7-Figure Mentor

Most people start their business way too early. They get the itch, they quit the job, and then they learn every painful lesson on their own dime.

Reed Nyffeler did the opposite. He knew at 22 he'd own a company someday. But he waited eight full years before he made the leap. Why? Because he was building the one thing most new owners skip: the skills to actually run the thing.

In this episode, Reed breaks down how he went from laying blocks at 14 for $4.25 an hour to running a security franchise in all 48 states. You'll learn when you're truly ready to start, why building wealth for other people is the fastest way to build your own, and the simple mindset shift that separates owners who last from owners who burn out.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The real reason most new business owners fail (hint: it's not the idea)
• Why Reed waited 8 years to start his business, and how that wait made him better
• How to "look at the industry, not your job" so you spot the right opportunity
• The counterintuitive wealth rule: serve others first, profit second
• How to build trust fast with even the most skeptical people
• Why reading 12 to 15 books on one topic beats chasing a single guru
• The 3-word filter Reed uses to decide what's worth remembering
• The one thing you can do this week to start moving forward

About the Guest:

Reed Nyffeler is the founder of Signal, a security services franchise operating in all 48 states. He's a lifelong entrepreneur, a student of leadership, and the author of two books with a third on the way. His work centers on helping the next generation become leaders worth following.

Resources Mentioned:

• Reed's leadership platform and self-assessment quiz: TheNextInLeadership.com
• Book 1 (lead yourself): Transform Through Purpose
• Book 2 (lead others): Lead Exponentially
• Book 3 (lead your organization): Brand New (coming summer 2026)

Connect with Reed:

Website: Reed Nyffeler

LinkedIn: Reed Nyffeler

You know that thing you KEEP doing even though you know it's hurting you? That's not a willpower problem. It's a brain problem... and neuroscientist Irena O'Brien explains exactly why on this episode.

Irena is the founder of The Neuroscience School, where she teaches coaches and helping professionals the real science of how people change. In this conversation she breaks down why your brain is wired to repeat the same patterns on autopilot, why "just push harder" almost never works, and the simple, science-backed way to start changing for real.

If you've ever felt stuck in a loop you can't break... this one's for you.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why your brain keeps you stuck and the "predictive brain" running the show behind the scenes
• The truth about willpower (hint: it's a "body budget" problem, not a discipline problem)
• The dopamine drip method for getting more done without burning out
• Why change feels impossible when you're stressed and the first thing to fix before anything else
• The #1 neuroscience myth that's secretly making people feel like failures
• How stress quietly drains your energy at the cellular level (the mitochondria connection)
• The "relax into it" test to know if a goal is actually YOURS or someone else's

About the guest:

Irena O'Brien is a neuroscientist and the founder of The Neuroscience School, where she teaches coaches and helping professionals the neuroscience of change. After going back to university following her third child, she fell in love with the brain and has spent the last 20+ years studying how people actually break patterns and create lasting change.

Connect with Irena:

• Website: neuroscienceschool.com
• LinkedIn: Irena O'Brien

Saahil Mehta checked every box. The nice house. The luxury cars. The seven-figure net worth. The watch. The travel. By 36, he had the exact life he dreamed about in his twenties.

And he felt nothing.

He checked those boxes, but he didn't feel successful. Worse, while he was busy stacking money, he was struggling with health issues and with the two most important relationships in his life: his father and his wife.

In this episode, Saahil breaks down exactly how he figured out that the "success" he was chasing was never even his to begin with... and the simple system he used to dig himself out and build a life that actually feels good. The kicker? The last four years have been the most profitable of his life... with the LEAST amount of work he's ever put in.

