Raw and Relentless w/ Bo DePaoli

Episode 110:

Seth Bader spent nearly 20 years building his Atlanta law firm—but some of his biggest lessons came when the business started growing faster than the systems and culture could keep up.

At roughly 10 years in, the firm had around 30–35 employees and $7–8 million in revenue. Within 18 months, the teamhad grown past 100, eventually reaching around 150 employees. That growth created new problems around leadership, culture, accountability, client acquisition, and maintaining the standards that made the company successful in the first place.

In this episode:

●      How Seth scaled from 30–35 employees to more than 100 in roughly 18 months

●      Why rapid growth diluted parts of the firm's culture

●      Why leadership becomes dramatically harder as a company scales

●      The difference between leading 10 people and leading 150

●      How AI and offshore talent helped Seth operate with a leaner team

●      Why rebuilding a damaged culture takes time

●      How customer acquisition costs can destroy margins

●      Why personal injury law has become brutally competitive

●      The economics behind high-volume professional service businesses

●      Why trust still matters in a transactional-looking industry

●      What Seth learned after nearly 20 years of entrepreneurship

●      Why scaling isn't automatically the same thing as building a better business

Seth also breaks down how AI is changing legal operations, why customer acquisition has become significantly more expensive, and why entrepreneurs have to evolve as leaders when their companies outgrow their direct influence.

Connect with Seth Bader:
Bader Law
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: Seth Bader

Episode 109:

Jon Ostenson walked away from corporate America looking for something more entrepreneurial. What he found was a worldof businesses most investors completely overlook: non-food franchises.

On this episode of Raw & Relentless, Bo DePaoli and Jon break down why entrepreneurs are investing in “boring” businesses like home services, senior care, pool cleaning, property services, asphalt, septic, and other industries that are difficult to replacewith AI.

In this episode:

●      Why Jon believes non-food franchises are being overlooked

●      The “boring” businesses attracting investor interest

●      What it actually costs to buy a franchise

●      How SBA financing can reduce the cash needed upfront

●      What a $500K franchise investment could potentially look like

●      Owner/operator vs. semi-involved ownership

●      Why the management team behind a franchise matters

●      How geography and demographics impact franchise success

●      Why larger franchise portfolios can attract different buyers

●      Jon's failed business and the lesson it taught him about complexity

●      How to know if your existing business could become a franchise

●      Why the first 5–10 franchisees can make or break a new franchise system

Jon also explains why buying into aproven system can offer entrepreneurs something starting from scratch can't:existing processes, support, data, training, and a community of owners alreadysolving the same problems.

Connect with Jon Ostenson:
FranBridge Consulting
Website: franbridgeconsulting.com
Book: Non-Food Franchising

Episode 108:

Lane Kawaoka went from working as an engineer and buying a handful of rental properties to participating in over $2 billion in acquisitions and building a real estate portfolio that reachedroughly 10,000 units at its peak.

On this episode of Raw & Relentless, Bo DePaoli sits down with Lane to break down what has changed in real estate investing and why many of the deals that worked a few years ago simply don't pencil today.

Lane gets into rising cap rates, negative rent growth, overbuilt markets, syndication mistakes, passive investing, oiland gas, tax strategy, and why diversification became a priority after getting hit during the last real estate cycle.

In this episode:

• How Lane went from 11 rentals to thousands of units
 • Why many multifamily deals don't pencil today
 • The danger of aggressive rent-growth assumptions
 • Where Lane sees opportunity in overlooked markets
 • What passive investors should look for in a syndicator
 • Why a great fee structure can't save a bad deal
 • Real estate vs. oil and gas investing
 • Why high-income investors use oil and gas for tax benefits
 • The diversification lesson Lane learned the hard way
 • What rising interest rates could mean for real estate investors

Connect with Lane Kawaoka:

LinkedIn: Lane Kawaoka

Website: thewealthelevator.com

Book: The Wealth Elevator

Episode 107:

In this episode of Raw & Relentless, Bo DePaoli sits down with MIT-trained physicist and longtime professor Stan Zygmunt for a fascinating conversation about quantum physics, science, and the nature of reality.

Stan breaks down some of the most mind-bending concepts in physics, including the double-slit experiment, wave-particle duality, quantum mechanics, and the strange behavior of matter at the smallest scales. They explore why particles don't always behave the way we expect, what happens when we attempt to measure them, and why quantum physics continues to challenge our understanding of how the universe actually works.

Stan also shares his journey from being fascinated by science as a kid to studying physics and materials science at MIT, eventually building a career spanning nearly four decades of teaching and research.

In this episode:

●      Why the double-slit experiment is so mind-bending

●      Quantum physics and the strange behavior of matter

●      Why particles can behave like waves

●      What measurement means in quantum mechanics

●      What physics can actually tell us about reality

●      Stan's journey from MIT to nearly 40 years of teaching and research

If quantum physics, the double-slitexperiment, or the mysteries of our universe have ever fascinated you, this is an episode you don't want to miss.

Connect with Stan!

Website: valpo.edu/physics

Instagram: @valpo_phys_astro

Episode 106:

What does it actually take to scale abusiness, build great teams, and stay valuable in the age of AI?

In this episode of Raw &Relentless, Bo DePaoli sits down with corporate executive, speaker, andauthor Victoria Pelletier to break down leadership, hiring, businessgrowth, and how AI is changing the workforce.

Victoria became an executive at just 24years old and has spent her career leading large-scale business and technologytransformations. She explains why entrepreneurs become their own biggestbottlenecks, why real-world experience can beat credentials, and why humanskills may become even more valuable as AI advances.

