The 7 Hats

🎙️ What if the thing that almost destroyed you wasn't the failure, but the win?

Jimmy Feeman didn't set out to build a cookie dough empire. His girlfriend Megan had a recipe she'd been making since she was 16, and she believed there were a lot of people out there just like her. That belief turned into No Baked Cookie Dough. Scoop shops. National retail. Same day delivery. A brand born on a folding table and built through grit, a newborn, a pandemic, and a chip on the shoulder that nearly took everything.

But this isn't a story about scaling. It's about the voice that gets louder every time you win. About making $120,000 in a single month at 24 and feeling worse than ever. About chasing an exit so hard it turns you into someone you don't recognize. And about the two words that finally set him free.

If you've ever hit the number and felt nothing, Jimmy's story is going to find you. And if you've ever confused growth with worth, this episode is your wake up call.

🎩 Summary

Jimmy takes us from a blue collar childhood in Akron, Ohio, watching his firefighter dad work 90 hour weeks across three jobs, to a finance degree he chased because he was convinced money was the answer. We cover the three jobs in 18 months, the corporate disillusionment, and the breakup with Megan that somehow led to a marriage and a business.

We go deep into the No Baked origin story. The scoop shop they built with their bare hands. The $35,000 January that made him feel like a failure. The $120,000 month that made him feel worse. Ten stores by the end of 2019, none of them working, and a daughter born the month the world shut down with three weeks of cash in the bank.

But the real test came this year. Most profitable year of his life. Fewest hours he's ever worked. And the lowest he's ever been. Because slowing down for his family felt like failure. Jimmy gets radically honest about the exit obsession that drove every bad decision, the create versus consume trap, building a company with your spouse, and the person he had to kill off to finally feel like enough.

From smoke filled condos to the Fresh Market shelf, from grind at all costs to a deliberate life in Bozeman, Montana, Jimmy's journey is a masterclass in surviving your own ambition and learning that the goalpost moves whether you win or lose.

🎩 Hats Covered

🎩 1: The Soul
🎩 2: The Athlete
🎩 3: The Servant
🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
🎩 5: The Investor
🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

🎩 1: Success doesn't silence the "not enough" voice. It amplifies it. If you're broken inside, the win just turns up the volume.
🎩 2: The chip on your shoulder builds the business and then breaks the builder. Discipline has to replace the need to prove something.
🎩 3: You can't outsource a marriage. Building together forces the frank communication that most couples avoid until it's too late.
🎩 4: Distribution isn't validation. It's debt you repay with working capital you almost certainly underestimated.
🎩 5: The exit is the one outcome completely outside your control. Building a profitable business you love is not.
🎩 7: Creating makes you happier than consuming. We just keep betting on the wrong one.

👤 Guest Bio

Jimmy Feeman is the co-founder of No Baked Cookie Dough, the edible cookie dough brand he built with his wife Megan starting in 2017. What began as scoop shops in Nashville grew into a national CPG product sold at the Fresh Market, on DoorDash and GoPuff, and direct to consumer. A finance major turned bootstrapped founder, Jimmy is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, an Ironman finisher, and a father of three. He now lives in Bozeman, Montana, where he and Megan run a deliberately leaner, more profitable business and he's become an increasingly active voice on LinkedIn about the real cost of scaling.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:02:00 – Four years in the making: the cold DM that started it all
00:03:54 – Akron, Ohio, a firefighter dad, and the 90 hour week work ethic
00:11:00 – High school in the 2008 recession: money obsession, weed, and zero inspiration
00:21:00 – Meeting Megan, the breakup, and three jobs in 18 months
00:27:00 – Why the corporate world never fit, and the chip on the shoulder takes over
00:33:00 – The create versus consume trap and the lie that more will fix it
00:35:00 – The seven hats philosophy: why balance beats the shiny object
00:37:00 – How No Baked started on Megan's lunch breaks
00:53:00 – The darkest voice: a $35K January that felt like failure
00:57:00 – $120,000 in one month and feeling worse than ever
01:00:00 – Marriage, the Model X, and spending it all in 2018
01:01:00 – Ten stores by 2019, none of them working
01:02:00 – The pandemic, a daughter born in March 2020, and three weeks of cash
01:05:00 – Building a business with your spouse without losing the marriage
01:12:00 – The DTC pivot, the working capital lesson, and shutting it down
01:14:00 – The CPG mentors who shaped the second act
01:17:00 – The move to Bozeman and choosing the life he wanted
01:20:00 – The March breaking point and the exit obsession that drove it
01:24:00 – Who Jimmy had to stop being to finally feel like enough

✅ Actionables

Audit the voice. When you hit a milestone and feel nothing, that's data, not motivation to push harder.
Kill the exit fantasy. Build a business that's good for you and your family right now, because a buyer is never in your control.
Know your working capital before you scale. A $40 order acquired for $30 doesn't survive, no matter how good the margin looks.
Communicate like co-founders. Don't hide from your spouse anything you wouldn't hide from a business partner.
Ask the real question. Who do I need to stop being to actually enjoy what I'm building?

🔥 Quotes

"I made more money than I ever had and felt worse and worse. Nothing happened to the happiness levels in my brain."
 "If that's not an exit, then I suck. That was the last toxic thing I needed to shake."
 "The way to get rid of the chip is to simply decide: I am enough. This is good. I like my life."
 "Someone buying your company is not within your control at all."
 "You'd never hide a major purchase from your co-founder. People hide them from their spouse every day. That's psychotic."
 "Maybe everything's hard. Maybe it's all hard, and we should just accept it now."

