“Bend”ing Rules

Chris Capdevila joins and shares his upbringing and journey into entrepreneurship and ultimate founding of a company that was acquired by Oracle. I felt like we only scratched the surface with Chris, and look forward to having him join another time.

4:06 -- Role of failure

8:56 -- Role of risk taking, what drove Chris to take a risk and start a company

13:14 -- How upbringing & experience shaped Chris' mindset

23:12 -- Foreshadowing the need for a solution and getting in front of the problem

33:19 -- What happens when growth stalls? Finding new "pain" points in a customer's journey. How necessary is a "pain" point to success?

46:42 -- Passion, experience & an all-in attitude

50:22 -- Building strong customer relationships. Chris' Superpower?

53:34 -- Value of domain expertise

107:10 -- Chris' top traits for success

It's a wrap. Join us next time to learn how an entrepreneur grew a nationwide restaurant chain, and his eventual decision to take on private equity investment.

Entrepreneur John Kelly joins Pete & Eric to share his path to financial independence and perspectives on running a small business, selling it, transitioning careers. In this casual conversation, I walked away with some nuggets of information that the younger me/entrepreneur would have benefited from -- one in particular was understanding the "motive" of everyone involved in a transaction and/or business deal. Had I had the mindset earlier, I would have avoided some pitfall. Enjoy.

2:00 -- Is a "chip" on the shoulder necessary. Last week Bayard Fox shared that it was "not." I wanted to start out and test this assumption with our guest, John.

8:40 -- Drive to work for oneself.

22:!7 -- Develop a criteria of six (6) data points to invest in RE projects.

28:17 --- Navigating cultural differences in business transactions.

44:14 -- Power of risk-taking

55:32 -- Embracing "change" for success. Likewise, some top book recommendations - Millionaire Next Door and The Alchemist.

Join us May 8th, where guest, entrepreneur, Chris Capdevilla share his story of building and selling a company to Oracle

Intro: Bayard Fox owner of Cement Elegance joins Pete Ozolin & Eric Staley to talk about his entrepreneurial journey and the characteristics he fell back on to build a successful manufacturing company. Great story of perseverance.

3:30 -- Role of "fear" in being an entrepreneur

11:36 -- Business Partners, how an early failure with a business partner shaped his future decisions and success

21:00 -- The story of risk, getting that initial client, etc.

38:34 -- Story of Cement Elegance, buying a business with a potential for high margins in the middle of a recession (2008). Oh, and working for free.

48:15 -- Perseverance and work ethic, Bayard's key traits for success.

1:11 -- Role of a parent as a role model in journey and work, life balance and how it's important to delay gratification and keep financing your business until you are really confident that you have crossed the chasm to success.

2:22 -- Jeff shares lessons in RE and buying first house for $28,000 on seller contract and how from there he built a successful real estate development firm. We couldn't possibly cover everything in an hour to encapsulate Jeff's 30+ real estate development career, but Jeff imparts several insights to help any entrepreneur making the proverbial leap of faith.

7:38 -- Role of mentors and inflection points.

10:26 -- The importance of an inquisitive mind.

25:22 -- Family dynamics and impact on entrepreneurial journey.

41:31 -- Importance of Mastery.

46:09 -- Power of contracts in real estate.

57:43 -- Impatience and inquisitiveness; two key entrepreneurial traits.

1:08 -- Power of delayed gratification and success.

Probably one of the most difficult aspects of starting a company is financing, and depending on your options and choices will make or break your success. Pete & Eric took very different approaches to "seed" capital. In this episode they will explore the various trade-offs in doing so.

2:00 -- Seed Capital Intro; value of $$, pitfalls, trade-offs with debt and equity. We'll open with Eric's story and how he build on his initial investment decision.

7:08 -- Role of leverage and risk tolerance

25:03 -- Challenge of raising seed capital. Why it's so difficult and what you can do to overcome hurdles.

30:13 -- Importance of personal investment. How much is enough?

40:34 -- Passion and bringing in outside investment

57:35 -- Challenge of "self-assurance"

1:05 -- Reflecting on past decisions, what would we change (from financing perspective)?

1:19 -- Value of money in contributing to "joy" in life -- limitations, etc.

1:00: Discussion of David Goggins - Navy Seal, Ultra Runner. Extreme accomplishments and what can

4:21: When does "balance" become a part of the

7:06: The drive to prove something. How big should the

25:25: Pattern Recognition and Burn-out

38:59: When starting a company is like getting up behind

45:02: Drive for financial freedom vs. being purpose

NEXT WEEK: financing your business -- the trade-offs to

Eric and I have know each other for almost two decades, what started out as friendship built around our passion of "playing volleyball," transcended into discussions about our business interest (only about 10-15 years later) and life. While we both have achieved financial independence, we did so in different fields and careers. I have been talking with Eric about being a co-host on this podcast because in many ways his success represents the American Dream, which both of us believe is still attainable, however it is you define this dream.

Eric and I decided to continue our bi-monthly cups of coffee in this podcast format. As we transition to a co-host effort, we are collaborating on including other guest and re-branding to better represent our collective mission. More on this later...

Below is what Eric and I covered today. I have highlighted in bold, some of the key takeaways.

2:14: How did Eric choose real estate as a career

6:00: Importance of money

10:35: Risk Tolerance and Confidence

17:06: Seeing a few steps ahead

30:09: Fear of being trapped in a career

33:14: Importance of hating to fail

38:04: Recovering from failure and how to start over

42:59: Importance of frugality

48:15: Changing dreams and priorities

49:47: We each share 3 Traits for success (initiative, relentless....

Only one topic this week, focusing on a society/cultural issue that I indicated would like to cover from time-to-time. That is, data suggest as we near middle-age we become less happy, peaking in "unhappiness" in our 50s. Why? And, what can we do about it?

P.S. Apologies, but video did not upload properly when recorded on Tuesday.

037: The growing demographic of independent voters; prevailing trends

7:16: Show we be taxing the top 1% more?

- 13:30: 1% holdings by asses class (RE, Stocks, etc.)

22:45: Republican Primary Debate (quick takes)

27:16: Weekly All-In Dig

30:01: NCAA considers paying athletes

34:07: Ivy League an not so "free" speech

40:52: Small Business: Top Challenges in 2023

45:22: Economy and obscure facts