Forged For Growth

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...

Episode Summary How a longtime educator built a course to strengthen student resilience and leadership. Kurt Wismer shares how GRiT started as a practical fix for an entrepreneurship class where students could run businesses but struggled with communication, collaboration, and leading themselves. He explains how executive coaching tools, paired with neuroscience and mental wellness metrics, became...

Episode Summary Armando Ramos shares how Lions Ark supports food and medical manufacturers with parts, equipment, and upkeep. He and Brian talk about starting a business during COVID, testing early ideas, and landing on industrial distribution for critical production. Armando explains how Lions Ark helps factories source new machines, replace components fast when lines go down, and plan preventive...

Episode Summary Sandler’s Alison Lamothe breaks down how to sell through real pain. Alison Lamothe, Director of Sales and Marketing at Sandler Training’s Manchester, New Hampshire office, shares how she landed at Sandler by accident and why the “pain step” became her biggest sales breakthrough. She and host Brian dig into what makes buyers feel understood, why awards and flash do not close deals,...

Episode Summary How Bio One Sciences aims to reduce supplement pill fatigue and support functional medicine practices. Selene Feyerabend shares how the company was founded around simplifying supplement protocols into therapeutic doses, why functional and integrative medicine focus on root causes and environmental toxins, and how access to information is changing the sales conversation. She also ex...

Episode Summary Alesondra Mora shares leadership lessons and how FlipCo lends to real estate investors. In this conversation, Mora walks through her path across real estate roles, the mentors who shaped her “bigger picture” mindset, and why delegation and team development matter for avoiding burnout. She also explains FlipCo’s approach to private lending, including creative flexibility, in-house u...

Episode Summary How Joel Pera turned golf tinkering into a niche equipment business that gives back. Joel shares how his lifelong golf background and a family sign business led to creating more affordable simulator and launch-monitor dots, then expanding into high-end club work and custom builds under Just a Potamus. He explains the tech differences between camera-based and radar-based systems, wh...

Episode Summary How Taylor Clonts builds trust-based sales in recruiting and consulting. Brian Chaney talks with Taylor Clonts, Director of Sales at Eikon-X, about her path from hospitality into staffing, why relationships and reputation often beat cold outreach, and how honesty and clear expectations shape long-term client partnerships. They dig into handling conflict early, what gets lost when e...

Episode Summary How SNH ai applies AI to repetitive background screening work and how Ashley McManus markets it. Ashley shares her path through B2B tech startups, including Affectiva’s emotion AI work and its acquisition by Smart Eye, then breaks down what it looks like to build a marketing function from scratch at an early stage company. The conversation gets practical on going narrow with messag...

Episode Summary Diandra Ford Wing, Director of Sales and Customer Success at Rectitude 3609, shares how a 25 year sales career shaped her relationship first approach to winning and growing accounts. From her early days at Dell working the EPP program and managing the HEB account, to navigating SaaS, fintech, and government sales cycles, Diandra explains what it really takes to build trust and solv...

Episode Summary Kaylee Felio explains how PartsEdge helps new car dealerships stock the right parts and operate effectively in a niche market. She breaks down how PartsEdge works inside a dealership’s existing DMS to tighten inventory decisions, fill gaps left by standard systems, and make day-to-day parts management more efficient. Kaylee also shares her path into automotive software, from managi...