PODCAST · business
From the Ground Up
by Grit Daily - John Boitnott
Building something from nothing isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes vision, relentless determination, and a willingness to push through the unknown. Join John Boitnott on From the Ground Up, a podcast from Grit Daily, where founders, creators, and industry leaders share their raw, unfiltered stories about making it — or sometimes, barely surviving the ride. From the pivotal moments to the unexpected lessons, this is where real talk meets real experience.
Episodes
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Mikhail Voloshin
Mikhail Voloshin has spent years working across data analytics, software engineering, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, giving him a close view of what AI can actually do and where expectations tend to outrun reality. He joins John Boitnott to explain why companies need to define success...
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Jay Avigdor
Jay Avigdor built Velocity Capital Group around a simple frustration: small businesses often need capital faster than traditional financing channels can move. He joins John Boitnott to explain how revenue-based financing has evolved, why technology and regulation are making the category more...
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Dr. Burl Randolph, Jr.
Dr. Burl Randolph Jr. spent nearly 32 years in the U.S. Army, including three combat tours in Iraq, before turning his leadership experience toward helping organizations build healthier management cultures. He joins John Boitnott to explain how toxic behavior takes root, why organizations often...
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Robert Saltz
Robert Saltz spent decades in hospitality and higher education before realizing that many artists face the same career questions as business professionals, often with far less structure around them. He joins John Boitnott to explain why talent alone cannot answer questions about direction,...
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Aaron Pott
Aaron Pott has spent decades making wine in Napa Valley and France, but some of his most important lessons came from learning when not to impose his own preferences on the vineyard. He joins John Boitnott to discuss how Burgundy and Bordeaux shaped his approach to terroir, why he built Pott Wine...
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Todd Katcher
Todd Katcher has spent nearly two decades moving between industries by paying attention to problems other people have learned to tolerate. He joins John Boitnott to explain how a Nashville bar led to an early digital advertising network, how one conversation with a car dealer pulled him into...
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Randy Dominguez
Randy Dominguez spent decades in finance before taking an unexpected turn into documentary filmmaking and helping bring The Jersey Sound to life. He joins John Boitnott to explain why New Jersey’s musical history deserves a broader telling, how local clubs and artists helped build communities…
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Joan Dao
Joan Dao started Ilesovi after watching her mother lose more than a handbag in a violent robbery and struggle for months to feel comfortable going out alone. She joins John Boitnott to explain how that experience became a patented anti-theft handbag, why security products fail when they ignore...
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Gavin Robley
Small trucking companies face many of the same safety and compliance demands as major fleets, but without the staff, software budgets, or margin for error. ClaimShield Co-CEO Gavin Robley joins John Boitnott to explain how poor compliance can drive up insurance costs, threaten access to freight,...
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Cliff Branch
Author and longtime entrepreneur Cliff Branch joins John Boitnott on From the Ground Up to discuss the unconventional career that took him from selling stereo equipment to college students to building nationwide businesses—and eventually to writing about American politics and culture. Branch…
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Noor Shikari
Noor Shikari spent nearly 15 years in the restaurant business before reinventing her career in financial services. On this episode of From the Ground Up, she joins John Boitnott to discuss what entrepreneurship taught her about cash flow, resilience, risk, and preparing for the unexpected. She...
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Trent Dingman
Real Motors co-founder Trent Dingman explains why building unconventional vehicles requires rethinking more than the vehicle itself. From Project : ARES to localized production and rapid prototyping, he shares how Real Motors is using engineering experimentation to reduce the capital, labor, and...
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Dr. Leigh Byers
Leadership coach, consultant, author, and professor Dr. Leigh Byers explains why leadership development begins before someone manages a team or earns an executive title. Drawing on her research, coaching work, and Positive Intelligence training, she explores how self-awareness, mental fitness…
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Peter Snell
PetroVybe CEO Peter Snell explains why the rapid expansion of AI and data centers is creating a deeper conversation about the physical infrastructure behind computing. He discusses PetroVybe’s focus on natural gas production, the growing intersection between technology and energy, and why scaling...
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David Homan
Orchestrated Connecting founder David Homan explains why meaningful professional networks are built through curiosity, generosity, and trust rather than collecting contacts. Drawing on his experience connecting thousands of people around the world, he shares how entrepreneurs can build...
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Nick Kringas
LawSHIFT CEO and founder Nick Kringas explains why businesses adapting to AI should focus less on the technology itself and more on the customer problems it can remove. Drawing on his experience in restaurants, SEO, and legal technology, he shows how LawSHIFT identified the overlooked…
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Heather Cowap
SciEdScrumming founder Heather Cowap explains how Agile Scrum can help students develop planning, time management, collaboration, and self-tracking skills inside ordinary classroom work. She argues that schools often expect students to manage complex workloads without explicitly teaching the...
