The Founder's Growth Show

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Podcast , host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with close friend Quentin "Q" Allums, Business Coach for Creators and Content-Driven Founders at QuentinAllums.com.  After closing his highly successful personal branding and video agency in 2020 following personal loss and pandemic shifts, Quentin went offline for several years to examine how public pe...

When business growth plateaus, many founders succumb to the temptation to tear it all down: overhauling software, changing brand names, or pivoting their business model entirely. But that's a huge mistake that lands you right back at zero. On this episode of  The Founder's Growth Show , host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Makena Finger Zannini, Founder and Fractional COO at The Bout...

What does it take to turn an in-person events company with $0 in revenue into a $3.7M virtual powerhouse? In this episode, host John "Small Mountain" Hill sits down with James Bennett, Co-Founder of Firefly Team Events, to discuss crisis adaptation, sales vs. HR budget dynamics, and scaling operations under pressure. James breaks down how Firefly navigated the COVID-19 pandemic by putting client n...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show , host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Shire Lyon, founder of Shire Lyon Ads and Marketing Mind Share, to unpack what it takes to build an intentional marketing strategy without burning capital on shiny object distractions. Shire shares lessons from her transition out of white-label agency work, highlighting how to set firm service boundar...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show, host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Dwayne Ernest, Founder of Nagata.ai and former fractional CRO, to dissect the realities of go-to-market execution, software procurement, and early-stage scaling. Dwayne shares insights from his 15-year career across SaaS sales leadership and advisory roles. We discuss: Why so many early-stage companies...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show , Nathan Tyler—Founder of Blinkpages and BlinkMetrics and former SaaS Founder of StagingPilot—breaks down the operational realities of scaling and exiting a business. Nathan shares his journey from running a web agency for a decade to building a WordPress update automation platform, recognizing when a complex problem calls for a strategic acquirer over...

In this episode of The Founders Growth Show , host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Will Aitken, Sales Trainer, Consultant, and Author, to discuss the realities of transitioning from a high-performing sales role to running your own business. Will breaks down the dangerous trap of "bad revenue," explaining how saying yes to every client opportunity leads to fulfillment friction, burnou...

Are you driving long-term alignment, or are you hiding behind short-term vanity metrics? In this re-released episode of Founder's Growth, host John Hill (aka Small Mountain) sits down with Jesan Sorrells—author of  12 Rules for Leaders, Podcast Host, and Principal Consultant at Leadership Toolbox—to explore the operational differences between basic task management and intentional leadership. Toget...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show, host John "Small Mountain" Hill sits down with David Connors, Co-Founder and CEO of The Swarm. David breaks down why traditional cold outreach and spray-and-pray outbound sales playbooks are failing and introduces the "Go To Network" paradigm. We explore David's journey from working in-house at Sequoia Capital to founding The Swarm, and we discuss how...

In this episode, we sit down with Chris Bogue, Sales and Marketing Consultant, Sketch Comedian, and Content Creator. We dig into how founders and revenue leaders can build an effective, human-centered video sales process without massive time or budget investment. Chris breaks down how combining improv principles with structured video messaging helps teams cut through inbox noise, overcome prospect...

How do founders maintain resilience and clarity when faced with burnout, sudden market shifts, or personal setbacks? In this episode of  The Founders Growth Show , host John "Small Mountain" Hill sits down with Rachel Druckenmiller, Keynote Speaker, Professional Singer, and Founder and Leadership Trainer at Unmuted. Rachel shares her journey transitioning from a 13-year corporate career into full-...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show, host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Mike Simmons, Founder of Catalyst, to examine how founder mindset, self-leadership, and sales alignment drive sustainable business growth. Mike breaks down practical frameworks for B2B selling, scaling a business without damaging team culture, and shifting focus from lagging revenue outcomes toward con...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show , host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Humberto "Bert" Rodriguez , CEO and Co-Founder of SupplySoft , to explore what it takes to build operational systems that withstand decades of technological change. Drawing from over 30 years in supply chain technology—from high school punch cards to modern AI and warehouse automation—Humberto breaks...