If you've ever hit a big goal and thought "is this it?"... this one's for you.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why hitting your goals can leave you feeling worse, not better. Saahil realized he wasn't living his own definition of success. He was living a borrowed one, inherited from family, school, society, and media. Most of it boiled down to two things: fortune and fame.
• The real meaning of "clutter" (and why it's secretly slowing you down). Saahil's definition is sharp: clutter is nothing more than shunned confrontations. It's all the stuff you keep telling yourself you'll "get to later." An Army captain taught him the rule that changed everything: don't carry what gives you benefit... carry only what gives you ENOUGH benefit, because everything else is just weight slowing your climb.
• How ignoring "small" problems wrecks your whole life. Saahil had issues that were enough to be a pain, but not big enough to go see a specialist... so he just ignored them. What he missed: the mind-gut connection meant his health problems were leaking into his mindset AND his most important relationships.
• The retreat moment that flipped a switch. Two words changed his life: "no judgment." When a dancer pulled him on stage and trusted him to catch her, he had a gut-punch realization... she had more confidence in him than he had in himself.
• How to fix a marriage that's quietly drifting apart. As Saahil evolved fast, his wife said she didn't even recognize him anymore. The fix wasn't grand gestures. It was simple rules they built together: active listening (the kind you do when the pilot says an engine just failed), no raised voices, and no judging the other person's perspective.
• Why you can't fix a problem you haven't named. One of the biggest takeaways in the whole episode: you can't find a solution until you're clear on the actual problem. Most people work hard on the wrong problem, then scratch their heads when nothing improves.
• The conversation with his dad that he almost didn't have. After a cold, transactional phone call, Saahil decided to take the first step instead of waiting for his father to change. He started having real conversations and finally got to know his dad again. Fifteen months later, his father unexpectedly passed away. That single decision saved him from a lifetime of regret.
• The "Cookie Jar" trick for instant confidence (borrowed from David Goggins). Every time you feel low, you pull out a slip of paper with a past win written on it... and you keep pulling until your confidence is back up. Because you've already conquered bigger mountains than the one in front of you.
• The "Seven Summits of Success" framework. Most people only think about three things: wealth, health, and relationships. Saahil pushes you to find all seven (his even includes fun and recreation). The decision-making rule that comes with it is gold: every time you say YES to one mountain, ask what it does to the other six. Is the net effect up or down?
• The two priorities you can NEVER drop. Out of everything competing for your time: health and family are the two you can't afford to drop... because the damage there is often the kind you can't reverse.

About the Guest:

Saahil Mehta is a global citizen, mountaineer, and mentor to business owners who've hit success on paper but still feel empty. After checking every box by 36 and feeling nothing, he built a system for clearing the "clutter" that holds high achievers back. The payoff: his most profitable years ever, with less work and a better life across the board.

Connect with Saahil:

• Website: saahilmehta.com
• LinkedIn: Saahil Mehta
• Instagram: Saahil Mehta
• Youtube: Saahil Mehta

Most multifamily owners look at insurance and see one thing... a bill. Guffy Wright sees something completely different. He sees equity hiding in plain sight.

In this episode, Guffy breaks down how a single tweak on a $50 million deal turned a client's "I'm losing half a million in value" panic into a $700K gain. No new property. No extra units. Just a smarter way to handle the insurance line item everyone else ignores.

But this conversation goes way deeper than insurance. Guffy shares the exact framework he built after 19 years of advising real estate owners... a decision-making system he calls Decision Velocity that gets people to make big, high-stakes calls fast (without feeling pushed).

If you own multifamily, you're refinancing, or you just want to understand why smart people stall on obvious decisions... this one's for you.

Here's what you'll learn:

• The insurance-to-equity move that added $700K of value to one deal (and the simple math behind every $15K of NOI = $250K more value at a 6% cap rate)
• Why 90% of owners stay stuck with their broker even when they're overpaying... and the real reason it's almost never about price
• The 2 questions that instantly reveal if your current broker is actually worth keeping
• "Alignment over trust"... why trust alone never gets people to move, and what actually does
• The Decision Velocity formula (Value + Vulnerability + Validation = Velocity) and how to use it in any high-stakes sale or negotiation
• The "commission breath" trap that kills deals... and why leaning into vulnerability makes you MORE persuasive, not less
• How Guffy's team has never missed a closing because of insurance in over a decade

About the Guest:

Guffy Wright has spent 19 years guiding multifamily owners through high-stakes insurance decisions, working exclusively with real estate clients for the last decade. His team's average client relationship is 12 years... double the industry average. His upcoming book, Decision Velocity, launches August 1st and breaks down how humans make big decisions in high-pressure environments. Grab the book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Connect with Guffy:

• LinkedIn: Guffy Wright
• Website: guffywright.com

What if the thing holding your business back isn't your strategy, your team, or your market... but a belief that was programmed into you when you were 5 years old?

