Uncommon Wealth Podcast

Why do some entrepreneurs build businesses worth millions while others build companies that never reach their full potential? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with entrepreneur, investor, author, and Entrepreneurs On Fire founder John Lee Dumas for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, wealth creation, business strategy, failure, tax planning, personal fre...

The Hard Truth About Scaling a Business That Doesn't Depend on YouWhat does it really take to build a business that can grow beyond its founder? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with mortgage industry veteran, entrepreneur, and CMS Mortgage CEO Corrina Carter for an in-depth conversation about business growth, leadership, entrepreneurship, succession planning, wealt...

The $100 Million Mistake That Cost Him Everything What happens when rapid success, unchecked growth, and ego collide? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with real estate investor, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and multifamily coach Mike Morawski for a powerful conversation about business growth, wealth preservation, leadership, failure, resilience, and rebuilding after l...

In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John Cachia sits down with entrepreneur, investor, former professional skateboarder, Commune Capital co-founder, and Thousand Oaks Mayor Mikey Taylor for a wide-ranging conversation about wealth, identity, business exits, investing, and legacy. Mikey shares the mindset shifts that shaped his journey from becoming one of the world's top professional skateboar...

What if everything you’ve been told about short-term rentals is wrong? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with serial entrepreneur, investor, and Build STR Wealth founder Bill Faeth to uncover the real strategies behind building a profitable real estate portfolio that creates cash flow, protects your time, and generates long-term wealth. Bill shares how he went from nearl...

What if everything you've built could disappear because of taxes, bad planning, or a lack of liquidity? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with entrepreneur, real estate investor, educator, and author Chris Rood for a powerful conversation about wealth creation, wealth preservation, tax strategy, liquidity, and long-term financial freedom. Chris has spent more than a...

What happens when a highly successful entrepreneur gets hit with the toughest business cycle of his life? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with multifamily real estate investor and entrepreneur Mark Kenney for a candid conversation about resilience, risk, wealth, taxes, liquidity, and the realities of building a business during uncertain economic times. Mark shares the...

What does it really take to build a law firm that can scale nationally without sacrificing client results? In this episode, John McDonough sits down with Brett Sachs, Founder and Principal Attorney of MVP Accident Attorneys, for an in-depth conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, business systems, law firm growth, financial strategy, and creating long-term wealth. While many attorneys foc...

Building wealth is one thing. Protecting it, scaling it, and structuring it correctly is another. In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with Jack Mullen, Founder & Managing Director of Summer Street Advisors, to break down how institutional investors think about commercial real estate, private credit, risk management, liquidity, succession planning, and long term wealth...

What if the greatest threat to your wealth isn’t the market, taxes, or bad investments, but your brain? In this episode, John sits down with Dr. Bill Morgan, a former Marine reconnaissance operator and brain performance expert who worked with members of Congress, the White House, elite athletes, and military veterans recovering from traumatic brain injuries. Together, they unpack the hidden connec...

Most founders think growth builds wealth. It doesn’t. Structure does. This episode breaks down what it really takes to build durable wealth through business, not just income. Tom Hogan scaled a property management company from a pickup truck into a $4 billion operation. But the real story is not growth. It is discipline, structure, and long-term positioning. You will hear how he and his brother bu...

This episode features Cyrus Jaffrey, an entrepreneur who turned adversity into opportunity and built a fast-growing business from the ground up. From escaping war as a refugee to scaling a company and navigating a major exit, Cyrus shares the real story behind growth, pressure, and high-stakes decisions. You will hear how success brings new challenges, especially around taxes, capital gains, and f...

This podcast is built for business owners, operators, and builders who want real insight, not theory. Each episode breaks down how high performers actually grow companies, manage risk, and build long term wealth. You will hear real stories from entrepreneurs who started at the bottom and worked their way up. From scaling a steel company to launching multiple brands, this show focuses on execution,...

In this episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast, John McDonough sits down with entrepreneur and former pro athlete Bob Lachance to break down what it really takes to build—and more importantly, protect—wealth as a business owner. Bob shares his journey from professional hockey to real estate investing and eventually building multiple businesses, including a virtual assistant company serving the rea...

