The Best Business Podcast

Ron Alvarado Co-founded Ficks Beverage Co, the leading manufacturer of better-for-you bar products with its line of pure fruit juice hard seltzers and wellness-focused cocktail mixers. They are based in San Francisco, California, and currently expanding their two main products to national retailers such as Whole Foods, H-E-B, Target, QFC, BevMo, and Safeway. Ron and his co-founder, Mike, have been...

In 2012, David Chen dropped out from the University of Chicago to start Strikingly along with his two co founders, Teng Bao and Dafeng Guo. They moved to Silicon Valley with $100 in their pocket and were accepted into Y Combinator after eating ramen noodle in their 1-bedroom apartment for 5 months. Strikingly is a Y Combinator-backed startup that allows anyone to create a gorgeous, mobile optimize...

Entrepreneur, video strategist, avid skier, proud dad & husband. In 2010 Fritz Brumder co-founded Brandlive, the leading SaaS live video events platform for brands and retailers. In 2020 he co-founded Zipcan.com - the fastest way to enable video chat inside your website or application. Zipcan's vision is to bring video chat to every corner of the web, by making it easy to embed. Join our 🔥 Facebo...

Jim Wanner is the founder and Chief Expectations Officer at KeyMark, an intelligent automation systems integrator headquartered in Liberty, SC. KeyMark delivers capture (OCR), workflow (ECM), case management, virtual collaboration and robotic process automation (RPA) solutions to businesses and government organizations. KeyMark helps clients leverage technology, such as artificial intelligence and...

Ron Holt founded the original Two Maids & A Mop inside a 250 square foot office space on April Fools' Day way back in 2003. In their first year of operations, they cleaned less than one hundred homes and only staffed a few part-time employees. It took the business eighteen months to make its first dollar in profits and took Ron more than two years to earn his first paycheck. It was a humbling star...

Lori Cheek is an architect turned entrepreneur, Founder, and CEO of Cheekd, a mobile dating app that makes missed connections obsolete. Cheekd uses a cross-platform low energy Bluetooth technology, which fosters hyper local engagement. The app connects people in real time, versus virtual time. After working in architecture, Lori came up with an idea that led her into the NYC World of Tech and solv...

Howard Gottlieb is the founder and CEO of Read-a-thon but in the office, everyone just calls him the Big Cheese. Howard spends most of his waking hours obsessing about how to make Read-a-thon the absolute best school fundraising idea anywhere on the planet Earth. Their goal is to have every elementary school and school library in the world raise the money they need by focusing on reading rather th...

Sonny Balani is CEO of Balani Custom Clothiers, which has re-imagined the custom clothing experience as it applies to today’s client. He has designed a contemporary showroom and developed a collaborative selection process, establishing Balani as the premier custom clothier in Chicago. Join our 🔥 Facebook Group to meet other listeners of the podcast: facebook.com/groups/mipvips . This Episode is S...

In 2006, Aaron Marino started a men’s image consulting firm, Alpha M. Image Consulting, to help average men with simple common-sense advice; aimed to enhance their image, style, grooming, fashion and most importantly their confidence. Aaron Marino has been featured in countless publications, as well as guest appearances on various television and radio programs, both locally, as well as nationally....

Brett Larkin is the founder of her award-winning YouTube channel, Uplifted Online Yoga Teacher Trainings, a successful entrepreneur, and sought-after online business consultant. Join our 🔥 Facebook Group to meet other listeners of the podcast: facebook.com/groups/mipvips . This Episode is Sponsored By: Believe in People by Charles Cook is the collected stories of social entrepreneurs who created...

Seth Bacon founded Trinity Air Medical in 2013 after a successful career in the fire service. In 2015 the organization began providing health care transportation logistics specifically to transplant centers and Organ Procurement Organizations.   Want to Support the Show? Well we'd love for you to join our Patreon Group!  What's in it for you?  Well you'll instantly get a scheduled call from Austin...

Suvendu Pal, also known as Du, is the brains behind Gift Hero. When he’s not dreaming of his next wish list to create, he enjoys long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners. Join our 🔥 Facebook Group to meet other listeners of the podcast: facebook.com/groups/mipvips .   *** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our w...

