Driven By with Sam Coates

My guest today is Sam Sawyer. Not many would leave their career at the top of their field to launch a startup disrupting the space they once built their career in. After leaving Dallas, Texas, and working for Silicon Valley Based ZeroDown Sam launched Archetape, where he is Founder and CEO. After an early-stage investment round by Mucker Capital, Sam is building out Archetape and growing it throughout the Southeast U.S.A. Sam believes the future of residential real estate will continue to change dramatically and disrupt the old way agencies do business.

I had a great time with Sam where you’ll learn:

• Contrary to standard behavior- why you’re better positioned to take risks and build companies in your 30’s and 40’s versus playing it safe

• What makes a great early-stage investment relationship. Why Mucker Capital is a great partner and what they do to invest in and deliver value to their founders

• Why raising too much funding can crush you.

• The impact of Zillow and how this transformed the industry

• First Principles thinking and why this drives how they build this company

• And much more!

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Sam Sawyer!

Links: https://www.archetape.com/

https://zerodown.com/

https://www.mucker.com/

https://www.zillow.com/ https://www.ycombinator.com/

First principles- https://medium.com/the-mission/elon-musks-3-step-first-principles-thinking-how-to-think-and-solve-difficult-problems-like-a-ba1e73a9f6c0

Sam twitter- @samHsawyer

My guests today are Patrice and Jerry Thompson. Patrice and her family own and operate the legendary Four Way Restaurant out of Memphis, TN. The Four Way attracts visitors from all over the world. In addition to being known for its famous soul food, the Four Way is also a place with rich history and significance. In this interview, you’ll hear how Martin Luther King spent a lot of time at the Four Way during the civil rights movement. Additionally, this restaurant has seen guests such as Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner, The Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many more. 

This interview is a great episode where you’ll learn:

• The Four Way is much more than only a restaurant. 75 years later, you can see the pride, the vision, and the sacrifice generations prior have made to get the Four Way to where it is today.
• Why the Four Way was a place of love and community during segregation and how it remains that way today
• The challenges of running a restaurant during a labor shortage and the Covid-19 pandemic. How they’ve learned to pivot and adapt to make it through
• Their vision for the future and how they want to see their once-booming area return to what it once was
• And much more!

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Patrice and Jerry Thompson!

Links: https://thefourway901.com/ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/ https://www.graceland.com/about-elvis https://www.arethafranklin.net/ https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/ike-and-tina-turner https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jesse-Jackson

My Guest today is Harry Smith. Harry is an author, former public accountant, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Can you imagine moving to a new city at the age of 37 and taking over one of the largest private companies in that city while it’s facing chapter 7 bankruptcy?

After growing up in Florence, Alabama, Harry was recruited to Memphis, TN, to take over Schilling enterprises. As of 1980, Schilling Enterprises ( real estate, HVAC, trucking, automobile sales, and the auto parts industry) had over 100 Million Dollars in revenue with over 1,000 employees. After large contracts with Ford Motor company created significant consequences for Schilling Enterprises, Harry led the turnaround effort, saved Schilling Enterprises, and turned it into a successful ownership group that acquired and sold automobile dealerships.

In Addition to his work with Schilling enterprises, Harry also owned Schilling Farms (448 acres outside of Memphis, TN and partnered with and later sold to Boyle Investment Company), was a partner in Circle Y Saddles (the largest saddle manufacturer in the U.S.A.) and much more!

This is a fantastic episode where you’ll learn:

• Why growing up with a single mother taught him entrepreneurship and work ethic at a young age

• What he did to survive when taking over a company in dire straits. 

• How to buy it right. How he analyzed and acquired underperforming businesses and turned them into valuable assets

• Why his success boiled down to the importance of him finding the right partner

• Why He’s grateful for second chances

• And much more!

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Harry Smith!

