mentors:Dave Olson (CEO, Nimbl): Redirected Nathan from pursuing an MBA to building NimblTech, then backed him fullyMissionary Training Center Leadership: Gave Nathan his first large-scale tech transition experience during COVIDCloud Accounting Community: Provided a collaborative peer network that surfaced the market need NimblTech was built to fillHis Parents: Offered faith-grounded perspective during his lowest point after the master's rejectionNimblTech Clients: Each new service line has come from a client request, shaping the firm's growth organically👉 Don't miss Nathan's candid account of being rejected from the graduate program all his friends got into, the professor who confirmed he should have been admitted, and the moment a CEO's belief in him changed everything.🔗 Connect with Nathan Anderson:Website: trustnimbl.com📋 Transcript Available: How Nathan Anderson Built Nimbl Tech Inside Someone Else's Company📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/5/26 | From Venezuela's First McDonald's to Miami Bar & Restaurant Group CEO: Luis Ginestra's Hospitality Journey | From Venezuela's First McDonald's to Miami Nightlife CEO: Luis Ginestra's Hospitality JourneyLuis Ginestra, CEO of the Rabbit Group, built one of Miami's most innovative hospitality portfolios through a career spanning Venezuela, San Francisco, and South Florida. From cleaning grills at McDonald's at 16 to managing a 300-seat Thai restaurant at 21 to leading a multi-concept group through COVID and out the other side with double the sales, Luis shares the operational instincts, strategic partnerships, and hard lessons that shaped him.Key Insights You'll Learn:Crew member at Venezuela's first McDonald's in 1986 at age 16GM of the Western Hemisphere's first Thai restaurant at age 21 with no prior restaurant leadership experienceHospitality degree pursued over computer engineering after realizing he needed to be with peopleJoining the Dirty Rabbit Group in 2022 to professionalize a fast-growing but financially scattered operationCutting 15 concepts to 7 while doubling sales and corporate staff from 32 to 14Promoter costs reduced from 20% to 10-12% through strategic marketing and social investmentEntertainment costs cut from 14% to 8% by curating DJ talent rather than chasing headlinersPartnership model with Mandala Group bringing Bagatelle and Sala de Espejo to MiamiHurricane growth strategy: expand from the inside out, stay close to home baseShifting from CEO to Chief Partnerships Officer to focus on brand licensing and strategic dealsLuis's Key Mentors:Jean-Paul Coupal (Restaurateur): Took a raw 21-year-old under his wing at the first Thai restaurant in the Western Hemisphere; taught operational detail and the art of hospitalityRenato Viola (Mr. O'Wan Founder): Showed Luis that great ingredients, fair pricing, and genuine service can outperform any marketing budgetMandala Group Leadership: Global hospitality partner that expanded Luis's exposure to ultra-premium concepts and international brand managementMcDonald's Training System: First school in consistency, process, and the value of repeatable standardsKaren Cohen (Franchisee CEO): Former McDonald's boss who later became a business connection and example of long-term growth through franchisingDon't miss this conversation about what it actually takes to survive in one of the most competitive hospitality markets in the country and why cutting the fat was the best decision Luis ever made.Connect with Luis Ginestra:Website: thedirtyrabbitgroup.comTranscript Available: From Venezuela's First McDonald's to Miami Bar & Restaurant Group CEO: Luis Ginestra's Hospitality Journey Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories PodcastOur Website: The Inspired Stories PodcastSpecial Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/5/26 | Drew Allen on Why American Manufacturing Needs to Think 10X Bigger, Not Just 10% Better | Drew Allen is the President and CEO of Grace Technologies, an electrical safety and predictive maintenance manufacturer based in Davenport, Iowa whose products are used in factories and facilities across more than 60 countries. He made his first trip to China at 13, spent years selling car care products across Asia for Meguiar's and 3M after college, and then returned to run strategy and product development at the family business his father founded in 1993 before stepping into the top role. Grace holds a patent for industrial interface design, has been recognized as a top workplace in Iowa and a BBB Torch Award winner for ethics, and Drew also hosts his own podcast, The Factory Futurist.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:First trip to China at 13, studying international business at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, and nearly four years running Asian distribution for Meguiar's and 3MGrowing China sales 70% year over year by raising prices, creating a certification model for detail shops, and activating distribution partners across provincesJoining Grace Technologies to run international operations, then product development and strategy, before taking over as CEOGrace's four product lines: Graceport industrial interface panels, absence-of-voltage testing, electrical reliability monitoring, and wireless vibration condition monitoringArc flash explained: a copper-vaporizing electrical explosion triggered by short circuits in high-amperage industrial systems that can reach tens of thousands of degreesThe $400,000 product failure that produced the iterative development philosophy Grace now uses across all hardware launchesFiring bullets before cannonballs: never cutting tooling, paying for certifications, or ordering inventory without multi-customer validation first3D-printed molds for pre-production validation: an innovation discovered during a 48-hour engineering hackathon that allows physical testing without traditional tooling costs or lead timesPerceive: a separate technology holding company structured to enable equity participation for key engineering talent without diluting the family-owned Grace entitySeven days walking 22-26 miles per day on the Camino de