OTSS Podcast

Corky Coker originally had no plans to enter the family business. His father had originally started Coker Tire in 1958 as a small shop that sold tires, performed retreads and handled light maintenance jobs. Even though he grew up as a “car guy” with his uncles and dad constantly working on Model As and Ts, Corky wanted to be a veterinarian. However, after getting all “Bs” in college (babes, brews and banjos, according to Corky), his father promptly told him to come back and help run the family business.

Corky took over what, at the time, was a small niche of the business, focusing on finding tires for classic and collector cars. Having flipped cars before he could legally drive and working in the tire shop since he was a kid, Corky quickly found success. Over the years, he painstakingly grew that niche into the main business, turning Coker Tire into a global leader in tires for collector, antique and restored vehicles.

On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Corky shares with host Dan Kahn how he grew Coker Tire from a small family-run business into an iconic brand. Filled with deep insight from decades of experience, Corky’s knowledge is valuable for any entrepreneur, leader or CEO.

Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:

* Success is all about finding the right niche and owning it.

* There are pros and cons to private equity.

* Suppliers play a larger role in a brand’s success than most people realize.

* Investing in quality always pays off in the long term.

* Work hard, but don’t ignore your family.

Find Your Niche and Own It

Coker Tire is a prime example of how crucial it is for a business to find its niche and own it. The company initially started as a more general one, selling tires and performing small maintenance jobs. However, zeroing in on manufacturing specialty tires for collector and antique cars unlocked growth that never could have been achieved in Coker Tires’ original, more generalized form.

“Anything that you do, do to the best of your ability. Just explore and learn everything there is about it,” said Corky. “A niche, a specialty, our business was classified as a niche. I basically owned that niche because I knew everything about it. I knew what the customer wanted, and I knew how to find out what the customer wanted. You have to stand before them and show them empathy and integrity, and that you are one of them.”

The Dilemma of Private Equity

Private equity has made a significant entry into the automotive aftermarket, purchasing multiple businesses. With his children not interested in running the business, selling Coker Tire to private equity made sense for Corky to retire. However, he notes that the move did not come without some unforeseen downsides.

“Private equity has a different attitude about people,” said Corky. “Most private equity firms hire smart people, but they don’t hire people from the industry very often. That is a big mistake because they tick off their customers, their suppliers and their employees. That is their dilemma, and they have come into our industry and paid a lot of money (for companies).”

Your Suppliers Are Extremely Important

Many companies focus on introducing new products and services to stay constantly ahead of their competitors. However, according to Corky, your relationships with your suppliers are just as important. You can create as many products as you want, but none of that matters if you can’t get the supplies needed to manufacture them. Solid relationships with your suppliers are a key to success.

“The hardest part of making Coker Tire a success was sourcing product. We developed products at great places, and we became partners with our suppliers,” said Corky. “That is what some of the private equity folks don’t get. They go and hire buyers from big corporations who believe everything is a commodity, and they try to save five cents here and there. We developed relationships with our suppliers to begin with, so I was always able to get on their production schedules.”

Quality Doesn’t Cost, It Pays

Coker Tires’ ability to grow and scale over the years has been impressive. Central to that growth was a relentless pursuit of quality with its products. While some may view quality as a cost, Corky explains that investing in it always pays off in the end.

“Quality doesn’t cost, it pays. The pursuit of the best you can do pays. People look for it, they desire it and they will tell others about it,” said Corky. “When you have a problem with a product, and you don’t handle it, that guy will tell seven people. If you have a product that is wonderful, you might be on a podcast with a guy who has your tires on his hot rod and loves them. Quality does count, and it does pay, and I am thankful for that.”

Advice for Entrepreneurs from Decades of Experience

Having built Coker Tire from a small family shop to a global leader in specialty tires, Corky’s knowledge runs deep. Thankfully, he doesn’t gatekeep any of that expertise that comes from decades of experience. His best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is a simple mix of hard work, family and sticking to what you know.

“Make a list and be about it. Number two, do what you know and do it well. Work half the time, that is 12 hours a day. Pay attention to your family and don’t ignore them. I did when I was a young adult, and I was out on the road doing 200,000 miles a year on airplanes, etc. My kids grew up without me, and that is one of the reasons they didn’t want the tire company,” said Corky. “But that was God’s grace for me, too, by the way. I sold the company in December of 2018, and the market just started declining somewhat, then COVID happened, and it hasn’t been the same since.”

2025 has been an amazing year for the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast. Throughout the year, we recorded 25 episodes, bringing our total to 55 installments of OTSS since its launch just over two years ago. We have had some fantastic guests since the start, sharing their insightful knowledge on entrepreneurship, marketing, running a business and what it takes to be successful in today’s ever-changing business environment.

For this special episode, we decided to take a look back at some of our best episodes from “Only The Strong Survive.” Rather than just one guest, this unique episode features a multitude of leaders, authors, experts and entrepreneurs sharing their deep insights with host Dan Kahn. Give it a watch to see our favorite and most impactful moments from “Only The Strong Survive,” and we have even more in store for 2026.

A special thank you to our guests and viewers who have helped make it a great year. Here are our top five takeaways from this episode:

* Company culture is just as critical as the products you make.

* Running a modern business involves having lots of emotional intelligence.

* True leaders aren’t afraid to ask for help.

* Building a community around your brand is central for creating a connection with your customers.

* Ikigai is a path to happiness.

