The Deal Junky Podcast

Ben Kelly's pivot came from JP Morgan's private wealth desk. Every $30M+ client got there the same way: built a business and sold it.He ran his first acquisition as a side hustle, taking a gym CRM from $12K to $100K MRR while still employed and matching his JP Morgan salary without quitting. His fourth deal taught him due diligence the hard way: $800K in accounts receivable with no deposits attached. He closed it down and hasn't cut corners since. His current accounting firm rollup buys at 2.5x EBITDA and exits at 10-12x.You don't get paid until the end. That's the whole strategy.00:00 Introduction03:00 Transition from military to acquisition entrepreneurship06:45 Experience at JP Morgan and private wealth management12:15 First deal experience using networking and LinkedIn19:30 Evolution to current strategies in business acquisitions28:00 Challenges and strategies in the current economic climate36:00 Navigating acquisition entrepreneurship's learning curve43:40 Due diligence and creating an internal team50:20 Balancing family life and entrepreneurship55:10 Final thoughts on family as a foundation for success→ Follow JeremyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyharbour/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbour.jeremy/Website: https://www.jeremyharbour.com/→ Follow Deal JunkyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dealjunkyjeremyharbour/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dealjunkyjeremyharbour→ Follow BenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/benkellyone/Website: https://www.benkelly.co/

Sabri Suby's first lesson selling ink cartridges from a shipping container: nobody cares about your company, they care about themselves. He flipped his pitch from saving the planet to asking prospects for a model number and offering money, and instantly became the top salesman. This insight led him to King Kong, where he saw the gold rush: most agencies have no idea what they're doing. Join Harbour Club now : https://bit.ly/4vqzIZJJoin the Free 21-Day Email Course : https://bit.ly/4vo2v10On Shark Tank, he's ruthless about three things: founders must pitch clearly without excuses, prove they've survived real hardship, and know their numbers. The biggest mistake founders make is copying what successful people did after they won, not what got them there.00:00 Introduction04:15 Realisation and turning point in sales approach10:00 Transition to entrepreneurship and SEO discovery17:09 King Kong's unique performance-based model22:02 Entry into Shark Tank and its impact28:25 Importance of resilience tested in fire32:17 Accountability in entrepreneurs and challenges39:32 Lessons learned from early investment mistakes43:59 Future goals and expanding King Kong's reach46:34 Traditional media struggles with modern shifts→ Follow JeremyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyharbour/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbour.jeremy/Website: https://www.jeremyharbour.com/→ Follow Deal JunkyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dealjunkyjeremyharbour/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dealjunkyjeremyharbour→ Follow SabriInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrisuby/?hl=enWebsite: https://kingkong.co/

Raoul Plickat built Creator Group after realising marketing is the most transferable skill in business, and this conversation reveals why timing matters more than execution, how he scaled from clothing brands to payment processing, and what AI is actually changing in the creator economy right now.Tune in to our debut episode of Deal Junky as we cover why the creator economy shifted dramatically in the last year, making high-ticket courses harder to sell, how proper strategy beats endless split testing, and why people consistently underestimate the speed of exponential technological progress.00:00 Introduction01:58 Launching a fitness clothing brand during the rise of Gymshark05:45 Obsession with mastery and building a personal reward loop08:35 Crashing payment processors led to founding CopeCart11:54 Expanding from personal brands to consulting and agencies16:43 China’s rise, branding challenges, and car industry disruption19:08 How Mercedes flopped by misunderstanding customer behaviour23:42 The danger of judging decisions only by outcomes25:04 AI aligns to our biases and amplifies bad thinking29:41 Creator economy risks mass saturation with AI content36:56 AI orchestration in marketing strategy40:08 Most split testing has marginal impact compared to deep experience42:20 Sales slumped due to sloppy AI copywriting44:10 The next evolution: AI agents replacing PDFs and courses48:49 Risk of normalising gambling and exaggerating online lifestyles54:39 Data centres, turbine tech, and unexpected AI job creation58:41 Why full AI and automation still face real-world friction→ Follow JeremyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyharbour/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbour.jeremy/Website: https://www.jeremyharbour.com/→ Follow Deal JunkyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dealjunkyjeremyharbour/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dealjunkyjeremyharbour→ Follow RaoulInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/raoulplickat/Website: https://marketing.mba/