In this episode, Deven sits down with Mike Wood, COO of a company that scaled from $2.5 million to $95 million in just 13 years. But here's what makes Mike different: he went from being so crippled by anxiety he was afraid to walk into a gas station... to leading 350+ employees and building a company culture that prints money.

Mike breaks down the exact process he used to rewrite over 200 of his own limiting beliefs, and shares the surprisingly simple framework any business owner can use to finally break through their invisible ceiling.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The 4 "master" limiting beliefs that ALL other negative beliefs funnel down to (and why "unworthy" is the silent killer of business growth)
• Why achieving your goals will NEVER make you happy if you skip this critical inner work
• The one-hour writing exercise that can permanently eliminate a limiting belief (Mike walks through the exact steps)
• How to tell the difference between a "skill gap" and a "belief gap" that's keeping you stuck
• The "double-check system" Mike uses to scale operations without micromanaging
• Why most therapy keeps you stuck (and what actually works to heal the ROOT of the problem)
• The 3-week mental reprogramming method that trains your brain to automatically turn negative thoughts into positive ones
• How taking "Extreme Ownership" of problems you didn't cause actually makes your team perform better

Key Quotes from This Episode:

"Your business is only going to do what you are capable of bringing to the table. You are the leader. If you're stuck, it's you that's holding your business back."

"Most people weren't afraid to miss the game-winning shot. They were afraid to make it."

"If you have to yell at everybody every day, you've got the wrong people."

"The thoughts in your head are not yours. They're just regurgitated stuff from the past."

About the Guest:

Mike Wood is the COO of a construction company that has grown from $2.5M to $95M+ in annual revenue over the past 13 years. After battling severe anxiety and depression for most of his adult life, Mike developed a systematic approach to eliminating limiting beliefs that he now teaches through his program "Learn to Love Being You." He specializes in helping people identify and rewrite the core beliefs that are silently sabotaging their success.

Resources Mentioned:

• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
• Jim Rohn's philosophy on personal development
• Mike's program: LearnToLoveBeingYou.com

Connect with Mike:

Website: LearnToLoveBeingYou.com (Free coaching call available)

Instagram: LearnToLoveBeingYou

Tiktok: LearnToLoveBeingYou

In this episode, real estate veteran Jay Patel breaks down exactly how to grow your wealth through real estate investing — even if you don't want the hassle of dealing with tenants, repairs, or property management. With 25+ years of experience and millions in assets, Jay reveals the insider strategies behind his PropTex Income Advantage Fund, including how to earn consistent 11% returns backed by real assets.

If you've ever wondered how to make your money work FOR you (instead of the other way around), this episode is a must-listen.

What You'll Learn:

• The 2 biggest mistakes people make when getting into real estate investing (and how to avoid them)
• Why real estate beats the stock market for long-term wealth building
• The 3 types of real estate investments Jay uses to generate consistent double-digit returns
• How to earn passive income without ever dealing with tenants, repairs, or vacancies
• The "tortoise strategy" that turns $100K into nearly $300K in 10 years
• What to look for (and watch out for) when investing in a real estate fund
• How to protect your nest egg while still getting strong returns
• The compounding strategy that lets you retire on interest alone — without touching your principal

About the Guest:

Jay Patel is a seasoned real estate investor with over 25 years of experience across flipping, multi-family, Airbnb, tax liens, and fund management. He's the Fund Manager of PropTex (Property + Technology + Expertise), a real estate income fund designed to deliver consistent 11% preferred returns for investors seeking passive income and capital preservation.

Resources Mentioned:

• PropTex Income Advantage Fund 1
• The "tortoise vs. hare" investing philosophy
• Residential assisted living centers as cash-flow assets
• Tax deed and tax lien investing
• 401K rollover options for fund investing

Connect with Jay Patel:

• Website: proptex.com
• Email:  [email protected] 

Most businesses are bleeding money because they're focused on driving MORE traffic instead of fixing what happens AFTER someone clicks. In this episode, Deven sits down with Shamir Duverseau, co-founder of Smart Panda Labs, who reveals the exact mistakes enterprise companies making $100M-$2B are making with their post-click experience—and how fixing them can dramatically increase conversions, profitability, and company valuation.

