Shows / The Inspired Stories Podcast
The Inspired Stories Podcast
Anthony Codispoti has started, built, and sold a variety of successful businesses, including a 7-figure wholesale business (successful exit), a 7-figure consumer business (exited to private equity), a SaaS business (successful exit), and fiscally advantaged benefits. As an innovator and pioneer, he has been awarded patents, earned best seller badges, and gained scores of battle scars. In this show, we gain inspiration from the successes achieved and challenges overcome by today's business…
Episodes
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Master these Skills to Maximize the Wealth Creation Event with John Ratliff of align5
🎙️ From a Two-Bedroom Apartment to a Five-Times Industry Average Exit: John Ratliff’s Blueprint for Building and Selling John Ratliff built Apple Tree Answers…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
David Homan on Why Vulnerability Is Not a Weakness and Curiosity Is Not a Tactic
David Homan, founder and CEO of Orchestrated Connecting, was a classical composer with 225 works performed at Carnegie Hall when he found himself, at 26…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Randy Long Built His Career Around One Idea: Someone Has to See the Whole Picture When Nobody Else Will
Randy Long, JD, CFP, founder of Build Proof Sell and Long Family Office, walked into a Wall Street brokerage in Newport Beach with no appointment and described…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
You Don't Have to Have the Whole Plan: How Meridith Picarelli-Khattar Built a Leadership Career She Never Saw Coming
Meridith Picarelli-Khattar, General Manager and COO of Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte, went to college for physical therapy, stumbled into restaurant…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
John Tsiones Built a $100 Million Hispanic Grocery Program From Zero at Dearborn
🎙️ From Getting Fired at 16 to Running Purchasing for the Midwest’s Leading Hispanic Supermarket Chain John Tsiones, Director of Purchasing at Cermak Fresh…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Charlene Carter on the Velvet Standard: How to Hold People to a High Bar Without Making Them Feel Small
Charlene Carter, Chief Development Officer and partner at the Carver Companies, grew up as the daughter of a domestic worker in Savannah’s public housing…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
How Jesse Vidrine Turned a Dying Louisiana Pharmacy Into a 2,400% Business
🎤 From 401k to 2,400% Growth: Jesse Vidrine’s Compounding Pharmacy Bet Jesse Vidrine, President of Vidrine Pharmaceutical Group, cashed out his 401k, put up…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Bob Lang on Growing a Franchise Responsibly When Anyone Can Sell Units
Bob Lang, president of Blue Moon Estate Sales USA, started his career assessing commercial loan risk at a hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar portfolio in Lima…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Morgan Bajardi: The Art and Science of Luxury Textiles
Morgan Bajardi, Director of Design Development at The Rug Company, has spent her career at the intersection of mathematics, ancient craft, and psychology. From…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Amanda Luebeck on Why Small Business Owners Deserve an Investment-Grade Experience and Rarely Get One
Amanda Luebeck, founding broker at K&D Advisory, came to mergers and acquisitions not through investment banking but through watching a broker prioritize his…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Debra Johnson on Rebuilding Her Operating System After Years of Chronic Stress
🎙️ From HR Manager to COO Three Weeks Before COVID: Debra Johnson In this episode, Debra Johnson, COO and Chief People Officer of Street Entertainment Group…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Matt Logan on What He Looks for When Recruiting Advisors and Why Hunger Cannot Be Taught
Matt Logan, founder of Rise North Capital, was broke, directionless, and doing tree removal and landscaping jobs for cash when he got a recruiting call from a…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Denver Post Journalist to PR Agency Founder: Ricardo Baca’s Marketing Agency
🎙️ Ricardo Baca: From Newsroom to Journalism-Minded Agency Founder In this episode, Ricardo Baca, founder and CEO of Grasslands, shares how 24 years as a…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
PourMyBev Built a Category Nobody Believed In and Josh Goodman Still Isn't Done
🎤 From a Crowded Baltimore Bar to 12,000 Taps Worldwide: Josh Goodman’s Pour My Bev Story Josh Goodman, founder and CEO of PourMyBev, had an idea in a crowded…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Forty Restaurants, One Neighborhood, and a Life Drew Nieporent Has No Regrets About
