We Live to Build

What if the real reason most businesses fail isn't strategy or market fit, but the behavior and value system of the owner themselves? In this episode, Sean sits down with Jay Aldebert, a business consultant who has studied patterns across 88,000 businesses and identified 11 biomarkers that predict whether a company will thrive or struggle. Jay explains why he starts every client conversation with...

What if the single move almost no seller bothers to make is the one that multiplies your pipeline by eight? In this episode, Neal Goyal, a go-to-market leader who built 8x pipeline at Postpilot in just eight months, breaks down exactly how he did it using LinkedIn in a way that only one out of every hundred sellers actually does. Neal reveals why content is the last step in his three-part flywheel...

What if the key to unlocking your team's potential wasn't hiring better people, but simply removing the friction slowing them down? Shelton Mercer III joins Sean to share how a shift from a 60-day process to a 60-minute one completely reframed how he thinks about the people around him and what they're truly capable of. You'll hear Shelton break down why power is less about authority and more about...

What if the key to smarter business decisions isn't more data, but knowing when to trust yourself over the algorithm? In this episode, Sean sits down with Robert Indries, a builder and investor who was working with large language models back in 2016, long before AI became a boardroom buzzword. Robert shares why, despite his deep technical background, he still believes human intuition catches what...

What does it actually take to back yourself when the whole world seems to doubt you? In this episode, Sean sits down with Travis McGregor, a technology pioneer working to reinvent how the world handles security from the cloud to the edge, including building a world-first innovation in just 90 days. Travis opens up about the defining moment at 22 years old when he froze on stage in front of a thous...

What does it actually take to back yourself when no one else believes in you? In this episode of We Live to Build, Sean sits down with Stacie Shifflett, a self-taught entrepreneur and subject matter expert in federal government procurement and acquisition, who shares the raw story of orchestrating a 50 million dollar software company acquisition with zero prior experience at that scale. You'll hea...

What happens to marketing, consumer culture, and the businesses built around them when AI eliminates 90% of white collar jobs? In this episode, Sean sits down with Zachary Rischitelli to explore how networking, relationship-building, and human connection are becoming the most durable competitive advantages in an increasingly automated world. Zachary shares how his business has sustained client rel...

What does it really take to break through a revenue plateau and build a business that outlasts your mistakes? In this episode, Ephraim Ebstein, an MSP entrepreneur who scaled past seven figures, shares the hard lessons he learned the long way. You will hear how developing financial literacy with the help of retired CEO mentors was the turning point that unstuck his business when it was trapped bet...

Entrepreneur Scott Meier evaluated over 100 businesses before deciding to acquire three unique brands under one roof: Budsies, Petsies, and Stuffed Animal Pros. But instead of applying a ruthless corporate "roll-up" strategy, Scott chose to become a steward of an artisan-driven brand. In this episode, we dive into the world of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) and the booming "kid-alt" no...

Have you ever received terrible advice from a "successful" investor or mentor? In this episode, Igor Taber explains why taking advice from VCs who built companies a decade ago might actually destroy your startup. Because the market has drastically changed, relying on outdated experience makes these investors "credible and wrong"—the most dangerous combination in the startup world. We also dive int...

Do you do great work but struggle to consistently get referrals? In this episode, Bill Cates breaks down the exact psychology of borrowed trust and why simply doing a good job doesn't automatically make you referable. We discuss the Triangle of Trust, how to actively train your network to recognize your ideal clients, and why using 1-minute case studies is the ultimate follow-up strategy to stay t...

If you've ever felt drained, exhausted, or frustrated by traditional networking events, you aren't alone. In this episode, Davide Cannarozzi explains why showing up to a random event without a clear strategy is a massive waste of your time and energy. Instead of treating networking as a casual interaction, Davide reveals why the most elite networkers treat relationship-building like being a diplom...

Have you ever been to an event where the person you're talking to is just looking past you for their next "lead"?. In this episode, Charles Lee breaks down why treating human connection like a transactional sales funnel will ultimately hold you back. We explore how genuine business flows naturally from authentic relationships, why you need to stop asking boring questions like "what do you do?", an...