Shamir has spent 15 years helping major brands turn complex buying decisions into simple choices. If you've ever wondered why your ads aren't converting the way they should, this episode breaks down the real reasons (hint: it's not your ad creative).

Key Takeaways

The Grocery Store Analogy That Changes Everything Shamir explains how even customers who KNOW what they want will abandon the purchase when they hit friction. Just like you'd drop that box of cereal and walk out if the checkout lines are too long—your website visitors are doing the same thing when your site makes buying difficult.

The 3 Biggest Mistakes Killing Your Conversions

1. Taking your customers for granted — Businesses underestimate how quickly people will bail when they hit ANY friction. People have zero patience for confusion.
2. Technical neglect — Slow page loads, clunky checkout processes, and errors cause people to bounce before they ever see your offer. The tech side gets ignored because it's "not sexy" like advertising.
3. No experimentation culture — Companies aren't testing different versions of their pages, copy, and offers to see what actually works. They're guessing instead of measuring.

Why "Just Spend More on Ads" is a Losing Strategy Shamir breaks down why throwing more money at Meta, Google, or any ad platform won't fix a broken post-click experience. You're just pushing more water through a leaky hose.

The Hidden Communication Problem One of the biggest reveals: Most companies lose tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars because their marketing team and IT team can't speak the same language. No one is translating between what marketing wants and what IT needs to build.

How This Impacts Your Company Valuation Revenue is a vanity metric. Investors and acquirers look at profitability, cash flow, customer retention, and lifetime value. All of these are directly impacted by your post-click experience—not your ad spend.

Quotable Moments

"People have a very low tolerance for friction. The biggest mistake companies make is underestimating how easily people will bail on things."

"We take those things for granted because those errors or a page that loads slowly can cause friction. Not even because something's wrong—but because people's patience is very low."

"Learn from the big boys. Amazon, Google, Meta—they invest heavily in their post-click experiences. That's why they control the marketplace."

Who This Episode Is For

• Business owners spending money on paid ads but not seeing the ROI they expected
• CMOs and marketing leaders at companies doing $10M+ in revenue
• Founders preparing for acquisition or looking to increase company valuation
• Anyone selling high-consideration products or services online (anything over $1,000)

Connect With Shamir (Free Consultation)

Shamir offers a free initial conversation to see if they're even the right fit for your business. No pressure, no pitch — just a straightforward chat to understand your goals and whether Smart Panda Labs can actually help.

Website: smartpandalabs.com

LinkedIn: Shamir Duverseau — Follow him for regular insights on conversion optimization

What would you do if doctors told you nothing was wrong... but you couldn't feed yourself, walk, or leave a dark room for months?

That's exactly what happened to Miguel Bautista.

Miguel was a top personal trainer, team captain, the fittest guy in his friend group. Then his body completely shut down. He ended up bedridden at his grandparents' house, being spoon-fed, wearing blindfolds because even light caused migraines, and dealing with 50+ debilitating symptoms every single day.

The worst part? Every doctor and specialist told him he was "perfectly fine."

After being wheeled into the psych ward (literally because there were no other beds available), Miguel finally met a psychiatrist who changed everything. Within ONE WEEK, he went from bedridden to sitting up. A week later, he was using a walker. A month later, he walked out of the hospital on his own two feet.

Now, four years later, Miguel has helped over 5,000 people recover from chronic fatigue syndrome, long COVID, and fibromyalgia through his company CFS Recovery.

In this episode, Miguel breaks down:

• The 3 things that actually helped him recover (and why medications and supplements alone don't work)
• Why your nervous system is stuck in a "software glitch" and how to reset it
• The #1 mistake people make that keeps them trapped in the chronic fatigue cycle
• How personality type affects your recovery timeline
• Real success stories including a woman in her 60s who went from bedridden to biking, and a space company CEO who recovered in just 3 weeks

If you've been dealing with mysterious symptoms that doctors can't explain, if you've tried everything and nothing seems to work, or if you know someone who's struggling with chronic fatigue... this episode could literally change your life.

