In this episode, I sit down with Nick Huber, entrepreneur, real estate investor, and the voice of "The Sweaty Startup." Nick built a multi-million-dollar self-storage empire and champions the power of "boring" businesses that deliver real profits. Today, Nick celebrates the launch of his book, The Sweaty Startup, a guide to building sustainable businesses by focusing on proven models over risky innovation. We explore his journey from launching small service companies to scaling major real estate...
Apr 29, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 224
This episode's guest is Kaz Bycko, a young entrepreneur out of OKC who I have known and worked with over the years. Kaz and his team recently launched Bubbl, an AI-powered platform that curates podcast content. He also co-founded Red Dirt Mining and serves as President of the Oklahoma Bitcoin Association. In this episode, we explore how Kaz is looking to revolutionize the Podcast industry and what Bubbl is doing to enhance podcast discovery. We chat about the evolution of podcasting platforms an...
Apr 15, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 223
In this episode, I sit down with Sean Frank, CEO of Ridge Wallet, the brand that redefined men’s accessories with its sleek, RFID-blocking wallets and everyday carry gear. Men’s fashion rarely prioritizes accessories, and wallets are something most guys replace once a decade—yet Ridge built a thriving business in a space where success seemed unlikely. We dive into the Ridge Wallet story, the state of e-commerce, the challenges of manufacturing in America, and why the Amazon seller model is crumb...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 222
In this episode, we have my business partner in our real estate firm Jeff Burns. We start the conversation on how he made an incredible parlay early in his career that has been the foundation of everything we have built in real estate. We then touch on the journey, from starting out with an idea, to how it has evolved into a large scale company. We dive into the lessons learned and the challenges faced, from building our own cabins, to launching a ground up waterfront development, to building a ...
Feb 11, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 221
Is ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing dead? Once hailed as the future of finance, ESG is now facing a reckoning. From underperforming green investments and political backlash to corporate retreats and cultural pushback, the cracks in the system are undeniable. In this episode, we break down why ESG is crumbling—examining its financial failures, political rejection, and global contradictions. Listen to uncover the truth behind the rise and fall of ESG, and what it means for the...
Feb 07, 2025•10 min•Season 1Ep. 220
In this episode, I sit down with Adam Rossi, who built and sold a successful cybersecurity software company serving federal agencies. Adam shares his journey from structural engineer to tech entrepreneur, offering key insights on starting and scaling a business. We discuss his strategic approach to entrepreneurship - working for two years to gain experience before launching his venture, living frugally while his wife's income provided stability, and evolving his company from a one-person enginee...
Jan 13, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 219
This episode's guest is Dan Pickering, the well known energy sector analyst and investor currently serving as the chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners. Dan has had a track record of successful entrepreneurship ventures throughout his career, notably co-founding Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. before launching PEP. He's a regular guest on mainstream media outlets providing insights into oil and gas markets, investment strategies, and the evolving energy transition. This episode ...
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 218
This episode's guest is Karl Graham, co-founder and principal at Luminus Capital, an investment firm specializing in self-storage and industrial real estate. Karl is also a small business entrepreneur that has founded various start-ups. This episode we discuss Karl's journey from a geologist in the oil and gas industry to building a thriving real estate business. We talk about his strategies for identifying value-added opportunities and his data-driven investment approach. Episode flow: - Transi...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 2 min
This episode's guest is John Ross from WatchJRGO— the popular YouTube channel where JR blogs his life and tackles multiple projects like fixing old cars and remodeling his AirBnb. We talk about the car market, the car flipping business, some of his craziest projects, EV trends, Tesla and its brutal pricing changes that have left thousands of people underwater on their car loans. John shares real stories about the highs and the lows of being a full time content creator and where his future passio...
Nov 04, 2024•1 hr 3 min
This episode's guest is Chris Atherton. Chris is the CEO of EnergyNet, a leading online platform for oil and gas asset transactions. The company has brokered over $10 billion in deals since it was founded in 1999. This year EnergyNet has also launched separate marketplaces for real estate, alternative energy, and other real assets under the Efficient Markets platform. In this episode, Chris shares his 25+ years of experience in the energy industry, discusses trends shaping the future of oil and ...
