➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

In this episode I break down the difference between visionaries and operators, why the person who takes a business from zero to one is almost never the same person who takes it from one to ten, and why hiring people just like yourself is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make as a founder. 

I use McDonald's as the clearest example I know — the founders were the visionaries who built one or two great stores, and Ray Kroc was the operator who turned it into a global empire. Most businesses never find their Ray Kroc. 

I talk about why speed is the real superpower — speed to test, speed to pivot, speed to act on what the market is telling you — and why success is never about doing everything yourself. It is about building a team that can go further than you ever could alone.

The idea you had five years ago does not matter. What you did with it does.

➡️ Timestamps:

0:00  – Innovation is rewarded but execution is worshipped
2:01  – The difference between going from 0 to 1 and from 1 to 10
4:04  – Why the visionary phase requires tinkering, failure, and pivoting
6:07  – Why understanding people is the real skill behind every great business
8:07  – How knowing your strengths and weaknesses changes who you hire
10:07 – Why time is the real currency and how the best leaders protect it

➡️ Connect With Leo Pareja

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leopareja/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leopareja/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@leo.pareja

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Phil Jones was making more money than his school teachers at 15 running a car washing operation staffed by kids a year younger than him. He went on to build a $240 million real estate investment business with only five salespeople, converting at 95 to 100% through a referral network where he never had to cold call anyone. Leo sits down with the author of Exactly What to Say, one of the most listened-to nonfiction audiobooks of all time, to unpack why "always be closing" is backwards, how two words can direct someone's decision without them feeling told what to do, and why most agents are destroying their future business with every follow-up call they make. Phil also breaks down why your experience might be your most expensive liability, the framework that replaces beating yourself up with compounding improvement, and why the next decade belongs to people who master when and how they communicate, not just what they say.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 Washing Cars at 14 and Out-Earning Teachers by 15
02:02 The Lesson That Shaped Everything Was Just Learning How to Ask
03:00 Leo Was Outselling Everyone at Outback Steakhouse Before He Knew Why
03:56 Why Always Be Closing Is Backwards and Curiosity Wins More Business
05:29 People Say the Wrong Thing Even When They Know Better and Here's Why
06:46 Commission Breath and the Only Safe Way to Enter Any Negotiation
07:41 Confidence Without Experience Isn't Confidence It's Arrogance
08:36 Every Human Being on the Planet Is a Lead If You Extend the Timeline
09:20 Most Follow-Up Calls Don't Add Value They Destroy the Relationship
10:34 Phil Demonstrates a Magic Word Live and Shows How Two Words Direct Decisions
13:07 Managing People Older Than You Taught Him You Never Get Respect From a Title
14:37 How He Built a $240 Million Business With Five Salespeople and 95% Conversion
16:26 The Number One Mistake He Sees Across 800 Industries and It's Not What You Think
17:35 The Line Between Persuasion and Manipulation and How to Know Which Side You're On
19:31 Words Are Not Descriptive They're Generative and Most People Are Brutal to Themselves
22:55 The LBs and NTs Framework That Replaces Right vs Wrong With Compounding Growth
24:46 His 72-Minute Audiobook Averages Seven Listens Per User and the Industry Average Is 0.25
26:25 The Conversations He Lost That Taught Him More Than the Ones He Won
28:20 Buyers Show Up Further in the Decision Now and Information Isn't the Edge Anymore
31:19 AI Is Making Average People Look Average Faster and Human Experience Is About to Be Premium
34:49 Moment Modality Message and Why Agents Are Making Calls Nobody Wants to Answer
38:22 Turn Off Your Smart Plans Because Most of Them Are Dumb

➡️ Connect With Phil M. Jones

Instagram: https://instagram.com/philmjonesuk
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/philmjones
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@philmjones
Website: https://philmjones.com