🔗 Links

No Baked Cookie Dough – nobakedcookiedough.com, plus DoorDash and GoPuff
Jimmy Feeman on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesfeeman/

🎩 Subscribe, share, and remember: sometimes the thing trying to kill you isn't the failure. It's the part of you that refuses to believe you're already enough.

🎙️ What if the routine that saved millions of lives was born from the one morning everything fell apart?

Hal Elrod didn't set out to start a movement. He set out to survive. From losing his baby sister at eight years old to dying for six minutes at twenty, from financial ruin in 2008 to a cancer diagnosis with a 30% survival rate, Hal has been broken open more times than most people can imagine. And every single time, he found a way to turn the pain into purpose.

But this isn't a story about positive thinking. It's about structure when there is none. It's about showing up at 5 AM when the world gives you every reason to stay in bed. It's about a six-letter acronym that started as a desperate morning experiment and became a global phenomenon practiced by millions in 37 languages.

If you've ever needed proof that your worst chapter can become someone else's lifeline, Hal Elrod is that proof. And if you've ever wondered whether discipline or inspiration matters more, this episode will settle the debate.

🎩 Summary

Hal takes us from a camping trailer in Oakhurst, California, to the stages of international conferences, from bagging groceries at his parents' small-town market to breaking Cutco's all-time sales record in 10 days. Along the way, he shares how losing his 18-month-old sister planted a psychological superpower that carried him through decades of adversity, and how that same superpower eventually cost him the ability to feel.

We go deep into the car accident at 20, which killed him for six minutes and broke 11 bones. The doctors who said he'd never walk again. The three weeks it took to prove them wrong. The coaching career that collapsed in 2008 when the economy took everything. And the Jim Rohn quote that lit the fuse on what would become The Miracle Morning.

But the real test came in 2016 when aggressive leukemia nearly finished what the drunk driver started. Over 700 hours of chemotherapy. Organs shutting down. A 70% chance of not making it. And through it all, the SAVERS framework he built for productivity became what kept him alive. Silence. Affirmations. Visualization. Exercise. Reading. Scribing. Six practices. Six minutes minimum. One life transformed.

From self-published unknown to 3 million copies in 37 languages, from a kid who held the detention record at his high school to a man whose name appears in the manuscripts of people he's never met, Hal's story is a masterclass in becoming the person your future requires.

🎩 Hats Covered

🎩 1: The Soul
🎩 2: The Athlete
🎩 3: The Servant
🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways 

🎩 1: The coping mechanism that saves you can also disconnect you. Radical optimism without empathy is only half the equation. 
🎩 2: You don't have to be a runner to run a 52-mile ultramarathon. You just have to commit before you're ready. 
🎩 3: Twelve years of selflessly adding value meant that when cancer hit, an army showed up. You can't withdraw from an account you never deposited into. 
🎩 4: If she could do it, why not me? That one belief shift at a Cutco training broke every ceiling Hal ever had. 
🎩 7: Every morning is a reset button. The old insecurities come back by sundown. The SAVERS bring you back by sunrise.

👤 Guest Bio

Hal Elrod is the author of The Miracle Morning, a global phenomenon that has sold over 3 million copies and been translated into 37 languages. A keynote speaker, podcast host, and cancer survivor, Hal developed the SAVERS framework after surviving a near-fatal car accident at age 20 and a financial collapse in 2008. His Miracle Morning series includes over a dozen books across industries and life stages, including his latest, The Miracle Morning After 50, co-authored with Dwayne Clark. Hal is also the subject of the documentary film The Miracle Morning. He lives with his wife, Ursula, and their two children, Sophia and Halston.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:02:00 – Born in Camarillo, raised in Oakhurst, and the camping trailer childhood 
00:06:00 – Losing his sister Amory at eight years old and the birth of radical optimism 
00:10:00 – Parents turning pain into purpose: the support group and the fundraiser 
00:12:00 – Growing up in a grocery store and working 20 hours a week at age 11 
00:15:00 – The DJ dream: $7 in tips, Sirwin Vega speakers, and a falling-out with his best friend 
00:17:00 – From radio DJ to Cutco: the $100 an hour revelation that changed everything 
00:20:00 – Breaking the all-time Cutco record in 10 days: 62 presentations and the belief that did it 
00:25:00 – The car accident at 20: dying for six minutes, 11 broken bones, and the five-minute rule 
00:30:00 – 2008 financial collapse: lost clients, foreclosure, and hitting rock bottom 
00:33:00 – The Jim Rohn quote that launched The Miracle Morning 
00:36:00 – SAVERS explained: Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing 
00:38:00 – Cancer at 37: leukemia, 700 hours of chemo, and organs shutting down 
00:44:00 – The five bullet-point affirmation that kept him alive when he wanted to die 
00:47:00 – The lie Hal's ego still tells him: I'm not liked, I'm a burden 
00:50:00 – The Miracle Morning After 50 and the co-author who finally got Hal's mom on board 
00:53:00 – Who Hal had to stop being: the kid who believed he couldn't do it

✅ Actionables

Start tomorrow morning. Six minutes. One minute per SAVER. That's the minimum viable miracle. 
Write affirmations with three layers: what you're committed to, why it's a must, and which actions you'll take. 
Adopt the five-minute rule. Feel it fully for five minutes. Then say three words: can't change it. 
Ask yourself: if they could do it, why not me? Apply it to one specific goal this week. 
Identify the pain you've been sitting on and ask how it becomes a purpose for someone else.