BluePrint Engines CEO Norris Marshall on Crafting Company Culture

Company culture is often overlooked in the drive to produce more products and create new ones. However, it is essential and should never be ignored. Recognizing this fact long before company culture became a more recent focus, Norris Marshall carefully built the right one. The move proved wise, as Marshall built a brand that employees want to be a part of and move forward.

“I guess the culture comes from me, how I want to treat our employees and how I expect our managers to treat our employees. I start with the idea that everybody wants to do a good job, and you just have to find a way to let them,” said Norris. “I also do believe that people are capable of a lot more than we realize if we challenge and encourage them. So, I am big on challenging and encouraging. I’ve got a lot of push, and I am not easy to work for. At the same time, I am on their side, and I want to help them. I think you need to make it personal, too. People need to know that you care about them, and when the moment arises to show that, you really need to show up.”

Hellwig CEO Melanie White on How Running a Modern Business is Different

Melanie White wasn’t always sure that she wanted to run the family business. In college, she pursued a degree in psychology instead of the “usual suspects” of business, finance or marketing. However, that choice proved to be a wise one, as running a business today is different. Now, understanding how to motivate and interact with a wide range of employees is just as important as technical business know-how.

“I feel like it (the psychology degree) has helped me quite a bit,” said Melanie. “Now, it is a very different time when businesses are lucky to have team members. So, it is a shift that we have to make that is subtle but really important. As a business, we have to look at how to motivate our team members, attract them and be a really good place to work.”

Not Your Average Joe’s Tim Herbel on True Leadership

Business leaders often have pretty big egos, and sometimes, rightfully so. However, that same ego that helped build a business can also destroy it. Thinking you know the solution to every problem is a surefire way to slow or reverse your brand’s growth. A true leader will recognize their limitations, ask for help and surround themselves with people who can assist them.

“Once upon a time, I had a lot of talent, and I knew it. The ego got in the way, and it wasn’t until I failed miserably at life and had some time on the anvil that I realized that I don’t have all the answers,” said Tim Herbel. “It wasn’t until I failed and learned from failure that I learned what leadership is. Leadership is about being transparent and saying, ‘I don’t know, and I could use your help.’ Learning to ask for help as a leader is hard. But if you do it, you get surrounded by a good team.”

Author and Marketing Expert Mark Schaefer on the Importance of Community

Brands can be hyper-fixated on the next great product or idea. However, building community is just as crucial for a company as its products. Developing a community creates a connection with your customers that keeps them consistently returning to your brand, rather than your competition.

“As human beings, we don’t just want community; we need community because it helps form our identities. No matter what happens in this world, if a brand can create a community, it is the ultimate emotional connection,” said Mark Schaefer. “People don’t just love your soft drink or your cosmetics; they love each other in a community, and they will literally belong to a brand.”

SEMA’s RJ De Vera on Ikigai

Ikigai is a compound of the two Japanese words “iki” and “kai,” which roughly translates to “a reason for living.” However, the concept of Ikigai builds on this translation by finding fulfillment through aligning one’s passion with their skills and talents. For anyone looking to start their career, RJ De Vera notes that Ikigai is well worth exploring.

“Everyone says to find your passion, but I think there is more to it than that. There is this philosophy called Ikigai. It comes out of Japan, and it is this idea that you merge your passion and your skill,” said RJ. “So, what do you love, what are you passionate about, what are you good at, what does the world need and what can you get paid for? My advice to people would be to find the center point of all of those things. If you love car culture, develop the right skill set in something that can help you make a living, which is hopefully something that this culture and world needs. I think that is where you find success.”

Peter Nam is unique for starting not just one successful brand but two. After graduating from Boston University with a degree in finance, he struggled to find a job in his field immediately following the burst of the dot-com bubble. Instead of continuing his fruitless search, Peter decided to launch a passion project selling high-quality carbon-fiber parts for European vehicles. Over 20 years later, Vorsteiner remains an innovative force in crafting aerospace-grade carbon components for exotic and high-performance vehicles.

Having been passionate about cars since childhood, Peter realized that modern cars were quickly losing their character and were overburdened with technology. In response, he founded Gunther Werks in 2017. Zeroing in primarily on the Porsche 993 platform, Gunther Werks completely reimagines the 993 to perfectly blend modern technology with an analog driving experience. Today, Gunther Werks is well-known across the automotive world for pushing the boundaries of performance and bringing back the joy of driving with its meticulously crafted and highly sought-after vehicles, such as the Turbo, F-26 and the GWX.

On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Peter discusses what it was like to build two successful businesses from the ground up and the vital lessons he learned along the way.

Click on the icon above to hear the entire insightful interview with host Dan Kahn, and here are our top five takeaways from the discussion:

* Success never comes easy.

* Entrepreneurship involves wearing many “hats.”

* Learning on the job and rapidly adapting is a key to success.

* Efficiently producing a product will be your biggest challenge.

* Don’t count on people changing their ways.

Expect to Struggle

Most people only see Vorsteiner’s current state as a highly successful brand. However, like many startups, there was a long struggle to get Vorsteiner where it is today. Success never comes easy, and you should expect plenty of adversity along the way. If you don’t like struggling, then entrepreneurship probably isn’t for you.

“It was quite a struggle, actually, trying to penetrate the market where people were used to buying from high-end German tuning brands, and here I was, an American-based brand, trying to make products for BMWs,” said Peter. “It was a struggle to convince people that our brand and our products were on the same level as our competitors. It took years for us to break through and penetrate that market.”

