Vick Tipnes | From $78 in His Bank Account to Owning a Private Jet

Summary

School of Hard Knocks Podcast – Episode Summary

Guest: Vick Tipnes
Episode Title: From $78 in His Bank Account to Owning a Private Jet
Date: February 18, 2026

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Overview

This episode features healthcare mogul Vick Tipnes, who shares his remarkable journey from being nearly broke—just $78.80 in his bank account in 2014—to building the largest sleep medical device testing company in the U.S. and eventually owning a private jet. The discussion delves deep into Vick’s philosophy on entrepreneurship, suffering as a teacher, scaling globally, personal branding, leadership, the power of decisions, building company culture, and life lessons on success, money, and purpose.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The $78 Turning Point (00:00–06:09)

• Vick’s rock bottom: In November 2014, Vick had $78.80 left, feeling defeated but used the moment to double down on his entrepreneurial dreams.
  • “I'm at 78 bucks. Like, it doesn't get worse than that. The person working at Chick-fil-A is making more money than me.” – Vick (03:18)
• He highlights the moment as pivotal: “Are you going to double down and go all in, or are you going to quit?” (03:50)
• No safety net, no brand, no mentors—Vick was “feast or famine,” with only a high school diploma and no fallback options.
• He emphasizes the benefit of having no “Plan B” and burning the boats: “It's almost like that drive and that lack of a safety net is what propels you to have that hunger forward.” – Host (06:09)

2. Why Healthcare? Personal Motivation and Niche Discovery (06:36–08:48)

• Inspired by the loss of both parents to cancer, Vick noticed a gap in healthcare: lack of compassion and service.
• Started in radiology, sold his first company for $9 million but “didn’t make any money” due to poor partnerships and guarantees.
• Key lesson: “Suffering is your best teacher...until you suffer through it, it's really hard to get it sometimes.” – Vick (10:45)

3. Suffering, Decision-Making & Entrepreneurship Mindset (11:09–13:46)

• Textbook knowledge vs real-world lessons: Firing people, getting into debt, experiencing downturns matter more than degrees.
• “Success teaches you nothing...it's suffering. You gotta almost kind of welcome it.” – Vick (11:39)
• Real entrepreneurs learn through adversity and adapt, thriving in “the worst shit in the company.”

4. Company Differentiation: Service as a Superpower (13:29–18:33)

• Focus on exceptional, consistent service—“service is a lost art.”
• It starts from the top and is sustained by obsessive leadership, not just company policies.
• “If the CEO is not big on service...it doesn’t work. You gotta do it yourself and show through example.” – Vick (17:03)
• Great leaders “do the unscalable, doing the unsexy” daily to maintain culture and team buy-in.

5. Personal Connections & Leadership (18:56–21:46)

• “People want to work for a person, not a company.” – Vick (19:32)
• The founder’s vision and personal brand are vital for inspiration and buy-in.
• Example: Everyone knows Richard Branson or Steve Jobs, not anonymous CEOs of major corporations.

6. The Game-Changer: Aggressive Growth Strategy (21:53–25:32)

• In 2019, a competitor’s bankruptcy provided an opportunity: instead of buying the company, Vick hired 80% of their sales force, catapulting Blackstone to the top.
• Demonstrated the importance of speed and decisiveness in business deals.
  • “We're either making a deal today or there's no deal…Within a month, I had hired 80% of their sales force…instantly beat [the competition].” – Vick (24:29)

7. Money Loves Speed & Successful Traits (25:49–31:55)

• Vick calls billionaire friend Frank live to prove: “Every millionaire or billionaire...when I text them, they immediately text me back.” (27:07)
• Frank’s advice: “Don’t ever give up. Time is on your side. It will prevail…there is no quick get rich, get fast...You gotta put in the time.” (27:46)
• Vick emphasizes decisiveness: “It's better to be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right.” (31:22)
• Speed of decision-making is critical to growth. Delays and indecision kill momentum.

8. Mindset: Staying Hungry & Never Feeling Secure (32:19–34:37)

• Vick and hosts discuss the ever-present anxiety of being “broke,” even after achieving massive success.
• “My plane, my Gulfstream's paid off, and I still worry. I just feel the same way...I think that's just the competitiveness and the DNA of an entrepreneur.” – Vick (33:49)
• Vigilance is key: “Wake up every day thinking someone’s trying to eat your lunch.”

9. Money, Attention, & The Value of Status Symbols (34:43–38:20)

• Private jets and luxury cars serve as motivational standards and can open doors.
  • “Money flows to attention, right? People want to know who you are. It opens doors.” – Vick (34:50)
• Vick justifies luxury buys as drivers for greater ambition (“this is now the standard I never want to go below”).

10. Going Global & Building Teams Internationally (38:20–43:52)

• Decision to scale beyond the U.S.: “You either got to grow or shrink. There’s no middle ground.”
• Blackstone expanded to Colombia, now with almost 400 employees in Medellin.
• U.S. is only 5% of the global population—think globally for talent and markets.
• Hiring top talent: Pay is NOT the main motivator. It’s about purpose, impact, and alignment with leadership/brand.
  • “Purpose, goal attainment, mission. Are you making a difference? Those were the top four or five things.” – Vick (42:15)
• A strong founder brand attracts high-value, motivated employees.

11. On Purpose, Wealth, and the Game of Entrepreneurship (43:52–47:02)

• Money can’t buy purpose or happiness; many wealthy people are lost post-exit.
  • “I know people that have a lot of money, and they're miserable people...At the end, as long as I knew I could eat, I was good.” – Vick (44:14)
• Many seasoned entrepreneurs would trade their wealth to “play the game again”—the “game” is their real passion.

12. The Importance of Life Partners & Building for the Long Term (46:27–54:45)

• Marrying the right person is critical: “That's the biggest decision you're going to make for your success in life.” – Vick (46:37)
• Partners must support and align with your mission—opposites do not attract in business/life.
• “You need someone that is not coming home and upset that you didn’t take out the trash. You need someone that understands what you’re trying to accomplish…” (48:59)
• Young men should not focus on marriage before 40: First, build your “castle” (business, team, resources), then find your queen.
• It takes years to assemble a trusted, core team, and only then can you leverage them for exponential growth.

