OTSS Podcast

Brett Caslow followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, joining the family business of selling automotive paint to jobbers. After learning the ropes, he then landed a job at 3M, where he put his extensive experience to work in sales, sales training and marketing. Even though Caslow worked for a major corporation, he always describes himself as a “light blue collar worker,” sticking close to the auto body shops and owners he interacted with daily.Now, Caslow lends his extensive expertise to The Garage Agency. Kahn Media’s latest offering, The Garage Agency, specializes in helping collision repair facilities keep their bays full with a host of marketing services. Custom websites, local SEO optimization, social media management, AI search visibility enhancement, review boost programs and more are all offered in affordable packages.On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Caslow shares his deep insight into the current state of the auto body shop industry and the challenges it faces with host Dan Kahn. The discussion is a unique look into a sector that doesn’t get much fanfare but is almost a $40 billion industry. Click on the icon to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* The auto body industry is constantly changing.* Shops can struggle with adapting to a modern marketing environment.* Google reviews play a huge role in shop selection.* Most shops overlook important website metrics.* Finding skilled labor will soon be a struggle.The Auto Body Industry is Rapidly ChangingOne trend Caslow quickly points out is how collision repair facilities are transitioning from a reputation of dirty, disorganized shops to more professional organizations. That change is also coupled with investors now looking at auto body shops as a source of revenue. Both factors have brought rapid change to the industry.“The industry is now understanding that we can’t present ourselves as dirty collision shops. We have to present ourselves as professional corporations like everyone else does,” said Caslow. “Now, people are also investing in shops. They might not come from that space, but are looking for shops to buy and figure out how to make money doing it. There is now a mix of intimate industry knowledge and people buying up shops, so it is a nice combination.”Modernization is a ChallengeAdapting to an era where most customers find shops online can be a struggle. Many shop owners are busy people and have little time to stay on top of changing algorithms and best website practices. That is where Caslow sees The Garage Agency making an impact.“Websites in general, and why I am so drawn to this (The Garage Agency), are a huge miss for our industry right now,” said Caslow. “Our job is to help them understand that they can have a beautiful website, but if it is not doing all the right things, it is not going to make a difference. That is some of what The Garage Agency does. We take a strong look at what they are doing from a website standpoint.”Google Reviews are GoldThe critical role Google reviews play often gets lost in shops’ struggle to modernize. Those reviews now make a bigger impact than a personal referral in selecting an auto body shop. Caslow sees helping shops get more reviews and manage them as vital for The Garage Agency.“We choose our providers based on Google reviews. It is amazing in our space how many great shops only have 20 reviews just because they are not using the system effectively. They should have 220 five-star reviews,” said Caslow. “Referrals are still great and still a core part of it, but they are not the core part of it anymore. There are bigger things going on in the industry than that.”Metrics MatterYour shop can have a beautiful-looking website, but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t deliver results. A big part of getting those results from your website is paying attention to the right metrics. If you are too busy or don’t understand the role those metrics play, getting with an agency that does is a wise idea.“The other big miss I would say in almost all websites is that they are not tracking metrics on who is visiting, keyword searches and SEO,” said Caslow. “Understanding the behind-the-scenes of what is happening is important: who is coming to the website, what they are doing when they get there, which links they are clicking and who is setting appointments. All of those are the next big steps for your website that we don’t see often. Most of them are informational and not transactional.”The Skilled Labor ProblemAs the average age of auto body shop technicians rises, finding skilled labor is a challenge. Thankfully, vocational and trade schools are coming to the rescue. And, with fears of AI taking jobs, interest in them is higher than ever.“In the collision industry, one of our biggest concerns is finding skilled labor in the next 20 years. The current age of most of our technicians is 50-plus,” said Caslow. “Our vocational schools are now doing a great job of trying to recruit kids. It used to be the kids who were trouble in school and maybe didn’t have a future in the education system, you would throw them in the auto body class. That is not the case anymore, as vocational and trades are the new four-year degree in this country.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

The automotive aftermarket is a massive economic force, generating $53 billion in annual sales and a total economic impact of $337 billion. At the helm of its most influential organization, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), is Mike Spagnola, a lifelong enthusiast who transitioned from building companies to leading the entire industry as SEMA’s CEO.Spagnola’s automotive journey began from an obsession with the sounds, sights and smells of muscle cars rumbling past his childhood home. His career was then ignited by a $200 scholarship from industry legend Mickey Thompson, which he won as the top student in his high school auto shop class.Before leading SEMA, Spagnola spent decades in the trenches of the automotive industry, most notably by building Street Scene, a business that became a fixture in the lowered-truck, muscle-car and tuner market. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Spagnola shares with host Dan Kahn the vital role SEMA plays in the automotive aftermarket industry and what he has learned from his many years in the business. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our five top takeaways:* Advocacy for the industry isn’t flashy, but it is vital.* You have to make your “tent” bigger.* At the SEMA Show, it is about finding a balance between B2B and consumer audiences.* Learning to delegate is a powerful skill.* A shared passion can bond anyone.Advocating For and Protecting the IndustryOne of SEMA’s most critical functions is its extensive advocacy for the industry in Washington, D.C. The organization has tripled its government relations budget to protect enthusiasts’ rights to modify their vehicles and access to public lands for recreation. While it might not get as much attention as the SEMA Show, doing so is vital for the industry’s future.“We have to stand up for our rights to continue to be able to modify, continue to be able to do off-roading and continue to be able to have racetracks available,” said Spagnola. “In the off-road community, they say, ‘No trails, no sales.’ It is more than just protecting trails; it is really protecting that lifestyle.”Expanding SEMA’s TentUnder Spagnola’s leadership, SEMA is actively expanding its reach into the powersports and the off-road lifestyle markets. By bringing these segments further under the SEMA “tent,” the organization hopes to provide better representation and protection for all forms of motorized recreation. SEMA’s recent purchase of the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA) and the inclusion of side-by-sides at the upcoming SEMA Show are a reflection of its commitment.“Through the purchase of ORBA and some of the other things we are doing, we are really paying attention to the whole off-road community now,” said Spagnola. “We want to make sure they are protected, and we want to see them grow. We are going to be doing a lot of work this year at the SEMA Show and are doing a full powersports area and starting to grow West Hall with trucks, off-road trucks and side-by-sides.”The Evolution of the SEMA ShowThe SEMA Show is easily the largest gathering of the automotive aftermarket industry in the world. However, there has always been a struggle with whether the show should be strictly business-to-business or more consumer-facing. For Spagnola, it is about balancing the needs of all SEMA members while continuing to evolve the show.“There are still lots of mom-and-pop guys that come to the SEMA Show every year, so we need that business-to-business connection,” said Spagnola. “A lot of people now are just looking for eyeballs and branding. They just want to make sure that the consumer sees them and knows them. If you take a Meguiar’s or even Ford Motor Company, they want to see consumers and show their products to them. So you do need a consumer side, which is what we do now on Fridays and with the outdoor activities.”Don’t Be Afraid to DelegateReflecting on his career, Spagnola identified delegation as one of his greatest early challenges. Early on, he believed in leading by doing every task himself, but he eventually realized the value of empowering his team. He now focuses on providing support and encouragement rather than trying to be “the guy that’s the best at everything.”“I really had to learn to delegate. I really had to learn to trust. I really had to learn to surround myself with the best people,” said Spagnola. “That even involves your ego sometimes, with saying that you are going to let them do it to the best of their ability and trust them to do it and continue to trust them until there is a reason not to.”We All Share a PassionIt is not hyperbole to say that we live in extremely polarized times. However, one thing that unites many people, regardless of who they are or where they live, is a shared passion for cars. No matter where Spagnola travels across the world, he always seems to find and form a bond with other car people.“I’ve said for years I think we could solve world peace if we just talked cars,” said Spagnola. “We find each other, and we share that love and that passion that, I don’t know if I can put the right words together, but you just start to smile and chuckle and find this common ground. People can be so polarized today, yet when you start talking about cars and who they are and what they drive, it’s just fun. It’s just cool”. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Attention is harder to earn than ever, and video is becoming the tool brands rely on to break through. At the latest Growth Garage Lunch and Learn, Kahn Media unpacked one of the biggest shifts in marketing today: how video is driving attention, engagement and action. Hosted by Kahn Media’s Michael Serrano, the session featured insights from David Kennedy of the NHRA and Jordan Perri of Hoonigan, who shared what’s working, where brands are missing the mark and how to build a smarter video strategy.We loved this conversation so much that we decided to release it on our podcast. Here were our biggest takeaways from the conversation. Why Video Matters More Than EverBrands are no longer just competing with each other. They are competing for attention in a landscape shaped by creators, algorithms and constant scrolling.The takeaway: Success doesn’t come from doing more content. It comes from creating the right videos for the right audience, platform and purpose.For brands getting started, that means understanding who you are, who your audience is and what kind of story only your brand can tell. After that, build content that is authentic, manageable and designed to connect.Start With Identity, Not TrendsA key theme from the discussion was the importance of starting with an identity. For legacy brands like the NHRA, that means understanding the history and foundation that shaped the brand, then translating it into modern formats.The framework is simple: Start with your history, your brand identity and your audience, then build content that clearly connects all three.Each piece of content should also have a defined role. Too often, brands try to make everything do everything, instead of being intentional about what each post is meant to accomplish.Different Platforms Need Different StrategiesOne of the most practical takeaways was the need for platform-specific thinking. You cannot treat every channel the same.Content built for YouTube will not automatically work on Instagram, and vertical social content will not translate into long-form content. Yet many brands still create one asset and push it everywhere, leading to underperformance.The better approach is to plan distribution early and build content for how people actually consume it on each platform.Video Should Drive Behavior, Not Just ViewsAnother standout insight was the importance of focusing on behavior. For NHRA, success is not just about views. It is about getting people to attend events, engage with the sport and become part of the community.For marketers, this reframes success. Instead of focusing on impressions, the question becomes whether content is driving action, whether that is engagement, sharing, exploration or long-term loyalty.Those are the signals that build real momentum.Authenticity Still WinsAuthenticity came up repeatedly throughout the Growth Garage discussion. Audiences can quickly tell when content feels forced, trend-driven or disconnected from the brand.The panel pushed back on the idea of “going viral,” emphasizing that strong content comes from clarity and consistency, not chasing reach.At the end of the day, brands need to show up in a way that feels natural to both the platform and their identity.How to Know if Your Strategy is WorkingWhile metrics like views, watch time and shares matter, they only tell part of the story.The stronger signal is sentiment. How people respond to your content, whether they engage meaningfully, share it or come back for more, is a better indicator of impact than surface-level numbers.Content that sparks real interaction and community is a sign that it is resonating.Before the Camera Rolls, Get Clear on the GoalStrong video content starts before production. Brands need clarity on the goal, the audience, the platform and what success looks like before anything is shot. The more clearly the story is defined upfront, the easier it is to execute effectively.When content is built with that level of intention, it performs better and delivers more value.The Hook Matters but So Does the ExperienceThe first few seconds still matter. Attention is earned quickly and lost just as fast.But effective hooks are not about gimmicks. They are about creating immediate interest and pulling the viewer into the experience in a way that feels natural.If the content makes the audience feel like they are part of the moment, it is far more likely to hold attention.The Big TakeawayThe clearest message from this session was that effective video content starts with intention. The brands getting it right are not chasing every trend, reposting the same asset across every platform or optimizing for vanity metrics. They are creating content with a clear purpose, a strong understanding of their audience and a thoughtful approach to where and how that content appears.That is the real attention shift. Attention is no longer something brands can assume they will get. It has to be earned through relevance, clarity and authenticity.When video is built that way, it becomes one of the most powerful tools a brand has to capture attention, build connection and drive action. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Danny Combs didn’t set out to be the head of a non-profit that makes a huge difference in the lives of neurodivergent individuals. In fact, he spent most of his high school years working in the trades in the summer before serving a stint in the Air Force. After that, he moved to Nashville to pursue a music career.However, it was the birth of his son that radically changed Danny’s trajectory. After his son was diagnosed with autism, Danny found that most of the programs designed to help his son were deficit-based. Instead of telling his son what he was good at, the programs told him everything he needed to improve. Danny looked for programs that would focus more on his son’s abilities but couldn’t find any.That fact led Danny to create TACT, a Colorado-based nonprofit that teaches vocational skills to neurodivergent individuals and helps them find jobs. He would also become the director of the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office, a state-led organization that maximizes support for new and innovative programs benefiting Colorado’s disability community. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Danny discusses with host Dan Kahn why he started TACT, its critical mission and how neurodivergent people can make a positive impact in today’s workplace. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* The trades offer great career paths for neurodivergent individuals.* Changing the traditional educational model to better fit the needs of TACT’s students required radically different thinking.* Creating TACT required a “just do it” mentality but also the right team.* The focus and loyalty of neurodivergent people can make them ideal employees.* It is time for business owners to question the narrative built around autism.There is a lot of Opportunity in the Trades (Especially for Neurodivergent People)The massive increase in college costs and the rise of AI have led many people to consider vocational opportunities instead. With the previous focus on jobs that require degrees, there are also many unfilled jobs in the trades. These facts align perfectly with TACT’s mission and are a huge benefit for its neurodivergent students who might not thrive in a traditional college setting.“The trades offer so many opportunities. I think part of the reason TACT has such a high placement rate is that those businesses (in the trades) are seeing how talented our kids are. They are recognizing that, oh my gosh, this is an untapped talent pool,” said Danny.“When TACT started, it was me driving around in a ’58 Chevy, pretty much begging them to hire our graduates and look at all the things they can do. Now they come to us.”A Shift in ThinkingFounding TACT required some significant shifts in thinking. First, Danny wanted to create an organization that focused on the abilities of autistic individuals instead of their supposed deficits. He also wanted to abandon the traditional time-based educational model, where people spend a fixed amount of time in programs before advancing. Both shifts played key roles in the success of TACT and its students.“At TACT, it is competency-based rather than timetable-based. So you and I went to high school for four years, and if we went to college, it was for four years. If you ask any educator why it is four years, nobody knows,” said Danny. “It seems to be this arbitrary number that we have come up with. But if you can do the job and you can develop the skills, why can't you just move along at that point?”Just Do ItCreating TACT seemed like a giant undertaking, but Danny’s advice for anyone considering something similar is to just do it. While he threw himself at TACT with an almost reckless abandon out of sheer passion, he was smart enough to surround himself with the right people. Recognizing where he needed help was key to TACT’s survival and success.“It (starting TACT) was very, I wouldn’t say foolish or reckless, but more like a dad throwing everything into it and just going for it,” said Danny. “My education and trade background helped, but I had never written a grant before and didn't understand how it worked. Or how it works with the state and federal governments. I surrounded myself with people who did know all of that, and thankfully, those people have always ensured everything we do is very much above board.”Locked In and LoyalMany neurodivergent individuals possess a unique skill sorely missing from much of today’s workforce: the ability to focus completely on a task until it is done. They are also highly appreciative of those who hire them and stay loyal to those employers. These facts can make them extremely talented and valuable employees.“When you look at our graduates, they are on task. They do not want to talk about what they saw on Facebook, what they did at the bar last night or who won the Broncos’ game. They want to work. That is what they want to do, and they are there to work,” said Danny. “Likewise, they are incredibly loyal. Once they get placed, they are not looking to go to theshop across the street for a quarter more because they are happy and feel valued and respected.”Questioning the NarrativeFor business owners thinking of employing neurodivergent individuals, Danny notes that it is important to question the traditional narrative built around autism. By doing that and keeping an open mind, they can wind up with an awesome employee. Hiring someone with autism also isn’t just for charity, as they can make as big an impact on your business as you do on their lives.“I would encourage people to have an open mind and question the narrative that a lot of us have learned about autism. I would guess that when a lot of people hear the word 'autism,' they think it is a bad thing. That is what I thought when my son was first diagnosed with autism,” said Danny. “But as we are learning more, a lot of us are recognizing that this isn’t something we should shy away from or be afraid of. Maybe there is an opportunity for a demographic that we haven’t even recognized as there that we can bring into our businesses. I would encourage them to look for the programs that are supporting that talent in their area.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Johannes Crepon of Paramount Data Management (PDM) knows a lot about product data. That might sound boring to some business founders who are more focused on developing actual products than on the data behind them. However, having the right product data is crucial for any automotive aftermarket e-commerce operation. Without ACES, PIES and other data standards, figuring out which parts fit which vehicles and other important information quickly becomes a mess, and selling those parts becomes almost impossible.Johannes experienced this firsthand when he launched his own e-commerce business focused on selling hot-rod and classic Mustang parts in Europe. As the company grew, adding more parts to the site quickly became challenging with data of varying quality. Pivoting from his original business, Johannes founded PDM to address the challenges of inconsistent, fragmented and complex data in the automotive industry.On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Johannes sits down with host Dan Kahn to discuss the important role product data plays. It is an in-depth and interesting discussion of an often-overlooked but critical subject. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Accurate product data offers many benefits.* Product data affects every channel of your business.* Understanding the reasons for having good product data makes your brand more successful.* Create the right infrastructure to ensure product data is accurate across your company.* Build the right team and continuously invest in it.The Benefits of Good Product Data are HugeSome think of product data as minuscule details that don’t really matter. However, it affects everything from how your product appears on a site to whether consumers can even find it in the first place. Not paying attention to or having bad product data can have a significant negative impact on sales, as online consumers have little patience for errors.“If you take it (product data) seriously, you will come out ahead. It is such an opportunity for companies now to really differentiate themselves from knock-off products and other companies,” said Johannes. “Building a brand and having that effort you put into it pay off has never been greater in my opinion.”All Channels Benefit from Good Product DataAnother misconception about product data is that it is narrowly focused. However, because it affects so many aspects of e-commerce, the benefits of good data reach far and wide. Sales, marketing, wholesale distribution and all of your other channels perform better when product data is accurate.“The beauty is that while you have that one channel you are optimizing for, all of your other channels are going to benefit from good product data,” said Johannes. “All channels will benefit from you taking cataloging seriously, at least for one channel to start. Then companies start to see the benefits across all their channels.”Don’t Just Check the BoxProduct data is about a lot more than just checking a box. According to Johannes, the companies that win with product data are the ones that have a clear understanding of what it is for. Without that vision, perfecting product data quickly becomes just another mundane task on a to-do list.“The most successful suppliers we onboard are coming with a very specific objective. If the goal is that they just want to have ACES and PIES because someone told them to, whether external or internal, then they typically fail, because they are just checking a box,” said Johannes. “The most successful suppliers come with an objective. They see that they have an opportunity to grow their business with a customer, but they need better product data.”Build Your Infrastructure FirstJohannes notes that for any entrepreneur starting a business, it is important to consider where product data lives and to build a proper infrastructure around it. Often, product data comes from multiple sources and resides in different systems. If that data doesn’t match across your company, it can be extremely frustrating for your customers.“This is why it is so important, this is true whether you are a hard parts supplier or a performance parts supplier, as you are setting up your company, and if you are taking it seriously and it’s not a side hustle, to really start thinking through what are the data points that are relevant to your business and which system owns that data point and how are those systems connected,” said Johannes. “You don’t want to run down the road, and a year later, you are trying to normalize and sync a lot of different systems. There is nothing more frustrating for a reseller than if they get data from you, but your website tells a different story.”And Build the Right TeamAs an entrepreneur himself, Johannes has naturally had his fair share of struggles. The key to getting through them (and avoiding some of them in the first place) is to employ the right people. Just as important as building your team is to continuously invest in it, especially in a rapidly evolving workspace.“Build the right team and invest in your people. AI has a sense of doom to it that everyone is going to be out of work. Frankly, some people will be negatively affected as AI becomes more present,” said Johannes. “But on the flipside, people who embrace it and don’t shy away from it will benefit greatly, especially in their own professional careers. This is why, for me, as a CEO with a team of amazing people, I want to make sure they are not falling behind. It serves us as a company, but it also makes all of us so much more successful professionally.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Velocity’s Tom Maxwell on “Only The Strong Survive”Initially, Tom Maxwell wanted to be an actor and got a degree in creative writing while attending university in the U.K. However, he quickly realized that pursuit would only be good enough for “beer money” and pivoted to a more steady corporate job. Corporate life turned out to be a bit too monotonous for Tom, and he made another pivot. This time, he landed at one of England’s premier Land Rover restoration specialists. It was there that his passion for cars and the business of restoring them was born.That pivot to a career in automotive restoration perfectly set him up for his current role as Velocity’s chief revenue officer. A premier builder of reimagined classics like early Ford Broncos, Mustangs, trucks and Chevy K5 Blazers, Velocity has revolutionized the restoration process with transparent pricing, no endless timelines, warranties, bespoke options and dealers nationwide. In his role, Tom is responsible for growing sales, marketing and the customer experience.On this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Tom shares with host Dan Kahn his deep insight into selling to a completely different customer base and the restoration market. It is a highly informative discussion for anyone selling high-end products or starting their own shop. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Always be passionate and knowledgeable about your products.* The restomod market is still going strong.* You have to do something different to stand out in a crowded market.* Sales are more than just transactions.* Hire people, not resumes.Be Passionate and Be KnowledgeableVelocity’s offerings stretch well into six figures, so selling them takes different tactics than cheaper products. For Tom, it is not about convincing someone to purchase a Velocity build. Instead, it is about being knowledgeable and just as passionate about Velocity vehicles as potential customers are.“The biggest thing I have learned, and that we train into our sales guys, is that you have to be passionate about what you’re selling and you have to have the knowledge,” said Tom. “The truth is, these customers are all ultra-high-worth individuals, and they don’t like to be sold to. They don’t need to be sold to because if they are passionate about it, they are going to buy from you. It is then about building trust, and that trust comes from answering their questions, having knowledge of the product and being equally as excited about it as they are.”The Restomod Market is HugeYes, the restomod market can be thought of as a niche industry, but it isn’t a small one. In fact, it continues to grow every year and attracts even more customers. It is a fact that even an industry veteran like Tom is surprised by.“What surprises me is how big this cottage industry has become. I remember back in 2017 or 2018 when I was doing Defenders and selling the first $100,000 Land Rover. We danced around like we invented fire,” said Tom. “Now, if you are going to build a restomod Defender, and that market is having a bit of a tough time at the moment, but certainly six to 12 months ago, you were going to be spending $350,000 for that sort of product. Seeing how this market has changed, seeing the appetite, the appeal and the fact that it hasn’t slowed down and continues to grow, that surprised me a lot.”Create Something DifferentIf you want to compete in a crowded market, you have to differentiate yourself from your competition. While there are plenty of shops selling restomods, Velocity operates on a different business model: fixed pricing, warranties, quick delivery of a custom vehicle and inventory ready for sale. Velocity has also built many vehicles, meaning there are no bugs to work out.“You can go to places and spend really good money and still have issues,” said Tom. “If anybody has owned a classic car before, they will know the worst feeling is being really excited on a Friday night because they know the weather is going to be good on Saturday morning. Then they get in their car, and it doesn’t start, or it leaks or something doesn’t work. So a thing you are paying for (with Velocity) is consistency and knowing you can enjoy your vehicle when you have the time.Sales are Consultative, not TransactionalIt is easy for a salesperson looking to meet a quota to see a sale as a transaction. However, when a customer is spending six figures, that logic doesn’t work. For Tom, sales should be more of a consultative process, with his role being to guide decisions and answer questions. If you view a sale as only a transaction, you’re more likely to lose it, regardless of price point.“I think all good selling at whatever price point has to be consultative. Our sales are definitely more consultative than most, and they are also passive. You can’t push. There are some people who come in and know what they want immediately, and that can be more transactional,” said Tom. “But a lot of the time, people have lots of questions, and it might be the first time they have ever purchased a vehicle like this.”Hire the Person, not the ResumePeople can “look good on paper” with impressive resumes and backgrounds. However, for Tom, it is essential to look past a resume when hiring someone. A person might seem like a good fit on paper but not be the right fit for a company in the long run.“Early in my career, I looked at the resume rather than the person. I was trying to hire people on paper who felt like an amazing fit,” said Tom. “I should have known better, because I knew nothing when I got started. People might not be interested in products, but they are interested in people, customer service and standing for the right things. I had to learn that the hard way. I had two or three people who were very well paid and had incredible backgrounds, but just weren’t the right fit here.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