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Paul Shemella
Career Navy SEAL, Naval Postgraduate School lecturer, author, and caregiver Paul Shemella shares what he learned after his wife, Lena, developed Alzheimer’s disease. He explains why caregiving required him to abandon correction and confrontation, accept help, and learn how to meet his wife inside...
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Christian Stella
Precision Medicine CEO Christian Stella explains how a fourth-generation pharmacy business evolved into a nationwide compounding and fulfillment platform for telehealth brands. He also shares why the company chose to step back from compounded GLP-1 medications after shortages eased, even when…
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Sydney Thackray
Vital Ventures chairman Sydney Thackray is building civic technology designed to make government spending, legislation, and public decision-making easier for ordinary people to understand. She explains why transparency is the first layer of her broader venture-building philosophy and why she...
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Jasmine Jones
Identity coach Jasmine Jones helps women recognize the point where responsibility, ambition, and people pleasing begin to separate them from their own needs. Her work centers on self-awareness, journaling, emotional healing, and learning to make room for an identity that extends beyond work,...
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Anthony Mongiello
Formaggio Cheese CEO Anthony Mongiello grew up around the Italian cheese business before starting his own company at 26. He explains how an early lesson in competing on price pushed him toward product innovation, why food safety became a defining operational priority, and how he built a…
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Bill Houston
Recovery advocate and educator Bill Houston draws on his own experience with alcoholism, liver failure, transplantation, and long-term recovery to explain why addiction treatment cannot rely on a single model. He argues that education, evidence-based care, and individualized support can help…
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Nicki Walters
Nicki Walters, founder and CEO of Pooper Trooper, built a dog waste management company that has survived personal loss, labor shortages, economic downturns, and constant competition on price. She explains why a durable service business depends on disciplined pricing, community trust, strong...
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Ishan Jain
Ishan Jain founded YRI after discovering how difficult it was for ambitious students to access meaningful research mentorship. He discusses building a global platform that connects students with PhD mentors, supports peer-reviewed publication, and helps young researchers turn curiosity into...
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Candie Zar
Candie Zar turned a lifelong love of movement and a background in education into SWEATWITHCANDIE, a women-only fitness community in Great Neck. She shares how persistence, positive reinforcement, and a commitment to belonging helped her grow from three participants to packed classes, a second...
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Broc TenHouten
Intrinsic Power CEO Broc TenHouten explains how intelligent energy storage, sensing, and power controls can help data centers expand without waiting years for grid upgrades.
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Steve Burns
No Tip founder and chairman Steve Burns explains how his team is combining electric vehicles, robotics, artificial intelligence, and last-mile logistics to make food delivery more affordable. He discusses the company’s first rollout in Mason, Ohio, the engineering challenges behind doorstep...
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Whitney Pennington
Pennington Law Firm founder Whitney Lundy Pennington shares how she built a thriving family law practice by combining meticulous trial preparation with a client-first philosophy. She explains why empathy, communication, and boundaries are just as important as courtroom skill.
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Jessica Freeman
Beta Virtual Assistance VP of Finance Jessica Freeman shares how an unexpected pivot during the pandemic led her into crypto tax consulting. She explains why organization, education, and accurate recordkeeping matter far more than most investors realize.
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Ryan Gilligan and Jamey Cummings
JM Search partners Ryan Gilligan and Jamey Cummings explain why companies should define the business problem before hiring an AI executive. They also share what separates effective AI leaders from technically impressive candidates who may struggle to create adoption and measurable value.
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Jeffery Miglicco
PureWay CEO and co-founder Jeffery Miglicco shares how a career in sales led him to build one of the fastest-growing healthcare waste management companies. He explains why sustainable growth comes from deep customer understanding, operational focus, and solving overlooked problems.
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Ted Ullrich
Tomorrow Lab co-founder Ted Ullrich explains why successful hardware development requires more than a clever prototype. He shares how founders can reduce risk, design for manufacturing, and use AI without losing sight of the physical realities of building products.
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Lance Lewman
Actor and playwright Lance Lewman explains how his musicals about Frances Farmer and Florence Mills use live performance to recover overlooked histories, challenge stigma, and build empathy around mental health and race.
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Caroline Boudreaux
Miracle Foundation founder Caroline Boudreaux shares how a life-changing encounter in India led her to rethink orphan care entirely. She explains why the future of child welfare lies in keeping families together—and how technology is helping make that possible.