13. Parting Wisdom & Legacy (54:45–End)

• Never quit: “Eventually, no matter what you’re going through, you just cannot throw in the towel.” – Vick (55:01)
• Legacy: Vick hopes to be remembered as “somebody that helped as many people as I can.” (55:26)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On entrepreneurship:
  “Success teaches you nothing. It's suffering. You gotta almost kind of welcome it.” – Vick (11:39)
• On hiring and building a brand:
  “People want to work for a person, not a company.” – Vick (19:32)
• On decision-making:
  “It's better to be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right.” – Vick (31:22)
• On wealth and motivation:
  “Now you’re like, this is the standard...How do you go back from flying private?” – Vick (37:17)
• On life partners:
  “That's the biggest single decision that you'll make to be successful: what business you start and who you marry.” – Vick (46:37)
• On legacy:
  “I’d like to just be known as somebody that helped.” – Vick (55:26)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Vick’s $78.80 story & rock bottom
• 04:31 – Discussing the “no Plan B” mentality and burning the ships
• 06:51 – Why healthcare/sleep testing? Personal inspiration
• 09:31 – Lessons from first company, “suffering as your best teacher”
• 13:46 – Standing out via service & customer experience
• 17:03 – Leadership by example, maintaining service standards
• 19:32 – Why people work for people, not companies
• 21:53 – The pivotal 2019 competitor bankruptcy and rapid scaling
• 25:49 – Speed of decision-making & calling billionaire Frank live
• 31:22 – Decision speed: optimism vs. pessimism
• 32:19 – Living with entrepreneurial anxiety & hunger
• 34:43 – Status symbols as motivators and networking effects
• 38:20 – Globalization, hiring in Columbia, talent acquisition
• 42:15 – Employee motivation: purpose over pay
• 46:37 – Choosing life partners; personal support in business
• 54:45 – Final questions: principle for the young and how to be remembered

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Tone & Style

Engaging, no-nonsense, brutally honest, and conversational. Vic’s language is candid and practical—full of tough-love, inspirational anecdotes, and tactical advice drawn from personal experience.

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For Listeners Who Haven't Heard the Episode

This conversation is a raw, deeply practical blueprint for entrepreneurs—showing not just Vick’s story, but universal business lessons: burning the ships, learning from pain, making quick decisions, building through service, staying hungry, thinking global, cultivating personal brand, the importance of supportive partners, and embracing the long game.

Vick’s rise from nothing, his focus on service, his philosophy on team-building and leadership, and his frank views on what really matters in business and life will resonate with anyone building a company or searching for meaning beyond just “the hustle.”

Transcript

[A]

About 10 years ago, you had $78 in your account.

[B]

I was by the side of the road back in November 2014. You can pass that around.

[C]

78.80.

[D]

That's insane. $78?

[B]

Suffering is your best teacher. Every millionaire or billionaire that I know, when I text them, they immediately text me back. Actually, you know what? Let's call them.

[D]

I wake up every single morning and I'm like, dude, you're so broke. And I'm wondering, does that ever change?

[B]

No. Imagine if I have to sell my Rolls Royce and get expensive Mercedes S class. What will people say, man, what the happened to Vic?

[C]

Wow.

[B]

It's true.

[C]

There's so many people out there that are entrepreneurs. They're almost like entrepreneurs. The worst thing for them is a plan B.

[B]

Success teaches you nothing. It's suffering. You gotta almost kind of welcome it.

[A]

Vic, if me and you were to die tomorrow and you could leave one more guiding principle and message for the younger generation, what would that be?

[B]

Well, that's a heavy one, bro. It's a lot.

[A]

What's going on, everyone? And welcome back to the School of Hard Knocks podcast. I'm James. I'm here with Jack and Josh, and we have an incredible guest for you all today. We are out in Tampa, Florida, with the healthcare mogul Vic Tipnus. My man, Vic. It's great to be here with you today, my friend. You know, for the people that don't know, right? A lot of people in today's world, they're focused on getting rich off AI. Getting rich off real estate, man. You built an empire building the largest sleep medical device testing company in the entire country now, which is incredible. It's unfathomable to even think about the different ways to get rich. And you found this niche and you went all in. Where I want to get things started today is about 10 years ago, you had $78 in your account. I want you to put it in perspective for us and the viewers watching right now. The last time you looked at your bank account and you saw $78, what was that most fundamental decision that you made in that moment that changed your life for the rest of your life?

[B]

Well, so. And thank you for that. So, yeah, funny enough, I was actually showing somebody there. I don't know how my phone is, but have you guys seen my screenshot I posted on Instagram?

[A]

We got to have them pull it up.

[C]

We got to have him pull this up.

[B]

So I was having dinner at my house the other night, and I was telling somebody about this. I was like, hey, they were like, what happened? And I'm like, I was by the side of the road back in. This was November of 2014, okay? And I started Blackstone in 2012, and I was on the side of the road, but probably my lowest point. And look at the. Look at the date on that. You can pass that around if you want.

[C]

78.80.

[D]

That's insane, right? $78.

[B]

And this was. This was my available balance. So that means I had, like, stuff coming through. You know what I mean? Like, it wasn't. Like, it was a net net. And this was November 25, 2014. So coming into 2015, I was basically at 78 bucks. And I took a picture of it. Really, at that time, I'm like, okay, like, this. This is not. I can't do this, right? But I think what it. What it. What it illustrated for me at the time was. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs go through this is like, everything in the physical universe, all the factors are kind of telling you to quit, right? There's no silver bullet, right? There's nothing that's like, taking you out and you're done. But everything looks pretty bleak. And it's at that moment that you got to make a decision, okay, are you going to double down and go all in, or are you going to quit? And so for me, it was like, I mean, first of all, I'm at 78 bucks. Like, it doesn't get worse than that. Like, the person working at Chick Fil A is making more money than me. True story, right? So I'm like, okay, it doesn't get any. Any worse. So that's when I was like, all right, I'm going to double down. And I took that picture as kind of like a reminder to myself, like, hey, man, like, no matter where I go from here, it can't get worse than this.

[A]

And so going into 2015, which was a couple months after that screenshot was taken, what was the first kind of actionable step that you take? Did you have a realization that you wanted to start your own business and do that? Like, did you have any influential people in your life, any role models that you kind of had looked up to and studied? Did you just go out and try to find jobs? Like, what was next after that?

[B]

Nothing, dude. I was. I was nobody. I'm in 2015. I wasn't even on social media in 2015. So I'm like, nobody. I had no brand. I had nothing. I didn't have any mentors. I didn't have anybody that I Could call. I was on my own from a family perspective. Both my parents passed away when I was in my early 20s, so I was kind of on my own. So there was no lifeline. It wasn't like, you know, if it doesn't work out, I can go, you know, crash on mom's couch. Like, I didn't even have that option. And I'm not saying that, you know, because I want anyone to feel sorry for me. There's people, probably people out there that have had significantly worse stories than me, but I was literally like, it was feast or famine. I mean, I didn't. I didn't have anything else to fall back on. I had no college degree. I don't have a trade. I got a high school diploma. And so for me, it was like, all right, I gotta double down on this thing and make it work. And, you know, I'd already started Blackstone in 2012, so, you know, we were losing money every. Every month. And, you know, we're always robbing Peter to pay Paul type of thing and trying to take five grand from here and, you know, like, dude, I'm the master. Turning eight grand into 80. Like, I can turn eight grand into 80, you know, and. And I had to. I had to use those muscles. I had to, like, do stuff that I wasn't comfortable with or wasn't popular. And, you know, I was. Wasn't on social media. I didn't have a brand. So it was like, you know, if I didn't make it, it wasn't like anyone was going to miss me, you know, it was just. I would just would have been another casualty.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But I was. I was kind of determined not to.

[C]

It's like, there's so many people out there that are entrepreneurs. They're almost like onetrepreneurs. The worst thing for them is a plan B because it's like, oh, I have my safety net. I can fall back on it. When you strip that away and you have that kind of like, I have to give this my all mentality. I don't care if I go broke and go to zero doing this. Like, it's almost like that drive and that lack of a safety net is what propels you to have that hunger forward.