Expect to Wear Lots of Hats

Unless you have significant financial backing for the launch of your brand, you will have to fill many roles yourself. In its earliest days, Vorsteiner was essentially a one-person operation, with Peter handling product design, shipping, invoicing and everything else to keep the lights on. Even as the company grew, there wasn’t the budget for financial or management specialists. Peter had to fill these roles himself and try to learn on the fly.

“We were very lean top-down. It was mostly manufacturing and operational staff that I hired. I couldn’t go out and hire a CEO or CFO for $100,000 or $200,000 a year,” said Peter. “We didn’t have the budget for that, so I basically had to wear those hats myself and have people who were manufacturing the products and doing the operations and shipping to support me. I had to wear a lot of hats both operationally and management-wise in my earlier years, and I had honestly no idea what I was doing.”

On-the-Job Learning

Launching what was essentially a low-volume, high-performance bespoke car company with Gunther Werks was definitely a new direction for Peter. Hiring engineering experts and other specialists was a massive help in bolstering the areas where Peter needed specialized knowledge. However, a significant factor in Gunther Werks’ success was Peter and his team’s ability to quickly learn on the job and rapidly adapt.

“There is no book you can read from Barnes & Noble about how to build a car company. You have to learn on the job. Even if I were to work in the finance field and investment banking, just because I have a finance degree, it doesn’t mean anything,” said Peter. “Most of the learning actually happens on the job. You have to adapt and constantly be learning and constantly improving your processes. It is a never-ending process. I am learning every single day, and the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”

One-offs are Easy, Production is Not

Most startups have a hyper focus on developing the products they will sell. However, Peter notes that the challenge isn’t coming up with a product or prototype, but rather how to produce it efficiently and on a large enough scale to make a profit. While they are entirely different products, the hard-fought production lessons that Peter learned with Vorsteiner were critical to the success of Gunther Werks.

“When you are building a concept car or a proof of concept or a show display vehicle, anybody can do that in their mom’s garage. It is actually not very difficult for me to build a one-off concept car. It is actually productionizing that car, which is really an incredibly painful challenge,” said Peter. “It is so difficult, and this is where most of the car builders fail. They build a one-off car, and they don’t know how to productionize it and make money doing it. This is why you see so many car builders, a majority of them, fail after two to three years.”

Don’t Try to Change People

One painful lesson that Peter has learned through hiring people for both his companies is that people don’t really change. While most of us want to mentor and develop employees, it can be nearly impossible if the person is unwilling or unable to change. For Peter, holding onto substandard employees with the hope that they might one day change their ways is a recipe for failure.

“One of the things I have learned from hiring hundreds of employees for both of my companies is that it is very difficult to change somebody. I thought, ‘Okay, he could work out, and I can change him and mold him into what I want him to be.’ I would say that is almost always a recipe for disaster,” said Peter. “I think that is the biggest mistake I have made when dealing with poor-performing employees who didn’t have the right vision, and I thought I could change them. I wasted many years trying to mold these people, and it just didn’t work out in the end.”

Growing up in the Adirondack Mountains, Lauryn Menard always had a love of the outdoors. Eventually, the big city and her interest in fashion design called her south to New York City. However, she quickly grew tired of the fashion world and wanted to stop chasing trends and focus on solving bigger problems. That realization led Lauryn to switch to a career in industrial design and co-found PROWL Studio, an industrial design and research studio specializing in sustainable products, with clients including Herman Miller and BMW.

Eventually, Lauryn would fuse her love of nature with industrial design by becoming a bio-designer and founding GOB. The company aims to replace the 40 billion polyurethane single-use earplugs thrown away every year with ones that are fully biodegradable and made from Mycelium, a natural, farm-grown material derived from mushrooms.

On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Lauryn shares insights from her unique entrepreneurial journey with host Dan Kahn. The in-depth discussion breaks down what it takes to launch a highly innovative business, how she plans to compete in a crowded space and what the musts are for modern brands to thrive.

Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:

* Create a vision to anchor your brand before building it.

* Always hire someone unbiased to check your products before launch.

* Hire people to fill the gaps where you lack skill.

* Building brand awareness is vital to compete in crowded markets.

* Don’t always listen to advice from others.

Create an Ethos First

Some entrepreneurs start by creating products and figuring out how to sell them. Lauryn pulled back even further and wanted GOB to focus on what happens to products at the end of their life cycles. That foundational work helped guide the vision for biodegradable earplugs and pave the way for future GOB products.

“A product, no matter if you are talking about a massive dump truck with a million moving parts or you are talking about an earplug, it is nothing but materials at the end of the day. Once something is no longer usable, it’s obsolete, and you don’t need it anymore. All that is left are materials,” said Lauryn. “So, what we came up with was basically to begin with the end, which became an ethos and is how we still work at GOB. It is this ethos and idea that when you start thinking about a product, you have to think about its end of life just as much as its form and function.”

Hire a B.S. Detector

One important step Lauryn took early in the creation of GOB was to hire someone to validate whether its earplugs were effective. This move was a crucial one, as some entrepreneurs can have a strong bias towards their own products or ideas. An outside set of expert and unbiased eyes taking a close look at GOB’s earplugs and validating their effectiveness gave Lauryn the confidence to move forward.

“We brought on an audiologist in Berkley, which is near where our office is. He was our b.s. detector to figure out if this is actually working,” said Lauryn. “You can have your own biases when you have an idea, and you think it is working. Then you get to launch, and no one checked you. That is what we wanted to avoid.”

