The Third Growth Option with Benno Duenkelsbuehler and Guests

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? The internet has changed the sales process, from the seller being contacted 20-30% into the buying process, to now much closer to the end of the process. The internet changed the dynamic and continues to shift it. Zach Murphy talks about how that changed people’s and companies’ behaviors, as buyers and as sellers.   2:08 – “The internet has democratize...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Asha Chaudhary, president of Jaipur Living (a socially conscious luxury brand of rugs and textiles), shares the fascinating story of a door-step entrepreneur model of 48,000 artisans in almost 600 villages in India, creating a beautiful product and a seamless customer experience for 1000’s of designers and retailers in the USA.   5:37 – “It’s all about...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? This episode is for C-level executives looking for a new angle on job search – Dave Marx provides a unique approach, combining his work as headhunter/recruiter with M&A support, providing job seekers an edge in resume writing, contact strategies with PE companies, and how to market yourself.   2:45 – getting a new job by finding a company for sale:...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Let’s face it, sometimes pets are smarter than people. Shawna Schuh is an executive coach, TED Speaker, and self-ascribed pet wrangler. With her refreshingly open demeanor, Shawna shares important lessons she learned from her dog, her horse, and her – yes – goat.    3:21 – “This is your gift as a leader… every challenge holds with it seeds of growth.”...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Building a culture without being a cult is both important and difficult. Lance Hart, President of DEMDACO shares his real-world experience in leading a very successful, mid-sized design and distribution company.    3:45 – culture “is the customs and norms for our organization… and our mission and purpose, those phrases are the filter for everything we...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Making a living selling to retailers, during Covid, while adjusting to a recent divorce, is not for the faint of heart. Natasha Silver, founder of Community Service Showroom, a fashion business in LA talks openly about the business and personal angles of growing in adversity.   3:05 – “Covid was… an opportunity to say ‘you know what I don’t want to do...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Calm and rational conversations about racism, and its impact ethically and economically, are hard to come by. I learned a lot from Dora Anim, COO of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, who moved to Ohio from Ghana and France and brings an important voice to the conversation.   2:07 – on Dora’s early journey “I went to college at 16 years old... excited...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? As CEO, are you ready to start or improve your board? Prepared to sell your company and maximize value? Mark Greenberg, Co-owner of Silverstone Capital Advisors in Cincinnati since 2009, a senior executive with over 30 years of operating and transaction expertise, offers valuable advice.   7:17 – “if a company has a strong board – advisory or fiduciary...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Because there is no growth without change, Tony Martignetti (Chief Inspiration Officer and host of the Virtual Campfire Podcast) and I talk about different ways to face change.  3:10 – “when you start listening to what’s your soul’s purpose, that’s something that you have to get really quiet to hear… and when you listen, it points you in directions tha...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? William Kyle moved his company from San Francisco, CA to Lexington, KY, and now runs it from Lisbon, Portugal. Along with a tour operator business in Italy. Curious about how to manage remote work teams, how distance can foster growth? Ask William, CEO of hydra Brands and Resonate Tours.  1:10-1:45 – sound of handbells…  6:45 – “It (COVID and hiring a...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? I learned, in real time during this episode, from Joe Boyd – CEO of Rebel Pilgrim and CEO of Leadercast – how growth can come from being in the moment, being present. Joe talks about the impact of improv on business growth (14:13, below), team growth (16:03, below), and personal growth (see 7:16, below).   1:21 – “…’yes, and’ – which is our mantra – it...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? James Rosseau’s story started in North Philadelphia “where there is tremendous overlap and correlation between failures in school and increased prison population”, working in a neighborhood hardware store at 14 evolved into a very successful corporate career and publishing a book, to now a “head and heart mission” building a community to help others.  ...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? James Biro is both an engineer and a passionate leader of people. When he talks about sparking teams, vulnerability, pushing the boundaries of diversity, and what growth means to him, it’s not a theoretical conversation, but one filled with real life corporate team examples that have informed his views.   4:47 - … “The thing that makes me tick is the a...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? The USA today has some 700,000 job openings not being filled due to lack of skilled candidates. Some 5 million jobs over the next decade are projected to be open (due to retirements) but not filled (due to skills gap). Stephen Tucker talks about his workforce training program, designed to reduce the skills gap, especially within advanced manufacturing,...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? HelloWoofy is a social media marketing platform Arjun Rai founded in his 20’s, from his NYC apartment, serving over 9000 customers now. Some of them became investors, over 2000 micro investors in all. I was curious about both what they do, and how he fueled his entrepreneurial growth story.   If you love the less than obvious answers about growth, you’...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Sachin Shivaram is a delightful conversation partner and listener, whether he talks about Atlas Shrugged (the novel that inspired his “curiosity and passion for working in something tangible, that was the hook about steel” that ultimately paved the road to become CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry), or balancing an outsider and insider perspective, list...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? I asked Charles Leichtweis, who wrote a wonderful book The Power of Respect in Business, to share his thoughts on respect – what it is and isn’t, how to listen longer, why respect influences relationships and results, what he learned writing a book.   7:01 – “if you ‘listen longer’ you may find by the end it will be different than you assumed in the be...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Is it better to hire a product designer or work with outside talent? Better to be a hired gun designer or hang out your own shingle? Amy Finley, co-founder of Finton Design shares her insights on all things design – how to start a project, what parts of the process can benefit from outside perspective, on working remotely, you name it, we talk about it...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Peter Friedmann is a thought leader on product-, brand-, and marketing challenges. His experience, coming from many years at Hallmark and DEMDACO shines a strong light in our conversation about branding, strategic planning, and how to remain open for new information after having built a robust strategy. I commend his organization’s commitment to sharin...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Two partners share two different growth stories – David Tramontana grew a company from 2 to almost 2000 employees (about $50M in revenues) through both organic growth and acquisition, and now he and Jim Collins lead a professional services business whose entire franchise is growing 30% per year.   We start with David’s home care acquisition-focused gro...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Here we dig into two ways to create value: growing top line (largely by overcoming supply chain challenges), and as a skin-in-the-game growth partner. David Velie is knowledgeable in both – as co-founder of Amend Consulting and as CEO of Amend Ventures.   In the first half the episode, David talks about how Amend helped a manufacturer grow revenues by...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? It takes well-conceived marketing content to be well received, leading to happy customers and revenue growth – Neil MacKenzie is a marketing veteran who shares his thoughts around branding as the starting point, touch points for multiple content audiences in the value chain, and programs that help intermediary customers (retailers) reach the end consum...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? Majda Rensberger – wholesale consumer product sales and marketing executive at national sales agency OneCoast for over 15 years – talks about the challenges of “meeting the customer where they are”, the customer journey, loyalty, retention, and the mindset that are required to embrace omni-channel selling as a way to optimize and maximize sales.   Near...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? What is Outer? How do you go from Rhode Island Design School to specialty retail to mass retail to co-founding a Series-A funded Direct-to-Consumer Brand? How is a Neighborhood Showroom a radically different new retail model?    Terry Lin takes us through his career, how he and Jiake met, started, and now run Outer. Along the way he shares with us how...

Are you looking for a Third Growth Option ℠ ? What is Industry 4.0 and why can it be a game changer? Fabian Schmahl has been around the block in manufacturing, in various industries, and he shares his insights on 4.0 – a concept at the intersection of manufacturing and technology, that effects business processes, talent attraction, efficiency metrics, employee engagement, market flexibility, capit...