WillPower Podcast

On this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will sits down with Aaron Scott Young, Chairman and CEO of Laughlin Associates. Over 50 years, the firm has helped more than 200,000 entrepreneurs start, grow and protect their businesses. Aaron has spent more than four decades in the trenches with business owners, and he’s built several multimillion-dollar companies of his own. He started his first busine...

On this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will sits down with Michelle Wagner, a Napa Valley Realtor and published author of several books. Michelle has built her career in one of the most distinctive real estate markets in the country, where vineyard estates, wineries and luxury homes all trade hands, and she’s seen firsthand what it takes to serve buyers and sellers when the stakes and the expec...

What does it take to start a business at 21, take it public, and sell it for a tenfold return before turning 40? In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will sits down with British serial entrepreneur, investor, and mentor Gary Ashworth, who has founded or backed around 30 companies across recruitment, healthcare, and property in the UK and Dubai. Gary walks through his path from accountancy rec...

Most founders hit the same wall: every deal still runs through them. In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, I sit down with Marcus Chan, founder of Venli Consulting, a sales training and revenue consulting firm whose 700+ clients have generated over $950 million in revenue. Marcus specializes in helping CEOs build sales teams that can run without them, so the business keeps growing even when th...

This week, Will and co-host Rick Segal sit down with Chris Meek and Dave Jarecki, the duo behind the new book Keeping Our Nation's Promise . Chris spent more than 30 years in finance, including time at Goldman Sachs, before turning his focus to service. He is now CEO of Soldier Strong, a charitable organization that uses medical technology to help American veterans take their next steps forwar...

On this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will sits down with Kyle Fugatt, founder of Hotel Launch and a short-term rental and boutique hotel operator with over $30 million in assets under management. Kyle has built his business at the intersection of hospitality and real estate, both operating his own properties and coaching investors on how to launch and scale their own boutique hotels. Kyle bre...

What does it actually mean to lead with extreme commitment—and to follow through on your word, every single time? In this episode, Will sits down with Steve Farber, founder and CEO of The Extreme Leadership Institute, bestselling author, and one of the most respected voices in leadership development today. Steve's team has helped more than 25 companies earn spots on Best Places to Work lists,...

On this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will sits down with co-host Rick Segal and special guest Anya Cheng, Founder & CEO of Taelor, an AI-powered clothing subscription service reimagining how men shop for and wear clothes. Before launching Taelor, Anya spent over a decade in Silicon Valley leading product and growth at companies like Meta, eBay, Target, and McDonald's — including a piv...

In this episode, we welcome Arti Finn, co-founder of Orijin, alongside co-host Rick Segal, for a conversation about reimagining opportunity for individuals impacted by the justice system. Arti shares the story behind founding Orijin in 2014 with a bold mission: creating pathways to living-wage employment for justice-impacted individuals and helping break the generational cycle of incarceration. We...

What happens when getting fired turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to you? For Ramon Ray, it was the spark that launched an entrepreneurial journey most people only dream about. Ramon spent years working a stable job at the United Nations, juggling two young kids and a growing family — until he was let go for being too entrepreneurial. Instead of seeing it as a setback, he took it a...

What if you could skip the property altogether and buy the debt instead? In this episode, we sit down with Scott Carson — known throughout the industry as "The Note Guy" — to unpack the world of mortgage note investing. Scott has spent years teaching investors how to buy distressed and performing notes directly from banks, effectively stepping into the bank's shoes. Instead of managi...

What do commanding a nuclear submarine and building lasting wealth have in common? More than you'd think. In this episode, Rick and I sit down with Gary Pinkerton — a Navy veteran who spent over 30 years as a nuclear submarine officer, including commanding the USS TUCSON, before pivoting into a second career as a Wealth Strategist. Gary opens up about the wake-up call that changed his financial tr...

What if you could buy and sell real estate without ever walking into a bank? Chris Prefontaine, Chairman and Founder of Smart Real Estate Coach® and 4x best-selling author, has built an entire movement around exactly that. A 3-time Inc. 5000 honoree and former Forbes Business Council Member, Chris has guided his community to hundreds of successful creative finance transactions across North America...

