Forged For Growth

Episode Summary How AI becomes a real operating system for small and mid-sized businesses. Wil Lavender shares his path from post-2008 finance roles and nearly 15 years in bank back-office technology to becoming employee number one at Agent700. He and Brian talk about why most SaaS tools force companies into a one-size-fits-all mold, and how AI can help businesses build custom solutions at lower c...

Episode Summary Caroline Colavita, VP of Marketing at Robard, shares how her career path shifted from retail buying into digital marketing and user experience, and why that background shaped how she thinks about conversion and growth. She explains what Robard does in weight management, how the rise of GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic) reshaped the industry, and why Robard chose to pivot into direct...

Episode Summary What it really takes to sell a privately held business, from readiness to closing. Peter Wright of Anderson LENEAVE and Company shares how lower middle market sell-side processes work, why many owners are not actually “sale-ready,” and what buyers look for when evaluating stability, leadership depth, and risk. He also breaks down where deals tend to come from, why timing the market...

Episode Summary How Inflect markets a marketplace for digital infrastructure, with Chan Yu Kuo. Chan Yu Kuo, Director of Marketing at Inflect, walks through his path from medical equipment to tech and explains Inflect’s marketplace and advisory model for helping buyers compare options like colocation, bare metal, GPU cloud, and connectivity. He and Brian dig into why many buyers know the outcome t...

Episode Summary Inside cannabis manufacturing and terpene extraction with Jarod Noble Harvey. Jarod shares how he went from early cultivation in California to building labs, optimizing operations across state markets, and focusing on cannabis-derived terpene extraction. He and Brian dig into the realities of a patchwork regulatory system, how testing and compliance differ by state, and why standar...

Episode Summary David Greenberg breaks down how private trusts can help protect assets and create privacy for families and business owners. He shares how early sales and computer skills shaped his path, the leap into entrepreneurship in 2007, and why Freedom Studio focuses on both growth and defense. The conversation covers separating control from beneficial use, how commercial liability shows up...

Episode Summary Dany Conti shares how she built Builder Supply Group from an empty showroom into a growing supply partner for builders. She walks through her start in small-company operations, the early one-woman grind, and the decision to control the supply chain by importing directly from factories to give customers clearer timelines. Dany also explains how key hires, and later bringing her husb...

Episode Summary How Speyside Equity buys and improves underperforming manufacturing companies. Brian talks with Eric Wiklendt about his path from Detroit manufacturing consulting to leading and selling a middle-market manufacturer, then joining an operationally focused private equity firm. Eric breaks down Speyside’s “fix and build” approach, why lower middle market companies often have untapped o...

Episode Summary How a CRO builds cohesive growth from first customers to scale with fewer internal silos. Brian Felker shares his path from freight brokerage to leading go-to-market teams, then consulting through the uncertainty of 2020. He breaks down why early-stage companies shift from generalists to specialists, how “people problems” surface during growth, and why a single owner for the full c...

Episode Summary How drug coverage gets decided and how to fix the paperwork bottleneck. Eric Mensh walks through what “market access” means in practice, why prior authorizations and appeals create friction for patients and providers, and how denial and appeal dynamics shape drug adoption. He also shares how his team built the aSound platform to cut medical necessity letter creation from about an h...

Episode Summary David A. Callner shares how he built a career delivering technical solutions for the U.S. government, from early defense research to FAA systems and contract capture. He explains what SAJ Technologies does as a small government contractor focused on cloud, managed services, and IT delivery, and how the company is approaching growth through strong proposals, key personnel, and diffe...

Episode Summary Carroll VanHook-Weaver shares how hospitality, music, and early travel shaped her leadership in multifamily leasing. She traces her path from restaurant service and hotel front desks to student housing, high-pressure lease-ups, and her current role as Senior Director of Leasing at JVM Realty. Carroll and host Brian dig into why not burning bridges matters, how JVM’s “fundamentals”...

Episode Summary Dry ice is bigger than Halloween, and Stephanie Vaughan explains why it matters. Stephanie shares how she went from a communications degree and a COVID-era job search into sales at CMC, a dry ice manufacturing startup. She breaks down where dry ice shows up in the real economy, from cold shipping to essential manufacturing steps like dry ice blasting that keeps production lines mov...

