Leadership Capacity with Hilani Ellis

How do you turn a local business into a franchise across eight states—and build a partnership strong enough to grow with it?

Katie Gillberg founded Hydrate IV Bar in Denver after a career in medical sales and an unexpected introduction to IV therapy during her years as a Denver Broncos cheerleader. Amy Dickerson took a very different path, from selling art aboard cruise ships to building successful businesses in the beauty and wellness industry.

Their paths crossed through the Cherry Creek Chamber of Commerce, where a friendship eventually became a business partnership. But there was a complication: Katie had already experienced a difficult two-year buyout with her first business partner and had sworn she would never have another.

In this episode of the Leadership Capacity Show, Amy, Katie, and I talk about how trust changed that decision, what they've learned about working together, and how they grew Hydrate IV Bar into a franchise system spanning eight states.

We also get into their decision to franchise during the COVID shutdowns, the challenge of letting other people operate a business you've built, and why protecting company culture becomes even more important as a brand grows.

We discuss:

• How two very different entrepreneurial journeys became one partnership
• Why Katie swore she'd never have another business partner
• What makes their partnership work despite different personalities and life stages
• The importance of becoming keepers of the culture
• Why they decided to franchise during COVID
• What it takes to let others operate a business you've built
• How they evaluate potential franchise owners—including the dinner test
• Why one franchise location can affect the reputation of an entire brand
• Moving from post-it notes to documented operating procedures
• How franchising creates opportunities for employees to become business owners

Katie Gillberg is Founder and CEO of Hydrate IV Bar, and Amy Dickerson is Managing Partner. Together, they've helped grow the Denver-based wellness company into a multistate franchise brand.

The Leadership Capacity Show explores how experienced leaders think, make decisions, develop people, and grow into what leadership asks of them next.

00:00 — Preview
00:55 — Meet Amy Dickerson & Katie Gillberg
02:21 — Amy: From Art Auctioneer to Spa Owner
05:59 — Katie: From Broncos Cheerleader to IV Therapy Founder
09:17 — How Amy and Katie Met
15:39 — Becoming Keepers of the Culture
17:50 — The Beginning of Their Business Partnership
19:22 — Why Katie Swore Off Business Partners
22:03 — Different Life Stages, One Business
24:16 — Deciding to Franchise Hydrate IV Bar
28:50 — Opening Their First Franchise During COVID
31:26 — Letting Others Run What You Started
33:36 — How They Evaluate Franchise Owners
36:52 — IV Hydration and Colorado's Altitude
39:43 — Advice for Franchising Your Business

Hydrate IV Bar: https://hydrateivbar.com/
Explore Hydrate IV Bar Franchising: https://hydrateivbar.com/iv-therapy-franchise/
Amy Dickerson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-dickerson-cfe-61126113/
Katie Gillberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiewafergillberg

Grab the Leadership Book: https://www.hilaniellis.com/hilani-ellis-capacity-the-new-advantage
Subscribe to Leadership Insights: https://www.hilaniellis.com/
Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaniellis/

#LeadershipCapacityShow #Franchising #Entrepreneurship

What carries over when you move from military leadership into the CEO seat, and what do you have to learn differently?

Chris Miller's military service in the U.S. Navy shaped how he thinks about leadership, responsibility, discipline, and developing people. Today, as CEO of Guzman Energy, he applies many of those lessons while also recognizing that leading a business requires a different approach.

In this episode of the Leadership Capacity Show, Chris and I talk about what transferred from military service into business leadership, what he had to unlearn, why leaders can't save everyone, and what experience has taught him about building and trusting a high-performing team.

We also get into one of the strongest themes of our conversation: trust. Chris shares why trust is foundational to leadership, why shared standards matter, and why who you put on your team may be one of the most important decisions you make.

We discuss:

• What military service taught Chris about leadership
• The leadership belief he had to unlearn
• Why employees have to meet leaders halfway
• Moving from personally leading to developing other leaders
• What Chris looks for in executive-level talent
• Leading through gray areas and complex decisions
• Why mission matters when hiring
• How leaders earn—and lose—trust
• Why high-performing teams depend on shared standards
• What Chris would tell himself 15 years ago

Chris Miller is CEO of Guzman Energy, a wholesale power company serving cooperatives, municipalities, tribes, and commercial customers.

The Leadership Capacity Show explores how experienced leaders think, make decisions, develop people, and grow into what leadership asks of them next.

00:00 — Preview
00:37 — Meet Chris Miller: Navy Commander to CEO
01:21 — How the Navy Changed Chris's Life
03:04 — What the Military Teaches You About Leadership
05:03 — The Leadership Belief Chris Had to Unlearn
08:18 — Why People Have to Meet Leaders Halfway
10:11 — What Leadership Is Asking of Chris Now
12:34 — What Chris Looks for When Hiring Leaders
16:05 — The Mission Behind Guzman Energy
17:38 — What Chris Refuses to Compromise On
19:42 — Why You Won't Connect With Everyone You Lead
20:28 — Why Trust Is Essential to Leadership
22:14 — How High-Performing Teams Build Trust
24:14 — What Chris Would Tell Himself 15 Years Ago

Guzman Energy: https://www.guzmanenergy.com/
Chris Miller on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-miller-52b15950/

Grab the Leadership Book: https://www.hilaniellis.com/hilani-ellis-capacity-the-new-advantage
Subscribe to Leadership Insights: https://www.hilaniellis.com/
Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaniellis/

Matt Fargo started Kurtz Fargo in 2010 with two maxed-out credit cards, 400 square feet of office space, no clients and a belief that accounting could be done differently.