[B]

Yeah, you burn the ships.

[C]

Got to burn the boats.

[B]

You got to burn the boats.

[C]

Got to burn the boats. My question for you is, why did you settle on health? Like. Like, why was health care your vehicle that you picked? How did you get into, you know, testing, especially in the sleep regard that the devices. How did you get into that, how did you get started? What was kind of the journey behind that?

[B]

So, you know, both my parents passed away of cancer when I was in my early 20s. So I had been introduced to the healthcare by that. And so what I, what I noticed in my observation was like, the, the customer service part of healthcare wasn't there. And so I was like, you know, healthcare, you know, look, you have people that have been diagnosed with something that may be life threatening or may just be of high concern, and they're worried. And so if you go into a healthcare facility and the person just kind of treats you like a number and is like, well, here's this and fill this out and blah, blah, blah, it kind of takes the human kind of compassion out of health care. And so that kind of made me feel like I could get into healthcare and do something different. And that's what really got me into Blackstone, which was, you know, and even prior to that was, you know, radiology had a radiology startup. I was the youngest owner of a radiology practice in the country. Built it up, sold it for $9 million, didn't make any money, started all over again. And then getting into Blackstone was again, kind of the same thing. Like somebody said, hey, there's this testing thing. You know, people want to be tested in the home as opposed to going to the hospital or a facility. And I was like, oh, I can do something with this. So I quit my job because I quit the job that I was working for the company that bought me out. And I called the owner, who I'm great friends with today. That's a whole nother story. And he was the first guy that I flown on his private jet with. And I called him up and I said, hey, I want six month severance. Can you give me six months severance? I don't have any other money. I want to start this business. And he was like, okay, 20, 20 years later, he flew on my jet to my house in Columbia. 20 years later, 19 years later. Can you believe that?

[A]

Hey, what's going on, guys? We're going to be right back to the episode with healthcare mogul Vic Tipnis in just a second. But I wanted to take a second to leave this mess with you, all that. If you're not already subscribed to the Hard Knocks podcast, then you are going to be missing out because every week we're bringing you guys, the biggest business owners in the world. And also take a second to share this episode with a friend who you do not want to miss. This episode and the game that is being dropped. With that being said, let's get back to the episode. You. You mentioned that you had built and sold a radio radiation company.

[B]

Radiology.

[A]

Radiology company. For $9 million. But you didn't make a lot of money off that sale.

[B]

No.

[A]

Was there just a ton of different partners in the business? We, we see that happen a lot in today's world. Going back, what lesson did you kind of take from that that you give to entrepreneurs that are looking to raise capital in today's world?

[B]

So I think a lot of. I think where I, like where I messed up was I had the wrong partners. Number one, they weren't bad people. They were just not right for this business. And then I also took on a lot of personal guarantees that I shouldn't have took on. And I think what happens, and it's. It's really hard to not fall into this trap. You got to try your best not to. But when you first start making money, you just think it's never going to end. And you just think, like, nothing can affect you and nothing can hurt you. And, you know, you hear Trump talk about it, you know, in the 80s, he was just winning. Everything he touched turned to gold, and then boom, you know, And I think you got to kind of prepare for that because it doesn't mean that you're going to lose everything, but you are at some point going to hit a bad patch, and you got to be, you know, prepared for that and be willing to sustain through. And I think, you know, what happened to me, for example, is I just thought everything I touched was going to turn to gold. And that doesn't necessarily work out all the time. So I think in the beginning, entrepreneurs make that mistake, they're like, okay, everything I touch is good. I'll partner with this person. I'll do this collaboration. I'll do this. I'll do that. And they're not thinking with, well, okay, is this the right person? You know, do they have the right morals, the right philosophy? Do they have the work ethic? Do they have the ethics? Like, what do they think about business? Kind of like, you know, picking a spouse to marry. So you gotta kinda look at it the same way. Unfortunately, this is kind of the bad part. Like, suffering is your best teacher. Like, I could tell you everything, but until you suffer through it, it's really hard to get it sometimes.

[C]

Well, it's like people that go to, you know, business school or college and get like an education, it's just like, hey, like, they want to go into the business world and they got that business degree, but at the end of the day and just from stuff that they learned in a textbook. But I'm like, man, you don't know how to run a business for squat until you've actually done it and you've had to fire somebody. You've had to, you know, you've had to go into debt to keep the company alive. Like, until you, like, experience those lessons, you, you know, you don't know how to run a business.

[B]

Teaches you nothing. Like, success teaches you nothing. Okay. Teach you a few things here and there. But it's, It's. It's suffering. You got to almost kind of welcome it.

[D]

I feel like that's, like, also the best lesson as well, is, like, when you have the situation, all of the variables are not in your favor. That's what allows you to grow and figure things out, because that's what makes great entrepreneurs and people who can adapt.

[B]

And I love that shit, dude. Like, when you say that, I get goosebumps. Like, that's where. That's where entrepreneurs, real entrepreneurs, that's where they thrive, man. Give me all the bad shit. Like, everything. Give me fucking all of it.

[C]

What's the Elon Musk quote? Where it might have. He got it from somebody else, I think. But entrepreneurship's like eating glass.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

Because as the CEO, you have to take on the worst shit in the company possible.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, I got another one for you. That was the Elon one, and then I just did one with Vivek Ranadive. He sold a big software company, owns the Sacramento Kings. And he says, you gotta. It's chewing cactus.

[B]

Chewing cactus for a long period of time. A long period of time. And you gotta suffer through it, man. It could be sometimes two years, three years, four years.

[D]

One of my favorite stories is the story of Jimmy John's. And he's like, I started out with the sandwich shop, and I didn't have any money for advertising, and I couldn't afford to get the A location.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

So what did I do? I got the C location, and I walked into all the local businesses and started to make myself familiar. And I realized, what is no one else doing around me? Delivery. And so that's where, like, the freaky fast delivery, like, their signature. Their signature tagline, and she's like, look, no one else is going to be able to deliver.

[B]

But I didn't know that.

[D]

Yeah. So that was what got his business off the ground, was not because he had a great location, but is because he was delivering when no one else would.

[B]

Wow.

[D]

So it's like turning that variable of, hey, this is why I can lose into actually my greatest asset of why I should win.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. Vic, what do you think was the number one thing I know that you mentioned? Like, for people in the healthcare system, they walk in and, like, they. They're not really treated. Like there's a ton of care. What were some of those key things that you feel like your company did in your market in order to stand out and be a leader in the industry?

[B]

Well, I think, you know, we really just focused on service, and I hate to give you, like, a kind of bland answer, but it's. It's. It's really that. It's just caring about what you're doing, right? Caring about answering the phone call, caring about making sure you're taking whatever concern the person has and you're following through. That may sound easy. Like, oh, everybody can. That is so hard to do. Like, how many times have you gone to a new restaurant when they just open and the service is amazing? Right? And then you go back to the seat, you guys are all nodding your head. So that means, like, every time I bring this up, everybody, like, is like, yeah. Six months later, you go back to the same restaurant. Service is bad.

