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Ryan Sanderson of Knowledge Perk Coffee shares how he raised capital, turned school buses into coffee shops in COVID and built a licensing model. Ryan Sanderson worked for Starbucks, managed at Harris Teeter and sold for Spiffy, a mobile car wash and detailing startup, before starting a doorstep trash service and then helping launch Knowledge Perk Coffee in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He moved full time to Knowledge Perk in 2019. With Cassmer Ward, he talks about learning finance by reading the books a mentor sent him and asking a lot of questions. He is candid about costly mistakes, like a $60,000 salesperson who closed nothing in six months. He explains how COVID forced the company lean, how driveway coffee carts turned into a $2,000 school bus and then a small fleet, and how Knowledge Perk now creates custom roast profiles and licensed coffee for universities like Appalachian State and Wofford. What you'll learn: • Know your numbers, like customer acquisition cost and margin by channel • Do not hire ahead of your stage; one big salary can cripple a startup • Base decisions on data, not the story you tell yourself • A crisis can force you lean and show you what you are good at • Custom roast profiles turn coffee into a marketing tool for partners

Madison Levine of Levine Hearing shares how she built her hearing practice from zero patients through patient experience and steady marketing. Madison Levine studied winemaking and worked in the wine world before pivoting to hearing care, the field her mom worked in with her own hearing clinic. In 2015 she opened Levine Hearing with no patients, a WordPress site she built herself and a logo she made online. Her first $3,000 mailer went out with a transposed phone number, and she still broke even. With Cassmer Ward, she explains why Costco selling hearing aids ended up growing her business, how her team walks the full patient experience from the parking lot in, and why she tracks cost of goods and average sale price. She also shares her 90-day rule for testing marketing, why she budgets 10% of what she wants to make next year, and why visibility in the community is the thing that works. What you'll learn: • Walk your own customer experience, from the parking lot to the exam room • A big new competitor can grow awareness for the whole market • Give any new marketing channel about 90 days before judging it • Budget marketing at 10% of what you want to make next year • Track cost of goods and average sale price to see where to coach • Match the channel to your audience: talk radio reaches her patients

In this episode of Influencing Entrepreneurs, I talk with Steve Rolle, entrepreneur, investor, veteran, author of The Future You Choose, and host of the Rolle with Steve podcast. Steve shares his path from growing up in a low-income household to building businesses, including an e-commerce company that has generated more than $100 million in sales. We talk about the lessons behind that growth, including why a business needs repeatable systems around product, margin, distribution, and customer acquisition. We also get into a lesson Steve learned the hard way: more revenue does not necessarily mean more profit, and why understanding the numbers behind growth matters. If you’re building a business and thinking about growth, profitability, or how to eventually remove yourself from the day-to-day, this conversation offers a practical perspective on what it takes to build with more control. Learn more about Steve Rolle at / steverolle

In this episode of Influencing Entrepreneurs, I talk with Giuseppe Grammatico, “The Franchise Guide,” about what it takes to move from employee to business owner through franchising. Giuseppe walks through his journey from Wall Street into building and selling a franchise, and how that experience shaped the way he now helps others evaluate opportunities. We spend time on what makes a franchise a good fit, how to think through the decision beyond brand recognition, and where new owners often get tripped up. We also look at the other side of the equation, what franchisors need in place before offering their model to others, and how both sides can approach the process with clearer expectations. If you’re exploring business ownership or trying to understand how franchising actually works in practice, this conversation gives a grounded look at how to approach it. Learn more about Giuseppe Grammatico at https://www.ggthefranchiseguide.com/ Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com Intro/Outro music from Pixabay

Scott shares his entrepreneurial journey from the dot-com era to working with founders today, helping them prepare their companies for investment and growth. We discuss lessons from early internet ventures, how today’s AI wave compares to past tech cycles, and why execution, team strength, and solving a real problem matter more than the idea alone. We also break down how founders approach raising capital, what “deal flow” really means, and how entrepreneurs can better prepare before stepping in front of investors. Learn more about Scott at https://www.blackdogventurepartners.com/ Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com Intro/Outro music from Pixabay