Oct 14, 2024•59 min
This episode we have returning guest Doomberg. Over the years Doomberg has made multiple appearances on the show and his episodes are some of my favorite to record. If you don't already know, Doomberg runs one of the largest paid substack newsletters and puts out some incredible content around energy, markets, business, politics, and the other craziness going on in the world. This episode we talk about how OPEC is losing its influence and the ripple effects that will ensue if the cartel ultimate...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 214
This episode's guest is Nik Hulewsky, the co-founder of multiple 7 figure businesses that he has successfully built and flipped. Nik started on the corporate career path and ultimately got fired from his job. Rather than going back to the corporate world he used an SMB loan to buy his first business, a medical payments company. After a few years he grew the revenue of that business and exited. Since then he has gone on to co-found multiple companies and is currently partnered with Chris Koerner ...
Sep 13, 2024•47 min
This episode's guest is Ted Dockrey. Ted left his job during his 20s and bought a HVAC company. Him and his partner took the business from a mid 6 figures revenue to 8 figures of revenue in just a few years and then sold it to private equity. This episode we discuss Ted's entrepreneurial journey and what it took to take the leap to go out on his own and buy a business. We talk about the importance of culture when leading a large team of people and how Ted took a different approach than the typic...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 112
This episode's guest is James Fishback. He recently had a high profile (and highly meme'd) exit from David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital. He's moved past the 'head of macro" controversy, and is now focused on building his next venture, Azoria Capital. This episode James shares his insights on the current state of the macro economy, including his thoughts on U.S. inflation and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. We discuss actionable investment strategies around macro trends and what James has ...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 1 min
This episode's guest is Clay Brett. Clay is a partner at Baker Botts, and leads a broad transactional practice, representing private equity investors, private credit investors, portfolio companies and financial institutions in M&A, capital formation, financing and joint venture deals. While Clay has led transactions across sectors as a generalist, Clay is regarded as one of a handful of the most respected names in the private energy investment space. Clay is uniquely positioned to give legal...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 210
This episode's guest Aleksey Chernobelskiy. Aleksey has a background in managing a $10 billion commercial real estate portfolio at STORE Capital and is currently a principal at Centrio Capital Partners. With Centrio, Aleksey focuses on helping LPs in real estate investment funds better understand the investment risks they are making and vetting GP investment presentations for red flags. This episode we discuss how and why he started Centrio, what he looks for when analyzing real estate deals for...
Jun 14, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 209
This episode's guest is Chris Koerner. He is a serial entrepreneur and loves the art of building businesses. Chris has founded and built multiple companies across different industries and currently manages them in his holding company. This episode we discuss the challenges Chris has faced juggling so many different companies at once. We look at the successes and failures he's had in his career and what keeps him motivated to find the next great deal. Chris tells some wild stories about when he s...
May 28, 2024•1 hr 5 min
This episode's guest is Hans Lorei. I met Hans in the short-term rental space, and have been following him as he's grown a massive interior design brand across social media the last 8 months. Interior design has always been one of the most important aspects of building a home. However, it can be very challenging due to the need to balance multiple factors like functionality, aesthetics, budget, and technical requirements, all while accommodating subjective preferences and evolving trends. In thi...
May 16, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 207
This episode's guest is Joey Morris, one of the co-founders and partners of a popular restaurant group based in Oklahoma City. Joey is also my cousin in-law, and every time we get together at family gatherings I've always enjoyed talking business and entrepreneurship with him. His team has put together multiple successful restaurant concepts that have stood the test of time and had continued success. This episode and Joey talk about the success of his restaurant chain and the difficulties he fac...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 206
This episode's guest is Chris Hellgeth the man behind the GasBizGuy Twitter account. I was excited to get Chris on the podcast since we have both made our careers in the hydrocarbon marketing space. This episode we discuss the retail gasoline distribution business and how Chris has been able to carve out a profitable business in that niche. We talk about his investments in real estate and the time when he almost lost it all during the great financial crisis in 2008. Lastly we discuss dealing wit...