🎙️ From McDonald's Griddle to Nobu: The Rise of Drew Nieporent In this episode, Drew Nieporent, founder of Myriad Restaurant Group, traces a path from a…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Kevin Harrison on Why the Uncommon Influence Coaching Program Starts with a Question, Not an Answer
From 31-Year Franchisee to Executive Coach: Kevin Harrison's Uncommon Reinvention Kevin Harrison, founder of Uncommon Influence, spent three decades as a…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Stuntman to CEO: How Josh Zolin Built a Family Business into an Inc 5000 Enterprise
Josh Zolin is the CEO of Windy City Equipment, a commercial equipment service company operating across Arizona and Texas with 50 to 60 employees and between…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Laser Tissue Fusion to Lawn Care: Joe Griebel’s Design Arc at Sunday
Joe Griebel, Director of Physical Product at Sunday, started his career helping fuse tissue with a laser in a deviated septum surgery and ended up redesigning…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Brandon McConnell on A People First Mentality in Hospitality + His Book on AI & Human Psychology
Brandon McConnell, corporate executive at Delavan Lake Lawn Management, learned hospitality before he learned long division — garnishing plates at his mother’s…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Richard Parker: Stop Working In Busyness and Start Building a Business Worth Selling
🎤 Richard Parker Bought 13 Businesses Before He Started Helping Others Sell Theirs Richard Parker, founder of Roy Street Advisors and author of How to Buy a…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
The Business Owner's Trap Andrew Acer Sees Time and Time Again
Andrew Acer, Senior Business Analyst at Cogent Analytics, grew up on a ranch in Idaho raised by a Depression-era West Point grandfather before navigating…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
The Bronze Star Veteran Who Now Helps Companies Stop Being Afraid of AI with Jon Hilton
🎙️ From West Point to ExxonMobil to AI Practice Leader: Jon Hilton’s Unconventional Path Jon Hilton, shareholder and AI practice leader at LBMC, earned a…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
The Lesson David Tobin Learned Running a 60-Person Firm He Couldn’t Scale: Manage for Profit
David Tobin, founder and managing partner of TobinLeff, started with coupon books in college, built a B2B telemarketing firm that he scaled to 60 people and…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
The Numbers Never Lie: Elizabeth McKee on Bar Inventory, Overpouring, and Protecting Your Margins
🎙️ From Catfish Restaurant Server at 14 to Hospitality Inventory Consultant: Elizabeth McKee's Journey With Sculpture Hospitality Elizabeth McKee, franchise…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Kasey Devine Left a Top Sales Job to Fix the Problem He’d Watched the Industry Ignore for Years
🎤 Kasey Devine Left a Top Sales Job to Fix the Problem He’d Watched the Industry Ignore for Years Kasey Devine, founder and CEO of Entravia, spent over a…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Inside Earthrite Pest Control's Bed Bug Heat Business with Scott Sowers
🎙️ Scott Sowers: From Textile Executive to Ohio Pest Control Founder In this episode, Scott Sowers, founder of Earthrite Pest Control, shares how a tearful…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Ben Cooke Turned 18 Running Stores Into a Trail Running Movement with Marathon Sports
🎤 From All-American Runner to Running Retail’s Most Restless Builder: Ben Cooke at Marathon Sports Ben Cooke, President of Marathon Sports, has spent 25 years…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Embroidery Machines to Global Blank Apparel: Three Generations of Next Level
🎤 Three Generations, One Brand: Eric Simsolo’s Path to President of Next Level Apparel Eric Simsolo, President of Next Level Apparel, grew up watching his…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Rebuilding a Struggling Orthotics Franchise After Buying It the Week Before COVID
🎤 From Beijing Dealmaker to Foot Health CEO: John Prothro’s Rebuild of Foot Solutions John Prothro, President and CEO of Foot Solutions, spent years closing…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
How Dave Allred Reverse Engineered Financial Freedom and Hit 1,000 Rental Doors by 40
Dave Allred, founder and CEO of Axia Partners, grew up in a destitute household, was entirely on his own at 17, and built his first million by 26 after…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Motel Rooms at 12 to Hotel Developer: Kal Patel