If you are a business owner, founder, or part of a high net worth family, you have probably heard that a life insurance strategy is best in class. This episode challenges that claim with one simple question. Best based on what assumptions? John McDonough, J-Mac, sits down with Seth Wasserman and Eric Schultz of Three Points Insurance Design, a carrier agnostic case design firm that does not sell i...

Oleg Bortmann, CEO & co-founder of The Brokery—a premier boutique brokerage redefining luxury real estate in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Oleg shares his immigrant-to-entrepreneur story, the pivot from pharma to property during the Great Recession, and the systems behind scaling to five offices and 100+ agents while keeping a white-glove, concierge experience. We dive into:Working on the business v...

Mark Peebles, founder of People’s Group and Navex Realty, to explore his incredible journey through real estate, entrepreneurship, and leadership. From losing everything in the 2008 crash to building one of the fastest-growing brokerages in the Midwest, Mark shares how faith, resilience, and generosity shaped his approach to business and wealth. You’ll discover:• How Mark rebuilt his career and fo...

On this episode of Uncommonwealth, John sits down with Dr. Manoah McClendon—Army veteran, entrepreneur, and founder/CEO of Trade Secrets Academy. Dr. McClendon’s story spans Atlanta housing projects, military service, real estate riches, a 2008 wipeout, living in his car, and rebuilding through trading, education, and faith. He shares how he scaled an academy to tens of thousands of students globa...

In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, host John McDonough sits down with Ruslan Desyatnikov, Founder & CEO of QA Mentor, a global software testing company with 11 international centers spanning Ukraine, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, and beyond. From launching a one-man consultancy to surviving COVID, navigating the war in Ukraine, and scaling during economic downturns — Ruslan’s journey is a...

Matt Burke, founder of Verivest and veteran operator across private credit and real estate funds. Matt cut his teeth in hard-money lending, scaled pooled 506(c)/(b) vehicles, and eventually built Verivest to close the trust gap between sponsors and investors through fund advisory, administration, and disciplined reporting. What you'll learn:✅ Moving from one-off deals to pooled funds (and the...

We sit down with Kevin Sarbora, founder of Designed Realty, recognized as one of the Top 100 brokers in Washington State (RealTrends) and ranked in the Top 2% nationwide for client satisfaction. Kevin shares how he went from working in restaurants to becoming a nationally recognized real estate leader. He explains why he treats brokers as true licensed professional service providers, and how docum...

Turning Setbacks into Six Figures: Jeff Biebuyck on Teams, Culture & Wealth. In this episode, Jeff Biebuyck, co-founder of Frontgate Real Estate at Compass, unpacks how a rock-band past, an engineering mindset, and film/music creativity converged into one of SoCal’s most elite luxury teams. With partner Dana Olms, Jeff has grown a high-touch “boutique at scale” model serving executives, celebr...

From Oak Cliff (Dallas, TX) to IPOs. Backed by the Gates Foundation — R.A. Session II shares how to build wealth with purpose. On this episode, biotech CEO R.A. Session II (Signify Bio; ex-Taysha Gene Therapies) breaks down the journey from pro soccer hopeful to taking a company public IPO in months, why money ≠ happiness, and the exact frameworks he uses to preserve wealth, protect family, and pu...

From Failure to Flywheel: Dan Natkovsky, is the Ukraine-born co-founder & CEO of Joam—an AI-powered proptech platform helping buyers find, compare, and purchase new construction homes. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree now based in Austin, Dan turned a four-hour landing-page experiment and $9.45 leads into a multi-million-dollar, VC-funded company operating in 17+ local markets (with additional dig...

Expert Entrepreneur Reveals Lessons from Multiple Strategic Exits: From Beauty to Beverages. In this episode, John sits down with Darryl Cohen, a serial entrepreneur who has scaled and sold companies across industries—from beauty to beverages to snacks. Today, he leads Victory Food & Beverage, home to creative private-label beverage projects and the fast-growing Berserky Jerky brand on Amazon....