Are your AI inference costs starting to eat into your startup's budget? In this episode, I sit down with Rob May to discuss the impending shift in the AI industry: moving from massive, expensive frontier models to optimized, task-specific workflows. Rob explains why using a massive model for a simple task is like paying an astrophysicist to balance your checkbook, and how routing requests to small...

Does having ADHD make you a better entrepreneur? Transformation artist and former actress Helen Millar believes her neurodivergence is actually her greatest superpower. In this episode, Helen reveals why the ADHD brain's high risk tolerance and elite pattern recognition give founders a massive edge in business. We explore how to trust your deepest intuition, why playing small is the most dangerous...

For our 300th episode, the podcast is officially rebranding to focus on business networking! To celebrate, I brought on my very first mentor, Meir Simhi. Years ago in China, Meir helped me realize my true value in networking, which eventually led to me generating $15 million in crypto fundraising sales. In this episode, Meir breaks down his new "Product Theory" and why asking "what to sell" is the...

Are you obsessed with self-improvement? Mental performance coach and former Wall Street hedge fund manager Evan Marks argues that constantly trying to "fix" yourself actually takes you further away from who you really are. In this episode, Evan explains why he completely rejects "positive psychology" in favor of "opportunistic reality". He trains high-achievers to treat their negative emotions as...

What does it actually mean when a venture capitalist says they "don't have conviction" in your startup? Vaughn Crowe, an investor at MVP Capital , explains why VCs struggle to give founders honest feedback and what that dreaded rejection phrase really translates to. In this interview, Vaughn reveals how he sniffs out scammers versus real entrepreneurs by evaluating their true desire to build a big...

Are you getting thousands of views on your YouTube Shorts but struggling to turn them into loyal subscribers or paying clients? Ben Pines, who helped scale Elementor from $0 to $100M ARR, explains exactly why your social media strategy is falling flat and how to fix it. In this live "workshop" style episode, Ben and Sean deconstruct Sean’s own content strategy. They discuss why AI has completely k...

What will human civilization look like in 150 years? Abdo John Hajj, partner at Type One Ventures, believes we are at the beginning of a deep tech supercycle that will transition humanity into a "Type 1 Civilization"—one that harnesses the full energy of its host star and becomes truly interplanetary. In this interview, Abdo explains why space is not just about rockets, but about building the infr...

Why do most startups waste thousands of dollars on advisors who deliver zero results? Ron Levin, a partner at Alumni Ventures, explains why you should never pay a retainer to an advisor and how to structure equity-based deals that actually align incentives. In this interview, Ron shares his transition from co-founding TravelPerk (a unicorn startup) to becoming a venture capitalist. He reveals why...

Is AI about to replace your stock broker? Christine Healey, a pre-IPO investment expert, explains why Claude AI missed a critical detail in a deal that could have cost her client millions—and why human brokers are still essential in the private market. In this interview, Christine and Sean discuss the "wild west" of pre-IPO investing, how to avoid scams when buying shares of companies like SpaceX...

Is AI about to replace lawyers, or is it a "disaster" waiting to happen? Omeed Tabiei, a startup lawyer, breaks down the viral story of Fred Wilson replacing a $50k legal bill with AI and why it has the legal industry panicking. However, he also shares cautionary tales of founders who used AI templates (like Rocket Lawyer) and ended up with messy, expensive legal battles. In this interview, Omeed...

Is the new open-source AI agent "OpenClaw" a revolutionary tool for startups, or a dangerous liability that could destroy your computer and spend thousands of your dollars? Sze Wong returns to the podcast to debate Sean on the massive risks and rewards of giving autonomous AI agents full control over your machine. In this heated discussion, Sze explains why the future of startups isn't building Sa...

Are you unknowingly breaking the law by paying a commission to someone helping you raise capital? Wendy Culbertson, a securities lawyer, warns that many startup founders are violating SEC rules by paying "finders" who are not registered broker-dealers. In this interview, she explains the severe consequences of these illegal payouts, including civil and criminal liability. Wendy breaks down the com...