Kal Patel, founder and CEO of Crestpoint Companies, grew up stripping motel rooms at 12 years old, swore he'd never return to hospitality, and then spent 25…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Kevin Koster on Why Marketing Drives Business Value More Than You Realize
🎤 The Accident That Redefined Marketing: Kevin Koster’s Mission to Fix Business Value Kevin Koster, President and Chief Brand Officer of Skopós, The Brand…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Christian Hertl on Building Wealth Advisory Relationships That Outlast Any Single Advisor's Career
Christian Hertl is a CFP and partner at Antolino Wealth Advisors, a Columbus-based fiduciary wealth management firm now in its third generation, with offices…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Holy Sh*t Comfort and Big Ball Girth: Rick Blackshaw’s Very Serious Shoe Brand
🎧 From Chuck Taylor to Hey Dude to Stoke: Rick Blackshaw’s Career in Footwear and the Brand He Built for the Guy Nobody Was Serving Rick Blackshaw, founder and…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From 58 Venezuelan Wendy’s Locations to 240 in USA: Andres Garcia’s Four-Decade Restaurant Arc
🎧 From 58 Wendy’s in 48 Months to Artisan Pizza: Andres Garcia’s Relentless Entrepreneurial Journey Andres Garcia started as a chemical engineer in Venezuela…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Chloe Li: Why the Hotels That Own Their Guest Data Will Win the Next Decade
Chloe Li, Director of Finance at CloudBeds, left a career in investment banking after realizing she was telling founders how to grow revenue without truly…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Steve Belcher Sold Advantis to the World’s Largest Staffing Firm — Here’s How They Built It
🎧 From Blue Collar Beginnings to Adecco Acquisition: Steve Belcher’s Staffing Journey Steve Belcher, co-founder and president of Advantis Medical Staffing…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Todd Lucas on Building a Training Program From Scratch That Created a Better Employee Experience at Family Farm and Home
Todd Lucas is the Director of Family Culture at Family Farm and Home, a family-owned rural retail chain that has grown from 19 locations to more than 80 stores…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Good Apple's Brie Bolopue and Rochelle Lierz on Why Small Business Deserves Better
C-Suite Thinking for Small Business: Brie Bolopue and Rochelle Lierz on Building Good Apple Brie Bolopue and Rochelle Lierz, co-founders of Good Apple Business…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Joel Guth Built a $2.4 Billion Firm by Asking Questions Nobody Else Was Asking
🎧 From Cold Calls to $2.4 Billion: Joel Guth’s Journey Building Gryphon Financial Partners Joel Guth, CEO and founder of Gryphon Financial Partners, spent more…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
How California's SB68 Is Forcing Restaurants to Tag Allergens and Why Foodini Was Ready
Dylan McDonnell is the founder and CEO of Foodini, an AI-powered dietary intelligence company that helps restaurants, food service operators, stadiums, and…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
How Acloche Expanded Beyond Staffing Into Skills Training, HR Consulting, and Community Development
Kim Shoemaker is the CEO of Acloche, a Central Ohio staffing institution founded in 1968 that now places roughly 8,000 workers at any given time across…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Busing Tables at 15 to CEO: Kevin Gudejko's Four Decades Moving Through American Dining History
Kevin Gudejko is the president and CEO of Main Street Ventures Restaurant Group, a collection of 21 upscale scratch kitchen restaurants across five states that…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Jordan Rodriguez on Why Business Owners Need More Than a Portfolio Manager
Jordan Rodriguez is the founder of Chagrin Valley Legacy Advisors in Beachwood, Ohio, a planning firm built for owners of closely held family businesses…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Educational Psychology to Staffing COO: Marnie Byford's Path to Supreme Staffing
Marnie Byford is Chief Operating Officer at Supreme Staffing, a national employment agency connecting workers to opportunities in manufacturing, logistics…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Greg Mahoney on What Breaks Inside a DSO When Acquisitions Move Faster Than Operations
Greg Mahoney is Associate Director of Management Consulting at Skytale Group, a Dallas-based firm helping dental support organizations and multi-site…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Meir Spiegel Built His Own Systems From Scratch. Now He Does It for Everyone.