From a young age, Mark Neifeld knew he wanted to be involved in sports. However, unlike most kids who dream of being a star quarterback or center, Mark wanted to pursue a career in sports management. After graduating from college, his first job at the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning allowed him to pursue that dream. Eventually, he would also work with the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.However, as a natural entrepreneur, Mark decided to head out on his own and create his own path. The result is the Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), a unique saltwater fishing championship with over a dozen rounds of competition spread across the Atlantic, the Gulf and Cabo San Lucas. Using cutting-edge technology, the SFC delivers all the action from its tournaments to online viewers in real time.Launching the high-stakes billfishing tournament with multi-million dollar boats, multiple stops and covering competition in the middle of the ocean was no easy task. Making it sustainable over the long run was an even bigger challenge. On this episode, Mark shares with “Only The Strong Survive” host Dan Kahn what he learned from launching the SFC, what it takes to keep it going and how it was the ultimate test of his entrepreneurial skills. Click on the icon above to watch the entire interview, and here are our top five takeaways:* Absorb as much knowledge as you can from those around you.* Doing discovery before launching a business is critical.* Understanding why your idea or product hasn’t existed before is also essential.* Long-term thinking always wins over short-term profits.* Successful entrepreneurs can’t be afraid of failure.Be A SpongeMark credits a lot of his success to being around the right people early in his career. Whether they were mentors, leaders or successful entrepreneurs, Mark tried to learn as much as he could from them. His advice is to always “be a sponge” and absorb as much wisdom as you can from others.“I had the great opportunity to work with all the people over at Teall Capital and Ben (Sutton) and all the people he had worked with for over 20 years. You know, just be a sponge,” said Mark. “I was younger back then, but I really was just a sponge. If you have an opportunity to have access to someone who really wants to mentor you and will tell you how they built their business, take it.”Look Before You LeapMost entrepreneurs like to move fast. However, not taking the time to understand what you are getting into can ultimately lead to failure. For Mark, a detailed, lengthy discovery process for his idea of a saltwater fishing league was hugely beneficial. It helped him get an idea of what potential pitfalls were ahead and how to best tackle them.“Turn of the calendar year on Jan. 2, I told myself I was going to put 90 days on my calendar to do discovery,” said Mark. “For me, at the time, I didn’t even really know what the problems or opportunities were. I was just asking questions. So I started picking up the phone and calling major tournament owners and asking them why there isn’t a PGA Tour of fishing?”Know the WhyBeyond discovery, Mark notes that it is also essential to understand why something you are trying to make doesn’t exist. The answer to that question for a saltwater fishing championship was that all of the action takes place in the middle of the ocean. There was simply no way to bring the fishing live to online viewers. However, that was about to change with the advent of new technologies like Starlink.“If we did what everyone else was doing, we wouldn’t be here right now. Bass fishing has been live for a long time. Why? Because you can transmit from a lake, back to a truck, and up and out. But try broadcasting from 450 miles offshore in the middle of the ocean,” said Mark. “So I got into it with SpaceX and learned about the LEO grid and where they were in that project. That was March of 2021, and as soon as I had that information, it was go time.”Always Think Long TermFor entrepreneurs, there can be a struggle between short-term profit and long-term thinking. Often, the two can be at opposite ends of important business decisions. However, for Mark, thinking long-term is key and leads to a more sustainable brand that also generates a profit.“My thing early on was that we needed to build the PGA Tour of fishing. The PGA is a 100-year league, so we needed to build a 100-year league. We need to think about how we can build a sustainable product with a strong business model behind it,” said Mark. “Ultimately, I am a capitalist and an entrepreneur and a red-blooded American. We want to create jobs, we want to lift the community. The captains, the mates and the people who work on these boats are superstars. We have to do our part to elevate them across sports media and entertainment culture.”Never Be Afraid of FailureFear of failure is something that paralyzes many. However, for entrepreneurs, that fear must be set aside completely. According to Mark, one has to accept that failure is part of entrepreneurship. If you don’t let go of that, you will never take the many chances required to be successful.“As an entrepreneur, you have to be prepared to fail. I fail all the time. I have failed with SFC, with certain projects or initiatives, or things like that. For me, I have never been afraid of failing,” said Mark. “I am saying all of this because hopefully there is a listener out there who has an idea, has the know-how, and has thought of a business and wants to go out and pursue that business. If I could speak to that person, I would say that you can’t be afraid to fail.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Jason Noel’s path to success, like many entrepreneurs, has been long and hard-fought. In high school, he discovered a love of woodworking and carpentry and quickly landed a construction job after graduating. Once he reached the six-month mark in his employment, Jason decided to launch his own contracting operation. He quickly learned that, without any formal training or business education, being his own boss was difficult. However, he made a go of it until the 2008 recession wiped out most new construction. Soon, he was forced to close the business, and a divorce shortly after capped off a very miserable year.Jason pivoted to real estate but soon missed the creative process of building something with his hands. While searching for another career path, his father-in-law had an old pickup that they both rebuilt. After selling it for a profit, buying another and doing the same, the idea for Fat Fender Garage was born. Now, Fat Fender Garage has gone from a one-man shop to a leader in parts, restorations and complete high-end builds of vintage trucks with over 70 employees.Achieving success with Fat Fender Garage wasn’t instantaneous or easy for Jason. Along the way, he learned several hard lessons about entrepreneurship and running a business. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive Podcast,” host Dan Kahn discusses with Jason how he rose to the top of the highly competitive restomod market and the lessons he absorbed along the way. Click on the icon to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Most entrepreneurs consider quitting at some point.* You have to identify mistakes and take action to fix them.* Your needs can often be the same as your customers.* You will never succeed if you aren’t willing to work hard.* Integrity is everything in business.The Go/No-Go PeriodEvery entrepreneur faces a moment when they have to decide whether to move forward or to fold. For Jason, that time came when his neighbors finally got tired of his backyard shop. He either had to take on the cost of moving into a much larger, legitimate shop or close his doors. The decision really came down to how much he believed in himself and his product.“This was a go/no-go period for me. Do we take on the risk of moving and all the extra expense and money? We are barely making it as it is. Deep inside, I had this belief that we had created something and started something that could be pretty good,” said Jason. “We had a really good product and brand that we were developing, and I always felt like I was almost there. I kept saying that for several years. So we decided to go ahead, let’s lease the building and committed to a three-year lease.”Figure Out What Went Wrong and Fix It QuicklyRecognizing mistakes and then rectifying them is pivotal for any business. That lesson is especially true for brands just starting, as Jason learned after moving into the new shop. A handshake deal fell apart, costing the business significant money. Jason knew he had made a mistake and had to fix it quickly for Fat Fender Garage to succeed.“We made a lot of changes. We put contracts in place and took the good-guy handshake deal out of it. We just said that we are running a business on these terms, and if you don’t want us to build for you, you don’t have to hire us. But if you wanted us to work for you, it was based on these terms,” said Jason. “I just decided we weren’t going to be the cheapest shop in town anymore, and we weren’t going to be doing things the way we did before.”Find a Need and Fill ItOriginally, Fat Fender Garage had no plans to be in the parts business and only wanted to focus on vehicle builds. However, after making their own parts to simplify those builds, Jason thought others could use those same parts on their trucks. His notion was correct, and his customers had the same needs. The parts side of Fat Fender Garage was born.“I could buy all these parts, but they aren’t technically designed to go into the vehicle. They are designed to go into any vehicle, but they are not designed to go into my vehicle exactly the way they should. So we learned quickly that, in order to do it correctly, it was going to require fabrication,” said Jason. “I didn’t want to make a one-off of something five times; that is annoying. So what we started doing was making a part that works for us, because we are doing the same vehicle over and over. When that comes up next time, we just grab it off the shelf, and it makes it easy. That is how we got into the parts business.”You Have to Put in the WorkJason freely gives advice to others who ask him how to succeed. However, all the knowledge in the world won’t help if you aren’t willing to put in the work. If you are going to start your own business, you have to be prepared for it to take a lot of effort to succeed, because it absolutely does.“We have people show up at the shop, and I give them the tour. I tell them that I will tell them everything that I am doing. I can show it to you, I can tell you about it, and I can give you all the tips and tricks,” said Jason. “But I can’t actually do the work for you. So if you are not willing to do the work, you are never going to get there. You have to be willing to put the time, the effort and the work in.”Integrity is EverythingWith a business that sells a six-figure product, integrity is everything for Jason. Without a stellar reputation, clients will look elsewhere. However, he notes that integrity isn’t enough for oneself, but should apply to everyone you do business with. And you need to be prepared for those who don’t think the same way.“I want to have the utmost integrity in everything I do. However, I learned that not everybody is like that, not everybody is that way. So, as we are working in our businesses, only align yourself with people who have the utmost integrity and show who they are by the way they live their life and the things they are doing,” said Jason. “You can align yourself with those people, but those who don’t have that kind of integrity, just be careful because they are probably only going to be looking out for themselves. That might get you if you are not prepared for that.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Corky Coker originally had no plans to enter the family business. His father had originally started Coker Tire in 1958 as a small shop that sold tires, performed retreads and handled light maintenance jobs. Even though he grew up as a “car guy” with his uncles and dad constantly working on Model As and Ts, Corky wanted to be a veterinarian. However, after getting all “Bs” in college (babes, brews and banjos, according to Corky), his father promptly told him to come back and help run the family business.Corky took over what, at the time, was a small niche of the business, focusing on finding tires for classic and collector cars. Having flipped cars before he could legally drive and working in the tire shop since he was a kid, Corky quickly found success. Over the years, he painstakingly grew that niche into the main business, turning Coker Tire into a global leader in tires for collector, antique and restored vehicles.On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Corky shares with host Dan Kahn how he grew Coker Tire from a small family-run business into an iconic brand. Filled with deep insight from decades of experience, Corky’s knowledge is valuable for any entrepreneur, leader or CEO. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Success is all about finding the right niche and owning it.* There are pros and cons to private equity.* Suppliers play a larger role in a brand’s success than most people realize.* Investing in quality always pays off in the long term.* Work hard, but don’t ignore your family.Find Your Niche and Own ItCoker Tire is a prime example of how crucial it is for a business to find its niche and own it. The company initially started as a more general one, selling tires and performing small maintenance jobs. However, zeroing in on manufacturing specialty tires for collector and antique cars unlocked growth that never could have been achieved in Coker Tires’ original, more generalized form.“Anything that you do, do to the best of your ability. Just explore and learn everything there is about it,” said Corky. “A niche, a specialty, our business was classified as a niche. I basically owned that niche because I knew everything about it. I knew what the customer wanted, and I knew how to find out what the customer wanted. You have to stand before them and show them empathy and integrity, and that you are one of them.”The Dilemma of Private EquityPrivate equity has made a significant entry into the automotive aftermarket, purchasing multiple businesses. With his children not interested in running the business, selling Coker Tire to private equity made sense for Corky to retire. However, he notes that the move did not come without some unforeseen downsides.“Private equity has a different attitude about people,” said Corky. “Most private equity firms hire smart people, but they don’t hire people from the industry very often. That is a big mistake because they tick off their customers, their suppliers and their employees. That is their dilemma, and they have come into our industry and paid a lot of money (for companies).”Your Suppliers Are Extremely ImportantMany companies focus on introducing new products and services to stay constantly ahead of their competitors. However, according to Corky, your relationships with your suppliers are just as important. You can create as many products as you want, but none of that matters if you can’t get the supplies needed to manufacture them. Solid relationships with your suppliers are a key to success.“The hardest part of making Coker Tire a success was sourcing product. We developed products at great places, and we became partners with our suppliers,” said Corky. “That is what some of the private equity folks don’t get. They go and hire buyers from big corporations who believe everything is a commodity, and they try to save five cents here and there. We developed relationships with our suppliers to begin with, so I was always able to get on their production schedules.”Quality Doesn’t Cost, It PaysCoker Tires’ ability to grow and scale over the years has been impressive. Central to that growth was a relentless pursuit of quality with its products. While some may view quality as a cost, Corky explains that investing in it always pays off in the end.“Quality doesn’t cost, it pays. The pursuit of the best you can do pays. People look for it, they desire it and they will tell others about it,” said Corky. “When you have a problem with a product, and you don’t handle it, that guy will tell seven people. If you have a product that is wonderful, you might be on a podcast with a guy who has your tires on his hot rod and loves them. Quality does count, and it does pay, and I am thankful for that.”Advice for Entrepreneurs from Decades of ExperienceHaving built Coker Tire from a small family shop to a global leader in specialty tires, Corky’s knowledge runs deep. Thankfully, he doesn’t gatekeep any of that expertise that comes from decades of experience. His best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is a simple mix of hard work, family and sticking to what you know.“Make a list and be about it. Number two, do what you know and do it well. Work half the time, that is 12 hours a day. Pay attention to your family and don’t ignore them. I did when I was a young adult, and I was out on the road doing 200,000 miles a year on airplanes, etc. My kids grew up without me, and that is one of the reasons they didn’t want the tire company,” said Corky. “But that was God’s grace for me, too, by the way. I sold the company in December of 2018, and the market just started declining somewhat, then COVID happened, and it hasn’t been the same since.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

2025 has been an amazing year for the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast. Throughout the year, we recorded 25 episodes, bringing our total to 55 installments of OTSS since its launch just over two years ago. We have had some fantastic guests since the start, sharing their insightful knowledge on entrepreneurship, marketing, running a business and what it takes to be successful in today’s ever-changing business environment.For this special episode, we decided to take a look back at some of our best episodes from “Only The Strong Survive.” Rather than just one guest, this unique episode features a multitude of leaders, authors, experts and entrepreneurs sharing their deep insights with host Dan Kahn. Give it a watch to see our favorite and most impactful moments from “Only The Strong Survive,” and we have even more in store for 2026. A special thank you to our guests and viewers who have helped make it a great year. Here are our top five takeaways from this episode:* Company culture is just as critical as the products you make.* Running a modern business involves having lots of emotional intelligence.* True leaders aren’t afraid to ask for help.* Building a community around your brand is central for creating a connection with your customers.* Ikigai is a path to happiness.BluePrint Engines CEO Norris Marshall on Crafting Company CultureCompany culture is often overlooked in the drive to produce more products and create new ones. However, it is essential and should never be ignored. Recognizing this fact long before company culture became a more recent focus, Norris Marshall carefully built the right one. The move proved wise, as Marshall built a brand that employees want to be a part of and move forward.“I guess the culture comes from me, how I want to treat our employees and how I expect our managers to treat our employees. I start with the idea that everybody wants to do a good job, and you just have to find a way to let them,” said Norris. “I also do believe that people are capable of a lot more than we realize if we challenge and encourage them. So, I am big on challenging and encouraging. I’ve got a lot of push, and I am not easy to work for. At the same time, I am on their side, and I want to help them. I think you need to make it personal, too. People need to know that you care about them, and when the moment arises to show that, you really need to show up.”Hellwig CEO Melanie White on How Running a Modern Business is DifferentMelanie White wasn’t always sure that she wanted to run the family business. In college, she pursued a degree in psychology instead of the “usual suspects” of business, finance or marketing. However, that choice proved to be a wise one, as running a business today is different. Now, understanding how to motivate and interact with a wide range of employees is just as important as technical business know-how.“I feel like it (the psychology degree) has helped me quite a bit,” said Melanie. “Now, it is a very different time when businesses are lucky to have team members. So, it is a shift that we have to make that is subtle but really important. As a business, we have to look at how to motivate our team members, attract them and be a really good place to work.”Not Your Average Joe’s Tim Herbel on True LeadershipBusiness leaders often have pretty big egos, and sometimes, rightfully so. However, that same ego that helped build a business can also destroy it. Thinking you know the solution to every problem is a surefire way to slow or reverse your brand’s growth. A true leader will recognize their limitations, ask for help and surround themselves with people who can assist them.“Once upon a time, I had a lot of talent, and I knew it. The ego got in the way, and it wasn’t until I failed miserably at life and had some time on the anvil that I realized that I don’t have all the answers,” said Tim Herbel. “It wasn’t until I failed and learned from failure that I learned what leadership is. Leadership is about being transparent and saying, ‘I don’t know, and I could use your help.’ Learning to ask for help as a leader is hard. But if you do it, you get surrounded by a good team.”Author and Marketing Expert Mark Schaefer on the Importance of CommunityBrands can be hyper-fixated on the next great product or idea. However, building community is just as crucial for a company as its products. Developing a community creates a connection with your customers that keeps them consistently returning to your brand, rather than your competition.“As human beings, we don’t just want community; we need community because it helps form our identities. No matter what happens in this world, if a brand can create a community, it is the ultimate emotional connection,” said Mark Schaefer. “People don’t just love your soft drink or your cosmetics; they love each other in a community, and they will literally belong to a brand.”SEMA’s RJ De Vera on IkigaiIkigai is a compound of the two Japanese words “iki” and “kai,” which roughly translates to “a reason for living.” However, the concept of Ikigai builds on this translation by finding fulfillment through aligning one’s passion with their skills and talents. For anyone looking to start their career, RJ De Vera notes that Ikigai is well worth exploring.“Everyone says to find your passion, but I think there is more to it than that. There is this philosophy called Ikigai. It comes out of Japan, and it is this idea that you merge your passion and your skill,” said RJ. “So, what do you love, what are you passionate about, what are you good at, what does the world need and what can you get paid for? My advice to people would be to find the center point of all of those things. If you love car culture, develop the right skill set in something that can help you make a living, which is hopefully something that this culture and world needs. I think that is where you find success.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Peter Nam is unique for starting not just one successful brand but two. After graduating from Boston University with a degree in finance, he struggled to find a job in his field immediately following the burst of the dot-com bubble. Instead of continuing his fruitless search, Peter decided to launch a passion project selling high-quality carbon-fiber parts for European vehicles. Over 20 years later, Vorsteiner remains an innovative force in crafting aerospace-grade carbon components for exotic and high-performance vehicles.Having been passionate about cars since childhood, Peter realized that modern cars were quickly losing their character and were overburdened with technology. In response, he founded Gunther Werks in 2017. Zeroing in primarily on the Porsche 993 platform, Gunther Werks completely reimagines the 993 to perfectly blend modern technology with an analog driving experience. Today, Gunther Werks is well-known across the automotive world for pushing the boundaries of performance and bringing back the joy of driving with its meticulously crafted and highly sought-after vehicles, such as the Turbo, F-26 and the GWX.On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Peter discusses what it was like to build two successful businesses from the ground up and the vital lessons he learned along the way. Click on the icon above to hear the entire insightful interview with host Dan Kahn, and here are our top five takeaways from the discussion:* Success never comes easy.* Entrepreneurship involves wearing many “hats.”* Learning on the job and rapidly adapting is a key to success.* Efficiently producing a product will be your biggest challenge.* Don’t count on people changing their ways.Expect to StruggleMost people only see Vorsteiner’s current state as a highly successful brand. However, like many startups, there was a long struggle to get Vorsteiner where it is today. Success never comes easy, and you should expect plenty of adversity along the way. If you don’t like struggling, then entrepreneurship probably isn’t for you.“It was quite a struggle, actually, trying to penetrate the market where people were used to buying from high-end German tuning brands, and here I was, an American-based brand, trying to make products for BMWs,” said Peter. “It was a struggle to convince people that our brand and our products were on the same level as our competitors. It took years for us to break through and penetrate that market.”Expect to Wear Lots of HatsUnless you have significant financial backing for the launch of your brand, you will have to fill many roles yourself. In its earliest days, Vorsteiner was essentially a one-person operation, with Peter handling product design, shipping, invoicing and everything else to keep the lights on. Even as the company grew, there wasn’t the budget for financial or management specialists. Peter had to fill these roles himself and try to learn on the fly.“We were very lean top-down. It was mostly manufacturing and operational staff that I hired. I couldn’t go out and hire a CEO or CFO for $100,000 or $200,000 a year,” said Peter. “We didn’t have the budget for that, so I basically had to wear those hats myself and have people who were manufacturing the products and doing the operations and shipping to support me. I had to wear a lot of hats both operationally and management-wise in my earlier years, and I had honestly no idea what I was doing.”On-the-Job LearningLaunching what was essentially a low-volume, high-performance bespoke car company with Gunther Werks was definitely a new direction for Peter. Hiring engineering experts and other specialists was a massive help in bolstering the areas where Peter needed specialized knowledge. However, a significant factor in Gunther Werks’ success was Peter and his team’s ability to quickly learn on the job and rapidly adapt.“There is no book you can read from Barnes & Noble about how to build a car company. You have to learn on the job. Even if I were to work in the finance field and investment banking, just because I have a finance degree, it doesn’t mean anything,” said Peter. “Most of the learning actually happens on the job. You have to adapt and constantly be learning and constantly improving your processes. It is a never-ending process. I am learning every single day, and the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”One-offs are Easy, Production is NotMost startups have a hyper focus on developing the products they will sell. However, Peter notes that the challenge isn’t coming up with a product or prototype, but rather how to produce it efficiently and on a large enough scale to make a profit. While they are entirely different products, the hard-fought production lessons that Peter learned with Vorsteiner were critical to the success of Gunther Werks.“When you are building a concept car or a proof of concept or a show display vehicle, anybody can do that in their mom’s garage. It is actually not very difficult for me to build a one-off concept car. It is actually productionizing that car, which is really an incredibly painful challenge,” said Peter. “It is so difficult, and this is where most of the car builders fail. They build a one-off car, and they don’t know how to productionize it and make money doing it. This is why you see so many car builders, a majority of them, fail after two to three years.”Don’t Try to Change PeopleOne painful lesson that Peter has learned through hiring people for both his companies is that people don’t really change. While most of us want to mentor and develop employees, it can be nearly impossible if the person is unwilling or unable to change. For Peter, holding onto substandard employees with the hope that they might one day change their ways is a recipe for failure.“One of the things I have learned from hiring hundreds of employees for both of my companies is that it is very difficult to change somebody. I thought, ‘Okay, he could work out, and I can change him and mold him into what I want him to be.’ I would say that is almost always a recipe for disaster,” said Peter. “I think that is the biggest mistake I have made when dealing with poor-performing employees who didn’t have the right vision, and I thought I could change them. I wasted many years trying to mold these people, and it just didn’t work out in the end.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Growing up in the Adirondack Mountains, Lauryn Menard always had a love of the outdoors. Eventually, the big city and her interest in fashion design called her south to New York City. However, she quickly grew tired of the fashion world and wanted to stop chasing trends and focus on solving bigger problems. That realization led Lauryn to switch to a career in industrial design and co-found PROWL Studio, an industrial design and research studio specializing in sustainable products, with clients including Herman Miller and BMW.Eventually, Lauryn would fuse her love of nature with industrial design by becoming a bio-designer and founding GOB. The company aims to replace the 40 billion polyurethane single-use earplugs thrown away every year with ones that are fully biodegradable and made from Mycelium, a natural, farm-grown material derived from mushrooms.On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Lauryn shares insights from her unique entrepreneurial journey with host Dan Kahn. The in-depth discussion breaks down what it takes to launch a highly innovative business, how she plans to compete in a crowded space and what the musts are for modern brands to thrive. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Create a vision to anchor your brand before building it.* Always hire someone unbiased to check your products before launch.* Hire people to fill the gaps where you lack skill.* Building brand awareness is vital to compete in crowded markets.* Don’t always listen to advice from others.Create an Ethos FirstSome entrepreneurs start by creating products and figuring out how to sell them. Lauryn pulled back even further and wanted GOB to focus on what happens to products at the end of their life cycles. That foundational work helped guide the vision for biodegradable earplugs and pave the way for future GOB products.“A product, no matter if you are talking about a massive dump truck with a million moving parts or you are talking about an earplug, it is nothing but materials at the end of the day. Once something is no longer usable, it’s obsolete, and you don’t need it anymore. All that is left are materials,” said Lauryn. “So, what we came up with was basically to begin with the end, which became an ethos and is how we still work at GOB. It is this ethos and idea that when you start thinking about a product, you have to think about its end of life just as much as its form and function.”Hire a B.S. DetectorOne important step Lauryn took early in the creation of GOB was to hire someone to validate whether its earplugs were effective. This move was a crucial one, as some entrepreneurs can have a strong bias towards their own products or ideas. An outside set of expert and unbiased eyes taking a close look at GOB’s earplugs and validating their effectiveness gave Lauryn the confidence to move forward.“We brought on an audiologist in Berkley, which is near where our office is. He was our b.s. detector to figure out if this is actually working,” said Lauryn. “You can have your own biases when you have an idea, and you think it is working. Then you get to launch, and no one checked you. That is what we wanted to avoid.”Fill Those GapsWe have heard the importance of hiring the right people from OTSS guests before. However, Lauryn takes it a step further and notes that it is crucial to identify your weaknesses as a CEO. Then you can hire people to fill those “gaps” and assist you in the areas where you need the most help. Doing so does take an honest assessment of one’s abilities, though.“I think that what I have uncovered as a creative CEO is that it can be an advantage if you are willing and able to look at the things you are bad at and fill those gaps with people who are incredible at those things,” said Lauryn. “We have a COO who has helped scale consumer product companies before. He was at Quip, the toothbrush company, he was at Fable, the dog care company, and a few others. He fills my gaps perfectly. Obviously, I need to understand the P&L, I need to understand our budget and set those things, but it is more of a collaborative process.”Brand Awareness is KingIf you want to compete in a crowded space, you absolutely have to build brand awareness. For Lauryn, that means embracing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales model. That setup allows GOB to reach, interact and market directly to its customers, rather than going through a middleman or wholesalers.“I think if you want to be successful out in the world physically, at retail stores, venues, etc., these days, you have to have brand awareness, and that starts with DTC. We are scaling our DTC sales for that reason,” said Lauryn. “We want to spread, for lack of a better way to say it, like a virus. We want to be everywhere. Our products that we create basically have the added benefit of being relevant and ubiquitous in so many places.”Don’t Always Take AdviceHaving a mentor and the advice of others as an entrepreneur is huge. However, Lauryn notes that you must weigh that guidance and mentorship against your gut instincts. Ultimately, your instincts are usually correct, even if they go against the advice of others, when making tough decisions.“Listening to people’s advice as if it is the way things need to be, I think that tends to be a thing with female entrepreneurs. We tend to take advice to heart maybe more,” said Lauryn. “I’ve taken people’s advice on hiring people that I shouldn’t have hired. I wasn’t listening enough to my gut and the signals that were present. I was taking mentorship maybe a little too far, I would say. I have learned to always double-check myself with myself and sit back before making hard decisions.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Joe Molina built one of the most respected public relations agencies in the automotive world from the ground up. While serving in the U.S. Army and writing for his base’s newspaper, he somehow arranged for a concert with a then-up-and-coming band called Kiss. After the concert with the band that would rapidly become rock legends, Joe quickly realized that he no longer wanted to be a journalist but a publicist.Not one to ever sit around idly, Joe quickly put his plan into motion. One year after leaving the U.S. Army, he founded JMPR and steadily grew its client base. Over its 40-plus years, and through considerable hard work and persistence, the agency secured some of the biggest automotive brands among its client roster, including Rolls-Royce, Ducati, Lamborghini and many more. Eventually, Joe would sell the company before semi-retiring in Indiana.Among the many JMPR employees who got their start in public relations at the agency was “Only The Strong Survive” host Dan Kahn. On this episode of the podcast, Joe and Dan reflect on what it was like working together before becoming fierce competitors. The former president and founder of JMPR also explains what it took to build a successful company from scratch and run it for decades. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire insightful episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” and here are our top five takeaways:* Don’t just do what you love, do what you know.* Trickling down from the top is quicker than starting at the bottom.* You have to know when to let go.* It is okay to not always be number one.* Hire the right people and strive to retain them.Do What You Love (and What You Know)Joe attributes much of his early success to his passion for exotic cars. Combining what he loved and also had an in-depth knowledge of with a fearless attitude opened many doors early on. While there were definitely other agencies, few of them combined the automotive expertise and passion that Joe had.“It all grew from the fact that, as a kid, I just loved cars. I knew all the things about exotic cars, not just regular cars, although I knew that industry too. I knew everything, every fact, every this, that and the other,” said Joe. “I could talk to anyone about anything, and I knew just enough to where they would say he knows his stuff, so he must be connected somehow.”It is Easier to Trickle Down Than UpAnother key to JMPR’s success Joe cites was his relationship with publishing icon Robert E. Petersen. At the height of his empire, Petersen published nearly every major automotive magazine in the United States, along with other popular publications such as Guns & Ammo and Teen, and founded the Petersen Automotive Museum. Doing an excellent job for Petersen led him to recommend JMPR to his many contacts across multiple industries.“For 17 years, we represented the Petersen Automotive Museum. They only ever had two PR agencies; I was one, and you (Kahn Media) were the other. But he introduced me to everybody,” said Joe. “I represented MotorTrend, Hot Rod, Teen magazine, Guns & Ammo, all of his 40-some-odd titles and his events. Then his friends wanted to hire me, and I was dealing with the guys who owned the companies. It was like I started at the top, and it is easier to trickle down than trickle up.”Knowing When to Let GoSelling a business is a highly personal experience for any entrepreneur who has built their company from the ground up. The same was true for Joe, as he wrestled with the decision to finally sell JMPR. However, knowing when to let go of a company is just as critical of an entrepreneurial skill as knowing when to start one.“It’s a very personal thing of when to let go. I happened to be in my mid-60s and had a run for 43 years, 45 if you count some of the army years, and it was just time,” said Joe. “There is a time, if you are successful, or you think you are successful, or they tell you that you are successful, when you have to get off the stage and let other people on to perform. My time was over, everything was changing and I felt like an analog guy in a digital world.”Nobody Stays on Top Forever (and That’s Okay)For such a hard-charging and competitive individual as Joe, his perspective on staying ahead might be surprising to some, but it is shaped by decades of hard-fought experience. He notes that the desire to be number one in your industry is natural, but it ignores the cyclical nature of business. Staying on top also requires a lot of sacrifice that might not be worth it in the long run.“Nobody stays on top forever. There is a rhythm to these things, and if you want to stay up forever, you are going to have to give away your sanity, your family and everything else to keep up with it because you have to be completely obsessed and have very little emotional room for anybody else,” said Joe. “I realized I had my day in the sun, I made it, I was there for several years at the top of the list, and I had made a good living.”Always Hire Smart PeopleOne piece of advice that Joe gives is one that we hear regularly from guests on “Only The Strong Survive.” That tip for success is to always hire smart people and treat them with respect. The right employees can make all the difference between your brand being successful or an afterthought.“Always hire people who are smarter and know more than you and understand things that are changing quicker than you. Hold them with respect, and it is not just about paying them, it is about respecting them. You only got them for a little while,” says Joe. “The other thing we all learned is that everything has its time, and it’s a treadmill, and everyone is with you for a portion of their career. But try to find the bright ones, find the ones that can still work a room when there is a room to be worked, even if that is now a digital room.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

