Forged For Growth

Episode Summary How technical sales teams can handle difficult personalities, protect their time, and improve win rates. Brian talks with Paul Chapman about his background in IT, pre-sales leadership, and building 4Disruptors around the four personalities that derail sales conversations: the techie, the distractor, the saboteur, and the inquisitor. Paul explains the role of pre-sales as the transl...

Episode Summary How NDAY Security is using AI to transform offensive security, automate testing, and make cybersecurity more accessible to businesses outside the industry echo chamber. Brian talks with Mark Whitehead about his path from video game cybersecurity to government contracting, Big Four consulting, offensive security leadership, and eventually founding NDAY Security. Mark explains how AI...

Episode Summary How Cybermat Technologies helps companies find security gaps before attackers do. Brian talks with Matthew Miles about his path from radiology and IT into ethical hacking, why he started his own cybersecurity business after a major life change, and what penetration testing actually involves. Matt explains the difference between automated vulnerability scans and hands-on penetration...

Episode Summary How Vision Dental Partners uses brand, community, and content to help dentists stand out in competitive local markets. Brian talks with Lex Orzalli about her path from running a dental office to leading marketing for a fast-growing, multi-location dental group. Lex explains why dental marketing is about more than acquiring new patients, how retention and reactivation campaigns shou...

Episode Summary Samuel Moore breaks down why CRM and process clarity matter long before a company feels “big enough” to need them. He shares his path into tech through an apprenticeship-style boot camp, early automation work, and building internal IT structure, then explains how The Marks Group helps businesses translate goals into a coherent CRM-first tech stack, including ERP-style consolidation...

Episode Summary Jess Vigorito explains how to stand out in modern marketing with ICP-driven storytelling and thoughtful AI use. She shares how her path from sales to marketing shaped an approach built on authentic connection, then breaks down how Rising Phoenix Media and Marketing builds campaigns by getting specific about audience identity, nostalgia triggers, and attention patterns. Brian and Je...

Episode Summary David Hettinger explains how owners can build value before a sale. Brian talks with David Hettinger about V3.me, owner transitions, small business valuation, and the common issues that keep companies from reaching their full potential. David shares why buyers look closely at customer relationships, processes, key staff, technology, and whether the owner can step away without the bu...

Episode Summary Beth Ardner explains how skills data can improve hiring and mobility. Brian talks with Beth Ardner of Gobekli.io about learning and employment records, credential wallets, and the challenge of making real skills visible beyond degrees, job titles, and resumes. Beth shares how her team helps people capture evidence from work, education, caregiving, volunteering, games, and other lif...

Episode Summary Pete Kimbis explains how nonprofits can compete for funding. Brian talks with Pete Kimbis about the realities of nonprofit funding, grant writing, and the administrative burden that can keep important work from reaching the people who need it. Pete shares how PKC helps nonprofits and entrepreneurs move beyond last-minute technical writing by building relationships, strategy, commun...

Episode Summary Sean Patrick Fleming shares how Aztra builds AI-first tools for manufacturing and retail. Sean talks about his path from mechanical engineering and renewable energy into tech sales, cybersecurity, NVIDIA, Databricks, and now Aztra. He explains how Aztra is moving from custom services to product-led platforms that help teams make better decisions using existing data and systems. The...

Episode Summary Thomas Hernandez explains how OSaava Services turns cybersecurity strategy into execution. Brian talks with Thomas about his path from Army communications and cybersecurity into operational leadership, and how that experience shapes his work as COO of OSaava Services. Thomas shares how OSaava helps federal and enterprise clients with cybersecurity, enterprise IT modernization, data...

Episode Summary How a veteran turned an everyday field problem into a mobile hygiene product line. Aaron Barnes shares how eight years in the Army and years as a federal contractor, often in austere environments, pushed him to build Compact Care. He and Brian talk through the core products, including steam-compressed towels that expand with water and sheet-based mobile soap designed to clean witho...

