TOOLS TALENTS AND TECHNIQUES with Dustin Sutton

Junior golf has plenty of passion and almost no shortage of talent. What it has lacked is structure, access, and a clear path for young players to get seen. Chris Smeal spent decades fixing that.

Chris is the founder of Future Champions Golf, one of the most active junior golf organizations in the world, now hosting 150 events annually across 40+ countries. He is also the co-founder of Campus, a platform connecting young golfers with college coaches and scholarship opportunities. Chris's journey started on the baseball diamond, took a sharp turn toward golf in high school, and never looked back.

In this episode, Chris and Dustin talk about what it actually takes to build something in junior sports, why access and opportunity are still the biggest barriers in golf, and how technology is finally starting to close the gap.

🔑 What You Will Learn

• How Chris went from getting cut from his college golf team to founding one of the world's top junior golf organizations
• Why there were not enough avenues for junior golfers to compete and how Future Champions Golf filled that gap
• How Campus is helping young athletes connect with college coaches and secure scholarships
• What it takes to scale a youth sports organization to 40+ countries
• Why passion and perseverance matter more than a perfect start

🔗 Connect with Chris Smeal

Website: https://www.chrissmeal.com

Future Champions Golf: https://futurechampionsgolf.com

CAMPUS: https://gocampus.io/

🎙️ About Tools, Talents, and Techniques

Hosted by Dustin Sutton, Tools Talents and Techniques is a podcast for founders, operators, and professionals who want to go deeper than surface-level success stories. Every episode unpacks how high performers think, decide, and build things that last.

📲 Subscribe and leave a review if this episode brought you value.

🌐 toolstalentstechniques.com

🎬 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dustincsutton

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tools-talents-and-techniques-with-dustin-sutton/id1692838507

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pQZ551Ct4jVRQ2BqB7Zr2?si=740ba4a90165417a

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the3tpod/

💼 Sutton Growth Partners | Strategy. Systems. Execution.

🌐 suttongrowthpartners.com

Youth sports has plenty of apps and almost no real connection between them. John Osberg, VP of Partnerships at Brandlete, joins Dustin to talk about building one platform that brings communication, operations, and athlete development together in one place.

🏆 The Gap Brandlete Set Out to Fill

About five years ago, John saw a problem. Sports organizations were juggling disconnected tools, and no one had built a solution that could “bring everything into one place and do it thoughtfully and efficiently.” Brandlete is built to streamline operations and make youth sports more accessible.

⛳ An Athlete’s Perspective

Sports have been part of John’s life from the start, including time on the golf course with his grandmother. He shares why he is passionate about opening up sports like golf to more communities. As he puts it, “It’s bigger than sports. It’s not just the game, it’s the competition; there’s so much inside of what sports will do.” Dustin adds his own story of finding golf later in life.

📈 A Platform Built for Growth

Brandlete gives athletes a measurable, customized development plan that blends technology with personal growth. John talks about the athletes he is most excited to help: the ones on the fringe of playing at the D1, D2, or D3 level.

💡 What You’ll Take Away

How technology can unify a fragmented youth sports experience Why access to sports shapes lives well beyond the game How a measurable development plan can help athletes reach the next level

🔗 Connect with John Osberg

John Osberg, VP of Partnerships, Brandlete, Inc.

Learn more about Brandlete: https://brandlete.com

John’s site: https://johnosberg.com/

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/johnosberg/

Email: [email protected]

🎧 About the Show

Tools, Talents & Techniques with Dustin Sutton features conversations with founders, operators, and leaders about how they think and build. Find every episode at toolstalentstechniques.com.

🌐 toolstalentstechniques.com

🎬 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dustincsutton

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tools-talents-and-techniques-with-dustin-sutton/id1692838507

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pQZ551Ct4jVRQ2BqB7Zr2?si=740ba4a90165417a📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the3tpod/

https://suttongrowthpartners.com

https://journey.suttongrowthpartners.com/

After a career that spanned the U.S. Navy and the Secret Service, Shawn Honer knew a day would come when he didn’t want to clock in anymore. So he built a life where he wouldn’t have to.

