In The Thick of It

In this episode of “In The Thick of It,” we're joined by Ray Blakney, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Rayvensoft Ventures, a holding company for multiple successful online businesses. Ray recounts his diverse upbringing, from his birth in the Philippines to his childhood in Turkey and eventual move to the United States. He shares his experiences in the Peace Corps, which led him to Mexico,...

On this episode of In The Thick of It, Scott meets with Ahmed Qureshi , Co-Founder President & COO of BILT, a revolutionary app utilizing 3D technology to deliver interactive and immersive environments to users. BILT's goal is to help companies put their products in the hands of customers through a digital format. Ahmed shares life before launching his business, including stories of his childh...

This episode of In The Thick of It features George Baker, Operating Partner at RUJO Boots. George has an extensive career that all started with helping people find the perfect parking spot. After years of using traditional management methods, George founded ParkHub to optimize parking operations with innovative technology and subscription-based models for businesses. Today, George has a diverse po...

On this episode of In The Thick of It, we're joined by Marcus Jeffrey, co-founder of FreeFuse, an interactive video platform focused on creating immersive content experiences online.  Marcus shares stories of his upbringing and recounts early ventures into his entrepreneurial journey, including starting a catering business and a vending management company. After realizing the need for a formal edu...

Today’s episode features Roy Keeley, founder of Firm Studio.  Roy is a life-long entrepreneur who started his career selling baseball cards as a kid. Not much has changed since then, only now he’s selling technology and helping businesses bring products to life. Roy shares stories about his upbringing and life post-college, taking a job in circuit board prototyping and another selling to accountin...

In this bonus episode of In the Thick of It , a longtime friend of Scott’s, Adam Curran, gives his advice on how business owners should go about leasing or buying their first property. Adam Curran, Managing Principal at Holt Lunsford Commercial, shares the importance of working with an experienced broker and the qualifying questions you should be asking them. Plus, he gives his perspective on tren...

In this bonus episode of In the Thick of It, Scott is joined by Chris Goheen, President of Workforce Go!, a leading HR and payroll solutions provider.  Handling payroll and HR functions in-house can be complex and time-consuming, especially for growing SMBs. Chris covers the common challenges business owners face, such as keeping up with changes in HR technology and how to navigate compliances and...

On this episode of In The Thick of It, the tables are turned and Scott sits in the hot seat to tell his own founder story. Melissa Bell, Director of Sales and Marketing at Venn Technology, asks Scott all his favorite questions about his own entrepreneurial experiences. He shares memories of life growing up, his college days at Texas A&M, and the jobs that led him to discover his true passion:...

In this bonus episode of In the Thick of It , outsourced accounting expert Patrick Tam joins Scott to discuss the advantages of third-party financial support for any business. Running the financial and accounting aspects of a business is complex, time consuming, and often outside of the wheelhouse for most entrepreneurs and business owners. That’s why many companies, both small startups and larger...

In this episode of In the Thick of It, Scott sits down with Cody Durham, founder of 10 Gage Ridge Roofing, a leading roofing company specializing in providing high-quality roofing solutions for residential and commercial properties. Cody shares his unique career journey from running Texas A&M’s Chili Fest in college to owning a Jimmy John's.  He speaks of feeling like the “black sheep of the f...

With 30 years of entrepreneurial experience, Jim Taugher, founder of CI Design, Inc., offers advice on how to become a great founder in today’s episode.  Raised in rural Wisconsin, Jim followed his creative passions for art, music, and design, attending college in Arizona before moving back home to launch CI Design, a branding and design agency, at the age of 25. Today, CI Design employs over 40 p...

On this episode of In the Thick of It, Scott interviews Rick Elmore, Founder & CEO of Simply Noted, an automated handwritten notes company. Rick shares his unique journey that shaped his unrelenting drive and competitiveness, from losing his father at a young age to becoming a college football standout. Though he played in the NFL, Rick quickly realized it wasn’t his lifelong passion.  He tapp...

Get inside the mind of a scrappy solo founder as we talk with Brian Borichevsky, the CEO and pioneer behind indoor golf entertainment startup ROK Golf. With no prior experience starting his own business but equipped with ample vision, Brian bootstrapped his unique concept from the ground up, tapping into his life savings to open the first high-tech swing analysis bay location in 2018. In this epis...