[D]

Why do you think that is?

[B]

Because people don't understand how to execute on service. Like, service is a lost art. Like, you know, you go back to the same. You go, go.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

You go to the first restaurant, first time, the hostess is nice. They're, you know, they bring you the bread, and they're this and that. Great. And, hey, you're waiting a little bit for your order. Here's a little thing from the chef, and da, da, da. You're like, oh, this place is great. You go back, the host is gone, or somebody rude, they bring you down. Then you're sitting, waiting, and you're like, where's the bread? Oh, no. Now we're charging for the bread. And then the next thing you know, you're like, I don't want to go back to this place anymore.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

And it's like, it's not that hard, but it takes a commitment, man. I got to tell you. Like, it starts from the top, right? So when you're. When you're an entrepreneur, I don't, you know, regardless of the size of the company, if the CEO is not really that type of person that they're big on service and they don't pay attention to those things. Like, I was at a healthcare Place the other day. And the girl answered the phone and as soon as they answered the phone she says, please, please hold for a brief moment. Right. Okay. If that was my company, I would have been like, no, no, no, no, no, no, you don't do that. First of all, they could be calling just cause they're late. They could be calling just because they need a phone number. It could be calling just to let you know something. Just say, hey, how can I help you? If it's something long, then tell them, hey, can you hold for a second? I have somebody in front of me, but if somebody calls, just say, hey, what can happen? Oh, I just need your phone number. Oh, blah, blah. I need your fax number. Okay, okay, cool. Hang up the phone. Right, but, but that's the nuance. That's the nuance of caring enough to be like, hey, let me provide great customer service. Like you're never going to call here and somebody's going to say, oh, hey, hold on for like boom, hold on. And that's, that's part of it.

[A]

Yeah. I love that you talk about how it starts from the top down and this idea of service. It doesn't matter what business we're talking about, whether it's restaurants, you know, I was talking about it. We just recently did another interview with a gentleman in Dallas. You know, going to a bowling alley and you go in there and the people up there, they just are treating you flat out like shit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're going to remember that. So that was the next time that you have to make a decision on whether you should go to, to that restaurant or that, or that, that topgolf or that bowling alley. If you, if you remember, like you're gonna be like, man, I remember last time I went there. Let's, let's go to the other one. And so knowing that it kind of starts from the top down, what are some of those things that you instill in all the team members or you know, that you pass down to lower level leaderships that then to all the members in the company. So that way that service is consistent from start to finish of the customer experience.

[B]

So I think you gotta do it. Like, I think like when I go to the offices and I walk around and stuff, I take my team with me and, and I show them. Like, I show them, I'm like, hey, let's not do this. Let's, let's listen to this person's call and let's. That she shouldn't do that. Well, why not? Well, because this is how it's going to look, this is how it's going to sound, and it's not providing the best service. And so I don't think you can do it in a, in a policy. Like as a company, we have a policy that says, hey, you got to return phone calls in 24 hours, you got to return emails within 24 hours, you can't just put people on hold, blah, blah, blah, blah. But then that just kind of goes and sits on a shelf. So I think what has to happen is the, the, the owner, the entrepreneur, has got to get involved and show through example, like, hey, don't do this. And this is why be, you know, intimate on the floor. And I remember, you know, the, the CEO of Delta, for example, at one point, this was, you know, maybe 10 years ago, he would listen to customer service calls and he would, he would critique people and he would get with his managers, bring them all in, say, hey, look, this can't happen. And this is why it takes that. And that's why it's so hard. Because who wants to do that honestly? Right. Like, if you're an entrepreneur and you're making money and you're successful, you'd be like, yeah, I'm making enough money. Like, it's, it's, it's a laziness component. And it takes that level of kind of obsessiveness to say, I don't want it like this. And you got to do that every day.

[D]

I think we were just having this conversation the other day is that a lot of times being a great owner means doing the unscalable, doing the unsexy.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

As well as when you have those key players is keeping in touch with them. And it's like, even though as you grow as an organization, you know, you go from 10 to 20 to, you know, even 100, those key players. Like, I feel like a lot of the buy in actually comes from their, their relationship with the owner.

[B]

Absolutely.

[D]

And I'm kind of curious for you, like, as you scale your company, how do you continue to maintain team culture in that buy in where someone doesn't just feel like another number in the.

[A]

Company because you have what, six, 700 employees now? Something like that?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, over 600 in, you know, North America, South America. We have offices here, New York. I think, first of all, like, if, if I'll give you kind of this full rounded answer. Right. So people want to work for a person, not a company. So would you rather go work for Richard Branson or Delta?

[A]

Richard Branson.

[B]

Right. Would you Go, rather go work for, you know, United Airlines or SpaceX. Now, the reason you'd rather go work for SpaceX is you have a, even though you may or may not know the individual, a personal connection with the founder. Right. Maybe if just from, even from an ideology perspective, like, hey, I resonate with Richard Branson, for example. I'll go, I'll go to war with that guy. People don't say that about a company. Look at Apple, it was Steve Jobs. So you can't, you can't replace the fact that people in general, from a human DNA perspective, want to have a relationship with another person. They don't want to have a relationship with an object. They want to have a relationship with a person. So kind of, you know, dovetailing into your answer, it's kind of like, you know, people that work here have a personal connection with me, and if they don't have a personal connection with me from a symbolism perspective, they like what I stand for. And they're like, hey, this guy likes this. He stands for this. He's about that. I, I like that. Okay, you don't like. What is the CEO of Delta stand for? I don't even, I don't even know his name. You don't know his family. You, you don't know anything. You don't know what he stands for. You don't know what the hell's going on. So there's no personal connection.

[A]

And there's such a lesson here as, well. We were, I, we were just seeing a clip about this the other day that. Take the big airline CEOs, you only know one of them, and he's the only one that's a billionaire because he has that brand behind him. How important is that personal branding aspect as the owner, the business owner of the company, when attracting people and growing the business in general, it's galactic.

[B]

I mean, it's just, it's galactic. Like it's that big to your point. Like, he's the only one that's worth the most, and he's the only one that has a personal brand. He has a brand. It's a real brand, personal business. It all, to me, it all meshes together. It's not a, there's no separateness in that. Right. But it's every successful company that is really, you know, worth billion millions or billions of dollars. It's, it's that, that's the differentiator. And if you have that, why not exploit it?

[A]

So one of the things you mentioned, you differentiated was with service. But let's Again, I want to go back to some of those trench years. We'll call them. What was that fundamental moment that you had at Blackstone in the company? Whether it was 2015, like when, like, was it like a big client that you had a marketing event that took place?

[B]

What was that big moment that made.

[A]

It flip, that became profitable? Yeah.