🔥 Quotes

"If she could do it, why not me? That's the belief that changed everything." 
"Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development." 
"I told my dad I'd be the happiest person you ever saw in a wheelchair. That was my worst case." 
"I had to stop being the person that thought I can't do it." 
"Every morning I hit that reset button. By sundown the old me creeps back. But every sunrise I get to choose again."

🔗 Links

Miracle Morning – Book, movie, app, and community
Hal Elrod on LinkedIn
The Miracle Morning After 50 – Hal's latest book with Dwayne Clark
The Miracle Morning Movie – Free to watch at miraclemorning.com

🎩 Subscribe, share, and remember: sometimes the miracle isn't the morning. It's the person who kept showing up to it when every reason said don't.

🎙️ What if the most powerful business strategy you ever learned came from a deck of cards and a $25 birthday party?

Steve Cohen didn't stumble into magic. He chased it. From age six, obsessed. From age ten, paid. From a living room in Yorktown Heights to Carnegie Hall, from rowdy four-year-olds to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Steve built something most performers never do: a one-man show with a 25-year run, 7,000 performances, and a client list that reads like a Forbes fantasy.

But this isn't a story about tricks. It's about positioning. About patience. About playing a 20-year game when everyone else is chasing the weekend. About giving up the $2,000 gig so you can land the $20,000 one. And about what happens when a kid from Westchester County bets everything on a craft most people consider a hobby.

If you've ever wondered whether mastery alone can build a business, Steve Cohen is your answer. And if you've ever been told your dream is too niche, too weird, or too risky, this episode is your permission slip.

🎩 Summary

Steve takes us from his childhood in Yorktown Heights, where his parents chauffeured him to Cub Scout halls and church basements, to performing in the penthouse suite of the Waldorf Astoria for 17 and a half years. Along the way, he shares how a classified ad in the Penny Saver launched his first real pipeline, how a psychology degree from Cornell became a magician's secret weapon, and how five years in Tokyo taught him patience but starved him of the stage.

We go deep into the moments that made the career. The apartment living room shows that got shut down by a spouse. The wood-cutting of a 19th-century Viennese magician that became his business blueprint. The Daily Candy email blast that sold out his show for a year. And the CBS Sunday Morning segment that moved over a million dollars in tickets in a single week.

But Steve's story isn't just about lucky breaks. It's about preparation meeting moment. About investing every dollar back into the craft. About running marathons to build the stamina for five shows a weekend. And about the brand positioning decision that changed everything: calling himself the Millionaires' Magician when he could barely afford the Armani suit to pull it off.

From Penny Saver ads to palace hotels, from donuts for dinner to Mayor de Blasio declaring Chamber Magic Day in New York City, Steve's journey is a masterclass in building something timeless in a world obsessed with what's next.

🎩 Hats Covered

• 🎩 1: The Soul
• 🎩 2: The Athlete
• 🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
• 🎩 5: The Investor
• 🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

• 🎩 1: If you give yourself a 20-year runway, every setback becomes a speed bump, not a dead end.
• 🎩 2: Physical endurance fuels creative stamina. Three marathons a year keeps 7,000 shows alive.
• 🎩 4: If you can't give up the $2,000 gig, you'll never land the $20,000 one.
• 🎩 5: Every dollar Steve earned went back into the business. From age ten. That's compounding conviction.
• 🎩 7: When you stop performing for everyone and start performing for the right room, everything changes.

👤 Guest Bio

Steve Cohen is a world-renowned magician, author, and performer known as the Millionaires' Magician. His show, Chamber Magic, is the longest-running solo magic show in New York City history, with over 7,000 performances across the Waldorf Astoria and the Lotte New York Palace Hotel. A Cornell graduate who speaks fluent Japanese, Steve has performed for heads of state, billionaires, and celebrities including Warren Buffett, Shaquille O'Neal, and John Williams. He is also the author of Win the Crowd and Max Malini: King of Magicians, Magician of Kings. He lives in New York City with his wife Yumi and has been married for 31 years.

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:02:00 – Born in Yonkers, raised in Yorktown Heights, and the magic obsession that started at six
• 00:06:00 – First paid gig at age ten, Penny Saver classified ads, and reinvesting every dollar
• 00:10:00 – The gift of gab, the Tummler tradition, and why confidence is magic's real trick
• 00:14:00 – Cornell, psychology papers as magic research, and renting the Black Box Theater
• 00:17:00 – Moving to Tokyo, learning Japanese, and five years of translation work that nearly killed his dream
• 00:19:00 – The cross-country road trip: why he skipped Vegas and chose Manhattan
• 00:22:00 – Apartment shows, getting kicked out, and the 1870s wood-cutting that became a business plan
• 00:28:00 – The Waldorf Astoria: from rejection to 17 years and nearly 5,000 performances
• 00:32:00 – Daily Candy, CBS Sunday Morning, and the million-dollar week
• 00:37:00 – The 20-year mindset: how long-term thinking killed short-term stress
• 00:40:00 – When the Waldorf closed: momentum, hotel offers, and landing at the Lotte New York Palace
• 00:44:00 – Hecklers, concussions, projectile vomit, and the Boy Scout motto that saved the show
• 00:50:00 – Marathon running, mental stamina, and why every audience deserves your first and last performance
• 00:53:00 – Performing for billionaires and royalty: the Armani suit strategy and earning trust over time
• 00:57:00 – Reinventing the repertoire: 85% new material across 7,000 shows
• 01:03:00 – Max Malini, the muse: matchstick seller turned magician of kings
• 01:09:00 – Who Steve had to stop being and the brand decision that changed everything

✅ Actionables

• Give yourself a 20-year runway. Reframe every failure as one step on a long path.
• Invest every early dollar back into your craft. Compounding skill is compounding value.
• Find the room that matches your ambition, not your current budget.
• Stop taking gigs that pay well but position you poorly.
• Ask yourself: Am I building momentum, or am I just staying busy?