RJ de Vera has had an amazing career arc. Like many Southern California kids, he had childhood dreams of Ferraris and muscle cars. However, his automotive interests shifted to Japanese imports during his teenage years. Soon, RJ was traveling to Japan to check out car shows and find rare parts.His early expertise in the Japanese tuner car scene, before it gained widespread popularity, opened other doors. RJ was tapped to help with the launch of Super Street magazine and would serve as its editor-at-large. From there, he became an advisor for the first “Fast and Furious” movie, even playing the role of street racer Danny Yamato in the premier installment of the radically popular franchise.After his Hollywood debut, RJ helped build the Motegi wheel brand before heading marketing efforts at Meguiar’s. He now serves as the vice president of marketing for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA).From selling auto parts out of his mother’s condo to leading marketing efforts at global brands, RJ has learned a lot from his journey. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, he shares some of that wisdom with host Dan Kahn. Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* The platforms change, but people will always love modifying cars.* Working at a multinational company helps develop a bigger perspective.* The right timing involves envisioning your future self.* Adaptation is a constant need.* Ikigai is worth exploring for anyone seeking career direction and fulfillment.Modifying Cars Will Always Have a Universal AppealWhen the import craze first took off, many hot rodders and muscle car builders frowned upon it. However, for RJ, what he was doing wasn’t that different from what those hot rodders had done as kids. Yes, the platforms were different, but the love of modifying cars was the same. It is a cycle that RJ sees continuing even today.“The very first article I was blessed to be featured in was one by Mark Vaughn for Autoweek,” said RJ. “It was called ‘Passing the Flames,” and in it, he said that there is this group of young, rebellious kids modifying and messing around with their cars, much like everybody who came back from the war had done with their muscle cars. They were just doing it on a different platform and recreating the idea of ‘hot rodding’ but with a different platform. We didn’t know it, but it was just fun for us. There is something about customizing your car that appeals to a great group of people that continues to happen over and over.”A Global Perspective HelpsThe jump to work for Meguiar’s was a big one for RJ. Owned by 3M, the car care company was part of a large multinational corporation. While that can be a negative for some, it was positive for RJ, as it helped him develop a global perspective and the ability to look at the big picture.“It really cut my teeth on what it means to work for a global Fortune 100 multi-national company. I think it really helped me get to my role now by having this perspective that is way more global and way bigger,” said RJ. “I can think at a different level, and I would have never really had that before, because I had consulted for bigger companies, but I was never in the trenches.”Timing is EverythingThe right timing has played a critical role in RJ’s career. From being in on the launches of Super Street magazine and “Fast and Furious” to joining Meguiar’s and SEMA, RJ’s timing has been spot on. However, it hasn’t been random strokes of luck. Instead, making the right moves involves constantly envisioning what you want the future to be.“Being at Meguiar’s, I felt it was like time for a change. All roads in any big corporate company lead to its headquarters, and I just didn’t see myself in Minnesota, which is where 3M’s headquarters is,” said RJ. “I really wanted to stay in automotive, and a lot of the bigger roles were beyond Meguiar’s at the end of the day.”You Have to AdaptSEMA is the largest and most influential association for the automotive aftermarket, an industry undergoing significant changes. To keep its members ahead of these changes, SEMA has had to adapt and evolve as well. For RJ, changing as an association is just as important as evolving as a business. If neither adapts, they will all get left behind.“Change happens so much quicker than it did 30 years ago. I think that is something we (SEMA) are embracing more and more because we have to,” said RJ. “We have to change quicker, we have to evolve quicker. Sometimes we have to push some of our industry because there are people who don’t want to change. But for us to prolong this industry and continue to help our members and the businesses in it find success, we have to be that catalyst.”Get Your Ikigai OnIkigai is a compound of the two Japanese words “iki” and “kai,” which roughly translates to “a reason for living.” However, the concept of Ikigai builds on this translation by finding fulfillment through aligning one’s passion with their skills. For anyone looking to start their career, RJ notes that Ikigai is well worth exploring.“Everyone says to find your passion, but I think there is more to it than that. There is this philosophy called Ikigai. It comes out of Japan, and it is this idea that you merge your passion and your skill,” said RJ. “So, what do you love, what are you passionate about, what are you good at, what does the world need and what can you get paid for? My advice to people would be to find the center point of all of those things. If you love car culture, develop the right skill set in something that can help you make a living, which is hopefully something that this culture and world needs. I think that is where you find success.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

On this special episode of the “Only the Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn is joined by three experts in artificial intelligence. Seema Alexander is the CEO of Disruptive AI. Believing that the rise of AI is more impactful than the advent of the internet, she guides CEOs on how to integrate AI into their companies successfully. Daniel Manary is the co-founder of Manary.haus, a high-touch AI consultancy that collaborates with executives and product teams to design and deliver AI solutions that address real-world needs. Alex Maier is a 15-year seasoned marketing and product leader who has worked at industry-leading brands like Nike, onX Maps and now OnWater. He brings a marketer’s perspective on how to effectively utilize AI to enhance efficiency in daily workflows.The panel’s original discussion took place during Kahn Media’s Growth Garage, a webinar series designed to help marketers and brand leaders acquire new skills and stay ahead of emerging trends. The in-depth interview is a fascinating one, exploring the real-world impacts of AI on brands and how companies can effectively utilize it. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode of “Only The Strong Survive” to learn more about this critical subject, and here are our top five takeaways:* You need to educate yourself about AI before integrating it.* AI is progressing at an extremely rapid pace.* The more context you give AI, the better the result.* Humans still matter when it comes to authentic content.* Approach AI outputs with a healthy skepticism.Education is the Biggest ChallengeThere is considerable hype surrounding AI, with significant interest among brands. However, before any brand dives into AI, it needs to learn what it can and can’t do. Its capabilities are constantly evolving, and understanding them is crucial before integrating AI into workflows.“The key is education, education and education. People don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know the power of this technology,” said Seema. “Education to me is number one, and just getting people to understand in layman’s terms what this technology can actually do. Then it will start to unlock on the automation side, where data plays a role for precision, personalization and innovation.”AI’s Progression is Measured in Days (Not Years)Many of us are used to relatively slow product refresh cycles. A new generation of a car model might be introduced every 4 or 5 years. Updated phones and computers typically appear annually. However, all of those are sluggish compared to AI, as its progression can be measured in days. For brands looking to utilize AI, it is essential to keep pace with its rapid advancements.“We as humans are so used to that if I get into a Toyota Rav4, three years later it is the same thing. You don’t expect progression to happen this quickly,” said Alex. “I think this is the first time in humanity when we have seen progression happen at such an accelerated pace that it is better than it was two weeks ago. That is something where people need a bit of a paradigm shift to think about these systems.”AI is Not GoogleOne mistake that brands and people can make is to view AI as a conventional search engine, where you input a question and receive an answer. While it can operate like that, the more context you give AI, the better the results. Feeding an AI that context might take time, but its output is always better.“We are so used to Googling something where you ask a question. The first time you see someone use ChatGPT or Grok or Gemini, they ask a question,” says Alex. “But what we are not used to doing is saying that this thing (AI) needs a tremendous amount of context. Without providing the context and educating this thing like it’s a five-year-old, which it is with aspirations to be a rocket scientist, you are not going to get great output.”Humans Still MatterThere is the perception that AI is good at everything, but that isn’t the case. Yes, it is highly adept at specific tasks, but AI does a poor job of emulating the passion, excitement and interest of a human being. If you want to produce authentic and engaging content for your brand, it is a task best left to an actual human.“I know multiple people that I have followed for 10 years who have outsourced their writing and thinking to AI. It is not full of em dashes, but it is that I have heard that thought before. The reason for that is because the whole field of artificial intelligence is based on the premise that the past predicts the future,” says Daniel. “When something is new and exciting, it naturally means it wasn’t predicted by the past. So if you want to keep the excitement of something you really find interesting, you still need to keep your hands on it.”Be Consistently Skeptical of AITime and time again, multiple companies have gotten into trouble using AI. Typically, this occurs when a brand blindly trusts the output of AI and uses it without verification. Instead, it is always important to be skeptical of what an AI is producing or telling you.“We hire some pretty awesome individuals, and we tell them, ‘Don’t let AI think for you’ when it comes to critical thinking. Pause for a moment when you have an output on something, or it’s giving you an answer or a response,” said Alex. “Be consistently skeptical of everything it does, no matter how nice it talks to you. Make sure you are real-world testing these things. Don’t just provide the outputs blindly like we all see on LinkedIn.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Maurice Merrick from the “Horsepower Heritage” Podcast on “Only The Strong Survive”Maurice Merrick has turned his passion for all things automotive into the popular “Horsepower Heritage” podcast. Many automotive podcasts focus on car reviews or the latest unveils. However, Maurice takes a different approach, diving into the people and stories behind the machines. The result is a fascinating and in-depth look at modern car culture, its history and the many people behind it.Maurice is the perfect guest for this special episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast made during Monterey Car Week. The week-long celebration of everything automotive has become one of the most prestigious automotive events worldwide, regularly drawing over 100,000 attendees to the beautiful Northern California peninsula. Maurice shares with host Dan Kahn his thoughts about Monterey Car Week, the current state of car culture in the U.S. and what it takes to be a successful podcaster.Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Monterey Car Week will continue to be popular.* The notion that young people aren’t into cars is false.* Automotive media and content are rapidly changing.* Podcasters should focus on their passions and quality.* The only way forward is through.Why Is Monterey Car Week so Popular?Monterey Car Week has become the premier destination for any automotive enthusiast. What once started as a one-day side show to the defunct Pebble Beach Road Races has now become multiple keystone events spread over a week that appeal to a broad audience. So why do people come from all over the world to attend Car Week? For Maurice, the answer is an easy one.“It might as well be a Beanie Babies convention because people love what they love. They congregate and they want to talk to others and compare notes and learn more about whatever their special interest is,” says Maurice. “I think most people come to Car Week because this is the highest concentration of amazing cars in the world at one time.”The Kids Are All RightMuch has been made about young people not being into cars. Supposedly, they would rather be browsing social media, hanging out with friends or online. Walk around anywhere during Monterey Car Week, and it is easy to see that notion isn’t true. Throngs of teenagers excitedly gather around exotics and hypercars to get a closer look at them. It is something that Maurice readily noticed and says bodes well for the future of car culture.“We hear a lot about young people not being interested in cars, and I don’t think it is true,” said Maurice. “I think the car hobby is alive and well with young people. They don’t necessarily go to Pebble Beach or The Quail. These are expensive events, but they are all having their own little gatherings all over the peninsula.”Automotive Media Has Completely ChangedFabled magazines like Road & Track and Car and Driver used to be the mainstays for automotive information. Then the internet happened, and everyone shifted to being online. Now, the websites that once usurped those magazines as the primary sources of automotive information have become “legacy media.” So, where do people go now for content? Maurice explains the shift in automotive media.“I think YouTube is now the place where people watch the most automotive content because it can be long form,” said Maurice. “Instagram also has a very healthy car culture tributary or galaxy in the universe of Instagram. So, I think those are the two main places people go to consume car content. In terms of podcasts, there are now so many car podcasts.”What Aspiring Podcasters Need to KnowApproximately 90% of podcasters never make it past their third episode. Of those that do, another 90% don’t survive past their 20th episode. Maurice has now made over 170 episodes of the “Horsepower Heritage” podcast, which is in its fifth year. What is his best advice for people who want to become podcasters? He has some essential tips.“I would say focus on quality and don’t try to chase a trend. If you are truly interested in a subject, make sure that passion is conveyed. It is infectious, and it will find an audience because, undoubtedly, there are others just like you who feel that same way about that subject,” said Maurice. “Invest in good equipment and invest in good audio quality. I hear so many podcasts where the audio quality just isn’t there. Most listeners will tune out in the first 30 seconds if the audio quality isn’t there.”Keep Pushing ForwardWith so many episodes under his belt, Maurice has been podcasting for a long time. That length of consistently turning out episode after episode could lead to burnout for anyone. However, for Maurice, the answer and the key to his success and longevity has always been to keep pushing forward.“You just have to sustain, you just have to keep pushing forward,” said Maurice. “Whenever I hit an obstacle or I feel like things aren’t going like they should, because for some reason there should be this expectation that the universe brings things to me, whenever I start feeling sorry for myself in a way, I say that the answer is always to work harder. It always seems to be the answer, and things work out.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Krishan Udvadia on “Only The Strong Survive”Krishan Udvadia is Kahn Media’s head of digital marketing with a unique background. Originally an electrical engineer, Krishan spent the early part of his career working in the defense and aerospace industries. Eventually, becoming bored with the mundaneness of testing electrical systems, he developed an interest in digital marketing along with a passion for Mitsubishi Evos. Like he did with all aspects of his Evo, Krishan rapidly learned the intricacies of digital marketing.Krishan brings a unique perspective and strategy to digital marketing that incorporates his engineering background. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, he shares vital tips and what he has learned about making digital marketing campaigns perform with host Dan Kahn. It is a worthwhile discussion for anyone looking to tap into the power of digital marketing. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire podcast, and here are our top five takeaways:* The right creative plays a huge role in digital marketing.* AI is changing digital marketing.* Telling your brand’s story is a great way to stand out.* Digital marketers who know and are part of your industry are always more effective.* Bigger brands can often lose sight of who their customers are.Creative is KingThere are many aspects to a successful digital marketing campaign. However, some digital marketing agencies overlook creative and focus on targeting and picking the right platform. That is a huge mistake for Krishan as the right creative connects with customers and gets noticed in a sea of advertising.“Creative takes up the most amount of real estate on your screen. The text is only so big with a tiny headline, and the creative takes up the rest. I think creative is king because you are able to explain what you are selling through it,” said Krishan. “The reason creative is so important is that it is how you make your first impression of your brand, product or service. Creative needs to be number one and take the most amount of attention and effort.”Enthusiasts Make Better Digital Marketing CampaignsOne misconception about digital marketing is that it solely relies on proper targeting or choosing the right platforms to succeed. However, that is not entirely accurate, as digital marketing still has a psychological aspect. And the best people to understand your customers’ minds are digital marketers who are enthusiasts and also your customers.“It is a psychological thing. It might sound weird, but you really want to be in their brain, understanding how they think, what they are looking at and if there are certain callouts that certain people think are good versus bad,” said Krishan. “So having that knowledge already there is a huge head start or a jump start.”AI is Making an ImpactArtificial intelligence impacts every facet of marketing, and the digital realm is no exception. How it changes digital marketing is yet to be seen, as it is still evolving. However, there is no doubt that there will be changes that digital marketers will need to embrace and fully understand to keep crafting campaigns that deliver results.“AI, in general, is a huge unknown right now. I think everyone is trying to figure it out. It is a big unknown that is coming, and everyone is quickly trying to get in the know,” said Krishan. “Just understanding it now because it is going to be ever-evolving, and no one is going to fully understand it. It is just like the Instagram algorithm, where it will change every week.”Always Tell Your StoryStanding out in a digital marketing environment filled with nonstop product ads can be difficult. However, not every ad needs to be a promotion, discount code or new product launch. For Krishan, one of the best ways for brands to stand out and connect with their customers is to tell the story behind their brands.“I think explaining the company or the story behind the business is something that is newly coming out, and people are more excited about learning that,” said Krishan. “At the end of the day, everyone can see a metal bumper 1,000 times, but it’s the way a company explains their story or how they created themselves or wanted to create a product. I think that is the biggest key to putting yourself out there. It comes back to being more relatable to the consumer.”Big Brands Can Lose Sight of Their CustomersScaling up is great, and growth is an obvious goal of most companies. However, one of the biggest dangers is that as brands get larger, they can often lose sight of who their customers are. If you don’t understand who your customers are, it is almost impossible to market to them effectively.“I feel like some companies that become really big used to know who their audience was. However, as they have scaled up, and good for them that they have made money and been able to grow, I feel like they have lost touch with their core audience,” said Krishan. “That is where the marketing disconnect starts to happen. These big companies can forget how to pivot like a small company can.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Lance Gillies might be a familiar name to “Only The Strong Survive” regulars. In April of 2024, he joined host Dan Kahn to discuss EarthCruiser. Founded in 2008, EarthCruiser specialized in making long-range overland vehicles built on Mitsubishi and Isuzu truck chassis. Born from Lance’s love of off-road travel and exploration, the unique vehicles could be off-grid for months and fit in a shipping container, making them easy to ship worldwide. Unfortunately, shortly after his first appearance on the podcast, Lance was forced to close the doors of EarthCruiser.Now, EarthCruiser is back with a new focus and business model. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Lance shares what he learned from having to cease operations of the business he founded and how he brought it back. The tough and transparent conversation about what happens when things don’t go according to plan and how to turn that around is a fascinating one for any entrepreneur. Click on the icon above to watch the entire podcast, and here are our top five takeaways:* Your supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link.* For manufacturers, location is absolutely critical when it comes time to scale.* A business failure takes an emotional toll on any entrepreneur.* Pivoting and seeing opportunities in challenges is a vital skill.* Never face your problems by yourself.Your Supply Chain Absolutely MattersBuilding vehicles for long-distance global overlanding is a very niche business. That also meant that EarthCruiser’s suppliers were very specialized. Once those smaller suppliers started to go out of business, it significantly impacted EarthCruiser’s ability to keep producing vehicles.“What started to happen around us was our small suppliers, that we had helped and they had helped us build our supply chain, were starting to close their businesses or dramatically reduce their ability to supply us,” said Lance. “So we had two colliding things happening where the RV market was doing its weird thing, but more than that, our ability to become more efficient was getting harder and harder because we had less choices of how we could produce things.”Your Location Matters TooLance is a big believer in small-town businesses and loves EarthCruiser’s base in Bend, Oregon. However, for a manufacturer, picking the right location is absolutely vital. While Bend is beautiful, its more remote location made it very difficult for EarthCruiser to access a large enough skilled workforce to scale its manufacturing.“Coming back to our original challenge, is that if we wanted to stay in Bend, could we have a sustainable business model in Bend doing what EarthCruiser did? The answer was no,” said Lance. “Maybe someone else could, but it was clearly beyond my level of capability. Could we have a sustainable model of production for EarthCruiser somewhere else? Yes, for sure.”Failure is Absolutely GuttingMost entrepreneurs put their hearts and souls into making their businesses succeed, and Lance was no exception. EarthCruiser was his lifelong passion, so he lived and breathed it. Having to close its doors was the hardest thing Lance had ever done, and it took an emotional toll.“As a business owner and as someone who started it, and you would feel this way too, it is not what you are but who you are. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that,” said Lance. “It does you damage when it fails because if you are truly passionate about it and this is really what you want to do, you are going to put everything you have plus more into it. When you are no longer that, it is really hard.”Seeing Opportunity in ChallengesOne of the most important traits of an entrepreneur is the ability to see opportunity in challenges and pivot accordingly. While Lance ran into problems scaling EarthCruiser, it was an engineering company at heart. His solution was to keep designing and creating the innovative products EarthCruiser is known for and then use other manufacturers to build them. A new version of EarthCruiser with a completely different business model was born from the old one.“We have partnered with some large fiberglass manufacturers who all they want is scale. They normally do a lot of stuff for automotive,” said Lance. “So they will produce the EarthCruiser shells for us, and we are partnering with small companies all over the U.S., actually, that will build them out for customers. We will change what we do from being a direct-to-consumer business model to being a business-to-business model, but we can bring to the party the heritage of EarthCruiser.”Talk to SomeoneAccording to Lance, one of the biggest mistakes he made when things were going south was not talking to anyone. Discussing the difficulties facing your business with others can bring in different outlooks and opinions. Just as importantly, even if other people don’t have answers, sharing your struggles makes you feel less alone in hard times.“Whether it is your partner, your gym buddies or whoever it is, talk to them. A terrible mistake that I made was not talking to anybody because I was dreadfully embarrassed,” said Lance. “That was a terrible mistake. It is easy to say it and harder to do it, but just find someone to talk to.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

On this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” host Dan Kahn and AI expert Stephanie Nivinskus discuss AI and its impact on businesses. Stephanie has spent the majority of her career as a marketer, leading campaigns for well-known brands like Quicksilver, the NFL and Starbucks. A best-selling author, she founded her own agency in 2009, helping brands with all aspects of marketing.The rise of ChatGPT just under three years ago completely changed Stephanie’s focus. She pivoted to embrace AI as a tool to make her agency faster and more efficient. Today, Stephanie does the same for other brands, working as an AI consultant to help companies integrate AI-powered marketing tools. On this special episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” she shares her experience of effectively integrating AI into brands and what to be aware of. Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Look for internal issues with your workflows before searching for an AI program.* Follow AI experts on social media to understand what actually works.* Humans still play a vital role with AI.* Be protective of your sensitive data with AI.* Always be transparent about how you integrate AI into your brand.Start With Your BottlenecksMany brands struggle to integrate AI effectively into their workflows. Others “jump on the bandwagon” to say they are using AI but aren’t really solving any internal problems. It might sound simplistic, but one of the best ways to use AI is to first determine where it can be the most helpful.“I think the best place to start is actually by identifying where your bottlenecks are. Just sitting down with your team and figuring out what the bottlenecks in our company are that are slowing us down the most, that are costing us the most money and that are taking too much manpower, but we really need them,” said Stephanie. “They are not dispensable and we really need them, but it is just too intensive. Once you identify some of those things, then it is looking at what AIs are out there that can help.”Shift Through the NoiseA wealth of AI-powered programs claim to supercharge your brand’s productivity and effectiveness. While some are helpful, others are not and just want to drain your bank account. Shifting through the “noise” of what AI programs are worth the investment for a brand can be confusing. However, social media can be a major help in determining which AIs provide value.“I am in a community with trusted experts, and we are talking about what is working and masterminding it on a daily basis. But for people who aren’t in something like that, I would say find people who are and follow them. I am on TikTok and share a lot on TikTok for free. I give away a lot of tips and tools that can really help someone, and it doesn’t cost anything,” said Stephanie. “There are a lot of leading names out there. I like to follow Matt Wolfe, and he actually has a database of AI tools that you can search and find a tool that might be a good fit for you.”You Still Need HumansBrands get into major trouble when they think AI can completely replace a human workforce. AI is far from perfect and still needs human oversight over anything it produces or tasks it completes. Completely trusting AI and not checking its “work” is a recipe for disaster.“It is so absolutely critical to have human supervision over all AI outputs. If I can warn your listeners of one thing, it is this. If you are copying and pasting what you are getting from any of these AI tools and you are not reading it, you are taking a huge risk,” says Stephanie. “I strongly urge you to stop doing it that way. It needs human oversight.”IP is a Major Issue with AIOne often overlooked issue with AI is intellectual property. Once you put information into an AI platform, it is an extremely grey area who now owns that data. Stephanie has some stern words of advice for anyone using AI with a brand’s IP.“With IP, anything that you give to AI is up for grabs. I don’t care if it promises you privacy. I don’t believe it, and I wouldn’t believe it for a second,” said Stephanie. “Use the tools. They are amazing, and I use AI all day, every day. However, I do not put sensitive information into it.”Be TransparentStephanie notes transparency is essential for brands using AI, especially those using it to enhance products or services. She discloses to all her clients that she uses AI to assist her agency and its employees. Most don’t mind as long as they know that fact up front and don’t feel deceived.“I absolutely disclose everything. I think transparency is critical at this stage with all of this because if you don’t have your client’s trust, you’re not going to have a client for very long, right? Absolutely, I disclose that I am using AI in all kinds of different ways,” said Stephanie. “I want to make sure that they understand I am using this technology and there are some inherent risks to it. My ideal client is okay with those risks, but not everyone is.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Coast Products CEO David Brands joins host Dan Kahn to discuss being a third-generation family business owner. The innovative maker of flashlights, headlamps, work lamps, knives and other products, Coast Products was originally founded in 1919 as Coast Cutlery Company by David’s grandfather. Its first product was a specialized salmon filleting knife that the elder Brands sold to canneries and fishermen across the Northwest.Now, David is the third generation of the Brands family to run the privately held company. He has helped lead its transformation from a one-man operation selling knives out of the back of a car to a globally recognized brand. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” David talks about the unique challenges faced in running a family business and what he learned from expanding Coast Products since leading the brand. Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Privately held family businesses have the advantage of long-term thinking.* Innovation should be central to any brand.* Long-term partnerships are just as important as long-term thinking.* Running a family business without a clear leader doesn’t work.* Failure is a natural part of entrepreneurship.Think Long TermAccording to David, one of the most significant advantages privately held family businesses have is their ability to think long term. There are no shareholders or investors demanding a rapid return on their investment. When the family business has been handed down through generations, the thinking naturally shifts to what is best for the brand in the long term. While there is less access to capital, there is also less focus on making a quick buck.“We have always run our company to be the leader in innovation, to have great relationships with our customers and obviously make money. The amount of money we make isn’t as important as doing things right,” said David. “That is a great luxury you have as a privately owned company that frankly, in this day and age, doesn’t exist in public companies or even in a lot of partnerships.”Never Stop InnovatingCoast Products was founded on innovation. In 1909, it introduced a salmon fillet knife with a spoon on the other end, combining two products into one. David notes that innovation should be central to any brand, as it allows you to expand product offerings and stay ahead of your competitors. That desire to innovate was critical for Coast Products during the advent of LED technology.“We sold the first LED flashlight ever in the United States. It had a ‘whopping’ 18 lumens of light and sold for $39.99,” said David. “Today, we make an LED flashlight that has 5,000 lumens of light, you can focus it, it has a digital readout on a screen to tell you how much battery life you have left, it’s rechargeable and sells for $39.99. So you can see how much the LED revolution really has taken hold. We were one of the first ones in it and have never stopped innovating and leading the way in this type of technology.”Build Long-Term PartnershipsDavid applies that same long-term thinking to all aspects of his business. Instead of constantly shifting suppliers to save a bit of money, he has forged lasting alliances with them. These solid partnerships have helped David and Coast survive multiple economic downturns with partners committed to Coast’s success.“We think it is a real advantage. Because we have such loyal and supportive partners and because we have good partnerships, for instance, that is why we have been able to survive the current business climate, when other companies have really had problems,” said David. “It has been challenging for everybody, but thank goodness we have such a tight-knit, close family atmosphere among all of our partners that we have been able to, knock on wood, manage it okay.”Running a Business by Committee Doesn’t WorkTypically, multiple members of the same family can be involved in running a business. This setup can make for some “interesting” dynamics where everyone wants to have input. It can also blur the line between siblings and bosses, creating even more friction. According to David, having one person ultimately in charge is the only way to avoid this chaos.“I know a company here in Portland that has something like 28 family members working in the company. That would be really hard. I think I would almost rather be a publicly owned company than that,” says David. “I think it is clear that it really helps to have at least one person clearly in charge. For better or worse, you've got to pick one person and say, ‘Okay, you make the final decision.’”If You’re Not Making Mistakes, You’re Not TryingEntrepreneurship comes with a certain amount of risk. Introducing new products, trying different strategies or expanding into unfamiliar markets can all backfire. However, David notes that uncertainty is all part of running a business. If you haven’t failed at something, it is probably because you are playing it too safe.“I once knew a guy who worked for my father who told me, ‘David, if you don’t make mistakes, you are not trying hard enough.’ I always took that to heart. Maybe I just did it to rationalize my mistakes at the time, but I really think that is correct,” said David. “If you never try something and it doesn’t work, then you are not trying enough new things. You are not thinking outside the box enough.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Mark Schaefer’s first experiences with marketing and sales were selling flower seeds, Christmas cards and whatever else he could when he was 10 years old. Growing up in a blue-collar family in a small town, it was the only way he could make money for new clothes. From those humble beginnings, Schaefer worked in global sales, PR and marketing positions after studying journalism in college.Eventually, he set out on his own to start Schaefer Marketing Solutions, with clients ranging from small startups to global brands like Adidas, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. Schaefer also created the well-read marketing blog {grow}, which led him to author 11 best-selling books, including “Audacious,” “KNOWN” and “The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever.” He is also the co-host and founder of the popular “The Marketing Companion” podcast.On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn leads an in-depth discussion with Schaefer about entrepreneurship and marketing. Schaefer’s deep insight and knowledge into both subjects make this episode well worth your time. Click on the icon above to give it a watch, and here are our top five takeaways from the interview:* Being bland might be safe, but it doesn’t pay off in marketing.* To form a connection with your customers, you have to know them.* Building a community is just as crucial as building products.* Your personal brand matters.* Asking for help can be the difference between success and failure.You Can’t Be BoringBoring is always a safe bet for marketing. Your legal department will love it, and boredom never causes social media teams any heartburn. However, another guarantee of boredom is that it will never make your brand stand out in a sea of bland marketing. If you want to make waves, you sometimes need to toss a rather large rock into the pond.“One of the things that I talk about in my new book is this scaffolding, this infrastructure we have in our industry that keeps boring in place. It keeps competent in place instead of audacious and instead of creative,” said Schaefer. “It is easy to be average because that is what gets approved by the legal department. It is easy to be average because boring has been institutionalized in most industries.”Marketing is About Knowing Your AudienceMost people think marketing revolves around creating the right ad. While the right creative is essential, knowing your audience is equally important. To connect with someone, you must know their values, beliefs and needs. Discovering those often takes lots of research and knowledge.“Marketing is not about the creative, it's about the research. An audacious campaign that set the marketing world on fire was the Nike campaign with the quarterback Colin Kaepernick. They lost $4 billion of market value in 24 hours or something like that. People were burning Nike products in the streets, but they increased their market capitalization in 10 days. The difference was that Nike had the data, they had the numbers,” said Schaefer. “They knew that demographic, and they knew to be welcomed on that island, they needed to earn trust.”Build a CommunityBrands can be hyper-fixated on the next great product or idea. However, building community is just as crucial for a company as its products. Developing a community creates a connection with your customers that keeps them constantly returning to your brand instead of your competition.“As human beings, we don’t just want community; we need community because it helps form our identities. No matter what happens in this world, if a brand can create a community, it is the ultimate emotional connection,” said Schaefer. “People don’t just love your soft drink or your cosmetics; they love each other in a community, and they will literally belong to a brand.”Build Your Brand, TooBuilding a personal brand is important whether you are a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or just starting in the business world. However, many people don’t know how to go about it. For Schaefer, one of the best ways to build your brand is to identify the problems you are the best at solving.“You have to be clear about where you fit in the world. What is the problem that is keeping people up at night with your customers or with your company? What is special about you that can help people solve that problem in a unique way? It takes some work to really think about that,” said Schaefer. “But you will be rewarded if you spend some time thinking about that, because once you can finish the sentence ‘Only I…', your entire personal branding and marketing plan unveils itself.”Ask For HelpAll entrepreneurs need to be highly confident in themselves. However, that self-assuredness shouldn’t be misplaced, and it doesn’t mean you know everything. Schaefer learned the hard way that asking for help is okay and can be the difference between success and failure.“I had a pretty big business failure. It was a software I developed with some other people. We put together this big team, and I invested a lot of my own resources and money into it. It worked, but the reason it failed was because I was a terrible salesperson,” said Schaefer. “The B2B sales process just wore me down, and I thought that there were 25 other things I would rather be doing than this. The mistake I made was that I knew I was out of my area of expertise, and I didn’t bring in the right people to help.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Jason Swenk’s story is remarkable. After he built a website for fun, friends began to ask him to build theirs. He then started to make a living constructing websites for businesses. That small venture eventually became a highly successful digital agency with over 100 employees and major clients like Lotus Cars, AT&T, Hitachi and more.That climb from the bottom to the top is fascinating enough, but it isn’t the end of Swenk’s saga. Eventually, he grew tired of the agency of life and sold his successful business. However, he quickly got bored with retirement and began to help friends with their agencies. He then spun that into another company, advising agencies on how to grow and scale faster. Swenk also hosts the “Smart Agency Masterclass Podcast,” a highly popular podcast focused on marketing agencies.In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Swenk sits down with host Dan Kahn to discuss what he learned building both of his businesses from the ground up. The in-depth discussions and lessons don’t just apply to agencies, but are valuable to any entrepreneur leading their own brand. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Hire the right people.* Be a specialist instead of a generalist.* Failing to adapt or change your brand can be its downfall.* Ensure your core values match with anyone you do business with.* Focus on what you do best and delete the rest.Hire People Who Can Manage ThemselvesSwenk initially hit a wall with his agency because he really didn’t like being a project manager. Plus, with so many projects that had to run through him, he eventually became a bottleneck. His solution was to hire people who can manage themselves and, just as importantly, let them do exactly that.“I am the worst manager in the world. I can’t manage anyone. My brain thinks very differently, and your brain probably thinks very differently than people you have to manage,” said Swenk. “So, what I started to realize was, and I could see this in the team, was that I need to hire the people who can manage themselves. And I need to hire people who are better managers than me to manage the people that do need to be managed at the lower level.”Be a SpecialistMany think offering a wide range of products or services is the best way to make their business work. However, for Swenk, the opposite is true. Specializing in something is a better path to success as it allows for a better focus on your mission, customers and competition.“On the podcast, I am always interviewing specialists. We are always talking about how you have to be a specialist so you can really drill down on the problem, you can really refine your offer, and you can get more streamlined and more profitable. You are really eliminating your competition (by being a specialist), and that is one of the key parts,” said Swenk. “That is why you see in Agency Mastery, 90% of them are all specialized agencies.”Adapt or DieIt is definitely a weird time for any business or agency, with the rise of AI causing multiple concerns about the future. However, brands have experienced many transitory periods in the past. The key is to adapt and be open to new realities and technologies, as refusing to change can be a death sentence for your brand.“When I started the agency, websites and the internet were the big new things. I remember there was a big distinction between a traditional agency, like they weren’t even called traditional agencies, they were just called marketing agencies. They were doing traditional things, like outdoor, TV and print, and that is all they were doing,” said Swenk. “The ones that really kind of died on the vine were the ones that didn’t want to change.”Align Your Core ValuesKnowing your brand's core values is extremely important. However, according to Swenk, aligning your core values with the values of your vendors, suppliers, partners, customers or anyone else you do business with is just as important. Skipping that step can result in conflict, misunderstandings and misalignments that can harm your brand.“I realize that anyone that I want to work with as a client, and I think everyone should do this as well with a client, member or however your business is set up, is to ask what are their core values? My core values are being resourceful, having fun, sharing what works and what doesn’t, and that is the core values we look for when we bring on clients,” said Swenk. “When we talk to people, we first ask, ‘Can we help this person?’ and then, ‘Do we want to help them?’ We then ask about their core values.”Focus on What You’re Great AtBrands can often get bogged down with too many irons in the fire. Whether it is trying to branch out into new markets or find different revenue streams, it can all detract from doing what the business is actually good at. For Swenk, the key to being successful is focusing on what you are best at.“Too many businesses are trying to do too many things and doing things that they are not really good at. Think about when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. What did he do? He eliminated all the crap and focused on the things they are great at,” said Swenk. “I will only release and do things that I know we can do great. If I say it is just good enough, no, it is crap. Really, it is figuring out what you can become the world’s best at.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Jim and Mike Ring are an amazing success story from the heart of America. The youngest of seven kids, the brothers grew up in the small town of Plain, Wisconsin, with a population of just over 600 people. From an early age, the duo was highly interested in cars, tinkering with anything with an engine way before either could legally drive. After graduating from high school and working in construction, Jim bought an old car dealership in Spring Green, Wisconsin, to turn into a paint and body shop. Mike would join Jim at the business after a stint in the U.S. Navy.That small-town collision repair shop eventually morphed into Ringbrothers, a leader in the construction of high-end and extremely bespoke custom cars. Its legendary creations, like Enyo, Tusk, Strode and others, are rolling award-winning showcases of the incredible talent of Mike, Jim and the Ringbrothers team. The thousands of hours of craftsmanship, innovation, and meticulous build quality of each Ringbrothers' creation have transformed a small-town shop into a globally recognized brand and leader in the custom car space.Bootstrapping their way from a humble to an iconic brand taught the brothers a lot about building a business. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Mike and Jim Ring discuss with host Dan Kahn what it took to become one of the premier custom car builders in the world. It is a must-watch episode for anyone wanting to develop their brand or into cars. Click on the icon above to give it a watch, and here are our top five takeaways:* Respect is a huge part of building any brand.* Using your own products often is key to success.* Hire the right people and learn from them.* The drive for constant improvement is something you must possess.* Believing in yourself early can lead to great things.Treat Everyone with RespectTreating customers and everyone with respect is a strong part of how Mike and Jim built Ringbrothers and continue to operate it. That solid advice might sound like common sense, but it is surprising how often it is forgotten. Even as their brand grew into a global phenomenon, they remained humble and treated people with the same respect as when they first opened.“Growing up in a town with just over 600 people, it is just mind-boggling to me the people we have met over a car,” said Jim. “If there is any advice for anybody else, and I made this mistake early, it is that you have to treat everybody with respect. It is very important that you always do what you say you are going to do. Sometimes that becomes really hard.”Develop and Use Your Own ProductsBeyond custom car construction, Ringbrothers sells high-quality billet and carbon-fiber parts via its e-commerce platform. A key to the success of those products is that they are developed, built and used all in-house. This allows for deep product knowledge and constant improvement that copying someone else’s product or overseas manufacturing could never offer.“A lot of our products were developed over the years on different builds we’ve done. One thing about our products is that we use them and know how they work. I really feel we give good customer service because of that,” said Mike. “We are not just making something out of billet or copying somebody else’s product and putting it out there. We use our products every day.”Always Make it BetterWhat shows in every radical Ringbrothers build is the constant push for improvement. The drive to always make something better isn’t just part of the vehicle builds, but also the business. Without that drive from within, brands can often stagnate and fall to competitors.“You know you are never satisfied. You never think that, oh, we nailed it. We have never looked at one (a vehicle build) and thought that it’s the end-all,” said Mike. “I think that is what keeps you young and wanting to do the next one. It is to just make it better. “Learn From Your EmployeesWhile the vehicles Ringbrothers builds might be old-school, the technology used to create them is extremely modern. CAD/CAM, 3D printing and high-tech machinery all play roles in their creation. Mike and Jim admit to not being “techy,” but the key was to hire the right people who understand the technology and learn from them.“Mike and I are blessed to have younger guys who understand that stuff, who want to come here and be a part of this, and want to build cars and parts,” said Jim. “The technology is not coming from Mike and me. It is coming from the people we have here that we have been blessed to have work with us. It is crazy. A month ago, we just bought two new 3D printers because we wore our other ones out.”Believe in YourselfBeing an entrepreneur is always a tricky balance between taking risks and being cautious. For Mike, reflecting on how far Ringbrothers has come, one mistake was not believing in themselves earlier. While he is completely happy with their tremendous success, that early confidence could have led to things happening quicker.“For me, it is probably not believing in ourselves, so we didn’t invest faster or go bigger earlier. Not for monetary reasons, but just to think that we didn’t have the confidence and to look back and ask why we didn’t have confidence in ourselves then,” said Mike. “You always wonder what if. I am proud of what we did, but if I look back, I would have said that I wish we had just blown it up (earlier).” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

TLG Auto’s Marco Gerace on “Only The Strong Survive”Air-cooled Porsches have always been a huge part of Marco Gerace’s life. His father founded TLG Auto in 1978, originally a small service shop with a single bay. With a fondness and deep knowledge of Porsches, his dad quickly specialized in working on the German marque. Eventually, TLG Auto morphed into a specialty business restoring vintage Porsches.After a brief career in journalism, Marco joined the family business in 2003. Working alongside his father, Marco learned everything he could about Porsches and TLG Auto before taking over after his dad’s passing in 2016. As a second-generation business owner, Marco brings a unique insight into what it takes to keep a family business thriving.In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Marco shares his experiences in successfully running a small family business with host Dan Kahn. His lessons and knowledge are essential for leaders of brands of any size. Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Transitioning from the first generation to the second in a family business can be difficult.* You need to have difficult conversations while you can.* Family businesses sometimes need a push.* Finding the right size for your business is critical.* Finding the right employees who aren’t only there for money is just as important.Passing the Torch is HardMarco learned the hard way that passing the torch from the first generation to the second of a family business can be extremely difficult. If both parties aren’t on the same page, it can cause a lot of conflict. That was definitely the case for Marco and his dad, until they figured out they both wanted the same thing. Open and honest communication about what they both wanted for the future would have greatly minimized that friction.“What ended up happening was I was in my 20s and on the rise. He was in his 50s and 60s and on the decline. Not like in health, but eventually, yes. It was more that I wanted more of the business and he wanted less, but we didn’t know how to pass the torch,” said Marco. “There was no discussion of next steps. It was assumed I would take over, but we never got into discussing it. So as I was doing more in the shop, he felt less important and like he was being pushed out.”Have Hard Discussions Sooner than LaterMarco’s father passed away way too early in his life. While both shared the same vision of the future after that initial conflict, there was no concrete plan. Marco was left to figure out a lot of the business on his own and do a lot of “on-the-job” learning. He learned that you need to have the difficult discussions about transitions in a family business sooner rather than later.“The transition was never actually set up, so when he passed, it was sort of a rug pull for me. I was left scrambling to prop the business up and learn the things I hadn’t learned about the cars, the business and being an entrepreneur with no guidance,” said Marco. “That is kind of the nature of things, though. You just don’t know (when someone will pass away). It prompts you to have the hard talks sooner. If I learned anything from it, it is to have those really hard discussions much sooner in life than later.”You Have to PushFamily businesses can get stuck in a proverbial rut, with the younger generation wanting to respect their elders. However, that can lead to a reduction in market share as times change, but founders stick to their traditional ways of doing business. Marco knew he had to push the company forward as social media and online platforms became more prevalent. Even though marketing and anything online wasn’t his dad’s “thing,” the eldest Gerace still respected the results and let Marco try new things.“He didn’t understand it. My dad was a Luddite, but didn’t know what that was,” said Marco. “He didn’t understand how I did what I was doing or how the internet or networking worked, but he saw the results in the numbers.”Find the Right Size for Your BusinessMany entrepreneurs, including Marco, struggle with finding the right size for their business. While nonstop growth is always attractive, it can come with its own challenges and doesn’t always increase net profits. Overexpanding at the wrong time can also sink a business. The key is to find a size for your business that you are happy with and can maintain.“This is something I think about and struggle with regularly. My business has been on the precipice of expansion or contraction for about a decade,” said Marco. “I have enough work that if I added three people, we could crush it, but do I really want that kind of business? Or do I want to contract the business a little bit, have a wait list and do the best work on the best cars? Maybe I make a little less money, but I still do okay and take care of my people. I have this choice to make, and what is the better long-term goal? I don’t know.”And Find the Right PeopleWith a high-end clientele and extremely pricey vehicles, Marco needs highly skilled mechanics and employees. While paying a premium could attract that workforce, there is a downside to that scenario. For his business to prosper, he doesn’t want people there just for the money, but who love what they do and have a long-term outlook.“If you pay enough, you can have the best. The problem is that you want to attract people who want to work on the cars, have the knowledge and love of the Porsche product line, and aren’t just chasing the money. The people who are chasing the money will always chase the money,” said Marco. “Sometimes you can sit where you are at, do the best work you can do and then reap the dividends down the road. Don’t look at the short-term, but look at the big picture and the long-term. If you put into the business what you want to get out of it, everybody wins.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Jeff O’Neill’s life has always revolved around great wines and ideas. In 1980, he joined the family wine business that his grandfather had initially started. With the winery in bad financial shape before his onboarding, it wasn’t long before the bank took it over. However, Jeff was able to repurchase its assets and continue operations with the help of private equity investors. In 2004, he sold the original family business and created his own with O’Neill Vintners and Distillers. As its CEO and founder, Jeff helped guide it to become one of Central California's largest vintners and distillers.Another of Jeff’s passions is vintage racecars, which started with childhood trips to TransAm races at Sonoma Raceway with his father. Jeff combined his two favorite vintages into one and created Velocity Invitational, a luxury motorsports festival that blends fine food and wine with rare racecars, hypercars and supercars. The unique and highly anticipated event is held at the same raceway where his love for racing first began.In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Jeff shares his knowledge on building brands and experiential events with host Dan Kahn. It is a must-listen for anyone looking to start their own company or create an event. Click on the icon to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Branding is everything, regardless of the business you are in.* Talk to your customers and not at them.* Authenticity is key to building brands.* You have to appeal to more than just core customers.* Perfection can be the enemy of innovation.Building Brands Has Completely ChangedBrand value has always been extremely important in the wine business, as consumers tend to gravitate towards wineries they know and like. However, how that brand value is built has completely changed over the years. Now, there are more customer touchpoints than ever, and each needs careful consideration.“Today, it (brand building) is in a different place than it was 30 years ago. You used to just get it (the wine) on the floor and make sure someone had to run into it with their shopping cart,” said Jeff. “Today, you have to have social media, Instagram and TikTok. So, you are really trying to touch consumers in a lot more places than you used to. But everyone has that same challenge.”Be Inclusive and not ExclusiveDrinking wine can be a needlessly complicated experience with a plethora of rules. While this might give the experience a sense of exclusivity, it doesn’t help build a larger customer base. If you want to expand your business, you have to connect with your consumers in the right way and be more inclusive than exclusive.“As an industry, I think we need to take the blame. We have made drinking wine a little too complicated for a lot of people,” said Jeff. “We have created, I think, a mess from the consumer point of view. What we want to do is to turn it all into exploration. There are really no bad decisions out there, right? Drink white wine with a steak if you want to drink white wine. But we have created all these rules…we have to change the way we talk to the consumer and make it more fun and entertaining.”Authenticity is EverythingToday, the story behind a brand is just as important as the product itself. However, that story has to be authentic to have an impact. For O’neill Vintners and Distillers, talking about its sustainability and regenerative farming efforts, which are central to its values, has been vital to helping build its brands.“Authenticity is key. Telling these great stories, why we are here and the background is the most important thing we can do today. It is critical to the success of the brands. It doesn’t matter if it is our brand or Patagonia,” said Jeff. “Authenticity and real stories matter, but I do remind everyone that the kid who wants authenticity and sustainability wants it in five minutes. I am not 100% sure you can say you love authenticity and sustainability, but, by the way, I got to have that bag of Doritos delivered by Amazon in eight minutes.”Reaching the Next RingVelocity Invitational could have been a “hardcore” motorsports event solely appealing to enthusiasts. However, that wasn’t interesting to Jeff and would have greatly limited its appeal and success. For any brand or event to be successful, it is crucial to figure out how to reach the next concentric ring beyond your core customers.“The whole idea is how to make a day out of it (Velocity Invitational) and make it really fun and entertaining. If you want to learn a ton about the cars, we have docents. But otherwise, come and enjoy the day, enjoy the food and tour the cars. See everything from 1908 to what the future looks like,” said Jeff. “It is always about how we entertain and take care of, I will call it families, but it is really wives, girlfriends and people who are kind of interested, but they are not subscribing to a motorsport magazine and reading it cover to cover.”You Will Never Win if Everything Must be 100%Perfection can sometimes stifle innovation. New ideas aren’t always fully thought out, but that is okay. For Jeff, coming up with a concept that might need some work is better than shelving it because it is not 100% complete.“They (his team) like to deliver everything to me with a perfect bow on it and 100% done. My point is, you will never win if you think you have to get everything done 100%,” said Jeff. “You get it to 98% and go, or 90% and go, because usually, if it is a great idea, it is something new and something innovative. You don’t need it to be 100%.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Ami Kassar wears many hats as a columnist for 21 Hats, a former advisor to the White House, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, and the author of “The Growth Dilemma.” He is also the founder and CEO of MultiFunding LLC, a consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs find smart and strategic funding to help grow and finance their businesses. Founded to give counsel to businesses on finding the best loan options transparently, MultiFunding has secured over $1 billion in loans.With over two decades of experience in business finance and an entrepreneur himself, Kassar is an expert in both areas. In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, he shares his expertise in securing funding for entrepreneurs and running a business with host Dan Kahn. It is a must-listen for anyone wanting to know how to use leverage responsibly, structure debt the right way and fund growth without losing their soul or shirt. Click on the icon above to check out the entire fascinating episode, and here are our five top takeaways:* Loans won’t solve structural or organizational problems with your business.* Very few entrepreneurs come from a financial background.* It is okay to grow your brand at your own pace.* Bookkeeping and accounting are tedious but the cornerstones of successful brands.* Keep calm and carry on in turbulent times.Covid Changed EverythingThe pandemic was a life-altering period for many, including businesses. While the massive injection of small-business loans saved countless entrepreneurs, it also acted as a double-edged sword for others. Instead of creating leaner and more efficient business models, some relied on those loans to get by. Those same loans are now coming due as costs and tariffs rise, leading many businesses to go under.“Money flooded the market and balance sheets. Then you didn’t have to pay it back for two or three years. It gave everyone this false sense of security, like it was party time. When you put too much money into a company like that, you often cause more harm than good. Many people just thought they wouldn’t have to pay it back, or didn’t understand the conditions about what the money was intended for,” said Kassar. “I really think, particularly with that last influx of idle money, it is going to cause a lot of harm for decades.”Most Brand Leaders Aren’t Good at FinanceMost small businesses are started by someone with an idea about a product or service. Very few of those “idea people” have backgrounds in finance or accounting. However, if you want your business to survive and thrive, you need to get a handle on its finances. Not paying attention to or understanding the financial details of your company doesn’t give you the flexibility required to survive ups and downs.