How To Founder

Are you about to waste six months pitching investors who'll never bite?

Most founders confuse hope with readiness—they chase funding before the metrics prove they deserve it. The gap between "we should raise" and "we're ready to raise" costs founders equity, momentum, and credibility. This episode breaks down the exact signals that separate wishful thinking from genuine round readiness.

Drawing on insights...

What if the key to survival isn't cutting costs—it's spending smarter?

Most founders facing a cash crunch default to slash-and-burn mode, gutting their teams and operations in a panic. But CB Insights reveals that thirty-eight percent of failed startups died not from spending too much, but from cutting the wrong things at the wrong time. When DataVox CEO Pete Caputa faced six months of runway, he did the unthinkable: he doub...

What if chasing the latest software stack is sabotaging your business?

In this revealing episode, we sit down with Lucas Erb, founder of AIExperts.com and former Deloitte consultant, who challenges everything founders think they know about technology decisions. Discover why enterprises waste 38% of their IT budgets on redundant software, how Shopify's "boring" technology choice saved years of migration pain, and why yo...

What if the brand guidelines you're protecting are actually killing your growth?

Most founders treat their brand like a museum piece—something to preserve rather than evolve. But Aurora Winter, who's built multiple seven-figure companies and authored "Turn Words Into Wealth," reveals why that approach is costing you customers, capital, and competitive advantage. In this conversation, she breaks down the neuroscienc...

Most founders think a solid operating agreement will save their partnership. It won't.

Travis Lee Howard—ten-time founder, conscious leadership expert, and former partnership attorney—joins us to reveal why sixty-five percent of startups fail not because of market problems, but because founders don't know themselves well enough to work together. He shares the "gift versus gift giver" framework that helped him navig...

What if your relationship with money is why your business isn't growing?

Most founders track revenue obsessively while their companies hemorrhage cash. The real problem isn't in the spreadsheets—it's in your head. Dr. Travis Parry reveals the four psychological money scripts that secretly drive every financial decision you make, from childhood programming you didn't know existed. Whether you worship money, avoid it, ...

What if your fear of rejection is costing you deals you've already won?

In this no-holds-barred episode, Chris Franks and Stephanie Hays tackle the closing conversation that makes most founders squirm. Discover why traditional closing techniques are dead, how to spot the difference between real objections and buyer stalls, and the simple transition phrases that turn awkward silences into signed contracts. This isn't about ma...

What if the key to outmaneuvering both scrappy startups and sluggish enterprises lies in mastering the messy middle?

Join us as we dive deep with Sardor Umrdinov, founder of Home Alliance, who scaled from $800 to a nationwide powerhouse with over 10,000 service locations. Discover why mid-market companies (between $10M-$1B revenue) represent only 3% of businesses yet drive 33% of U.S. private sector GDP. Learn the brutal truth about...

What if everything you think you know about rebranding is wrong?

In this no-nonsense episode, we tackle one of the most misunderstood topics in business: when to rebrand versus when to resist the urge. With a shocking 73% of rebranding initiatives failing to deliver measurable ROI within two years, we dive deep into why most founders get this decision spectacularly wrong. Discover the real reasons companies like Jaguar and Cracker B...

What if your biggest competitive advantage isn't your product, technology, or funding—but something most founders completely overlook?

Companies with strong cultures outperform their peers by 202% in revenue, yet 73% of startups report culture degradation within 18 months of hitting 100 employees. In this episode, Chris and Anthony dive deep into why culture breaks down so fast during scaling and what you can do about it. Discov...

What if the machines already control how your audience sees you?

Seventy-three percent of LinkedIn content is now AI-generated, yet human-authored posts get forty-seven percent higher engagement rates. The gap between authentic personal brands and generic AI content is widening fast. In this episode, we dive deep with Jason Barnard, the Brand SERP Guy and CEO of Kalicube, who reveals how founders can reclaim control of their narrati...

Think you're losing customers because of product problems? Think again. A shocking 67% of customer churn happens because of poor service experiences—not product failures. When Sarah Chin at the Billion Dollar Fund analyzed 500 startups, she discovered companies with systematic retention processes retain 40% more customers than those relying on founder charisma alone. In this eye-opening episode, Chris Franks, Anthony Franco, and su...

What if everything you know about scaling is wrong?

In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with channel sales expert Aidan Sowa, who reveals why 73% of channel partners take six months to generate meaningful revenue—and how to beat those odds. Discover the unconventional strategies that can accelerate your partner onboarding, the biggest mistakes founders make when building channel relationships, and why indirect sales might be yo...

What if everything you know about tech stacks is actually slowing you down?

In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with Drake Wolf, the self-made tech founder who went from aging out of foster care to building a fully automated AI empire. Discover why 73% of companies are losing 20+ hours weekly to disconnected systems, the counterintuitive approach to software selection that's saving founders thousands, and how agentic ecosystems...

What if the biggest reason your leads aren't converting has nothing to do with lead quality?

When Typeform's David Okuniev watched his marketing team generate 500 qualified leads that sales couldn't close, he discovered the real culprit: artificial barriers between departments. This episode cuts through the marketing mystique to reveal what marketing actually is, where it belongs in your organization, and why 73% of lead...

What if admitting you don't have all the answers actually makes you a stronger leader?

Harvard Business Review found that 73% of employees trust leaders more when they admit uncertainty during a crisis. Join us as we sit down with 15-time bestselling author and founder Holly Porter, who turned two near-death experiences into powerful leadership lessons. After surviving a 70-day hospital stay during COVID, Holly discovered that a...

What if your entire sales approach is sabotaging your growth?

In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with Dan Goodstein, the business therapist who's spent two decades fixing broken sales models for everyone from scrappy startups to Fortune 500 giants. Discover why companies like Monday.com saw their stock tank 30% despite beating revenue numbers, how the traditional sales funnel is actually more like a leaky sieve, and why yo...

In this episode, we explore a contrarian truth: luck isn't random—it's manufactured through micro habits and reversible decisions. Discover why the most successful founders treat decision-making as a numbers game, how to create serendipity through strategic networking, and the dark side of early success that can trap entrepreneurs in outdated patterns. We dive deep into the science of weak ties, the power of being publicly ...

Think competitive intelligence means stalking your rivals on social media? Think again.

Most founders miss 80% of the competitive intelligence sitting right in front of them in public sources. While you're guessing at pricing strategies and marketing tactics, your competitors are leaving breadcrumbs everywhere—in job postings, customer reviews, and SEO footprints. Steven Schneider, co-founder and CEO of Trio SEO, reveals how sma...