Santiago — in a monsoon, with an injured ankle — while processing his mother's terminal cancer recurrence🌟 Drew's Key Mentors:His Father (Grace Founder): Invented both the Graceport product and the mass-customization business model in the 1990s, and first took Drew to China at 13 to show him where the world was headingJim Collins (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): The fire bullets before cannonballs framework became the foundation for how Grace approaches all hardware product development after Drew's $400,000 failureHis CTO (Sivionics Founder): Brought condition monitoring technology into Grace through a creatively structured acquisition that solved both the equity and cash constraints of a family-owned companyAsian Distribution Partners: Taught Drew that channel activation and relationship density are as critical to revenue growth as product quality, a lesson he carries into Grace's go-to-market today👉 Don't miss Drew's account of sinking $400,000 into a product no one wanted, walking 22 miles a day through a Spanish monsoon while his mother was dying, and what meeting the future Uber CTO on a boat to Alcatraz taught him about never dismissing an idea too quickly.🔗 Connect with Drew Allen:Website: graceport.comEmail: drewa@gracetechnologies.comLinkedIn: Drew Allen, Grace Technologies📋 Transcript Available: Drew Allen on Why American Manufacturing Needs to Think 10X Bigger, Not Just 10% Better📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
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| 6/4/26 | Shaun McDonald on What Harri's One-Click AI Scheduling Actually Does Behind the Scenes | Shaun McDonald is the Director of Customer Success at Harri, a New York-based technology company founded in 2012 that helps restaurants, hotels, and hospitality businesses hire, schedule, and engage frontline employees. Harri serves millions of workers across tens of thousands of locations worldwide and counts McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Raising Cane's, and Shake Shack among its clients. Shaun came up through restaurant operations as a general manager at Sweetgreen and Luke's Lobster before moving into hospitality SaaS through Restaurant 365, where he earned a promotion within his first year and discovered that the gap between restaurant operations and tech was far smaller than he expected.✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:Started as a dishwasher and bus boy in college before transferring to Johnson and Wales University to complete culinary and business degreesGeneral manager at Sweetgreen and Luke's Lobster, where he once ran a new store opening entirely alone after his full staff called outMoved to Restaurant 365 after seven-plus years in restaurants, renting an RV with his then-girlfriend and driving cross-country before either had secured a jobJoined Harri after being recruited out of Restaurant 365, drawn to customer success over reactive support workHarri's platform covers the full employee lifecycle from applicant tracking through scheduling, timekeeping, onboarding compliance, and employee engagementFair Work Week compliance automation: helping operators avoid tens of thousands of dollars per week in penalties as city-level regulations expandCalifornia break law as a top client acquisition trigger: operators get sued, lose their vendor, then find HarriHarry Engage: clock-in touchpoint delivering surveys, training, and recognition at the moment employees have to interact with the system, driving response rates into the 70-90 percent rangeOne-click AI scheduling in beta: agentic flows checking forecasts, local events, employee availability, and skill levels simultaneously to produce a complete schedule with a single button pressMisdiagnosed with blood cancer at 23, spent over a year getting bone marrow tests before a specialist cleared him — an experience that reoriented his relationship with gratitude🌟 Shaun's Key Mentors:Restaurant Operations Career (Dishwasher to GM): Eight-plus years of frontline experience that gave Shaun the operational credibility to consult enterprise hospitality clients as a peer, not a vendorRestaurant 365 (Early SaaS Career): Showed him that everyone in tech is figuring it out too, earned a promotion in under a year, and connected him to the tight-knit hospitality SaaS communityThe Luke's Lobster Employee He Promoted to GM: A young woman from South Boston who never thought she'd amount to anything, whose journey from crew member to store manager is the moment Shaun most wants to be remembered forAll In Podcast (Ongoing Learning): Chamath Palihapitiya, David Sacks, and the other hosts provide real-time visibility into what cutting-edge AI companies are doing, helping Shaun stay at the edge rather than chasing from behind👉 Don't miss Shaun's account of running a restaurant opening entirely alone, the cancer misdiagnosis he kept from almost everyone for years, and why hospitality is the best possible training for a career in customer success.🔗 Connect with Shaun McDonald:Website: harri.comEmail: shaun.mcdonald@harri.com📋 Transcript Available: Shaun McDonald on What Harri's One-Click AI Scheduling Actually Does Behind the Scenes📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📋 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/4/26 | Matt Coyne: A Catholic Deacon and an M&A Advisor. Helping people get where they want to go | From GE Finance to M&A Advisor: Matt Coyne's 25 Years on the Front Lines of Business ExitsMatt Coyne, founder of Brandywine Mergers and Acquisitions and Formation LLC, spent a decade inside Fortune 100 companies before stepping away to help privately held business owners navigate the most important financial transaction of their lives. A deacon, author, and recovering alcoholic with a disarming honesty about all three, Matt shares what he has learned from hundreds of deals and why most owners leave an enormous amount of money on the table when they finally sell.Key Insights You'll Learn:GE Financial Management Program: high-pressure training that shaped a career-long view of financeWatching a 30-year GE veteran face public humiliation