“Most small businesses are not good at their financials or cash management, especially in turbulent times. I have a picture I use when I do talks and lectures of an offensive and defensive player ready to beat each other up in a football game. I say that this is how you need to think about your balance sheet,” said Kassar. “A good team is set up for flexibility because as you run your business, there could be unexpected opportunities that pop up and unexpected crises that pop up. You want to be ideally situated for both.”Grow at Your Own PaceMany entrepreneurs and CEOs are absolutely obsessed with growing a company as fast as possible. However, that growth almost always comes with more risk. For Kassar, it is crucial to figure out your own personal tolerance for risk before taking a lot of it on. Otherwise, you might grow a brand but have plenty of sleepless nights and stress-filled days.“I don’t think we talk about this enough, but we all have different risk tolerances. There is no right or wrong. I think you should understand where your risk tolerance is and be okay with it. That could impact the decisions about how big you want to grow your business and how fast and how much risk you want to take on,” said Kassar. “I would much rather see people grow their business at the pace they want to. I always say nothing is more important than a good night’s sleep.”Stay on Top of Your GameTangibles like a product or service often get the most attention from anyone starting a business from scratch. Entrepreneurs usually obsess over the details of whatever they offer, hoping it will connect with consumers. While that obsession is important, Kassar's top advice for anyone starting a business is to stay on top of their finances. Accounting and bookkeeping might be boring, but they are the cornerstones of successful businesses.“Stay on top of it (your finances) and stay healthy. Absolutely invest in good bookkeeping and accounting, and have regular reporting. Stay totally in charge of your game,” said Kassar. “I do think it is important and healthy to check in regularly on your bookkeeping and accounting. Like everything else in life, bookkeeping and accounting might serve you at one level, but you need to upgrade them to get to the next level.”Keep Your Head DownIt is not exactly shocking to say that we live in extremely challenging times. Tariffs, layoffs, wild stock market gyrations, recession fears and other economic indicators that are flashing red are all causing lots of anxiety. While Kassar doesn’t possess a crystal ball or have any special insight into what is going on, he notes that the best way forward for any entrepreneur is to keep calm and carry on.“There is a lot of uncertainty and confusion out there. It is quite fascinating to me because we have been really busy (as a business) since the election. There is a lot of activity and a lot of people borrowing and growing and looking towards the future, which I take to be a good sign. However, there are a lot of fundamentals out there that are making people nervous, and I don’t blame them,” said Kassar. “I always say I just keep my head down and try to keep working and moving, but there is a lot of confusion out there.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Julie McQueen’s journey to the head of CarbonTV started behind the camera. Initially, she documented others' outdoor adventures as a camerawoman and producer before transitioning to a show host. All of those roles were natural fits for someone with a strong love for the outdoors and who is a passionate conservation advocate. As her expertise in digital media quickly grew, Julie became the president and CEO of the outdoor-focused CarbonTV streaming platform.Taking the helm of the popular outdoor enthusiast streaming service right before the pandemic and guiding it through a constantly changing media environment brought many challenges. However, through all of them, Julie continues to expand CarbonTV and grow its audience. In this episode of the “Only the Strong Survive” podcast, she shares with host Dan Kahn the valuable insight she has learned in her leadership position. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire fascinating episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Being first in a space comes with many advantages.* You always have to keep adapting to consumer preferences.* Finding the right niche and owning it is key to success.* Always surround yourself with the right people.* Don’t be afraid to trust your gut.Be a First MoverWhile outdoor-focused television channels exist, CarbonTV is the first digital streaming platform covering hunting, fishing and other forms of outdoor recreation. Being first definitely comes with the advantages of being able to “own the space.” However, it doesn’t 100% guarantee success, as you still have to manage growth properly.“Being so early in the game definitely gave us a lot of benefits. We have remained the largest over the years, but it takes a lot of dedication and a really smart team to keep that growth and keep it sustainable,” said Julie. “We are not growing at a pace that we can’t keep up with, but we are constantly evolving and growing in smart ways.”Always Keep AdaptingHow people consume media has completely changed as the dominance of network television has faded and streaming services have dramatically risen in popularity. However, even within the streaming space, consumer preferences keep shifting. Monitoring and adapting to those changes have been vital to CarbonTV’s success.“It has really shifted over the years. Back in the day, it was all on devices like handhelds, and we were seeing shorter retention times on those. If someone is watching on an iPhone, for example, I can assume they will watch for 12 to 20 minutes,” said Julie. “As we have moved into different distribution platforms, Roku, for example, is a huge one for us. More people watch us on Roku than anywhere else. Our retention on Roku hovers around 1.5 hours per session, which is huge.”Find Your NicheOperating within a specific niche might seem like a limiting factor for advertising, but it has been a boon for CarbonTV. Brands that want to advertise to outdoor enthusiasts can speak directly to them on CarbonTV instead of taking their chances with more generalized audiences elsewhere. While those niche audiences might be smaller, they are also more loyal.“They (ads on CarbonTV) are highly trackable and perform well because we have such an endemic audience. We have a loyal audience. This is going to sound a bit crazy, but they don’t have a lot of options,” said Julie. “We have them captive in some ways, which is great for the brands because they know when they run ads on Carbon, they have people seeing and engaging with those ads who are their core customers.”Surround Yourself with the Right PeopleAs a female CEO, Julie is definitely among a minority in the largely male-dominated outdoor industry. However, for her, it hasn’t been a negative experience that has somehow limited her growth or career options. According to Julie, it is more about the people you surround yourself with and following the path blazed by others.“It is not like the old days, when people told you to be quiet because you were a girl and didn’t know what you were doing. I think those days are long gone,” said Julie. “There have been so many amazing and brilliant women before me who have really paved the path and opened up all those doors. As long as you navigate it the right way and keep the right people around you, I think that being a minority can be a really big blessing.”Trust Your Gut and Act FastOne hard lesson Julie has learned over the years is to trust your gut instincts, as they are usually right. Just as important is acting quickly on those instincts to make rapid decisions. Ignoring your instincts or taking too long to make hard decisions can lead to the demise of your brand.“Seeing something in the company that, in my gut, I knew needed to change and not acting on it fast enough was a mistake,” said Julie. “I think as a leader, you have to make hard decisions. That is a big part of the reason why companies fail in those first five years. It is a lot of hard decisions, a series of them every day, repeatedly. If you are not good at having hard conversations, moving quickly on them and getting them out of the way, everything else starts to falter.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Natalie and John Radzwilla of Hook & Barrel Magazine on “Only The Strong Survive”Natalie and John Radzwilla have a fascinating story of entrepreneurship. Initially, the couple owned a boutique public relations firm in the outdoor space. After having difficulty finding any media to connect with their more lifestyle-oriented clients, they decided to become the media. In a time when most were strongly retreating from magazines and any print mediums, the couple decided to go all in and launch their own magazine.The first edition of Hook & Barrel Magazine came out in July 2018. Unlike most outdoor media at the time, its content was more lifestyle-focused instead of technical or a heavy emphasis on reviews. However, that differentiation was no guarantee of success.Bootstrapping Hook & Barrel Magazine from its first print issue to its current status of a small multi-media empire has been quite the journey. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Natale and John Radzwilla discussed what they learned along the way about entrepreneurship and making a magazine thrive in a digital era. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode. Here are our top five takeaways:* There will always be naysayers regardless of what you do.* Burying your head in the sand never works.* Being relentless is a huge part of brand building.* Artificial intelligence has its limitations.* Success requires paying attention to every detail.People Will Think You’re CrazyMost people told Natalie and John they were crazy for wanting to launch a magazine with their own money. Those naysayers had a point in an era when multiple publishing companies were going out of business. However, Natalie and John believed in their vision and stuck to it. Seven years later, they have proved that they have found an underserved niche and have a viable business model.“In the beginning, everybody thought we were crazy. At the time, both of us were 33 years old, and what 33-year-olds back in 2018 were deciding to start an outdoor lifestyle print magazine? That was our tangible product and what we were coming out of the gates with. It didn’t start from a website or from a blog or from an Instagram or Facebook page,” said Natalie. “A lot of people at the beginning were very discouraging and saying we were crazy and would never see a dime.”You Can’t Ignore TrainsWhen John and Natalie launched Hook & Barrel Magazine, many publishing companies were going under. The vast majority held onto their print properties too tightly and tried to ignore the “freight train” of people shifting online. John and Natalie knew they wanted a magazine but also needed a website and online presence to back it up. Ignoring consumer preferences like others had was not a viable path forward.“The internet was coming, and it is amazing what happens when people ignore the train. They want to pretend it is not coming, and that is how you get rolled over,” says John. “The magazine itself is the one tangible thing we have because we didn’t want to become only a blog or a vlog or whatever. We wanted to have a tangible product, but at the end of the day, I always knew what the evolution was going to be. It’s going to be a multi-faceted media company.”You Have to be RelentlessLarger companies have the luxury of a built-in consumer base and lots of resources when they launch a sub-brand or new product. Hook & Barrel Magazine had none of those and had to be built as a brand completely from scratch. Pulling that off takes a lot of determination, strength and absolute relentlessness. Without all of those traits, successfully launching a magazine in a decentralized media landscape would be impossible.“You have to find a unique niche, like my old CEO said, then dominate that space, battle-harden yourself, and then just be absolutely relentless and ruthless when it comes to growing your brand until those seeds take root,” said John. “At that point, you start nurturing it. Until that thing actually sprouts, you just have to buckle down and be ready for it.”The Impact of AIArtificial intelligence is a huge talking point in the publishing world, as some magazines have ditched their writers for AI-generated content to maximize their profits. Hook & Barrel Magazine has integrated AI into its website to help suggest articles, but both John and Natalie say there is a limit to its use. Neither has the desire to adopt AI completely and solely rely on it.“It is one thing to adopt something new and integrate it into what you are already doing. It is another thing to change everything and fully adopt it 100% and change your whole business model,” says Natalie. “Actual writers were the original influencers, and they are always going to be. We would never replace our content with something AI-generated.”Success is in the DetailsGrit, determination and a bold vision are all important components of entrepreneurial success. However, one element that doesn’t often get discussed is paying attention to the details. Going over all aspects of your business with a “fine-tooth comb” will show any red flags and areas you need to improve. Glossing over the details is a surefire way to encounter surprises that might ultimately end your business.“For me, what I have had to learn is that success is in the details. Of course, you need that vision of the big picture and the gumption to go after it,” said Natalie. “But at the end of the day, when you are bootstrapping something or just starting out, and this isn’t just a one-month process as your start-up process is truly your first five years, so in your first five years if you don’t pay tremendous attention to the details of everything, yes it is very tedious and time consuming, but if you don’t do that it is the quickest way to fail.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Tim Parkhurst's love for the U.S. Marine Corps started early in life. After some difficulties in public school, he was enrolled in a private military high school that mirrored the Corps. The experience was life-changing, as Parkhurst knew he wanted to be a Marine from that point forward. Upon graduating, he quickly enlisted and became part of the elite Marine Corps Scout Snipers. He would go on to serve for 25 years in the Marines, with deployments across four conflicts.Upon his retirement from the Corp, Parkhurst became involved in an all-volunteer Marine sniper association. However, he wanted to help preserve the Scout Snipers' 105-year-long history, honor its important legacy and build a memorial to its fallen members in Quantico, Virginia. Knowing that the mission would be beyond the bandwidth of volunteers, Parkhurst founded the Marine Scout Sniper Heritage Foundation. Consisting of a full-time staff, it is entirely dedicated to achieving those goals.In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive Podcast,” Parkhurst shares the lessons he learned from his service as a Scout Sniper. He also discusses with host Dan Kahn the need for the Marine Scout Sniper Heritage Foundation and other non-profit veteran-focused organizations like it. Click on the icon above to watch the entire interview, and here are our top takeaways:* Mission-driven people always need something to focus on.* The transition from military to civilian life is challenging for most veterans.* Small teams also need to contribute to larger organizations.* Keeping calm under pressure is a valuable skill for anyone.Mission-Driven People Need Mission-Driven OrganizationsThere is no doubt that the U.S. Marine Corps is a mission-driven organization with equally driven members. Upon initially leaving the Marines, Parkhurst entered a darker period in his life without a mission to channel his energy on. That lost feeling and lack of focus led to Parkhurst re-enlisting in the Marines five years later. As he got closer to his final retirement, he knew he needed to still be part of a mission-driven organization. Fulfilling that need led him to become involved in non-profits and ultimately founding the Marine Scout Sniper Heritage Foundation.“I was on a deployment in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, about three or four years before I retired, and it occurred to me that it is all about the mission. We are so mission-focused and driven in the military, and if I don’t have some kind of mission that means something to me when I get out, I am just going to flounder. That is really what happened to me the first time around,” said Parkhurst. “So I started thinking to myself that I would be proactive this time and find some type of non-profit or organization that I can give my time and effort to that seems worthy, adds value to the world, makes me feel better about myself and makes me feel like I am contributing.”Becoming a Civilian is ToughOne of the reasons Parkhurst founded his non-profit is that he knew from first-hand experience how tough the transition to civilian life can be. Beyond the loss of a mission, there are a whole host of other issues that veterans often have to deal with after leaving the service. By honoring the legacy of the Scout Snipers, Parkhurst hopes that he can give former Marines a sense of being part of something much larger and find other veterans to confide in with their problems about switching to a civilian role.“It is a problem that is never going to be completely mitigated. It will always be there. So no matter how much you prepare somebody who’s getting ready to separate ahead of time, they’re going to have the problem. A lot of it is determined by that individual's own personal disposition, their past history with mental health issues, stability and things like that. Quite frankly, a lot of guys come into the military with a lot of baggage already from their childhood,” says Parkhurst. “We are just a microcosm of society, so the military deals with that just like everybody in the civilian world.”Going “Solo” Has Its DrawbacksMarine Corps Scout Snipers are unique because they operate independently in a two-man team with minimal supervision. That ability to broadly execute missions on their own contrasts with the more rigid and traditional military command structures soldiers often deal with. However, just like in business, continually operating on your own or in micro teams has drawbacks and can make being part of the “bigger picture” more difficult.“You get overlooked when it comes to larger picture things. When you are just off training on your own, you are just training individual skills, but what about skills in support of a company, which is maybe 150 men, or skills in support of a battalion, which is a thousand guys?” says Parkhurst. “Different-sized operations require different skill sets and different techniques. If you don’t practice them, you can’t get good at them.”Equanimity is a VirtueAny sniper is rigorously taught the importance of equanimity. Marine Corps Scout Snipers are put into highly stressful situations, so the ability to remain calm and make composed decisions is vital. While business leaders aren’t deciding the perfect time to take a shot with a sniper rifle, their ability to keep calm is just as important. Being rash with decisions and not thinking them through can be fatal to a sniper but also the downfall of a business.“When I went through sniper school, the big catchword was equanimity. Equanimity is essentially the ability to keep your cool under pressure, not make rash decisions and think things through. Don’t think too long, be decisive and make a decision, but always think,” says Parkhurst. “You have to think about equanimity and practice it to get good at it. Just having that word in my head and knowing that it is there and something that I should strive for has helped me in those times when it mattered to actually be able to do that just enough to be somewhat successful.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Some entrepreneurs who started their own businesses can envy those who run their families’ companies. After all, many of these multi-generational leaders didn’t have to go through the often painful process of starting a brand from scratch. While that may be true, running a family business comes with a whole other set of unique challenges. And keeping that business going for generations also requires a lot of skill and knowledge.On this special episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn discusses the intricacies and difficulties of making multi-generational businesses thrive with three great guests, including Malco Automotive Products’ Seth Glauberman. Malco, an automotive detailing products company, was founded in 1953 by Seth’s grandfather. Also part of the discussion is David Borla from Borla Exhaust, a well-known aftermarket exhaust manufacturer that was created by David’s parents in 1978. Adding her expertise is Melanie Hellwig White of Hellwig Suspension Products, a helper spring and sway bar brand that Melanie’s great-grandfather and grandfather started in 1946.Click on the icon above to watch the latest episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” as all three leaders share their experiences on what it takes to keep a family business going. Here are our top five takeaways from the episode:* You can’t be forced into a family business and be successful.* Multi-generational family businesses are legacies and not just brands.* There is a lot of pressure associated with that legacy.* Change in a family business can be challenging but necessary.* Being part of a multi-generational brand creates a long-term outlook.Running the Family Business Has to be a ChoiceOne interesting trait Melanie, David and Seth all share is that none of them were pressured to join the family business. They were free to choose their own paths and didn’t immediately join their family’s brands. That freedom resulted in their desire to be part of their respective companies rather than it feeling like a requirement. Wanting the next generation to continue your business might be strong, but it needs to be their choice for the business to be successful.“I think what my parents did an excellent job at was there was no pressure. We kept things, and we still do, very separate,” says Melanie. “It is hard because there is so much passion in a family business. In some ways, I think I was a little discouraged (from joining the business). Maybe not discouraged but not encouraged. It was very neutral on whether or not my family wanted the next generation to get involved.”It’s Not Just a Business, It’s a LegacyOne key difference between running a family business and starting your own is that you are part of something much larger. Melanie, David and Seth’s brands all stretch back over decades. The businesses have always been part of the trio’s lives, even as children way before their official start dates. That long-term involvement creates a different viewpoint and the realization that their family companies are legacies, not just brands.“I used to come in (as a kid) and put clamps together,” says David. “I have had the opportunity, and I am sure it is like that for Melanie and Seth, too, to have seen the business even when I wasn’t involved in it. That is a really important perspective I think that we have as the next generation. Yes, there is this official time period that we have been working here, but we witnessed much more than that. For me, and you guys, I am sure it is always part of my thinking, no matter what I am doing, that I am a part of something a lot bigger, and that goes back a lot further than me.”That Legacy Brings Pressure, TooBeing part of something larger than yourself and a legacy is a rewarding experience. However, there is also a lot of pressure that comes with it as well. Carrying on that legacy can land heavily on the shoulders of the leaders of multi-generational family businesses. There is also a strong desire to do right by those who came before you and make your family proud.“This (business) was a passion project of my great-grandfather. I come into work every day, and I sit at my great grandfather's desk. There is a part where it is so integrated into everything here. I am incredibly lucky to have this awesome brand and this legacy,” says Melanie. “There is a lot of pressure with this legacy, though, and, I won’t lie, it has kept me up at night because I want to do well, and I want to make my grandpa proud.”You Can’t Get Stuck in the PastWith long and rich histories of brands that go back decades, there can be a lot of traditional ways of doing business that develop. While those traditions and relationships are essential to a brand’s legacy, you can’t remain firmly entrenched in the past, either. Multi-generational family businesses need to be as nimble and adaptable as upstarts to survive in a constantly changing business environment.“Our company has probably reinvented itself five times. We started by doing cleaning chemicals that were sold to dairy distributors on the janitorial side. You don’t get milk dropped off at your house now, so that’s gone,” says Seth. “We were always a specialty chemical manufacturer at our core focused on meeting the needs of our customers. But if you look at our business, there are three of four times when it really changed. My dad always talks about the paradigm shift, how things change and how you have to adapt to it. The reason we are still around is because we kept adapting versus staying in one spot.”A Long History Creates a Long-Term OutlookAnother unique aspect of being part of a multi-generational family-run business is that it naturally creates a long-term vision. While some companies obsess over the next quarter’s profits and maximizing shareholder values, Seth, Melanie and David have a different outlook. Being part of their respective businesses since childhood gives them a deep understanding of playing the “long game” and knowing that short-term gain can come at the expense of overall company health.“There is just this intuitive feel and knowledge that you have, especially as a family having built this thing from nothing. That knowledge and experience transfer from one generation to another. It is knowing what the right thing is to do and knowing when it is the right time to take a little bit less profit in order to invest in the long-term health of the business,” says David. “The other thing is a lot of these PE guys are looking to flip the businesses every two or three years. They don’t care what is going to happen in seven or eight years to the business. Whereas we don’t necessarily have that mindset, so we can play the long game.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Operational excellence and process improvements are significant parts of Mario Iannantuono’s life. After getting an engineering degree, he worked as a process engineer for an OEM. That first role created interest and excitement in the manufacturing process and how to improve it. After leaving the OEM side, Mario switched roles to working for Tier 1 OEM suppliers. Eventually, he became a global manager and worked for other well-known world-class companies such as Danaher. Through all his roles, Mario gained extensive experience in improving manufacturing and making it more efficient.Eventually, Mario retired but quickly discovered a life of golf and leisure wasn’t for him. Along with a couple of business associates, he formed Quantum Leap Partners, a consulting group that brings operational and process improvement expertise to smaller and mid-size businesses. Mario also acts as an interim COO for BluePrint Engines, a leading manufacturer of high-performance crate engines. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Mario discusses with host Dan Kahn why process improvement matters to businesses of any size and what he has learned from a career dedicated to it. Here are our top five takeaways from Dan and Mario’s discussion:* Process and efficiency improvement can help companies of any size.* Measuring the correct data is essential.* KPIs are useless if everyone doesn’t understand them.* Getting to the root of the problem involves going beyond data.* Outside help is often needed to keep scaling.Process Improvement is for EveryoneOperational efficiency and process improvement were once thought to only matter to large-scale manufacturers like OEMs. However, Mario notes that smaller and mid-size companies can benefit from it, too. After all, the margins are often smaller for companies of this size, and anything you can do to squeak out more revenue is a plus. Improving processes and being more efficient can also give an edge over competitors that aren’t paying as much attention to it.“We (Quantum Leap Partners) try to stay away from big companies because they have a lot of people like us who can go in there and fix these things. We really think that the small and mid-sized companies are the ones who are starving for this kind of work and this kind of leadership and expertise,” said Mario. “Because they are smaller, they don’t have the resources, and what we do is go in there and show them what they have to do to be competitive.”Measurable Data is EverythingCreating key performance indicators (KPIs) is central to process improvement and efficiency. However, those KPIs need to really focus on what matters to the company and zero in on problem areas to help rectify them. Creating a bunch of easy wins and “green across the board” KPIs won’t help solve any problems. Gathering the right data is more important than the amount of data.“What we did (at BluePrint) was focus on what mattered. When we looked at our KPIs, we had green and red. The message that I give everybody is that red is not bad. Red tells us what we need to work on. That’s all red does,” said Mario. “We went through the process of focusing on the red and eliminating those issues. As we started getting some wins, the team got very excited, and it just cascaded from there.”Translate KPIs Into the Right LanguageKPIs often come from the top levels of management and can be financial in nature, such as growing sales by a certain percentage. One mistake Mario sometimes sees companies make is not translating those KPIs into data points that are easily understood by those doing the work. Financials might be great for management but not for workers on the assembly line. To be effective, those KPIs need to be translated into their “language.”“You are not going to share financials with folks on the shop floor because that is not the world they live in, right? Typically, if you go over a lot of financial information, they really just get lost,” said Mario. “On the shop floor, the world they live in is pieces and production. So, what I have always done is to take the financial data and translate it into languages that the people on the shop floor understand. Like what’s the goal for pieces? What’s the expected number of rejects that are okay, and what’s not okay? You need to put it into their format to make sure they understand it.”Getting To the Root of the ProblemThe right data is excellent for showing where the trouble spots are within your organization. However, even the best data doesn’t necessarily show what is causing those issues. To get to the root of those problems, you must dive deeper and go beyond simply gathering data.“The data tells us where the issue is, and we dig very deeply into it. Then, we use a process called the ‘Five Whys,’” said Mario. “It is a problem-solving technique that a lot of the Toyotas of the world use, and it primarily says that if you ask a question five times, you’ll eventually get to the root cause of the problem. The last thing we want to do is just put a Band-Aid on an issue and then move away from it without it being resolved.”Breaking Through the WallMost companies cannot infinitely scale up and grow unabated, and this is especially true of smaller, founder-led companies. Eventually, you hit a wall that you just can’t seem to get past. Mario notes that often, the only way to get past that wall is to seek help from outside experts. Pushing past it on your own can be a long, frustrating and costly process.“Most of their (smaller businesses) systems that are put into place are kind of homegrown systems, and they tend to outgrow them. They know that once they start getting some scale, their organization can’t really absorb all of this stuff with the homegrown systems they have,” said Mario. “So there comes a point where you have to go outside to companies like mine to show you how to get there.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Hilary Hutcheson on “Only The Strong Survive”Hilary Hutcheson’s love of the outdoors started early in life as the child of parents who worked for the National Park Service in Glacier National Park. Her “wild” childhood was spent riding bikes all over the park, running rapids, floating down rivers, exploring nature and fishing. After the explosion in the popularity of fly fishing, partly thanks to Brad Pitt in “A River Runs Through It,” Hilary became a fly fishing guide as a teenager. Eventually, she pursued a degree in broadcast journalism and was a news reporter for five years in Portland, Oregon. However, the beauty of Montana eventually called her back home.Now, Hilary wears many hats, continuing on with her first job as the lead fly fishing guide for Glacier Raft Company. She also started her own business, Lary’s Fly and Supply, which sells fly fishing equipment and hand-tied flies. An award-winning filmmaker, YETI ambassador and journalist, Hilary also writes for fishing magazines and creates outdoor films. She also somehow finds time to volunteer and serve on the boards of several conservation organizations. In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Hilary shares with host Dan Kahn how she juggles her multiple endeavors, what it takes to run an outdoor business and her thoughts on leadership. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Working in the outdoor industry can be idealized.* You have to take care of your employees.* There are many ways to help find a balance between work and life.* Volunteering for something you believe in is essential.* Always trust your gut instincts.Get DirtyMany people have an idealized concept of working in the outdoor industry. However, Hilary advises anyone thinking of pursuing an outdoor career to look past the perfectly curated photos on social media. To get an idea of what it is really like, you have to get dirty working in the outdoors. The days are often long, and the weather is far from perfect. It can be a rewarding career, but it is not for everyone.“If you want a career in the outdoor industry, have you looked at it beyond Instagram or the videos that are published? What do you really know about it? Because there is a fair amount of “anticappointment” in the outdoor industry,” says Hilary. “I always encourage people to really get dirty out there first. Get outside and understand how you fit in out there and if you feel comfortable out there.”Take Care of Your PeopleBeing a guide can seem like a stress-free job where you are always enjoying the outdoors. However, the long hours, constant worry about client safety and satisfaction, and sometimes having to act as a client psychologist can all take their toll. That is why Hilary ensures the focus is on the mental well-being of her employees and not just how happy her customers are.“We offer counselling through the Raft Company and we also tie in with the Redside Foundation, which is a non-profit that offers support to guides of all different types of outdoor guiding and recreation. They can get telehealth counseling sessions to get help with anything, such as financial situations they might be facing, relationship situations or issues with drugs and alcohol,” says Hilary. “There is a lot of support that is offered in the outdoor industry for guides. But the fact that a lot of guides might need that is something people haven’t talked about.”Find That BalanceIt is not hyperbole to say that Hilary is extremely busy with her multiple businesses, volunteer work and content creation. Having a work/life balance and staying sane may seem impossible. Thankfully, she has found a few things that help her juggle all that she has to do while still having time to enjoy life.“I am not going out on a bunch of different limbs. I have tried that before, and it definitely didn’t work. So everything I am doing is kind of similar. I can work on a bunch of different things, but they are so similar that they can support each other,” says Hilary. “We (Hilary and her husband) are also pretty good at delegating and giving people jobs. I don’t feel I am a person who has to do everything herself. I am pretty comfortable getting people trained up and having them lead in different ways.”Raise Your HandVolunteering and conservation are huge parts of Hilary’s life. Even for someone who might not seem to have spare time, she still finds ways to volunteer. For Hilary, one of the most important things is finding enjoyable ways to do it, as it leads to her raising her hand even more. Volunteering can take many forms, but you should always enjoy it.“You have to decide how your strengths are best utilized most efficiently, why you want to do that volunteer work, and what volunteer work looks like for you. For a lot of people, it is not meetings or Zoom calls,” says Hilary. “It is stewardship work, pulling fences or working with their hands on the land. It could be going to Washington, writing letters or articles, or working with the media. There is so much volunteer work that is needed.”Trust Your InstinctsHilary’s path from a kid in Glacier Park to a fishing guide, a news reporter, a media agency owner, a guide and running her own business may seem like a winding one. However, for her, the choices she made have been the right ones. Guiding her through it all has been the ability to constantly trust her gut instincts to lead her on the desired path.“My dad always said to think about your gut. He was very much about trusting your gut instincts and working through your gut and heart as opposed to overthinking things. For me, any time I have had a regret in business, it is because I strayed away from that, and I went and did something that either somebody else said to do or wanted to partner with me on,” says Hilary. “Anything that strays from how I truly feel about what I am doing or any time I have jumped off of that track has been a mistake.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

