The Harvest Growth Podcast

Can you build a business from zero to $100 million without investors?  How do you drive initial revenues while you are low on funding?  Scott Tannen, my good friend and founder of BollAndBranch.com, answers these questions and so much more as he shares his incredible success story. In today’s episode of the Harvest Growth Podcast, we’ll cover: •Why being “old” (i.e. over the age of 30) when you st...

In today’s episode, I interview Brian Halasinski and Kirk Hyust, the inventors of the Kirk Wrench, Smoke Staxx Pans, the Rapid Smoker, and several other great products.  Brian and Kirk invent products and then license to large manufacturers so they can spend time working on the next product rather than focusing on growing a business.   In this interview, Brian and Kirk share their insights into th...

In today’s interview, I speak with William Leslie, the co-founder of Red Ace Organics.  I started working with Red Ace Organics several years ago, back in their very beginning, and it has been fun to watch their meteoric rise into nationwide retail distribution and a very successful direct-to-consumer business as well. The idea for this business came up with William saw a scary and growing trend o...

In today’s interview, I speak with Justin Hodges, the founder of UrbanIroncraft.com.  Justin creates handmade metalwork furniture such as coffee tables, conference tables, fireplace screens, shelf brackets and more.  He is truly a master of creativity, and in this episode, he shares his creative process in a way that is usable by anyone, even if you feel you lack creativity. Justin also shares how...

In today’s episode, I interview Austin Eudaly, the founder of Tom & Sheri’s Wrinkle Release, otherwise known as “Iron in a Bottle.”  Tom shares his fascinating story of how he transitioned from a successful career acquiring mineral rights from landowners to becoming an “overnight” success with a consumer product launch. If you’ve listened to many of my interviews, you know that I don’t believe...

In today’s interview, I speak with Marcos Acosta and Michael Gregorio, the founders of Beard Blanket (BeardBlanket.com).  It’s an amazing pre-shave wrap that prevents and eliminates ingrown hairs, razor bumps, razor burn and even acne.  You’ll get a smoother shave, but you’ll also enjoy the relaxing sensation of a hot towel on your face each morning. Marcos and Mike founded this company just over...

Jim DeBetta has been a coach and mentor to thousands of inventors over the years.  His core area of expertise is helping them get into retail stores.  Jim’s success all started with his own sport optics product that turned into a multi-million dollar business, and since then, he has helped many of his clients achieve similar success. In today’s interview, we discuss how to take a product that is h...

In today’s episode, I Jon interviews Curtis Kennedy, the 23 year-old founder of Vertiball, the precision massager that mounts on walls to make personal muscle care effortless.  The product is one of those rare ideas where you say, “why didn’t I think of that” when you first see it.  Vertiball is so logical and intuitive.  If you ever have muscle pain or soreness, you have to check it out at vertib...

In today’s episode, Jon interviews Lori Barzvi, founder of the My Solemate pumice stone and foot soap product that has been a best seller on Amazon since 2014 as well as the Love, Lori brand of personal care products.   Lori’s entrepreneurial journey started with a tragedy that has inspired Lori ever since.  The night before 9/11, Lori Barzvi’s brother, Guy, who was 29 years old and making a six-f...

In today’s episode, I interview my good friend, Sergei Baranoff.  After I first worked with Sergei, almost 10 years ago, our paths didn’t cross for a few months, and by the next time we spoke, he had formed relationships with several of the top As Seen On TV companies.  In an insular business like this, it can be hard to break in, but Sergei was successful because of his integrity and his core pri...

Sol-Lux EOS Automatic Window Awnings were invented in 2018, and already in 2019 they are seeing great success.  They are the world’s first smart awnings that automatically extend and retract based on sunlight, wind and temperature so you can keep your home cooler in the hot months and prevent sun glare so you can keep your blinds open and enjoy the view from your windows.   Sol-Lux is a startup di...

Do you have to be an expert in a certain field in order to invent a product for that category?  In today’s interview, Mark Eshelman proves to us that someone who is not an experienced gardener can launch a gardening product that ends up selling over 10 million units.  Since that launch of the Planket 15 years ago, Mark has successfully invented and launched several other products, and he shares hi...

