Brandon is the CEO of Cotton Patch Cafe, a Texas-based American restaurant chain. We discuss how growing up in the dual worlds of creative marketing thinking and restaurants helped lay the groundwork for his leadership approach and success. We discuss his journey through a range of experiences and the common thread of his desire to immerse in, contribute to and uplift the people and organizations he leads. 

Leave something for BTO community: The ability to control one's mindset, and turn adversity into learning through radical accountability can be a paradigm shifting capability. The Oz Principle (book) and a course called Landmark have been particularly helpful.

Ask something of BTO community: Stop by Cotton Patch Cafe and make sure to try some of the desserts!

Jonathan is the Founder of Arch Fellow LLC and the youngest first-generation Asian American owner / operator of McDonald’s in the US. We discuss how growing up in a household that valued certainty and the traditional path ran counter to his entrepreneurial drive, and how this friction manifested in a powerful lifelong motivator. We trace his journey from cell phones, to children’s toys, to tea franchises, to McDonald's franchises, and how his early lessons on initiative, relationships, and grit have been impactful throughout this journey. 

Leave something for BTO community: Always be willing to challenge the status quo.

Ask something of BTO community: I am eager to continuously learn from new and smart people in different industries.

Matt is the Co-Founder and President of Apex Dental Partners, a dental support organization he and his partner David built from 0 to 45+ locations. We discuss how growing up in a household that provided him a front row seat to entrepreneurship and good partnership, coupled with a range of experiences and exposures, set the foundation for him to build the same in his life. Matt shares some of the insights and experiences that were helpful for him in making the leap to build, and encourages others to consider doing the same.

Leave something for BTO community: Work is gaseous, meaning it will expand to fill whatever space you give it. Be thoughtful about deciding on and setting a container for it.

Ask something of BTO community: If you are a dentist or a considering selling your practice but looking for a home you can trust, or a dental professional looking for a place to build a strong foundation and partnership, reach out to Matt and the team at [email protected] or [email protected] , respectively.

John is the co-founder of The Marsh Collective, which stewards over $1.5B of real estate in 12 small American towns. John shares the ups and downs of his journey as an entrepreneur from a young age, and discusses many beautiful learnings he has distilled along the way. We trace the widely ranging professional and personal endeavors through peaks and valleys, and hope as the bridge between them. 

Leave something for BTO community: Measure, manage and multiply. Your daily routine is extremely powerful in determine your journey, the path you are on, and where you are headed.

Ask something of BTO community: If what John is building resonates with you or someone you know, they always need capable people to build with them! Reach out at https://www.marshcollective.com .

Sumit is the Founder and CEO of Cancer Check Labs, a biotechnology company using patented filtration technology to revolutionize cancer screening and outcomes. After 14 years of development, Cancer Check Labs recently launched a novel and potentially revolutionary early detection service. We discussed Sumit’s childhood and early business endeavors, the breadth and depth of his early professional experiences, and the loss of his younger sister to cancer, which ultimately has led to a lifelong mission.

Leave something for BTO community: Focus on the “why” and always remember your purpose in doing something. This will help you endure the inevitable ups and downs along the way.

Ask something of BTO community: Spread the word about www.cancerchecklabs.com and get tested.

Matt is a co-founder of SportRecruits, a technology platform focused on empowering student-athletes to pursue their dreams. Matt shares his journey from lemonade stand organizer to dedicated caddy to college athlete to technology founder. We discuss how hard work, a willingness to take a path less traveled, and an ability to perceive setbacks as positives can lead to building a wonderful business and life.  

Leave something for BTO community: Don’t feel compelled to raise capital if it isn’t the right fit for you or your business. Small Giants traces the stories of a number of businesses which had wonderful outcomes but did not require a ton of capital to become a large success. 

Ask something of BTO community: If you know a student-athlete or club team who could benefit from a tool to support their college recruiting efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out at https://sportsrecruits.com/ 

Carl is a co-founder of the well-known private equity firm Berkshire Partners, which currently has over $16B in assets under management. Additionally, Carl is a co-founder of the High Meadows Foundation with his wife Judy, and was the Chairman of the Environmental Defense Fund. Carl shares his journey from watching his father work in the family textiles business, which made parachutes during WWII, to building two organizations from infancy into powerhouses, all with an eye towards collaboration and a commitment to core values.

Leave something for BTO community: Collaboration, and the humility to enable it, has been a key to his success and something that is powerful in aligning teams to achieve success.  

Ask something of BTO community: Climate is a significant issue, but will take collaboration and collective action. To make meaningful continued progress, we need to be empathetic to alternatives views and work together towards a solution.

Tom is the CEO of Surplus City, a leading supplier of HVAC equipment and replacement parts at great prices. Tom shares his journey growing up with young parents in a hardworking household, and how the sacrifice and courage he witnessed from them has served as a foundation for his life. We discuss the peaks, valleys and learnings from his wide ranging set of experiences from caddy to microbiologist to brewmaster to R&D chemist to CEO. 

Leave something for BTO community: Reading Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Zeus as an adult can provide a wonderful reminder that life will have inevitable ups and downs, but the one thing you can control is your approach and response.

Ask something of BTO community: We are always looking for good people. If you have technical experience in the HVAC space and are looking for an opportunity, please reach out to us through BTO or directly at [email protected]!

Matt is the Founder of Endless, a technology business focused on using technology to build a more empowered generation of children throughout the world. Matt shares his journey growing up immersed in a wide range of communities, cultures and settings and how that has impacted his thirst for endless exploration and impact on the lives of people around him. We spend time discussing a year he spent living with a Chinese family, and how that and a few other key dominoes have led him to building Endless.

Leave something for BTO community: (i) “Love what you do” because when things are inevitably challenging, you need something to fuel your grit, and (ii) journaling can be a very powerful tool for leading an intentional day and life (book recommendation: The Artist’s Way)  

Ask something of BTO community: (i) if you have kids, join Endless’ game-making community, and (ii) spread the word about what Endless is building!

Mada is the co-founder of Branch, a leading deep-linking and mobile attribution company most recently valued at $4B in their Series F financing. Mada shares her journey from growing up in communist Romania to cofounding and building a technology unicorn. We spend time discussing the stepping stones and pivotal people and (not always easy) decisions along the way, and her deep-seated belief that if you have the grit and keep building, anything is possible.

Leave something for BTO community: (i) “Keep on building. If you have the grit, you can make it happen” and (ii) be meticulous and intentional about culture (2 book recommendations: What You Do Is Who You Are and Culture Code)  

Ask something of BTO community: (i) Mada is considering adopting, if you have experience with this she’d love to hear about it, and (ii) if you have start-up leadership experience and would like to be included in her upcoming book, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we can connect you to Mada.