Uncommon Wealth Podcast

How can someone worth $80 million get denied a mortgage on a $4 million home—even when they're prepared to put $2 million down? On this episode of the Unwavering Wealth Podcast, host John McDonough (J Mac) sits down with Rya, a mortgage lending specialist who works with high-net-worth, self-employed individuals and entrepreneurs facing challenges with traditional mortgage qualification. Ryan e...

Dr. Manoah McClendon made his first million through real estate in his 20s. Then the market collapsed. His properties disappeared, his cars were repossessed, and eventually he found himself sleeping in the one asset he still owned outright—his old Ford Mustang. In this episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast, Dr. Manoah McClendon shares the journey from growing up in Atlanta, serving in the militar...

Mark Peebles entered real estate because his father wanted someone to carry the family business forward. Two years later, the financial crisis hit. Mark says every deal he had working fell apart, he went roughly seven months without income, and after years of chasing wealth and experimenting with different businesses, he eventually lost everything. That experience changed how he thinks about money...

Oleg Bortman built significant wealth through entrepreneurship and real estate—but one of his biggest lessons is that being wealthy on paper doesn’t necessarily mean having access to cash when you need it. In this episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast, Oleg shares his journey from immigrating to the United States as a child, entering pharmaceutical sales, discovering real-estate investing through...

R.A. “Reggie” Session II has lived several careers in one lifetime. He grew up in Oak Cliff, played college soccer, briefly pursued the professional game, tore his ACL, went back to school, entered pharmaceutical strategy, learned how biotech companies raise capital, helped take companies public, participated in an $8.7 billion acquisition, and eventually founded Taysha Gene Therapies. Taysha went...

Matt Burk has spent more than three decades in real-estate finance, private lending, pooled investment funds, and fund management. But some of the most valuable lessons in this conversation come from the things he wishes he had done differently. In this episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast, Matt shares how his career evolved from hard-money lending and private real-estate funds into Verivest, a...

What can a professional poker player teach entrepreneurs about building and protecting a company? For Jared Solomon, co-founder and CEO of Five Iron Golf, the answer is risk. Before Five Iron, Jared studied philosophy, earned a law degree, played professional poker and worked as an equity-options trader. Those experiences shaped how he thinks about probability, downside protection and making decis...

Building wealth is one challenge. Keeping it, protecting it, and building a life around it is another. In this episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast, John McDonough sits down with John Casmon to explore what happens after an entrepreneur or investor starts achieving financial success. John Casmon shares lessons from his journey from corporate America to entrepreneurship and real estate investing,...

What does wealth planning after a liquidity event look like when you still own a major stake in the company that created your wealth? Brandon Bornancin explains why wealth planning after a liquidity event is not about buying more—it is about protecting your time, reducing unnecessary complexity, diversifying beyond concentrated business ownership, and deciding where your capital can create greater...

How to scale a house flipping business without becoming trapped in every renovation, contractor decision, and job site—is it really possible? Matt Lavinder explains how to scale a house flipping business by separating the owner from the daily work and building a house flipping franchise powered by local ownership, strong relationships, coaching, and repeatable real estate business systems. In this...

How does wealth preservation for business owners hold up when the next downturn exposes hidden debt, liquidity, and asset-protection gaps? Jerome Maldonado explains why wealth preservation for business owners must begin while income is still flowing. After going from earning $20,000 a month to zero with no meaningful assets, he rebuilt his financial life around income-producing investments, conser...

How can real estate investing for passive income create lasting wealth without exposing you to unnecessary risk? Kathy Fettke explains how real estate investing for passive income can create financial freedom through smart market selection, rental cash flow, due diligence, liquidity, and disciplined risk management. In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with the co-founder o...

How do you scale sales from unpredictable activity into a repeatable revenue system? Brandon Bornancin explains how AI sales prospecting, better data, and a proven sales playbook helped him rebuild after bankruptcy and ultimately generate more than $250 million in sales. In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with the founder of Seamless. AI to break down how to scale sales a...

Can multifamily investing build serious wealth without exposing everything you’ve worked for? Brad Sumrok explains why building wealth through apartments requires more than finding a good deal—it takes patience, mentorship, market awareness, and disciplined risk management. In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with Brad to discuss how multifamily investing took him from eng...

How do you scale a real estate brokerage to $100M+ without becoming trapped in daily operations? Oliver Graf reveals how the right systems, agent recruiting strategy, and scalable business model helped turn Big Block Realty into a fast-growing real estate brokerage—without relying on traditional advertising. In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with Oliver Graf to break dow...

Why do so many business owners spend decades building wealth—but so little time protecting it? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with veteran employee benefits consultant, healthcare strategist, and DPWM Benefits leader Bret Kinghorn to discuss wealth preservation, business succession, employee benefits, financial security, and creating a legacy that lasts. Drawing from...

Why do so many entrepreneurs build successful businesses—only to feel trapped by them? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with entrepreneur, AI innovator, systems strategist, and Freedom. AI Co-Founder Andrew Hathaway to discuss artificial intelligence, business systems, leadership, time freedom, financial planning, and building businesses that create both wealth and a be...

What separates real estate professionals who build businesses from those who build lasting wealth? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with Trish Dork, Founder & CEO of Elite Realty and creator of the STARS Realtor Training Academy, to discuss leadership, business systems, real estate growth, wealth creation, succession planning, and building a company that thrives bey...

How can entrepreneurs and real estate investors legally reduce taxes while building lasting wealth? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with CPA, real estate investor, and Tax Strategy 365 founder Ryan Bakke ( @ryanbakkecpa ) to discuss proactive tax planning, real estate investing, business systems, liquidity, estate planning, and wealth preservation. Ryan explains why ta...

How do successful entrepreneurs turn income into lasting wealth? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with real estate investor and entrepreneur @JustinColby to discuss the lessons he learned after losing everything in 2008—and how he rebuilt into a multi-million-dollar real estate business. They explore entrepreneurship, business systems, liquidity, tax mitigation, success...

What separates entrepreneurs who create wealth from those who preserve it for generations? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with top-producing real estate entrepreneur Kyle Seyboth, founder of the Seyboth Team and broker-owner of Century 21 Limitless, to discuss entrepreneurship, liquidity, real estate investing, business growth, legacy, and generational wealth. Kyle sh...

What does it really cost to remain unknown? In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonough sits down with Hollywood Media Coach, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and Celebrity Entrepreneur founder Clint Arthur to discuss personal branding, media authority, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and why credibility is becoming one of the most valuable assets in today's economy. Clint s...

What separates extraordinary leaders from everyone else? After interviewing more than 700 world-class leaders—including Jim Collins, Simon Sinek, Tony Robbins, and Kat Cole—leadership expert, bestselling author, and Learning Leader founder Ryan Hawk has discovered one common trait: the willingness to keep showing up long after the excitement fades. In this episode of Uncommon Wealth, John McDonoug...

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...