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Leo breaks down why everyone's BS meter is higher than ever and why generic marketing is dead on arrival — most people literally open their mail over the trash can. He explains why he open sourced all of eXp's forms during one of the most confusing moments in real estate history, the goodwill it generated 12 to 24 months later, and why your best strategy as a business owner is to take your best stuff and give it away with no paywall and no gatekeeping. He gets into why the trust-building cycle starts months or years before someone is ready to buy, the moment people started showing up on his calendar talking like they'd known him for years, and why he used to tell customers they should not buy a house — and how those people became his most rabid advocates.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 Everyone's BS Meter Is Higher Than Ever
01:41 Most People Open Their Mail Over the Trash Can
02:13 I Follow Dentists and Chiropractors Now — Here's Why
02:59 "That's My Person" — How Content Replaces the Sales Pitch
03:41 The Only Marketing Question You Should Be Asking Yourself
05:00 The Trust Cycle Starts Months Before Anyone Is Ready to Buy
05:35 They Get on My Calendar and Talk Like We've Known Each Other for Years
06:17 If They Don't Like You They'll Never Be on Your Calendar
06:43 "If I Give It All Away for Free Why Would Anyone Pay Me?"
07:44 We Open Sourced Our Forms and It Changed Everything
09:16 Imagine a Dentist Charging You $495 Before Looking at Your Mouth
10:30 Chewy's Sends a Memorial When Your Dog Dies — That's the Standard
10:53 You Don't Realize How Much of an Expert You Already Are
12:32 "You Should Not Buy This House" — The Line That Built My Business

➡️ Connect With Leo Pareja

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leopareja/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leopareja/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@leo.pareja

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Barbara Corcoran borrowed $1,000 from her boyfriend to start a real estate company. He owned 51% of it. Seven years later, he left her to marry her secretary. She was 30, broke, and convinced she'd never make it without him. Leo sits down with the woman who turned that wreckage into one of the most recognized real estate brands in America to unpack how she fired four out of every five agents she hired on purpose, why she lost $2 million on Shark Tank before realizing she was shopping for the wrong thing, and the email she wrote after getting rejected from the show that changed her entire second career. Barbara also gets into why she bought every building during markets nobody else would touch, the moment she realized she wasn't the owner of a golden goose but the golden goose herself, and why the best entrepreneurs she's ever backed have no degree at all.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 Her Boyfriend Became Her Business Partner Then Left Her for Her Secretary
02:53 Being 30 and Convinced She'd Never Survive Without Him
03:36 Ten Kids in a Two-Bedroom House and the Mother Who Made It Feel Like Winning
05:13 Labeled the Dumb Kid Until 3:15 PM When Everything Changed
06:24 The Only Leadership Style That Scaled From One Agent to a Thousand
06:40 Sell One Apartment in Two Months or You Can't Stay Here
08:42 What Nobody Tells You About Selling Your Company and Losing Your Name
10:20 She Thought She Sold Her Golden Goose Until She Realized She Was the Golden Goose
10:57 Shark Tank Rejected Her So She Wrote an Email Listing Every Failure That Made Her
12:35 Leo Raised $48 Million Feeling Like a Realtor in a Room Full of Stanford MBAs
13:39 The First Two Years on Shark Tank She Lost All Her Money Shopping for the Wrong Thing
14:52 Most Businesses Don't Fail the Founders Quit
16:53 Cold Feet on a Studio at 24 and It Took Four Years to Get Back In
17:56 Every Building She Bought Was in a Market Nobody Else Would Touch
20:10 Leo Made $300K in College Then Lost Everything by 23
24:22 Leo's Mom Refused to Bail Him Out and It Was the Best Advice He Ever Got
25:07 The Daydream About Being Queen of New York Real Estate That Became Her Business Plan
25:53 Why AI Won't Replace Humans It'll Make the Human Touch the Only Thing That Matters
27:20 The Advice She'd Give Gen Z That Their Parents Would Hate