for missing numbers at 25 years oldLeaving Precision Castparts after a brutal Sunday review in Yorkshire and never looking backStarting Brandywine M&A in 2001 with a lifelong friend and zero corporate safety netThe identity crisis that follows handing over 500 employees and an executive title overnightWhy small business M&A and corporate M&A are entirely different animalsMost common seller mistakes: weak books, customer concentration, and waiting too longThe M&A Mastery Program: eight-week coaching for wealth advisors and business ownersWhy owners need their wealth advisor articulate in M&A before any deal conversation beginsHow sobriety, faith, and a seven-year deacon program reshaped Matt's approach to life and workMatt's Key Mentors:Dennis Damerman (GE CFO): Walked into a room of new hires, shook Matt's hand, and asked about his wife by name; demonstrated that personal leadership scalesTom (GE VP): After being publicly dressed down, told a 25-year-old Matt to decide what he wanted his career to be; one of the rawest honest lessons Matt ever receivedFrank (Business Partner and Lifelong Friend): Pulled Matt out of burnout with a partnership offer and helped him build Brandywine from scratchLisa (Wife): Held him accountable through recovery, supported the deacon program, and kept the faith when he couldn'tTim Ferriss (Author): The Four-Hour Workweek prompted Matt to write his own book and think differently about information as a toolDon't miss this conversation about what business exits really look like from the inside, and why the owners who get what they deserve are the ones who started the conversation years before they were ready.Connect with Matt Coyne:Website: formation-llc.comEmail: mcoyne@bma1.comTranscript Available: Matt Coyne: A Catholic Deacon and an M&A Advisor. Helping people get where they want to goWatch on YouTube: Inspired Stories PodcastOur Website: The Inspired Stories PodcastSpecial Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/4/26 | Lenny Grant on the Culture, Karma, and Persistence Behind RRM Design Group's Growth | From Family Room Startup to 200-Person Firm: Lenny Grant on Persistence, Karma, and Building a Culture That LastsLenny Grant, principal and housing market leader at RRM Design Group, shares his journey from landing his first architecture job through a college job board, to building a thriving firm out of his family room, through the 2008 financial crisis that wiped out his net worth and nearly cost him his home, to merging with RRM, converting to an ESOP, and now leading one of California's most respected architecture firms with 85 to 90 percent repeat client work and a culture that has won best firms to work for three years running.Key Insights You'll Learn:First clients came through a Cal Poly job board; landed five jobs in two days after licensure, hiring his first employee within weeks.Built reputation by being more affordable, responsive, and hungry than established firms, fueling rapid word‑of‑mouth growth.The 2008 crisis hit hard when developer clients stopped paying; borrowed money to make payroll while losing his own home.Developer Rick Lawhead, his first licensed client, gave him a place to live when no one else would rent to him.Merged with RRM Design Group, finding shared values despite early operational clashes.Shifted philosophy from measuring projects to measuring clients, leading to 85–90% repeat work and fewer lawsuits.Converted to ESOP, eliminating taxes on profits, doubling retirement benefits, and creating sustainable ownership transition.Invested in culture through barbecues, ping pong, fantasy football, and open board meetings; later redirected energy toward cost‑saving ideas when margins compressed.Grew from 55 to 200 people in eight years, now moderating growth by being more selective with clients and markets.Persistence defined his career—denied twice by Cal Poly’s architecture program before writing a letter that got him in, applying the same refusal to quit ever since.Lenny's Key Mentors:Rick Lawhead (Developer): First licensed client, provided housing during the crisis, modeled long‑term relationships.Gary Grossman (Client): Partner since 1997, delivered hundreds of projects, forgave rent during crisis months.Eric Justison (Former RRM CEO): Supported merger and helped build cultural foundation.The 2008 Crisis: Forced humility, negotiation skills, and systems thinking that shaped his leadership.The Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu (Book of Joy):** Introduced through therapy, reframed conflict and fear, inspiring daily meditation and gratitude practice.Don't miss this conversation about what it actually takes to survive a financial collapse with your relationships intact, why treating everybody like gold is not just good ethics but good strategy, and what it means to build a firm where 85 to 90 percent of your work comes from people who already trust you.Connect with Lenny Grant: Email: ljgrant@rrmdesign.com Website: rrmdesign.com📤 Transcript Available: Lenny Grant on the Culture, Karma, and Persistence Behind RRM Design Group's Growth📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/3/26 | Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen on the All-Day Happy Hour, No-Tip Policy That Saved Their Dining Room | 🎧 From Fuzhou to Fairfax: How Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen Built Chin Chin Cafe Into a 27-Year Community InstitutionBrothers Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen immigrated from Fuzhou, China in 1995 with no English and no roadmap. Kashawn started washing dishes at 13 to buy a bicycle he never ended up buying. At 19, the brothers pooled their savings, borrowed from their parents, and purchased a run-down Asian restaurant in Ashburn, Virginia. What followed was 22 consecutive years of month-over-month growth, a no-tipping policy, an all-day happy hour, live sushi catering, cooking classes for high school students, and $8,000 in free food for 30 local schools during Teacher Appreciation Week. Two brothers, one kitchen, 27 years, and counting.