In this episode:

• How to hire the right people to scaleyour business
• Why entrepreneurs become their own biggest bottleneck
• How Victoria became an executive at 24
• Why confidence is often mistaken for competence
• Why experience can matter more than a college degree
• The biggest mistake companies are making with AI
• Why 70% of AI's value comes from people and process
• How AI can help small businesses scale with leaner teams
• The human skills AI can't replace

Connect with Victoria:

Website: victoria-pelletier.com

Instagram: victoria_pelletier_unstoppable

Episode 105:

How does someone go from preaching sermons every Sunday to spending 24 years hunting some of America's most dangerous criminals?

In this episode of Raw & Relentless, Bo DePaoli sits down with retired FBI Special Agent Eric Robinson, whose career path is unlike anything you've heard before. After serving as a Baptist pastor, Eric joined the FBI, where he investigated drug cartels, organized crime, terrorism, financial crimes, child exploitation, and public corruption while also serving 15 years on the FBI SWAT team.

Eric shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories from his career, explains how his background in ministry made him abetter interrogator, and opens up about the realities of evil, faith, and human nature after decades of investigating the worst criminals in America.

They also discuss organized crime, terrorism, interrogation techniques, the Epstein files, retirement from theFBI, and Eric's new book, Irreverend: From Saving Souls to Chasing Sinners in the FBI.

• Why Eric left the ministry for the FBI

• Working drug cartels, terrorists, andorganized crime

• Child exploitation investigations and theemotional toll

• What the media gets wrong about the FBI

• Why some criminals actually thanked him forarresting them

If you're fascinated by law enforcement,psychology, leadership, or the realities of crime, this is an episode you won'tforget.

Connect with Eric!

Instagram: _eric_robinson

Website: preachertobreacher.com

In this episode:

Episode 104:

Is buying a franchise one of the smartestways to become a business owner—or one of the fastest ways to lose money?

In this episode of Raw & Relentless, Bo DePaoli sits down with franchise consultant Adam Goldman, who has spent nearly two decades helping entrepreneurs, executives, and investors find the right franchise opportunities.

Adam explains why franchising is far morethan buying a recognizable brand. He breaks down how successful franchiseowners think, the industries growing the fastest, how much capital you actuallyneed to get started, financing options available today, and why choosing theright business is often more important than choosing the most popular one.

Whether you're considering leaving yourcorporate job, investing in a recession-resistant business, or simply curiousabout how franchises really work, this episode delivers a behind-the-sceneslook at an industry most people never fully understand.

• How franchise matchmaking actuallyworks
• The fastest-growing franchise industries today
• Why health & wellness and senior services are exploding
• Typical startup costs and financing options
• The biggest mistakes first-time franchise buyers make
• Why systems and culture matter more than brand recognition
• How to evaluate whether franchising is right for you

If you've ever thought about owning abusiness but didn't want to start from zero, this conversation is amust-listen.

Connect with Adam!

Website: franchisecoach.net

Instagram: franchisecoach_adam

Episode 103:

From stealing food just to survive… tobuilding over $450 million in businesses.

Jerry Brazie's story is unlike anything we've featured on Raw & Relentless.

Before becoming a successful entrepreneur, Jerry grew up as one of nine children in extreme poverty. He stole food at eight years old just to eat, lost his vision in one eye, lived with heroin addicts and prostitutes, survived being stabbed, and refused to let his circumstances define his future.

Today, Jerry has built, bought, and sold businesses generating more than $450 million in revenue, survived heart disease, lost 100 pounds, and now helps entrepreneurs build companies and lives that last.

In this episode, we cover:

●      Building businesses from nothing

●      Buying, scaling, and selling companies

●      Cash flow, leadership, and entrepreneurship

●      Health, discipline, and legacy

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another entrepreneur.

🌐 Website: kronosgroup.org

📱 Instagram: jerrybrazie

Connect with Jerry

Episode 102:

Tom Hruby, ex-Navy SEAL and entrepreneur, joins Bo DePaoli to share the mindset, strategies, and operational insights that helped him build a high-performing team and a successful business in tactical services. Drawing from his experience in leadership, security, and tactical operations, Tom discusses the principles that drive results under pressure and how these lessons translate to business, personal growth, and effective decision-making.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• How to build trust, accountability, and culture in high-stakes environments
• Strategies for leading teams under pressure without losing focus
• How tactical principles apply to business decision-making and growth
• Overcoming challenges and turning obstacles into opportunities
• Lessons from military-style operations that can enhance personal and professional performance

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a leader, or someone looking to develop resilience and tactical thinking, this episodeoffers actionable insights that can be applied immediately to improve outcomes, enhance team performance, and think strategically in any high-pressure scenario.

Connect with Tom Hruby!
Instagram: @thruby33
Website: tactical16.com

Episode 101:

Joris Delanoue, CEO and co-founder of Fairmint,joins Bo DePaoli to discuss how blockchain technology is revolutionizing equity, private investments, and capital formation. From inefficient, paper-based systems to fully programmable on-chain assets, Joris explains howfounders, investors, and employees can access liquidity faster, cheaper, and with greater transparency.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• How blockchain creates a unique, trustworthy source of equity ownership
• The concept of programmable equity and its advantages over traditional cap tables
• Why private companies are adopting blockchain to speed capital formation
• How Fairmint’s on-chain transfer agent model works with U.S. and international regulations
• How AI and automation are simplifying complex equity management
• The global implications of a standardized, programmable approach to investing
• Lessons for founders who want to scale and modernize their investor relations

Whether you’re a founder, investor, or just curious about the future of finance, this episode provides a front-row seat to how technology is reshaping capital markets.

Connect with Joris Delanoue:
Website: fairmint.com
LinkedIn: Joris Delanoue