➡️ Connect With Barbara Corcoran

Instagram: https://instagram.com/barbaracorcoran
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@barbaracorcoran
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/barbaracorcoran
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@BarbaraCorcoran

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Most people say they know life is short, but they live like they have unlimited time. Leo gets personal about the moments he traded for work and can't get back, the stat that changed how he parents (90-95% of the time you spend with your kids happens before they turn 18), and why he moved his 82-year-old father down the street after doing the math on how many visits he had left. He also breaks down why your brain is wired to trick you into doing the wrong work, how he tracked his way to only missing 3.3 bedtimes a month, and the conversation every entrepreneur needs to have with their partner before the grind destroys the relationship.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 You Have a 100% Chance of Not Getting Out Alive
01:21 Nobody Was Ever Watching You, They Were Worried About Themselves
02:36 The Scariest Thing From Your 20s Means Nothing Now
03:09 One Less Day, Not One More Day
03:32 The Tiny Window You Get With Your Kids as Kids
04:20 Failure Taught Me More Than My Early Success Ever Did
04:47 I Don't Remember the Meeting, I Remember the Dance
05:38 Treat Your Priorities Like a Math Problem
06:56 Tracking My Time Hurt My Own Feelings
07:14 The Stat That Hit Like a Ton of Bricks: 90-95% Before 18
08:47 "He Doesn't Understand Where I'm At" — Yes I Do
09:43 Your Brain Wants You to Do the Wrong Work First
10:27 Do the One Thing That Generates Revenue, Ignore Everything Else
11:04 The Hard Conversation Every Entrepreneur Avoids Having

➡️ Connect With Leo Pareja

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leopareja/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leopareja/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@leo.pareja

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Glennda Baker didn't become the most recognized face in real estate by following the playbook. She barely graduated high school, never went to college, and started her career parked outside the top agent's office just to eavesdrop on how deals got done. Leo sits down with the woman who built a 1M+ following and a powerhouse Atlanta real estate brand to unpack why she bought her dead mother's dream house in the middle of a divorce, how getting bullied as a kid became the foundation of a brand worth millions, and the content strategy behind 6,000+ videos without a single call to action. Glennda also gets into why virality is a trap most agents fall for, the sobriety decision that changed her leadership, and the one thing her mom told her that still runs every decision she makes.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 The Dream House on the Hill Her Mom Pointed To From a Car With No AC
01:58 Buying That Exact House During a Divorce 30 Years Later
04:45 What Happens When a Goal You Set as a Poor Kid Actually Comes True
06:22 Why the Stars Aren't a Gimmick and What Her Mom Really Meant by "Dress Like One"
07:40 Getting Bullied Relentlessly Until She Stopped Trying to Fit In
08:20 The Four Words That Filter Every Brand Decision Glennda Makes
09:14 The Difference Between Confidence and Arrogance Is a Resume
11:32 What To Do When You Have 20,000 Followers and Zero Listings
12:30 The Elementary Content Nobody Makes Because They Assume People Already Know
13:19 Don't Go Wide, Go Deep: The Three Mile Zone Strategy
15:03 Reddit Is Where the Pain Points Are and LLMs Are Pulling From It
16:13 Why Glennda Calls Herself the Dear Abby of Real Estate
17:33 Shooting 30 to 50 Videos in One Day With a Google Form and a Laptop Camera
20:49 The Mortgage Guy Who Went Viral Talking About Chicken Nuggets and Got Zero Leads
22:35 6,093 Videos and Never Once a Call to Action
23:23 The YouTube Attempt That Failed So Badly the Videos Are Still Up
24:53 Why Leo Banned Alcohol at Every Corporate Event He Pays For
26:06 "I Am the Michael Jordan of Real Estate" and Why That Requires Sobriety
28:13 The Tony Robbins Hug That Rewired How Glennda Thinks About Time
29:38 The One Thing Her Mom Said That Still Runs Every Decision Today