[B]

So in 2019, we had a competitor of ours file for bankruptcy and they, this is interesting. So I won't say names, I don't want to get sued. So anyway, so they got, they, they filed for bankruptcy and their CEO got on a call with all their salespeople and said, hey, we're filing for bankruptcy. We only have two months worth of finances left. Go find another job. So he essentially, essentially let them out of their non compete. So I found out about this and everybody in my world was trying to buy the company and I was like, why, like I'm thinking, why buy the company? Just let me, let me hire all the sales reps. So I had the VP of sales that was working for me at the time call their VP of sales and said, hey, Vic wants to meet with you. We'll fly you down to Tampa, we want to have a meeting with you. So he was like, okay, cool. And I said, hey, look, only come down if you're ready to make a deal. And he was like, okay. So the guy comes down, I meet with him and I'm like, okay, dude, here's the deal. Like I want to hire you. I'll pay you the same money you're making now. You can, you know, you don't have to move nothing, blah, blah, blah. But I need, I need all of the best salespeople that work for that company to come on board with you. If you bring them on board, I'll hire you and take care of you, blah, blah, basically. And he was like, okay, but I need a, Let me, let me, let me go back home, talk to my wife. I said, no, no, no, no, no, dude, is. It ain't going to work like that today. I said, we're either making a deal today or there's no deal. And it was like 2 o' clock in the afternoon. So I said, you can get on a video chat with your wife, you can go back to the hotel, talk to your wife, discuss it with her, let her know this is what's happening, blah, blah, blah. You guys make a decision. I'm going to have somebody pick you up at 5:30pm tonight at your hotel. When he gets to your hotel, he needs to send me A screenshot of the signed agreement. He's like, really? I'm like, yeah, like, he needs to send me a screenshot. I'm going to be at capitol grill at 6 o'.

[A]

Clock.

[B]

If he sends me the screenshot, he's going to drive you to Capitol Grill. If you don't send me no screenshot, he's going to send you. He's going to take you to Chick Fil A, he's going to get you dinner, and then you're going to go back home the next day. And by the way, I'm still going to hire all the reps. So I like, it's regardless of whatever you think, like, it's still going to happen because there was nobody else there that was available to pick them all up. So I kind of knew that. So I wasn't going to, like, you know, I don't want to let the cat out of the bag. But that was kind of what I was like, it's going to happen regardless. So sure enough, I went to Capitol Grill and I'm sitting there and it's like 5, 35, 35. And I'm just waiting. I'm waiting to get that screenshot, man. And then, sure enough, like, ding got the screenshot. Boom, he came in, we had dinner, celebrated the win, signed the agreement, done, he flew back. And then within a month, I had hired 80% of their sales force throughout the country. And then I was the biggest. I instantly beat that. Next month, we were the biggest in the country.

[C]

What kind of gave you the drive to kind of put that guy in, like, let's say that ultimatum to, like, to join the force. Because it's. What I liked about that story is, like, you were determined to. You're like, I'm doing this one way or another. Yeah, like, you let me know today.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Where does that. Because I feel like so many entrepreneurs lack that. Like, that's what separates the, you know, the sharks from, like, you know, the guppies.

[B]

Yeah, well, look, I'll tell you that every millionaire or billionaire that I know, that when I text them, they immediately text me back, like. And no matter what, like, I got a guy that I know is worth, like, billions, and if I FaceTime him right now, I guarantee he'll answer a call or he'll call and he'll be. Actually, you know what? Let's call him. He's gotta be. You have this guy on your thing, Yo. So I'm in a podcast with these. With the. You're gonna know that you know this guy. Right. The school of hard knocks.

[E]

You're the guy that goes around and.

[A]

Says, hey, yes, sir, how are you, sir? Hey. Hey. We're doing a live podcast right now. And, and Vic mentioned that all the millionaires and billionaires that he knows, when he texts or calls, they answer because money loves speed. You have to be quick. You have to be there on top of things always.

[D]

So Vic.

[A]

Yeah, ask him, Ask him for a piece of advice to share with the younger that people that want to be worth hundreds of millions and billions of dollars one day.

[B]

Yeah. So. All right, so what I told him, Frank, was I said, every, Every millionaire billionaire, I won't call you a millionaire because it's offensive. But every billionaire that I know, when, When I call them or text them and they immediately respond, either they pick up answer or they're busy. And I said, very successful people don't allow time to enter things. So I said, hey, I guarantee you, if I, if I FaceTime Frank right now, I guarantee you he's either going to answer or he's going to tell me he's busy. And sure enough, you answered. Okay, so the whole premise is that so give these guys some, some wisdom from, from, you know, how successful people operate.

[E]

Don't give up. Don't ever give up. Time is on your side. It will prevail. Keep going. If you fail, it's just another day. Keep going. You will eventually win. You just got to be persistent. It will happen. You got to put in the time. There is no quick, get rich, get fast. I mean, look, look at Vic. Years and years of years of, you know, proceeding, proceeding, proceeding, and he's there. This goes for everybody. Everybody's looking for that quick. You know, money doesn't happen. You gotta put in the time.

[A]

I love that. Thank you, my friend. We appreciate you, sir.

[B]

Yeah. And how many employees you have, Frank? 40. How many?

[E]

This point? Who even knows? We're well over 20,000, I think.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

Incredible.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Geez.

[B]

All right, bro. I'll hit you later. Peace. See it YouTube.

[C]

But 20,000 employees and he can answer a FaceTime.

[B]

That's my point. That's my point. Like, yeah, the real estate that this is crazy anyway, I love, I love.

[C]

What he said about the, you know, everybody wants that instant gratification about like, oh, I got this idea. So I'm going to start it and I want them, I want the fancy car tomorrow. I want the jet tomorrow. I want the big house tomorrow. And they're not willing to, like, put in the actual time and sweat and tears to actually make it happen. Like, I look at your story, for example, you're showing us a screenshot from 2014 with $78 in the account. And I think when James asked you when was that big turning point, I think the year you mentioned was like 2019. 2019.

[D]

2019.

[C]

It's a five year gap.

[B]

It's a long time. How many people willing to suffer through that? So to your question, though, the, the thing that successful people do, and this is a perfect example, they take time out of the equation, man. Like you text a successful person and they're either like, yes, no, I don't want it. I do want it. Fuck off. Whatever. Intentional. They're not like, I don't know, I'm super busy. Let me circle back. They're decisive, which, which I think is.

[A]

Has become a very big learning lesson for us in the last couple months. Jack, I'll let you prop this up and get some advice from Vic on this because what's one of the. With all that's going on, one of the biggest things that three of us have maybe been a bottle.

[C]

Well, it's like, you know, we, like I said we got to 60 employees and that's nothing. It's nothing compared to 20,000. But for, you know, a young media company, that's pretty, it's pretty solid.

[B]

That's really good.

[A]

1.5 million in monthly revenue. 1.5 million in monthly revenue.

[B]

So that's. Dude, you're so far ahead, everybody.

[C]

So we're. We're getting there, but we try not to think that way. We try to think like we're just getting started. But I was telling them, it's like, man, with all the different verticals that we have now within the company, I was like, man, this business is only going to move as fast as the speed in which we can make decisions about things that we have going on. Otherwise we're not going to be able to add new ventures, we're not going to be able to do new partnerships and deals. Because it's like, man, you got so many balls. You're juggling in the air trying to make decisions about. It's like, make the decision, close the tab and move on.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And it's like, that's just the biggest thing, I think this year or over the last, like three, four months that the three of us have had to level up as entrepreneurs to be like, man, you gotta learn how to make decisions, man.