🔥 Quotes

"If you can't give up the $2,000 gig, you'll never get the $20,000 gig."
"I gave myself 20 years. Every stumbling block was just one step on that path."
"It may be someone's first magic show. It may be someone's last. Either way, it's my obligation."
"I had to stop accepting every offer so I could start getting the right ones."
"Magic is like classical music. Take the classics and make them feel new. Take something new and make it feel like a classic."

🔗 Links

• Chamber Magic – The longest-running solo magic show in New York City history
• Steve Cohen on LinkedIn
• Max Malini: King of Magicians, Magician of Kings – Steve's book on his greatest muse

🎩 Subscribe, share, and remember: sometimes the greatest trick isn't the one you perform. It's the patience to keep performing until the right room finds you.

🎙️ What if your biggest CPG breakthrough started with stolen jerky in a Ziploc bag?

Jason Burke didn’t plan to become a food founder. He just wanted to make healthy snacks that wouldn’t kill his parents. But that side hustle turned into The New Primal. A brand born in a smoky kitchen and built into a national powerhouse through sheer grit, grassroots obsession, and a wild ride of trial by fire.

From boiling beef in a condo to scaling 36 SKUs in 36 months, Jason takes us through the wins, the wounds, and the wisdom of what it really takes to build a conscious food brand from scratch.

This is what happens when hustle meets healing. When family legacy meets CPG chaos. When the man who once sold trail mix in the breakroom becomes a leader in the clean label movement.

🎩 Summary

Jason’s journey starts in a Section 8 apartment and stretches all the way to the Whole Foods endcap. Along the way, he shares how diet changed his life and how jerky changed his career. We cover the early grind, the brand explosion, and what happened when it all got too big too fast.

This episode goes deep. Into the marriage strain. The team building. The inner rewiring it takes to shift from founder to CEO. And the costs no one warns you about. Like 140 flights in a year. Or feeling like the poorest kid at the richest school.

But Jason’s story isn’t just about snacks. It’s about service. About building with intention. And about staying sane when the margins go missing.

🎩 Hats Covered

• 🎩 1: The Soul
• 🎩 2: The Athlete
• 🎩 3: The Servant
• 🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
• 🎩 5: The Investor
• 🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

• 🎩 1: Success isn’t sustainable without non-negotiable rhythms
• 🎩 2: What you eat matters. So does what you feed others
• 🎩 3: Marriage requires presence, not just provision
• 🎩 4: Don’t scale what you don’t understand
• 🎩 5: Trade spend can eat your brand alive if you’re not careful
• 🎩 7: When you stop trying to be impressive, you can finally become impactful

👤 Guest Bio

Jason Burke is the founder of The New Primal. A clean-ingredient snack and condiment company inspired by his family’s health journey. From trail mix in a desk drawer to a multi-category Whole Foods partner, Jason has scaled intentionally while learning what real leadership requires. He lives in Nashville with his wife and two daughters and still makes time to cook.

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:02:00 – From Section 8 to CEO: Jason’s origin story
• 00:10:00 – The diet that changed everything
• 00:16:00 – Paleo jerky, smoke-filled condos, and stolen Ziploc bags
• 00:22:00 – Launching The New Primal: DIY website and first orders
• 00:28:00 – The Publix pitch: blind enthusiasm meets real risk
• 00:36:00 – Growing too wide too fast: 36 SKUs, 36 months
• 00:44:00 – The free fill myth and deduction disasters
• 00:52:00 – Marriage strain, 140 flights, and the "we need you here" moment
• 01:00:00 – From founder to CEO: the control you must surrender
• 01:08:00 – Who Jason had to stop being, and who he became

✅ Actionables

• Start with one product. Master it
• Build a team before you need one
• Schedule non-negotiables in your calendar: family time, workouts, walks
• Know your margins before you go national
• Ask yourself weekly: Who am I showing up as?

🔥 Quotes

“Blind enthusiasm is an advantage. Until it’s not.”
“We were still demoing locally while shipping to Seattle. That’s insane.”
“CPG is a land of giants. You better know what you’re stepping into.”
“I had to stop being the Section 8 kid. And start believing I deserve a seat at the table.”
“Success without systems is just chaos in a hoodie.”

🔗 Links

• The New Primal
• Jason Burke on LinkedIn

🎩 Subscribe, share, and remember... sometimes your biggest brand begins as a bag of stolen jerky and a dream to do better.

🎙️ What if building a billion dollar brand came with a billion dollar bill?

Eric Skae knows the cost of growth because he’s paid it, multiple times.

From building Arizona Iced Tea's first distribution map to scaling Rao’s during a shareholder battle, and now turning Carbone into the next great CPG empire, Eric has lived through the beauty and brutality of entrepreneurship.

