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When Brad Elliott Founded Equity Bank in 2001, he did it with one bank purchase, 25 investors and 19 employees. "18, I fired somebody on the first day," Brad corrects me. Taking a company public is, at its core, selling ownership of the business to a new group of investors. Most of us have heard the phrase "going public," but few of us understand how demanding the process actually is. Brad Elliott and Greg Kossover walk through the thinking that led them to take Equity Bank public in 2015, and then the work required to get there. Their account—both the financial mechanics and the emotional weight of the decision—gives a clearer picture of what it really feels like to GO PUBLIC.

Introducing Miguel: Finding His Voice Again from Before The Moment with Nile Rodgers. Follow the show: Before The Moment with Nile Rodgers R&B sensation Miguel needs no introduction - he’s a multi-disciplinary artist, known for hits like “Sure Thing” and Grammy winner, “Adorn”. Miguel’s musings on romance and intimacy flow seamlessly through his work, brought to life with lyrical mastery and a style that always keeps you guessing. And that’s because Miguel has never let one genre define him. Raised between Black and Latin cultures, Miguel learned to move comfortably between influences, helping him bridge musical genres that continue to surprise audiences. His latest release CAOS, arrived after an 8 year break. Inside every song, you can hear an artist still experimenting, still pushing, and still reinventing himself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. DISCLAIMER: Please note, this is an independent podcast episode not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in conjunction with the host podcast feed or any of its media entities. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the creators and guests. For any concerns, please reach out to [email protected].

He wanted to learn more languages, so he decided to teach himself how to code so that he could invent an app. The app is Chatterbox. He wanted the learning to be fun so he embedded game in his app. He wanted it to be successful and available so he gave it to the world for free. When he built Chatterbox, he built it for the user. He built it for himself. Seven years later, Grant has decided to focus all of his attention on Chatterbox. Everything he has done has been intentional His intention is to make it more fun more accessible and easier for the whole world to learn so that they can communicate no matter the language. He never stops innovating.

"Cheap is not just money... you can't get the time back."  -Jon Bachura Jon Bachura studies entrepreneurship so I think that makes him the Mad Scientist of Entrepreneurology. HIs passion to learn fro Entrepreneurs and share what he has learned will benefit those seeking to improve outcomes in their lives and in the lives of others.   Check out Entrepreneurology on Jon Bachura's YouTube.

"Call us. We'll protect your Constitutional Rights." -Sam MacRoberts The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals from unreasonable, searches, and seizures, requiring law-enforcement to obtain a warrant based on probable cause. Flock is an American manufacturer and operator of surveillance hardware and software. Flock particularly surveys automated license plate recognition ALPR, and performs over 20 billion scans of vehicles in the United States every month their network consists of camera cameras, image recognition machine learning WICH share data with police departments.  Kansas Justice Institute is a free public interest, litigation firm, protecting the freedoms guaranteed by the Kansas and United States constitutions. City Of Wichita, through its vast network of nearly 200 AI powered ALPR's continuously tracks surveys and monitors while compiling searchable database on every law abiding Kansas driving in the city. This is done so without a warrant or without any judicial oversight. That is unconstitutional.

"I always wanted to do my own thing. And it wasn't until many years later that I started that." -Kevin Mead, Founder It doesn't matter when your entrepreneurial journey begins. It just matters that you start. Kevin grew up around aircraft. He loves aircraft. Specialization is what your unique ability is. When Kevin started Mead Aircraft, they were specialized from the very beginning. The Piper PA46, often referred to as the Malibu and Its variations, became Kevin's specialization. For a long period of time, Kevin was actually the guy who answered the Piper hotline from calls anywhere in the world. His knowledge about his craft is extraordinary and so is his entrepreneurial journey

" We are in such a hurry, we don't have time to use this shortcut.  Your greatest success happens when you focus." -David Sasson, Action Coach His career as an Entrepreneur who was always experimenting on how to use technology to improve outcomes for his businesses, makes him superiorly qualified to teach Entrepreneurs how to apply AI to improve their outcomes. And David has incredible judgment and is wickedly intelligent.

"Government can't solve all of your problems, especially when it comes to personal issues." -Mayor Wu Mayor Lily Wu was elected because of her message and energy to be all for Wichita. In order for citizens to work successfully to move our city forward, we have to understand how to communicate with the right people in government.   Mayor Wu immediately recogniized the confusion after she took office. She moved quickly to create a solution. She is demystifying city government. When we don't know where to go to solve a problem, we tend to complain rather than continue to seek solution solutions. Mayor Wu has created several tools to help all of us participate and then contribute to the process of running the City Of Wichita. We thank Mayor Wu for this discussion and her leadership in demystifying city government.