In Episode 119, Dustin sits down with Shawn to talk about his journey from government service to entrepreneurship. Shawn shares how he learned the business by talking to people and finding mentors who took him under their wing. He also explains how he built confidence through small wins, like convincing a seller to finance his first rental property instead of going to the bank. From there, the conversation covers his weight loss and bodybuilding journey, starting Sugar Bear Coffee in Colombia, the role of therapy and mental health in his success, and why the skills he learned in uniform still drive how he operates today. If you’re thinking about making a leap of your own, this one will give you the push.

🔑 What You Will Learn

-How Shawn made the leap from government service to business owner

-Why mentors and conversations taught him more than books or seminars

-How he negotiated owner financing on his first rental property

-How small wins build the confidence to take bigger swings

-Which military and Secret Service skills carry over into business

-How he balances health, fitness, family, and entrepreneurship

-Why asking for help early is a strength, not a weakness

-The daily routines that keep him focused

🕐 Episode Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Shawn’s Background

02:39 Deciding to Leave Government Service

04:50 First Steps into Entrepreneurship and Learning

06:40 Building Confidence Through Small Wins

09:55 Transferable Skills from Military and Government

12:33 Family, Leadership, and Personal Growth

14:33 Weight Loss Journey and Bodybuilding

17:48 Starting Sugar Bear Coffee in Colombia

20:42 The Importance of Community and Asking for Help

23:36 Daily Routines and Time Management

27:56 Retirement Plans Versus Reality

30:52 Dreams and Future Plans

33:44 Final Thoughts and Parting Words

🔗 Connect with Shawn Honer LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-honer-90544315b/

🎙️ About Tools, Talents, and Techniques Hosted by Dustin Sutton, Tools, Talents, and Techniques is a podcast for founders, operators, and professionals who want to go deeper than surface-level success stories. Every episode unpacks how high performers think, decide, and build things that last.

📲 Subscribe and leave a review if this episode brought you value.

🌐 Podcast Homepage: toolstalentstechniques.com

💼 Sutton Growth Partners | Strategy. Systems. Execution. suttongrowthpartners.com

Bob Campana started his entrepreneurial journey at 21 with $500 and a drive to succeed. Decades later, he is still building places people never forget.

In Episode 118, Dustin sits down with Bob, founder of Redwood Food and Wine and author of Don't Look Down, to talk about what it takes to build what lasts. Bob shares the story of relocating the Redwood Cafe, partnering with a billionaire on the River Islands project, and why environment, lighting, and nonverbal cues shape how people feel the moment they walk in. He also explains why he hires for attitude over skill, how "memory moments" define a customer's experience, and how AI is helping him plan his next large-scale project. If you are building a business, a brand, or a community, this one is worth your time.

🔑 What You Will Learn

-How Bob turned $500 into a lifetime of building businesses

-Why our fears are often magnified by our own internal conversation

-How flat-rate pricing transformed a plumbing business

-Why a positive attitude beats a skilled hire every time

-How design and nonverbal cues create emotional connection

-What memory moments are and why they shape your brand

-How to build a third place where people feel they belong

-How AI is shaping Bob's next large-scale project

📚 Bob's Book "Don't Look Down": https://a.co/d/0hTLVV4I

🔗 Connect with Bob Campana

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-campana-entrepreneur/

Redwood Food and Wine: https://www.redwoodfoodandwine.com/

🎙️ About Tools, Talents, and Techniques Hosted by Dustin Sutton, Tools, Talents, and Techniques is a podcast for founders, operators, and professionals who want to go deeper than surface-level success stories. Every episode unpacks how high performers think, decide, and build things that last.

📲 Subscribe and leave a review if this episode brought you value.

🌐 Podcast Homepage: toolstalentstechniques.com

💼 Sutton Growth Partners | Strategy. Systems. Execution. suttongrowthpartners.com

Most business owners know AI exists. The harder question is where their business is losing time, money, and capacity, and what would actually fix it.

Toni Taylor Gozza spent 35 years in the mortgage industry before founding The Gozza Gap, a consultancy that helps owners find and close gaps across their people, processes, and technology. Sometimes the answer is AI. Sometimes it is automation, a better process, or removing a step that no longer serves a purpose. Toni is also a co-author of the Amazon bestselling AI Prompt Handbook.

In Episode 117, Toni joins Dustin Sutton to discuss her journey from mortgage industry veteran to business improvement consultant. They revisit the 2008 financial crisis, the role resilience played in rebuilding, and how therapy and meditation changed the way Toni leads. They also talk about writing her book, adopting AI with purpose, and spotting the problems business owners are often too close to see.