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Migrating from Fuzhou, China in 1995 and learning English through school, TV captions, and community interactionKashawn starting his first job at 13 as a dishwasher because he wanted a bike and his family couldn’t afford onePurchasing Chin Chin Cafe at age 19 with borrowed money from their parents when the restaurant was in terrible conditionGoing door to door with printed menu flyers to build awareness in the community from scratchKe Yu going back to college and then to Payway Asian Diner and Panera Bread to bring corporate systems back to Chin ChinThe COVID pivot: from full-service dining to fast casual with no tipping and all-day happy hourRunning 12 to 15 drivers simultaneously at peak, delivering to 36+ addresses at onceLaunching a live sushi bar program for private events, country clubs, and golf clubsFeeding 30 schools during Teacher Appreciation Week with $8,000 worth of free food — every yearDeveloping modern Chinese fusion cuisine: Peruvian chaufa fried rice, Coca-Cola chicken, honey sriracha dishes🌟 Kashawn and Ke Yu’s Key Mentors:Their Father (Chef and Immigrant): modeled the restaurant trade and sacrifice of starting over in a new country without speaking the languageThe Chen Brothers’ Savings Habit: beginning with Kashawn’s first paycheck at 13, the discipline of saving a portion of everything they earned funded the businessChef Lu (Executive Chef): 30-plus years of experience and the creative force behind Chin Chin’s fusion menu evolutionPayway Asian Diner and Panera Bread: gave Ke Yu the corporate systems, training structure, and operational consistency he brought back to Chin ChinThe Chin Chin Community: generations of returning customers and local schools, teams, and families who have made the restaurant a neighborhood institution👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it actually looks like to build something from nothing — and why the Chen brothers have never stopped growing.🔗 Connect with Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen:Website: chin-chincafe.com📤 Transcript Available: Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen on the All-Day Happy Hour, No-Tip Policy That Saved Their Dining Room📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/2/26 | Ryan Magnon on Why Culture is the Key Differentiator in the Luxury Hospitality Industry | 🎧 From the Air Force to Ritz Carlton to Chick-fil-A: Ryan Magnon’s Uncommon Path to Building Ithaka Hospitality PartnersRyan Magnon, COO and partner at Ithaka Hospitality Partners, spent four years as an Air Force quality officer, helped Horst Schultz launch the Capella ultra luxury hotel brand, then spent 15 years at Chick-fil-A helping transform their drive-through operations. The thread connecting every chapter: process improvement, servant leadership, and a deep belief that culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage. Today he and his partners manage independent luxury hotels, upscale food halls, and private clubs built on a simple premise — when people feel valued, everything else follows.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:What an 18-year master sergeant taught a brand new lieutenant about servant leadership on day oneHow the Air Force’s quality management career field became the foundation for every role that followedWriting a three-page white paper called ‘If I Had the Job Tomorrow’ — and how it got him a meeting with Horst SchultzWhy Horst Schultz specifically did not want someone with hospitality experience for the VP of quality roleHow Chick-fil-A went from 80 cars per hour to 180 by moving the order point upstream with iPad technologyWhy compensation prevents dissatisfaction but gratitude creates connectionThe Elevation Hotel in Montgomery opening with a 94 net promoter score — and how that happenedWhy independent boutique luxury is one of the fastest-growing sectors in hospitality right nowHow upscale food halls at MIT and Auburn are creating local community destinations rather than just dining optionsThe lesson from a sophomore year at Georgia Tech about overextension, recovery, and refocusing on what matters most🌟 Ryan’s Key Mentors:Lloyd Fritzmeyer (Mentor of 30+ Years): introduced Ryan to the concept of servant leadership before he ever entered the workforce and connected him to the opportunity that led to CapellaMaster Sergeant Salath (Air Force): pulled Ryan aside early in his career and taught him how to defer to expertise rather than authorityHorst Schultz (Capella / Ritz Carlton Founder): gave Ryan his first hospitality role and modeled how quality management and service excellence could be the same thingHans van der Rijden (Ithaka Co-Founder): brought Ryan back into his hospitality family and provided the foundation at Auburn that Ithaka was built onBob Littell (Net Weaving Creator): taught Ryan that the most powerful networking isn’t about what you get — it’s about who you connect to each other👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it actually takes to build a culture of excellence — and why the answer is almost never what most people think it is.🔗 Connect with Ryan Magnon:Website: Ithakahp.com📤 Transcript Available: Ryan Magnon on Why Culture is the Key Differentiator in the Luxury Hospitality Industry📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 6/2/26 | Ral West on Why Open Book Management Built the Most Loyal Team She’s Ever Seen | 🎧 From Charter Jets to Coaching Entrepreneurs: Ral West’s Journey Building Hawaiian Vacations and Livin' the DreamRal West grew up watching her father Chuck West build Alaska’s tourism industry from scratch. She eventually launched her own company, Hawaiian Vacations, by leasing a Boeing jet and selling direct charter flights between Alaska and Hawaii. What followed was 40 years of building, scaling, stepping back, and selling — culminating in an acquisition by Alaska Airlines. Now she coaches entrepreneurs through the same six principles that let her step away from an eight-figure business and live life on her own terms.