Levelheads

He goes by Puppy — but don't let the nickname fool you. At just 23 years old, Jan Goryl is helping to run job sites, operating Bobcats, and holding it down as a superintendent for Greenside while most guys his age are still figuring out what they want to do. In this episode, we get a rare look inside one of the most organized GC operations in the game, hear how Jan went from flipping houses with h...

In this episode, we sit down with CJ Nielsen, owner of CNC Electric and a Build Show contributor, to dive deep into the realities of running a high-end electrical contracting business in today’s custom home market. CJ shares his journey from starting in the trades at 17 to building a respected boutique electrical company in Northern California. We get into everything—from wildfire rebuild booms an...

What happens when podcast hosts interview podcast hosts? Chaos—in the best possible way. In this episode we sit down with Travis Brungardt and Brandon Jones from the Building Consensus Podcast for a wide-open conversation about building science, high-performance homes, construction tech, and the real challenges builders face today. From jobsite scheduling headaches and software frustrations to bui...

What do you get when you mix zero software, a yellow legal pad, 1,000 pushups a day, and a guy who’s been building monster custom homes since the 1970s? You get Paul Taylor. In this episode, we finally nail down the hardest man in construction to schedule (seriously—it only took a year). Paul breaks down how he builds some of the largest, cleanest custom homes in California without superintendents...

The Levelheads look back on 2025—job changes, market surprises, permit nightmares, exploding porta-potties, and why building custom homes is anything but efficient. We also give away an RR Buildings tool belt, roast ourselves, and accidentally drop one of the best construction stories of all time. Consider this your warning.

After about a year and a half of chasing him—and thanks to some brutal Midwest weather—we finally got Kyle Stumpenhorst of RR Buildings on the Levelheads Podcast. Kyle went from IT desk job to building massive post-frame shops, then accidentally built one of the biggest construction channels on the internet (1.8M YouTube subscribers 👀). We talk about how barns became content, why post-frame beats...

On this episode of the Levelheads Podcast, the guys kick things off with a high-stakes game of “silence chicken” before diving headfirst into end-of-year chaos, impossible deadlines, trim fights, shadow gaps, door jamb wizardry, and whatever fresh hell designers have cooked up this week. Jamie casually drops that he can summon thirty workers in fifteen minutes like some kind of construction Jedi m...

On this episode of the Levelheads Podcast, Mike, Jamie, and Zane sit down with the man brave enough to manage job sites and Zane — the legendary Fred Trainer of F.E. Trainer Construction. What begins as a conversation about building a powerhouse construction company quickly turns into a masterclass in leadership, growth, and why scaling too fast feels like fighting an orangutan with a broadsword o...

This episode of the Level Heads podcast has it all: AI, booze, construction, and a very confused orangutan! We sit down with Reece Barnes, Head of Construction Network at Adaptive, to talk about cutting-edge AI bookkeeping and how technology like Toggle is actually saving time on the job. Reece dishes on his past life cold-calling builders for Builder Trend (spoiler: it involved lots of dialing an...

What do project management software, AI agents, and three butt cheeks have in common? This episode of The Levelheads Podcast. This episode we’re joined by Mitchell Kasselman, CEO and co-founder of Ressio Software—the fast-rising project management tool shaking up the building world. Mitchell breaks down his startup journey, the headaches with field adoption, and how AI “agents” might soon handle t...

This week on The Levelheads Podcast: Matt Howell from Smrter Home drops in from Downers Grove to talk low-voltage, AI-powered home networking, and sound systems that are getting way too smart. We dive into Matt’s start in the industry, the case against ‘dumb dimmers,’ and why Zane still can’t wrap his head around Japanese. Don’t miss it. 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. #LevelheadsPodcast...

This week, Mike drops a HUGE announcement about joining the Build Show Network — and we get the inside scoop on what that means for his future (and for seeing more of his face online). We swap hilarious stories about Cousin Johnny, including why the internet’s obsessed with him and whether we can finally get him out of his “content closet.” Plus, we talk Grappa-fueled misadventures, behind-the-sce...

This week on The Levelheads Podcast, things get weird—in the best way. Jamie’s gearing up for a mysterious wedding trip that may or may not involve livestock, questionable fashion, and zero cell service. Meanwhile, one of our clients spotted something truly horrifying in a neighbor’s window… and now we all need brain bleach. We also dive into the rise of AI and what a dwindling labor force could m...

