Wild Business Growth

Warning: the activities discussed in this episode are extremely dangerous. Vitaliy Raskalov, the Urban Explorer, Photographer, and Founder of On The Roofs, joins the show to share his journey from climbing trees as a kid to scaling the tallest skyscrapers in the world. Hear how he pulled off his most famous climbs, how to find your courage, how to be strategic with your social media content, whether he ever gets afraid of heights, and Wild tales from his motorcycle adventures across Asia. Connect with Vitaliy on Instagram @Raskalov and YouTube @OnTheRoofs

Hannah Redmond, the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Happy Box, joins the show to share her journey from creating a breakup care package for her sister Ariel to building the one-stop shop for gifting with her. Hear the Valentine's Day breakup that inspired Happy Box, how to build an eCommerce website, how to create your own fulfillment center, how to start a business with your sibling, and some fun facts about SNICKERS. Connect with Hannah at HappyBoxStore.com, on Instagram @HappyBox, and on LinkedIn

Maxime Barbier, the Co-Founder and CEO of Timeleft, joins the show to share his journey from going all in on vertical video to connecting strangers for dinner around the world every Wednesday. Hear the logistics behind Timeleft, how they match people, what's driven their growth, how to keep your business concept strong and simple, and the Sydney Segment of operations questions. Connect with Maxime at Timeleft.com, on LinkedIn, and Instagram @MaximeBarbier

Cara Bognar, the Founder and CEO of Top Tier Lessons, joins the show to share her journey from Captain of the University of Illinois Swim Team to matching student athletes with parents looking for sports lessons for their kids. Hear the impact of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), how to expand your business to multiple cities, how to keep the hours flexible for your team, the hardest swimming stroke, and what Cara learned growing up as the oldest of 5 siblings. Connect with Cara at TopTierLessons.com and on LinkedIn

Ben Erwin, the CEO of Charitybuzz, joins the show to share his journey from deciding between money and nonprofits to leading the provider of once-in-a-lifetime experiences that support charities. Hear how to inspire your team and customers, provide magical experiences, create new offerings, start a business with a charity component, and the most memorable experiences offered on Charitybuzz. Connect with Ben at Charitybuzz.com

Jess Weiner, the Cultural Expert and Founder and CEO of Talk to Jess, joins the show to share her journey from playwright to advising the world's leading brands on the issues facing women and girls today. Hear the story behind the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and the rebrand of Barbie, how to establish yourself as an expert, how to get your first big client, how to decide if a risk is worth taking as a brand, and what happened when Jess missed that ferry in Crete. Connect with Jess on LinkedIn, on Instagram @ImJessWeiner, and at JessWeiner.com

Jamila Musayeva, the Certified Etiquette Coach and Author, joins the show to share her journey from learning several languages to teaching etiquette to over a million subscribers on YouTube. Hear the most difficult language to learn, the rules of business etiquette, why etiquette and first impressions are so important, how to grow your YouTube Channel, and the biggest etiquette mistake people make. Connect with Jamila at JamilaMusayeva.com, on YouTube @JamilaMusayeva, on Instagram @Jamila_Musayeva, and on Patreon

Liz Picarazzi, the Founder and CEO of CITIBIN, joins the show to share her journey from feeling trapped as an entrepreneur in the corporate world to creating the award-winning brand of trash enclosures and package lockers. Hear how to start a side hustle, how to know when it's time to close your business, Liz's quest for the rat-proof trash enclosure, how to work with your significant other, and fun facts about trash. Connect with Liz at CITIBIN.com, on Instagram @CITIBIN, and on LinkedIn

Ross Simmonds, the Founder and CEO of Foundation, joins the show to share his journey from blogging about fantasy football to becoming the go-to expert and marketing agency owner on content distribution. Hear how to go on a successful workcation, how to hire your first employee, how to approach sharing out your content, what you can learn from the top deathbed regrets, and the best fantasy football season of all time. Connect with Ross and check out Create Once, Distribute Forever at RossSimmonds.com