BioLite Energy has an impressive mission: bring energy everywhere.  To date, over 1 million people in sub-Saharan Africa have light and electricity thanks to BioLite Energy.  In order to bring their innovative products to emerging markets at a price point that the local residents can afford, the company uses its revenues from their outdoor recreation users to help offset the costs for developing n...

How would you like to learn how to get your product into retail stores?  Or, if you already have some distribution, this interview will help you understand how to grow into even more stores, and how to do so profitably.   In this episode, Jon LaClare interviews Bill Feaster, Regional Sales Director for NSM (National Sales & Marketing), a premier master retail broker that works with new and exi...

In this episode, Jon LaClare interviews Bethany Wilcox, Harvest Growth’s Marketing Director and in-house Facebook Genius.  More formally , she’s known as a Facebook Certified Buyer, which is quite a difficult distinction to achieve through formal Facebook testing.  More importantly , she has mastered the Harvest Growth system for helping clients quickly achieve profitable Facebook and Instagram ad...

In this episode, Jon LaClare interviews Ethan Woods, founder and CEO of Grillbot, the world’s first automatic grill cleaning robot.  Simply place on your grill, press the button and you’re done!  It really is that simple, and the results are nothing short of incredible, which is one reason the Grillbot has generated several million dollars in revenue.  Ethan shares the story of how the Grillbot wa...

In this episode, I interviewed my good friend Bob Circosta.  Bob was the world’s first Live TV Shopping Host over 40 years ago, and he helped create the whole industry which now includes HSN, QVC and many other U.S. and international Live TV Shopping channels.  Bob shares the story of the first product ever pitched, back when HSN was a radio station that launched a show called the International Su...

In today’s episode, I interviewed Brian Gannon, founder of Loop (joinloop.com).  The loop display is “the world’s simplest digital frame” that helps you to send pictures and videos to your closest friends and loved ones right from your phone.  Facebook and Instagram help you to share information with a wide audience, so most of us limit how much we share.  However, if you’re like me, you don’t sen...

In this fascinating 45-minute interview, you’ll learn among other things how to use mentors to help you succeed.  Whether you are just starting out or you are a seasoned entrepreneur, mentors can help you get to the next level by avoiding common mistakes and taking advantage of proven strategies that have worked for them.  Dan has personally mentored THOUSANDS of people over the years (including J...

Steve Dean, founder and inventor of the ESPRO Sports Cleaner, built his company from scratch into full distribution in Wal-Mart and an eventual acquisition by Jelmar Products, the makers of CLR cleaning products. Steve played football for the University of Alabama and coached youth sports for many years before he founded Environmental Sports Products.  He found early success because he understood...

Dale Lewis, inventor and founder of Fortress Clothing, shares his story of how crowd-funding helped him to hit $1mm in annual revenue after a few years of struggling to grow, and he shares some of the trials that come with a successful crowdfunding launch and what can be done to grow your business after a meteoric rise from a single, short-term campaign. Previously, Dale built and sold a telecommu...

James Staake, owner of YourAmericanFlagStore.com, is an inspiration to inventors and entrepreneurs.  He started his handmade wooden flag business just 16 months ago and has already grown it into a major success.  In this episode, James shares with us the positive sides of running a true family business (his 6-year-old son is actually the inventor of their “flagship” product!).  He also explains ho...

Our host and founder of Harvest Growth, Jon LaClare, recounts the behind-the-scenes story of OxiClean.  Hundreds of outside marketers and agencies worked on pieces of the OxiClean brand over the past 20+ years, but Jon has a unique perspective FROM THE INSIDE.   Jon was a Brand Manager for Orange Glo International (the makers of OxiClean) for several years until the company was sold to Church &amp...

Jon LaClare interviews his good friend and longtime DRTV media partner, Scott Kowalchek.  Scott is the founder and CEO of directAVENUE, one of the largest and most respected Direct Response Television media buyers in the industry. Scott shares how the industry has changed over the past few years and what you can do to capitalize on the changes to be as successful as ever.  If you are looking to la...

In this episode, Jon LaClare, founder of Harvest Growth, is interviewed by Carmine Denisco on his Inventors Launchpad Podcast.  Jon shares the key elements of the Perfect Launch process that he has used to successfully launch over 350 products to market in the past 15+ years.