What happens when your biggest market differentiator becomes the exact label that stops decision-makers from buying? In this episode, host John SmallMtn sits down for part two of our time-capsule series with Jon Selig, founder of The Credibility Gap. Looking back at where his business stood two years ago in 2024, Jon shares a transparent masterclass on founder burnout, navigating corporate misalig...

How do you build a sustainable communication strategy that resonates with a highly specific cold target market? And how do you do it without getting your outreach completely ignored because, let's face it, you sound like a robot? In this episode of the  Founder's Growth Show , we break down early-stage business messaging with Jon Selig, who, at the time of the interview two years ago, was the foun...

How do you transition from a "scrappy dream" to a highly structured, multi-million dollar enterprise? In this episode of  The Founder's Growth Show , host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with JP Keesy, Co-Founder of Fort Worth-based managed service provider F1 IT. JP shares his 25-year journey scaling an IT services firm past $5M in gross revenue while navigating high-stakes industry regu...

Join host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, and his special guest Dan Bennett, founder of Hot Sauce Video, for a deep dive into the psychology of founder growth and the power of authentic storytelling. Dan shares his journey from a touring musician to a high-end filmmaker and agency owner, revealing how he eventually embraced the very service he tried to avoid: video editing. He also explains why "vi...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show, host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Brent Garrett, the founder of Sirius Plumbing and Air Conditioning and a veteran business consultant known as The Skilled Trades Coach. Brent shares his profound journey from working at the end of a shovel to building, scaling, and successfully selling a multimillion-dollar residential services enterpr...

Why do so many rapid-scaling startups struggle to sustain their revenue after an influx of new clients? Because they mistake reactive customer support for a proactive growth strategy. In this episode of  The Founder's Growth Show , host John Small Mountain sits down with Noah Hallett, a startup consultant and fractional Chief Customer Officer (CCO). Operating from Lisbon, Portugal, Noah shares his...

What is the true difference between building a scalable business and simply monetizing a personal skill set? In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show, host John SmallMtn sits down with Michael R. Hunter, the co-founder of Spiffy Checkouts and PersonalBrand.com, to unpack the hidden mechanisms behind sustainable business growth and leadership alignment. Michael shares his evolutionary journey f...

Is AI a threat to your livelihood, or the ultimate tool to scale your next venture? In this episode, host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with tech pioneer, former NASDAQ company CEO, and international bestselling author Jay Samit to dissect how seasoned professionals can claim their "Second Act Advantage." Jay pulls back the curtain on his newest book, sharing insights gained from raisin...

What happens when the world's foremost startup accelerator rejects your business idea—not once, but twice? For most founders, it's where the dream stalls out. For Edward Haryono, it was the exact friction required to build a resilient, high-growth enterprise. In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show, host John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Edward Haryono, co-founder of Saudara (an A...

In this episode of The Founder's Growth Show, John Hill, AKA Small Mountain, sits down with Dr. Corey Wilks , a Clinical Psychologist and Founder of Creator Alchemy , to bridge the gap between deep psychological insights and practical business growth. Corey shares his journey from clinical addiction treatment in rural Appalachia to executive coaching for high-level creators like Ali Abdaal. We dis...

Transitioning from a top-tier individual producer to a resilient organizational leader requires a radical shift in mindset, clarity, and execution. In this episode, John sits down with Leslie Venetz, a 3-time Head of Sales, award-winning sales expert, USA Today Bestselling Author, SKO Speaker, and the Founder of the Sales-Led GTM Agency. Bypassing standard corporate jargon, Leslie shares her groun...

In this episode, we sit down with Andrea Mohamed, Co-Founder of QuantumBloom, to discuss the systemic "leaky bucket" in STEM industries. Andrea shares how her organization is moving the needle on retention by treating culture as a business outcome rather than a moral initiative. Topics Discussed: The STEM Exit: Why 70% of women leave technical paths by age 30 and how to stop the bleed. Founder-Led...