The SHOT Show (an acronym for the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show) has come a long way since its first show in 1979, held in St. Louis, Missouri, which had 5,600 attendees. Now, it has become one of the largest firearms shows in the world, regularly attracting over 50,000 people to peruse its 630,000 square feet of exhibit space. It has also branched out beyond solely focusing on firearms to incorporate many other parts of the outdoor industry into the annual show in Las Vegas.In this special episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn heads to the 2025 SHOT Show. Instead of a single guest, as is our usual format, Kahn talks to multiple entrepreneurs from different aspects of the outdoors and firearm industries. They all share valuable insight into what it takes to create a prospering business in a challenging environment. The discussions are worth listening to for anyone looking to bootstrap their own business, whether they are into firearms or not. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* The key to success is solving your customers’ problems.* Following your passion can create a long-lasting business.* You have to be all in on your brand.* Have a long-term vision for whatever you are trying to accomplish.* Bringing all manufacturing in-house is the ultimate way to control quality.Solve Your Customers’ ProblemsDan’s first interview was with Tyler Bech, the co-founder of the water purification company Guzzle H20. For Tyler, solving his customers’ problems isn’t just a feel-good value proposition buried in a marketing document somewhere. Instead, his whole company was founded around the concept. Created to provide clean water for sailboat crews in ports worldwide, Guzzle H20 quickly expanded to solve the problem of purifying water in the backcountry.“We started out actually trying to solve a problem for professional sailors who show up at a marina in an international location. They might have 25 guys who need drinking water, and they are pretty sure that if they drink the water at the marina, they are all going to get sick,” said Tyler. “So we developed carbon filters and partnered with an LED UV company to come up with a portable solution to treat whatever fresh water you have available. We started with that and quickly figured out there are not that many sailors in the world, so we started building equipment for overlanders and anyone who enjoys playing in the outdoors.”Follow Your PassionJimmy Flatt is a perfect example of following your passions. An avid hunter, he has always enjoyed teaching others to hunt. Looking to spread his love of hunting even further, Flatt founded Hunters of Color. The non-profit is dedicated to hunting conservation and fostering a deeper connection to the land while celebrating BIPOC and multi-cultural hunters. For Flatt, Hunters of Color is a passion project that helps him share his love of hunting with people traditionally underrepresented in the community.“We started on the West Coast, where all of us went to school. All three founders are Oregon State University alumni. We all came together to teach our friends how to hunt. Once we started to teach our friends, all of our friends started to tell their friends,” says Flatt. “So it became a small passion project that turned into a large need across the West and then the country. Once we all graduated, we had time to pursue our 501c3 status.”Be 100% CommittedIn a sea of AR-15s, those created by Blackout Defense boldly stand out for their innovative design and extremely high quality. Founded initially as an aerospace company, Blackout Defense pivoted to manufacturing rifles in-house with the same precision and attention to detail found in aerospace parts. For Blackout Defense President and Founder Brooke Afshari, the key to that successful big pivot was being 100% committed to the brand.“I would say that one thing that is absolutely critical is that you have to be 100% committed to the vision. You have to be 100% committed to the brand and building it,” says Brooke. “There can’t be a Plan B. There is only Plan A, and you are going to make it successful. You have to be all in to make it happen.”A Long-Term VisionFor Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, supporting the Montana-based firearms and outdoor industries is about having a long-term vision for his state. An entrepreneur himself, Gianforte bootstrapped his own business that eventually became one of the largest employers in the state of Montana. For Gianforte, attracting businesses to his state isn’t about tax breaks but about providing a better way of life. Drawing businesses to Montana or creating new ones and supporting them with sensible legislation is critical to its future.“Montana produces the best beef in the world. We feed the world with our grains, and we have been exporting beef and grain for decades,” says Gianforte. “Along with the beef and the grain, we have been exporting our kids and our grandkids. If we don’t improve our economy, we are not going to keep families together. That is why we are doing all of this.”Get VerticalShelli and Michael Merino founded Olympus Arms to bring the Montana-based company’s unique reciprocating barrel design to the market. The innovative feature dramatically reduces recoil on all of Olympus Arms’ rifles. However, Shelli quickly found that outsourcing high-quality parts machined to exacting standards for Olympus’ Vulcan rifles was difficult. After some early teething issues, she brought manufacturing entirely in-house to control quality.“We learned through the school of hard knocks how hard it is to outsource parts and get the type of quality machining and materials to the specs you need and how tough that market is,” says Shelli. “That is a big reason we decided to bring everything in-house so that we could quality control it. That gets very expensive very fast, but it’s worth it.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Cory Burns from Kahn Media on “Only The Strong Survive”Growing up as a car-crazed kid in Southern California, Cory Burns’ life has always revolved around automobiles. That love of cars eventually led Cory to a part-time job working for Joe Molina’s JMPR agency. As one of the era's most dominant automotive PR agencies, it was a natural fit for the young Burns. That two-week gig quickly turned into a full-time job, as Cory has an innate knack for public relations.Dan Kahn, host of "Only The Strong Survive,” was working at JMPR at the same time. Seeing Cory's natural talent, Dan quickly hired him as his second employee when he set out on his own and founded Kahn Media. Almost 15 years later, Cory proved it was a wise move, rising through the ranks to become Kahn Media’s Senior Vice President, Accounts.Bootstrapping his way from intern to vice president has taught Cory a lot about what it takes to be a leader and how to succeed. Being entrenched in public relations for over a decade has also given him a deep insight into the current PR landscape. In this special episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Cory shares his thoughts about both with host Dan Kahn. Click on the icon above to hear their entire insightful discussion. Here are our top five takeaways:* Willfully and consistently exiting your comfort zone is key to growth.* Leadership is about others and not yourself.* Don’t just hire experts, learn from them.* Successful creators are now becoming brands.* The decentralization of modern media has created challenges.Step Out of Your Comfort ZoneFor Cory, much of his career growth has come from his willingness to step outside his comfort zone. Trying something new that you might not be comfortable with is the best way to learn new skills. Being a wallflower or staying indefinitely in your comfort zone never leads to personal and professional growth.“I always look at it to take every opportunity to just try something new and show up where you may be uncomfortable. I remember being that kid cold-calling on the phone,” says Cory. “Show up at a place and have someone introduce you, ask someone what they are into or ask them about what they do. You never know who you are going to meet or how you are going to grow as a human. That has been my biggest takeaway and what I find to be the most fun.”Leadership is About “Not Having to Be the Guy”Some mistakenly think that leadership is about bossing others around and enjoying all the perks that can come with a leadership position. However, for Cory, that is not the case. His path to becoming a leader became much straighter when he learned that leadership is about serving others and letting them enjoy those perks instead.“If I had to look at it overall, it feels like the passing of the torch. Those experiences that I loved so much that this career enabled me to have, I now get a lot of joy from watching someone else experience them. I think that is when I transitioned to learning how to be a better leader,” says Cory. “That was the transitional moment for me, and it took me a long time to remind myself that I don’t always have to be the guy (to have those experiences).”Hire Experts and Learn from ThemMany companies want to hire experts in their respective fields. However, some companies make the mistake of never listening to those experts after they hire them. For Cory, one of the biggest shifts in culture at Kahn Media happened after hiring the right people and learning as much as possible from them instead of having them conform to a rigid way of doing business.“One thing that stands out the most is we have a lot of really smart people that work for us. You and I can’t know everything about every medium,” says Cory. “So the best change is we have hired a bunch of people who have knowledge in different subject matters and with different marketing backgrounds. We have hired people to strengthen the brand and to learn from them as opposed to a lot of companies where you come in, and you have to do it their way.”Creators are Now Becoming BrandsThe demise and decentralization of media have been rapidly accelerating. While some initially thought that the deeper pockets of large-scale media outfits would give them more staying power, that has not been the case. One contributor to this is that some content creators have now become brands, allowing them to diversify their income streams and not be dependent on the whims of algorithms.“I think watching independent creators not just think of themselves as content creators who just make videos but as a business is where the traditional media model lost,” says Cory. “They (traditional media) only had one business model, and that was to sell ads on their networks and hope people watched and that they get good ratings. I do think that is the biggest change in modern media.”The Downside of DecentralizationWhile some see the demise and decentralization of traditional media as a good thing, it has also created many challenges. Giving everyone a “voice” has made it more difficult than ever to decipher truth from fabrications. The resultant flood of content has buried high-quality content under mounds of the lackluster. The rise of AI has made it even more challenging to determine what is real and what is fake.“The downside of the age we are in now is that it is really difficult to decipher the truth. Because of the power of social media and algorithms, if you want to be in an echo chamber for only the things you want to hear, it will serve you exactly that,” says Cory. “Even if it is totally untrue, you will still see a headline. How do you do your research? Who verifies that this is true? There is the element that if you are into a hobby or a certain subject matter and you want to learn something, but there is just as much of a challenge, I think, with a lack of nuance on the same platforms.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Most of Craig Underwood’s life has revolved around farming in Moorpark, California. As a second-generation farmer, Craig built his career working alongside his father on the family farm before striking out on his own to create Underwood Family Farms and Underwood Ranches. At the center of his journey is one of America’s most beloved condiments: sriracha.For years, Underwood Ranches was the key supplier of chili peppers to America’s largest sriracha sauce manufacturer. Craig’s expertise in farming helped fuel the meteoric rise of the spicy condiment, which became a staple in kitchens nationwide. But a devastating falling-out between Underwood Ranches and the manufacturer resulted in lawsuits, financial hardship, and ultimately, the disappearance of sriracha from store shelves. Most Americans don’t know the story behind why their favorite hot sauce became a scarcity, but it’s a David-and-Goliath tale worth telling.On this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Craig Underwood joins host Dan Kahn to share the full story. From the rise of sriracha to the bitter breakup and its aftermath, Craig’s journey highlights hard-fought lessons from the frontlines of farming and entrepreneurship. Here are our top six takeaways from the conversation:-What really happened when sriracha fell off our shelves-Farming is a lot more difficult and complex than many think.-You need to find where your customers are and go there.-The ability to change directions and pivot business models is vital.-Find good people, hire them and treat them right.-Perseverance pays off.The Sriracha Fallout: A Battle of Epic ProportionsFor years, Underwood Ranches supplied chili peppers to Huy Fuong, and played a pivotal role in making sriracha a household name based on a handshake deal. But when a disagreement escalated into a legal battle, everything changed.“We had been growing peppers for years,” says Craig. “But after the fallout, we found ourselves asking, ‘What do we do now?’ It was a huge blow financially and emotionally. We knew we had to pivot to survive.”This legal dispute not only affected Underwood Ranches but also led to sriracha shortages, leaving consumers scratching their heads about why their favorite condiment was suddenly so hard to find.Farming Ain’t EasyMany people, from watching too many Hallmark Channel movies, have a somewhat idyllic notion of farm life. However, life on the farm isn’t easy, and it is a lot of hard work. Turning a farm into a profitable business is just as hard. The competition is cutthroat, the margins are thin and the hours are long.“From when I first started farming with my dad, there has been a huge change. Farming has gotten a lot more difficult. There are a lot more regulations. There are food safety regulations and labor standards and on and on,” says Craig. “All of those regulations cost us a lot of money, but we don’t necessarily get paid for them. It is just part of what we do. Plus, people expect food to be cheap. If the price of a head of lettuce goes up 25 cents in the store, they notice it.”Go Where Your Customers AreUnderwood Family Farms is unique as it sells its produce directly to customers. Another differentiator is that it doesn’t have the luxury of being an e-commerce with its highly perishable products. Craig notes that to make this model work, you have to go where your customers are. For Underwood Family Farms, that has meant tapping into the explosion of farmer’s markets and even starting their own.“We started going to farmer’s markets around 1995 or 1997, somewhere around there. My wife opened the Camarillo farmer’s market back in that period, and she worked there for 14 years. Rain or shine, it didn’t matter. She was always out there,” says Craig. “Now, we go to 15 different farmer’s markets. They have become oversaturated in some markets. Market managers always want to open new markets, and that cuts into the business of old ones. We have to be pretty selective about where we go.”Pivot When NeededOne of the takeaways from Craig’s entrepreneurial journey is that he pivots when needed. After a major falling-out growing peppers for one of the largest suppliers of sriracha hot sauce, Craig decided to make his own sauce. The move wasn’t easy, but it gave him another income stream and put his expertise in pepper production to good use.“I have questioned that decision over the years,” says Craig with a laugh. “A few months after the breakup, we thought we had been growing the peppers, so why don’t we make the sauce? It is a lot more complicated than we realized. First of all, we had to come up with a recipe, but that was probably the easiest part. We had to come up with a design for the bottle and go through all the regulatory approvals with the FDA and the state of California. We also had to get a canner’s license.”Good Employees MatterThat major fallout led to an expensive lawsuit, a substantial loss of income and tough times for Craig and the Underwood Ranches business. Things looked bleak, but Craig had always treated his employees well. In return, many of his long-time employees stuck by his side, including Chief Operating Officer Jim Roberts. Finding good employees who are also good people and treating them right had paid off.“In the cowboy culture, they would call that ‘riding for the brand,’ and Jim truly does. Frankly, the next few years were so difficult that I have to give a lot of credit to all of the people who worked for us,” says Craig. “You know, there were no more bonuses for that time period. Every week, we were worried about if we could make payroll at the end of that week.”Perseverance is the Key to SuccessPart of that ability to constantly pivot when needed is an ethos of perseverance. Craig credits most of his success to putting his head down and figuring out how to move forward in difficult times. Without that spirit, he would have hung up his hat long ago.“When you say only the strong survive, I would say perseverance is one of the keys to success. When my dad was in partnership with my uncle, at one point, the bank said that they couldn’t afford to take out a loan because they owed too much money. That was a critical point,” says Craig. “In the ‘80s, it was a really difficult time, so we had to bring in a consultant to help us get out of the mess. In the ‘90s, we got involved in a business that was kind of difficult, so again, the bank put some pressure on us to pay them. And then the separation from David, you know that was pretty dramatic as well. So, we have somehow persevered.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Dylan Tomine is an avid lover of the outdoors, an author and a fly fisherman. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Tomine learned his love of fishing and appreciation of nature from his father, spending much of his youth in the local rivers and mountains. That love of nature also plays a central role in the two books he has written. “Closer to the Ground” follows a year with his family on Bainbridge Island, developing an appreciation of the beauty of the natural world. “Head Waters” traces the evolution of his love of fishing to the survival and conservation of the fish themselves.Tomine also works as the creative director of Patagonia Provisions, an effort of the well-known outdoor clothing company Patagonia. It focuses on expanding regenerative certified organic agriculture, responsible ocean fishing and other sustainable food practices. In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Tomine shares how Patagonia has carefully blended commerce with conservation, why your brand’s mission matters and other topics with host Dan Kahn. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode and here are our key takeaways:· Conservation and commerce are not opposing forces.· Everyone can love their job if they work at the right company.· Mission-driven brands have happier employees.· Always do what you love and not what someone else wants of you.Conservation Can Mix with CommerceSome companies pay lip service to conservation by briefly mentioning it in an obscure mission statement. However, Patagonia has made conservation a true core value and central to everything it does. Patagonia's success proves that it is possible to blend commerce and conservation even though both have typically been thought of as opposing forces.“With Patagonia, with apparel, they work on several levels. One is trying to figure out ways of making a raincoat, insulated jacket or wicking underwear that causes the least amount of harm possible,” says Tomine. “But Yvon would be the first one to tell you that doesn’t mean they’re not doing harm. So, they have had campaigns to encourage people to buy less and just buy what they need, knowing that even the most sustainably produced clothing is still bad for the planet. They have also channeled lots of financial support, bandwidth support and capacity support to the NGOs and the grassroots non-profits out there really making a difference.”Blend Your Passion with Where You WorkThe old-school thinking was that only certain people, like photographers or writers, could combine their passions with a career. However, Tomine points out that everyone, regardless of their profession, can do what they love if they work at a brand that shares their beliefs and values. Working for a company you believe in and whose mission aligns with your own is always better than any alternatives.“I would say you can apply your skill set to almost any company or brand if the company or brand stands for what you want it to,” says Tomine. “It doesn’t matter if you are an accountant, an HR specialist, a writer, an art director or whatever it is, those companies need those skill sets. They’re actually looking for people who have a history of activism or fly fishing or whatever it is and have a commercially viable skill set as well.”Working for the Right Company Feels GoodNo matter how you slice it, work makes up the majority of our lives. Nobody wants to spend an inordinate amount of time somewhere they don’t like. Creating a mission-driven company like Patagonia attracts mission-driven employees. When those missions and values align, you wind up with happy employees.“Aligning with values is important and has become even more important to how people feel about what they do for a living,” says Tomine. “You know, for most people, the job you do day in and day out is the thing you spend the most time doing of anything, right? So, it feels good to work for a company that you believe in.”Do What You Love and Not What’s Expected of YouA valuable lesson that Tomine learned early on is to pursue what you love and not what others want of you. Excelling in high school, Tomine became a pre-med major because he thought that was what he should do to please others. However, he quickly realized his heart wasn’t in it and readjusted his course to become an English major.“All of a sudden, my homework went from these calculus formulas that I could not even comprehend what they were to reading “The Sun Also Rises” and Walt Whitman and writing stories,” says Tomine. “I felt like the world just opened up. All of a sudden, it’s this stuff that is super interesting to me. I realized that the people who were doing really well in pre-med had that same kind of interest in the hard sciences and math. That wasn’t ever going to be me.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Mike Good’s path to his current role as president of the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) is an interesting one. As the son of a long-time General Motors employee, Good was always around cars. During his teenage years, he started his own car detailing company and raced motocross. After college, Good continued his entrepreneurial journey and founded a medical technology company. He then became a management consultant after selling his company, which led him to a corporate leadership position with FinishMaster. From there, Good became the CEO of the automotive sound-deadening company Dynamat.Now, Good leads the largest motorsports-focused industry trade association as PRI’s president. Well known for its PRI Show, held every year in Indianapolis, PRI’s role goes well beyond the show, serving as the motorsports industry’s key source for trends, business development, new products and more. Throughout his unique career, Good learned what it takes to be a leader and run a business. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Good shares the knowledge he gleaned from starting his own company, working for multiple larger corporations and running a prominent trade organization with host Dan Kahn. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Being an entrepreneur involves being comfortable with risk.* Setbacks can make you stronger if you pay attention.* Having emotional intelligence is just as important as being intelligent.* Curiosity is often the driver of change and innovation.* Loyalty should always be reciprocal.Risk is RequiredThere is no way around the fact that being an entrepreneur involves risk. Often, you need to make a serious commitment to that risk, too. According to Good, succeeding as an entrepreneur involves a different mindset and being comfortable leaping into the unknown. Pushing through tough times can be difficult without that commitment and attitude.“I was a million dollars in debt on paper when I was 30 years old. I really rolled the dice,” says Good. “I think as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to be wired a little different. You’ve got to be willing to risk it all, be able to dust yourself off, get up and fight again another day. None of it went as I expected, but you are either learning or living. It is like this constant navigation and I learned so much through all of that.”Let Setbacks Push You ForwardSetbacks, especially early in a career, can be difficult for anyone. However, those difficulties can actually help push you forward rather than backward. Good notes that most setbacks contain lessons to learn from that will help you evolve and get stronger. The key is to learn from them to avoid repeating the same mistakes.“You probably remember every time you got kicked in the gut and every time you got down. Those are the learning points where you are like, okay, I am never going to be in this situation again. I am going to learn, evolve, move on and become stronger as a result of that,” says Good. “At the time, those kicks to the chest were really difficult to take in your 20s and 30s when you have this naïve trajectory of how things should be going. They end up shaping your resilience and your ability to navigate (adversity).”EQ > IQMany people emphasize how knowledgeable a leader or manager is. For Good, possessing intelligence for a leadership role is always vital. However, your EQ (emotional intelligence) is more critical than your IQ. You can be extremely smart, but not understanding human emotions and how to navigate them will be severely limiting.“It is more of a focus on the EQ than the IQ, EQ being emotional intelligence,” says Good. “I’ve seen some people in leadership roles who didn’t understand how to navigate human relationships, and that limited their trajectory. I am not saying I nailed it by any stretch, but it is something I am very conscious of, and I’m constantly trying to evolve.”Curiosity is CriticalOne trait Good always looks for when hiring is curiosity. For him, curiosity usually leads to someone challenging the status quo and questioning why things are done a certain way. Those questions often lead to changes that are almost always positive. Without that innate curiosity, an employee can just be “punching the clock.”“My number one hiring trait is curiosity. I need people to come in and be curious. I want people to come in and question why we do things the way we do them,” says Good. “I want them to have a curious mind and feel like they have a voice regardless of the position and that their voice is going to be heard and acknowledged. I think when you try to attract that type of mind into an organization, it really permeates innovation and drives change.”Loyalty Needs to go Both WaysMost companies want loyal employees instead of a constant stream of turnover and a parade of new hires. However, some corporations fail to understand that loyalty is a two-way street. You can’t expect an employee to be loyal to you if it isn’t reciprocal. Building loyalty among your employees involves being loyal to them as they are to you.“Loyalty is a double-edged sword. It is a great thing when it is properly caressed by both sides. Somebody once said that you own 50% of every relationship, and it is what you do with your 50% that matters,” says Good. “I think about that and I went all in on my 50% and wasn’t getting that back in a previous situation. But you learn those things early on, and they don’t make you jaded or negative. You learn from them and move on.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

The Stuckey’s brand was familiar to many in the Southeast and Midwest as convenience stores with pecan candies and kitschy souvenirs.  Started by Stephanie Stuckey’s grandfather during the peak of the Great Depression in 1937 as a roadside pecan stand, the business quickly prospered. By the end of the 1960s, Stuckey’s had grown to almost 370 stores spread across 40 states. After it became too big for him to manage, Stephanie’s grandfather sold the business. Sadly, the company began slowly declining as it lost its way without the elder Stuckey’s guidance.Five years ago, Stephanie was presented with the opportunity to purchase Stuckey’s. The business was in debt, and Stephanie wasn’t an entrepreneur but instead had a background in law and politics. However, the lure of bringing Stuckey’s back into the family was too strong to resist. She gathered her life savings and purchased the business to rebuild it completely.During her journey from lawyer to rebuilding the family business, Stephanie has learned a lot about running a successful brand. In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, she gives her insight on what it takes to reconstruct an iconic company in an in-depth discussion with host Dan Kahn. Click on the play button above to watch the entire interview and here are our top five takeaways:* Even with a company already in business, you will have to figure a lot out.* Not knowing what you are getting into can actually be beneficial.* Trying to do everything on your own rarely leads to success.* Changing a legacy brand can be difficult but is often necessary.* Knowing that you are part of something larger is a huge motivator.Be Prepared to Figure Things OutPurchasing a business that is already up and running can seem like a quicker way to success than building a brand from the ground up. However, there is usually a reason why that business is for sale. While things might look like a good opportunity and okay “on paper,” there will likely be a lot you will have to figure out. In Stephanie’s case, it was a lot and required a complete restructuring of Stuckey’s.“There is almost always a reason why a company is for sale, and usually, it is because it needs some fixing. You will have to unravel a bunch of stuff and figure out at the core what you can make money at, what you are really good at and what you are passionate about,” says Stephanie. “It took us a couple of years to figure that out and then build a team. Now, we own a manufacturing facility and make delicious pecan snacks and candies.”Take a Leap of FaithYou can analyze reams of a business’s financial spreadsheets and years of past performance data before purchasing it. However, according to Stephanie, sometimes you need to take a leap of faith. Being a bit naive about what you are getting into can actually be a plus. Without that naivety, many would never take a big step or bold action.“It took me about six weeks to make the decision (to purchase Stuckey’s), negotiate the terms, consult financial experts and feel like I knew what I was doing. The reality was that I didn’t,” says Stephanie. “I think being naive can sometimes be a superpower because you might not take these courageous steps that can change your life for the good if you fully understand what you are getting yourself into. So, I am kind of glad I wasn’t fully aware.”Ask for HelpA lot rides on the shoulders of any entrepreneur, and many try to carry that burden all by themselves. One of the biggest realizations Stephanie had early on was that she couldn’t handle everything on her own. She needed help and people from outside of the company that she could trust for guidance. Thankfully, she found the right business partner to help transform Stuckey’s.“I think it is important to bring in outsiders who you trust and respect to give perspective because sometimes you are so overwhelmed that it is hard to see your way out. It was very helpful to me to find a business partner, and I have been blessed to have my main business partner, RG Lamar,” says Stephanie. “Finding that person who really helped come up with some fresh ideas while also really understanding the inner workings, it was that dynamic (that was important).”Sacred CowsBuying a legacy business such as Stuckey’s comes with a whole set of challenges. Among them is that there is a certain way of doing business that shouldn’t be modified. For Stephanie, that mindset would only continue Stuckey’s downward trend. She knew that there should be no “sacred cows” and that changes had to be made for the brand to be successful.“I think it is important to come out and say there are no sacred cows. If you start latching on to certain aspects of the business, like if we thought that our stores were so critical to the business and were off the table, we would have never focused on making product and arrived at a solution that is working and has driven sales incrementally,” says Stephanie. “It takes a minute, but you really have to be open to embracing change, and the corollary to embracing change is letting go.”Be Part of Something BiggerRunning a business can be extremely hard and emotionally draining. Realizing that you are part of something larger than solely your business can help counteract that. Stephanie gets much of her daily motivation from knowing that Stuckey’s is providing good jobs for the people in her community and helping to support the local economy. That realization keeps her going and makes her want to grow Stuckey’s even further.“It is what gives me energy. This is hard. Running a business is hard. It is exhausting and drains your soul, mind and bank account,” says Stephanie. “Just knowing that you are part of something so much bigger than making pecan log rolls (makes a difference). We are making jobs, we are part of a community and we now have 65 employees. I look at our employees, and I am just so happy to know that they like working here.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

