Episode Overview

Podcast: Dirt Talk by BuildWitt
Episode: BHAG, Speaking, and 10,000 Lessons (Building BuildWitt #42 – DT 421)
Date: March 2, 2026
Host: Aaron Witt

This episode offers a behind-the-scenes update from Aaron Witt on BuildWitt’s progress, focusing on their ambitious financial goals (BHAG), the ongoing challenges and growth in public speaking, the early success of the BuildWitt PROVE training platform, and the rapid sell-out of the Ariat Dirt World Summit. Aaron’s tone is candid, optimistic, and often self-deprecating, as he reflects on both recent challenges and exciting milestones.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. State of the Business & Financial Goals

• Purpose & Mission:
  BuildWitt aims to “grow the Dirt World’s next generation” by building strong leaders and supporting infrastructure through training, development, and media.
  “It’s to grow the BuildWitt brand, to build the dirt world's next generation. That's the next generation of leaders and next generation of builders, which will then build the next generation of America and the world.” (01:09)

• Sales Year & Revenue Goals:

  • The sales year has shifted to a December 1st–December 1st cycle.

  • There are two key revenue goals:

    • Baseline Revenue: Ensures profitability and full bonus/stock compensation.
    • BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal): A stretch target inspired by Jeff Collins, often referenced by team member Randy Blunt. Achieving this goal would significantly increase company value and independence.

  • Current Progress:

    • Two months into 2026, the company is already tracking ahead of both the BHAG and budget expectations.

    • Expenses have remained below projections, boosting morale and company momentum.

    • Aaron emphasizes this as a psychological and material turning point after years of “losing mentality” and operating at a cash deficit.

    • “As of now, two months in, we're tracking beyond the BHAG for revenue, which is extraordinary. And we've come in so far under our projected expenses for the sales year.” (04:43)

2. Speaking Engagements & Personal Growth

• Recent Speaking Tour:

  • Spoke at the AGC of West Virginia’s annual meeting (in Panama) and Beaver Excavating’s annual meeting (in Ohio).
  • Describes a memorable personal experience transiting the Panama Canal.
    • “I got to go through the Panama Canal too, which was really cool... Me and a hundred other very old people, Europeans and Americans. Go figure.” (10:15)

• The Challenge of Public Speaking:

  • Aaron calls speaking “the hardest skill I’ve ever attempted,” citing his introverted nature.

  • The only way to improve: continual practice, especially “on a stage in front of strangers in strange places.”

  • Iterative approach to talks: After grading his Panama talk as a “6 out of 10,” he overhauled the presentation for the Ohio event and rated it “8 out of 10.”

    • “You have to just do it in front of people and then you can iterate from there. It’s the only way it happens.” (16:10)

  • Aaron links his growth as a speaker to better leadership and podcasting skills—ultimately helping his mission of building industry leaders.

3. BuildWitt PROVE Platform & Training Milestones

• Platform Adoption & Usage:

  • The team recently rolled out BuildWitt PROVE and overhauled their implementation strategy.
  • Notable client achievements: several companies have logged over 10,000 completed lessons in just a few months.

    • Represents hundreds of hours of practical, bite-sized training (“5 to 10 minutes a day”) that integrates smoothly with daily work.

    • “We’ve had multiple customers hit over 10,000 lessons completed within the first month or few months... Only a few minutes per day helping these companies avoid accidents, avoid rework, and avoid turnover, which is a damn good deal.” (21:03)

• Training Philosophy:

  • Micro-training delivers higher retention and less disruption compared to traditional long-format courses.
  • It’s designed to supplement—not replace—formal certifications but provides daily development in both technical and “people” skills.

• Ongoing Product Development:

  • The dev team is addressing bugs and scaling product infrastructure while working on new features: announcements, home screen redesign, leaderboards.

  • BuildWitt is “becoming legitimately a software company” after years of groundwork.

  • Aaron reflects on how transformative a product like PROVE would have been for his younger self.

    • “If I had this when I was starting out, I would have been so much more effective. So much more effective.” (26:45)

4. Ariat Dirt World Summit: Momentum & Focus

• Event Growth:

  • 2026 ticket and sponsor sales are far ahead of plan—nearly 90% sold, tracking to sell out in the current quarter.

  • “As I record this, I think we’re almost 90% of tickets sold. And this is not a blessing just from a cash flow standpoint... but I think the biggest blessing is actually focus.” (28:14)

• Shift in Company Energy:

  • The leadership team previously devoted immense effort to building the Dirt World Summit’s audience.

  • Success means they can now redeploy that energy to BuildWitt PROVE and core business operations.

  • “Dirt World is not the core business. It’s part of the business. BuildWitt PROVE, the software company—that's the core business. That's where our focus needs to be.” (30:06)

  • Aaron is relieved to move from “please come, please come” sales calls to letting the event’s reputation drive demand.

    • “Now, instead of pushing on everybody, please come, please come... Now they get it. We can use that focus and apply it elsewhere to drive the business forward and to solve other problems.” (31:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Climbing Out of a Financial Hole:
  “It only gets deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper. And as it gets deeper and deeper, it’s harder to see the sunlight up at the top. But once you start getting out of it, and the sunlight becomes more and more... now there’s the momentum. Now you can have more life within everybody, within the organization.” (06:45)

• On Speaking and Personal Growth:
  “Speaking is by far the hardest skill I’ve ever attempted. It’s very against my baseline, my natural state, which is extremely introverted. And you can only get better by practicing it.” (13:28)

• On Training Impact:
  “Only a few minutes per day helping these companies avoid accidents, avoid rework, and avoid turnover, which is a damn good deal.” (21:20)

• On Shifting Focus from Events to Core Business:
  “Our leadership team, from me, from Randy, from Jason, from Kara, from Dan... we’ve put so much energy into building the Dirt World brand... Dirt World is not the core business. BuildWitt PROVE, the software company—that's the core business. That's where our focus needs to be.” (30:06)

• On the Early Struggles and Current Momentum:
  “It’s just been a grind for years and years and years to build Dirt World into the event that it is and is becoming. There’s a lot of work to go to make it world-class. And every year has to be better.” (32:34)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – 01:45: Introduction, BuildWitt’s mission and business context
• 01:45 – 07:10: Financial goals, BHAG, and business turnaround
• 10:10 – 16:30: Speaking engagements, Panama Canal story, and public speaking challenges
• 16:30 – 21:50: Iterating on speaking skills and presentation improvement process
• 21:50 – 26:45: PROVE platform’s 10,000+ lessons milestone and training philosophy
• 27:00 – 29:30: Product development updates, infrastructure challenges, and user benefits
• 29:40 – 33:00: Dirt World Summit ticket sales success and the company-wide shift in strategic focus
• 33:10 – End: Reflections on business growth, event legacy, closing thoughts

Summary

Aaron Witt’s solo update is both a candid self-assessment and a celebration of recent successes for BuildWitt. The company is hitting financial stride, outpacing their formerly elusive BHAG after years of hardship. Aaron shares his ongoing journey to become an effective speaker—openly grading himself and iterating rapidly for personal growth. The BuildWitt PROVE platform is having a tangible impact, logging thousands of user lessons and improving daily safety and performance for clients. With the Dirt World Summit almost sold out far in advance, Aaron notes a seismic shift: the company can finally refocus its energy on its primary mission—empowering the next generation of leaders and workers in the Dirt World through software, training, and relentless improvement.