[D]

Yep.

[B]

You gotta, like, fast. And I think there's this fear that you'll make the wrong One. And what I'll tell you is, like, it's. It's better to be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right. Okay, so the speed.

[A]

Say that one again.

[B]

It's better to be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right.

[D]

I'm stealing that one.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It's a good one.

[B]

Right.

[C]

I was. I was reading the book by. Not by Jeff Bezos, but it's called the Bezos Letters. And it basically said Bezos used to always make decisions. Like, he wouldn't wait till he had 100% of the information. He'd be like, I. I think, like, I'm 70% sure about this. Let's do it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because waiting is gonna cost the business more then, you know, just waiting around until, oh, is this the right decision? No, just make it. And if you're wrong. Course correct.

[B]

Course correct. Absolutely.

[D]

One of the things that, you know, people, the three of us cannot build companies ourselves. Right. And he's got 20,000 employees, US 60 employees. And you have upturns and downturns. And earlier you were saying that, look, you have to be prepared for the seasons, that things aren't going every way, things aren't going your way everywhere.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

So how do you necessarily prepare yourself and your business for the upturns and the downturns? So that way you can be, you know, a lasting business, not just for, you know, the next year or the year after that.

[B]

You know, I think the best way to prepare, man, is to think that somebody's trying to take you out every day. I don't. I don't think that you wake up and you're like, okay, I'm going to prepare now. Like, I have this idea, and I don't know if it's right or wrong, but I'm always.

[A]

I'm.

[B]

I'm thinking that somebody's trying to take me out every day. And again, I don't know, honestly, like, you know, is that. Is that the right outlook? I don't know. But everybody that I talk to that has created their own wealth, they still feel the same way.

[A]

I mean, Mike Rapoli, you know, he's done 12 billion in exits. He sold body armor and smart water and Coca Cola. And it just lives in my head when he says, you know, when the big guy on top, when he gets a little comfortable, the starving entrepreneur comes up and eats their lunch. And. And you were once that starving entrepreneur. You took out the biggest company. When I think it was like, was it a hometown? Or when you were in high school?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Was that. Was that that same company?

[B]

That was the same company. So when I. They. They started when I was a senior in high school.

[D]

I'm curious for you. Like, you know, we. For our age, people would say in our company, like, you know, you guys are doing so well. I wake up every single morning, and I'm like, dude, you're so broke.

[B]

It's good.

[D]

And I'm wondering, does that ever change?

[B]

No.

[D]

Because I live in, like, almost fear. Like, I'm doing, like, I'm doing great.

[C]

I.

[D]

On paper, hypothetically. Right. But I'm like, oh, my God. Like, dude, you need to figure it out. Like, your backs against the wall.

[B]

No, dude, like, my plane, my golf streams paid off, and I still worry. Like, I'm worried. Like, worried. Yeah. I just. I just feel the same way. But I think it's good. I. I tried to change it for so many years, but I think that's just the competitiveness and the. The. The. The DNA of an entrepreneur that you're just, like, always are, like, on edge, and there's very. There's very rare days that you just kind of, like, have your face in the sun. You have those moments for sure, you know? Otherwise, you wouldn't do what you do. But then the rest of it is all eating glass, right? It's pain, you know, but you love it so much, it's like, all right, what else am I gonna do, you know? But I. I think that's the right way to think. I don't think you prepare. I think you wake up every day thinking somebody's trying to eat your lunch.

[D]

Do you.

[A]

Do you feel like buying the private jet has made you a lot more money because of you stepping into that frequency?

[B]

Yeah. Well, I mean, look, I got your attention. You know what I mean? Like. Right. Like, you're. His first private jet flight was on my jet.

[A]

100%. That's right.

[B]

So, yeah. I mean, money flows to attention, right? Like, people want to know who you are. It opens doors, all that type of.

[A]

Stuff, you know, I always remember that, too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Always remember. Yeah.

[B]

No, I appreciate that. So, you know, the. The thing about it is, though, is I think it pushes you. Like, you know, there's a lot of philosophies, you know, about, like, should you buy Lambo when you start making it, and should you do this and do that and all the stuff and, you know, I think it's a personal. I. I don't think there's a right and a wrong. What I do think is Is that you.

[D]

You.

[B]

You know, you. And you know, if something you buy is going to drive you. Okay, so, like, back in 2017, 18, I think I bought a McLaren, man. I thought that thing was a Bugatti, bro. Like, I like, like, I thought that was the shit. And. And I love McLaren, but I was just like, I overextended myself to buy the car, and I bought it on a Friday, and Saturday morning at 7am I was at the office, and when I got there, I was like, you know what? That was the right decision. Because for me, I can't talk. I can't speak for you or anybody else, but for me, it drove me. It drove me to say, this is now the standard that I never want to go below. Okay? Same thing happened when I bought my Rolls Royce. I now have a standard that I can't go below. Like, imagine if I have to sell my Rolls Royce and get the most expensive Mercedes S Class. What will people say, man, what the fuck happened to Vic? What the fuck happened to Vic?

[C]

Wow.

[B]

It's true. And Mercedes S Class is amazing car, but it'll be like, what the fuck happened to Vic?

[A]

Yeah, okay, but another thing, too, but another thing too, that I'm sure that it's also done for you is if we go back to that day that I had flown on your jet and we did the interview on your jet, you had, I believe, another billionaire that was flying out with you that same day. So the proximity that enabled you to get, I'm sure, has also just elevated tremendously.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah. Because now every, you know, like, look, if I say, if I call somebody that I want to get to know, and I'm like, hey, let's get. Let's. Let's go on a quick trip. Let's fly up to, you know, New York, have dinner, come back, they're not going to say no. You know, hey, you know, they're. They're not going to say no. So, yeah, it does. But for me, and again, this is different for everybody. But, like, that standard, it's real, man. It's real. Because now you're like, this is the standard. Like, how do you go back from that standard? How. How do you go back from the standard of having a private jet or flying private.

[C]

Josh, would you be able to go back to Fountain Terrace?

[D]

I would not.

[B]

There you go. So is it.

[D]

Shitty apartment.

[B]

There you go. So is it a waste of money? I don't think so.

[C]

So.

[B]

I don't think so. Like, you can't you can't think of everything. This is where I don't, I don't agree with a lot of financial gurus is, is you can't, you can't quantify every purchase into. Does that purchase make sense from a material perspective? Okay, Whether it's a tax write off or not a tax write off or, you know it's going to go up in value or not go up in value is irrelevant. Does it make you feel better every morning when you get up? And does it make you feel like you want to go to war? What's that worth?

[A]

I recently interviewed a billionaire out in New York City, Jamie Salter. He owns Authentic Brands. So, like he owns, you know, Forever 21, champion Reebok. He owns like the IP to Shaquille O', Neal, Elvis Presley, Kevin Hart. And I asked him, you know, you know, he's, his companies will do 40 billion this year across all them. And I was like, man, you're a master brander, right? Like, what's your best marketing, branding advice? And he said one word, global. And when you look at what you've done with your company, you're not just stateside. You, you mentioned you have an office here. I think, Dan, also Colombia, right. How important was that decision for you, thinking way outside of the box and leaving just the United States? You know, I look at us, for example, we've gone out and done business in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and it's like there's just so many other markets out there that have even more of a demand arguably than the American companies. Right. Or the American markets per se. Like, how important was that decision for you to, let's say, go to Colombia? But then also, what was the process like of setting business up, setting shop about overseas?