This isn’t a story about unicorn valuations. It’s about resilience. About watching everything collapse, then starting again. About the friends who disappear when the money runs dry, and the walks that bring clarity back.

If you’ve ever sacrificed too much for success, this episode is your reminder: you can build something great without losing yourself in the process.

🎩 Summary

Eric walks us through his Bronx beginnings, a career built brick by brick in beverage and CPG, and what it really takes to turn brands around. He shares the high of scaling Arizona, the heartbreak of losing New Leaf, and the hustle of rebuilding post 2008 with nothing but grit, yoga, and a 3 million dollar loss he didn’t have to lose.

We go deep into what most founders hide: identity collapse, co signed debt, and the moment you find yourself coaching others while quietly falling apart. But Eric’s not just a survivor. He’s a strategist, scaling Carbone into a 100 million dollar retail powerhouse, one jar at a time.

This episode is a masterclass in grounded ambition. How to scale without selling your soul.

🎩 Hats Covered

• 🎩 1: The Soul
• 🎩 2: The Athlete
• 🎩 3: The Servant
• 🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
• 🎩 5: The Investor
• 🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

• 🎩 1: Success doesn’t always look like peace. Sometimes it looks like panic in the parking lot.
• 🎩 2: Discipline beats motivation. Walk. Lift. Breathe. Repeat.
• 🎩 3: Find the friends who call after the storm, not just in the sun.
• 🎩 4: Scaling too fast without systems is the most expensive tuition you’ll ever pay.
• 🎩 5: If you don’t have cash reserves, your brand might not make it through the next curve.
• 🎩 7: When you stop pretending, you start becoming.

👤 Guest Bio

Eric Skae is a CPG veteran and brand turnaround artist. He helped put Arizona Iced Tea on the map, scaled Rao’s Homemade to over 100 million dollars, and is now CEO of Carbone Fine Foods, one of the fastest growing premium sauce brands in America. Known for his gritty honesty and growth discipline, Eric brings decades of battle tested wisdom to every shelf he touches.

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:02:00 – Growing up with 7 siblings in a 1200 square foot house
• 00:11:00 – First job: caddying at age 11 and loving the hustle
• 00:20:00 – From elevator operator to real estate flipper to water distributor
• 00:28:00 – How Arizona Iced Tea changed everything
• 00:36:00 – The growth addiction and the brand graveyard it left behind
• 00:44:00 – 2008: Losing 3 million dollars, the brand, and almost his house
• 00:50:00 – Yoga, walks, and rebuilding Bricktown
• 00:58:00 – Rao’s: A turnaround wrapped in a shareholder war
• 01:06:00 – Scaling Carbone to 100 million dollars and hand stripping basil at scale
• 01:15:00 – Trade spend discipline, tariff pressure, and why price hikes aren’t always the move
• 01:22:00 – Who Eric had to stop being, and who he’s becoming

✅ Actionables

• Audit your growth: Are you scaling beyond your systems?
• Know your WIIFM: Every stakeholder asks what’s in it for me. Answer it early.
• Track your dilution: When your equity no longer matches your energy, reassess.
• Find your calm: Walk, stretch, unplug. Make space to think clearly.
• Call someone who stood by you when things went sideways.

🔥 Quotes

“CPG is the simplest, hardest business in the world.”
“People don’t leave because they’re bad. They leave because growth breaks them.”
“I had to teach a mortgage broker how to refinance my house.”
“Some days I listen to Eminem on repeat just to remind myself I’m still in the fight.”
“You’re either working your plan or someone else’s.”

🔗 Links

• Carbone Fine Food – Restaurant quality sauces at scale
• Eric Skae on LinkedIn

🎩 Subscribe, share, and remember: the sauce is only as strong as the shelf it sits on, and the soul that built it.

🎙️ What if you stepped away from a rocket ship... just as it was taking off?

Ari Raz co-founded Once Upon a Farm, built it brick by brick, and then gave up the CEO seat… to Jennifer Garner and John Foraker. Most founders would cling tighter. Ari let go.

Why? Because the title wasn’t worth the trade.

And then, he did it again. He took over Coconut Cult, a brand with wild promise and wild problems. No cash. No cushion. Just belief.

This isn’t a story of exits and equity. It’s about identity. It’s about knowing when to build, when to partner, and when to walk away from the thing you created—so you can become the person you’re meant to be.

🎩 Summary

Ari walks us through the journey from hand-labeling jars in a DC kitchen to raising capital, partnering with Jennifer Garner, and scaling one of the most disruptive baby food brands in America. But his real growth came when he stepped away—choosing soul over seat.

Now at Coconut Cult, he’s applying everything he learned: how to restructure a brand, rebuild a culture, and balance risk with responsibility. We explore the emotional toll of dilution, the pain of leaving your “baby,” and why leadership isn’t about control—it’s about contribution.

From ego death to entrepreneurial rebirth, Ari’s story is a mirror for any founder caught between ambition and authenticity.

🎩 Hats Covered

• 🎩 1: The Soul
• 🎩 3: The Servant
• 🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
• 🎩 5: The Investor
• 🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

• 🎩 1: Letting go of control is sometimes the most liberating growth strategy.
• 🎩 4: Being replaced doesn’t mean you failed—it means you built something bigger than you.
• 🎩 5: If your equity no longer matches your contribution, it’s time for a new chapter.
• 🎩 3: Emotional ownership can’t be measured on a cap table—but it still costs something.
• 🎩 7: When you stop trying to be someone else’s version of success, you finally meet yourself.