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 205
This episode's guest is Matt Marshall the President of AEGIS CTA. Matt is an oil and gas markets guru and it's a luxury to be working with him and his team at AEGIS. In this episode, we discuss the current oil and gas market dynamics, and get Matt's view on what is driving pricing. We dive into the recent natural gas bear market and what is on the horizon that could lift us out of this slump. We talk oil fundamentals and the psychology OPEC. Lastly, we touch on NGLs and what to be on the look ou...
Mar 19, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 204
This episode's guest is Mike Beckham the founder and CEO of Simple Modern, an industry leading producer of premium drinkware and lifestyle products. We discuss the various stages of entrepreneurship and the sacrifices it takes to build a successful business. He shares insights on how he built his company's culture and business practices over time, which took a bootstrapped start-up from zero in sales to currently over $250 million in revenue. Lastly, we discuss the challenges of dealing with suc...
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 203
This episode I have returning guest Brian Gitt. Brian has been a fan favorite and I was happy to have him back on the show to talk about his new book "In The Dark: Fixing Energy Policies that Hurt People and the Planet." During the conversation we walkthrough the major topics in Brian's book and what his motivations were behind deciding to become an author. We dive into why the current energy policies are failing, what the unintended consequences are, and Brian's suggestions on how to fix the pr...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 202
This episode's guest is Bryan Sansbury the CEO of AEGIS Hedging. If you haven't heard the news, AEGIS recently acquired my energy company Ancova. This was a massive life event for me and my co-founder. We started the business 10 years ago as a bootstrapped advisory business that transformed into a commodity marketing and technology firm that disrupted our niche of the industry. This episode we discuss the genesis of the merger, why the firms fit together, and what we are hoping to accomplished w...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 201
This episode's guest is Paul Moore with Wellings Capital. Paul is a seasoned entrepreneur and has started companies across multiple industries. Paul has a ton of real estate experience and has written multiple books on different asset classes in the space. This episode we discuss Paul's journey as an entrepreneur. We talk about the raw land development projects he has done over the years and the creative marketing methods he's used to flip water front lots. I listen to Paul's advice on entrepren...
Nov 15, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 200
This episode's guest is Cody Spaulding the founder of Scissortail Pipe. Cody is a local OKC guy and an oilfield entrepreneur. He cut his teeth working for a larger oilfield service company, then eventually went out on his own and built a pipe brokerage business. This episode we discuss Cody's path to entrepreneurship and the lessons he learned from his Dad. We dive into the pipe business and talk about how deals get done. We get into details on the variables of his business that drive profitabil...
Oct 30, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 199
This episode's guest is Scott Willis with Grizzle. Grizzle is a media driven investment firm that provides research and investment products for its clients. Scott's company has leaned hard into social media content to provide value for their clients. This episode we do a deep dive into the Uranium markets and how Grizzle sees different opportunities to play the space. We talk about Uranium fundamentals how the current market cycle is playing out. Next we dive into natural gas and crude oil. We c...
Oct 06, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 198
This episode's guest is Ben Justman, the founder of Peony Lane Vineyards. Ben is making some amazing wine using natural processes at the highest winemaking elevation in the country. He is also accepting Bitcoin for the sale of his products and utilizing the circular economy of Bitcoin for everyday transactions. This episode we discuss what lead Ben to become an entrepreneur and move back to his hometown to chase the dream of making and selling his own wine. We talk about the challenges he's face...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 197
This episode's guest is Taylor Jones with Techvestor, a large scale vacation home short term rental fund. Taylor is always posting some amazing STR content on Twitter showing his company's properties and the strategies they use to scale a fast growing STR fund. This episode we discuss what Taylor looks for in a market before investing in short term rentals. We dive into how his company has been able to scale quickly and what advantages that scale brings to his investors. We talk about the challe...
Sep 16, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 196
This episode we have returning guest Daniel Turner, the founder of Power the Future. Daniel is always great to have on the podcast and discuss the craziness going on with our energy policy decisions. This episode we dive into multiple topics related to the ironically named Inflation Reduction Act, and how green energy policies are hurting the American energy complex and pushing more power to China and OPEC+. We talk about how China has abandoned the Paris accord and is making money off of the We...
Aug 27, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 195