What you’ll learn

• How Toni made the move from mortgage lending to The Gozza Gap
• What the 2008 financial crisis taught her about resilience
• How personal growth changed her leadership and relationships
• Why AI works best when you start with a business problem
• How to identify gaps that drain time, money, and capacity
• Practical ways to begin using AI, wherever you are starting

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Toni

03:29 From mortgages to AI entrepreneurship

07:36 Lessons from the 2008 financial crisis

11:56 Resilience and mentorship

19:17 Therapy, meditation, and mindset

37:07 Discovering AI and writing The AI Prompt Handbook

43:51 Collaborating with co-authors

47:17 Finding and closing business gaps

52:24 Practical advice for AI adoption

58:58 The inside job and living in the present

Connect with Toni

The Gozza Gap: https://gozzagap.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thegozzagap/

Email: [email protected]

The AI Prompt Handbook: Available on Amazon

Follow Tools, Talents, and Techniques

Website: https://toolstalentstechniques.com

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dustincsutton

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tools-talents-and-techniques-with-dustin-sutton/id1692838507

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pQZ551Ct4jVRQ2BqB7Zr2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the3tpod/

Brought to you in part by Sutton Growth Partners | Strategy. Systems. Execution. https://suttongrowthpartners.com

Golf courses are leaving revenue on the table every single day — and most operators don't even see it happening. In this episode, Kevin Kalner, founder of Golf District, breaks down how his booking platform is bringing dynamic pricing and revenue management to an industry that's been stuck in the past.

Kevin shares his journey from golf enthusiast to startup founder, walking through how COVID-19 accelerated growth across the golf industry, why so many courses are unknowingly losing revenue, and how Golf District's tee time booking platform is solving the perishability problem that's plagued golf courses for decades. We also get into the unsolicited offer feature that's creating a new buying habit for golfers, the real challenges of driving change management and adoption in a legacy industry, and what it takes to build and lead a startup team from the ground up.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Kevin Kalner's path from golf sales to founding Golf District
• The evolution of golf courses in San Diego and beyond
• How COVID-19 changed the trajectory of the golf industry
• Identifying revenue leakage and pricing inefficiencies at golf courses
• Building Golf District's dynamic pricing and booking platform
• How prepaid tee times solve golf's perishability problem
• The unsolicited offer feature and price discovery in golf
• Managing change and driving adoption in a traditional industry
• Lessons on entrepreneurship, team building, and staying motivated
• Where Golf District is headed next

"Let the content dictate the format."

"Unsolicited offers create a new buying habit in golf."

"The milestones keep us motivated and moving forward."

Resources & links: Golf District — https://www.golfdistrict.com

Kevin Kalner on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinkalner

Golf District on Twitter/X — https://twitter.com/GOLFdistrict_

Follow Tools, Talents, and Techniques on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/the3tpod/

Follow the show on Twitter/X — https://twitter.com/the3tpod

Episode music by C€$ on Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/artist/21zXwxV9nWaiE6iAleU6ww

🏀 From Court to Courtroom: Tracy Schimelfenig on Sports Law, NIL, and the Future of Women's Sports

She went from college basketball player to courtroom. And she will tell you the skills that made her a great athlete are the same ones that make her a great attorney.

Tracy Schimelfenig is the founder and Managing Attorney of Schimelfenig Legal, a San Diego-based firm focused on sports, business, and nonprofit law. With 20 years of experience spanning litigation, in-house counsel, and transactional work, Tracy brings a perspective to sports law that most attorneys simply do not have. She has lived it as an athlete, and now she fights for the people still in it.

