Interviews with CEOs and Entrepreneurs about the frameworks they are using to build and scale their businesses.
Episodes
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Kristopher Kluver is a former serial entrepreneur and the founder of Life on Your Terms, a coaching consulting firm that helps people redesign their life based on their definition of success. We talk about the four main pillars of a successful life, why you need to be unreasonable to be extraordinary, and how businesses can protect their primary asset.
Time Stamps
[00:45] Kristopher's entrepreneurial journey
[02:36] How to define what success means to you
[04:13] To feel successful, stop moving your goalpost
[07:21] The four quadrants in the Life on Your Terms model
[09:23] How to balance the four main pillars of a successful life
[11:43] Life Changing Goals and why they're essential for success
[15:42] Why you need to be unreasonable to be extraordinary
[18:08] How to deal with the saboteurs in your life
[22:07] The benefits of helping your employees achieve their life-changing goals
[23:33] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Monday Oct 10, 2022
Karla Singson is the CEO of Scalewind, a company that provides creative, tech, customer & admin support to companies that want to grow and scale without the hassles of HR, legal, and manpower management. We talk about the Distributing Growth framework, the scary part of growing a business, and factors to consider before outsourcing tasks.
Time Stamps
[00:46] Karla's entrepreneurial journey
[03:22] The 3 main aspects of Karla's business
[05:31] The Distributing Growth business framework
[08:30] Removing speed bumps in your business
[10:44] How to keep your employees connected to the company vision
[14:23] The scary part of growing a business
[17:35] Steps to finding the sweet spot for business growth
[19:47] The main misconceptions about outsourcing
[21:35] Difference between managed services & outsourcing
[24:28] Tips in setting expectations for outsourcing
[28:02] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Karla's email: Karla@Scalewind.com
Book - Great by Choice by Jim Collins
Thursday Oct 06, 2022
Thursday Oct 06, 2022
Gleb Kuznetzov is the founder of Milkinside Design Studio and the Chief Design Officer of Brain Technologies, Inc, an AI and interface company that aims to reinvent computer interfaces and make software natural. We talk about the keys to a successful digital transformation, how to design lovable products, and reasons why startup founders must think big.
Time Stamps
[00:43] Gleb's entrepreneurial journey
[03:09] Gleb's move from Europe to The US
[05:01] Keys to a successful digital transformation
[09:12] The role of digital transformation in predictable business growth
[12:15] Gleb's Cube Framework for predictable business growth
[16:54] Understanding mass market products
[19:11] The consumer avatar for mass market products and services
[22:47] Benefits of building a business around your ideal customer avatar
[25:09] Gleb's advice to startup founders on how to scale their business
[27:15] Reasons why startup founders need to think big
[28:42] Gleb shares the inspiration behind his company's name Milkinside
[30:33] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Follow Gleb on Twitter
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Alexander Kunz is the CEO and co-founder of OP2 Labs, an INC. 5000 company that develops, manufactures, and sells innovative nutritional supplements under two brand names, Frog Fuel and Pro T Gold. We discuss the core competencies of a good leader, how to build a label-less organizational culture, and the process of manufacturing nutritional supplements.
Time Stamps
[00:32] Alexander's entrepreneurial journey
[05:12] Alexander starts contracting for government agencies
[08:31] What it's like working in the cybersecurity space
[12:41] The exposure of working for a global company
[14:52] What to do if you discover your company is breaking the law
[18:05] Understanding the target market for nutritional supplements
[20:33] The process of manufacturing nutritional supplements
[23:55] How to create a label-less culture in your organization
[28:36] Why we need to rethink the way we classify people
[32:12] Important things to remember when incentivizing employees
[35:30] Characteristics of a good leader
[37:03] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
David St. Germain is the Founder and CEO of Cactus Credit which helps people improve their credit profiles. He is also the author of Zero To Hero: 7 Simple Strategies for Creating the Life You've Always Wanted. We talk about upselling best practices, the drawbacks of too much innovation, and the role of environment in business success.
Time Stamps
[00:26] David's entrepreneurial journey
[02:52] How to double your company's revenue fast
[06:46] Ways to uncover upselling opportunities
[09:00] Benefits of upselling value to existing customers
[09:56] Why business owners need to focus more on what's probable
[12:22] Too much innovation can be a bad thing
[13:49] The role of environment in business success
[16:54] Goal setting: match your effort with your goal
[20:08] David's goal achieving system
[22:22] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
David's Book - Zero To Hero: 7 Simple Strategies for Creating the Life You've Always Wanted
David's LinkedIn
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Pat Clawson is the chairman and CEO of Resurface Labs, a software company that provides continuous API security by detecting and responding to API attacks at runtime. We discuss the four main types of sales research, working with APIs in your business, and API security best practices.