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Hannah Hayden
Sapphire Counseling founder Hannah Hayden explains why effective therapy depends on trust, authenticity, and genuine connection. She also shares how those principles shaped the growth of her Virginia-based practice and continue to guide the counselors she hires.
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Andrew Bryan
Trek Epic founder Andrew Bryan explains why experiential learning, mentorship, and even a long walk can help emerging adults understand their strengths, make better decisions, and navigate an uncertain future.
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Charles Masi
Charles Masi shares how a life of curiosity led him through physics, business, teaching, art, journalism, and film production. He explains why systems thinking matters and how creative work depends on understanding how different parts fit together.
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Matthew Fornaro
Business attorney Matthew Fornaro explains why many legal problems begin as business planning mistakes. He shares how entrepreneurs can protect their companies early, use AI responsibly, and avoid costly disputes before they happen.
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Ari Rastegar
Rastegar Capital founder and CEO Ari Rastegar discusses why failure drives growth, how entrepreneurs can navigate messy markets, and what it means to make business and real estate decisions with a 100-year horizon.
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Mimmo Cricchio
Independent travel advisor Mimmo Cricchio shares how his family's hospitality roots shaped his career, why word of mouth remains his most powerful marketing tool, and how rebuilding after major change pushed him to think bigger about travel and entrepreneurship.
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Tim Wilbur
Tim Wilbur, International Director and Leadership Trainer for Vineyard India Compassion Trust, shares how education became the center of his life’s work. Through New Song Community School in Telangana, India, the organization helps children from rural villages gain access to English-medium...
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Jon Ramer
Jon Ramer, founder and “first first follower” of the Compassion Games, explains how acts of kindness can become a framework for social change. Drawing on music, technology, Indigenous wisdom, and decades of movement-building, he shares why cooperation may be one of humanity’s most important...
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Seymour Segnit
Seymour Segnit, founder of MAGFAST, shares how a simple frustration with messy charging cables became a long, difficult, and ultimately revealing entrepreneurial journey. He explains how transparency, customer trust, product design, and persistence helped MAGFAST survive delays and rebuild…
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Ranbir Chawla
Ranbir Chawla, founder of Vardalux Collections, shares how a lifelong love of cars, watches, and mechanical beauty became a business built around smarter collecting. Drawing on decades in technology, consulting, and luxury markets, he explains why the right physical assets can create access,...
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Gina Fossitt
Gina Fossitt, founder of Dandelion BevEd and creator of the Less Booze, All the Buzz community, is helping people rethink how they drink without sacrificing connection or experience. Drawing on nearly two decades in beverage education, she explores the rise of mindful drinking, the changing…
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Mary Howerton
Mary Howerton, founder of La Belle Route Custom Tours, joins From the Ground Up to discuss how intentional travel can create deeper cultural connection and more meaningful experiences. She shares how her decades in educational and experiential travel led her to build a company focused on…
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Janese Murray
Janese Murray, founder of Inclusion Impact Consulting, joins From the Ground Up to discuss how workplace culture, feedback, and inclusion shape professional growth. She explores why playing small can become a career trap, especially for women navigating rooms where they may be underrepresented.…
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Anthony Vinci
In this episode, Anthony Vinci, founder and CEO of VICO, explains how his company is using AI, mathematics, and data science to forecast global events and improve high-stakes decision-making. Drawing on his background in intelligence, technology, hedge funds, private equity, and his book The…
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Kirsty Sharman
Kirsty Sharman, founder and CEO of Referral Factory, shares how she built a company around one of the most overlooked growth channels in business: existing customers. This conversation explores her entrepreneurial journey from South Africa to Europe and Armenia, along with her views on referral...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Building something from nothing isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes vision, relentless determination, and a willingness to push through the unknown. Join John Boitnott on From the Ground Up, a podcast from Grit Daily, where founders, creators, and industry leaders share their raw, unfiltered stories about making it — or sometimes, barely surviving the ride. From the pivotal moments to the unexpected lessons, this is where real talk meets real experience.
HOSTED BY
Grit Daily - John Boitnott
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does From the Ground Up have?
From the Ground Up currently has 103 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is From the Ground Up about?
Building something from nothing isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes vision, relentless determination, and a willingness to push through the unknown. Join John Boitnott on From the Ground Up, a podcast from Grit Daily, where founders, creators, and industry leaders share their raw, unfiltered...
How often does From the Ground Up release new episodes?
From the Ground Up publishes regularly with 103 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to From the Ground Up?
You can listen to From the Ground Up on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts From the Ground Up?
From the Ground Up is created and hosted by Grit Daily - John Boitnott.
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