🔑 What You Will Learn

• How basketball shaped Tracy's entire approach to thinking and practicing law
• What sports law actually covers including NIL, athlete representation, and stadium deals
• Why the NIL space is still the Wild West and what athletes need to know right now
• The mental health and identity challenges athletes face when their playing days end
• Why women's sports is one of the biggest investment opportunities in the market today

🕐 Episode Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Tracy's Background in Sports and Law 02:45 How Tracy Fell in Love with Basketball 05:46 Athletic Identity and College Basketball Journey 09:22 Mentors, Coaches, and Lessons Learned from Sports 12:50 Deciding to Pursue Law and Early Influences 14:01 Law School and Developing a Strategic Mindset 16:16 How Sports Shaped Her Approach to Law 19:39 Specializing in Sports Law and Athlete Advocacy 22:50 NIL and the Evolving Landscape of Sports Business 25:10 Women's Sports Initiatives and Community Impact 27:53 Future Projects and Her Vision for Her Firm 47:14 Mental Health, Injuries, and the Athlete's Journey 47:49 Parting Words and Advice for Listeners

🔗 Resources Mentioned

The Hoopers Collective: https://www.thehooperscollective.com

Schimelfenig Legal: https://www.schimelfeniglegal.com

🔗 Connect with Tracy Schimelfenig

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyschimelfenig

Website: https://www.schimelfeniglegal.com

🎙️ About Tools, Talents, and Techniques

Hosted by Dustin Sutton, Tools Talents and Techniques is a podcast for founders, operators, and professionals who want to go deeper than surface-level success stories. Every episode unpacks how high performers think, decide, and build things that last.

🌐 toolstalentstechniques.com

🎬 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dustincsutton

🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tools-talents-and-techniques-with-dustin-sutton/id1692838507

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pQZ551Ct4jVRQ2BqB7Zr2?si=740ba4a90165417a

In this episode, I sit down with Mark Cafferty of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to unpack what's really driving San Diego's economy — from cross-border trade with Mexico to the talent pipelines fueling regional growth. Mark shares how the EDC engages with industry, the leadership lessons he's picked up from mentors and other cities, and why data-driven decision-making sits at the center of good economic development. We also get into the housing supply conversation and what it will actually take for San Diego households to thrive.

🔑 What You Will Learn

• How San Diego's economy is structured and which industries are driving its growth

• Why the cross-border relationship with Mexico matters more than most people realize

• The leadership principles shaping how the EDC operates and communicates across industries

• How San Diego attracts and develops the talent that fuels long-term growth

• Why data-driven decision-making is central to smart, effective economic development

🕐 Timestamps

0:00 Introduction to Mark Cafferty and the EDC

2:03 San Diego's Economic Landscape

5:01 Cross-Border Economic Relationships

8:42 Mark's Journey to San Diego

13:40 Communication and Engagement Strategies

19:44 Understanding Industry Needs

24:33 Building a Positive Organizational Culture

27:26 Influential Leadership: Lessons from Mentors

31:27 Learning from Experience: The Value of Observing Others

32:20 Cross-City Learning: Gaining Insights from Other Regions

38:16 Building a Strong Research Foundation: The Role of Data

42:10 Addressing Regional Challenges: Prioritizing Economic Development

48:17 Strategies for Thriving Households: Economic Solutions

San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation: https://www.sandiegobusiness.org/

Cross-Border Trade and Collaboration: https://www.sandiegobusiness.org/cross-border/

🔗 Connect with Mark Cafferty

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-cafferty-61b3765/

📲 Subscribe and leave a review if this episode brought you value.

🌐 toolstalentstechniques.com

Tune into our episodes on

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@dustincsutton

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tools-talents-and-techniques-with-dustin-sutton/id1692838507

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pQZ551Ct4jVRQ2BqB7Zr2?si=740ba4a90165417a

Instagram: @the3Tpod

X: https://twitter.com/the3tpod

Music provided by C€$ on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/21zXwxV9nWaiE6iAleU6ww

#SanDiego #EconomicDevelopment #Leadership #CrossBorderTrade #Talent #SmallBusiness #ToolsTalentsAndTechniques

Bill Douglas has had more than one moment that changed the trajectory of his life. In this episode, he shares the wild story behind one of them, and how it shaped the way he thinks about resilience, risk, and building a business that lasts.

Bill is the CEO of OpticWise and co-author of Peak Property Performance, a Fast Company Press bestseller. His company helps commercial real estate owners take back control of their data and digital infrastructure instead of leaving it in the hands of vendors. Bill brings decades of experience applying modern technology to one of the slowest-moving industries out there, and he has the war stories and the wins to back it up.

This conversation covers life lessons that go way beyond real estate, the entrepreneurial mindset that got Bill here, and why data ownership might be the single most overlooked advantage available to property owners today.