Links: https://www.amazon.com/Driven-Deliver-Harry-L-Smith/dp/1936670399 https://circley.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company https://www.visitflorenceal.com/ https://boyle.com/ https://boyle.com/communities/schilling-farms-community/

My guest today is Andy Cates. Andy is an entrepreneur, investor, and community activist. Here’s a little about Andy... - Founder and CEO of RVC Outdoor Destinations - Managing Member of the Value Acquisition Fund - Founding Chairman and President of the Memphis Fourth Estate (Daily Memphian) - Founding Chairman of the Soulsville Revitalization Project (one of the largest inner-city revitalization projects in the United States) With several others responsible for bringing the Vancouver Grizzlies Franchise to Memphis, TN And more! I had a great time with Andy where you’ll learn:

• What it’s like living with the fear of failure, but why even the best hitters are still able to have a few losses

• How he assesses opportunity early and his process in picking talent and building things from scratch

• What he’s learned about crossing racial lines and building trust and getting stuff done

• Where he’s failed by not growing opportunities fast enough

• And more!

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Andy Cates! Links: https://rvcoutdoors.com/ https://www.valfund.com/ https://memphisfourthestate.org/ https://soulsvillefoundation.org/ https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2020/07/03/history-on-this-day-nba-approves-the-move-of-the-grizzlies-to-memphis/

My guest today is Karen Carrier. Karen is an artist, chef, and entrepreneur. Karen began her career in New York City after dropping out of college and enrolling in culinary school. She got her start working with Chef Susan Trilling, and the rest is history. Karen is nationally recognized by publications such as New York Times, Food and Wine, National Geographic, Garden and Gun, and more. Karen has been invited twice to cook at the acclaimed James Beard House in New York City. Karen has served as a personal chef for Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise, Francis Ford Coppola, Jim Jarmush, and more.  I had a wonderful time talking with Karen where you’ll learn:

• Once an artist, always an artist. Why she didn’t conform and has always pushed the envelope 

• The relationships that shape you early on and how this impacts your craft

• Even after four decades in how she has hustled to survive the Covid-19 pandemic

• From concept to execution, how she launches her restaurants 

• Celebrity or not- we’re all the same, and how she’s confident with her craft. “This is what you do; this is what I do.”

• And more!

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Karen Carrier! Links: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000464/- Jim Jarmush https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000129/- Tom Cruise https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000338/- Francis Ford https://www.nytimes.com/- NYT Garden and gun- https://gardenandgun.com/ food and wine- https://www.foodandwine.com/contact James Beard- https://www.jamesbeard.org/ susan trilling- https://seasonsofmyheart.com/ national geographic- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/ Karen Carrier: https://www.lebonappetit.org/karen-b-carrier

My Guest today is Hilliard Crews. Hilliard is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Hilliard left his family's business and started MCR safety in 1974. As of 2019, MCR had sales of 255 Million dollars worth of Personal Protective Equipment. You may not know that Hilliard's first year in business, he made just $3,000 and got a job working at night at a truck line to supplement his families income. Hilliard and MCR Safety averaged more 80% growth compounded annually for his first ten years in business. In addition to founding and selling MCR Safety to Bunzl Corporation, Hilliard also is the largest shareholder of Triumph Bank, a real-estate developer, venture capital investor, and philanthropist. I had a great time interviewing Hilliard, where we discuss:

• The fun you have when you find what you're good at and the market rewards you

• Why leaving a family business can be a good thing and what it took to get MCR off the ground

• How he won with service and why he's adamant about continuous improvement 

• The impact of selling through distributors and why he couldn't have grown this quickly any other way

• How he is using his family office to accelerate the pace of change for causes he cares the most about

• And more!