What happens when a technology leader who's helped scale a therapy organization from 70 to 180 clinicians decides to build the tool he always wished existed? You get Ambiki — and you get Kevin Dias. Kevin is the founder of Ambiki, an EMR and practice management platform built specifically for pediatric speech, occupational, and physical therapy practices. Before launching Ambiki, Kevin served...

What does it take for a high-achieving executive to step off the traditional path, relocate to Spain, and build a life of true freedom — without sacrificing success? Billy Keels has done exactly that, and he's made it his mission to help other ambitious C-Level leaders do the same. Billy is a national bestselling author, the host of the top 1% globally ranked podcast Going Long , and an execut...

Jon Ostenson has seen both sides of the business world — 15 years climbing the corporate ladder, including a VP of Sales role at Carter's overseeing $350M in revenue, and then a full pivot into franchising. Now, as Founder of FranBridge Consulting and a top 1% franchise consultant in the US, Jon spends 90% of his time helping everyday people discover the freedom and wealth that come with ownin...

What do running ultramarathons and scaling a $283 million real estate portfolio have in common? Everything — if you're Jason Yarusi. This week, host Rick Segal joins the show as we sit down with the founder of Yarusi Holdings, a man who has built and exited a construction company, restaurants, a brewery, and now over 2,500 apartment units since 2017. Jason doesn't just talk about disciplin...

Ken Gee — Founder and Managing Member of KRI Partners — traces a remarkable career journey that took him from running Cessna flight schools in Northeast Ohio to closing over $2 billion in real estate transactions. With stops at a regional bank, Deloitte's M&A practice, and the front lines of multifamily investing, Ken breaks down what 26+ years in the trenches has taught him about capital,...

Welcome back to the show. Today's guest is someone who has spent decades making an unforgettable mark on both the big screen and daytime television. You know him as the intimidating Mike Barnes — the villain who squared off against Daniel LaRusso in Karate Kid Part III — a role he beat out over 2,000 other hopefuls to land. He then reprised that iconic character in Netflix's smash hit Cobr...

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Downs, Co-Founder and CEO of the Belrose Group, a company focused on acquiring and operating self-storage facilities across the country. With over 20 facilities and $50M+ in assets under management, Joe has built a scalable model in one of the most overlooked sectors of commercial real estate. We break down how he got started, why self-storage continues to outp...

In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Rick Segal and Will Holdren sit down with Eric Wiklendt, Partner and Managing Director at Speyside Equity, to break down what private equity actually looks like behind the scenes. With over 15 years at Speyside, Eric has been directly involved in sourcing, operating, and exiting investments across manufacturing businesses. Before that, he served as CEO of...

In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, we are joined by Todd Dexheimer, Principal at Endurus Capital and VitaCare Living, to break down how he built a $550M+ real estate portfolio across multifamily, senior living, and commercial assets. Todd started investing during one of the most uncertain times in modern history—the 2008 financial crisis—and has since scaled into large institutional-level d...

In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will interviews Brian Murray—a multifamily investor with GP equity in over 15,000 units and co-founder of Open Door Capital, which has grown to over $1B in AUM. Brian shares how his journey started with building Washington Street Properties into an Inc. 500 company, and how that led him into the world of multifamily investing. But beyond the numbers, this...

In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will is joined by co-host Rick Segal and special guest Matt Picheny—a real estate investor, operator, international speaker, and author with over 15 years of experience and 12,000+ apartment units acquired nationwide. Matt breaks down what it really takes to syndicate real estate deals the right way. From structuring deals and raising capital to avoiding c...

In this episode of the WillPower Podcast, Will sits down with Giuseppe Grammatico, also known as “GG the Franchise Guy” — a franchise veteran, coach, author, and speaker who has helped countless individuals break out of the traditional 9–5 and step into business ownership. GG shares how franchising can be one of the most overlooked paths to building wealth and achieving the American Dream. We dive...