👤 Guest Bio

Ari Raz is a CPG founder and operator who co-founded Once Upon a Farm, helped scale it nationally alongside Jennifer Garner and John Foraker, and later became CEO of Coconut Cult. With a career spanning baby food to functional fermented yogurt, Ari brings both strategic depth and personal humility to the brands he leads. He lives in Southern California with his wife and two kids—and still finds time to bake sourdough.

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:02:00 – Childhood in LA, the immigrant household, and mom’s sprouted mung beans
• 00:12:00 – From commercial sets to Seoul: How Korea changed his business path
• 00:20:00 – First food job at Lotte and the lightbulb moment
• 00:25:00 – Moving home to start a baby food brand with no cash and no plan
• 00:30:00 – Meeting Cassandra Curtis and merging brands to form Once Upon a Farm
• 00:34:00 – Launching HPP baby food and the power of farmer’s markets
• 00:38:00 – Getting Jennifer Garner and John Foraker involved
• 00:43:00 – The pain of stepping down as CEO—and choosing to learn instead
• 00:50:00 – Why the scale-up phase brought friction, dilution, and identity loss
• 01:00:00 – Leaving the company you co-founded and asking: What now?
• 01:05:00 – Enter Coconut Cult: No safety net, just belief and vision
• 01:10:00 – Who Ari had to stop being—and the version of himself he’s becoming

✅ Actionables

• Track your dilution and define what’s “enough”—before the next round.
• Ask: “What part of this company still needs me?”
• Audit your leadership: Are you leading, or are you lingering?
• Rebuild your worth independent of your title.
• Cook something from scratch this weekend—it’ll remind you who you are.

🔥 Quotes

“Leaving was the hardest thing—and the most necessary thing.”
“You don’t need to be the CEO forever to prove you were the founder.”
“If you want to stay, you have to evolve. If you can’t evolve, you have to go.”
“Cap table control doesn’t mean soul alignment.”
“I had to stop being someone else’s version of success—and start being mine.”

🔗 Links

• Coconut Cult – Probiotic yogurt with a cult following
• Once Upon a Farm – Cold-pressed baby food built for impact
• Ari Raz on LinkedIn

If you’ve ever wondered when to stay, when to grow, and when to walk away, Ari’s story is your blueprint.

🎩 Subscribe, share, and keep growing—on your terms.

🎙️ What if you bet everything on a chocolate bar and it actually worked?

Keith Bearden didn’t just invest in Alter Eco. He bought the whole company.

At the exact moment cacao prices exploded 400%, he doubled down on one of the most volatile supply chains in CPG—and made it profitable in year one. From cutting hay on a Tennessee farm to running multi-nationals in Belgium, Keith’s path weaves code, conscience, and commerce. This episode isn’t just about chocolate—it’s about how systems thinking meets soul-centered leadership.

If you’ve ever tried to scale a mission-driven brand, or wondered what it really takes to turn values into value—this one’s for you.

🎩 Summary

Keith shares his journey from a self-sufficient childhood on a Tennessee farm to a tech career with Dow, to building CPG brands with a conscience. We explore his pivot from global IT auditor to regenerative chocolate CEO, and how he pulled off a profitable turnaround in a climate-constrained market.

Keith and I unpack why internal auditing is a masterclass in leadership, how regenerative sourcing beats commoditized shortcuts, and why taste—not just mission—sells premium chocolate. Keith also opens up about leadership breakdowns, family dynamics, and what it means to lead with conviction, not control.

🎩 Hats Covered

• 🎩 1: The Soul
• 🎩 3: The Servant
• 🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
• 🎩 5: The Investor
• 🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

• 🎩 1: Leadership starts with listening—not knowing.
• 🎩 4: A turnaround requires brutal analysis and bold execution.
• 🎩 5: If you’re not profitable, your impact is temporary.
• 🎩 3: Mission must be practical—or it becomes a liability.
• 🎩 7: Presence and passion matter more than control.

👤 Guest Bio

Keith Bearden is the CEO and owner of Alter Eco, a premium chocolate brand rooted in regenerative agriculture, fair trade, and Swiss manufacturing. With a background in IT, auditing, and global operations, Keith has led food and beverage brands across Europe and North America.

From Yogi Tea to Beverage House to Alter Eco, Keith brings a systems mind and a servant heart to everything he builds. Under his leadership, Alter Eco became profitable for the first time in its 20-year history—during the worst cacao crisis in decades.

⏱️ Timestamps

•  00:02:00 – From farm boy to IT engineer
•  00:07:00 – Global audits, Belgium life, and listening as leadership
•  00:15:00 – From consulting to CPG: Portland and Yogi Tea
•  00:23:00 – Beverage House and the realities of contract manufacturing
•  00:31:00 – Buying Alter Eco in the middle of the cacao price crisis
•  00:40:00 – Making mission profitable in a volatile supply chain
•  00:48:00 – Trade spend mastery, SKU-level analysis, and right-sizing the team
•  00:55:00 – Family dynamics, collaboration, and servant leadership
•  01:02:00 – Who Keith had to stop being—and who he became to lead well
•  01:05:00 – Closing reflections 

✅ Actionables

• Ask: “If you were CEO for a day, what would you change?”
• Measure trade spend lift—and cut what doesn’t move product.
• Talk to the people doing the work before making the plan.
• Define profitability before chasing growth.
• Invest in product taste—before touting values.