CarBahn’s Steve Dinan on “Only The Strong Survive”On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Steve Dinan discusses his remarkable entrepreneurial journey with Dinan and CarBahn. Like Apple, Dinan started the company that bears his name in a small garage in Cupertino, California. Instead of personal computers, Dinan’s focus was on improving the performance of BMWs. Eventually, Dinan would go on to become one of the most respected and successful names in the BMW tuning industry.The climb to the top of the BMW and German automobile tuning world wasn’t easy. After working at a car repair shop to help pay for college, Dinan decided to quit both and forge his own path. Starting with just $5,000, he rented a couple of bays from a local garage and installed turbo kits on BMWs. From those humble beginnings in 1979, Dinan transformed the business into a high-performance engineering powerhouse that could reliably extract every ounce of performance from a BMW.After selling the company in 2013, Dinan eventually left it to start his latest venture, CarBahn. Click on the icon above to listen to Dinan’s in-depth conversation with host Dan Kahn about how he built his two innovative and well-regarded companies from the ground up. Here are our top five takeaways:* Wanting bigger results requires bold steps.* Building a better product is the best way to drive demand.* Hard decisions can lead to big rewards. * Investing in innovation is critical to success.* Budgets should be carefully constructed.Take Bold StepsBuilding excellent high-performance vehicles is great, but it doesn’t really matter if nobody hears about it. Dinan knew early on that marketing and the recognition that comes with it would be vital to his success. However, getting the major car magazines of the era to pay attention to the then-upstart company was a challenge. After making no progress in attempting to contact them, Dinan took the bold step of driving one of his cars straight to their office.“Nobody answered the phone when I called because no one knew who I was. I took my race trailer at the end of race season, put my M6 in the back, drove to the Car and Driver office and knocked on the door,” says Dinan. “It was kind of a bold move, as I literally knocked on their door. They drove it around the block, thought the car was incredible and one of the best aftermarket cars they have seen and said to leave it. I flew home, and that was the start of my media.”Make Good StuffThere are builders and tuners that can extract lots of horsepower from cars. While those big power numbers might grab attention, Dinan takes a different approach. His focus has always been on building well-balanced vehicles that are properly engineered to improve all aspects of performance. Yes, Dinan’s cars make more power, but they are also extremely reliable and comfortable enough to be used as daily drivers. Paying attention to all aspects of performance and reliability takes a lot more effort but results in a better-finished product that people want.“The easy thing to do is to make a car as fast as possible, and then it is miserable to drive and breaks all the time. When you are a young man and have a lot of testosterone, that is a natural place to gravitate to. But I like to drive my cars every day, and I like them to be reliable. I like them to not be overpowered so the handling matches or exceeds the power the car has,” says Dinan. “This is also one of the reasons I got so much press with Car and Driver and Road & Track. They were so used to tuner cars that would break during their road tests.”Make Hard DecisionsThere comes a time in almost every business when a difficult decision must be made. Dinan faced one of those when Chip Ganassi wanted to use Dinan’s engines for his legendary Chip Ganassi Racing team. While the move would open many doors for Dinan and his business, Ganassi wanted the engines for free. Agreeing to that arrangement would cost Dinan a significant sum of money but could also positively impact sales. Ultimately, Dinan decided the risk was worth the reward.“It was a struggle for us financially, but it was one of the best decisions I ever made,” says Dinan. “We wound up winning nine out of 12 races. We came back the following year and won the 24 Hours of Daytona overall. We won the championship in the second year and then returned in 2013 and won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the championship again for a third year.”Always Keep InnovatingProper engineering and development of high-performance parts for BMWs are expensive endeavors. Creating a steady stream of those parts is even more cost-intensive. However, for Dinan, investing in innovation is an absolutely necessary expense that is vital to his business's success. If you are not innovating, chances are your competitors are, and they will quickly surpass you.“When I sold the company, we had 52 employees, and 14 of those were in the engineering department between fabricators, engine development people, CAD people and software engineers,” says Dinan. “Fourteen out of 52 people is almost 30% of the staff in development. But that is why our products were so good and why we always had the best products. We led the marketplace because we were outspending everyone three to one (on product development).”Make a Budget for EverythingJust as important as spending money on innovation is knowing how much you can actually spend. Blowing through most of your revenue in pursuit of the best products is a surefire way to sink a company. The trials and tribulations of multiple recessions taught Dinan the importance of carefully creating budgets for every department and sticking to them. That budgeting process also taught him how to run a leaner company.“I wound up becoming a budget freak. My wife says I probably have thousands of Excel sheets on my computer now,” says Dinan. “If I am going to do anything, I am going to make a budget. I am going to calculate every cost, every person and every amount of time. I think it is fun to budget, but most people probably don’t think it is fun. I get up every morning at 5 a.m. and look at my budgets for an hour while having breakfast.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Tim Kennedy on “Only The Strong Survive”For many, Tim Kennedy needs little introduction. However, for those unfamiliar with the name, Kennedy is a former UFC fighter, New York Times best-selling author, decorated Green Beret sniper and founder of multiple successful businesses. He also created Save Our Allies, an organization that works to rescue American allies in war-torn environments and aid Americans in need. Starting with the goal of rescuing one Afghan interpreter, Save Our Allies has expanded operations to places such as Sudan, Ukraine, and, more recently, Florida and North Carolina.Beyond Save Our Allies and continuing to serve in the military, Tim is a self-described serial entrepreneur. He has launched or helped to create an almost endless stream of businesses, including well-known ventures like Ranger Up, Sheepdog Response, Apogee Cedar Park, Relentless, Noble Defender, 4 Pillars Fitness and a host of others. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Tim discusses with host Dan Kahn the hard-fought lessons he has learned about what it means to be a leader and what it takes to run a business (or, in Tim’s case, multiple ones). Click on the play icon above to listen to the entire discussion and subscribe for new episode updates. Here are our top five takeaways:* Leaders should constantly be evolving and learning.* Humility is an asset for a leader and not a negative* Doing what you love makes both life and business easier.* Failure and the pain that comes with it should be a catalyst for change.* Nothing worthwhile is easy.Leadership Requires Constant WorkAccording to Tim, a fallacy about leadership is that it is something that you ultimately master. However, that is not the case, as leadership requires constant work and evolution. Being a leader is an ongoing process of learning and admitting that you don’t know everything. There isn’t a single moment when you suddenly become a competent leader.“I do not have it all figured out, and I don’t know everything,” says Tim. “I will put everything I can into this (being a leader) and make the best decision I can with the information I have. We can all succeed together or fail together, but I will do the best that I can. There definitely wasn’t a moment. It has been an ongoing thing that I am still in the refiner's fire of learning how to do it better.”Don’t Let Your Ego Get in the WayIt takes a lot of humility to recognize that you don’t know everything about leadership. However, that level of humbleness can be hard to achieve for anyone with a big ego. If you let your ego constantly get in the way, you will miss opportunities to learn anything. Evolving in leadership and life requires letting your ego get bruised and bashed. For Tim, it was a lesson he learned early in his MMA career, taking a beating of both body and ego in the octagon.“My ego has taken a licking since the beginning. I have never been as smart as I thought I was. I have never been as strong as I thought I was, and I have never been as good as I thought I was,” says Tim. “It is a hard thing for the ego when the thing you can never call me is the former world champion because I was a two-time title contender who lost both times. That ego gets put in check often.”Doing What You Love Makes Life (and Business) EasierThere is busy and then there is Tim Kennedy busy. With his hand in 10 brands and counting, along with his work with Save Our Allies and being in the National Guard, it is safe to say that Tim’s life can be complicated. However, he sees all his NGO work, military service and multiple ventures as reflections of his core values and passions. Doing what he loves makes juggling his multiple endeavors seem less complicated and labor-intensive.“If you look at it like a wagon wheel, every one of these businesses represents a spoke in the ecosystem that is Tim Kennedy Operations, which is the parent company. Each of those spokes in that wheel that keeps turning, at the very center of it is the nucleus, which is like who I am as a person,” says Tim. “This identity of mine is that I want to preserve freedom, protect human life, enable people to provide for their families and expand freedom. That is what I believe in.”Be Prepared to FailSocial media can skew reality by showing us the “shiny” moments of everyone’s lives. That warped view can make success seem easy to attain without much effort. However, that is not reality, as there are also lots of failures and hardships. If you want to succeed in business or life, you must put in the work and be ready for things to go wrong.“Everybody looks at what somebody has, but nobody looks at what they did to get there. Everything that I have comes from failure, suffering, struggle and mostly pain,” says Tim. I have failed, I have lost businesses, I have been in debt, I have been up against the ropes, I have lost title fights and I have gotten in trouble in my military career. The work is the thing you’re going to have to subscribe to, the discipline is the thing you are going to have to subscribe to and the failure is the thing you are going to have to subscribe to. I’m not saying you have to rush to failure, but there is a purpose to pain. Pain is the catalyst of change.”There is No Easy ButtonOne lesson Tim has repeatedly learned is that few worthwhile things come easy in life. You can choose to do something hard or take the easy route and decide not to. However, achieving your goals takes lots of effort, pain and suffering. There is no “easy button” when it comes to life or business.“You’re going to raise your kids with value and integrity, or you are not. This applies to literally everything you do. Sure, you can hand your kids off to somebody and see how that turns out. Sure, you could hand your company to someone else and see how that turns out. You can drop ship and think that you are going to get rich, but you’re not,” says Tim. “You are either going to do it, or you’re not. There is no easy button. The purpose of pain is real. Believe in the process of struggling through the refiner’s fire to ultimately have something beautiful on the back side of that.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

BluePrint Engines CEO Norris Marshall on “Only The Strong Survive”BluePrint Engines CEO Norris Marshall is an amazing example of a true American entrepreneurial success story. Born in rural Nebraska, Marshall spent much of his youth working on the farm. However, he began working in a small-town repair shop in his teenage years. It was there that he discovered his love of working on engines. Eventually, Marshall moved from fixing small lawnmower engines to larger ones when he began working at a local machine shop.Marshall quickly left that machine shop to start his own, showing his entrepreneurial spirit. From those humble beginnings as a small machine shop, he guided his business to become one of America's premier builders of high-performance crate engines. With over 400,000 engines now produced, BluePrint Engines employs a vast array of engineers, engine builders, salespeople, support staff and other employees at its Kearney, Nebraska, headquarters.The journey from a small machine shop to a leader in high-performance crate engines wasn’t easy or a straight path. In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Marshall discusses what he learned from that experience with host Dan Kahn. Click on the play icon to watch this fascinating discussion that is a must for anyone running their own business. Here are our top five takeaways:* Always keep pivoting.* Company culture is more important than many people think.* Fantastic employees are the result of training and development.* Mentoring is a great way to develop your employees further.* Employee ownership is a way to ensure your team is vested in long-term success.Don’t Be Afraid to PivotKey to BluePrint’s success is Marshall’s willingness to shift business models. Initially, he started the business as a small machine shop, but it was limited to supplying local engine builders. Wanting to grow the business further, Marshall shifted to building remanufactured replacement engines. That change led to massive growth, with BluePrint producing over 100 engines a day. However, as factory OEM engines improved, the need to replace them dwindled. Once again, Marshall shifted to building complete and brand-new high-performance engines to continue the company’s success.“The amount of remanufactured engines that the world needed shrank in a very short period of time. It was kind of like Kodak film. Kodak had all the imaging going on, but in a 10-year period of time, it disappeared, and nobody needed film. So, we were back to needing to change what we do and being more viable,” says Marshall. “The good part is that was the beginning of BluePrint Engines. We had the equipment, knew about engines and knew how to make the engines.”Company Culture is Just as Important as Your ProductsCompany culture is often overlooked in the drive to produce more products and create new ones. However, it is essential and should never be ignored. Recognizing this fact long before company culture became a more recent focus, Marshall carefully built the right one. The move proved wise, as Marshall built a brand that employees want to be a part of and move forward.“I guess the culture comes from me, how I want to treat our employees and how I expect our managers to treat our employees. I start with the idea that everybody wants to do a good job, and you just have to find a way to let them,” says Marshall. “I also do believe that people are capable of a lot more than we realize if we challenge and encourage them. So, I am big on challenging and encouraging. I’ve got a lot of push, and I am not easy to work for. At the same time, I am on their side, and I want to help them. I think you need to make it personal, too. People need to know that you care about them, and when the moment arises to show that, you really need to show up.”Grow Your EmployeesIn the daily grind of running a business, individual employees can be just as overlooked as company culture. However, if you want your company to succeed, you need to pay attention to both its culture and employee growth. Properly training employees and taking a vested interest in their development makes them better at their jobs and more impactful to a company as a whole.“Great companies are made up of awesome people who are really just regular people who were given a chance to be great. Everybody’s got some of that greatness in them,” says Marshall. “I realized that when you are looking at your competitor and admiring their people if you can’t admire your people, you probably need to do more to try to develop and train them because it is in most of them to be really great at something.”Mentoring MattersMentors are equally as crucial to employee development as proper training. The right mentors can guide employees, pass along knowledge and help teach valuable skills. A mentor from outside a company can also bring fresh perspectives and new ways of tackling issues or problems. With a mentor making a big difference in his early career, Marshall happily makes them available to his employees.“We have a lot of people here on the leadership team who have been here for a long time. For the most part, they haven’t worked anywhere else. We need that outside influence (of a mentor), so they know more than what we collectively know at BluePrint,” says Marshall. “So let’s get them with somebody who can teach them those other things. For the most part, I see really, really fantastic growth and change in the individuals who get mentored.”Boosting Buy InGetting employees to buy in and believe in your organization's mission is critical. One way Marshall boosts buy-in at BluePrint is by having employees literally buy into the company. By offering employees the chance to purchase stock in the company that yields returns based on its performance, they become more vested in the long-term success of BluePrint. The stock isn’t free or cheap, ensuring a deeper level of commitment among the employees who purchase it. It also gives a path to BluePrint’s longevity beyond Marshall and keeps ownership within the company.“I did enough research five years ago on who you can sell a business to and learned about strategic buyers and private equity, and I also learned about employee ownership. So, to create a path, and there is no guarantee this is how it is going to end, my wife and I decided to sell about 10 percent of the stock in the company. We ended up with a group of about a dozen employees who purchased stock. It is not phantom stock or an ESOP,” says Marshall. “One of the attributes about it that I really like is that the employees ultimately get wealthy. I think it is important to really have that carrot out there that if you come in here and buy stock and sweat it out, make those payments and continue to buy more stock when you can, by the time you’re 50 or 60 and if you have a high-level job, you’re going to own enough stock that you are going to be rich.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

The Roadster Shop’s Josh Henning, Jeremy Gerber and Phil Gerber on “Only The Strong Survive”Josh Henning, Jeremy Gerber and Phil Gerber are the team behind Roadster Shop and the “Oil & Whiskey” podcast. Now known as one of the premier manufacturers of high-end chassis for hot rods, muscle cars, trucks and customs, the road to the top wasn’t an easy one. Both Jeremy and Phil started working in their father’s autobody shop at a young age, learning the ins and outs of the trade. That formative experience was vital in determining that there wasn’t enough passion in the body shop business. The brothers left to pursue separate interests, and eventually, their father came to the same conclusion. Looking for something new, the eldest Gerber purchased the Roadster Shop in 2004.The family reunited again to run Roadster Shop but had their work cut out for them. Roadster Shop didn’t have the best reputation for quality at the time of the purchase, and a lot had to be done to overcome that. Eventually, Josh Henning was brought on board to assist with propelling the brand forward. In this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, the trio sit down with host Dan Kahn to discuss what they have learned from transforming Roadster Shop from its humble origins into a premier brand. The episode is worth listening to for anyone looking to build their own brand or transform an existing one. Click on the play icon to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Passion is great, but you also have to pay the bills.* You can learn more from your mistakes than your wins.* Always maintain focus on your customers.* Rebuilding a brand can be as challenging as starting a new one.* Drive demand with your products instead of waiting for it to build.Start From Scratch or Rebuild?When the Gerbers bought the Roadster Shop, it was much smaller and very old-school. Chassis blueprints were often drawn by hand and built in a low-tech manner. This antiquated approach led to many quality problems and customer complaints. All those issues had to be addressed, and the brand’s reputation would have to be rebuilt before pushing it forward. Naturally, this raised the question of whether it would have been better to start from scratch with a new brand. The answer is nuanced.“It’s tough to say. Realistically, yes, it would have been so much easier to start from scratch. The missing element there would have been the chassis business, though. For us, that wouldn’t have been something that we would have opened up,” says Jeremy. “The fact that it existed in some capacity drove us to improve it and make it better and better.”Passion Vs. ProfitBuilding cool cars is a passion for everyone at the Roadster Shop. However, the team figured out early on that producing a few cars a year wouldn’t pay the bills. They would also have to compete against well-established shops already building cars. Focusing on creating high-quality chassis in a larger volume was a better business model, and it still allowed them to pursue their passion for building cars to showcase their latest products.“Where it started to where it ended is probably a complete 180-degree flip. We started off just wanting to build the coolest cars out there,” says Phil. “At some point, it just kind of hit us that we could build these amazing cars, but we couldn’t sell another one. It is impossible to duplicate that car; if you did, it wouldn’t be the same. People always wanted some crazy one-off taillight or door handle that we made that you couldn’t really sell. What we could sell is really what set the stage for the whole build, and that was the chassis.”Proactively Driving DemandMany businesses respond to customer demand with their products. While doing so is always a good idea, it is also a reactive business model. You have to wait for that demand to develop. However, if you understand your customers and can skillfully create enough interest, you can drive demand through the right new products.“Now, we have gotten to the point where we are creating market demand. Historically, we would see where it went and what our customers wanted,” says Phil. “It would take someone to build that first ‘oh s**t’ car for everyone to get inspired by, and then the market starts going after that. We’ve taken a good amount of that into our business plan, and we always try to come out with something that’s over the top and really in your face to kick off a new product.” Focus on Your CustomersIt can be easy to lose focus in the day-to-day grind of running a business. However, getting sidetracked by details and items that don’t really matter in the bigger picture can be absolutely detrimental. One of the biggest keys to success with any brand is maintaining a laser-like focus on your customers and their satisfaction.“Don’t chase the stupid s**t that doesn’t mean anything,” says Henning. “Always make your customer happy. There’s always the extra mile that you can go with your labor even when the customer’s pocketbook runs out.”Learn From Your MistakesIn a perfect world, none of us would ever make a mistake. However, we are all human, and mistakes will happen until AI-powered robots replace us. According to Phil, the key is to learn anything you can from those mistakes to improve your business. You can then put guardrails and corrections in place to prevent those mistakes from happening again.“I think the biggest mistake is not learning from your mistakes. We screw stuff up, and I have always learned from every mistake,” says Phil. “You get bitten once, you get bitten hard and you are never going to do that again. If you don’t pay attention or if you are stupid enough to do it again, it is going to hurt way worse the second or third time. So, learn from what you did and use it as a teaching moment. You can always grow significantly better and learn much more from your mistakes than your victories.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Todd Taylor is one of the lucky people who have turned their passion into a successful business. After growing up in the Midwest, he eventually moved to Colorado for a new job. To explore the beauty of his new locale and the Rocky Mountains, Taylor wisely bought a Jeep. However, like many newbies, he quickly found himself in over his head and driving in terrain beyond his skillset on a local trail. A lack of easy-to-find information on current trail conditions and locations compounded that harrowing experience.To avoid repeating that scenario and to help others access trails, Taylor developed Trails Offroad as a side business in 2015. The website and its corresponding app serve as a detailed nationwide trail guide with trail difficulty descriptions, GPS coordinates and condition updates. Trails Offroad is now a full-time job for Taylor and has grown exponentially since its launch. Taylor learned a lot about entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and business savvy while he built his company from the ground up. On this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” he shares the knowledge he gained from almost a decade of brand building with host Dan Kahn. Hit the play icon above to listen to the complete episode of their in-depth conversation. Here are our top five takeaways:* The darkest times can bring the biggest opportunities.* Competitors with large marketing budgets can actually help your business.* Growing and scaling a brand beyond its initial launch phase is critical.* Launch your business before someone else does.* Indecision can be just as harmful as the wrong decision.There is Always Opportunity in ChaosWhile Taylor soft-launched Trails Offroad in 2015, it wasn’t until four years later that it became his full-time job and only source of income. Moving the website and app behind a paywall right before the world shut down for the pandemic initially seemed like a wrong move. However, his timing was perfect as people sought new ways to connect with nature and get outside. The chaos of the pandemic turned out to be an opportunity and a huge boon.“When 2020 and the pandemic happened, it was really an explosion,” said Taylor. “It definitely exploded, and it really went through the roof. You could watch all the other businesses that were loosely related gather steam as well. The stock price of Polaris went through the roof. It was great until the extreme inflation and especially high gasoline costs set in.”Competitors Can Actually Help YouMultiple well-funded competitors are now playing in roughly the same space as Trails Offroad. Surprisingly, Taylor doesn’t see that as a negative but rather a positive. While their marketing budgets are much larger than Taylor’s, they help bring awareness to the space. With enough product differentiation and a quality experience, Taylor can capture some of those consumers.“They (the competition) really help the industry out by pouring an ungodly amount of money into advertising,” said Taylor. “They are really doing the missionary work for people to show them there are tools and things you can get in the marketplace. At Trails Offroad, we have never marketed ever and grown to a sizeable base of customers just by having a good internet presence and being authentic. So, I can never knock them for all the things that they do.”What Got You Here Won’t Get You ThereMost entrepreneurs focus solely on growth at the beginning of their business ventures. However, anyone who has pushed past that point knows that there comes a time when that growth eventually slows down to a trickle. The tactics that got your business where it is might not work to keep it growing. How to effectively and efficiently scale beyond that point is critical.“Have you ever heard the saying ‘What got you here won’t get you there?’” said Taylor. “I think that is what we are figuring out now. What do we have to do to get over there? Those are constantly debated in conversations about what we would like to do next to scale further. Those pages haven’t been written yet.”Just Do ItNo, this hasn’t become a Nike ad. The footwear and athletic apparel giant's famous slogan is the same advice Taylor gives anyone considering starting a niche business. It is impossible to realize your dreams if you never try, and someone will beat you to it if you wait too long.“It is funny with Trails Offroad. All the people I talk to who are writers for us say that they had a similar idea but never did anything with it,” said Taylor. “So, I would always say get into it and just start doing it. Try to fail or succeed quickly, but just do it.”Indecision Kills (Your Business Too)History has proven time and time again that taking a long time to make a decision can be just as fatal as making the wrong decision. However, indecision doesn’t solely doom pilots, artic expeditions or generals. The inability to quickly make a decision and be confident in it can be just as detrimental to your business.“There is a saying that indecision has killed more people,” said Taylor. “So, I would say just be confident, make a decision and do it quickly. If I look at the areas where I have failed, it really comes down to I just didn’t make a quick enough decision. Or when I did make a decision, I was just too wrapped up in it versus knowing the results weren’t worth it, and let’s cut it and move on.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Melanie Hellwig White is the CEO of Hellwig Suspension Products. Founded in 1946 by her great-grandfather and grandfather, the duo went door to door selling helper springs to improve the ride and handling of heavily loaded cars. After making a sale, the father-and-son team installed the new springs in the customer’s driveway. From those humble origins, Hellwig Suspension Products has become one of the most recognized names and a leader in developing sway bars and load control products for OEM and aftermarket applications.Leading the innovative company since 2019, Melanie is the fourth generation of her family to run the business. Adding to the uniqueness of that legacy is that Hellwig Suspension Products manufactures all of its products in the United States and it is still privately held. However, Melanie wasn’t just handed the family business. She had to work her way through the ranks and prove her mettle. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Melanie talks with host Dan Kahn about what she learned from her climb to the top of the family business and from guiding it through challenging times. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode. Here are our top five takeaways from their discussion:* The modern business landscape requires more than just technical skills.* How pressure works to build better brands and people.* Coaches aren’t just for professional athletes.* The right feedback is critical to growing as a leader and a business.* Tribal knowledge needs to be passed on to others and not contained.Running a Modern Business is DifferentMelanie wasn’t always sure that she wanted to run the family business. In college, she pursued a degree in psychology instead of the “usual suspects” of business, finance or marketing.  However, that choice proved to be a positive one, as running a business today is different. Now, understanding how to motivate and interact with a wide range of employees is just as important as technical business know-how.“I feel like it (the psychology degree) has helped me quite a bit,” says Melanie. “Now, it is a very different time when businesses are lucky to have team members. So, it is a shift that we have to make that is subtle but really important. As a business, we have to look at how to motivate our team members, attract them and be a really good place to work.”Get UncomfortableSome strive to get their businesses and themselves to a “comfortable” place and then hit cruise control. For Melanie, not getting outside one’s comfort zone is a surefire way to let your competition eat your lunch. Just like a pressure cooker can speed the cooking process, operating under pressure helps constantly push your brand forward. Striving to do the uncomfortable can also mold you into a better person.“It is saying yes to the uncomfortable things, and that is hard. If I am comfortable, I am not doing it right. Honestly, as a business owner, if you are fat and happy, you are not doing it right,” says Melanie. “I step into positions that put me under pressure but force my growth.  If I am uncomfortable, I know I am moving forward.”Get a CoachBehind every great athlete, there is almost always a great coach. Many business leaders think they must know everything and forge their own path. Some even see reaching out for help as a sign of weakness or showing a lack of knowledge. However, it is hard to grow as an individual and a leader if someone isn’t helping you along the way.