What if “doing business the right way” wasn’t just a nice idea, but something you could actually measure? In this episode of Influencing Entrepreneurs, I sit down with Dr. Tom DuFore of Big Sky Franchise Team, a Doctor of Business Administration whose doctoral work focused on virtue in business and how to measure an organization’s virtuousness. We talk through the virtuous business model, the three forms of capital it emphasizes (social, spiritual, and economic), and how Tom built a scorecard to help leaders translate values into measurable indicators like net promoter score, turnover rate, and stakeholder feedback. We also get into franchising, what it takes to turn a working business into a franchise blueprint, why home services became the top franchising category since around August 2020, and what Tom sees when companies talk about culture versus when they actually run decisions through their values. Learn more about Dr. Tom DuFore at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/about/ Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com Intro/Outro music from Pixabay

In this episode of Influencing Entrepreneurs, Steven Seidel shares how grief, a McDonald’s “fries at the bottom of the bag” memory, and a childhood hearing challenge shaped his work around connection, mission, and purpose driven business. He and Cass dig into what a real personal mission looks like, using a simple Venn of skills, passion, and values, plus the line “I help X do Y so that C” to clarify your message. Steven also explains his path from industrial engineer to actor to agency founder, why he chooses socially conscious brands, and how mission, message, media, and movement connect to systems, strategies, and solutions. Expect practical ideas like naming your own “diss track,” questioning old stories about work, and using questions like “what do we need to do, delegate, or delete” to shape your next step. Learn more about Steve Seidel at: https://theseidelagency.com Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com

Harish Chandramali shares how his journey started with nothing more than a love for computers and a desire for a better life. He talks about the schools that shaped him, the jobs that pushed him, and the moment he finally felt ready to build something of his own. We dig into what it really takes to launch a company as a first-time founder. From visa challenges to venture studios to landing the first customer without a team. Harish also opens up about confidence, loneliness, and why AI has completely reshaped the future of his product. It’s an honest look at the work behind entrepreneurship. Learn more about Harish at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scharish/ Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Listen to this interview at: Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com

Here’s how one entrepreneur turned failure into a foundation for growth. In this episode, Jennifer Christensen (CMO and CIO of Beacon Media + Marketing) shares how losing a multimillion-dollar business early in her career reshaped her approach to leadership, faith, and entrepreneurship. We talk about what it really means to rebuild, from learning the operations and financial side of business to understanding how character shapes long-term success. Jennifer also explains how she grew Beacon Media nationally by focusing on one niche, using inbound marketing to attract clients instead of chasing them, and keeping integrity at the center of it all. Learn more about Beacon Media + Marketing: https://www.beaconmm.com/ Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com

Here’s how to turn marketing from guesswork into a system. In this conversation, Allan Dib (author of The One-Page Marketing Plan) walks through the nine-box framework, why tight target markets beat “everyone,” and how to test before you bet so sales get easier, not harder. We dig into owned assets like email that compound over time, plain-text newsletters that actually get read, and a simple way to measure whether your spend is working. You’ll also hear how small shifts, pricing models, delivery, focus can move revenue without “reinventing” your offer, plus practical ways AI can augment your team instead of replacing it. Learn more about Allan Dib: https://allandib.com and https://leanmarketing.com/about Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com

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Nate Edgerly thought music would be his career. It wasn’t. What followed was a complete pivot. From punk rock shows to a master’s in accounting. From chasing gigs to managing a beverage company, losing millions. In this episode, Nate shares what those chapters taught him about running a business, leading people, and why most of us get customer feedback and planning completely backward. It’s honest, it’s relatable, and it might make you rethink how you lead. Learn more about Blystone and Donaldson: https://www.blystoneanddonaldson.com/ Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com

Damion Lupo has started 80 businesses, lost millions, and rebuilt his empire, more than once. From reselling video games at age 11 to getting kicked out of college for outcompeting the campus bookstore, his entrepreneurial story is packed with wild turns, brutal lessons, and honest insight into what it really takes to scale. Learn more about Damion Lupo: https://damionlupo.com/ Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com

From side hustle research to $300K per year on YouTube, Whitney Bonds built her business without shortcuts. Just strategy, persistence, and intention. In this episode, we unpack the real path behind “making money from home,” how she leveraged blogging and SEO to escape the 9-to-5, and why platform pivots like Pinterest to YouTube aren’t luck. They’re decisions. Whether you're building from scratch, tired of passive income hype, or just want to know what actually works, this conversation is your playbook. Learn more about Whitney Bonds at: https://www.youtube.com/@WhitneyBonds Like this video? Subscribe Now to Influencing Entrepreneurs: @nexagyeducation Interested in learning about Cassmer Ward? Visit: www.nexagy.com