Think Business with Tyler

After 200+ episodes, I’m hitting pause on Think Business with Tyler. In this solo episode, I share why I made the decision, what I’ve learned from these conversations, and where I’m headed next. If you’ve enjoyed the stories and insights here, I’d love for you to join me on my new show, Profit & Grit, where I dive deep into the real challenges and wins of home service entrepreneurs. Listen in for...

Vince Perri once brought in over $500K in a single year, and still found himself nearly broke. After scaling a public adjusting firm during a major hurricane surge, Vince assumed his CFO, COO, and CMO had everything under control. But the numbers weren’t adding up. Cash was disappearing, payroll was overwhelming, and his business was on the verge of collapse. What followed was a brutal wake-up cal...

Aubrey Amatelli walked away from a toxic executive role, burned out and battling workplace harassment. A year later, she bootstrapped PayRio—a fintech startup focused on cannabis and alternative medicine payments—and hit profitability without taking a salary. As a single mom of three, Aubrey didn’t just build a company—she built a system designed to withstand chaos. No outside funding. No fluff. J...

Matt Ebert opened his first body shop with $100K in credit card debt, no formal education, and no safety net. Today, he runs Crash Champions—one of the largest collision repair companies in America, with over 600 locations across 38 states. But Matt didn’t scale overnight. He bootstrapped for 15 years, maxed out SBA loans, stretched every dollar, and nearly lost everything trying to get past four...

Eric Malka crossed the border at 17 with no green card, no college degree, and just $100 in his pocket. Twelve years later, he sold his luxury grooming brand, The Art of Shaving, to Gillette in one of the most unexpected strategic exits of the decade. What started with a 250-square-foot NYC shop and a few products on consignment turned into a globally recognized brand that redefined men’s grooming...

William Holsten went from corporate marketer to carnival game inventor—then turned failure into a business-saving framework that’s helping founders avoid costly mistakes. What started as a fun idea to support a charity carnival became Pitch Burst, a hit water balloon game that gained national attention. But behind the scenes, poor materials, refund requests, and engineering missteps nearly tanked...

Michael Seitz went from dental school dropout to building a $150M+ national franchise in the pet services industry with no private equity and no shortcuts. What started with a family grooming shop in 1977 has grown into EarthWise Pet, a multi-brand platform with over 200 brick-and-mortar and mobile locations, 1,400+ employees, and a one-of-a-kind AI-powered pet dietitian. But Michael didn’t just e...

William Milliken went from digital marketing agency owner to building a multimillion-dollar business scooping dog poop, and turned it into an empire of opportunity. What started with a $1,200 Facebook ad budget and a willingness to get dirty has grown into Swoop Scoop, a fast-scaling service company with over 2,500 weekly customers and a booming online community. But Will didn’t just build a busin...

Justin Snyder went from $100 and a bag of spirulina to building an 8-figure superfoods brand—without a single dollar of outside funding. What started with borrowed packaging and orders fulfilled from a local health shop has grown into Forest Superfoods, a thriving ecommerce business known for premium, organic supplements. But Justin didn’t get there by following the playbook. He bet on brand integ...

Estil Wallace went from addiction and jail to building a multimillion-dollar recovery center—by applying the same 12-step grit to entrepreneurship. What started with 10 beds and a mission has grown into one of Arizona’s leading behavioral health agencies. But it didn’t happen by playing it safe. Estil had to stop doing $10 tasks, hand over control, and become the kind of CEO his company actually n...

Marcos Rivera went from a 410-square-foot apartment in the Bronx to running one of the fastest-growing pricing consultancies in tech—Pricing IO. But six months after launching his business, the world shut down. Clients vanished. Revenue dried up. And Marcos faced the question every founder dreads: Should I quit and go back to corporate? With two young kids and a newborn, he nearly did. Until his w...

Graeme Barlow went from selling digital loot at age 10 to scaling Iversoft past $10M by doing what most founders won’t—letting go of control to grow faster. But when a major funding round fell through and his company was down to negative 60 days of cash, Graeme had to face the hardest leadership moment of his career: telling 28 employees to take their computers home—because there might not be an o...

