School of Hard Knocks Podcast

Get the all-in-one business tool millionaires use to run and grow their companies. Start your free 30-day trial 👉: https://www.gohighlevel.com/schoolofhardknocks/?fp_ref=the-school-of-hard-knocks-llc20 Learn from the millionaires and billionaires we interview on calls every week. Sign up for our community here: https://www.skool.com/schoolofmentors/about Jason Mickool is the Founder and CEO of Fl...

Bob Duggan is a billionaire entrepreneur and investor best known for helping transform Pharmacyclics from a struggling biotech company into a cancer-treatment powerhouse that sold for $21 billion. In this episode, Bob shares his journey from a modest childhood and early investing career to building businesses across food, robotics, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. He opens up about losing his son...

Kim Perell is a nine-time entrepreneur, angel investor in more than 100 companies, and the founder behind a business that grew from a $10,000 loan from her grandmother to a $235 million exit. In this episode, Kim shares how she built through uncertainty, what she looks for when investing in early-stage founders, and the lessons she learned scaling companies from their first million toward nine-fig...

Eddie Maalouf is the founder and CEO of BAD Marketing, an agency generating roughly $18 million annually, and an entrepreneur behind multiple businesses including Scoville Hot Chicken. Before building his agency, Eddie became the top sales rep by volume at Lifetime Fitness and later helped generate an additional $1 million in profit for his family’s businesses. In this episode, Eddie explains the...

Get the all-in-one business tool millionaires use to run and grow their companies. Start your free 30-day trial 👉: https://www.gohighlevel.com/schoolofhardknocks/?fp_ref=the-school-of-hard-knocks-llc20 Jhalesa Seymour is the founder of Salt. XO, an eight-figure feminine hygiene brand generating more than $20 million annually, with one launch producing $1 million in just 30 minutes. She started th...

Mike Wystrach is the founder of Freshly, the prepared-meal company acquired by Nestlé in 2020 in a deal valued at $1.5 billion. Before Freshly, Mike experienced business failure, lost his home, faced a $1 million judgment, and at 35 had just $15 in his bank account. In this episode, he explains how he rebuilt his mindset, scaled Freshly to more than 1 million meals per week, navigated fundraising...

Try Emergent for free: https://app.emergent.sh/?utm_shift=redirect&via=theschoolofhardknockspodcast Jamie Salter is the founder and chairman of Authentic Brands Group, the global brand platform behind Reebok, Champion, Forever 21, Quiksilver and partnerships with names like Shaquille O’Neal, David Beckham and Kevin Hart. In this episode, Jamie breaks down how he went from a childhood paper rou...

George Heaton is the co-founder of Represent, the British fashion brand that has grown from a bedroom operation into a global business generating roughly $140 million in annual revenue. In this episode, George shares how he and his brother built the company from the ground up, navigated a multimillion-dollar trademark dispute, and scaled from approximately $8M to more than $100M in revenue. He als...

David Royce is an entrepreneur and sales leader who built and sold five pest control companies for more than $1 billion in combined value. Starting as a broke college student in door-to-door sales, he went on to create high-performance sales organizations, scalable operating systems, and recurring-revenue businesses across multiple markets. In this episode, David explains his RACK sales system, ho...

Blake Johnson is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and sold five companies, including a $97 million exit and the sale of Byte for more than $1 billion. After nearly losing his first business during the 2008 financial crisis, he developed a disciplined framework for bootstrapping, scaling and positioning companies for acquisition. In this episode, Blake explains how he evaluates markets, contro...

Dr. Jason Wersland is the inventor of the Theragun and the founder of Therabody, the global wellness company that transformed percussive therapy and recovery. After a serious motorcycle accident left him in extreme pain, Jason created the first Theragun prototype from a modified power tool and spent years developing the product while facing financial pressure, family doubt and failed business part...

David Stout is the founder of WebAI, an artificial intelligence company publicly valued at $2.5 billion. After growing up on a Michigan ranch, he launched a web services company in college that generated more than $750,000 annually before leaving school to pursue AI. In this episode, David explains how a $400 loan, repeated investor rejection, and a relentless focus on on-device intelligence shape...