Fill Those Gaps

We have heard the importance of hiring the right people from OTSS guests before. However, Lauryn takes it a step further and notes that it is crucial to identify your weaknesses as a CEO. Then you can hire people to fill those “gaps” and assist you in the areas where you need the most help. Doing so does take an honest assessment of one’s abilities, though.

“I think that what I have uncovered as a creative CEO is that it can be an advantage if you are willing and able to look at the things you are bad at and fill those gaps with people who are incredible at those things,” said Lauryn. “We have a COO who has helped scale consumer product companies before. He was at Quip, the toothbrush company, he was at Fable, the dog care company, and a few others. He fills my gaps perfectly. Obviously, I need to understand the P&L, I need to understand our budget and set those things, but it is more of a collaborative process.”

Brand Awareness is King

If you want to compete in a crowded space, you absolutely have to build brand awareness. For Lauryn, that means embracing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales model. That setup allows GOB to reach, interact and market directly to its customers, rather than going through a middleman or wholesalers.

“I think if you want to be successful out in the world physically, at retail stores, venues, etc., these days, you have to have brand awareness, and that starts with DTC. We are scaling our DTC sales for that reason,” said Lauryn. “We want to spread, for lack of a better way to say it, like a virus. We want to be everywhere. Our products that we create basically have the added benefit of being relevant and ubiquitous in so many places.”

Don’t Always Take Advice

Having a mentor and the advice of others as an entrepreneur is huge. However, Lauryn notes that you must weigh that guidance and mentorship against your gut instincts. Ultimately, your instincts are usually correct, even if they go against the advice of others, when making tough decisions.

“Listening to people’s advice as if it is the way things need to be, I think that tends to be a thing with female entrepreneurs. We tend to take advice to heart maybe more,” said Lauryn. “I’ve taken people’s advice on hiring people that I shouldn’t have hired. I wasn’t listening enough to my gut and the signals that were present. I was taking mentorship maybe a little too far, I would say. I have learned to always double-check myself with myself and sit back before making hard decisions.”

Joe Molina built one of the most respected public relations agencies in the automotive world from the ground up. While serving in the U.S. Army and writing for his base’s newspaper, he somehow arranged for a concert with a then-up-and-coming band called Kiss. After the concert with the band that would rapidly become rock legends, Joe quickly realized that he no longer wanted to be a journalist but a publicist.

Not one to ever sit around idly, Joe quickly put his plan into motion. One year after leaving the U.S. Army, he founded JMPR and steadily grew its client base. Over its 40-plus years, and through considerable hard work and persistence, the agency secured some of the biggest automotive brands among its client roster, including Rolls-Royce, Ducati, Lamborghini and many more. Eventually, Joe would sell the company before semi-retiring in Indiana.

Among the many JMPR employees who got their start in public relations at the agency was “Only The Strong Survive” host Dan Kahn. On this episode of the podcast, Joe and Dan reflect on what it was like working together before becoming fierce competitors. The former president and founder of JMPR also explains what it took to build a successful company from scratch and run it for decades. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire insightful episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” and here are our top five takeaways:

* Don’t just do what you love, do what you know.

* Trickling down from the top is quicker than starting at the bottom.

* You have to know when to let go.

* It is okay to not always be number one.

* Hire the right people and strive to retain them.

Do What You Love (and What You Know)

Joe attributes much of his early success to his passion for exotic cars. Combining what he loved and also had an in-depth knowledge of with a fearless attitude opened many doors early on. While there were definitely other agencies, few of them combined the automotive expertise and passion that Joe had.

“It all grew from the fact that, as a kid, I just loved cars. I knew all the things about exotic cars, not just regular cars, although I knew that industry too. I knew everything, every fact, every this, that and the other,” said Joe. “I could talk to anyone about anything, and I knew just enough to where they would say he knows his stuff, so he must be connected somehow.”

It is Easier to Trickle Down Than Up

Another key to JMPR’s success Joe cites was his relationship with publishing icon Robert E. Petersen. At the height of his empire, Petersen published nearly every major automotive magazine in the United States, along with other popular publications such as Guns & Ammo and Teen, and founded the Petersen Automotive Museum. Doing an excellent job for Petersen led him to recommend JMPR to his many contacts across multiple industries.

“For 17 years, we represented the Petersen Automotive Museum. They only ever had two PR agencies; I was one, and you (Kahn Media) were the other. But he introduced me to everybody,” said Joe. “I represented MotorTrend, Hot Rod, Teen magazine, Guns & Ammo, all of his 40-some-odd titles and his events. Then his friends wanted to hire me, and I was dealing with the guys who owned the companies. It was like I started at the top, and it is easier to trickle down than trickle up.”

Knowing When to Let Go

Selling a business is a highly personal experience for any entrepreneur who has built their company from the ground up. The same was true for Joe, as he wrestled with the decision to finally sell JMPR. However, knowing when to let go of a company is just as critical of an entrepreneurial skill as knowing when to start one.

“It’s a very personal thing of when to let go. I happened to be in my mid-60s and had a run for 43 years, 45 if you count some of the army years, and it was just time,” said Joe. “There is a time, if you are successful, or you think you are successful, or they tell you that you are successful, when you have to get off the stage and let other people on to perform. My time was over, everything was changing and I felt like an analog guy in a digital world.”

Nobody Stays on Top Forever (and That’s Okay)

For such a hard-charging and competitive individual as Joe, his perspective on staying ahead might be surprising to some, but it is shaped by decades of hard-fought experience. He notes that the desire to be number one in your industry is natural, but it ignores the cyclical nature of business. Staying on top also requires a lot of sacrifice that might not be worth it in the long run.