Terry Rich went from farm kid to national TV, led a zoo from near-bankruptcy to success, then uncovered the biggest lottery fraud in U.S. history. But it wasn’t luck or gimmicks that made him a turnaround expert—it was a relentless mix of creativity, calculated risk, and an unshakable ethical compass. When handed a $600K deficit at a failing zoo, he didn’t raise millions—he sold poop. Literally. T...

Michael Ritsema bought a tech business at the worst possible time—right before the industry collapsed. Three months in, he hadn’t taken a paycheck, had no leads, and had just remortgaged his house to survive. Most people would’ve walked away. Michael kept showing up. Then two deals landed. It changed everything. That persistence didn’t just save the business—it laid the foundation for a thriving I...

Robert Bush Jr went from investment banker managing $30B deals to "coffee salesman with a cause," then built a business model that's reshaping how celebrities create global impact. But when his NBA legend partner Dikembe Mutombo was diagnosed with cancer, and a global pandemic shut down international supply chains, he discovered what truly matters in business... Not celebrity endorsements or fancy...

Chuck Blakeman Built 13 Businesses Across 4 Continents—Then Discovered Why 99% of Entrepreneurs Fail Chuck Blakeman was told he’d never be employable—so he built 13 businesses in 10 industries instead. But after decades of grinding, he realized the real reason businesses fail isn’t cash flow, competition, or even bad luck… It’s because the owner gets tired. Now, he teaches entrepreneurs how to bre...

John St. Pierre built a $55M business, raised $20M in private equity… and was fired from the company he co-founded just six months later. But instead of walking away, he turned that gut-wrenching moment into the foundation for a new $100M+ business — built patiently, profitably, and on his terms. This episode is a raw, no-fluff masterclass in scaling smart, protecting your equity, and bouncing bac...

Paul Shrater went from selling a million-dollar Hollywood script to building a multi-business empire that powers product brands for celebrities, creators, and even NASA. His journey is a masterclass in grit, innovation, and scaling smart systems that run without the founder. Through bootstrapping, operational focus, and saying “no” to bad deals — Paul proves you don’t need outside money or hype to...

Dan Soviero shares his journey from depression and near-death to building a multi-business sports empire focused on impacting over a million kids through athletics. Through grit, purpose, and structured leadership, he transformed rock bottom into a mission that’s driving explosive growth and cultural excellence. • Surviving a suicide attempt at 16 and finding purpose through coaching youth sports...

Jared Rosenthal shares his incredible journey from corporate CEO to launching Health Street—starting with a self-painted RV and scaling it into a nationwide drug and DNA testing business. He reveals how relentless grit, late-night emergencies, and hands-on hustle led to a tech-powered company serving over 50,000 clinics across the U.S. • Left a CEO role to start mobile drug testing out of a used R...

Llance Kezner shares his journey from a career layoff to building Millie’s Sipping Broth, a multi-million-dollar brand disrupting the beverage industry. He reveals how he and his wife turned a simple homemade solution into a nationwide retail success, landing deals with Walmart and Sam’s Club while maintaining product quality and innovation. • Pivoted from a corporate career to launching a food bu...

RT Custer shares his incredible journey from a simple idea on a golf course to building Vortic Watch Company and Colorado Watch Company, reviving American-made timepieces. He reveals how he scaled a niche business, fought and won a six-year legal battle against Swatch Group, and is now expanding U.S. watch manufacturing to new heights. • Transformed antique pocket watches into high-end wristwatche...

Welcome to the show where entrepreneurs spill the real stories behind their success. I’m your host, Tyler Martin, and today we’ve got Connor Paddon -- a guy who dropped out of high school to chase poker dreams, only to build and sell businesses worth millions. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Picture this: a deal he thought would make him rich ended up a total bust -- all because he skipped the f...

Are you struggling to grow your business while maintaining your sanity? Meet DJ Moore, an entrepreneur who's mastered the art of balancing growth with purpose. In this episode, we dive deep into DJ's journey from corporate burnout to building a multi-million dollar company. You'll discover how he tackled cash flow issues, implemented game-changing systems, and learned to lead with empathy. DJ shar...

Ever thought about how a floral business could revolutionize an industry? Meet Michael Jacobson, the visionary behind French Florist, who’s doing just that. From corporate consulting to floral entrepreneurship, Michael's journey is anything but ordinary. But what are the real challenges in the floral world? Michael breaks it down, revealing how French Florist tackles industry stagnation and elevat...