Build Your A-Team

From Navy Supply Corps officer to CEO of a high-trust, high-impact GovCon firm, Jim O’Farrell has spent his career building teams that lead with mission, culture, and compassion. As the head of AMSG – a 150+ person prime contractor – Jim shares how servant leadership, frontline focus, and feedback-first management built AMSG into one of the most trusted names in government contracting. His bluepri...

What do you get when a former Army Ranger and Green Beret builds a cutting-edge defense tech company? You get Chris Anthony – founder of Teamwork Security, cyber expert, and author of The Veteran Entrepreneur. With combat deployments, a career in the intelligence community, and time as a systems engineer at Johns Hopkins APL, Chris brings a rare mix of tactical grit and technical expertise. CEO of...

John S. Berry is a decorated Army Veteran and CEO of Berry Law who has built a mission-driven legal powerhouse from the ground up. With deployments to Bosnia and Iraq, Ranger School under his belt, and a career culminating as a battalion commander, John shares how military leadership forged his no-BS approach to building elite teams. As an example, John breaks down how he revamped Officer Candidat...

Channing Walker is the CEO of Longhorn Ventures Holdings and a former leader in the 1st Battalion 7th Special Forces Group. He shares his journey from the battlefield to the boardroom, including how he won an $11M government contract while still active duty. In this episode, conversations explore leadership under pressure, vulnerability as a strength, scaling businesses with the right talent —and...

James M. Russo shares his journey from Naval Academy graduate, All-American boxer, and Marine Corps C-130 pilot to founder of Altrius Capital Management. Author of "Invest Like an Aardvark," this principled visionary attributes his success to humility. Like an aardvark, a unique unassuming animal, Jim has flipped the script of typical Wall Street investors by uncovering value where others fail to...

MilSpec Talent executives – Freddie Kim and Charlsey Mahle – weigh the pros and cons of recruitment, highlighting the value of executive search firms in securing top talent while mitigating risks like cultural mismatches and overpromising. For Veteran-owned businesses, tailored strategies and targeted Veteran talent drive retention and culture fit. MilSpec Talent brings firsthand insight into high...

Chris Lefebvre leverages his military background as a Marine Corps logistics officer and leader to build a resilient team at ISI Professional Services. Transitioning from a project manager to CEO, his discipline and mission-driven mindset fuel a culture focused on the golden rule and rigorous engagement. By emphasizing strategic organizational structure, data-driven hiring, and consistent communic...

On this episode, Freddie talks with Dave Sisk, Co-Founder and CEO of Streamline Innovations (recently closed Series C round). Dave is an Army Veteran and Entrepreneur, West Point graduate and Texas McCombs MBA, who has had multiple opportunities running and exiting venture-backed companies. Prior to Founding Streamline Innovations, Dave was Director of Product Strategy at WellAware, a data company...

"[My] biggest lesson learned… when you put a team together, it’s like training for the Olympics… if you want to run fast, if you want to grow big, you have to hire the A-team NOW. Other companies have the luxury to train up and use those years to get the right person in the right role, but that prohibited growth for us." On today’s episode of Build Your A-Team, Freddie talks with Marlie Andersch,...

Quote: "I've been pounding this drum lately... when you're starting your business, your first few hires are the most critical hires that you're going to make, ever! These are the nucleus, they are the core of the company. They are going to establish the culture. They're going to help you establish the brand in your area. So be picky. And if you have to overpay, overpay. Whatever you've got to do....

Welcome to Build Your A-Team, a podcast powered by MilSpec Talent where we educate small business owners how to attract, recruit, and retain high impact, low-ego, talent. On today’s episode, host Freddie Kim, Founder of MilSpec Talent and Special Forces Veteran, introduces himself, why Build Your A-Team exists, and details some of the upcoming episodes to keep an eye out for!   I’m your host Fredd...