Today, he leads a multi-office firm with more than 80 employees—but this conversation is about much more than accounting.

In this episode of the Leadership Capacity Show, Matt and I talk about what he learned while building the firm, why copying the best companies in your industry can still leave you average, and what founders can learn by looking outside their own field for better ways to operate.

We also get into professional-service pricing, why Kurtz Fargo moved away from traditional billable-hour thinking, what a home remodel taught Matt about client value, and how alignment, employee experience and failure have shaped the way he leads.

In this conversation:

How Matt accidentally found his way into accounting
Starting Kurtz Fargo with two maxed-out credit cards and no clients
Why he kept a list of everything he disliked about public accounting
What businesses can learn from industries outside their own
Rethinking billable hours and client value
Building a culture around alignment and employee experience
Why fear of failure can create mediocrity
What Matt would tell himself 15 years after starting the firm

Leadership Capacity is a conversation series with CEOs, founders and experienced leaders about what leadership has actually required of them—and what they've learned along the way.

New conversations every Tuesday.

#Leadership #Entrepreneurship #FutureOfWork

00:00 — Preview
00:47 — Meet Matt Fargo
02:18 — How Matt Accidentally Chose Accounting
08:01 — Starting His Career at PwC
10:44 — Learning to Lead, Not Just Do the Work
13:37 — Why Matt Decided to Start an Accounting Firm
14:51 — Two Credit Cards, No Clients & a Big Idea
15:37 — What Exceptional Clients Taught the Firm
17:30 — Why Copying Your Industry Isn't Enough
19:28 — Rethinking Billable Hours & Client Value
22:34 — What Remodeling a House Taught Matt About Business
27:52 — Learning From Other Industries
32:48 — What Matters More to Matt Today
36:01 — Why Fear of Failure Creates Mediocrity
39:50 — What Matt Would Tell Himself 15 Years Ago

Kurtz Fargo: https://kurtzfargo.com/
Matt Fargo on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-fargo-cpa-ab6b82a/

Grab the Leadership Book: https://www.hilaniellis.com/hilani-ellis-capacity-the-new-advantage
Subscribe to Leadership Insights: https://www.hilaniellis.com/
Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaniellis/

Erik Mitisek has spent 25 years building companies, teams and entrepreneurial communities. He's been a founder or worked alongside founders across five businesses, served as Colorado's Chief Innovation Officer, led the Colorado Technology Association, and helped create what is now Colorado Startup Week.

But the thread running through Erik's career isn't any one company or title.

It's people.

In this episode of the Leadership Capacity Show, Erik and I talk about what he's learned from building businesses and communities, why he believes human relationships are fundamental to growing a company, and what changes when your success can no longer depend only on how hard you personally work.

We also get into trust—something that has now surfaced in several of these conversations. Erik believes leaders should begin with default trust rather than making people slowly earn it, and he explains why giving capable people more autonomy can produce better outcomes.

And because we're talking about the future of work, we couldn't avoid AI. Erik shares why leaders shouldn't pursue AI simply for efficiency, but should think about how it can support and strengthen what their people already do well.

In this conversation:

Erik's path from early-stage startups to becoming a five-time founder
How Colorado Startup Week helped connect Colorado's entrepreneurial community
What changes when an individual contributor becomes a leader
Why Erik believes businesses are fundamentally human relationships
How founders can adopt AI without forgetting the human side of work
Why “default trust” is Erik's starting point as a leader
What autonomy can do for capable employees
How feedback and high standards work alongside trust
Why relationships compound across an entire career
The legacy Erik hopes to leave through the people he's encountered

One of my favorite ideas from this conversation comes near the end: businesses will be built, grown and sold, but the relationships developed along the way can remain for decades. Erik talks about still knowing founders he worked with 25 years ago and later building businesses with people he'd known for years.

Leadership Capacity is a conversation series with CEOs, founders and experienced leaders about what leadership has actually required of them—and what they've learned along the way.

New conversations every Tuesday.

#Leadership #FutureOfWork #Entrepreneurship

00:00 — Preview
00:38 — Meet Erik Mitisek
01:40 — Five Companies, Colorado Startup Week & Building Community
03:39 — Building Colorado's Startup Community
06:27 — Erik's First Experience Building a Startup
09:50 — From Individual Contributor to Leading People
12:15 — How Should Leaders Think About AI and People?
15:12 — Why Erik Starts With Default Trust
18:43 — What Employees Should Do With That Trust
20:27 — High Standards, Feedback & Trust
22:34 — The Relationships That Shape a Career

Erik Mitisek on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitisek/

Grab the Leadership Book: https://www.hilaniellis.com/hilani-ellis-capacity-the-new-advantage
Subscribe to Leadership Insights: https://www.hilaniellis.com/
Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaniellis/

Shawn Stigler has spent more than 25 years working alongside founders, executives and investors through some of the most important moments in building and growing companies.

