The Think Small Podcast

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Bill and John of Carabiner Consulting share how two veterans of the entertainment technology world, with careers spanning Broadway sound design, Walt Disney theme parks, lighting design, live event production, and the full financial lifecycle of companies in the industry, came together to build a consulting firm focused on helping small to mid-sized busi...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Dena Strehlow, Senior Director of Threotech, shares the science and commercial story behind one of the most clinically distinctive magnesium ingredients on the market today. With a PhD in food science and more than 30 years of experience spanning General Mills, ADM, and Tate & Lyle, Dena brings a rare combination of deep scientific credibility and co...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Joe Garber of Cyberiad AI shares how a team of veterans with over a decade of real-world AI experience built a purpose-built platform to solve the non-clinical front office and back office inefficiencies that quietly drain revenue from dental service organizations and multi-office dental practices. From predicting patient no-shows and optimizing scheduli...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Bruce Currin, CEO of Sunrise IT Solutions Group, shares the story of a 19-year-old Texas-based cabling infrastructure company that has survived and thrived by staying nimble, building genuine relationships, and knowing when to say no. What began as a data center migration business at a time when almost nobody else was doing it has evolved into a full-ser...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Betsy Frost, CEO of Q Mixers, discuss her journey leading one of America's largest premium mixer brands and the realities of scaling consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses. Betsy shares how her career evolved from purpose-driven startups to leadership roles at General Mills before ultimately returning to entrepreneurial companies. She reflects on the c...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Ameen Nassiri, founder and CEO of SPS Worldwide, shares the story of a company that grew from a catalog promotional products business into a specialized design, development, and manufacturing powerhouse trusted by some of the world's most demanding luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Prada, L'Oreal, Nike, and Bulgari. What began with a...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Chris Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer of Veritiv Packaging and Supply Chain Solutions, offers a rare inside look at how a nearly $7 billion specialty packaging distributor thinks and operates like an entrepreneurial solutions partner rather than a traditional distributor. With more than 1,000 sales reps, 121 distribution centers across North America, an...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Alex Tuttle, founding and managing partner of Tuttle Yick LLP, shares the winding, self-made path that took him from a small town in Connecticut through law school in Washington, D.C., a master's program in real estate at NYU, and a series of increasingly specialized roles in construction and real estate law before landing in a cubicle in the Daily Plane...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Bill Sowell, founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Sowell Management, shares how a career-defining decision to convert his personal financial practice to a fee-only model in 1995 set him decades ahead of an industry-wide shift that is still accelerating today. Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sowell Management has grown into a nearly $7 billion registered...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Doug Niemeyer, President and General Manager of TexLynx Americas, pulls back the curtain on the software that quietly powers global commerce, the barcode label design, print automation, and label management platform trusted by 750,000 companies across 170 countries. For 30 years, TexLynx has operated as the invisible infrastructure behind virtually every...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Ron Rydeski, CEO & Founder of Voltage IT, shares how a decades-long journey through software startups, Radio Shack franchising, financial services, and hands-on training with one of the nation's largest IT field deployment companies ultimately led him to build a nationwide network of field technicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2014. Voltage IT...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Dr. Giacomo Vacca, founder and CEO of Kinetic River Corp, shares the remarkable journey that took him from a physics PhD at Stanford under a Nobel Prize winner to building a biophotonics company from his home office in Mountain View, California. Holder of 82 patents and inventor of laser rastering, a technique that increased the throughput of a foundatio...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Stephen Demaayer, CEO of Novatech, shares how the company has evolved from its roots as a copier and printer sales business into a complete managed office solutions provider, combining managed IT, cybersecurity, and print management for thousands of clients across the southeastern United States and beyond. Founded in the 1980s and built through a combina...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Annie Brown, CEO of Tandem Health, shares her remarkable journey from registered nurse to leading one of South Carolina’s most comprehensive federally qualified health centers. Since becoming CEO in 2004, Annie has helped grow Tandem Health from a single clinic with 27 employees into a community healthcare system with 12 facilities, more than 300 employe...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Dr. Ferdinando Mirarchi, board-certified emergency physician and founder and CEO of MIDEO Health, shares the deeply personal clinical experiences that drove him to uncover one of healthcare's most overlooked patient safety crises: the widespread misinterpretation of advanced directives and living wills. Through his landmark TRIAD research series, a peer-...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Richard Strauss, CEO of Teak Decking Systems, shares the remarkable story of a company that has spent over four decades crafting precision teak and composite decks for yachts, super yachts, and some of the most iconic vessels in the world. Founded in 1983 and now operating as a fully matured employee-owned ESOP, Teak Decking Systems has built its reputat...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Josh Asbury, Chief Operating Officer of Infinity Software Solutions, shares how the company has evolved from a trusted transportation management software provider into a broader growth platform for freight brokers and third-party logistics companies. As the team behind BrokerPro, one of the freight industry's longest-standing transportation management sy...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Michelle Howard, owner of Southern Hospitality Home, shares how a people-first philosophy has transformed a small residential assisted living facility into a place where residents truly feel at home. With a dedicated team, remarkably low staff turnover, fresh chef-prepared meals, personalized activities, and hands-on leadership, Michelle explains why con...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Joe Terry, CEO of Culture Partners, shares how their company can unlock extraordinary results by creating clarity, alignment, and accountability around purpose, strategy, culture, and outcomes. Drawing from years of experience helping companies of all sizes, Joe explains why many leadership teams are unknowingly misaligned and how culture becomes a power...

In this special 100th episode of The Think Small Podcast, the team behind the show comes together to reflect on the journey from a single-host passion project to a thriving platform featuring conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, executives, and small business leaders across a wide range of industries. The discussion explores how the podcast evolved, what inspired each host to join the missi...

In this episode of The Think Small Podacst, Betsy Brennan, President and CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, joins the podcast to share how she has transformed one of the nation’s most influential downtown organizations into a powerful engine for economic development, urban revitalization, and community impact. Over the past eight years, Brennan has overseen a growing operation that now man...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Chris Moore, Vice President and Co-Owner of Caddis Systems, shares the story behind a machine monitoring platform that began as an internal solution for a century-old family manufacturing business and evolved into a powerful tool helping manufacturers unlock hidden capacity and improve operational performance. Drawing from his unique journey from produci...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Charles Carter, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Central and South Texas, shares insights from more than three decades in the healthcare industry and explains why business leaders have far more influence over healthcare costs than they often realize. Drawing on his experience leading one of the nation’s largest and most diverse commercial health plan markets, Cha...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Andrew Salazar, President and Managing Partner of Patriot Freight Group, shares the remarkable story of building a logistics company from a single truck and trailer into a rapidly growing transportation and logistics organization. Drawing on his background in manufacturing and quality management, Andrew discusses how Patriot Freight Group overcame a majo...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Dr. Divyan Patel, founder of Genome Explorations, has spent more than two decades at the forefront of genomic science, building a globally recognized molecular diagnostics company without a single dollar of venture capital. After helping pioneer genomic profiling at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Dr. Patel launched Genome Explorations in 2001 wit...