Why not work so hard to see where this takes you?  -Noel Torres Noel has championship pedigree. His trophy case is full of the belts, medals and championships to prove it. What makes him a champion at life is how he approaches it every day— with discipline. He has a squad of young athletes that are excelling at the highest level of wrestling on a national stage. The only way you can achieve that is to apply that discipline every day. The focus is exceptional. It's one thing to individually succeed, it is another standard to coach and train others to do it and to win at it.

Changing became less scary than staying the same. - Ben Hutton  Ascending to leadership as the second generation of a successful family-founded company is no small feat. Very few thriving, closely held family businesses survive the transition to the next generation—let alone continue on a strong growth trajectory. Ben Hutton did exactly that. He stepped into the role of CEO at Hutton Construction. To the outside world, it looked like a picture-perfect success story. Internally, Ben was quietly suffering. One night at 3 a.m., he sent his father a raw, honest email laying out all the challenges and internal turmoil he was facing. That single message changed the trajectory of the company. Ben refused to simply follow the status quo. Instead, he authentically articulated what needed to change so he could lead in a way that played to his unique strengths and abilities. It was difficult. There was doubt. There was friction. But that honesty and courage set the stage for the transformational journey that turned Hutton Construction into The Hutton Companies—the organization Ben proudly leads today.  This is his account of how they became the Hutton companies.

"The Governor's job is a CEO job." -Philip Sarnecki "Failures, if we appraoch them correctly, are our greatest teachers." -Philip Sarnecki Philip learned his work ethic as a young person. When you don't grow up with a lot, and you do grow up with love, you are taught the valuable lesson of how to work. Phillip Sarnecki has led throughout his life. A resilient work ethic is the strong foundation from which all human beings can launch. He's running for governor as an outsider. What that means is, he hasn't spent his career making promises to other people with money that comes from Kansas taxpayers. An entrepreneur, a CEO is uniquely capable of running a 25+ billion dollar budget because they have become successful through accountability. Those in government do not have accountability because they are spending someone else's money. Philip is running for Governor to give more opportunity to Kansans.

Amanda took a risk as an Entrepreneur early in her career. Through sheer grit and determination --and a hell of a product idea-- she was successful. Nothing fails like success. That iswhy Entrepreneurs jump right back in with both feet. This time, Amanda invented a product. Applying all the knowledge from her previous entrepreneurial ventures, including strong relationships professionally, and in manufacturing, she took this invention and scaled it only to have a potential customer steal her intellectual property. Patent Protection only goes so far. The bigger company, with more resources can be unethical and just take your idea if they believe they can drown you and legal costs. It's a calculated risk. Amanda Seema wasn't willing to lay down with her trade secret. And she is fighting.

"If you don't have Accountability, you are going to have a big mess on you hands." -Greg Kossover Greg Kossover is a self-made Entrepreneur/Businessman and former CEO of multiple succesful companies.  Equity Bank's customers are fortunate to have access to his remarkable breath of knowledge and judgement. The work he's done for the growth of Equity Bank--taking it public-- give him incredible insight on how to continue to grow Value for Customers' Businesses and the Financial health of Equity Bank.

"This is still an upward mobility story." -Jeremy Hill Jeremy Hill, regional economist for the Kansas City Federal Reserve, breaks down Missouri and Kansas's economy, the drivers behind persistent inflation, and why high oil prices are keeping costs elevated across the board. He explains how energy costs ripple through everything we buy and what needs to happen for inflation to finally stabilize. Hill also shares how the Federal Reserve operates with districts across the country, how each one votes differently to maintain the integrity of the Federal Reserve, and its core role in stabilizing prices while aiming for maximum employment.

When you immigrate to the United States from a former communist country, your point of view about opportunity is different. Kristof's first visit to the US was to New York and he thought it was all like that. As a Top high school decathlete in Poland, he had the chance to come to the United States and he chose Wichita USA. As an outstanding athlete for the Wichita State Shockers, he soon wanted to apply his dedication and capabilities to the business world. Many of us in the US take for granted our opportunities. Chief Credit Officer of Equity Bank, Kristof Slupkowski shares in our conversation how difficult it is to legally immigrate so that you can take advantage of the wonderful opportunities in the land of the free. He is an outstanding disciplined human being, and I am grateful to share his story.