In this bonus episode of In the Thick of It, HR expert Ben Haile joins Scott to explain why many founders turn to third-party experts when their businesses start to scale. They discuss how early-stage companies leverage outsourced HR services to establish infrastructure for talent management while avoiding common pitfalls. Learn when the right timing is for founders to invest in HR expertise, what...

In this episode of In the Thick of It, Scott interviews Andy Morehouse, founder and CEO of Talewind, about his journey in the entrepreneurial trenches. After working for over a decade in his father’s HR tech company, Andy made the decision to strike out on his own. He shares what propelled him to make the leap, early hiring missteps, the angst of letting employees go, and near catastrophe when eng...

In this episode of In the Thick of It, Scott has an in-depth conversation with Chris Mathew, Chief Growth Officer of Sniffle, an AI-driven telehealth platform. Chris shares his winding journey to entrepreneurship, from working various jobs in healthcare recruiting and staffing startups to finally finding product-market fit with Sniffle. Chris outlines Sniffle's mission to improve healthcare by lev...

In this episode, we learn from Jonathan Lusk , an entrepreneur who grew up in a small town in Texas before going on to attend Texas A&M and build a career in wealth management. Jonathan started out at AT&T and Goldman Sachs, but eventually left to launch his own independent investment firm. More recently, Jonathan co-founded BirdDog, an online marketplace that connects landowners with hunt...

Dave Rowe is the founder and CEO of CloudServus, an IT consulting company focused on Microsoft technologies. In the podcast, Dave shares his entrepreneurial journey, from playing college football at the University of Oklahoma to working at Dell and various IT consulting companies. A pivotal moment was in 2019 when he partnered with his "cousin-in-law" Steve to launch CloudServus, combining Dave's...

Curt Swindoll is a certified implementer of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), a comprehensive framework designed to help leadership teams gain traction. In this episode, Curt explains the EOS system which provides tools to clarify vision, solve problems with accountability, and achieve alignment. Some key EOS concepts covered include leadership team roles like "Visionary" and "Integrator...

Peter Matejcek is the founder and CEO of INHouse Video, a video production company that helps small businesses create affordable video content. In this episode, Peter chronicles his long entrepreneurial journey from fleeing communist Czechoslovakia as a child to building ventures ahead of shifting market demand and consumer understanding. After valuable learning experiences providing computer serv...

Growing up as the youngest of 8 kids in a Catholic family, Josh Green learned the values of hard work, faith, and close bonds from a young age. He originally planned to pursue politics and government after college, but pivoted to investment banking and later private equity to address his mountain of student loans. As CFO in his late 20s of an aerospace manufacturing firm, Josh helped oversee major...

Growing up on an isolated family farm in rural Canada, Cameron Hay couldn't imagine becoming an entrepreneur. But after successful stints at IBM, business school, management consulting, and leading a medical device firm, he took the leap with his brother to launch integration services firm Dispatch Integration. In this episode, Cameron shares with host Scott Hollrah the unique workings and occasio...

In this episode of In the Thick of It, host Scott interviews Taylor Brooks, founder and CEO of Simple. Taylor shares his journey from growing up in Atlanta to attending Auburn University and working various jobs before starting Simple Donation, a software company that builds online donation platforms for nonprofits and churches. He discusses the challenges of balancing a full-time corporate job wh...

In this episode of In The Thick of It, Scott sits down with his longtime business mentor Jim Woodward to discuss the value of business coaching and peer advisory groups. Jim outlines the peer group concept, typical meeting frameworks, and benefits such as community support, issue processing with other founders, and executive learning opportunities. He contrasts in-person and virtual formats and st...

In this episode of In the Thick of It, host Scott speaks with Drew Murr, co-founder of Banjax Solutions. Drew shares his unique entrepreneurial journey, from growing up in a small Texas town and playing high school football, to dropping out of Texas A&M and dabbling in real estate, to serving in the Army Reserves, and working in the oil and gas industry. He founded his first company providing...