Episode Summary How strong branding proves you care, even in crowded markets. Brian talks with Jash Tracey of GNT Branding about learning design on the job, leaving a long-term role to start his own studio, and building a US client base while living in Spain. Jash breaks down when branding matters most, what it communicates beyond a logo, and why big rebrands can fail when they ignore loyal custom...

Episode Summary How a marketer built a career in process safety and learned what actually drives action in compliance-heavy industries. Janet Benaquisto shares her path from a pre-med start to CT scanners, sales and marketing, multiple layoffs, and finally into OSHA process safety management work. She and Brian dig into marketing where urgency is episodic, why consistency beats perfection, and how...

Episode Summary Reggie Johnson shares how he built a resilient communications career through purpose-driven work and strong relationships. Reggie walks through his early days in digital media and web standards, the shift from hands-on execution to strategy, and how earning a master’s degree helped him grow into leadership. After losing a job in 2020, he joined PRSA and reframed career security aro...

Episode Summary Joey Seeman explains how Nova Echo uses conversational voice AI for sales and customer calls. He joins Brian on Forge for Growth to break down what “human-sounding” voice AI actually means, why latency matters, and where these agents perform best today. Joey shares his path from marketing and copywriting into voice AI, including why he left an earlier company to build a more fast-m...

Episode Summary Soledad Gonzalo explains how she moved from big agency advertising into legal marketing at Sequor Law. She walks through her path from BU to Ogilvy and other automotive and entertainment roles, then shares what changed when she started marketing a boutique firm focused on fraud and asset recovery. The conversation breaks down why relationship building, conferences, thought leadersh...

Episode summary How robots learn to “feel,” and why touch is the missing piece in robotics with Vadim Manoilo. Vadim Manoilo of Sensobright Industries joins Brian to explain the company’s tactile sensing approach, including gel-and-fiber optics sensors that help robots detect grip, slippage, and even identify objects by touch. They discuss why factory automation is the near-term proving ground, wh...

Episode Summary Carter James shares how JAN-PRO scaled fast by treating culture as the operating system. He traces his path from a small-town Justin, Texas upbringing and early work in wealth management at Northwestern Mutual to relocating to Atlanta for JAN-PRO. The conversation breaks down why “working harder” stalls without systems, how acquisitions succeed only with shared values, and how the...

Episode Summary How Krista White builds scalable B2B marketing through tracking, prioritization, and automation. Krista White, VP of Marketing at Crow Canyon Software, shares how she moved from broad marketing experience into a role focused on business automation, and why measurement is the first step before adding more channels. She and Brian dig into analytics setup, scorecards, stakeholder-awar...

Episode Summary A sports marketer breaks down how brand and experience drive ticket sales. Miller Yoho shares how the Charlotte Sports Foundation brings major events to the city and what his “CMO under the sun” role really covers, from PR and sponsorship alignment to stadium look and feel. He and Brian dig into why cohesive brand details matter, how to build a creative sandbox that speeds executio...

Episode Summary How Shae Biron builds community-led marketing in Web3 and beyond. Shae traces her path from traditional marketing roles into Web3 after a 2022 layoff, including a crash-course stretch at Palm NFT Studio that later became part of Candy Digital. She breaks down NFTs in plain language, then explains what made the DC digital collectibles and Bat Cowl drop different, including utility,...

Episode Summary Andy Crawford shares how he scaled from rentals to apartment syndications. Andy talks about building a career in pharmaceutical distribution while investing in real estate on the side, starting with single-family homes and then shifting to small multifamily when scaling became clearer. He explains why operations and systems decide whether a deal succeeds after the purchase, how he...

Episode Summary How Guardian Vault was built from a bank wait list problem, and what it takes to earn trust in physical security. Sandeep Thomas shares how he and his partner Brandon Sylveta spotted rising demand for safe deposit boxes while working at Wells Fargo, then built an independent vault service in Redmond, Washington. He walks through early skepticism, the role of word of mouth, how accr...