[B]

Well, I think, I think the underlying reason for that is you either got to grow or shrink. Like, there's no middle ground. So as you're, as you're, as an entre, there's nothing, there's nothing that's going to stay static and not grow or, or deteriorate. So for me, even after, like in 2019, we took this explosion, our biggest competitor went out of business and we were exploding. It was like, okay, what's next? Like, you got to create the momentum for yourself. Like, to me, that's one of the biggest superpowers an entrepreneur has. You've seen it with Trump. That's what he does. He's, he's a, he's an expert at momentum, momentum, momentum, momentum. So it's the minute you have this milestone. What's next? What's next? What's next? And if you don't create that momentum, the momentum is going to work against you in the opposite direction. So for us going to South America, which Colombia had to be the third largest sleep apnea population in the world, it was like, we got to be there. Literally, it was just that we got to be there. Oh, what do we got to do? I don't know. Let's send somebody. So we sent somebody and they figured out, okay, we got to do this, we got to do that, blah, blah, blah, blah. A year later, I had, like, you know, 25 employees there. And. And it was just. It was just that fast. And three. Three. I mean, we've only been in. In Medellin for four years, and we have four. We got four. Almost 400 employees there. Wow.

[A]

So the majority of your team's actually out there.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. Yeah.

[A]

Have you noticed any big differences in doing business in the States versus like, South America? Because I can imagine, like, UK And US is very different. Is it pretty similar?

[B]

It's similar. It's the same, if not better, I think. But look, you're living in a global economy. The U.S. is only 5% of the population. We consume 30% of the world's resources, but we're 5% of the population. So doing business outside the U.S. is inevitable. Right. Just because you need to get that talent pool in. Right. But if. If I'm. If I'm you guys, I'm thinking globally. Like, I'm not thinking just because the economy is a scale, the staff and people and the quality you can hire in other countries is significantly cheaper.

[D]

So for us, right now, I'd say the biggest thing that we're doing is people. And I've come to realize that there's amazing people. You can get people on a LinkedIn job application, but also the best talent aren't people that are necessarily applying for a job. They're already working for a job for another company. And, I mean, honestly, I'd also love your advice on that. What's your best advice for getting talent from other companies that are already making great money? They have an opportunity.

[B]

It's that simple. I mean, Harvard did a study, and they found that on a scale of 1 to 10, if there's 10 reasons why somebody would leave a company, pay is 7. There's not even in the top five.

[A]

Interesting. What are those top reasons?

[B]

Purpose, Goal attainment, Mission. Are you making a difference? Those were, like, the top four or five things.

[D]

It's really interesting you say that because even in the conversations that we've been having with, with talent that we're actually potentially going to get from different companies that are already working at a, for a different person is they're working at a company where they can't necessarily make as big of an impact because, you know, it's a lot different working for a company that has 60 employees versus 500 or 2,000 employees. And it's going to be really hard for them to kind of grow into a leader because, you know, the infrastructure is already set. They already have like the, all the systems that the leaders within the company versus here. It's like, hey, I can actually grow into a leader and actually make an impact and take some of those lessons and principles that I've got from that bigger company and help grow this aspiring company to that level.

[B]

Exactly. Yeah. That's why so, so the way that. So part of kind of going back to the brand, that's why the brand is so important, because you got to get people to buy into the brand. It's not the pay set. You're not going to lure a bunch of people because you're paying them, you know, $10 more an hour or something like that. It doesn't, it doesn't necessarily work that way. Statistically, people want to have. They want to believe in the leadership, they want to believe in their manager. They want to know that there's a purpose to what they're trying to do. Are they making a difference? That's really what they're looking for. So you got it. You got to dial into that. That's really what you gotta. That's what we dial into, you know, so obviously with, you know, with my social media, we get a lot of people that message us all the time and like, hey, I want to work for you, blah, blah, blah. And it's great. It's a great filtering process because they kind of know the ideology because they watch the videos and they see the post and they're like, oh, I like this.

[D]

And you're even seeing that the biggest companies are now recruiting for their CEOs. Like, even you look at PayPal, they're hiring content strategists to pretty much put a face to the company.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Because the CEOs, especially, like, no one can name like the CEO, I mean, of these major corporations. But it's like now more than ever, especially just with the age of social media, they want to know who exactly they're working for.

[B]

Yeah. They want a symbol. People want to sell. I mean, look, you're. If you kind of take a step back, I mean, people want to be. They want to be inspired. They want to feel motivated. Like there's more to life than just money. Right? Like, you know, there's. There's. There's got to be some future. There's got to be some purpose. There's got to be some alignment of goals and all that stuff. And if you don't have that, it sucks. And I know a lot of people that have a lot of money, and they're. They're miserable people. They're miserable people. I mean, you know, you could buy a bunch of stuff. But look, at the end of the day, when I had 78 bucks, at the end of the day, as long as I knew I could eat, I was good. And, you know, whether. Whether you're making a million dollars a year or $10 million a year or whatever, you still eat the same food.

[C]

We always ask a lot of the entrepreneurs that we interview. It's especially a lot of them that are in their, like, 50s and six season up.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, we'll ask them, like, hey, would you, you know, get rid of all your money to be 10 years younger? A lot of them would say yes.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Or even just to play it again. Just to play the game again.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, they would rather do that because that's, like, the time's more important to them. They just like playing it. The CTO at Loom, the recording software Loom, they sold for, like, $700 million. And then the CTO, like, I guess like a couple months later, like, put out a Reddit post where he was just like, I have no idea what to do with my life. And he's rich.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

He's got all the money in the world, and he's just like, no purpose. No purpose anymore.

[B]

No purpose.

[C]

He's like, I don't have anything.

[B]

No. And I think it gets lost today, you know, in the world. I think people have become very materialistic about stuff. And, you know, you see it all over social media. Like, it's like, you know, if you don't have a Lamborghini into this and that, and you're. You're not. You're not a good person or, like, you're. You're not successful. And I don't necessarily look at it that way, you know, and I think people need to get a little bit more of a reality check and be like, hey, what's really important here? You know, there's a person that's probably a Bus conductor in New York City that's probably very happy. He's got a great family, taking care of their kids. Their kids are productive. They don't do drugs. You know, they're productive people. And even to me, that's success, right?

[A]

The people that follow you on social media, like, we can see that you're a big family man. How important was the decision of marrying the right woman and having that with you in business and life in general?

[B]

I mean, dude, that's the biggest decision you're going to make to your, for your success in life. I mean, Warren Buffett said the same thing. The biggest single decision that you'll make in order to be successful is obviously what business you start or get into and who you marry. Because that person is either going to help you or significantly deteriorate your, your level of energy in life.

[A]

Was there ever a time where you chased after, went after the wrong woman?