➡️ Connect With Glennda Baker

Instagram: https://instagram.com/glenndabaker/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@glenndabaker
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/glenndabaker/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@glenndabakeratl
Podcast: Glitter and Gay (with Tyler Whitman)

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Elena Cardone didn't build an empire by playing the independent woman card the culture keeps selling. She built it by doing the exact opposite, and the backlash almost buried her. Leo sits down with the force behind a multi-billion dollar organization to break down why trust is the only non-negotiable, what most ambitious couples lie to themselves about, and the uncomfortable truth about who you let near your inner circle. Elena also gets into why she cut out anyone she considers out-ethics, the parenting move that turns kids into criminals, and the mindset shift that stops driven partners from destroying each other.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 Find The One You Trust and Build an Empire
01:25 The One Standard Elena Will Never Lower for Anyone
02:28 Why Elena Cuts Out Anyone She Considers Out-Ethics
04:06 Protecting the People Who Depend On You To Make Right Decisions
04:34 The REM Sleep Reason Leo Quit Drinking Entirely
06:33 Growing Up When People Smoked on Airplanes and Nobody Blinked
08:10 The Gene Test That Told Elena Alcohol Is a Poison to Her Body
09:12 Why Grant and Elena Refuse To Close the Curtain Like Everyone Else Does
10:18 The Control Habit That Was Making Elena Weaker Not Stronger
12:36 Why Collaboration Is the New Currency When You're Competing for the Top
13:20 The Biggest Lie in Business: "I Can't Find Good People"
15:37 The 2017 Decision That Got Elena Hate From Women Everywhere
17:02 What a Functional Marriage Between Two Driven Adults Actually Requires
18:18 Racking Up Wins Together Is the Love Language Nobody Talks About
19:38 The Hard Conversation Ambitious Couples Avoid Until It's Too Late
20:26 Money Doesn't Change You, It Magnifies You
23:49 Why Elena Still Wouldn't Buy a Harry Winston Without Consulting Grant
24:31 What People Completely Underestimate About Building in Public for Decades
25:26 The One Thing a Leader Should Never Share No Matter How Trendy Transparency Gets
26:49 Parenting Teenagers When You've Been Through Everything They're About To Try
29:26 Why Elena Stopped Lecturing Her Kids and Started Listening Instead
31:37 Report Cards Don't Matter, Jiu Jitsu Does
32:40 How the Cardone Kids Got Contracts, Lawyers, and Dividends as Children
35:04 The Exchange Rule That Separates Functional Kids From Future Criminals
36:19 Why the Cardone Kids Paid Their Piggy Banks To Ride the Family Plane

➡️ Connect With Leo Pareja

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leopareja/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leopareja/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@leo.pareja

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Byron Lazine built a media empire starting from bankruptcy — no budget, no audience, no choice but to figure out what everyone else was ignoring. Leo sits down with the co-founder of BAM to break down why distribution beats skill, what 15 years of building in public actually costs, and the uncomfortable truth about agents who post versus agents who actually build. Byron also gets into what live content is going to dominate in 2026, the backdoor narratives still controlling the real estate industry, and the two paths forward for anyone scared to put themselves out there.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 The Bankrupt Agent Who Couldn't Buy an Ad and Built a Media Empire Instead
01:17 When Byron Realized Distribution Mattered More Than Skill
03:06 The Facebook Live That Changed Everything (A Builder, 9 Homes, and Zero Foot Traffic)
04:31 What That Version of Byron Got Dead Wrong About Success
05:22 The Real Cost of Building in Public for 15 Years
06:41 Why Chasing Trends Is the Slowest Path to Consistency
07:44 The Deleted Podcast, the Stop Zillow Debate, and the First Real Inflection Point
13:00 How BAM Was Born and Why the Industry Needed a Media Company, Not Another Blog
17:45 The Difference Between Agents Who Build Audiences and Agents Who Just Post
24:30 Why Byron Wouldn't Post on Social If It Wasn't for Business
30:15 Raw Content, Live Format, and What's Going to Crush in 2026
37:34 The Emerging Trend Most Agents Are Completely Sleeping On
39:52 Live Content for Listings: Why Zoning Meetings Are Goldmines Nobody Is Mining
42:05 Cringe Mountain and the Two-to-Four Year Grind Nobody Talks About
44:06 Grind It Alone or Latch On — Byron's Closing Advice for Anyone Scared to Build in Public