Mike Sherbakov is a Russian-born immigrant, Marine Corps veteran, entrepreneur, angel investor, and co-founder of The Veteran Fund. After building and selling companies, Mike moved into venture capital and now helps back veteran-led startups across defense, AI, space, energy, robotics, and critical technology. In this episode, Mike breaks down his journey from poverty and military service to entre...

John Imah is the founder of SpreeAI, a fashion technology company valued at $1.5 billion, and the youngest millionaire in School of Hard Knocks history after selling two tech companies before age 16. In this episode, John shares his journey from growing up poor in an immigrant family to working at Samsung, Twitch, Meta, and Snapchat before returning to entrepreneurship. He breaks down building AI...

Ronnen Harary is the co-founder of Spin Master, the global toy and entertainment company behind Paw Patrol, Bakugan, Air Hogs, Rubik’s Cube, and more. Starting with a handmade product called Earth Buddies, he helped build the company into a multi-billion-dollar business across toys, entertainment, and digital games. In this episode, Ronnen breaks down the early Kmart deal, passing on Beyblade, bui...

Lynnwood Bibbens is the founder of ReachTV and an entrepreneur who has built billions of dollars in business across tech, media, retail, film finance, and distribution. In this episode, he breaks down how he went from selling knives in college to building major companies, creating new rights windows, and acquiring CNN Airport during the pandemic. Lynnwood shares his philosophy on serving customers...

Peter Tuchman, known globally as the “Einstein of Wall Street,” is the longest-standing trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and one of the most recognizable figures in finance. After starting as a $47-a-week runner in 1985, he built a decades-long career through Black Monday, the internet bubble, the 2008 financial crisis, Covid, and today’s AI-driven market boom. In this episode, P...

Greg La Vecchia is the founder of Bloom, one of America’s fastest-growing supplement and energy drink brands, now sold across 70,000 retail doors. After bootstrapping the company to $180 million with no investors, mentors, or traditional playbook, Greg helped turn Bloom into a category-defining brand doing $23 million in weekly net sales. In this episode, Greg breaks down the early days of selling...

Patrick Terry is the co-founder of P. Terry’s, the Texas burger brand that grew from a 527-square-foot Austin stand into 38 locations and 1,800 employees. In this episode, Patrick shares how he built the company with his wife Kathy, competed directly against national fast food giants, protected the brand’s culture, and refused franchising or private equity to preserve quality. We discuss leadershi...

Andy Frisella is the founder of 1st Phorm, creator of 75 Hard, and one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the fitness and personal development space. After making only $58,380 total across his first ten years in business, he built a vertically integrated supplement empire and a personal portfolio worth over $1 billion. In this episode, Andy shares the early years of struggle, the mindset beh...

Eric Spofford is an entrepreneur, investor, and founder who overcame heroin addiction before building and selling his treatment business for $115 million. After dropping out of high school at 15 and getting sober with almost nothing, he launched his state’s first sober living house and scaled it into a major operation. In this episode, Eric breaks down addiction, entrepreneurship, building a sella...

Go try Agent Opus and start making your own videos today! Get 600 free credits using our link: https://agent.opus.pro/home?special_credit=SOHK   Lucy Guo is the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world and the co-founder of Scale AI, one of the most important infrastructure companies behind the artificial intelligence boom. After dropping out of college through the Thiel Fellowship, she...

Go try Agent Opus and start making your own videos today! Get 600 free credits using our link: https://agent.opus.pro/home?special_credit=SOHK RJ Jain is the founder of Price.com , an AI-powered shopping platform valued at around $200 million, and previously sold his last startup to Google for nine figures. In this episode, he shares his journey from growing up in India and studying in Michigan to...

Richard built HomeServe into a £4.1 billion global company operating in 10 countries, starting with just £50,000 and multiple early failures. In this episode, he breaks down the near-collapse moments, the pivot that changed everything, and the exact business model that scaled globally. He also shares his 9-step framework for building a billion-pound company, insights on bootstrapping vs. raising c...

Simon Squibb is a self-made entrepreneur worth hundreds of millions who has invested in over 80 companies. After becoming homeless at 15, he built his first business with just £200 and no formal education in business. In this episode, he shares the raw truth about failure, survival, and building from nothing. He breaks down why traditional education fails, why purpose matters more than money, and...