“I think there were a lot of times when I thought I should know this or have it figured out, but it is not like that,” says Melanie. “The best athletes have coaches. Whether you have the natural talent or not, you are going to have blind spots.”Always Look for the Right FeedbackBusiness leaders can get themselves into a position where the only feedback they receive is positive. Sometimes, that is by design, hiring only “yes men” who agree with a leader's every move. Other times, it happens when employees don’t want to “rock the boat” for fear of losing their jobs. Either way, it is a trap that should be avoided. While getting only positive feedback might be great for one’s ego, it is not great for one’s business.“What I have seen as I have risen through the company is that you get to a certain position, and people don’t give you feedback anymore. That is why I work with a coach because you need that honest feedback,” says Melanie. “I want the real feedback and I want someone to feel safe enough to give that feedback. It is not always fun when you get the feedback from the team, but it is important.”Tribal Knowledge Shouldn’t Be Kept TribalA business like Hellwig, which has been in business for almost eight decades, naturally develops a lot of tribal knowledge. Having that knowledge is great, but it needs to spread to new employees beyond the core members of the “tribe.” Otherwise, it is only contained within a small group and doesn’t help new members of your organization. Recognizing the employees who have that knowledge and helping them to share it is just as important.“In our company, because we have been around for so long, we have really leaned on tribal knowledge. For myself, even I have leaned on that,” says Melanie. “A big part of the mission I am on is to be more process-driven because we have leaned on that too hard. Not understanding some of the talent that is inside my organization has been one of my biggest mistakes and a hard lesson.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Terry L. Karges of the Petersen Automotive Museum on “Only The Strong Survive”On this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” host Dan Kahn talks with Terry L. Karges. As the executive director of the famed Petersen Automotive Museum, Karges has played a central role in its transformation. Since joining the museum 13 years ago, he has helped quadruple ticket sales and tripled staff size. Going beyond just the numbers, Karges changed the very nature of the museum from a somewhat random collection of cars to a world-class museum with cutting-edge exhibits that reach every corner of car culture. Even the building where the museum is housed went through its own radical transformation in 2015.Leading any company through transformational changes is always hard. Creating impactful changes in organizations previously entrenched in their operations and mindset can be even more difficult. Throughout his leadership role at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Karges has learned plenty. Click on the play icon above to listen to the entire “Only The Strong Survive” episode as Terry shares with Dan what he has learned over his long career and during his time at the museum. Here are our top five takeaways:* Every single aspect of a customer’s experience matters.* Initiating a sense of shared responsibility builds better teams.* Finding the right employees is only one part of the equation.* Recognizing trends and capitalizing on them can lead to increased revenue.* Loving what you do is extremely important.Your Bathrooms MatterThe Petersen Automotive Museum has immaculate bathrooms. That fact might seem random or inconsequential, but for Karges, it shows how details absolutely matter. A substandard restroom might seem minor, but it can easily detract from an otherwise great experience at the museum. Every part of the customer experience needs to be considered and optimized.“The guest experience is everything, and that is why we are here…looking at what a facility can be and what is the guest experience. One of the things that disgusted me about the museum when I first got there was the horrible bathrooms,” says Karges. “There was so much that had to be fixed, but these are human things that can be done.”Going Beyond Giving Employees a VoiceGiving employees a voice in an organization is always a good idea. However, a say in how a company operates or crafts its mission is not enough. For Karges, building a strong sense of shared responsibility is also essential. Doing so helps create effective teamwork and people who take collective pride in a team’s achievements.“One of the things that we talk to the whole team about regularly is not only do you have a voice and vote in what we are going to do, but you also have a shared responsibility,” says Karges. “If you walk by a piece of paper (on the ground) or see something that needs to be fixed or corrected and you just keep going, that is not what I would call a team effort. Why do you expect someone else to do that when you can? It is not going out of your way, but think of the guest experience.”It is More Than Just Finding the Right PeopleKarges is quick to credit his success at the Petersen Automotive Museum to his employees. Finding and hiring the right people is a skill that is absolutely vital to the success of any organization. For Karges, creating that success goes beyond just onboarding the right people. You also need to listen to them, respect them and empower them.“It is a matter of finding the right people. That is another part of the lessons of when I was at Disney,” says Karges. “You have to find the right people and let them do it; let them go. I was asking a fellow one day how he became successful and how he did it. He said that if you really want to be successful, you are going to have to allow people to do things differently from the way you might do them. That doesn’t mean it is going to be bad, but you need to be willing to listen.”Capitalize on TrendsThe shift towards smaller and more interactive events has accelerated across multiple industries, including automotive. To capitalize on this trend, Karges pitched the Petersen Automotive Museum to OEMs as the perfect location for more intimate and exclusive vehicle introductions. The right clientele could enjoy the museum and also get an up-close and detailed look at the latest car models. That effort worked and now helps add revenue for the museum’s many educational programs and other initiatives.  “The industry has begun to shift away from spending fortunes at auto shows, where you are there for 14 days, your people are tied up and the space is phenomenally expensive. There are a couple of million people (at the shows), but how many of them are really your designated targets? What the manufacturers have found is that the museum is a really beautiful location to showcase or do a reveal,” says Karges. “We do it on different floors, but in the past 24 months, we have probably done 21 new car reveals with the manufacturers.”Passion is EverythingKarges is past the age when many would retire, and most in his position would seek a less demanding job they could “coast” in. However, Karges is still going strong and has no intention of letting off the gas. His hard work ethic is a direct result of his love for what he does. That passion is the fuel that keeps him pushing himself and the Petersen Automotive Museum forward.“Doing what you love isn’t work,” says Karges. “I talked to my grandsons about that and told them to find what they wanted to do. You won’t hit on it immediately. You are going to have to experiment and keep trying, but eventually, you will figure it out.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Brendan Ballou Discusses Private Equity on “Only The Strong Survive”In the second part of our two-part series on private equity, “Only The Strong Survive” host Dan Kahn talks to Brendan Ballou. The author of “Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America,” Ballou is a federal prosecutor who served as Special Counsel for Private Equity in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. Before that, he worked in private practice along with the National Security Division of the Justice Department, advising multiple administrations on counterterrorism. Ballou’s unique background gives him deep insight into the often-murky world of private equity (PE).While our previous episode dealt with the upsides of private equity, of which there can be many, Brendan discusses the darker side of PE with Dan. As the title of his book suggests, private equity can have many negative aspects associated with it. So, do these negatives outweigh the positives? Or does private equity sit somewhere between good and bad? Examining both sides of an issue is always important, and that is exactly what Dan and Brendan do in this episode of “Only The Strong Survive.” Click on the icon above to hear the complete in-depth discussion. Here are our top five takeaways:* Private equity and its effects are widespread.* Financial decisions are not always the best business decisions.* Short-term thinking can be rampant in private equity.* There are lots of challenges in changing the private equity sector.* While it might seem like all doom and gloom, there is hope.  Private Equity Impacts EveryoneMany people think of private equity as a distant business “thing” that doesn’t really affect their lives. However, that isn’t true. Private equity's vast scale means it impacts almost every consumer, whether they realize it or not. Operating behind the scenes, private equity’s influence can be difficult for many to perceive, but it is almost always there.“In terms of the impact that private equity has had, it is just enormous,” says Ballou. “Private equity firms spent over $1 trillion buying up businesses last year. So, just about every aspect of society and the economy is affected by it. Whether you are talking about healthcare, retail, finance, prisons, housing or leisure activities, just about everywhere private equity is active. It is really transforming how these businesses work.”Private Equity Firms are Financially FocusedThe vast majority of people working in private equity are not business leaders or entrepreneurs. Instead, they are from the financial sector. While this might seem benign at first, it means few people in PE have business, marketing or sales backgrounds. Having people run a company who aren’t necessarily business savvy can be a recipe for disaster.“I think one thing that is really important to convey is that the folks that run private equity firms and the folks that they typically install to run the businesses they buy very often do not have traditional business backgrounds in marketing, sales, logistics and so forth,” says Ballou. “Their backgrounds are primarily in finance and, to a lesser extent, the law. What that means is that the changes they try to make in companies are very often financial ones rather than operational ones. In fact, when they try to make operational changes, often times it ends very badly.”Short-Term Thinking is PrevalentHouse flippers and private equity have a lot in common: neither intends to hold onto their purchases for a long time. This leads to many house flippers cutting as many corners as possible to save money because they don’t have to live in a house for long (if at all). That same short-term thinking and “business model” is also prevalent in PE, as most firms only keep a company for 3-5 years. Short-term gains are often made at the cost of long-term pain.“One of the problems that I argue that the private equity industry has is they want to sell the companies they buy just a few years later. That changes your perspective on the business,” says Ballou. “I always say that if I were trying to maximize the value of my apartment over 20 years, I would redo the kitchen. If I were trying to maximize the value of my apartment over two weeks, I would burn it down and try to collect the insurance money. How long you hold an asset changes how you treat it.”Private Equity Has Powerful Political InfluenceIn our current “charged” political environment, it can be hard to believe that Republicans and Democrats agree on anything. However, both the Obama and Trump administrations tried to apply more scrutiny to what is an often-opaque sector. Neither succeeded, leading many to wonder why private equity can’t be controlled more.  The answer is that private equity has some powerful political friends.“Another challenge we have is that private equity firms are enormously successful at getting their way with government. They and investment firms have spent something like $900 million on federal candidates and elected officials over the last 30 years or so,” says Ballou. “They have hired former cabinet members, generals, CIA directors and at least two Speakers of the House. They are all working for private equity firms and are their advocates, so there are a lot of structural challenges to change.”There is HopeWhile private equity has some upsides, it also has some serious negatives. Is it all doom and gloom, though? Will private equity take over most of America and create a death spiral of business demise? Will short-term business thinking become the new normal? While focusing on the dark side of PE, Ballou does have hope for the future.“I actually do think there are reasons to be optimistic here. I have seen enormous progress happen on, for instance, advocacy around private equity in the prison and nursing home industries,” says Ballou. “There has been legislation and rule-making at both the state and federal level on many of these issues because people are committed and passionate about them. It is not just that change is possible, but change is actually happening in specific areas, which is great. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Alex Rawlings on Only The Strong SurviveIn this first episode of a two-part “Only The Strong Survive” series, host Dan Kahn talks with Alex Rawlings about private equity. As the host of “The Private Equity Podcast,” Rawlings is an expert voice deeply entrenched in the subject. He is also the founder and managing partner of Raw Selection, a U.K.-based executive recruitment firm that finds C-suite executives for private equity companies. Over his career, Rawlings has developed an in-depth understanding of how private equity functions and its many intricacies.Private equity is an often misunderstood and murky topic. While private equity has strong benefits, it also doesn’t enjoy the best reputation. So, what exactly is private equity, and is it good or bad? Is it something your brand should be looking at? The answers are complex, but Dan and Alex break it all down in this episode of “Only The Strong Survive.” Click on the icon above to listen to the whole discussion, and make sure to stay tuned for the next episode as we dive deeper into private equity. Here are our top takeaways:* Private equity is a highly regulated and complex industry.* There is a lot of money generated by private equity.* Most private equity backed companies are sold multiple times to other private equity firms.* The focus of private equity is usually on short-term growth.How Does Private Equity Work?In simplistic terms, private equity follows a similar business model to house flippers. A PE group purchases a company with a loan, but the company pays off the loan. The PE group then improves the company’s profits, usually by merging it with other companies. After doing this over a few years (typically 3-7 years), the group then “flips” the company to another buyer, hopefully for a significant profit.“Once they (a private equity firm) have raised capital, they will go to market to deploy capital. And when we say deploy capital, they want to buy X, Y or Z business,” says Alex. “Let’s say that business is doing $10 million, their goal will be to take it to $100 million. How the hell are they going to get it to $100 million in 3, 5 or 7 years? Private equity firms are not very good at doing organic growth. They are very good at doing “roll-ups” or basically acquiring competitors or similar companies and rolling up the back office systems into it, increasing the EBITDA and scaling that business on the front end.”Private Equity is Highly RegulatedFinding someone to talk about private equity is a challenge. That difficulty stems from private equity being highly regulated, and laws govern what can be said about existing and upcoming deals. The lack of people willing to discuss PE isn’t nefarious, but most companies prefer to operate behind the scenes and avoid opening themselves up to any potential liability.“It is heavily regulated. Same as in Europe as it is in the U.S., and it is just very stringent,” says Alex. “Therefore, people fear going out and having those conversations. Plus, it is just financial services. Law firms are a bit of the same, where they don’t want to break any eggs. But we are starting to see more personal brands coming out in private equity and more companies disrupting things.”It is Extremely ProfitableThe financial industry creates the most millionaires of any job segment. Within that industry, private equity produces the vast majority of those earning seven figures or significantly more. Private equity generates an extraordinary amount of wealth, which is why it continues to be so popular.“There have been some bad moves, but for the most part, they (private equity firms) have done phenomenal growth of organizations,” says Alex. “Some of these businesses have created huge returns. The biggest one I know of is a 300-times return on a portfolio acquisition. For a simplistic basis, if they acquired that business for $10 million, they have produced a 300 times return on that 10. And that would be small. They wouldn’t have done just $10 million.”Private Equity “Feeds” Upon ItselfOne unique aspect of private equity is that a PE-bought business is often sold multiple times. Almost every time a PE-backed business is sold, it is to another private equity firm. Different levels of private equity companies look to purchase businesses of various sizes. A lack of buyers is rare, as there is almost always someone willing to take a stab at it.“There are loads of different private equity firms,” says Alex. “It is a bit like banking levels. There are certain banks we haven’t heard of that we wouldn’t be able to put our money in because they want $100 million. Then there are bank accounts that don’t expect anything and ones that want $25,000 or $100,000. That goes on in private equity with some of these firms doing $1 billion acquisitions. It is not just $5 million or here is X amount of money. There are lots of rounds.”Is Private Equity Just Trying to Make a Quick Buck?For every backer of private equity, there is a detractor, and most have a mixed opinion of it. One ding to PE’s reputation is that it is only interested in making fast money and could care less about a company's long-term well-being. We asked Alex if private equity is solely focused on making a quick buck. His answer was an interesting one.“As someone who supplies into the industry, my answer to that question should be that I think they (private equity firms) are really focused on long-term growth,” says Alex. My actual answer is that I don’t think enough of them are. I think a lot of them are just focused on the exit. That might be harsh but also fair to a certain extent. It really depends upon the private equity firm.”Listen to the full podcast to get more of Alex and Dan’s insight into private equity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Brian Gilman of Warriors & Quiet Waters on “Only The Strong Survive”A former Marine Colonel, Brian Gilman has a 27-year history in the U.S. military, including two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gilman originally joined the Marines out of college with the intent of only being in the military for four years but quickly found purpose in serving his country. Eventually, Gilman became the Chief of Staff for the Marines Special Operations Command, leading training efforts for the Marines’ elite warriors.As a fifth-generation native of Montana, Gilman always found solace in fly fishing and spending time outdoors. That connection to nature helped lead him to his current position as Warriors & Quiet Waters CEO. The non-profit uses the vast healing powers of nature to help U.S. veterans recover from both seen and unseen injuries. Gilman joined the organization to maximize its impact and expand its mission beyond assisting veterans to survive their injuries to thriving in life. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Gilman talks with host Dan Kahn about his thoughts on leadership in both the military and civilian worlds. Click on the link above to listen to the in-depth discussion. Here are our top takeaways:* Leadership isn’t simply telling people what to do.* Leadership is about serving and sacrificing for your team.* Leaders can’t get lost in self-doubt or the fear of others.* Letting your emotions take over as a leader is a mistake.Leadership Goes Beyond Giving OrdersGilman learned a lot about effective (and ineffective) leadership during his almost three decades in the Marines. The military has its own leadership style; obeying and immediately enacting orders is 100% necessary in combat situations. However, for Gilman, there is so much more to being a truly effective leader than simply telling people what to do.“It all starts with an understanding of what leaders do. In my view, leaders empower others to do those things that need to be done that they would otherwise be unwilling or unable to do. That is what leaders do,” says Gilman.  “They empower others to do hard things. It is not about giving commands or forcing people as a result of your power to do things. It is about inspiring and empowering them to do those hard things that need to be done.”The Only Privilege of Leadership is LeadershipA modification of a quote from General James Mattis, who was Gilman’s division commander during his tours in Iraq, the new quote speaks directly to one of Gilman’s core takes on leadership. For Gilman, being a leader is not about enjoying the accouterments and luxuries that can sometimes come with a leadership position. Instead, the only privilege of leadership is being a leader.“A leader, in order to be effective, has to sacrifice for the team. They have to serve the team,” says Gilman. “They are not there to collect the privileges that come with a position of leadership. The only privilege of command is the command. The only privilege of leadership is leadership. In my view, it is really easy to get trapped with all the things that can come with a position of authority.”Be Wary of Taking Counsel of Your or Your Team’s Fears or NaysayersAnyone can try to be a leader, but being an effective one is extremely difficult. It takes courage and the ability to make hard decisions that others often cannot. There will always be doubters of you and fears along the way. However, letting your or others' fears and doubts overwhelm you is a surefire way to become an ineffective leader.“Ultimately, I think that a leader has to be bold. They need the courage and confidence to make the hard decisions that they are there to make,” says Gilman. “At the end of the day, I believe you have to follow your instincts. You should listen to all of the guidance and advice that you can receive from people, but ultimately, you have to make tough calls.”Don’t Let Your Emotions Take OverLeaders can have big egos, but being humble enough to learn from your mistakes is vital. According to Gilman, his biggest mistake in the past was to let his emotions take over. Leaders are people too and have bad days like everyone, but letting those emotions cloud decisions often leads to poor ones being made.“I think the biggest mistake I have made from a leadership perspective is when I lost sight of my framework. I am very Type A, and I like getting things done quickly and solving hard problems and challenges,” says Gilman. “When I don’t show up as my best self, what that looks like is I become overbearing, I don’t listen to others and I take over. All those things that my framework says I shouldn’t do. When I think of the biggest mistakes I have made as a leader, it is because of some outside pressures I had or because I was having a bad day or something like that.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Tim Herbel is not your average entrepreneur, and Not Your Average Joe is not your average business. The always energetic and enthusiastic Herbel started Not Your Average Joe as a coffee shop that employs students and adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. Unemployment among adults with special needs is a staggering 77.5%, and Herbel made Not Your Average Joe’s mission to reduce that number. Further differentiating Not Your Average Joe is that it operates as a 501(C) nonprofit with an entrepreneurial mindset when it comes to innovation and growth.Originally started as a singular Oklahoma location five years ago with four employees, Not Your Average Joe has seen massive expansion. The coffee shop chain now has six locations and employs almost 200 people, with plans for more. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn discusses with Herbel all that he has learned on the amazing journey that is Not Your Average Joe Coffee. From exploring successfully growing a non-profit to evolving as a leader, the interview is worth a listen. Click on the icon above to hear the full episode. Here are our top five takeaways:* The mission of your brand matters.* People won’t support your mission if you don’t have a quality product.* Non-profits should share their success with others to make the biggest impact.* Asking for help is critical to leadership.* Building an effective organization is more about circles than pyramids.Your Mission Is ImportantPeople want to connect with brands now more than ever that serve a larger purpose than solely making a profit. The mission of your company is absolutely important and not just a forgotten paragraph on a website. Not Your Average Joe is proof of this, as high school and college students have raised significant sums of money to help build new locations. They strongly believe in and support Not Your Average Joe’s mission and want to see it succeed.“The altruism of college students and the wholeness of our mission are good combinations. So that fire started to spread across the city, and then local high schools started raising money,” said Herbel. “Our model moving forward is we need about $300K (to open a new location). Two high schools in Edmond, Oklahoma, Deer Creek High School and Edmond Santa Fe, went in together, and one raised $120K and the other $180K. That is our $300K magic number, so we will be in Edmond this fall. The students of Moore Public Schools just raised $228K. We have to get the other $72K, but we should have a store in Edmond and Moore by the end of the year.”Having a Quality Product is Just as ImportantCalling Not Your Average Joe a coffee shop is like calling a Ferrari a car. Yes, Not Your Average Joe sells coffee and food, but it is a far cry from a Denny’s. Both the coffee and the food Not Your Average Joe serves are absolutely exceptional. That quality matters because, while people might believe in your mission, it is hard for them to support it if your products are subpar.“We did from the beginning know that we had to have great coffee,” said Herbel.  “We focus on SCA, which stands for the Specialty Coffee Association, training. We have the first female roaster certified by the SCA in the state of Oklahoma. We are the only coffee shop in the state of Oklahoma to send a barista to the U.S. Barista Championship. Now, we have the first and only Native American female certified coffee roaster in the world. We did that, and then we put together a good menu, so arguably, we have the best turkey club sandwich in Oklahoma City.”“Export” Your SuccessIt is easy to see that Not Your Average Joe is a success. However, Herbel doesn’t want to covet that accomplishment or keep it within the walls of his coffee shops. Not Your Average Joe's mission is to reduce the shockingly high unemployment among those with special needs. He can make a more significant impact on reducing that number if he can help other brands participate beyond Not Your Average Joe.“Our voice has been able to be heard now among the biggest businesses in Oklahoma and beyond,” says Herbel. “For example, we have done corporate training with Boeing, for the Choctaw Nation and for the Metropolitan Library System. One of our income streams is going out and training businesses how to do what we do in terms of making jobs accessible and making the way attainable.”Leaders Ask for HelpBusiness leaders often have pretty big egos, and sometimes, rightfully so. However, that same ego that helped build a business can also destroy it. Thinking you know the solution to every problem is a surefire way to slow or reverse your brand's growth. A true leader will recognize their limitations, ask for help and surround themselves with people who can assist them.“I graduated valedictorian from high school and summa cum laude from college with a master's. I thought I had all the answers,” says Herbel. “It wasn’t until I failed and learned from failure that I learned what leadership is. Leadership is about being transparent and saying, ‘I don’t know, and I could use your help.’ Learning to ask for help as a leader is hard. But if you do it, you get surrounded by a good team.”The Circular Org ChartMost organizations envision their organizational charts as rigid pyramids. For Herbel, that approach doesn’t work and is outdated. Instead, he sees Not Your Average Joe as more circular and almost like a tire. Individuals form each section of the “tire” to create teams that can lean on each other for support. That “tire” then helps support the larger corporation and moves it forward.“We are trying to build a circular organization chart here,” says Herbel. “The idea is that we are teams. Somewhere on that ‘tire’ where the rubber meets the road, there is an individual on that slice of pie or those spokes. They are in charge of that space, but they are not by themselves. You have to lean on each other to be strong. That is how the tire works. We don’t go anywhere without those tires.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

Phillip Griot of Griot’s Motors on “Only The Strong Survive”Phillip Griot’s life and work both revolve around a passion for cars inherited from his father, Richard. As a child, Phillip got tossed into the family’s Chevy Suburban for long road trips with his dad at the helm. On those cross-country journeys, Phillip began to appreciate the many idiosyncrasies of early cars and their bonding power. During his teenage years, Phillip spent much of his youth helping his dad maintain and preserve the elder Griot’s ever-expanding collection of automobiles. Eventually, his dad’s car collection grew so large that a larger facility and professionals were needed to maintain it.As the scope of Richard’s collection grew, so did the team's capabilities surrounding it. They were now performing extensive restorations, custom fabrication and high-quality paintwork. When other people began asking for help restoring their cars, Phillip saw an opportunity and launched Griot’s Motors. Now, the business is well-known as a first-rate restorer of exotic and classic cars, along with providing storage and assisting in their sales.Launching and running a business has taught Phillip a lot about entrepreneurship. In this latest episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” he discusses with host Dan Kahn what it took to get Griot’s Motors off the ground and the lessons he learned along the way. Click on the link above to listen to the full episode, and here are our top five takeaways:* Adaptation is the key to a thriving business.* You need a way to separate yourself from the competition.* Don’t be afraid (or too proud) to ask an expert for help.* Brands should always focus on their customers.* Hire someone strong in the areas where you are weak.You Have to Adapt to SurviveGriot’s Motors has existed informally in the back of the family business, Griot’s Garage, since 2008. However, the official launch of Griot’s Motors happened right before a global pandemic became a reality. The timing might have seemed problematic, but Phillip quickly learned that being able to pivot rapidly is vital to any successful business.“It (the pandemic) did make us go back to the whiteboard on how we were planning on doing things,” said Phillip. “We were very lucky to be new in the industry and agile without concrete opinions on how business was supposed to be done. Also, we were willing to learn and adapt to what was a quickly changing marketplace.”Separate Yourself from the CompetitionThere are a lot of talented car restorers, builders and fabricators out there. However, some don’t have the best business sense. Vehicles might get shoved into the back of the shop, deadlines blown and you have to chase them down for updates. Phillip focused on running Griot’s Motors as a professional business to differentiate it from those “types” of shops.“I think I was lucky to grow up with a lot of great businessmen. My grandpa was a great businessman; my dad is a great businessman,” says Phillip. “I read a lot of books in the planning stages. I think I read ‘E-Myth’ about six times. It focuses on processes above all.”Call in the Experts When NeededOne unique aspect of Griot’s Motors is that it doesn’t work with only one brand of cars. This gives Griot’s Motors a wider range of customers and insulates it from market trends. However, the key to making this work is not having a big ego and being able to call on a trusted network of experts for help when needed.“We have done a ton of Porsches, so we have a lot of Porsche expertise,” says Phillip.  “However, should we find a Porsche-specific problem where we need a Porsche-specific answer from an expert, we have a Rolodex full of them. We have great relationships with all of these people. I will pay to send them out, walk around the car and diagnose these questions that we don’t have answers to. We won’t make up answers.”Simplifying Your Customers’ Lives is a PriorityGetting lost in the daily grind of running a business is easy. However, losing focus on your customers is a surefire way to lose them. Regardless of the type of business, solving your customers' problems to make their lives easier should always be a priority.“We are trying to simplify the life of the client who only really wants to have fun. The understanding of the contract and the transaction is that this is someone who has enough money to pay us because they don’t have the time to do it themselves,” says Phillip. “We appreciate that, and our goal is not to waste their time. Instead, we want to give them exactly what they want to enjoy their car in whatever way they see fit.”Know Your Strengths and WeaknessesTo run a successful business, you need to be absolutely honest with yourself about your own strengths and weaknesses. Doing so is not about setting out on a mushy self-healing journey or a path of enlightenment. Instead, it allows you to hire the right people who can strengthen the areas in which you are weak.“Know what your strengths and weaknesses are and then compensate someone well to cover your weaknesses,” says Phillip.  “After five years, I know what I am not good at better than what I am good at. I don’t do those things anymore because that is what leads to folly. So, that is the biggest lesson I have learned. It is not from failing once but from stubbornly believing I could figure everything out.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com