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Growing up in an entrepreneurial family and learning that ideas are worth chasingBreaking away from the family business (Cruise West) to build something entirely her ownLaunching Hawaiian Vacations by leasing a DC-8 and guaranteeing the full cost of every flightWhy open book management aligned the team so deeply they still call themselves Ohana 18 years after the saleTeaching entry-level reservations agents to read a P&L and connect their work to the company’s bottom lineHow reading The E-Myth and The Great Game of Business transformed the company’s culture and systemsHiring a COO and CFO and stepping fully out of day-to-day operations in 1999Watching Alaska Airlines from afar, predicting the threat, and positioning Hawaiian Vacations to be acquiredThe six principles: systems, measure and track, leverage, culture, team, and customer delightThe lifelong weight struggle that taught her the difference between the gap and the gain🌟 Ral’s Key Mentors:Chuck West (Father): modeled entrepreneurship as a way of life and encouraged her to go after every idea without fearRobert Kiyosaki (Mentor Before Rich Dad Poor Dad): recommended The E-Myth and The Great Game of Business over lunch in Hawaii — the books that changed everythingMichael Gerber (E-Myth Author): provided the systems and culture framework she implemented across Hawaiian VacationsJack Stack (Great Game of Business Author): gave her the open book management philosophy that built the Ohana cultureOutside Board of Directors: three top Alaska executives who gave her the eagle-eye view that allowed her to spot the Alaska Airlines threat early👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it actually takes to build a business that runs without you — and why that’s not just a business goal, it’s a life goal.🔗 Connect with Ral West:Website: ralwest.comLinkedIn: Ral WestYouTube: Ral West📤 Transcript Available: Ral West on Why Open Book Management Built the Most Loyal Team She’s Ever Seen📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/31/26 | Greg Light on Why Every Business Valuation Comes Down to Cash Flow and Risk | 🎧 Cash Flow, Risk, and 2,000 Engagements: Greg Light’s Journey in Business ValuationGreg Light, managing director and co-founder of Bodmer Price and Light, has spent 21 years helping business owners understand what their companies are actually worth — and why the gap between what owners think and what the market says is almost always about two things: cash flow and risk. His boutique firm, launched in 2022, has already completed hundreds of engagements across estate planning, litigation support, and M&A advisory by doing something most firms don’t: treating overtime hours like what they actually are — profit to be shared.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Denied entry to Michigan’s business school, then framed the rejection letter as a badge of honorCompleting undergrad in three years by maxing out credits and negotiating prerequisite exceptionsSharpening precision at Duffin Phelps under Fortune 100 clients with zero tolerance for errorLeaving a 400-hour month behind when he hadn’t seen his newborn daughter awake in three weeksThe septic convention in Frankenmuth that produced two clients and a career-defining insightHow cash flow and risk distill every valuation down to its coreWhy 30% of business owners actually undervalue their own companiesThe overtime model that has produced near-zero employee turnover in five yearsSix hours on the federal court stand and what the judge called the “machine gun” approachWhy engaging clients three to five years before an exit changes what’s actually possible🌟 Greg’s Key Mentors:His Parents: paid for college through a master’s degree and gave him a debt-free start to adulthoodDuffin Phelps Bosses: instilled a standard of precision that still drives every report Greg producesRaymond Consulting Leadership: taught him urgency, prioritization, and the value of varied client workSeptic Installer at Frankenmuth: delivered the clearest distillation of valuation Greg has ever heardHis Partners (Jason Bodmer and Don Price): built a firm culture around transparency and fair pay from day one👉 Don’t miss this candid conversation about the gap between what business owners think their company is worth and what it actually is — and how one firm is building something different from the inside out.🔗 Connect with Greg Light:Website: bodmerprice.comLinkedIn: Greg Light, Bodmer Price and Light📤 Transcript Available: Greg Light on Why Every Business Valuation Comes Down to Cash Flow and Risk📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/31/26 | Kyle McCord on Why Owner Operators Are Always Outmatched When Private Equity Shows Up | 🎧 From Emancipated Minor to Exit Advisor: Kyle McCord’s Journey to Max Value AdvisorsKyle McCord, founder and managing director of Max Value Advisors, spent over 15 years inside commercial banking watching business owners get outmatched by private equity at the closing table. That pattern became his obsession — and eventually his company. Today he works with lower middle market businesses doing $5 to $75 million in revenue, helping them scale, acquire, and exit on their own terms.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Emancipated at 16, toured professionally as a musician before enrolling at Indiana University15-year banking career across First Merchants, KeyBank, and BMO Harris in commercial lendingFront-row view of how private equity firms outleverage owner operators in every transactionWhy the lower middle market ($5M–$75M revenue) is underserved and where the real opportunity livesFour core service programs: Assessment, Acceleration, Accountability, and AdvisorySophisticating financial reporting as the first step toward increasing company valuationWhy calling an exit advisor when you’re ready to sell is already too lateThe mindset shift from employee to entrepreneur: taker to giverSpecialty contractor, light manufacturing, and private medical practice as core focus industriesBuilding Max Value Advisors in Tampa Bay with a goal to double revenue in year four🌟 Kyle’s Key Mentors:His Grandfather (Pastor): only father figure in his life; modeled faith through adversity and showed what it looks like to carry others through hard timesTour Manager: introduced Kyle to college and the idea of investing in education over the stock marketExit Planning Institute: provided the CEPA credential and structured framework for exit advisory workCommercial Banking Mentors: gave Kyle the underwriting discipline and scrutiny that anchors his advisory methodologyPrivate Equity Partners: educated Kyle on how buyers evaluate targets and what makes a business acquisition-ready👉 Don’t miss this conversation about growing up fast, building something from scratch, and why the gap between a good business and a great exit is almost always a planning problem.