🔑 What You Will Learn

• The life-changing lesson Bill learned from a near-death experience with a coral snake
• How Bill built and grew a business by applying modern technology to an old industry
• Why data ownership and digital infrastructure are becoming the real differentiators in commercial real estate
• How smart delegation and empowering your team changes everything about how you lead
• What the future of commercial real estate technology actually looks like

🕐 Episode Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Bill Douglas and His Journey

01:57 The Coral Snake Bite That Changed Everything

09:35 Twenty Years Later: A Skiing Accident to the Day

12:52 Choosing Accountability Over a Lawsuit

15:28 The $100,000 Tip and Empowering Employees

18:45 Bill's Five Questions for True Delegation

21:45 How Bill Found Commercial Real Estate

24:53 Why Owners Resist Adopting New Technology

28:05 The Question That Sparked the Book

33:43 Machine Learning, NLP, and Robotics in CRE

37:50 Due Diligence and the Hidden Value of Data

40:21 Which Asset Classes See the Biggest Impact

43:06 Setting Up Part Two

OpticWise: https://www.opticwise.com

🔗 Connect with Bill Douglas

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billdouglas/

Website: https://www.opticwise.com

Peak Property Performance (book and podcast): https://www.peakpropertyperformance.com

🎙️ About Tools, Talents, and Techniques

Hosted by Dustin Sutton, Tools Talents and Techniques is a podcast for founders, operators, and professionals who want to go deeper than surface-level success stories. Every episode unpacks how high performers think, decide, and build things that last.

📲 Subscribe and leave a review if this episode brought you value.

🌐 toolstalentstechniques.com

🏢 AI Is Disrupting Commercial Real Estate. Here's What That Actually Looks Like.

Dan Mosher has been early to almost every major tech wave of the last 25 years. Food delivery. Electric vehicles. Programmatic advertising. Now he's setting his sights on commercial real estate, and the timing could not be better.

Dan is the CEO and co-founder of DealGround, an AI-native data platform that combines fragmented property and market data into one searchable system spanning 62M+ properties. Before launching DealGround, he led the merchant team at Postmates through its $4.4B acquisition by Uber and served as SVP/GM of BrightRoll Exchange ahead of its $640M sale to Yahoo.

In this episode, Dan and Dustin unpack how AI is reshaping the way brokers access data, build pipelines, and close deals, and why the brokers who adapt fastest will have a massive competitive advantage.

🔑 What You Will Learn

• Why being early is both a superpower and a liability, and how Dan navigated both
• How DealGround is stitching together siloed CRE data into one AI-powered interface
• Why the new crop of brokers is the catalyst for industry-wide adoption
• How AI agents can now write outreach letters, pull ownership data, and build prospect lists in seconds
• Why curiosity is the most underrated skill in the AI era
• How to make yourself a 10X employee using the tools that are already available to you

🕐 Episode Chapters

00:00 Making Yourself a 10X Employee with AI

00:39 Welcome Dan Mosher, CEO of DealGround

01:29 What DealGround Is Building and Why

02:02 From Morgan Stanley to Web 1.0 and Beyond

04:44 Always Early: Lessons from Webvan, EVs, and Mobile

06:05 BrightRoll and the Birth of Programmatic Video

09:53 Postmates and the Restaurant Delivery Revolution

16:30 What Stays Constant Across Every Stage of Growth

20:29 Why Commercial Real Estate Was Ready for Disruption

22:46 Stitching Together Siloed Data with LLMs

26:17 How Dan Validated the Problem Before Building the Product

31:36 DealGround vs. the Incumbents: The Clean Sheet Advantage

35:45 AI Certifications, Curiosity, and Cross-Industry Thinking

39:44 Making Brokers 10X More Efficient 41:39 How Dan's Team Uses AI Across Sales, Product, and Engineering

46:52 Democratizing Access to CRE Data

48:18 Parting Words: Build Your Skills, Embrace the Tools

🔗 Connect with Dan Mosher

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmosher

DealGround: https://www.dealground.com

🎙️ About Tools, Talents, and Techniques

Hosted by Dustin Sutton, Tools Talents and Techniques is a podcast for founders, operators, and professionals who want to go deeper than surface-level success stories. Every episode unpacks how high performers think, decide, and build things that last.

📲 Subscribe and leave a review if this episode brought you value. 🌐 toolstalentstechniques.com