Wilder, Wilder, Wilder. Hear special reunion interviews with returning Wild entrepreneurs, fan-favorite moments from Episodes 201-299, and behind-the-scenes bloopers in this Episode 300 Special of the Wild Business Growth Podcast. Hear how your favorite Wild entrepreneurs are growing their businesses through speaking, books, magazines, podcasts, acquisitions, teamwork, operations, innovation, versatility, company culture, inspiration, creativity, and more. Enjoy the weird voices, whistling, singing, false starts, dad jokes, and voice cracks. Sign up for the Podcasting to the Max newsletter at MaxPodcasting.com/Newsletter

Wild ideas. Wild growth. Every Wednesday morning a new entrepreneur shares the wildly creative and unusual ways they grew their business - and teaches you how to do it, too. In this Trailer, meet your Host, Max Branstetter, hear what to expect on the Wild Business Growth podcast, and discover some of the fan-favorite episodes, including Nancy Cartwright aka Bart Simpson, Matt Mullenweg of WordPress, Alli Webb of Drybar, Stacy Madison of Stacy's Pita Chips, Scott Hanson of NFL RedZone and Gold Zone, Joe Pellettieri of Big Mouth Billy Bass, and Susan Bennett aka The Voice of Siri. Follow or Subscribe to the Wild Business Growth podcast on your favorite podcast platform, leave a rating or review if you're feeling extra Wild, and Subscribe on YouTube @MaxBranstetter for the video versions

Emily Vaca, the Founder and CEO of MINNIDIP, joins the show to share her journey from living and breathing design to creating the original designer inflatable pool. Hear how to find a manufacturer for your product, perfect your R&D process, get distribution in major retailers, the most beautiful sight from a Chicago roof deck, and some zingers from the Queen of Puns. Connect with Emily at MINNIDIP.com and on Instagram @MINNIDIP and @ShopLaVaca

Ahmed Beshry, the Co-Founder of Caper, joins the show to share his journey from Y Combinator (YC) to creating the smart shopping cart. Hear how to figure out your most valuable product attributes, when to start pitching customers, how Caper got acquired by Instacart, the biggest difference between universities in the US and Canada, and the element of chemistry Ahmed geeks out about. Connect with Ahmed at Caper.Ai and Instacart.com

Dr. Jason Wersland, the Founder and Chief Wellness Officer of Therabody, joins the show to share his journey from scary motorcycle accident to creating the world-leading wellness company. Hear how he created the first Theragun, the key decisions that led to the success of Therabody, how to expand your product lines, the athlete he can't believe he gets to work with, and the song he plays best on piano. Connect with Dr. Jason at Therabody.com, on Instagram @DrJasonWersland, and on LinkedIn

Margo Jordan, the Founder and CEO of Enrichly, joins the show to share her journey from serving in the Army to helping kids boost their self-esteem through games and e-learning. Hear why self-esteem is so important, how to find your ideal client, how to build tech as a non-tech founder, the creative games on Enrichly, and her favorite video game of all-time. Connect with Margo at Enrichly.World, on Instagram @Enrich.Ly, and on LinkedIn

Priscila Martinez, the Founder and CEO of The Brand Agency, joins the show to share her journey from the world's most beautiful college campus to starting the award-winning PR agency that works with Fortune 5 clients and celebrities. Hear how to work with bigger clients, how to land big features as a startup, the best way to pitch press, how to keep your finger on the pulse of pop culture, and the celebrity she was most starstruck by. Connect with Priscila at TheBrand-Agency.com, on Instagram @PrisMartinez, and on LinkedIn

Hilah Stahl, the Co-Founder and CEO of Spoak, joins the show to share her journey from working on bizarre reality TV shows to creating the easy online platform for interior design. Hear how to build software in a new category, identify the personas of your customers, recognize when to stop, load the dishwasher like Tetris, and the secret to making delicious maple syrup. Connect with Hilah at Spoak.com, on LinkedIn, and on Instagram @HilahsThings and @Spoak

Bill Shufelt, the Co-Founder and CEO of Athletic Brewing Co., joins the show to share his journey from working at a top hedge fund to starting the biggest non-alcoholic craft brewery in the US. Hear how he discovered the opportunity for non-alcoholic craft beer, how to reinvent a product category, what's driven the success of Athletic Brewing, the story behind their flagship Run Wild IPA, and his favorite bars and restaurants in StamVegas. Connect with Bill at AthleticBrewing.com and on LinkedIn

