What if building a successful business didn’t mean trying to build the next billion-dollar company?

In this episode of Through the Lens, I’m joined by Stuart Faught, a software entrepreneur who has built and sold more than 20 SaaS businesses and was recognised as the #1 seller on Acquire.com.

Stuart shares what he has learned from repeatedly building, growing, and selling software businesses — including the mistakes, unexpected lessons, real numbers, difficult decisions, and moments that shaped his approach to entrepreneurship.

We explore why Stuart believes small, focused software businesses can create meaningful financial success, what separates a genuinely good SaaS business from an exciting idea, how he thinks about when to sell, and what he understands about entrepreneurship today that he didn’t understand when he started.

We also talk about MiniHorse, Stuart’s venture helping first-time founders become software business owners, and the misconceptions he believes aspiring entrepreneurs need to leave behind.

This is a conversation about redefining what winning in business can look like — not necessarily building something enormous, but building something that works, something you own, and something that can create the life you actually want.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Why you don’t need a billion-dollar company to build meaningful wealth

- Lessons from building and selling 20+ SaaS businesses

- What makes a small software business genuinely valuable

- The real numbers behind building and selling a SaaS business

- Businesses and decisions that didn’t work — and what they taught Stuart

- How to know when it’s time to sell

- The emotional side of letting go of something you built

- How Stuart’s approach to entrepreneurship has changed over time

- The biggest misconceptions first-time founders bring into business

- How MiniHorse is helping people become software business owners

If you’ve ever assumed entrepreneurship meant building something massive from scratch, Stuart offers a very different lens.

Success isn’t always about how big you build. Sometimes it’s about building something that works.

What happens to people and culture when an organization goes through major change?

In this episode of Through the Lens, I’m joined by Dave DelVecchio, a former technology executive with more than 30 years of experience who has experienced business change from both sides—as an employee and as an owner.

We explore the realities behind employee-to-owner succession, mergers and acquisitions, business name changes, office moves, and the decisions that can look completely logical on paper but feel very different to the people living through them.

Dave shares what he has learned about the early signs of a culture beginning to crack, the experiments and decisions that didn’t go as planned, and the trust gap that can emerge between what leaders intend and what employees actually experience.

We also look at what separates workplaces where people simply work from those where people genuinely thrive—and how decades of experience can completely change the way we see leadership, change, and organizational success.

If you’re leading a business, navigating organizational change, or simply trying to understand the human side of decisions made at the top, this conversation offers a different lens on what happens beneath the surface.

Connect with Dave and Maxady: https://www.maxady.com/contact

Because some questions deserve an answer, and some deserve a conversation.

What happens when you build something significant, close one of the biggest chapters of your life, and then choose to begin again?

In this episode of Through the Lens, I’m joined by Jon Ferrara, pioneer in the CRM industry, co-founder of GoldMine, and founder and CEO of Nimble.

But this conversation goes beyond the companies and technology.

Jon takes us behind the journey — from the early days of building GoldMine and the pressures that came with it, to the emotional reality of closing that chapter and figuring out who he was beyond the company he had spent years building.

We talk about ambition, sacrifice, identity, uncertainty, mistakes, relationships, and what it takes to start again when you already know just how difficult the road can be.

Jon also reflects on how the experience of building GoldMine changed the way he approached Nimble, what he learned along the way, and how his understanding of what really matters has evolved over the years.

Because behind every company is a person. And sometimes, the most interesting part of the journey isn't what someone built — it's who they became while building it.

This is Jon Ferrara, through his lens.

What happens when the business you built for freedom becomes the very thing you can’t escape?

In this episode of Through the Lens, I’m joined by Jason Richards, entrepreneur, executive, business strategist, and founder of Leadcademy, to explore one of the biggest contradictions in entrepreneurship: building a successful business that ultimately depends on you for everything.

Jason and I talk about what happens when the owner becomes the single point of failure, why 60-hour workweeks can become the norm even after achieving business success, and why simply “delegating more” rarely solves the underlying problem.

We also explore the harder side of stepping away — letting go of control, changing your identity as an owner, having difficult conversations, creating accountability, and recognizing when working harder is actually preventing the business from becoming stronger.

Jason opens up about mistakes from his own journey, the personal cost of building businesses without enough space for life outside of work, and what the word freedom means to him now.

This is a conversation about more than systems and strategy. It’s about the kind of business — and life — we’re deliberately choosing to build.

What happens when you achieve the success you worked so hard for, but still don’t feel the peace, clarity, or fulfillment you expected?

In this episode of Through the Lens, I’m joined by Steve Barton, executive coach, author, and creator of The Game of Ten®. With more than 47 years of real-world business experience—including helping grow his family’s floral business from $200,000 to $2 million in annual revenue—Steve has experienced success from the inside.

But his journey revealed a deeper truth: outward achievement doesn’t always create inner peace.

Steve and I explore the hidden forces that can drive high achievers—fear, self-doubt, guilt, shame, perfectionism, and the constant feeling that we need to prove ourselves. We talk about the personal cost of operating under pressure, how those patterns affect leadership and relationships, and what can change when we become more aware of what is really driving us.