“Nobody stays on top forever. There is a rhythm to these things, and if you want to stay up forever, you are going to have to give away your sanity, your family and everything else to keep up with it because you have to be completely obsessed and have very little emotional room for anybody else,” said Joe. “I realized I had my day in the sun, I made it, I was there for several years at the top of the list, and I had made a good living.”

Always Hire Smart People

One piece of advice that Joe gives is one that we hear regularly from guests on “Only The Strong Survive.” That tip for success is to always hire smart people and treat them with respect. The right employees can make all the difference between your brand being successful or an afterthought.

“Always hire people who are smarter and know more than you and understand things that are changing quicker than you. Hold them with respect, and it is not just about paying them, it is about respecting them. You only got them for a little while,” says Joe. “The other thing we all learned is that everything has its time, and it’s a treadmill, and everyone is with you for a portion of their career. But try to find the bright ones, find the ones that can still work a room when there is a room to be worked, even if that is now a digital room.”

RJ de Vera has had an amazing career arc. Like many Southern California kids, he had childhood dreams of Ferraris and muscle cars. However, his automotive interests shifted to Japanese imports during his teenage years. Soon, RJ was traveling to Japan to check out car shows and find rare parts.

His early expertise in the Japanese tuner car scene, before it gained widespread popularity, opened other doors. RJ was tapped to help with the launch of Super Street magazine and would serve as its editor-at-large. From there, he became an advisor for the first “Fast and Furious” movie, even playing the role of street racer Danny Yamato in the premier installment of the radically popular franchise.

After his Hollywood debut, RJ helped build the Motegi wheel brand before heading marketing efforts at Meguiar’s. He now serves as the vice president of marketing for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA).

From selling auto parts out of his mother’s condo to leading marketing efforts at global brands, RJ has learned a lot from his journey. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, he shares some of that wisdom with host Dan Kahn.

Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:

* The platforms change, but people will always love modifying cars.

* Working at a multinational company helps develop a bigger perspective.

* The right timing involves envisioning your future self.

* Adaptation is a constant need.

* Ikigai is worth exploring for anyone seeking career direction and fulfillment.

Modifying Cars Will Always Have a Universal Appeal

When the import craze first took off, many hot rodders and muscle car builders frowned upon it. However, for RJ, what he was doing wasn’t that different from what those hot rodders had done as kids. Yes, the platforms were different, but the love of modifying cars was the same. It is a cycle that RJ sees continuing even today.

“The very first article I was blessed to be featured in was one by Mark Vaughn for Autoweek,” said RJ. “It was called ‘Passing the Flames,” and in it, he said that there is this group of young, rebellious kids modifying and messing around with their cars, much like everybody who came back from the war had done with their muscle cars. They were just doing it on a different platform and recreating the idea of ‘hot rodding’ but with a different platform. We didn’t know it, but it was just fun for us. There is something about customizing your car that appeals to a great group of people that continues to happen over and over.”

A Global Perspective Helps

The jump to work for Meguiar’s was a big one for RJ. Owned by 3M, the car care company was part of a large multinational corporation. While that can be a negative for some, it was positive for RJ, as it helped him develop a global perspective and the ability to look at the big picture.

“It really cut my teeth on what it means to work for a global Fortune 100 multi-national company. I think it really helped me get to my role now by having this perspective that is way more global and way bigger,” said RJ. “I can think at a different level, and I would have never really had that before, because I had consulted for bigger companies, but I was never in the trenches.”

Timing is Everything

The right timing has played a critical role in RJ’s career. From being in on the launches of Super Street magazine and “Fast and Furious” to joining Meguiar’s and SEMA, RJ’s timing has been spot on. However, it hasn’t been random strokes of luck. Instead, making the right moves involves constantly envisioning what you want the future to be.

“Being at Meguiar’s, I felt it was like time for a change. All roads in any big corporate company lead to its headquarters, and I just didn’t see myself in Minnesota, which is where 3M’s headquarters is,” said RJ. “I really wanted to stay in automotive, and a lot of the bigger roles were beyond Meguiar’s at the end of the day.”

You Have to Adapt

SEMA is the largest and most influential association for the automotive aftermarket, an industry undergoing significant changes. To keep its members ahead of these changes, SEMA has had to adapt and evolve as well. For RJ, changing as an association is just as important as evolving as a business. If neither adapts, they will all get left behind.

“Change happens so much quicker than it did 30 years ago. I think that is something we (SEMA) are embracing more and more because we have to,” said RJ. “We have to change quicker, we have to evolve quicker. Sometimes we have to push some of our industry because there are people who don’t want to change. But for us to prolong this industry and continue to help our members and the businesses in it find success, we have to be that catalyst.”

Get Your Ikigai On

Ikigai is a compound of the two Japanese words “iki” and “kai,” which roughly translates to “a reason for living.” However, the concept of Ikigai builds on this translation by finding fulfillment through aligning one’s passion with their skills. For anyone looking to start their career, RJ notes that Ikigai is well worth exploring.

“Everyone says to find your passion, but I think there is more to it than that. There is this philosophy called Ikigai. It comes out of Japan, and it is this idea that you merge your passion and your skill,” said RJ. “So, what do you love, what are you passionate about, what are you good at, what does the world need and what can you get paid for? My advice to people would be to find the center point of all of those things. If you love car culture, develop the right skill set in something that can help you make a living, which is hopefully something that this culture and world needs. I think that is where you find success.”