➡️ Connect With Leo Pareja

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leopareja/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leopareja/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@leo.pareja

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Most marketers are spending money on SEO that was never going to drive revenue anyway and Neil Patel is the first to admit it. Leo sits down with one of the most recognized names in digital marketing to break down why informational SEO is collapsing, how LLMs are rewriting the rules of visibility, and what actually drives revenue in a world where ChatGPT answers the question before anyone clicks your link. Neil also gets brutally honest about losing clients for telling the truth, burning millions on a cloud computing bet before AWS existed, and the hard lesson every founder eventually learns: drinking your own Kool-Aid is necessary until it isn't.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 Why Informational SEO Is Dead (And Was Never Driving Revenue Anyway)
00:55 How LLMs Are Replacing Google and What to Do About It
02:10 The Exact Strategy to Get Mentioned by ChatGPT and Gemini
04:45 Personal Brand vs. Corporate Brand, Which One to Build First
07:30 Why AI Slop Is Flooding the Internet and How to Stand Out
10:20 The Coca-Cola AI Ad Backlash and What It Tells Us About Human Content
13:00 Neil's 2008 Collapse and the Three-Year Grind That Followed
17:45 Burning Millions on Cloud Computing Before AWS Existed
21:00 The Investor Who Hired His Girlfriend and Gave Her $50K for a Logo
24:30 Don't Drink Your Own Kool-Aid, Hire People Who've Already Made the Mistakes
27:00 Why Boring, Ugly Businesses Make the Most Money
30:15 When to Expand vs. When You're Just Adding Feature Creep
33:40 The Zero-to-One Founder vs. The Scale Operator, Know Which One You Are
36:00 Quality Time Over Quantity, How Neil Thinks About Family and the Grind

➡️ Connect With Leo Pareja

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leopareja/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leopareja/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@leo.pareja

➡️ Access ALL FREE business resources, episode blueprints, and exclusive content from past episodes: https://stan.store/leopareja

Most entrepreneurs don't fail because their product is bad—they fail because they try to do everything and slowly become forgettable. Leo breaks down why hyper-focus is a superpower, how to audit where your marketing dollars actually go, and the hardest question in entrepreneurship: when to keep watering the seedling versus when you're pounding solid concrete on a bad idea. He also shares what marquee capital allocators told him they actually look for in founders—and it's not first-time winners.

➡️ Timestamps

00:00 The Feature Creep Trap That Kills Businesses
00:45 Why the Best Brands in the World Are Hyper-Focused
01:20 The Framework: Audit Your Marketing Spend Ruthlessly
02:10 Saying No to Good Ideas Is Mandatory, Not Optional
02:55 The Duality of Never Quit vs. Knowing When to Walk Away
03:40 Watering a Seedling vs. Pounding Solid Concrete
04:25 The Sunk Cost Fallacy Will Destroy Your Business
05:00 Separate Your Identity from Your Business
05:40 Feedback Loops: Trust Your Gut, Filter External Advice
06:20 Why You Should Start as a Side Hustle First
07:00 Having Hard Conversations with Investors and Employees
07:45 Failure Is a Superpower: What $48M in Fundraising Taught Me
08:30 What Marquee Investors Actually Look for in Founders
09:10 Ask Yourself Why—And Be Honest About the Answer

➡️ Connect With Leo Pareja

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leopareja/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leopareja/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@leo.pareja