🔗 Connect with Kyle McCord:Website: maxvalueadvisors.com📤 Transcript Available: Kyle McCord on Why Owner Operators Are Always Outmatched When Private Equity Shows Up📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/30/26 | Ramona Cedeno Built a Firm by Sending One Email to Her Contact List | From Corporate Finance to Fractional CFO: Ramona Cedeno’s Journey Building FiBrickRamona Cedeno, CPA, CFP®, and founder and CEO of FiBrick, shares her path from immigrant daughter to fractional C-suite partner for growth-stage startups. She opens up about leaving corporate stability, building a firm from a single email, and the personal crisis that reshaped her resilience and leadership philosophy.Key Insights You’ll Learn:Founding FiBrick in 2015 with one email and no client listHiring first employee after just six months as a solo practitionerFractional CFO services for companies generating $1M-$10M in revenueCapital readiness as a business lifestyle, not a one-time checklistWhy misaligned financial stories kill otherwise fundable companiesReading financials to find pricing gaps, overspending, and margin compressionCombined CPA and CFP® credentials informing personal wealth planning for ownersWorking with tech, professional services, distributors, and nonprofits nationallyOvercoming fear of public speaking through Toastmasters and continuing educationUsing AI for data analytics, content creation, and client financial analysisRamona’s Key Mentors:Her Mother: Instilled responsibility, leadership by example, and family-first valuesTime Inc. Finance Team: Built foundational accounting and reporting discipline over 10 yearsHandy Leadership: Showed firsthand what founders need most from a financial partnerRebecca (Former Colleague): Encouragement and practical advice that sparked pursuit of public speaking skillsEarly Clients and Referral Network: Taught her that lost clients are replaced by two moreDon’t miss this conversation about building a firm from scratch, what capital readiness really means, and how one immigrant woman turned fear into a platform.Connect with Ramona Cedeno:Website: FiBrick.comLinkedIn: Ramona CedenoTranscript Available: Ramona Cedeno Built a Firm by Sending One Email to Her Contact ListWatch on YouTube: Inspired Stories PodcastOur Website: The Inspired Stories PodcastSpecial Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/30/26 | Jeff Church Took Cold Press Juice from a Kitchen to $350 Million Exit in 8 Years | 🎧 From Cold Press Kitchen to $300 Million Exit: Jeff Church’s Entrepreneurial JourneyJeff Church, co-founder of Suja Juice and founder of CPG Founders Group and Dream Makers, scaled a cold press juice concept from a San Diego kitchen to $300 million in five years — then kept building. Across eight companies, more than $275 million raised, and nearly $700 million returned to investors, Jeff’s career is defined less by exits than by the hard-won clarity that came between them.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:CPA roots at Ernst & Young to running a failing subsidiary at age 27First consumer brand: Lynx outdoor grills acquired for $9.5M, sold for $35M in three yearsNika bottled water: philanthropy-first model that taught why mission alone doesn’t drive repeat purchaseMeeting Eric, the 20-year-old making dark green juice with three ingredientsWhole Foods relationship-building and landing in the cold press category from day oneTrucking his own product from San Diego to Long Beach for the first three monthsPost-COVID Coca-Cola exit: $40 million in debt expiring in four monthsBuilding Babu, a curated CPG large language model trained on 6,000 of Jeff’s own articlesProto protein soda launch at Sprouts: 10 grams of whey, zero sugar, three grams of fiberWhy fear of mediocrity eventually overtook fear of failure — and the football moment that unlocked it🌟 Jeff’s Key Mentors:His Father (CFO Background): instilled love of numbers and business fundamentals from childhoodJessica (First Sales Rep): connected Suja to Whole Foods and became the brand’s first hireEarly Whole Foods Buyers: collaborative retail relationships that shaped product development from day oneSenior Operators and PE Network: ongoing peer pulse checks that inform current coaching and investing workHis Kids: challenged him to start Nika and sparked the entrepreneurial plunge that led to Suja👉 Don’t miss this candid conversation about addiction, IQ tests, failed companies, and what it actually takes to build something worth exiting.🔗 Connect with Jeff Church:Website: cpgfoundersgroup.comEmail: jeff@teamchurch.coAI Tool: askbabu.ai📤 Transcript Available: Jeff Church Took Cold Press Juice from a Kitchen to $350 Million Exit in 8 Years📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/30/26 | Peter Holton on What Owners Get Wrong About When to Sell Their Business | Peter Holton: From Blue Collar Roots to M&A Advisor in the Facility Services IndustryPeter Holton, Managing Director at Caber Hill Advisors, shares how a childhood in a family construction business, a decade at one of the world’s largest paving companies, and a near-fatal aneurysm at 42 shaped a different kind of investment banker — one who speaks the language of the owners he serves and tells them what they need to hear, not what they want to.Key Insights You’ll Learn:Growing up in a family construction company in Milwaukee and working through middle school, high school, and collegeBuilding regional and national operations experience at Rose Paving as