Time Stamps
[00:33] Pat's entrepreneurial journey
[03:58] Pat's success operating other people's businesses
[04:35] The four main types of sales research
[07:29] Why businesses cannot succeed without sales research
[08:35] Understanding the focused sales framework
[11:32] Drive results using a repeatable sales process
[12:24] What is an API?
[14:15] Risks of API integration and how to mitigate them
[15:43] How to know if you're engaging with APIs
[16:49] Working with APIs in your business
[18:39] How to protect yourself from a potential API attack
[22:30] Protecting your APIs from potential attacks
[23:44] API security best practices
[26:28] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Pat's email: pat@resurface.io
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Monday Sep 19, 2022
Srikant Chellappa is the president and co-founder of Engagedly, an employee engagement and development software platform that redefines the performance review process. In his spare time, Sri also produces movies, makes music, and hosts the People Strategy Leaders Podcast. We discuss the benefits of having engaged employees, how OKRs ramp up employee motivation, and where most companies fail with employee engagement.
Time Stamps
[00:47] Sri's entrepreneurial journey
[02:22] A simple framework to improve employee engagement
[05:49] Where most companies are failing with employee engagement
[08:45] Employees want to feel purpose in their work
[10:57] The 3Es engagement framework at Engagedly
[12:56] Performance reviews for employee engagement
[15:17] OKRs and performance management: How they work together
[17:46] How OKRs ramp up employee motivation
[19:18] How managers can use Engagedly to improve employee engagement
[21:22] Engagedly is a people strategy platform
[23:20] Why HR should be executives at the people strategy table
[25:23] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Monday Sep 12, 2022
Per Sjofors is a six-time CEO, pricing expert, and author of The Price Whisperer: a Holistic Approach to Pricing Power. We talk about price anchoring, the mistakes businesses make with pricing, and how low prices can potentially scare away customers.
Time Stamps
[00:40] Per's entrepreneurial journey
[04:08] Specific problems with modern pricing strategies
[07:00] Reasons why pricing is critical for business success
[09:56] How to develop a practical pricing framework
[12:03] The risk of overcomplicating pricing
[13:59] When and when not to hide prices on your website
[16:11] The psychology behind hidden prices
[18:19] What is price anchoring, and is it effective?
[22:42] How to defend and justify your pricing
[27:01] Can low prices scare away customers?
[28:37] The drawbacks of attracting price-sensitive clients
[30:52] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Per's Book - The Price Whisperer: A Holistic Approach to Pricing Power
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Robin Landa is an ideation expert, an author of 25 books, and a distinguished professor at Kaen University in New York. And she is very prolific. We talk about strategic creativity, the benefits of being curious in life, and the difference between good copy and a sales pitch.
Timestamps
[00:40] How to become an expert in ideation and creativity
[02:01] The two main types of creativity
[03:54] Can creativity be taught?
[06:37] Why curiosity is an innate human trait
[08:24] Curiosity is the fuel for creativity
[10:41] What is strategic creativity?
[13:42] Creativity: How much is too much?
[16:41] How to unlock your creative potential
[19:45] Closing the gap from where you are and where you want to be
[22:42] The difference between good copy and a sales pitch
[25:36] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain
Strategic Creativity: A Business Field Guide to Advertising, Branding, and Design by Robin Landa
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Charles Brecque is the founder and CEO of Legislate, a tech company that makes it easy for non-lawyers to safely create, manage, and search lawyer-approved contracts on a no-legal budget. We talk about advanced contract management, how business deals fall apart because of contracts, and what to do when dealing with one-sided contracts.
Timestamps
[00:29] Charles’ entrepreneurial journey
[02:07] When business deals fall apart because of contracts
[04:37] How Legislate helps remove the complexity out of contracts
[05:54] Reasonableness and good faith in contracts
[07:23] Having a system for creating contracts saves time
[10:10] The types of businesses currently using Legislate
[12:07] How contracts translate to different jurisdictions
[16:08] Advanced contract management at Legislate
[18:59] How to deal with one-sided contracts
[21:03] Legislate’s single phrase strategy
[23:08] Opening up contracts for better business opportunities
[25:45] Parting thoughts
Links and Resources
Steve and Greg Cleary's Book: Pinnacle: Five Principles that Take Your Business to the Top of the Mountain