Episode Summary How an IT consulting firm helps biopharma companies build the tech backbone for drug launches. Abigail Grable shares her path from Big Four consulting to Project Outlier, including her return to an operations role after delivering client work. She and Brian talk about the realities of consulting, the tradeoffs of fully remote operations, and why focusing exclusively on biotech and...

Episode Summary How a process-driven advisor helps modernize a legacy wealth management firm. Jack Dobies shares his path from Ohio State and Deloitte as a software cloud engineer into financial planning at Merkel Wealth Management. He and Brian talk about why money is emotional, where AI can help and where it still falls short, and what clients really need beyond generic advice once their assets...

Episode Summary How to systematize marketing so teams stop reacting and start driving results. Taylor Edginton shares how he went from marketing technologist roles and startup experiences to becoming Digital Director at Reynolds+Myers. He and Brian dig into what a “marketing machine” really means, why iterative progress beats waiting for perfect launches, and how to choose channels based on where...

Episode Summary How AI becomes a real operating system for small and mid-sized businesses. Wil Lavender shares his path from post-2008 finance roles and nearly 15 years in bank back-office technology to becoming employee number one at Agent700. He and Brian talk about why most SaaS tools force companies into a one-size-fits-all mold, and how AI can help businesses build custom solutions at lower c...

Episode Summary Caroline Colavita, VP of Marketing at Robard, shares how her career path shifted from retail buying into digital marketing and user experience, and why that background shaped how she thinks about conversion and growth. She explains what Robard does in weight management, how the rise of GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic) reshaped the industry, and why Robard chose to pivot into direct...

Episode Summary What it really takes to sell a privately held business, from readiness to closing. Peter Wright of Anderson LENEAVE and Company shares how lower middle market sell-side processes work, why many owners are not actually “sale-ready,” and what buyers look for when evaluating stability, leadership depth, and risk. He also breaks down where deals tend to come from, why timing the market...

Episode Summary How Inflect markets a marketplace for digital infrastructure, with Chan Yu Kuo. Chan Yu Kuo, Director of Marketing at Inflect, walks through his path from medical equipment to tech and explains Inflect’s marketplace and advisory model for helping buyers compare options like colocation, bare metal, GPU cloud, and connectivity. He and Brian dig into why many buyers know the outcome t...

Episode Summary Inside cannabis manufacturing and terpene extraction with Jarod Noble Harvey. Jarod shares how he went from early cultivation in California to building labs, optimizing operations across state markets, and focusing on cannabis-derived terpene extraction. He and Brian dig into the realities of a patchwork regulatory system, how testing and compliance differ by state, and why standar...

Episode Summary David Greenberg breaks down how private trusts can help protect assets and create privacy for families and business owners. He shares how early sales and computer skills shaped his path, the leap into entrepreneurship in 2007, and why Freedom Studio focuses on both growth and defense. The conversation covers separating control from beneficial use, how commercial liability shows up...

Episode Summary Dany Conti shares how she built Builder Supply Group from an empty showroom into a growing supply partner for builders. She walks through her start in small-company operations, the early one-woman grind, and the decision to control the supply chain by importing directly from factories to give customers clearer timelines. Dany also explains how key hires, and later bringing her husb...

Episode Summary How Speyside Equity buys and improves underperforming manufacturing companies. Brian talks with Eric Wiklendt about his path from Detroit manufacturing consulting to leading and selling a middle-market manufacturer, then joining an operationally focused private equity firm. Eric breaks down Speyside’s “fix and build” approach, why lower middle market companies often have untapped o...

Episode Summary How a CRO builds cohesive growth from first customers to scale with fewer internal silos. Brian Felker shares his path from freight brokerage to leading go-to-market teams, then consulting through the uncertainty of 2020. He breaks down why early-stage companies shift from generalists to specialists, how “people problems” surface during growth, and why a single owner for the full c...

Episode Summary How drug coverage gets decided and how to fix the paperwork bottleneck. Eric Mensh walks through what “market access” means in practice, why prior authorizations and appeals create friction for patients and providers, and how denial and appeal dynamics shape drug adoption. He also shares how his team built the aSound platform to cut medical necessity letter creation from about an h...