it grew from $10M to $200M+Moonlighting in M&A while still at Rose Paving and eventually co-founding Caber Hill AdvisorsWhy Caber Hill recruits advisors who came from the industries they serveThe difference between platform companies and bolt-on acquisitions in private equityThe 5Ks exit planning framework: knowing what your business is worth, what buyers want, and when to sellThree reasons deals fall apart: declining revenue, buyer discovery, and owner’s unclear post-sale pathWhy rolling equity is becoming the preferred structure for owners who want one foot in, one foot outSurviving a brain aneurysm at 42 and what it clarified about what actually mattersWhy talking to your spouse before talking to a banker is step one of any exitPeter’s Key Mentors:His Parents: Founded a family contracting business in Milwaukee and modeled blue collar work ethic from day oneRose Paving Leadership: Gave him autonomy, accountability, and a front-row seat to a national M&A growth strategyCraig Castelli (Partner, Caber Hill): Taught him the sell-side M&A process from the ground up and built the firm with himCB Kuzulik (Rose Paving): Pioneer of the national paving model who showed what bold growth strategy looks like in practiceHis Faith and Family: Anchored him through brain surgery and recovery when the psychology was harder than the physicalDon’t miss this conversation about what separates operators-turned-advisors from traditional investment bankers, why the right time to start exit planning is usually years earlier than you think, and what an aneurysm teaches you about building something that lasts.Connect with Peter Holton:Website: caberhill.comTranscript Available: Peter Holton on What Owners Get Wrong About When to Sell Their BusinessWatch on YouTube: Inspired Stories PodcastOur Website: The Inspired Stories PodcastSpecial Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/29/26 | Patricia Malone on Zombie Projects, Kaizen, and the High-and-Easy Grid | 🎧 Lean, Strategy, and the Upward Spiral: Patricia Malone’s Journey Building Strategic CapacityPatricia Malone, managing director of Enhance C-suite, has spent 35 years turning financial chaos into clarity — from manufacturing plant floors to defense contractors to PE-backed growth companies. She developed the theory of strategic capacity in her doctoral dissertation, helped triple the size of a body armor company through a complex acquisition, and now leads a fractional CFO and controller practice that has added over $150 million in enterprise value and unlocked $23 million in profit for clients. Her secret weapon: she shows up on site and never leaves until the team can run without her.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:How a failing lean project at a Michigan job shop sparked a lifelong passion for process transformationCutting order processing time from 20 days to 3 through Kaizen, cross-training, and one-piece flowLeading the acquisition of KTH Defense Systems and navigating the integration of two very different military and commercial culturesThe annual ritual at Armor Express where soldiers saved by the vests came back to celebrate with the plant floorWhy both Patricia and her husband lost their jobs the same week — and how that forced the career pivot that changed everythingThe high-and-easy grid: mapping initiatives by impact vs. effort to find where momentum livesWhat zombie projects are and how to identify them before they drain the organizationThe first 90 days of an Enhance C-suite engagement: cleaning balance sheets, building cash forecasts, and closing the books fasterStrategic capacity: the theory of organizational becoming and why it works like a flower, not a forcing functionHow Patricia uses AI as a research partner to do faster, deeper, more strategic work🌟 Patricia’s Key Mentors:Wayne Wirecloth Leadership: threw her into a failing lean project and inadvertently launched her transformation careerCFO at BAE Systems: far-sighted executive who created the director of business excellence role and bet on Patricia when few others didBrian Brennan (Enhance Partner): invited her into a new chapter after her daughter’s situation created an inflection pointHer Dissertation Committee: pushed her through grounded theory research that produced a one-of-a-kind organizational theoryHer Clients: every engagement since has deepened her theory and sharpened her practice👉 Don’t miss this rich conversation about what it actually takes to transform a business from the inside — and why the work is never just about the numbers.🔗 Connect with Patricia Malone:Website: enhancecsuite.comEmail: pmalone@enhancecsuite.com📤 Transcript Available: Patricia Malone on Zombie Projects, Kaizen, and the High-and-Easy Grid📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/29/26 | Michael Stier on the Multiple Revenue Walls All Businesses Hit and How to Overcome Them | 🎧 From $13 Billion Fintech Exit to Fractional CFO: Michael Stier’s Journey to Focus CFOMichael Stier, area president for the Carolinas at Focus CFO, spent 18 years building Adhesion Wealth from a dot-com pivot to a $13 billion managed assets platform before completing a strategic sale in 2018. What came next taught him something most business owners learn too late: the financial discipline he wished he’d had inside his own company was exactly what he could now bring to others. Today he helps founders across the Carolinas build businesses worth buying — and prepares them for the identity shift that follows.