Connect with Miguel:

• YouTube: CFS Recovery
• Website: CFSRecovery.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: CFS Recovery
• Tiktok: CFS Recovery
• Follow Miguel on LinkedIn

What actually happens when you try to sell your business?

After years of buying companies as an executive, selling his own business to a publicly traded company, and now running deals as an M&A advisor at Raincatcher, Marvin Karlow has seen exactly why most business owners leave massive money on the table when they exit.

In this episode, Marvin breaks down how business sales actually work – from valuation multiples to deal structures to the "Mount Everest problem" that kills most transactions after the buyer is already found.

Marvin's story is legit. He grew his company through acquisitions and mergers, then sold to a publicly traded company (which he calls a "proctology exam"). But what really fired him up was watching business owners get terrible representation from brokers who just wanted to close ANY deal – not the RIGHT deal. Now he helps owners in the $1M-$100M range get full value through competitive auction processes.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why almost ANY profitable business can sell (and the simple math to estimate yours)
• The valuation multiple ranges by business size ($1M earnings = 3-5X, $10M = 7-10X)
• Why online businesses are easier to sell and often command better multiples
• The #1 deal killer (hint: it's NOT finding a buyer – it's what happens after)
• How SBA loans work and why you'll likely do a 10% seller note
• What "equity rolls" and "second bite of the apple" actually mean (this is where real wealth is made)
• The due diligence landmines that make buyers walk away
• Why your business "flaws" are actually opportunities buyers want to pay for
• When to DIY your sale vs. hire a broker vs. hire an M&A advisor

About Marvin Karlow:

Marvin Karlow is an M&A advisor at Raincatcher, specializing in technology and online businesses in the lower middle market ($1M-$100M enterprise value). Before advising, he was a business owner who grew through acquisition and ultimately sold to a publicly traded company. He's been on both sides of the table – as a buyer finding undervalued companies and as a seller navigating complex deal structures. His mission is simple: help business owners avoid the bad representation that costs them millions.

Connect with Marvin:

• Connect with Marvin on LinkedIn
• Company: Raincatcher
• Free consultation: Mention this podcast for a no-pressure conversation about your exit options. Contact him at [email protected].

What separates people who scale from people who stay stuck?

After 45,000+ one-on-one coaching sessions with Fortune 500 executives, Olympic athletes, doctors, and entrepreneurs, Trevor McGregor has identified exactly why most people fail to grow their business and income.

In this episode, Trevor breaks down his 5 Reasons Why People Fail to Scale framework – the same system he used to help Joe Fairless go from owning 4 small rental homes to controlling $2.7 BILLION in real estate assets.

Trevor's story is wild. He went from losing everything in his early 30s (including convincing his parents to mortgage their home for a failed business) to becoming one of Tony Robbins' top coaches for half a decade. Now he runs Trevor McGregor International, helping high performers create what he calls "the 5 freedoms."

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The 5 reasons why people fail to scale (and how to fix each one)
• Why your "rules" might be the hidden thing holding you back
• The "white hot desire" concept from Think and Grow Rich and how to find yours
• How to do a time audit that reveals where your hours actually go
• The Pomodoro method Trevor uses with his most successful clients (45 and 90 minute blocks)
• Why asking "who do I need to BE" beats asking "how do I get there"
• The 5 Freedoms Framework: financial, time, location, impact, and relationship freedom
• How to set boundaries without being a jerk about it

About Trevor McGregor:

Trevor McGregor is the founder of Trevor McGregor International and a former senior coach with the Tony Robbins organization. He's completed over 45,000 coaching sessions and specializes in helping high performers, real estate investors, and entrepreneurs scale their businesses while creating time and location freedom. He splits his time between Canada, the US, and Australia – living what he calls "the endless summer."

Connect with Trevor:

• Website: trevormcgregor.com
• Connect With Trevor on LinkedIn
• Free Audio Training: Email [email protected] and mention this podcast to get his "Rich Beyond Belief" 8-part audio series free