Steve also shares how decades of business experience, personal discovery, and his work influenced by Gestalt psychology eventually led to the creation of The Game of Ten®.

This is a conversation about success beyond the scoreboard—and what it means to achieve more without losing yourself in the process.

If you’re an entrepreneur, executive, leader, or simply someone who has ever wondered why achieving more doesn’t always feel like enough, this conversation is for you.

What happens when a career that looks successful on paper suddenly takes an unexpected turn?

For Stephen Moss, a four-time Chief Marketing Officer, one difficult career experience led to a question that stayed with him: “What went wrong?”

Rather than simply moving on, Stephen went looking for the answer. That search ultimately led him to discover why experienced executives can struggle in new roles — and eventually inspired him to create Executive Springboard, connecting leaders with experienced executives and mentors who have actually sat in their chairs.

In this episode of Through the Lens, Stephen and Evidence explore the reality behind executive success: the challenges of stepping into new roles, the blind spots experience doesn't always prepare us for, the loneliness that can come with leadership, career transitions, failure, and the importance of knowing when you shouldn't navigate a difficult chapter alone.

Stephen also reflects on how he sees that difficult fourth CMO experience today and what it taught him about leadership, humility, and enduring impact.

Because sometimes, the chapter that feels like a setback is actually the beginning of something bigger.

Listen to Stephen Moss on Through the Lens — and discover what can happen when you stop asking, “Why did this happen to me?” and start asking, “What can I learn from it?”

What if growing a business doesn’t always mean building everything from scratch?

In this episode of Through the Lens, Evidence sits down with Business Growth and Acquisition Strategist, former business broker, and multi-business owner Curtis Junie Brown to explore a question many entrepreneurs eventually face: Should you build, buy, or bet on yourself in a completely different way?

Curtis shares the experiences that shaped how he thinks about business growth—from seeing businesses from the inside and navigating the world of buying and selling, to the mistakes, pressure, uncertainty, and difficult decisions that rarely make it into the success story.

This conversation goes beyond acquisitions and strategy. It explores the cost of growth, moments of doubt, the danger of believing you have to do everything yourself, and why understanding yourself may be just as important as understanding the numbers before making a major business decision.

We also explore what Curtis has learned about success—and what it really takes to become the person capable of creating the future you once wanted.

If you're an entrepreneur, business owner, or someone questioning the traditional path to growth, this conversation offers a different lens through which to think about what comes next.

You can connect with Curtis and access his free Business Acquisition Growth Assessment at cj-real.com.

Because sometimes the biggest question isn't simply, “How do I grow?”

It's whether you're willing to rethink how growth is supposed to happen.

What does it really mean to start over?

In this episode of Through the Lens, Evidence sits down with Sirmitchell Sorrells, founder of Unreplaceable Advantage, to explore reinvention, resilience, leadership, and the experiences that shape who we become.

Sirmitchell shares insights from his journey across music, nonprofit work, enterprise technology, leadership, and entrepreneurship—and the moments that challenged him to rethink what success really looks like.

The conversation goes beyond achievements to explore self-doubt, starting again, building the person behind the business, and why the skills and experiences from your past may become your greatest advantage in the future.

We also discuss navigating an increasingly AI-driven world, developing an unreplaceable advantage, and finding the courage to move forward when the path isn't always clear.

A powerful conversation about reinvention, identity, resilience, and turning everything you've learned into something that sets you apart.

What happens when a successful career comes to an end—but your journey doesn’t?

After 35 years in Human Resources and executive leadership, Kirk McCarley could have simply settled into retirement. Instead, he stepped into a new chapter as a career and life coach, author, ESPN production assistant, and cycling instructor.

In this episode of Through the Lens, Kirk shares why he believes it’s never too late to explore a new possibility, pursue an interest, or rethink what your life can look like. We talk about the challenge of taking action on possibilities, the lessons he learned throughout his leadership career, rebuilding confidence, and why the interests that seem unrelated to our careers can sometimes lead us somewhere unexpected.

Kirk also reflects on his book, Thoughts for My Kids...and Other People’s Kids, and the life lessons he hopes to leave behind.

This is a conversation about reinvention, curiosity, purpose, and refusing to believe that your best chapters are necessarily behind you.

Because sometimes, the end of a career is simply the beginning of a different kind of story.

What happens when you achieve the version of success you once dreamed about—and then realise the world is changing again?

In this episode of Through the Lens, Bradley Aman—entrepreneur, author, business strategist, and founder of the American Dream Book Series—shares the journey behind his success, including the difficult decisions, setbacks, sacrifices, and defining moments that shaped him.

Brad became a millionaire by 40, built and sold a nationally recognised business, and discovered that success is never really a finish line. We explore what it means to let go of one chapter, redefine success, and keep adapting when the world around you is changing faster than ever.

The conversation also takes a closer look at artificial intelligence and the future of work. Rather than simply asking whether AI will replace jobs, Brad offers a different perspective: how can people learn to adapt, use AI as a tool, and create new opportunities in an increasingly AI-driven world?

This is a conversation about ambition, change, reinvention—and why sometimes the biggest risk is keeping your head in the sand while the world moves forward.

Because success isn't just about where you arrive. It's about how you're willing to evolve along the way.