[B]

Oh, a million times. Million times, Million times. But that's, look, that's, that's the experience that you have to gain, right? You're gonna make some bad choices. That's why I'm saying it's the most important choice. Like finding the right person and making sure that they align with you is either gonna make you or break you.

[A]

What have you seen in terms of successful entrepreneur, in our case, as, you know, mental. What are some of those complementary features or things that you look for in a partner that you think is essential to your success as you're building a big company? And you know, so I think what.

[B]

You have to look at, like the practical, like the practical nature of it is this, like, okay, you guys are, every day you're waking up, you're going to war, okay? And you got people telling you no, you got people disagreeing with you people, people telling you it's never going to happen. You got people telling you that now you got this person suing you and that person's causing an issue and this person's defaming you. And it's not even two o', clock, right? You still got the rest of the day to go. So you come home and then you find that the person that you're now spending because you're spending most of your time at work, right? So you're very picky about who you're working around and you're making sure you don't have negative people around you and all that stuff during the day. And then you get home and home is the time for you to recuperate. It's like re energizing your life force so you can go back out again and go to war. Because that's what you do, right? It's war. Business is a. Is war. It's a sport. It's not. It's. There's no off season. I don't get six months to rest. You don't get six months to rest, do you?

[D]

No off season? Nope.

[B]

So you're getting up, you're going to war every day. So you need somebody at home that is aligned with you, that understands that gets. That is not coming home and is upset that you didn't take out the trash you talking about. You know what I mean? Like, you need somebody that like, understands what you're trying to accomplish in life and understands that it's not the normal thing.

[A]

They're going to protect the peace and.

[B]

They'Re going to protect the peace and they're going to add to your peace. They're going to add to the, the, the calmness and the tranquility and is going to help you re. Energize and be supportive and be understanding. That's what you need. If you got somebody that's now debating with you, being a Monday morning quarterback, trying to help you with this thing and that thing and, and now is being critical of what you're doing because you're spending too much time at work, well, now you're fighting at home and you're fighting out in the real world.

[A]

Your mental is all up.

[B]

How does that work? It doesn't work. It doesn't work on any, any scenario. Does that work? Okay, so you don't want that. There's no this of opposites attract, dude, that per. They need to go like back to the future. Like, get in the freaking flux capacitor DeLorean, go back and like assassinate the person that said that. Because it's not true. It's opposites don't attract. Opposites create problems. That's what it does. So you have to be very picky and find the right person that is aligned with you, that understands that and then can support you. So you're not then going to war when you get home. Like, I can tell you that with Hooley, that since we got, you know, married six years ago, I've never come to the office one day introverted. Because we had a fight. We've never had a fight. We disagree on stuff, but very respectfully, but we never had a fight. I'm coming to work and we're fighting all day and I can't work. Like, I haven't had that. So what does that mean? That means 365. I'm game on. If you're my competitor and you're fighting with your wife 75% of the time, I'm crushing you, dude. I'm crushing you because I. I have a competitive advantage that you don't have. And that's why it's so important.

[A]

Correct me if I'm wrong. You don't think young men before the age of 40 should be focused?

[B]

Hell no. Hell, no. Hell no. Because, okay, the. The prime of your life really is going to be after, like, 45, 50, okay? That's really going to be the prime, because when you look at it, you're going to spend the next 10 to 15, 20 years building your teams, okay? When I say your teams, not only your own interior team, because you're going to have people that are going to come and they're going to be like, man, I'm never leaving you. And then three, four years later, they're fucking out. Okay? You're going to have that. You're going to go through that. I got your back, bro. I'm there for you. You know all that. And then they're going to be gone. Okay? So you're going to create this team of 10, 15 people, and Mark my words, okay? You'll call me in five years or 10 years, and that team's gonna get be down to maybe four or five.

[C]

What did I say last night?

[D]

We were literally just having that conversation at dinner last night is that there's gonna be a star player, someone so close to us that was like, dude, I'm never gonna leave you. I'm with you to the end.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

And it's just gonna be, like, ripping you open.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. It's just inevitable. Right? And so you're gonna work on your internal teams, but then what you're also gonna work on, See, you're going to find out who are the right people I need to call. That takes some time, you know? Like, you get to a point that happens in your late 30s, early 40s, where now you, like, I know who I can call now. I got a guy. You know what I mean? Like, this is the attorney I call for this. This is the guy I call for this. This is the guy that I know can help me with this. Like, you got to assemble all those people, and they've also got to be vetted and trusted, and that takes time. You got to know that I got somebody I can call that. It's like, dude, this is one in the Morning. You got to have that team. Who are those people? Are they the best of the best at that? You see what I'm saying? So that takes time. You don't get that until your mid-30s, early-40s. Okay? By then, you've been around the block enough to be like, okay, now you're at a place where you kind of also financially are. Have a better wherewithal. Like, okay, I want to do this. I want to now bring in. You know, it's kind of that idea. Build your castle, then go find your queen. I incorporated that in my life. Like, I didn't get married until I knew. Like, okay, I. I'm good. I. I can produce what I need to produce, and I'm never going to have an issue with that, with. With the people that I'm taking care of to where I don't have that added stress of then having to also take care of them. Right. I didn't want that. And that takes that time, in my opinion. So it doesn't mean you can't get married. It means, look, you find somebody you really like, you stay with them. But I don't really think you. You as a guy, I don't think you hit that until your. Your late 30s, early 40s.

[A]

Vic, we like to end these podcasts off with. With. With two last questions for our guests. I'll start, and then Jack will end it off for us. But, Vic, if me and you were to die tomorrow and you could leave one more kind of guiding principle and message for the younger generation, what would that be?

[B]

Well, that's a heavy one, bro. It's a lot. Honestly. I would just say never quit, man. Like, you can't quit. I think that's. That's the only reason people go wrong. That there's, like, eventually, you're gonna get there. Eventually. Eventually, no matter what you're going through, you just cannot throw in the towel.

[C]

And, Vic, if tomorrow it was all said and done, how would you want to be remembered?

[B]

I just want to. I'd like to be. I'd like to just be known as somebody that helped, you know, Like. Like, I. I try to help as many people as I can, and so I'd like for. I'd like for people to be like, yeah, man, I. I came across the guy one time, and he helped me. Yeah, I love it.

[A]

Well, Vic, this is awesome, my friend. We appreciate you.

[B]

Yeah, of course, bro.

[A]

This man for everybody tuned in right now. Guys, be sure to stop what you're doing. Like, subscribe for amazing content and guests we have coming every week to the Hard Knocks podcast as well as go down, you know we're going to put the socials and the handles to all of Vic Tipnis's content. For those of you who's got some busted sleep man, go check out Blackstone because hey we know how important sleep is for guys. Very important.

[C]

Hey you might got a customer right here.

[A]

Come on Jeff. Come on man. And and lastly everybody guys we're also going to put the link down in the description to become a member of the school of mentors which has become the number one most powerful entrepreneur community and network in the world where every week we give you direct access to our multimillionaire and billionaire network and host live calls with the 8, 9 and 10 figure entreprene entrepreneurs you see on the school of Hard Knocks. So we can't wait to see you on the inside. With that being said we'll see you in the next episode.