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Walking away from an aerospace cubicle farm at 22 and choosing Accenture instead — the moment that defined his careerWhy he left Goldman Sachs for Bank of America: being home before 9 p.m. was the selling pointBuilding Adhesion Wealth through a giant pivot after 9-11 decimated the entire pipelineWhat the savviest VC investors bet on — and why it’s never the business modelHow growing revenue can torpedo your cash flow if you’re not managing it with a CFOThe six-week vacation test: the simplest benchmark for whether a business is exit-readyWhy exit planning isn’t something you do when you’re ready to sell — it’s what you do every dayThe emotional reality of packing up your office after an 18-year runWhy the $10M to $20M revenue jump is the hardest wall most private businesses never clearWhat it means to embed a CFO — versus just calling one when the monthly close is done🌟 Michael’s Key Mentors:Original Founder at Adhesion Wealth: serial entrepreneur who had the foresight to recognize when it was time to step aside and hand the reins to MichaelSavvy VC Partners: the one firm that stayed through the 9-11 downturn and bet on the management team over the business modelHis Adhesion Co-Founders and Leadership Team: constantly challenged him and helped break the tunnel vision that comes with solo entrepreneurshipFocus CFO Partners: showed him a model he wished he’d had access to during his own 18-year runBusiness Owners He Serves Now: every client engagement deepens his conviction about what fractional CFO services actually change👉 Don’t miss this candid conversation about what it actually takes to build a business worth buying — and why the hardest part is never the financial work.🔗 Connect with Michael Stier:Website: focuscfo.comLinkedIn: Michael Stier, Focus CFO📤 Transcript Available: Michael Stier on the Multiple Revenue Walls All Businesses Hit and How to Overcome Them📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/28/26 | Two Careers Nobody Thought Could Connect: Jim Bates on Tennis, M&A, and What Stuck | Jim Bates: From Division I Tennis to Boutique M&A Firm BuilderJim Bates, partner at Jackim Woods & Company and co-founder of Sports Club Advisors, shares how a Division I tennis career, a gutsy career pivot at 28, and a series of recession-forced reinventions led to co-founding the Exit Planning Institute, writing the book on exit planning, and building a boutique M&A firm that serves both lower middle market companies and the sports and fitness industry.Key Insights You’ll Learn:Tennis as a training ground for mental resilience, focus, and life skillsQuitting a thriving tennis career at 28 to pursue an MBA on a coaching stipendLanding in M&A through a friend’s referral — and learning valuations from scratchInventing the exit planning coach process during the 2001 recessionCo-founding the Exit Planning Institute and developing the CEPA designationSlamming the brakes on national expansion when the 2008 financial crisis hitTeaching tennis on the side as business development — two clients from a Tuesday night leagueLaunching Jackim Woods and Sports Club Advisors as one firm with two divisionsManaging wife’s leukemia diagnosis while launching the firm — and grinding through itWhy most business owners aren’t ready to sell and how discovery changes the equationJim’s Key Mentors:His Father: PE teacher and coach who put sports at the center of Jim’s world from childhoodOriginal College Tennis Coach: Recruited him back for an MBA and opened the M&A doorPete Christman and Rich Jackim: Co-founders of the Christman Group who shaped his exit planning philosophy and became his partnerAlan Schwartz (Midtown Athletic Club): Gave pivotal advice that convinced Jim to launch Sports Club AdvisorsTennis Mentor in the Juniors: Modeled how to deliver hard feedback so people still thank you for itDon’t miss this conversation about building two careers at once, what exit planning really means, and why the best business outcomes — like the best tennis points — are won before you ever step on the court.Connect with Jim Bates:Website: Jackimwoods.comWebsite: sportsclubadvisors.netTranscript Available: Two Careers Nobody Thought Could Connect: Jim Bates on Tennis, M&A, and What StuckWatch on YouTube: Inspired Stories PodcastOur Website: The Inspired Stories PodcastSpecial Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
| 5/28/26 | Bridging the Buy-Sell Divide: Emily Stubbs on Defending Value Before Due Diligence | Emily Stubbs: From Corporate Law to Deal Advisor at Visibility CFOEmily Egbert Stubbs, deal advisor and attorney at Visibility CFO and Deal Advisors, shares how two painful equity partnership failures, the experience of buying and selling a commercial cleaning company, and a career shift from corporate law to M&A advisory shaped a firm built to defend seller value in deals under $40 million.Key Insights You’ll Learn:Leaving a 12-year corporate law career to build something of her ownTwo failed equity partnerships and the lessons extracted from eachWhy buyers don’t pay for future potential — only documented, consistent performanceQuality of earnings review: why all prep work must happen before the LOI is signedBuying and selling a commercial cleaning company to prove their own methodologyStrategies for increasing enterprise value: contracts, margin analysis, clean financialsServing founder-led businesses under $40M where sell-side advisory is scarceUnique fee structure: advisory fees offset against success fees at closeWhy some clients get their energy back instead of sellingRunning a firm alongside a spouse and making it work with four kids at homeEmily’s Key Mentors:Her Father: Attorney who modeled the legal profession from an early ageStoll Reeves Litigation Team: Sharpened deal instincts by showing what happens when contracts fall apartAndrew Stubbs (Husband and Partner): Former Alvarez and Marsal CFO who brings financial rigor to every engagementCoaching Group: Unique ability exercise helped her identify complexity-to-clarity as her superpowerClients Who Stayed: Business owners who found renewed confidence instead of selling — and taught her the full value of what visibility providesDon’t miss this conversation about the emotional reality of selling a business, what buyers are actually paying for, and why being prepared for a sale makes you a better operator — even if you never sell.Connect with Emily Stubbs:Website: visibilitycfo.comTranscript Available: Bridging the Buy-Sell Divide: Emily Stubbs on Defending Value Before Due DiligenceWatch on YouTube: Inspired Stories PodcastOur Website: The Inspired Stories PodcastSpecial Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com | — | ||||||
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