Dal LaMagna, the Founder of Tweezerman, joins the show to share his journey from starting Tweezerman with $500 to selling the iconic tweezer business for $57 million. Hear the first person you should hire, the Equilateral Triangle of Focus for your business, why you should fear success more than failure, the best lasagna Dal LaMagna's ever had, and his favorite color of Tweezerman tweezers. Connect with Dal at DalLaMagna.com and RaisingEyebrows.com

Stephen Lease, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Octopus of goodr, joins the show to share his journey from ultradistance marathons to creating the best running sunglasses ever invented. Hear how a 100-miler works, how he comes up with goodr's iconic designs and names, how to grow your flock of flamingos aka your team, how to create a fun place to work, and how to find your spirit animal. Connect with Stephen at goodr.com, on LinkedIn, on Instagram @StephenLease, and check out the CULTURE goodr podcast

Tina Sharkey, the Advisor, Professor, and Co-Founder of Brandless and iVillage, joins the show to share her journey from working at Sesame Street to disrupting the categories that demand our attention today. Hear how she got the job with Sesame Workshop, how to manage your time as an advisor, when you are most productive, how she coined the term social media, and the Sesame Street character who made her most starstruck. Connect with Tina at TinaSharkey.com

Dr. Juan Salinas, the Founder and CEO of P-nuff, joins the show to share his journey from bodybuilder to creating the peanut protein puff and ripping off his shirt on Shark Tank. Hear what Mark Cuban is like in real life, how to find the right mix of ingredients, how to get distribution in major retailers, how sports and fitness help you as an entrepreneur, and the best food from Honduras. Connect with Juan at Pnuff.com and on social media @PnuffCrunch

Kordel France, the Founder and CTO of Theta Diagnostics, joins the show to share his journey from self-driving tractors to developing the sense of smell in robots and machines. Hear how smell sensors work, the top use cases for machines that can smell, how to convince potential clients your technology isn't too futuristic, the dog breed with the best sense of smell, and the one scent Kordel would smell for the rest of his life. Connect with Kordel at ThetaDx.Ai and on LinkedIn

Sam Rosen, the Co-Founder and CEO of Deskpass, joins the show to share his journey from starting a rollerblading delivery service growing up to making coworking spaces easier to reserve than ever. Hear how he started the first coworking space in Chicago, the most creative coworking spaces, how to manage thousands of customers, his favorite lessons from his creative parents, and the best things to do in the Chicago River. Connect with Sam at SammyRosen.com and Deskpass.com

Erika De Santi, Co-Founder of WeRoad, joins the show to share her journey from a life-changing trip to Peru to creating the group travel and adventure company used by hundreds of thousands of Millennials. Hear how to design the trip of a lifetime, build a community, embrace Plan B, the most unique trips on WeRoad, and the hardest Italian words to pronounce. Connect with Erika at WeRoad.com and on LinkedIn

Scott Dikkers, Founder of The Onion and Bestselling Author of How to Write Funny, joins the show to share his journey from cartoonist to building one of the funniest newspapers and websites in history. Hear the time he got stalked by Saul Goodman, how The Onion comes up with its headlines, how it evolved formats over the years, how to write funny jokes, and his all-time favorite article from The Onion. Connect with Scott at ScottDikkers.Substack.com

Greg Berry, the Founder and CEO of Municibid and Surplus.com, joins the show to share his journey from city councilman to creating the online government surplus auction marketplace. Hear the most random items ever sold on Municibid, how to manage an online marketplace, whether to focus on buyers or sellers, how to nail a cross-country road trip in an RV, and a little Breaking Bad. Connect with Greg at Municibid.com, Surplus.com, and on social media @Municibid and @GregMBerry

Katie Thomson, the Co-Founder and CEO of Square Baby, joins the show to share her journey from first-ever Nutritionist at Starbucks to creating the only organic baby food offering 100% daily nutrition. Hear how to leave your dream job, come up with fun and delicious flavors, find customers, how we develop taste preferences, and the best flavor combinations. Connect with Katie at SquareBaby.com and on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @SquareBabyFood

David Sauers, the Co-Founder of Royal Restrooms, joins the show to share his journey from porta-potty horror story to creating the luxury portable restroom franchise across the country. Hear how to differentiate your product and service, find your target customer, start a franchise, unusual fun facts about toilets, and the most notable celebrity weddings Royal Restrooms has satisfied. Connect with David at RoyalRestrooms.com and on LinkedIn