On this special episode of the “Only the Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn is joined by three experts in artificial intelligence. Seema Alexander is the CEO of Disruptive AI. Believing that the rise of AI is more impactful than the advent of the internet, she guides CEOs on how to integrate AI into their companies successfully. Daniel Manary is the co-founder of Manary.haus, a high-touch AI consultancy that collaborates with executives and product teams to design and deliver AI solutions that address real-world needs. Alex Maier is a 15-year seasoned marketing and product leader who has worked at industry-leading brands like Nike, onX Maps and now OnWater. He brings a marketer’s perspective on how to effectively utilize AI to enhance efficiency in daily workflows.

The panel’s original discussion took place during Kahn Media’s Growth Garage, a webinar series designed to help marketers and brand leaders acquire new skills and stay ahead of emerging trends. The in-depth interview is a fascinating one, exploring the real-world impacts of AI on brands and how companies can effectively utilize it.

Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode of “Only The Strong Survive” to learn more about this critical subject, and here are our top five takeaways:

* You need to educate yourself about AI before integrating it.

* AI is progressing at an extremely rapid pace.

* The more context you give AI, the better the result.

* Humans still matter when it comes to authentic content.

* Approach AI outputs with a healthy skepticism.

Education is the Biggest Challenge

There is considerable hype surrounding AI, with significant interest among brands. However, before any brand dives into AI, it needs to learn what it can and can’t do. Its capabilities are constantly evolving, and understanding them is crucial before integrating AI into workflows.

“The key is education, education and education. People don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know the power of this technology,” said Seema. “Education to me is number one, and just getting people to understand in layman’s terms what this technology can actually do. Then it will start to unlock on the automation side, where data plays a role for precision, personalization and innovation.”

AI’s Progression is Measured in Days (Not Years)

Many of us are used to relatively slow product refresh cycles. A new generation of a car model might be introduced every 4 or 5 years. Updated phones and computers typically appear annually. However, all of those are sluggish compared to AI, as its progression can be measured in days. For brands looking to utilize AI, it is essential to keep pace with its rapid advancements.

“We as humans are so used to that if I get into a Toyota Rav4, three years later it is the same thing. You don’t expect progression to happen this quickly,” said Alex. “I think this is the first time in humanity when we have seen progression happen at such an accelerated pace that it is better than it was two weeks ago. That is something where people need a bit of a paradigm shift to think about these systems.”

AI is Not Google

One mistake that brands and people can make is to view AI as a conventional search engine, where you input a question and receive an answer. While it can operate like that, the more context you give AI, the better the results. Feeding an AI that context might take time, but its output is always better.

“We are so used to Googling something where you ask a question. The first time you see someone use ChatGPT or Grok or Gemini, they ask a question,” says Alex. “But what we are not used to doing is saying that this thing (AI) needs a tremendous amount of context. Without providing the context and educating this thing like it’s a five-year-old, which it is with aspirations to be a rocket scientist, you are not going to get great output.”

Humans Still Matter

There is the perception that AI is good at everything, but that isn’t the case. Yes, it is highly adept at specific tasks, but AI does a poor job of emulating the passion, excitement and interest of a human being. If you want to produce authentic and engaging content for your brand, it is a task best left to an actual human.

“I know multiple people that I have followed for 10 years who have outsourced their writing and thinking to AI. It is not full of em dashes, but it is that I have heard that thought before. The reason for that is because the whole field of artificial intelligence is based on the premise that the past predicts the future,” says Daniel. “When something is new and exciting, it naturally means it wasn’t predicted by the past. So if you want to keep the excitement of something you really find interesting, you still need to keep your hands on it.”

Be Consistently Skeptical of AI

Time and time again, multiple companies have gotten into trouble using AI. Typically, this occurs when a brand blindly trusts the output of AI and uses it without verification. Instead, it is always important to be skeptical of what an AI is producing or telling you.

“We hire some pretty awesome individuals, and we tell them, ‘Don’t let AI think for you’ when it comes to critical thinking. Pause for a moment when you have an output on something, or it’s giving you an answer or a response,” said Alex. “Be consistently skeptical of everything it does, no matter how nice it talks to you. Make sure you are real-world testing these things. Don’t just provide the outputs blindly like we all see on LinkedIn.”

Maurice Merrick from the “Horsepower Heritage” Podcast on “Only The Strong Survive”

Maurice Merrick has turned his passion for all things automotive into the popular “Horsepower Heritage” podcast. Many automotive podcasts focus on car reviews or the latest unveils. However, Maurice takes a different approach, diving into the people and stories behind the machines. The result is a fascinating and in-depth look at modern car culture, its history and the many people behind it.

Maurice is the perfect guest for this special episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast made during Monterey Car Week. The week-long celebration of everything automotive has become one of the most prestigious automotive events worldwide, regularly drawing over 100,000 attendees to the beautiful Northern California peninsula. Maurice shares with host Dan Kahn his thoughts about Monterey Car Week, the current state of car culture in the U.S. and what it takes to be a successful podcaster.

Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:

* Monterey Car Week will continue to be popular.

* The notion that young people aren’t into cars is false.

* Automotive media and content are rapidly changing.

* Podcasters should focus on their passions and quality.

* The only way forward is through.

Why Is Monterey Car Week so Popular?

