The Gary Klutt Podcast

Marc Lafleur built truLOCAL into a $20M+ annual revenue business and sold the company for $16.7 million. Today, the former Dragon’s Den entrepreneur is building AI companies through DB8 Labs — while also pursuing another obsession: race cars. In this conversation, Marc tells the full story. From struggling in school and having no idea what he wanted to do with his life, to discovering entrepreneurship, failing at his first two startups, earning $200,000 a year selling meat door-to-door, and ultimately quitting that job to go all-in on truLOCAL.Five years later, truLOCAL was acquired for $16.7 million. Marc talks about what it actually took to build the company, his experience on Dragon’s Den, why most businesses fail from the inside, what he learned from selling a company before 30, and why success eventually pushed him toward an entirely different challenge: motorsport. We also go deep on what Marc is focused on today — artificial intelligence. Through DB8 Labs, Marc and his team are experimenting with a new model for building AI-native businesses. We discuss AI agents, how drastically AI is changing the economics of starting a company, why small teams may soon be able to build enormous businesses, and Marc’s belief that some of the next great products may be built for AI agents rather than humans.

In this episode:

Building and selling truLOCAL for $16.7M

Quitting a $200K/year job to become an entrepreneur

Failing at his first two startups

Pitching and later returning to Dragon’s Den as an investor

Going from track days to competitive racing

Why entrepreneurship and racing require similar mindsets

Starting DB8 Labs

Building companies with AI

AI agents and the future of business

Why tiny AI-enabled teams could create enormous companies

Marc’s philosophy on risk, ambition, failure and going all-in

Marc Lafleur is an entrepreneur, investor, race car driver and founder of DB8 Labs. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of truLOCAL, growing the company to more than 60 employees and over $20 million in annual revenue before its acquisition.#MarcLafleur #ArtificialIntelligence #Entrepreneurship #AI #Startups #truLOCAL #DB8Labs #DragonsDen

Daniel Foch, how much trouble is Canada in? what's going on with the current housing market. Dan Foch is a Real Estate Agent, Personality, Public figure, Analyst and Podcast host of The Canadian Real Estate investor. At the end of 2024 Dan discusses the impact a Trump presidency will have on Canada as well as the incoming Conservative Super majority in Canada.

Peter Klutt is the Guest today, we dive into the art and science of car investing. Peter shares insights on what to look for when buying a car as an investment, explore the history of the collector car market, and discuss the cultural and external factors that influence car values. Plus, hear about the one car Peter regrets not purchasing!

Dj Kennington a multi time Nascar Canada Champion, starting driving transport trucks at his father's truck repair yard, building an outlaw dirt go kart track, starting a kart club. He then moved to late models and Cascar racing at Delaware speedway. He has raced in ever level of the Nascar National series, trucks, xfinity and cup series, being one of the few Canadians to race in the Daytona 500.

Svein Tuft is the guest this week, coming off of winning the Buckshot 400 and the Epic 1000, we go back to Svein's childhood in BC, leaving home at an early age on his bike, to mountain climb, riding his bike to Alaska and down to Mexico living hand to mouth. His Unorthodox "training" lead to road races in north America and ultimatly to race bikes professionally for GREEN Edge competing in the Tour de France, Tour d'italie, winning National titles, even wearing the yellow jersey. Svein is since back in British Columbia focusing on gravel riding, racing and coaching.

Gianmarco Raimondo on chasing his dream of becoming a Canadian Formula One driver. He moved to Italy at a young age to race F3 and GP2 (F2). He discusses the hurdles to moving up the single seater formula car ladder, from politics in motorsports to fitness required to drive at the highest leve.

Sitting down with my dad Peter Klutt, we go over a TV Special from nearly 20 years ago: The Muscle Car Shootout. Testing the world's best all-around classic Muscle Cars, this 1 hour special was such a hit back in the day Speed Channel requested 2 additional specials.

There were 7 cars part of the competition running a series of tests: A 1969 AMX 390 Go Package, a 1970 Buick GS 455 Stage 1, a 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6, a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, a 1969 Hurst Oldsmobile, and a 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge.

Enjoy a trip down memory lane and be sure to stay tuned for the next one!

Danny Formal is the guest this week, he is one of the few professional go-kart racers, leading to him getting a professional drive in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series and eventually competing for Wayne Taylor/Andretti in the IMSA Weathertech series. Gary and Danny go through his career from being born in Costa-Rica, moving to Florida competing in the Florida Winter Tour, and SKUSA Super Nats, becoming a champion in both and the winningest Super Nats driver. His outstanding performances lead him to becoming one of the few professional karting racers in the world.

Jackson Bathgate is a professional skier on the Freeride World Tour FTW. He competed in 2023 with his last stop being in the Country of Georgia. We discuss the prospects of making a living as a professional skier, winning the 2016 Freeride Junior World Championships, the risk-reward

James Hinchcliffe is a former Canadian Indy Car driver with six Indy Car wins and a pole position at the Indy 500. We discuss his start in go-kart racing, his move to shifter karts, the formula BMW series, Star Mazda series, formula Atlantic and Ultimately Indy Car driving for teams including Andretti Autosport. The podcast outlines the immense cost associated with racing and the struggle to find sponsorship and the never give up attitude it takes to become a professional racecar driver.