Practical Business Skills & Tools Episodes

Ready to operate your business with the strategic power of a company ten times its size? In this mind-blowing episode, we sit down with Brandon Katz, the visionary founder of DreamLever, to unpack the revolutionary concept of the "AI Chief of Staff." Brandon explains how we're entering the golden age of entrepreneurship, where AI isn't just automating tasks—it's becoming a strategic partner. This episode is a must-listen for any founder who wants to move beyond simple AI prompts and harness the ...

Are you tired of outdated industries ripe for a shake-up? In this episode, Dr. Bill McCumber, a finance professor and founder of Rowan Elder Productions, joins us to reveal how he’s tackling higher education's biggest flaw: the boring, ineffective classroom lecture. Dr. Bill breaks down why the future of any expertise-based business, whether in education or e-commerce, depends on creating "watchable" and "digestible" content that captivates your audience. This episode is a masterclass in industr...

The creator economy is projected to become a half-trillion-dollar industry, but the path from idea to income is littered with tech headaches and complexity. In this episode, we sit down with Bruce Skaar, a systems-thinking entrepreneur with a background at Nike and Microsoft, who is on a mission to eliminate these barriers. Bruce breaks down the massive opportunity within the creator economy and reveals how high the true barriers to success really are, despite low barriers to entry. He introduce...

In a world buzzing with AI hype, most enterprise-level projects are quietly failing. Robert Toshiyuki Morrell, founder of ThreddSync and an AI expert since 2009, joins the show to pull back the curtain on why this is happening and what entrepreneurs can learn from it. He breaks down the critical "execution gap" between AI strategy and real-world results, revealing why simply giving your team access to AI tools—a practice he calls "token sprinkling"—is a recipe for wasted investment. This episode...

Tired of hearing about AI as a vague, futuristic concept? In this episode, we pull back the curtain on what it really looks like to build and run a business on a fleet of AI agents. Drew Mehta, founder of ThinkFraction, joins us to share how he went from managing products for Major League Baseball and a $750B asset management firm to launching his own AI-native company. He doesn't just talk the talk; his company’s content, outreach, and research are all powered by AI agents he designed, with him...

In an era where AI can feel like a tool reserved for giant corporations, Margo and Nate Shulman are leveling the playing field. In this episode, the dynamic mother-son co-founding team behind NATEX AI pulls back the curtain on how they’re building truly bespoke AI solutions that deliver enterprise-level power to small and mid-sized businesses. They reveal why a "vertical" approach to solving industry-specific problems—from healthcare insurance denials to subcontractor workflows—is the key to cre...

Ever dreamed of buying a business but felt completely out of your depth? This episode is your masterclass in demystifying the world of business acquisition. Carter Micklem, a former private equity VP, pulls back the curtain on the due diligence process, sharing the exact strategies institutional investors use to vet a company—and how you can apply them to your first (or next) purchase. He breaks down the difference between buying a business and starting a franchise, the critical data points to a...

In this special Collab Week episode of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur, nine founders answer one creative and surprisingly powerful question: What is a concept from another discipline, hobby, or part of life that changed how you think as a founder? You’ll hear from Shawn Sundsvold, Jaimz Hodge, Jane Alexander, Drew Dorenfest, Erik Berglund, Lisa Larson, Nate Hebbert, Stephen Custer, and Nicholas Cook as they pull lessons from recovery, fiction writing, gardening, baseball, fitness, running, softw...

How can you leverage powerful AI like ChatGPT or Claude without exposing your sensitive business data? Rami Akeela, founder of Nera Systems, predicted this exact problem long before it became a mainstream concern and built the solution. In this episode, Rami unveils the Nera Chat App, a tool that delivers the full intelligence of major AI models with truly zero data exposure, eliminating the trade-off between power and privacy. For entrepreneurs, this conversation is a masterclass in not only so...

As entrepreneurs, we're constantly feeding data into AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, but have you ever stopped to ask: where does that data go, and who really owns it? In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with Joshua Rhines, a fourth-generation Montanan and the founder of CubCloud AI. Joshua is on a mission to bring AI infrastructure back to a local level, championing the concept of "Sovereign AI" to ensure your data stays yours. This conversation is a must-listen for any entrepreneur who ...

Tired of hearing about AI as a fun toy? In this episode, we get down to business with AI transformation expert John Bush. John demystifies the world of AI, cutting through the hype of "shiny object syndrome" to reveal how entrepreneurs can use these powerful tools for what actually matters: creating operational leverage and driving real revenue. This episode is a masterclass in shifting your mindset from simply prompting AI to deploying it as an active, "agentic" part of your team. John shares h...

Are you tempted by the promise of AI building your business in minutes? In this episode, software engineer and Physie founder Daniel Veenkamp dispels the hype around "vibe coding" and makes a powerful case for building with patience and intention. Daniel shares his journey from a "disgruntled employee" at a personal training platform to creating his own solution, Physie, which reimagines how workouts are programmed, tracked, and shared. This episode is a masterclass in building a sustainable, hi...

