February 16, 2026 – Business Sergeant Chris Hallberg and NYC Billionaire John Catsimatidis episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 16, 2026 · 53 MIN

February 16, 2026 – Business Sergeant Chris Hallberg and NYC Billionaire John Catsimatidis

from School for Startups Radio · host Jim Beach

Chris Hallberg – President  & Founder of GoExpand So it was great just to get outside my comfort zone, be stretched, do things I didn’t think I could do, overcome adversity again and again and again and still find a way to win. So like military, people are resilient, and that’s why they make great leaders in business. Chris Hallberg, known as the “Business Sergeant”, is a top-ranked leadership expert, military veteran, and serial entrepreneur who transforms good companies into great ones, fast. Ranked #9 on Inc. Magazine’s Top 50 Leadership & Management Experts – ahead of Simon Sinek – Chris blends battlefield-tested leadership with the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to deliver proven results. He scaled and sold a startup during the Great Recession at an 8× multiple, built royalty-generating sales systems, and became Colorado’s first EOS Implementer, guiding 100+ teams to achieve 90%+ employee engagement rates and 100+ Best Places to Work awards. Today, he co-builds a $5M AI-driven EOS platform while coaching billion-dollar contractors, national chains, and franchises with a remarkable 85% success rate. With his no-nonsense, high-energy style, Chris simplifies strategy, strengthens culture, and shows leaders how to drive 30%+ EBIT on predictable systems. John Catsimatidis – CEO of The Red Apple Group and the Author of How Far Do You Want to Go?: Lessons from a Common-Sense Billionaire I hate doing nothing. I hate to have a day without accomplishment. I try to accomplish something every day. And how do I relax? Maybe on a Saturday night or Sunday night, we watch these new series on television, like succession, or like Tulsa. And I know when we watched succession last week, we were up to two o’clock in the morning watching it, when finally we said, enough is enough. Billionaire entrepreneur John Catsimatidis, owner and CEO of the Red Apple Group, reveals how his instincts and common sense have propelled him to massive business success in this detailed account of an incredible rags-to-riches story. Born on the small Greek island of Nisyros, John Catsimatidis immigrated to the States with his family and quickly became a true New Yorker, raised in Harlem. He went to school by day and worked in a small grocery store by night to help his parents pay the bills until, just eight credits short of graduating from New York University, he opted to work in the grocery business full-time. Today, that grocery business has become the Red Apple Group, a conglomerate with interests in energy, real estate, aviation, baseball, entertainment, and media, including the iconic radio station WABC, where John hosts leading figures in government, politics, business, and economics.  As Catsimatidis has discovered, the American Dream doesn’t come with an instruction manual—or even a sign to let you know when you’ve arrived at the finish line. How Far Do You Want to Go? tells Catsimatidis’s dynamic story, from his beginnings in the grocery business to entering the political arena, including a New York City mayoral campaign. He’s tried his hand at nearly everything, but he’s far from finished with his adventures. Now, he offers readers a glimpse into the wisdom he’s gained—and the excitement he has for what the future holds in store.

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February 16, 2026 – Business Sergeant Chris Hallberg and NYC Billionaire John Catsimatidis

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