But Shawn hasn't only advised business owners. He's been one.

After starting and growing his own law firm, Shawn eventually joined Michael Best, where he now serves as Managing Partner in Colorado. That combination has given him an unusual perspective: he's experienced the responsibility of building a business himself while also having a front-row seat to hundreds of other founders navigating growth, people, risk and change.

In this episode of the Leadership Capacity Show, I sit down with Shawn to talk about the patterns he's noticed along the way.

We explore what actually builds trust, why reputation matters, the difference between being excellent at your craft and leading people, and what founders often experience as their companies grow beyond the early stages.

We also get into the future of professional work. Shawn shares how AI is already changing the legal profession, what he believes young lawyers should be learning now, and why he sees AI as a leverage tool while human judgment and conversation continue to matter.

In this conversation:

Building a law firm and learning the business behind the profession
What 25 years around founders teaches you about recognizing patterns
Why reputation and trust remain so important
The shift from being great at your craft to leading other people
What leaders are really optimizing for when making decisions
How AI is already changing legal work
Why young professionals should become students of AI
What Shawn is seeing from today's founders and startups
The inflection points that change what a growing business needs from its founder
What Shawn would tell his younger self about taking chances

Leadership Capacity is a conversation series with CEOs, founders and experienced leaders about what leadership has actually required of them—and what they've learned along the way.

New conversations every Tuesday.

#Leadership #FutureOfWork

00:00 — Preview
00:42 — Meet Shawn Stigler
01:55 — Shawn's Path Into Law & Entrepreneurship
05:37 — Building a Law Firm & Learning From Founders
10:12 — What Actually Builds Trust
17:06 — Being Great at Your Craft vs. Leading People
22:46 — How AI Is Changing the Legal Profession
25:34 — Is There Still a Future in Law?
27:37 — What Shawn Is Seeing From Founders Right Now
31:11 — The Patterns Founders Repeat as Companies Grow
34:30 — When Growth Changes the Founder's Job
35:32 — What Shawn Would Tell His Younger Self

Michael Best: https://www.michaelbest.com/people/shawn-stigler/
Shawn Stigler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnstigler/

Grab the Leadership Book: https://www.hilaniellis.com/hilani-ellis-capacity-the-new-advantage
Subscribe to Leadership Insights: https://www.hilaniellis.com/
Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaniellis/

What does it take to build a business for 15 years, and keep expanding your own capacity to lead it?

In this episode of Leadership Capacity, I sit down with Erin Fletter, founder of Sticky Fingers Cooking, to talk about the side of entrepreneurship that rarely makes the highlight reel.

Erin started with three schools and an idea: give children the opportunity to learn how to cook. Fifteen years later, Sticky Fingers Cooking has grown across the country, expanded into franchising, developed its own proprietary technology, published five children's cookbooks, and created opportunities for other entrepreneurs to build businesses of their own.

But getting there wasn't a straight line.

We talk about why perfection can paralyze a founder, the years Erin spent being "the engine" of the business, the pressure of bootstrapping, the moment she nearly sold her wedding ring to make payroll, and why she believes it can take ten years of chaos to truly build a company.

We also explore what changed when Erin's job became less about doing the work herself and more about developing other leaders, creating systems, trusting her team, and helping franchise owners succeed.

And after 15 years of building? Erin shares what she would tell the younger version of herself if they could sit across the table today.

In this conversation:

Why founders can't afford to be everything to everyone
Moving from doing the work to building the people and systems that carry it
What bootstrapping really demands from a founder
Why Sticky Fingers Cooking eventually chose franchising
Building trust across a growing organization
Self-awareness as a leadership responsibility
Creating opportunities for other business owners
What 15 years of entrepreneurship taught Erin about pressure, instinct, and endurance

Leadership Capacity brings experienced executives and founders into conversations about what leadership asks of us as our companies, teams, and responsibilities grow.

00:00 — Preview
00:39 — Meet Erin Fletter: Founder of Sticky Fingers Cooking
01:38 — From Employee to Entrepreneur
03:53 — What Matters Most in the First Year of Business
08:11 — When Building a Business Becomes Leading People
09:39 — Learning to Let Other People Build With You
13:10 — Bootstrapping a Business & Almost Pawning Her Wedding Ring
14:18 — Why Sticky Fingers Cooking Became a Franchise
16:15 — What It Really Takes to Build a Business
19:17 — Why Franchising Became the Path to Growth
22:22 — What Leadership Requires as a Business Scales
24:36 — Developing Franchise Owners as Leaders
28:26 — What Erin Would Tell Herself 15 Years Ago

Sticky Fingers Cooking: https://stickyfingerscooking.com/
Erin Fletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-fletter-74b24454/

Grab the Leadership Book: https://www.hilaniellis.com/hilani-ellis-capacity-the-new-advantage
Subscribe to Leadership Insights: https://www.hilaniellis.com/
Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaniellis/

Ikigai: https://amzn.to/4wVGM0U