Ever feel like you’re stuck in execution mode—checking boxes, completing tasks—but not actually innovating or creating anything new? In this episode, Brian shares a powerful strategy borrowed from companies like 3M and Google that can completely change how you and your team operate: build your own “labs” time. From Post-it Notes to Gmail, some of the world’s most impactful products came from intentional space to experiment—and Brian is now implementing this exact concept inside his own businesse...

In this powerful episode, Brian sits down with Chippy Morina-Stark, a mechanical engineer turned multi-company founder who is revolutionizing the world of building sustainability. Chippy shares her incredible journey from Kosovo to New York City, revealing how her childhood experiences and immigrant grit forged an unbreakable persistence that fuels her entrepreneurial drive. This isn't just a story about decarbonization; it's a masterclass in turning highly technical expertise into a scalable bu...

Ever felt so frustrated by your day job's inefficiencies that you wanted to build a solution yourself? That’s exactly what Colin Green did. As an institutional asset manager, Colin was tired of dealing with fragmented data and manual reporting in the multifamily real estate world. Instead of just complaining, he spent his nights and weekends building what would become BubbleGum BI, a game-changing business intelligence and AI platform. This episode is a masterclass in turning deep industry ex...

Forget AI that just writes emails or creates images. What if AI could build the physical products around you? In this mind-blowing episode, we sit down with Bobby Ng, a veteran hardware engineer from innovation powerhouses like Tesla and Zoox, who is pioneering the next frontier of artificial intelligence. Bobby’s company, Transfigure, is teaching AI to create manufacturing-ready 3D designs from simple sketches, bridging the gap between a great idea and a tangible product. For wantrepreneurs ...

Ever clicked "I Agree" without reading a single word? You're not alone, and our guest is on a mission to change that. In this episode, we sit down with Shikha Soneji, PhD, the brilliant mind behind ConsenTerra, an AI startup that translates complex privacy policies into plain, understandable English. Shikha shares her incredible journey from a PhD researcher and enterprise data scientist to a first-generation founder, turning years of academic work into a product that empowers everyday people. T...

Davis Wilkinson, co-founder of Heirloom, shares the deeply personal story of how watching his mother navigate the estate settlement process after his brother’s passing inspired him to leave big tech and build a solution. This episode is a masterclass in building a purpose-driven company from the ground up, starting with taking a job as a funeral home receptionist to truly understand the customer's pain. Davis provides a transparent look at how he and his co-founder leverage AI to achieve the pro...

In a world obsessed with cloud-based everything, Josh Hipps is pioneering a different path: the "sovereign AI" revolution. Josh, the founder and CEO of Neutron Tech, shares his incredible journey from the Air Force Academy and engineering roles at Apple and Amazon to building an offline-first AI platform for missionaries and humanitarian workers in the world’s most remote locations. This episode is a masterclass in identifying a massively underserved market and building a solution that challenge...

Ever felt like you were drowning in paperwork instead of working on your mission? Ray Crick, CEO and co-founder of Allegory, turned that exact frustration into a revolutionary AI-native platform. In this episode, he breaks down how Allegory is becoming the “Airbnb for grant funding,” connecting world-changing innovators with the capital they need, faster than ever before. This conversation is a masterclass in identifying a massive industry problem, leveraging AI as a force for good, and building...

Brendan Strzelczyk turned a childhood passion for coding Flash games into Cobalt Commerce, a powerhouse e-commerce agency serving an incredible roster of clients. In this episode, Brendan unpacks the real drivers behind e-commerce success, revealing why so many drop-shipping stores fail and what established brands can do to scale. This episode is a masterclass for any entrepreneur who wants to understand how to build a business on a foundation of solving real problems, leveraging data over gut f...

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely and confusing journey, especially when navigating major inflection points like raising capital or planning an exit. In this episode, Geoffrey Boyce, founder of ForFounder, reveals why surrounding yourself with a trusted community of peers isn't just a nice-to-have—it's your most critical strategic advantage. He breaks down how tapping into the "been there, done that" wisdom of other founders can help you avoid costly mistakes, stay sane during high-stakes negotia...

In this episode, Brian sits down with J. Harte Nielson, the founder and CEO of Ario Health and a true entrepreneur's entrepreneur. Harte shares his journey from the research lab to building 17 SaaS products, revealing how he consistently identifies massive problems and takes decisive action to solve them. This conversation is a masterclass in leveraging cutting-edge technology like AI not as a scary unknown, but as a powerful tool to accelerate growth, build trust, and unlock value trapped withi...

In an era dominated by AI hype, how do you move from simply talking about AI to securely and profitably implementing it? This episode tackles that exact question with Evan Glaser, founder of Alongside AI and an expert at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and business strategy. Evan demystifies the world of powerful AI agents, explaining both their groundbreaking potential and the critical security risks they pose. This isn't just a theoretical discussion; it's a practical guide for entrepre...