🔥 Quotes

"Listen first. The answers are already inside the building."
"If it’s not profitable, your impact is on borrowed time."
"Don’t just be a brand with values—be a product people crave."
"Being needed isn’t leadership. Building systems is."
"Chocolate is simple to eat, but complex to source. Respect that."

🔗 Links

• Alter Eco – Regenerative chocolate done right
• Connect with Keith Bearden on LinkedIn

🎙️ What if your biggest breakdown became the foundation for your greatest purpose?

Matt Paradise didn’t just beat the odds—he rewrote them.

Homeless as a teen. Addicted. Near death. Cancer survivor. Today, he’s a national voice for whole wealth—teaching that real financial well-being isn’t about more money…it’s about more meaning.

From the streets of Connecticut to boardrooms across America, Matt’s story reveals how discipline, grace, and gratitude can turn pain into purpose.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in cycles you didn’t create—or wondered how to build wealth without losing your soul—this episode will remind you that redemption is possible, and purpose is profitable.

🎩 Summary

Matt’s story isn’t just about recovery—it’s about redefinition. He shares how addiction, homelessness, and trauma shaped his early life, and how mentorship, faith, and self-work helped him rebuild from the inside out. We unpack the difference between chemical recovery and character recovery, why “more” is never the answer, and how his journey led him to redefine financial wellness as emotional, spiritual, and social alignment.

Matt and I dive deep into the myths of money, the hidden addictions of modern life, and the critical difference between being rich and being whole. Together, they reveal how gratitude and service can become the real wealth engine for founders, leaders, and everyday people alike.

🎩 Hats Covered

🎩 1: The Soul
🎩 3: The Servant
🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
🎩 5: The Investor
🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

🎩 1: Healing is a wealth strategy. You can’t build freedom from a broken foundation.
🎩 3: Service transforms pain into purpose—mentorship multiplies redemption.
🎩 4: “More” doesn’t make you better. It only amplifies who you already are.
🎩 5: Financial wellness is emotional wellness with a balance sheet.
🎩 7: Taking off your mask is the first step to living in truth.

👤 Guest Bio

Matt Paradise is a speaker, educator, and financial wellness advocate whose journey from addiction and homelessness to industry leader has inspired thousands.

After two decades in credit counseling and financial education, he now serves on the board of one of Forbes’ top financial agencies, helping organizations and individuals achieve whole wealth—financial health rooted in emotional intelligence, purpose, and service.
Through keynotes, workshops, and his upcoming book Whole Wealth, Matt empowers people to heal their money stories and design lives that are both prosperous and peaceful.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:02 – Growing up in Connecticut and the quiet corner of chaos
00:10 – Teen addiction, homelessness, and hitting rock bottom
00:20 – The role of mentors and finding faith in recovery
00:30 – From $9/hour counselor to national educator
00:40 – Why “more money” never fixes what’s missing
00:50 – The hidden addictions: debt, gambling, and consumerism
01:00 – Redefining wealth through gratitude and service
01:10 – Taking off the mask and becoming your authentic self

✅ Actionables

Write down your top 3 “addictions” (not just substances) and how they show up in your life.
Audit your money story—what emotions drive your spending or saving?
Mentor one person who reminds you of your younger self.
Redefine wealth beyond net worth: add joy, peace, and purpose to the ledger.
Practice daily gratitude—it’s the foundation for lasting abundance.

🔥 Quotes

“More money doesn’t change you. It amplifies you.”
“Gratitude is the fuel that turns survival into service.”
“Being needed isn’t leadership. Being authentic is.”
“Whole wealth is what happens when your bank account and your soul align.”
“Take off the mask so your hats can finally fit.”

🔗 Links

MattParadise.com – Speaking, coaching, and financial wellness programs
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn

If you’ve ever wondered whether your past disqualifies you from purpose, this episode is proof that it doesn’t—it prepares you for it.

🎩 Subscribe, share, and let’s keep growing together.

🎙️ What if discipline was your ultimate growth hack?

Dave Behar doesn’t just build brands. He builds engines. From global IPs to movement-based platforms, Dave’s playbook isn’t about hype. It’s about clarity, systems, and relentless intention.

In this episode, we unpack how a four-sport athlete from San Pedro became a force behind scalable brand ecosystems in media and sport. And why identity, not tactics, is the real unlock.

Whether you're stuck in hustle, navigating transitions, or searching for alignment between ambition and peace, this conversation will reset your definition of success.

🎩 Summary

Dave Behar’s story isn’t about chasing more. It’s about choosing better. From building businesses in college to scaling global consumer brands and IP, Dave shares how staying organized, leading with intention, and integrating “athlete discipline” into every decision became his secret weapon.

We dive into the evolution from creative founder to strategic CEO. And why “being needed” isn’t the flex many think it is. Dave opens up about the personal toll of misaligned relationships, the power of mutuality in deals, and why daily structure beats short-term hype every time.

Yuval and Dave also riff on marketing, identity, and what it really means to build a platform that outlives your own involvement.

🎩 Hats Covered

• 🎩 1: The Soul
• 🎩 2: The Athlete
• 🎩 3: The Servant
• 🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
• 🎩 5: The Investor

💡 Key Takeaways

• 1: Identity isn’t inherited. It’s chosen daily through structure and discipline.
• 2: Health is a leadership multiplier. Don’t scale yourself. Scale your habits.
• 3: Misaligned relationships are silent saboteurs. Alignment over agreement.
• 4: Great founders don’t just build companies. They build systems that scale without them.
• 5: Protect the downside before chasing the upside. Every deal should be win-win or walk away.

