From the NFL to NIL: How Cody Chrest Found His Second Career (and Why Athletes Keep Getting It Wrong with Money)

This week Garrett and Matt sit down with their Entrepreneur Lounge partner, Cody Chrest. Houston native, Harvard and Sam Houston State football alum, and former Green Bay Packer turned financial advisor.

Cody shares the story he's never fully told: how he sat in the parking lot of three or four networking events and drove home before he ever walked into one, and how the event he finally forced himself to attend (in his words, "a really bad event") is the one where he met Garrett, launched a partnership, and ultimately gave him the confidence to walk away from football for good.

From there the conversation turns to the work the three of them are doing now with NIL and pro athletes. Nineteen year olds with seven figure deals and no plan. Players transferring away from schools they love just to cover a tax bill. Six figures parked in a money market account at a 1.5% fee. Advisors who will only take an email during business hours from kids who are in class, film, and weights all day.

They break down their actual process: quarterly tax planning, showing an athlete what they will owe if they do nothing versus what they will save, then giving every dollar a job and automating it so a $50,000 check does not feel like $50,000 to spend. Plus the real payoff Cody keeps coming back to. An athlete who is not lying awake studying finances is an athlete who can focus on the game.

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Can you build a high performer without paying top dollar for one? Matt and Garrett break down the "hire vs. train" debate — using the Seahawks' Super Bowl roster and NFL salary cap rules as the perfect analogy for why young, coachable talent can outperform (and out-earn) the expensive veteran hire.

They also get into:

Why culture, leadership, and a real training system beat "just hiring experience"

The roles & responsibilities talk every business owner avoids — until it costs them

How to correct behavior without making it personal (and why specificity beats "you're always late")

Why being visible in your network matters more than being on social media — and how one coffee turned into real business, live on the mic

Plus: Hard Knocks, GLP-1 jokes, and why "shake hands and kiss babies" still works.

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Garrett Paul and Matt kick off the episode with a quick studio update before diving into pricing strategy for professional services: hourly rates vs. fixed fees, and why a clear, documented scope of work can save a project (and a client relationship) when things go sideways. Garrett shares a $75,000 stainless steel manufacturing job that turned into a $150,000 win, purely because the scope was airtight.

From there, the conversation shifts to highest and best use of time — why business owners often fall into the trap of thinking they need to do everything themselves (the "best thrower should play quarterback" fallacy), and how to identify tasks that should be delegated to a team member or handed off to AI. Matt and Garrett trade real examples from running their CPA firm: payroll, bookkeeping, tax research, and client onboarding, and how passing off the right work at the right level actually multiplies output rather than diluting it.

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Garrett and Matt dig into a client conversation about core values — specifically, why core values shouldn't differ by department (sales vs. service) and how the same standards apply company-wide, from the front office to the owners themselves. They talk through why culture is a slow-build asset that compounds over time rather than a quick fix, why "client" beats "customer" as a mental model, and how honesty in sales and service builds the credibility that drives repeat business.

The conversation then shifts to entrepreneurship: what makes someone a good fit to start a business (leadership, risk tolerance, competitiveness — often traits carried over from sports), what to be aware of before making the leap, and why "overnight success" is usually a decade in the making. They close with a candid breakdown of business partnerships — picking a partner with complementary (not identical) strengths, avoiding vague legal-zoo-template agreements, and the Friday habit that keeps their own partnership aligned: a shared weekly priority matrix.

This week, Matt and Garrett kick things off with a behind-the-scenes look at their podcast setup (aperture, shutter speed, ISO — Matt's turning into a real content creator), before diving into a Fourth of July special: as America turns 250, they unpack the core values — freedom, opportunity, growth — that built the country, and how entrepreneurs can apply those same principles to their own businesses.

The conversation shifts into sports, where Matt and Garrett break down why talent alone doesn't build lasting organizations. From Stefan Diggs bouncing between teams to Stephen Curry's two decades with the Warriors, they explore why character and culture fit often matter more than raw skill — a lesson that applies just as much in business as it does on the field.

This is exactly the kind of thinking Matt and Garrett bring to their work every day. Matt Jones started his career at a top U.S. CPA firm before co-founding The Jones Group, bringing CFO-level insight with a relationship-first approach. Garrett Paul spent years in sales and business development — managing over $16M in product sales — before joining Matt to help redefine what the CPA-client relationship can look like: proactive, year-round, and built on partnership rather than a once-a-year tax appointment. Their conversation about core values and culture fit isn't just sports talk — it's the same philosophy they apply when building their own team and client relationships.

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Matt Jones began his career at a top U.S. CPA firm, building a strong foundation in audits, tax, and advisory services for both businesses and individuals. He later co-founded The Jones Group to deliver CFO-level insight paired with a client-focused, relationship-driven approach.

Garrett Paul has spent his career in sales and business development, helping manage over $16M in product sales before co-founding The Jones Group. He’s passionate about redefining the CPA-client relationship through proactive, year-round advisory and long-term partnerships.

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As managing attorney at Sun Law, Lenny helps the next generation of entrepreneurs build and protect what they’re creating. A modern legal hub, built by young founders, for young founders—covering everything from startup to scale.

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Understanding Business Problems: Normal vs. Abnormal vs. Pathological Every business faces challenges—but not all problems are created equal. In this video, we break down the three types of problems you’ll encounter in business:

✔️ Normal – everyday hurdles that come with growth

⚠️ Abnormal – red flags that signal deeper issues

🚨 Pathological – critical threats that can sink your company Learn how to identify each type, what they mean for your business, and how to respond before a small issue turns into a major crisis. If you're a business owner, team leader, or entrepreneur—you need to understand this framework.

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Being the low cost provider in your business will keep you amongst the bottom feeders forever.

If you are always worried about the cheapest prices, you will never fully discover what is possible inside of your business.