166: JD Hilzendager: "Building a Business is More About How You Think Than What You Think"

This conversation with JD Hilzendager, COO of ViaOne, is a masterclass in how to think, not what to think when it comes to building businesses. JD breaks down how his team evaluates opportunities across industries, why culture is their true operating system, and how empowering people to challenge decisions leads to better outcomes.From saying “no” to AT&T deals to building companies around passionate operators, this episode explores the intersection of decision-making, culture design, and long-term thinking—all grounded in real-world execution. 👤 About the GuestJD Hilzendager is the COO of ViaOne Services, a private equity-backed organization operating across telecom, healthcare, and multiple verticals. He’s spent over a decade building a system that allows teams to launch, acquire, and scale companies by pairing strong operators with world-class infrastructure and culture. 🧭 Conversation HighlightsBuilding Businesses Without Industry ExperienceThe “beach ball” analogy: the product doesn’t matter—systems and people doFocus on core business functions (marketing, ops, finance) over niche expertise Pair passionate operators with a strong internal machine Opportunity Selection & Decision-Making"Just start” → action creates data, and data informs direction Avoid falling in love with the product—stay loyal to outcomes, not ideasThink in 5–10 year horizons, not short-term wins The Power of Saying NoTurned down AT&T multiple times due to execution risk Refused to let sunk cost drive decisions Built a culture where anyone can stop a dealCulture as a System, Not a SloganCulture = “common tongue” for how the company operates Grounded in frameworks like The 7 Habits and The Four AgreementsReinforced consistently over years—not a one-time initiative Team Design & Human DynamicsUses tools like Culture Index to map personalities and roles Avoids stacking similar personalities (“you can’t have multiple pistons”) Designs teams intentionally for complementary strengths💡 Key TakeawaysExecution confidence > opportunity excitementThe best deals are the ones you can actually deliver onCulture is built through repetition, not intentionGreat teams are engineered, not assembledEmpowered people create better decisions than top-down control❓ Questions That Mattered How do you evaluate an opportunity in an industry you don’t understand?  What allows a company to confidently say “no” to massive deals?  How do you build a culture where people challenge decisions safely?  What’s the balance between speed and diligence in decision-making?  How do you design teams that don’t implode under pressure? 🗣️ Notable Quotes “It doesn’t matter what the widget is—it matters if you have the right people.”  “You don’t have to do the deal.”  “I’d rather do no deal than a deal I can’t execute.”  “Try to be the dumbest guy in the room.”  “You can’t have two people who both want to be pistons.”  “Culture is the common tongue of how we operate.” 🔗 Links & ResourcesCheck out ViaOne Services' Website: viaoneservices.comFollow JD on LinkedIn