Camilla Opperman Morse, the Founder and CEO of Nimbus, joins the show to share her journey from selling late night grilled cheese and cookie dough to cooking up the innovative shared kitchen company. Hear how to run your business more efficiently, expand to multiple locations, raise funding from angel investors, the best business lessons from gymnastics and piano, and a magical number of Harry Potter references. Connect with Camilla at NimbusKitchen.com, social media @NimbusKitchen, and LinkedIn

Nicole Smith, the Founder and CEO of Flytographer, joins the show to share her journey from selling her car to stay in business to creating the vacation photo marketplace that's captured over 4 million memories in nearly 400 cities around the world. Hear how to sleep on a trampoline, turn your side hustle into a full-time business, stay easy to work with, run a global company, and a special Travel Edition of Rapid-Fire Q&A. Connect with Nicole at Flytographer.com, on Instagram @Flytographer and @FlytographerLife, and on LinkedIn

Peter Rojas, the Serial Entrepreneur and Founder of Gizmodo and Engadget, joins the show to share his journey from being intrigued by the early days of Wi-Fi to starting some of the most popular tech blogs on the planet. Hear how to decide what to post about, how to grow your audience quickly, the time Peter interviewed Bill Gates, his favorite gadget of all time, and the coolest city in Peru. Connect with Peter at Roj.as

Aytekin Tank, the Founder and CEO of Jotform and Bestselling Author of Automate Your Busywork, joins the show to share his journey from using the school computer on weekends to creating online forms for 20 million users. Hear his Rules on Hiring, Gross Margin, and Productivity, how to scale your business to millions of users, open more offices, and focus on the important work, plus lessons on motivation from Michael Jordan. Connect with Aytekin at Jotform.com, AytekinTank.com, and check out his book

Andy Hunter, the Founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, joins the show to share his journey from books saving his life as a kid to raising over $30 million for local bookstores. Hear why books and bookshops take you to a magical place, how to set up a B Corp, go head-to-head with a massive competitor like Amazon, go from full-time employee to entrepreneur, and Andy's family treasure hunt for the best ice cream flavor. Connect with Andy at Bookshop.org and on LinkedIn

Liz Giorgi, the Co-Founder and CEO of soona, joins the show to share her journey from producing for BTN (Big Ten Network) to making product photoshoots better than ever. Hear how to keep your pricing simple, keep your customers happy, quickly decide what to post on social media, how YouTube has changed over the years, and how Liz has changed as a business owner since becoming a mother. Connect with Liz at soona.co and on social media @LizGiorgi

David Greschler and Jonah Friedl, the Co-Founders of NomadGo, join the show to share their journey from mentor-mentee to reimagining inventory management through computer vision and spatial intelligence. Hear how to stay curious, match your tech to your vision, achieve product-market fit, unboxing the Apple Vision Pro, and the story behind Kirkland Signature and Costco. Connect with David and Jonah at Nomad-Go.com and on LinkedIn

Aleks Gosiewski, the Co-Founder and COO of Keel Labs, joins the show to share her journey from FIT to creating clothes out of seaweed. Hear why seaweed's better for the environment, how Keel Labs makes Kelsun fiber, how to learn entrepreneurship and science at the same time, how to stay patient in a long-term business, and a little Bojangles. Connect with Aleks at KeelLabs.com and on social media

Bryce Wuori, the Co-Founder and CEO of Pavewise, joins the show to share his journey from growing up in a construction family to using technology to make asphalt paving more efficient than ever. Hear how to introduce something new to an industry, change consumer behavior, celebrate wins, the difference between supper and dinner, and the perks of living in North Dakota. Connect with Bryce at PavewisePro.com and on LinkedIn

Haley Moore, the Founder of Acquire, joins the show to share her journey from sommelier at top San Francisco restaurants to bringing people together through food and wine across the globe. Hear how to pronounce sommelier, how to keep your business organized, how much to work on vacation, Haley's favorite hangover cure, and where to find unicorn wines. Connect with Haley at Acquire-Wine.com, on LinkedIn, and Instagram @HaleyGMoore and @AcquireWine

