Anything But Typical

What does it take to turn a struggling organization into a high-performing team? For retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Towne, the answer begins with trust.

From a difficult childhood and an unexpected journey into military service to a 34-year Army career, Mark's experiences shaped his understanding of what meaningful leadership requires.

When he inherited a battalion struggling with poor performance and a toxic leadership culture, Mark learned that operational improvements alone wouldn't solve the problem. By prioritizing trust, accountability and the development of his people, the organization climbed from last to first among eight battalions in just two years.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Mark joins Gary and Ben to discuss the difference between management and leadership, the importance of putting values into action, building trust across different backgrounds and the principles behind his book, Build Trust First: Your Source Code for Leadership That Truly Matters.

A conversation for business owners and leaders who want to build stronger teams and make a lasting difference in the lives of the people they serve.

Connect With Mark

Website: https://vetsleadership.com

Book: Build Trust First: Your Source Code for Leadership That Truly Matters

LinkedIn — Mark Towne

Garth Moulton went from getting laughed out of investor meetings to co-founding Jigsaw, a groundbreaking sales intelligence company eventually acquired by Salesforce.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Garth joins Gary Frey and Ben McDonald to share the realities of building Jigsaw, raising capital, navigating investor pressure, and creating a community that became the foundation of the company's success.

He also reflects on the decisions he'd make differently, what he learned from the Salesforce acquisition, and why he chose to protect time with his family rather than let entrepreneurship consume his life.

It's an honest conversation about building a business, learning from difficult decisions, and defining success on your own terms.

Resources and Links

Garthbridge Website: https://www.garthbridge.com/

Connect with Garth Moulton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garthmoulton

Anything But Typical Podcast: https://anythingbuttypical.podbean.com/

Follow Anything But Typical on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anything-but-typical-podcast

Subscribe for more real stories from entrepreneurs and business leaders, including the challenges and lessons behind their success.

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Michael Schindler had a successful career, a beautiful home, and the outward signs of financial stability. Then, after leaving a high-paying job, he found himself with just $14 in his pocket.

A $17 lunch bill, an unexpected act of generosity, and a meeting with a future business partner became part of a turning point in how he viewed himself and his relationships with others.

But Michael's search for identity started much earlier.

After leaving the U.S. Navy, he went through 14 jobs trying to find the sense of purpose he'd once found in military service. Along the way, he discovered how much of his identity had become tied to external success.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Michael joins Gary Frey and Ben McDonald to discuss the personal challenges behind his professional journey and the leadership principles he developed from those experiences.

They explore ego, mentorship, accountability, and why some of the most important decisions leaders make have little to do with money.

Michael also introduces his approach to decision-making through VUCA Max and Human 10.0, including practical ways to identify your priorities and navigate uncertainty.

It's a conversation about what happens when success stops being enough, and how to build a life that reflects what actually matters to you.

#AnythingButTypical #Leadership #Entrepreneurship

In this engaging interview, Matt Zinman shares his journey from entrepreneurship to developing the innovative MindRev app, designed to combat overthinking and burnout. Discover insights on leadership, resilience, and the power of self-kindness, along with practical strategies for mental well-being and scaling impact.

Key Topics

•The story behind MindRev and its mission to tame overthinking

•The importance of resilience and perseverance in entrepreneurship

•Practical strategies for managing burnout and depression

•The role of self-kindness and earned confidence in mental health

•Insights on scaling a tech startup with AI guidance

Resources MindRev App - https://mindrev.app

Website - https://mattzinman.com

What if laughter wasn’t just a reaction to something funny, but an intentional tool for changing your mindset, strengthening culture, and navigating difficult moments?

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Gary and Ben sit down with Kim Coleman, a laughter strategist, laughter yoga instructor, TEDx speaker, keynote speaker, and performer. Kim shares how her background in theater, education, writing, stand-up comedy, and improvisation ultimately led her to recognize the power of intentional laughter.

Kim explains that she wants people to remember her as someone who listens, makes others feel comfortable, and helps them laugh. For her, laughter is something that can be intentionally introduced into everyday life to help shift your mindset and change the atmosphere around you.

Why laughter can be an intentional part of your daily routine

How leaders influence the emotional atmosphere of their workplace

Using humor to create connection and make people feel more comfortable

How Kim’s theater and improvisation background shaped the way she reads people and communicates

Kim’s journey through writing, stand-up comedy, and laughter yoga

Giving yourself permission to experience difficult moments instead of forcing positivity

Why failure and bombing on stage can become powerful opportunities to learn

How business owners can become more comfortable experimenting, failing, and trying something new

Using music, art, meaningful objects, and relationships to intentionally influence your mindset

Why the people you surround yourself with can have such a major impact on your energy

Learning to take yourself a little less seriously

Kim also shares an important lesson from her own difficult seasons: sometimes the right response isn’t trying to make someone laugh. It’s listening, being present, and meeting them where they are.

For entrepreneurs and leaders, Kim encourages creating intentional moments throughout the day that help reduce stress and bring more joy into both work and life. She also emphasizes being willing to experiment and recognizing that failure is often where some of the biggest lessons are found.

The conversation ends with a simple challenge: find small things—music, people, art, memories, routines, or even laughter itself—that you can intentionally place into your day to help move your mindset in the direction you want it to go.