Please enjoy this week's episode with Hilliard Crews! RESOURCES: https://www.mcrsafety.com/ https://www.bunzl.com/ https://triumphbank.com

My Guest today is Scott Sauls from Nashville, TN. Scott is the Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. Prior to moving to Nashville, Scott served on staff under Tim Keller in New York City at Redeemer Church. You may ask, what prompted me to ask a pastor for the first time on this podcast? I wanted to have Scott on this podcast because I heard that when he moved from New York City to Nashville, Christ Pres had many people leave. As Scott described it, this was a rebuilding effort. Several years in, Christ Pres has grown and planted multiple campuses around the city of Nashville, TN. In addition to this, I found Scott's leadership style unique since Christ Presbyterian gives away over 40% of their income each year. This was a fun conversation where we cover:

• What a rebuilding effort looks like and what to expect
• His own struggle with approval. What he has learned to lead by principles and not by politics
• Why leading a large Church teaches you your limitations. Why the needs are overwhelming and what this has taught him about control
• What he's learning about planting campuses in the 5th most diverse city in the United States and how to give people what they need
• Building an organization bigger than yourself. What he is doing to make succession a smooth process
• And more!

Scott's also the author of five books, and you can find those here: https://scottsauls.com/books/ Please enjoy this week's episode with Scott Sauls!

My guest today is Steve Nash. Steve is the founder of Advance Memphis. Advance Memphis was founded over 20 years ago when Steve had it on his heart to help men and women find financial stability through work. There was no elaborate plan, and Steve’s work started when he left his job and drove his grandmother’s Toyota Camry picking up people and driving them around the City of Memphis to find work. Currently, 34 Million people are living beneath the USA poverty line.

I am blown away by Steve’s persistence, honesty, hope, how he talks about his neighbors, and more.

This episode was a one of a kind where we cover:

• What dyslexia has taught him about having perseverance and resiliency 
• Since bootstrapping Advance in 1999, what are the deeper needs someone must have to get and keep a permanent job
• What He has learned from Youth Villages and their $3 Million dollar effort to reduce crime in a large urban area
• Why hard questions must be asked
• And more!

Over the last year, I’ve admired the uniqueness human beings have, and the different causes people dedicate their lives to. This episode won’t disappoint. To help you understand some things referenced in this interview, my guest today is out of Memphis, TN. The zip code discussed is 38126, and it is the poorest financial zip code in the State of Tennessee; in 1999, it was the 3rd poorest Urban zip code in the nation. I hope this helps as we move through this conversation.

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Steve Nash!

RESOURCES

https://www.advancememphis.org

https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748‍

https://www.amazon.com/Permission-Feel-Unlocking-Emotions-Ourselves/dp/1250212847

Hey Everybody, I’m doing a re-release this week. I am going to air one of the episodes I have heard the most feedback from since this one was released on the last day of 2020. My Guest today is Jean McGhee. Jean and her Husband Shawn acquired Hollywood Feed in 2005, and it is the fastest-growing pet retail store in the Country with 106 stores. As you know, the Covid pandemic caused many changes, but one of those is a significant increase in the amount of Pet Owners around the USA. Currently, 67% of households have a pet in the USA, and that number is only expected to increase. This is a great episode where we cover:

• Who says you can’t go from a stay at home to a fast-growing start-up
• Why the pet industry follows the human heart
• Building a company of talent and helping people find their role to succeed
• Why pet adoption matters 
• And more!

Please enjoy this week’s conversation with Jean McGhee! https://www.hollywoodfeed.com/

My guest today is James Maclin. James is out of Memphis, TN, where he is the founder of M&M Enterprise, a multi-family real estate company. Before founding M&M Enterprise, James spent 20+ years working for the extremely successful Mid America Apartment Communities. Mid America was founded by Memphian George Cates and is an incredible success story.  On this episode with James, you’ll hear:

• Going out on your own isn’t easy- what he would do differently and what has been better than he expected
• Building up not out what can happen when a City continues to revitalize within
• The power of transparency- what happens when a Government, Press, Business, or any system operates transparently and not in the dark
• The power of relationships- the impact that George Cates has had on his life and career
• And More!

Please enjoy this week’s episode with James Maclin!