Cyrus Claffey, the Founder and Executive Chairman of ButterflyMX, joins the show to share his journey from Hawker at the Ren Faire to revolutionizing the intercom for apartment buildings. Hear how to iterate your product, declunkify your industry, find the right customers to pitch to, decide which ideas are worth pursuing, and some Show and Tell. Connect with Cyrus at ButterflyMX.com and on LinkedIn

Shannah Game, the Award-Winning Host of Everyone's Talkin' Money, joins the show to share her journey from starting a film festival in college to launching the top-ranked podcast with over 24 million downloads. Hear how to approach money as an entrepreneur, manage stress related to money, how much to spend on travel, how to start a successful podcast, and the best burger in Asheville. Connect with Shannah at EveryonesTalkinMoney.com

Joe Schaeppi, the Co-Founder and CEO of Solsten, joins the show to share his journey from performing adventure-based psychotherapy to pioneering cognitive assessments using video games. Hear the most interesting things we can learn about humans through video games, the science behind the flow state, how American cities were designed, the power of psychographics, and the Wildest theories about the universe. Connect with Joe at Solsten.io, WellBeing.Solsten.io, and on LinkedIn

Clement Mok, the Legendary Designer and Serial Entrepreneur, joins the show to share his journey from the early days of Apple to disrupting image libraries, web design, and restaurants. Hear his top lessons from Apple, how to attack complex problems, why you should ask why, what SUGARFISH and other top restaurants do best, and the most unique food he's tried. Connect with Clement at ClementMok.com

Paul Rutter, the Cruise and Entertainment Director and Customer Service Expert, joins the show to share his journey spending decades living with his customers and co-workers. Hear about that clothing-optional cruise, how to provide an excellent customer experience, the biggest customer service mistakes businesses make, the most beautiful night sky Paul's seen on the water, and what's next for cruise ships. Connect with Paul at PaulRutterSpeaks.com, on social media, and check out his books on Amazon

Nicole Zeno, the Founder and CEO of Clever Cow Media, joins the show to share her journey from directing music videos to helping small businesses grow like trees. Hear how to make changes backed by data, improve your processes, take time off from your business, Nicole's karaoke song, and the best (and worst) dad jokes. Connect with Nicole at CleverCowMedia.com, on social media @CleverCowMedia and @NBZeno, and YouTube @CleverCow

Volta Voloshin-Smith, the Founder and Creative Director of Color Snack, joins the show to share her journey from loving colorful TV shows while growing up in Moldova to leading Watercolor Meditation workshops across the US. Hear how Watercolor Meditation works, why art is good for your mental health, how to get a brain massage, how to show up no matter what, and some Wild Doodles and Wild Noodles. Connect with Volta at ColorSnack.com, on Instagram @ColorSnack and @WatercolorMeditation, and LinkedIn

Sheryl McLean, the President and Creative Director of McLean & Tircuit, joins the show to share her journey from international flight attendant to building the award-winning interior design firm. Hear what to look for in a business coach, what to do if you're too busy, how to have a Day of Inspiration, the best food in New Orleans, and Sheryl's most memorable story from the friendly skies. Connect with Sheryl at McLeanAndTircuit.com, on LinkedIn, and on Instagram @McLeanTircuitDesigns

Risa Barash, the Co-Founder and CEO of Fairy Tales Hair Care and TBH Kids, joins the show to share her journey from the late night stand-up comedy circuit to serial entrepreneurship for kids and tweens. Hear the comedy lessons that apply to business, how to set up your online marketplace, launch multiple brands without cannibalization, change your everyday schedule, and the best comedy club in NYC. Connect with Risa at FairyTalesHairCare.com and TBHKids.com

Gary Gottdiener, the Founder and President of The Sample Group and the best father-in-law of all time, joins the show for a very special family edition during Thanksgiving week to be interviewed by his son-in-law, Max Branstetter. Hear how to navigate the ups and downs as an entrepreneur, provide excellent customer service, manage a busy travel schedule for work, get good at multiple sports at once, and the Gary Gottdiener Signature Collection. Connect with Gary at TheSampleGroup.com

Karim Khalil, the Founder of Yaza, joins the show to share his journey from growing up eating labneh to bringing the Mediterranean-style dip to the US. Hear what makes labneh different from other dips and spreads, how to educate consumers about your product or service, decide what flavors to launch with, achieve work-life balance while starting a business, and learn multiple languages. Connect with Karim at YazaFoods.com and Instagram @Yaza.Foods