Peter Borans is the president of Advanced Medical Strategies (AMS) a company he co-founded in 2003. AMS (Advanced Medical Strategies) is a healthcare IT company focused on providing clients with intelligent clinical insights and financial analytics to identify, analyze and report on the 5% of members responsible for 50% of total medical spend. Their AI-powered Predict Platform combines clinical in...

Carey Smith founded Big Ass Fans in 1999 and served as its Chief Big Ass until the company's sale in 2017. Under his guidance, Big Ass Fans grew an average of 30% a year, with offices across the globe. It made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies 11 consecutive years — a feat achieved by only 34 others — and expanded from industrial products to include a line of chic, silent com...

Gregory Raiz is a leader, speaker, and innovator. “The thing that fuels me is the desire to make things that improve people’s lives.” Greg was the founder of Raizlabs, a four-time Inc. 5000 winner and national leader in mobile and technology design and development. The firm was sold in 2017 to Rightpoint where Greg stayed on as Chief Innovation Officer. In 2019 Rightpoint was purchased by Genpact,...

Thomas Smale began his career in the early 2000s when he began building and selling small online companies. This turned into a full-time career when he founded FE International in 2010, growing the business with zero funds from the ground up and consistently doubling annual revenue, as well as the average deal size.   *** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fab...

Kevin Borders grew up in White Lake, Michigan, and first met Collage.com co-founder Joe Golden in middle school. Kevin holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and a Ph. D. in computer science engineering from the University of Michigan.   *** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Kevin Borders Inte...

As a Master Software Craftsman at RoleModel Software, Ken Auer leads some of the most talented software craftsmen in the creation of sustainable software systems. For over four decades, Ken has applied his craft as a leader of high-performance development teams. He founded RoleModel Software in 1997.   *** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Question...

Kristen Harris is a Certified Staffing Professional through the American Staffing Association and serves on the ASA National Board of Directors. She is also the Co-Founder of Portfolio Creative, which is an award-winning staffing and recruiting firm that focuses solely on the creative industry. Join our 🔥 Facebook Group to meet other listeners of the podcast: facebook.com/groups/mipvips . This Ep...

Doug Smith started Hawthorne Funds to build and protect his own wealth. That goal remains the same today and he is proud to be the company’s largest investor. Doug is the founder and CEO of Hawthorne Funds. Previously a software developer for ExxonMobil, he has gone on to buy and sell over 100 houses. More recently, he has bought and sold over 2,500 acres of rural Texas land from within Hawthorne...

Adam Hendle created the idea of the Ballsy brand when he was in the shower. Ballsy is an active lifestyle brand providing high-quality men’s personal care products that inspire and motivate thrill-seekers, athletes, and everyday guys to live life to the fullest. Their current products include Ballwash, Sack Spray, and Nut Rub Solid Cologne. Join our 🔥 Facebook Group to meet other listeners of the...

Diana Goodwin is Founder & CEO of MarketBox, a B2B SaaS product which enables service-based marketplaces and businesses to grow and scale their businesses. Diana initially founded AquaMobile, an on-demand swim lesson provider which is now the largest of its kind in North America and Australia. The AquaMobile software gave her the opportunity to start and spin out MarketBox. Join our 🔥 Facebook Gr...

Matthew Kolinski started USA Staffing Services to help entrepreneurs with the back-office operation of their staffing firms. He has been a leader in the staffing industry since 2006, when he started his first staffing firm in Chicago, IL. Join our 🔥 Facebook Group to meet other listeners of the podcast: facebook.com/groups/mipvips . This Episode is Sponsored By: According to Erica, the Millionair...

Originally trained as a medical doctor and worked 3 years in hospitals in Australia, Rob Rawson has always had the desire to start and build his own business and started several businesses even during the time when he was studying medicine. He is now the founder of Staff.com, which is software for actionable productivity metrics and Timedoctor.com, which is time tracking and productivity for remot...

Megan Bennett has been part of the Light Years Ahead team for over 18 years. Her expertise focuses on managing clients and exceeding their expectations on a daily basis. She has spearheaded and implemented countless successful PR campaigns on behalf of numerous brands and is proud of the positive, lasting relationships she cultivates with the media on an ongoing basis. Join our 🔥 Facebook Group t...