BusinessCake

Will and Patch are joined by Seb Moran to talk about creativity, inspirations, and what it really takes to bring an idea to life. Seb shares his path from tinkering in Photoshop and making early design work to building Sandgrain and developing a more mature creative process. This is a reminder that great work is never born fully formed. The gap between your taste and your skill closes the more wor...

If your work isn't profitable, it's not bad luck—it's bad strategy. Patrick and Will unpack Michael Porter's core ideas and why most founders misunderstand what strategy actually means. This episode reframes strategy as a disciplined set of choices—centered on profitability, shaped by industry structure, and defined by what a business chooses not to do. It's a candid look at how misunderstanding s...

Patrick and Will are joined in this episode by executive coach Robert Mallon. Robert shares the lessons he's learned from more than two decades of coaching business owners and leaders. After starting his career in the restaurant industry and experiencing the uncertainty of companies shutting down, Robert found himself at a crossroads. A mentor helped him see something he couldn't see himself: his...

Don't compromise. Discover and learn about the other person. Get what you actually want. Simple. Negotiations don't just happen for big deals or hostage situations. We all engage in negotiations every day. Patrick and Will share their takeaways from Chris Voss' book: Never Split the Difference. Chris has written the most practical book on knowing what you want, discovering what the other party wan...

In this conversation, Patrick shares his decade-plus journey building accounting services, building up his coffee shop Tchin Tchin's and their razor-thin margins, and the moment he chose to be an entrepreneur and who helped him get there. Intent has to be tied to action. We all want to eat the cake, but few want to take to the time or make the sacrifice to get into that kitchen and bake what your...

BusinessCake is back with Season 2! Will gives an in-depth update on ETLA Distilleries. He talks about the landscape and alcohol industry, launching a business in two countries at the same time, the crises they are navigating, and more. Bringing an idea to life, bringing a product to market, that is what we serve up in this episode.

This is a show for people like you who are building their ideas. This is our third round of recapping conversations with four previous guests. It's a plug for those interviews, and if you hear something that strikes your fancy, go check out the full interview. Today we spotlight: Josh Schairbaum, Sandeep Misra, Elizabeth Yarbrough, and Danielle Laughlin. I am thrilled that Andrew Rahrig joins us f...

Danielle's passion is to eliminate "entrepreneurial poverty". She does this through her law practice at Sage Business Counsel, where she works with founders and business owners in planning and navigating the complexities of running a business. Danielle grew up in rural Alabama, worked her way through law school as a single mother, helped her dad navigate bankruptcy for his business, and finally de...

Patrick and Will dive into the stories and symbols behind both innovation and commitment — from the invention of the potato chip to the legendary line in the sand at the Alamo. Join us as we explore how moments of decision, motivation (even spite!), and character shape not just history, but the way we build our businesses and lead our lives. Whether you're an entrepreneur or just love a good story...

What do you want to hear more about? What are helpful tools you are missing or want to learn more about? Join Patrick and Will as they talk about what is on the horizon and argue over who has the best analogies. They unpack how culture is shaped not by what's written on the wall, but by the daily decisions, conversations, and values that drive your business forward.

Snow balls not snow cones. Elizabeth Yarbrough, founder of Untangled, shares her journey from running a snowball truck to helping founders systematize and scale their companies. We talk about strawberry cake, knowing the inflection point of your business, and working in a way that enriches your life and relationships. It's not all business, sometimes it's cake.

Josh Schairbaum is a historian, technologist, and friend. In his day job, Josh helps Fortune 500 companies implement AI solutions. But for fun? AI helps Josh build worlds, remember his loved ones, and become a better person. This conversation is for you. Josh shares 4 principles that will help you in your own engagement with AI. It will broaden and deepen your understanding of AI, challenge your o...

Patrick kicks things off by sharing with Will the tale of a recent and bizarre midnight adventure. They talk strategic business pivots, cheating experience, and how passion and process drive success.

Sandeep is a bildr and not afraid of failure. He just left his full-time job to run a start-up. He is the co-Founder of Heald, a start-up that is laser-focused on wholistic, lifestyle diabetes remission. We walk through his journey, failures, and success. Sandeep has worked at DELL, Amazon, and Rackspace, and talks about his approach to work, life, and legacy.

Recapped: Hannah & DJ; Ugo Batussi; Ginger Diaz; Wendy Brand Maria joins the conversation to sample a few of the tasty cake conversations Patrick and Will have had. Why? It's great to not pass over people's stories too quickly, so we want to celebrate what their journey is so far. And Maria and Will give an update on ETLA, their delicious Mezcal.

Wendy Brand has over 25 years of leadership experience, spanning cruise ships, the NCAA Final Four and WNBA to Texas fast-food favorite, Whataburger. She now runs a consulting business to help CEOs integrate their values, vision, and mission into their companies' daily operations. Find out more about Wendy and how she can help your business at https://culturecoachwendy.com

Ginger Diaz is the owner of three retail stores, soon to be four, in San Antonio, Texas. She shares how her passion to help local artists and to support small business led her into opening Feliz Modern. Ginger emphasizes building business and teams intuitively and in an organic way.

"This has to feel viscerally right for you." This might capture the range of Patrick and Will's conversation, where they touched on intuition, alignment, and decision-making in both personal and professional contexts. Will is also not the person to call when your toilet breaks.

Patrick and Will are joined by Ugo Bitussi, an entrepreneur in the medical field. Ugo shares his practices, methods, and how his belief that "Everything has a purpose" permeates his life and work.

Hannah is CEO of Howdy, a B2B marketing agency, and her husband DJ is the COO. Together they launched Howdy just one month into COVID because every other revenue stream they had was suddenly gone. Join Patrick and Will as they hear how this dynamic duo scrapped, hustled, and teamed together to create the path as they walked.

The one where we hit highlights from our conversations with Jaime, Dillon, Elizabeth and Andrew. Consider this a celebration of the first four guests we've had on the show. Hosts Patrick and Will are joined by guest host Tim to chop it up.

Patrick and Will share secret recipes passed down from olden times. They also update each other on projects and talk about being a rookie versus an imposter, building high performance teams, and the down days of being an entrepreneur.

Elizabeth Fauerso joins Patrick and Will in a conversation about her life, approach, and practices. Elizabeth Fauerso has spent the last twenty years deeply engaged in the practice of making places that matter. Most recently in her leadership role at the Historic Pearl Brewery and Potluck Hospitality she was a primary member of the team that transformed a defunct brewery into a world-class neighbo...

Patrick and Will chop it up with Dillon, owner of Simpson Electrical in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Dillon shares with the bros about how he founded his company, ups and downs, and what he usually eats for lunch.

Patrick and Will catch up on their projects. Patrick is serious about selling his coffee shop. Will is taking up an expensive new hobby while starting a new business. They discuss risks, endings, and finding joy in the pain.