Meir Spiegel is a CPA and partner at B2B CFO, the nation's largest CFO consulting firm, working with privately held businesses in New Jersey and beyond. He…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
The Deal Gap Nobody Sees: Pat Voltapetti's Strategy Against Overpaying
Pat Voltapetti is the co-founder and managing partner of Pinnacle One Capital, a private equity and advisory firm focused on multifamily and commercial real…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Lloyd Lewis: How a Son With Down Syndrome Turned a Finance Career Into a Mission
Lloyd Lewis: Building a Social Enterprise Around the People Most Workplaces Overlook Lloyd Lewis, President and CEO of Arc Thrift Stores, shares how his son…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
How Nathan Anderson Built Nimbl Tech Inside Someone Else's Company
Nathan Anderson is the co-founder and head of operations at Nimbl Tech, a fractional IT firm in Lehi, Utah serving small remote accounting and financial…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
From Venezuela's First McDonald's to Miami Bar & Restaurant Group CEO: Luis Ginestra's Hospitality Journey
From Venezuela's First McDonald's to Miami Nightlife CEO: Luis Ginestra's Hospitality Journey Luis Ginestra, CEO of the Rabbit Group, built one of Miami's most…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Drew Allen on Why American Manufacturing Needs to Think 10X Bigger, Not Just 10% Better
Drew Allen is the President and CEO of Grace Technologies, an electrical safety and predictive maintenance manufacturer based in Davenport, Iowa whose products…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Shaun McDonald on What Harri's One-Click AI Scheduling Actually Does Behind the Scenes
Shaun McDonald is the Director of Customer Success at Harri, a New York-based technology company founded in 2012 that helps restaurants, hotels, and…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Matt Coyne: A Catholic Deacon and an M&A Advisor. Helping people get where they want to go
From GE Finance to M&A Advisor: Matt Coyne's 25 Years on the Front Lines of Business Exits Matt Coyne, founder of Brandywine Mergers and Acquisitions and…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Lenny Grant on the Culture, Karma, and Persistence Behind RRM Design Group's Growth
From Family Room Startup to 200-Person Firm: Lenny Grant on Persistence, Karma, and Building a Culture That Lasts Lenny Grant, principal and housing market…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen on the All-Day Happy Hour, No-Tip Policy That Saved Their Dining Room
🎧 From Fuzhou to Fairfax: How Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen Built Chin Chin Cafe Into a 27-Year Community Institution Brothers Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen immigrated from…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Ryan Magnon on Why Culture is the Key Differentiator in the Luxury Hospitality Industry
🎧 From the Air Force to Ritz Carlton to Chick-fil-A: Ryan Magnon’s Uncommon Path to Building Ithaka Hospitality Partners Ryan Magnon, COO and partner at Ithaka…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Ral West on Why Open Book Management Built the Most Loyal Team She’s Ever Seen
🎧 From Charter Jets to Coaching Entrepreneurs: Ral West’s Journey Building Hawaiian Vacations and Livin' the Dream Ral West grew up watching her father Chuck…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Greg Light on Why Every Business Valuation Comes Down to Cash Flow and Risk
🎧 Cash Flow, Risk, and 2,000 Engagements: Greg Light’s Journey in Business Valuation Greg Light, managing director and co-founder of Bodmer Price and Light…
- The Inspired Stories Podcast
Kyle McCord on Why Owner Operators Are Always Outmatched When Private Equity Shows Up
🎧 From Emancipated Minor to Exit Advisor: Kyle McCord’s Journey to Max Value Advisors Kyle McCord, founder and managing director of Max Value Advisors, spent…