Monterey Car Week has become the premier destination for any automotive enthusiast. What once started as a one-day side show to the defunct Pebble Beach Road Races has now become multiple keystone events spread over a week that appeal to a broad audience. So why do people come from all over the world to attend Car Week? For Maurice, the answer is an easy one.

“It might as well be a Beanie Babies convention because people love what they love. They congregate and they want to talk to others and compare notes and learn more about whatever their special interest is,” says Maurice. “I think most people come to Car Week because this is the highest concentration of amazing cars in the world at one time.”

The Kids Are All Right

Much has been made about young people not being into cars. Supposedly, they would rather be browsing social media, hanging out with friends or online. Walk around anywhere during Monterey Car Week, and it is easy to see that notion isn’t true. Throngs of teenagers excitedly gather around exotics and hypercars to get a closer look at them. It is something that Maurice readily noticed and says bodes well for the future of car culture.

“We hear a lot about young people not being interested in cars, and I don’t think it is true,” said Maurice. “I think the car hobby is alive and well with young people. They don’t necessarily go to Pebble Beach or The Quail. These are expensive events, but they are all having their own little gatherings all over the peninsula.”

Automotive Media Has Completely Changed

Fabled magazines like Road & Track and Car and Driver used to be the mainstays for automotive information. Then the internet happened, and everyone shifted to being online. Now, the websites that once usurped those magazines as the primary sources of automotive information have become “legacy media.” So, where do people go now for content? Maurice explains the shift in automotive media.

“I think YouTube is now the place where people watch the most automotive content because it can be long form,” said Maurice. “Instagram also has a very healthy car culture tributary or galaxy in the universe of Instagram. So, I think those are the two main places people go to consume car content. In terms of podcasts, there are now so many car podcasts.”

What Aspiring Podcasters Need to Know

Approximately 90% of podcasters never make it past their third episode. Of those that do, another 90% don’t survive past their 20th episode. Maurice has now made over 170 episodes of the “Horsepower Heritage” podcast, which is in its fifth year. What is his best advice for people who want to become podcasters? He has some essential tips.

“I would say focus on quality and don’t try to chase a trend. If you are truly interested in a subject, make sure that passion is conveyed. It is infectious, and it will find an audience because, undoubtedly, there are others just like you who feel that same way about that subject,” said Maurice. “Invest in good equipment and invest in good audio quality. I hear so many podcasts where the audio quality just isn’t there. Most listeners will tune out in the first 30 seconds if the audio quality isn’t there.”

Keep Pushing Forward

With so many episodes under his belt, Maurice has been podcasting for a long time. That length of consistently turning out episode after episode could lead to burnout for anyone. However, for Maurice, the answer and the key to his success and longevity has always been to keep pushing forward.

“You just have to sustain, you just have to keep pushing forward,” said Maurice. “Whenever I hit an obstacle or I feel like things aren’t going like they should, because for some reason there should be this expectation that the universe brings things to me, whenever I start feeling sorry for myself in a way, I say that the answer is always to work harder. It always seems to be the answer, and things work out.”

Krishan Udvadia on “Only The Strong Survive”

Krishan Udvadia is Kahn Media’s head of digital marketing with a unique background. Originally an electrical engineer, Krishan spent the early part of his career working in the defense and aerospace industries. Eventually, becoming bored with the mundaneness of testing electrical systems, he developed an interest in digital marketing along with a passion for Mitsubishi Evos. Like he did with all aspects of his Evo, Krishan rapidly learned the intricacies of digital marketing.

Krishan brings a unique perspective and strategy to digital marketing that incorporates his engineering background. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, he shares vital tips and what he has learned about making digital marketing campaigns perform with host Dan Kahn. It is a worthwhile discussion for anyone looking to tap into the power of digital marketing.

Click on the icon above to listen to the entire podcast, and here are our top five takeaways:

* The right creative plays a huge role in digital marketing.

* AI is changing digital marketing.

* Telling your brand’s story is a great way to stand out.

* Digital marketers who know and are part of your industry are always more effective.

* Bigger brands can often lose sight of who their customers are.

Creative is King

There are many aspects to a successful digital marketing campaign. However, some digital marketing agencies overlook creative and focus on targeting and picking the right platform. That is a huge mistake for Krishan as the right creative connects with customers and gets noticed in a sea of advertising.

“Creative takes up the most amount of real estate on your screen. The text is only so big with a tiny headline, and the creative takes up the rest. I think creative is king because you are able to explain what you are selling through it,” said Krishan. “The reason creative is so important is that it is how you make your first impression of your brand, product or service. Creative needs to be number one and take the most amount of attention and effort.”

Enthusiasts Make Better Digital Marketing Campaigns

One misconception about digital marketing is that it solely relies on proper targeting or choosing the right platforms to succeed. However, that is not entirely accurate, as digital marketing still has a psychological aspect. And the best people to understand your customers’ minds are digital marketers who are enthusiasts and also your customers.

“It is a psychological thing. It might sound weird, but you really want to be in their brain, understanding how they think, what they are looking at and if there are certain callouts that certain people think are good versus bad,” said Krishan. “So having that knowledge already there is a huge head start or a jump start.”

AI is Making an Impact

Artificial intelligence impacts every facet of marketing, and the digital realm is no exception. How it changes digital marketing is yet to be seen, as it is still evolving. However, there is no doubt that there will be changes that digital marketers will need to embrace and fully understand to keep crafting campaigns that deliver results.