👤 Bio

Dave Behar is the founder and CEO of ION, a media and movement platform powering global content, commerce, and community. A four-sport athlete turned serial entrepreneur, Dave has scaled brands, launched leagues, and developed IP in over 30 countries. His unique lens blends performance, creativity, and systems to help tech, sport, and CPG companies turn energy into engine and hype into legacy.

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:02 – From San Pedro roots to global business
• 00:12 – Surfing, sports, and building brands in college
• 00:20 – Selling his first company and learning hard legal lessons
• 00:32 – Chief Executive Athlete: blending body, identity, and business
• 00:42 – The personal toll of unsupported relationships
• 00:50 – Deal structure, alignment, and protecting your future
• 01:02 – Working with Hotmail and the value of playbooks
• 01:12 – Why the best businesses make you replaceable
• 01:20 – Who Dave had to stop being and the player he became

✅ Actionables

• Write your personal playbook: structure, intention, identity
• Audit key relationships. Are they aligned or draining?
• Design your business for exit. Even if you never sell.
• Practice athlete thinking. Consistency beats intensity.
• Define what a win actually looks like. And who it includes.

🔥 Quotes

"Discipline is how you win when nobody’s watching."
"Don’t chase what’s next. Build what lasts."
"If your deal doesn’t feel mutual, it’s not worth doing."
"Being needed isn’t a badge. It’s a bottleneck."
"You scale when you stop building for yourself and start building for the system."

🔗 Links

• ION – Dave Behar’s media and movement engine
• Connect with Dave on LinkedIn

If you're tired of being your business’s bottleneck or just want to start building with discipline instead of chaos, this conversation will give you the blueprint.

🎩 Subscribe, share, and let’s keep growing together.

🎙️ What if your worst mistake became your greatest teacher?

Jonathan Mast didn’t just build a successful agency. He walked through fire to get there. From small-town scarcity and relentless teasing to serving time in federal prison for white-collar conspiracy, this story isn’t about falling down.

It’s about getting back up. With purpose, with clarity, and with a fire to transform.

Today, Jonathan helps entrepreneurs harness the power of AI. Not as a gimmick, but as a tool for creativity, trust, and scale. His insights cut through the hype and land exactly where founders need them most.

If you’ve ever doubted your worth, feared your past, or questioned your value after a fall… this episode is for you.

🎩 Summary

This isn’t just a redemption arc. It’s a masterclass in reinvention.

Jonathan opens up about growing up in a family where gas money was a luxury. He shares how being teased in school fueled a drive to succeed, and how unchecked ambition led him to ignore warning signs at a company that eventually landed him in federal prison.

We talk about what prison really taught him, how a chance meeting with the former dean of marketing at Ohio State changed everything, and why his second act has become his most meaningful.

Jonathan breaks down what AI can do and what it can't. We explore the real risks, the actual opportunities, and why trust and clarity matter more than ever in a world obsessed with speed.

🎩 Hats Covered

• 🎩 1: The Soul
• 🎩 3: The Servant
• 🎩 4: The Entrepreneur
• 🎩 5: The Investor
• 🎩 7: The Seeker

💡 Key Takeaways

• 🎩 1: Chasing success to prove your worth often leads to self-sabotage
• 🎩 5: Financial freedom starts when you stop outsourcing your safety to one income
• 🎩 4: If AI can do it faster, you need to do it smarter
• 🎩 1: Reinvention begins with radical self-responsibility
• 🎩 7: Success without service will always feel hollow
• 🎩 3: The right partner can be your greatest operational asset

👤 Guest Bio

Jonathan Mast is an AI educator, coach, and founder of White Beard Strategies. He built and sold a digital agency after spending years in sales, marketing, and personal reinvention. His path includes a stint in federal prison, where he studied marketing under the former dean of Ohio State University. Today, he teaches entrepreneurs how to scale authority, creativity, and operations through AI—with trust, clarity, and intention.

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:02 – Small-town childhood and early drive to succeed
• 00:12 – The fallout of ignoring red flags and ending up in prison
• 00:20 – Marketing lessons from an unlikely prison mentor
• 00:30 – Building a digital agency and working with his wife
• 00:42 – Selling the business and pivoting into AI education
• 00:50 – What most founders get wrong about AI
• 01:02 – Why trust will be the new currency in business
• 01:10 – Who Jonathan had to stop being to find real success

✅ Actionables

• Audit where fear—not facts—is driving your decisions
• Learn one AI tool this week and test it in your workflow
• Identify if your business depends too heavily on you
• Start your “freedom fund” with just 1 percent of revenue
• Ask yourself: Am I building a job, or building a legacy?

🔥 Quotes

“Trust isn’t built by being everywhere. It’s built by being honest.”
“I made every wrong choice for the right reasons.”
“AI doesn’t replace you. But it will expose you.”
“If you don’t design your life, your ambition will destroy it.”
“You’re either building resilience or building excuses.”

🔗 Links

• JonathanMast.com
– AI strategy and coaching

• White Beard Strategies
– Authority through AI

If you’re rebuilding from the ground up, or just starting to question what success is costing you, this conversation will give you a path forward.

🎩 Subscribe, share, and let’s keep growing together.