LinkedIn: @KimColeman

Christian Klender’s career has taken him from software engineering and professional motorsports to building Watches of Charlotte.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Christian shares how he broke into racing, helped build McLaren’s presence in Charlotte, and eventually made the jump into entrepreneurship.

We also talk about turning a passion for watches into a business, building trust with customers, raising capital, managing risk, and why sustainable growth matters more than simply getting bigger.

In This Episode:

• Breaking into professional motorsports

Learn more about Christian:

William McKee didn’t set out to become an entrepreneur. His path moved through engineering, technology, philosophy, travel, teaching, and eventually into building Knowmad Digital Marketing.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, William McKee joins Gary Frey and Ben to share how curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to keep evolving helped shape both his life and his business.

The conversation explores William’s early exposure to technology, the unconventional journey that led him into entrepreneurship, and what it has taken to keep Knowmad relevant through decades of change. From the early days of the internet to SEO, digital marketing, and now AI, William explains why staying curious has become one of his greatest advantages.

He also opens up about the realities of business growth, including costly pivots, finding the right support system, working alongside another visionary, building stronger processes, and learning when to step back and let the team operate in their strengths.

Resources Mentioned

Knowmad Digital Marketing, EO Accelerator, HubSpot, Marketing AI Institute / SmarterX, Charlotte Business Exchange, and EOS.

Connect With William McKee

Learn more about Knowmad Digital Marketing at www.knowmad.com. You can also find William McKee on LinkedIn by searching for William McKee in Charlotte.

About Anything But Typical

Anything But Typical shares real stories from entrepreneurs—not just the wins. Subscribe and share for more conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, growth, and everything that happens along the way.

**Episode Summary:** Erin Vogel, semi-retired sports car racing driver and founder of AE Victory Racing, shares her journey from growing up in a family of racing pioneers to becoming a team owner on a mission to create opportunities for women in motorsports. She discusses overcoming imposter syndrome, navigating a male-dominated sport, the messy transition from driver to team owner, and the leadership lessons learned along the way — including the importance of delegation, building culture, and embracing failure as fuel for growth.

Where to Find Erin ---

**Connect with Erin:**

- Instagram: @ErinVogelRacing and @AEVictoryRacing

- TikTok: @AEVictoryRacing

- Website: www.aevictoryracing.com

What does it really look like to put people first while building and scaling a business?

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Gary and Ben sit down with David Wurtzbacher, Founder and CEO of Ascend, to talk about leadership, entrepreneurship, culture, and building organizations where people have the opportunity to flourish.

David shares lessons from his journey through JPMorgan, Lightwave Dental, and ultimately founding Ascend — including why character matters in M&A, how Ascend is working to preserve the independence of entrepreneurial CPA firms, and why long-term thinking often requires making decisions that can't immediately be measured on a spreadsheet.

The conversation also explores the importance of stepping out of the day-to-day to work on the business, developing a coachable mindset, investing in future leaders, and intentionally designing a life that goes beyond professional success.

What it means to lead people toward an inspiring vision

Why Ascend takes a People First approach to growth

Preserving independence and culture during acquisitions

Choosing the right people — not simply the right deal

Why leaders have to make time to work on the business

The role of executive coaching and lifelong learning

Creating opportunities for the next generation of leaders

David's perspective on faith, purpose, and living an abundant life

David Wurtzbacher is the Founder and CEO of Ascend, a platform built to help entrepreneurial CPA firms grow and transform while preserving their independence, culture, people, and approach to serving clients.

Ascend: ascendtogether.com

Anything But Typical shares the real stories behind entrepreneurship — not just the wins, but the challenges, decisions, lessons, and experiences that shape the journey.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and share it with someone who could benefit from the conversation.

Allen Cates’ entrepreneurial journey has taken him across countries, industries, and some incredibly difficult business lessons. Growing up in Canada, Australia, England, and the United States taught him how to adapt quickly, appreciate different perspectives, and become comfortable entering unfamiliar environments.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Allen shares how his career in banking prepared him to purchase and operate a small business—and why he eventually knew it was time to move on. He also opens up about investing with a trusted business leader who was later discovered to be forging financial records. That experience forced Allen to confront failure, forgive himself, strengthen his approach to due diligence, and rebuild his confidence.

Allen also explains the mission behind Kilo Reserve and how the company gives investors access to physical industrial metals. The conversation explores copper’s role in electrical infrastructure, electric vehicles, AI data centers, and the power grid, along with the differences between owning physical metal and investing through mining stocks, ETFs, or futures.

How an international childhood shaped Allen’s adaptability and leadership

Why every piece of feedback deserves consideration

The value of learning “on someone else’s dime”

What Allen learned from buying and selling a small business

Why entrepreneurs must become comfortable with failure

Recovering emotionally after betrayal by a trusted business partner

The importance of understanding the asset behind an investment

How Kilo Reserve makes physical industrial metals more accessible

Why following the process matters more than one final result

Failure does not have to become your identity. Allen’s story demonstrates the importance of acknowledging what happened, learning from it, forgiving yourself, and carrying those lessons into the next opportunity.

Kilo Reserve: Official website

Allen Cates on LinkedIn

Kilo Reserve on LinkedIn

BizBuySell: Explore businesses available for purchase

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