“AI, in general, is a huge unknown right now. I think everyone is trying to figure it out. It is a big unknown that is coming, and everyone is quickly trying to get in the know,” said Krishan. “Just understanding it now because it is going to be ever-evolving, and no one is going to fully understand it. It is just like the Instagram algorithm, where it will change every week.”

Always Tell Your Story

Standing out in a digital marketing environment filled with nonstop product ads can be difficult. However, not every ad needs to be a promotion, discount code or new product launch. For Krishan, one of the best ways for brands to stand out and connect with their customers is to tell the story behind their brands.

“I think explaining the company or the story behind the business is something that is newly coming out, and people are more excited about learning that,” said Krishan. “At the end of the day, everyone can see a metal bumper 1,000 times, but it’s the way a company explains their story or how they created themselves or wanted to create a product. I think that is the biggest key to putting yourself out there. It comes back to being more relatable to the consumer.”

Big Brands Can Lose Sight of Their Customers

Scaling up is great, and growth is an obvious goal of most companies. However, one of the biggest dangers is that as brands get larger, they can often lose sight of who their customers are. If you don’t understand who your customers are, it is almost impossible to market to them effectively.

“I feel like some companies that become really big used to know who their audience was. However, as they have scaled up, and good for them that they have made money and been able to grow, I feel like they have lost touch with their core audience,” said Krishan. “That is where the marketing disconnect starts to happen. These big companies can forget how to pivot like a small company can.”

Lance Gillies might be a familiar name to “Only The Strong Survive” regulars. In April of 2024, he joined host Dan Kahn to discuss EarthCruiser. Founded in 2008, EarthCruiser specialized in making long-range overland vehicles built on Mitsubishi and Isuzu truck chassis. Born from Lance’s love of off-road travel and exploration, the unique vehicles could be off-grid for months and fit in a shipping container, making them easy to ship worldwide. Unfortunately, shortly after his first appearance on the podcast, Lance was forced to close the doors of EarthCruiser.

Now, EarthCruiser is back with a new focus and business model. In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Lance shares what he learned from having to cease operations of the business he founded and how he brought it back. The tough and transparent conversation about what happens when things don’t go according to plan and how to turn that around is a fascinating one for any entrepreneur. Click on the icon above to watch the entire podcast, and here are our top five takeaways:

* Your supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

* For manufacturers, location is absolutely critical when it comes time to scale.

* A business failure takes an emotional toll on any entrepreneur.

* Pivoting and seeing opportunities in challenges is a vital skill.

* Never face your problems by yourself.

Your Supply Chain Absolutely Matters

Building vehicles for long-distance global overlanding is a very niche business. That also meant that EarthCruiser’s suppliers were very specialized. Once those smaller suppliers started to go out of business, it significantly impacted EarthCruiser’s ability to keep producing vehicles.

“What started to happen around us was our small suppliers, that we had helped and they had helped us build our supply chain, were starting to close their businesses or dramatically reduce their ability to supply us,” said Lance. “So we had two colliding things happening where the RV market was doing its weird thing, but more than that, our ability to become more efficient was getting harder and harder because we had less choices of how we could produce things.”

Your Location Matters Too

Lance is a big believer in small-town businesses and loves EarthCruiser’s base in Bend, Oregon. However, for a manufacturer, picking the right location is absolutely vital. While Bend is beautiful, its more remote location made it very difficult for EarthCruiser to access a large enough skilled workforce to scale its manufacturing.

“Coming back to our original challenge, is that if we wanted to stay in Bend, could we have a sustainable business model in Bend doing what EarthCruiser did? The answer was no,” said Lance. “Maybe someone else could, but it was clearly beyond my level of capability. Could we have a sustainable model of production for EarthCruiser somewhere else? Yes, for sure.”

Failure is Absolutely Gutting

Most entrepreneurs put their hearts and souls into making their businesses succeed, and Lance was no exception. EarthCruiser was his lifelong passion, so he lived and breathed it. Having to close its doors was the hardest thing Lance had ever done, and it took an emotional toll.

“As a business owner and as someone who started it, and you would feel this way too, it is not what you are but who you are. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that,” said Lance. “It does you damage when it fails because if you are truly passionate about it and this is really what you want to do, you are going to put everything you have plus more into it. When you are no longer that, it is really hard.”

Seeing Opportunity in Challenges

One of the most important traits of an entrepreneur is the ability to see opportunity in challenges and pivot accordingly. While Lance ran into problems scaling EarthCruiser, it was an engineering company at heart. His solution was to keep designing and creating the innovative products EarthCruiser is known for and then use other manufacturers to build them. A new version of EarthCruiser with a completely different business model was born from the old one.

“We have partnered with some large fiberglass manufacturers who all they want is scale. They normally do a lot of stuff for automotive,” said Lance. “So they will produce the EarthCruiser shells for us, and we are partnering with small companies all over the U.S., actually, that will build them out for customers. We will change what we do from being a direct-to-consumer business model to being a business-to-business model, but we can bring to the party the heritage of EarthCruiser.”

Talk to Someone

According to Lance, one of the biggest mistakes he made when things were going south was not talking to anyone. Discussing the difficulties facing your business with others can bring in different outlooks and opinions. Just as importantly, even if other people don’t have answers, sharing your struggles makes you feel less alone in hard times.

“Whether it is your partner, your gym buddies or whoever it is, talk to them. A terrible mistake that I made was not talking to anybody because I was dreadfully embarrassed,” said Lance. “That was a terrible mistake. It is easy to say it and harder to do it, but just find someone to talk to.”