This week we have Jeff Sweenor, founder and owner of Sweenor Builders in Rhode Island. We get into a bunch of topics like cycling, growing a company, This Old House and how Jeff bought a masonry company because he coulndt afford to lose them to another builders job for 6 months! Check it out!   🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. #LevelheadsPodcast #CustomHomeBuilders #ConstructionLife #NoFl...

This episode features Jim Lundquist, known as "the Swede," a trim carpenter, inventor, and self-described "happy-go-lucky guy" and "monkey wrench". Jim shares insights from his 40-plus-year construction career, which started in Seattle before moving to Arizona, navigating periods like the Great Recession which led him to work with a cabinet company importing from China for seven years. Now 60, he...

Hosted by Zane Ellis, Jamie Verdura, and Mike Conneely, The Levelheads is the podcast for custom home builders who are sick of the BS. Zane’s had more knee surgeries than he has patience for business coaches, Jamie’s allergic to fluff, and Mike’s got no time for clunky construction management software that doesn’t get the job done. Together, they tackle the real challenges of building high-end cus...

We caught a whoppa. You gotta listen. Our longest podcast yet. Johnny bears all. He's a stud in our industry who faced a ton of challenges. We talk it out.   Special thanks to our podcast sponsor @andersen_windows • Hosts: Zane Ellis Jamie Verdura Mike Conneely     #answerquestions #levelheadspodcast #customhomes #Designbuild #buildingscience #luxurybuilder #craftsman #newconstruction #remodels #r...

This week we have Lisa McNealy a commercial broker in Knoxville TN that also operated in Scottsdale AZ. We talk about selling businesses, cadavers, basketball, and more. We get into how Lisa thrives in a male dominated industry and how her strong personality is an asset when competing with the "good ol' boys" in the business. We also find out how she got the title Miss USA. Listen in!

This week the Levelheads welcome Bryan James from Liberty Homes this week. Bryan has an interesting story of how he came into the home building business. The path was definitely not typical and  not free from road blocks. He also tells us how his company narrowly escaped going out of business after signing 26 contracts to build 26 new homes. Great episode. ALSO listen in to here a special announce...

For the first podcast in 2025 Jamie, Zane & Mike welcome Nick Sandifer from Sandifer Design Build. Nick is based in Jacksonville Florida and speaks about how his business has grown from small renovations to multi-million dollar custom home projects. Some great insight from Nick on thus episode and he also gets personal. He tells the Levelheads how the relationship with his father in the family...

This week and our final podcast of 2024 we have Matt Krsyzkowski from Monetti Custom Homes. This is matts 2nd time on the podcast and we get heavy into BuilderTrend discussions. He tells us how he has taken the lead in at MCH for implementing BuilderTrend into their systems & processes. Listen in for the great tips Monetti Custom Homes has come up with to make BT work for them. Great stuff.  ...

We've got Spencer Lewis back on the podcast this week. Our first repeat guest on The Levelheads Podcast and were super excited to have the best trim carpentry teacher on the internet. Spencers generosity with his knowledge, tricks tips is second to none. We talk shop. We talk about how Spencer doesn't need a pat on the back to know he's done a good job. We talk about some of the specialty work tha...

This episode the Levelheads welcome Austin Katje who is director of operations at Veldhouse Companies. The boys get into Zane's injury and why he misses the last podcast. They also discuss Austin's position in Veldhouse, the projects they are building including multi-family projects. Also discuss estimating and growing our businesses. Zane also has some crazy this or thats!  

In this weeks episode of the Levelheads Podcast we welcome Melissa Hryszko from Veranda State Homes in Calgary, Canada. She joined the podcast to discuss her custom home building business. She and her husband, Rob, have been in the industry for 24 years, focusing on high-end, custom homes. Their team includes 12 people, including project managers, construction managers, and her 18-year-old son. Th...

This week the boys have an internal discussion on the division in this country exacerbated by social media. Jamie's building inspector makes a special appearance, and they talk about different software available to builders.   Special thanks to our podcast sponsor @andersen_windows • Hosts: Zane Ellis Jamie Verdura Mike Conneely     #answerquestions #levelheadspodcast #customhomes #Designbuild #bu...