2015 Chicago Marathon. Mile 13. I’m flying—feeling like I could run forever. Heart surgery, back surgery, barely able to stand a decade before, and here I am crushing it. Then I see the sign: NOT ALMOST THERE. Everything changed. Heavy legs. Cramping. Mental breakdown. I barely finished what started as my best race ever. That sign broke me, but it also built me. Southside Chicago kid who studied for 15 seconds between building cars on the assembly line. Graduated in 5 years. Built companies. Sold two. 800 employees. Young father at 20 who figured it out as I went. I’ve spent 50+ episodes of Not Almost There interviewing experts, and now my cohost and I are diving deeper into the conversations that matter most. We dig into what it really takes—in business, branding, health, life. No fluff. Real talk about building something that matters while the clock’s ticking. Whether you’re running your first mile or your hundredth company, we’re here to help you go the distance. Because almost there isn’t good enough.
Joe dives into the art (and risk) of hiring ahead of where your business is today. From bringing in talent before the role exists to structuring equity and vesting agreements, we explore how the right people can accelerate growth—or hold you back. Learn how to balance vision with reality when building your team.
5 Key Takeaways:
Hire forward, not backward: Bringing in talent for where you’re headed—not just what you can affor...
The Leadership Hack to Turn Discomfort Into Collaboration
Conflict is inevitable as teams grow—but how you handle it makes all the difference. Joe describes real-life examples of why ambiguity is the root of many workplace tensions, how to spot it early, and the fastest way to resolve issues before they spiral. From surprise three-way calls that cut through the noise to creating space for empathy, you’ll hear practical strategies f...
How to unlock enterprise value, delegate effectively & adapt systems to match goals
We dive into the most persistent question every founder faces: "where should you really spend your time?" From making pizzas in the early days to building national marketing campaigns, Joe shares how he decides what drives enterprise value, how he makes delegation an effective priority, and how to balance what fuels you with what fuels the busin...
What We Learned When No One Wanted What We Loved (and how that saved us money!)
A/B testing online for customer preferences was a tried and true strategy for Joe as he built websites and digital marketing campaigns in the automotive space, but how could he apply those lessons for CPG retail in the "real world?" He shares a wake-up moment as a founder about confidence, bias, and the importance of testing ideas before scaling. From l...
Tips to Approach Diet & Fitness: Test, Track & Take Action Now
Joe gets candid about his journey from neglecting fitness while grinding to grow his business to losing 45 pounds, running marathons, and sustaining healthier habits to be a better business leader, father, and husband. The connection between entrepreneurship and personal health is often overlooked so we break down the myths of “perfect routines,” why waiting unt...
Rule of Thirds for Startups: Big Wins, Paper Cuts & When to Call a Spiritual Healer
In an Ask-Me-Anything episode Joe shares intimate stories from behind the scenes of starting and running his businesses including the surreal moment of getting a $200+ Million offer and when the only solution was to call a spiritual healer to cleanse the business.
Key Take-Aways For Entrepreneurs:
Hijacking Super Bowl Commercials. Brand vs. Performance Marketing. Social Proofs Ads vs. Demographic Targeting.
Feeling stuck on how to start marketing on Facebook, Instagram or Google? Joe cuts through the noise to share a simple and proven, early-stage business strategy. Learn how to build buzz, drive sales, and make every dollar work harder—without falling into the common traps that drain budgets. From hijacking big brand momen...
Build Email Flows that Unlock Value, Drive Sales & Create Relationships
The most undervalued resource of your business is your ability to contact customers directly so why would you spend money to drive people to your website or store if you can't stay in touch with them? In this episode Joe explains why you shouldn't spend money on ads until you build a system to earn customers' contact information and then send emails (or tex...
In this episode, Joe explains what many startups fail to do before they spend their first dollar on ads. From crafting a clear value proposition to optimizing your website for the buyer's journey, you'll learn how to build a brand experience that converts. Using real examples—like the launch of Easy Man, a hemp-derived THC beverage—we explore the importance of testing, simple UX, lead capture, and focusing on one customer persona. ...
In this episode, we dismantle the myth that market research requires big budgets or third-party consultants. Instead, Joe breaks down a founder-tested approach to validating ideas using nothing more than a spreadsheet, common sense, and hard-earned insight.
We walk through:
Why you don’t need fancy market research to validate your idea—just your brain and Google.
How to use pricing data and margin math to identify viable pr...
You've got the idea. You've done the research. So why are you still waiting? Multi-exit founder breaks down the psychology that keeps most people stuck in the "someday" phase - and the exact questions he asks himself before taking the leap. From validating passion over market size to why your first-year budget is probably wrong, this episode tackles the gap between wanting to start and actually starting. Plus: the brutal reality o...
The Crucial Role of Attorneys in Startups: Lessons from a Seasoned Entrepreneur
In this episode, Joe reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the importance of hiring specialized legal counsel when starting a business. He discusses his experiences with different types of business structures and the significant financial benefits he achieved through proper legal advice, such as qualifying for QSBS (Qualified Small Busine...
Where does ambition really come from? Joe and his cohost dive deep into the messy reality behind entrepreneurial success—from studying 15 seconds at a time on the assembly line to scaling Go Brewing while implementing new systems with a lean team. They explore why 'work-life balance' is BS for entrepreneurs, how spite can fuel success, and why the path that looks clean from the outside is actually dirty and chaotic behind the scen...
James Lawrence, "The Iron Cowboy," and Joe sit down to discuss many topics, including a part of his story that isn't well known, Ironman training, mental toughness, and so much more. More info at
Dan Cnossen is a Navy Seal, Paralympic gold Medalist, and leadership guru. Dan became a Navy Seal in 2003. Over the next six years, Dan was deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan and rose in rank to become the officer-in-charge of an 18-man SEAL platoon. In 2009, Dan was deployed to Afghanistan, into an area of heavy combat. There, on a night mission in the mountains, he stepped on an IED, losing both legs in the blast. H...
Ayelet Fishbach PhD, is the Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and the past president of the Society for the Study of Motivation and the International Social Cognition Network (ISCON). She is an expert on motivation and decision making and the author of Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation. Ayelet’s groundbreaking research on human motivatio...
Amy Purdy is the top-ranked female adaptive snowboarder in the U.S., a three-time World Cup para-snowboard gold medalist, the 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist, and the founder of Adaptive Action Sports, a nonprofit organization that helps youth, young adults, and wounded veterans with physical disabilities get involved with action sports. She is a professional motivational speaker who has been featured at both TEDx and Pop Tech and ...
Dr. Wendy Wood is a best-selling author and Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at the University of Southern California. Given her research over the past 30 years, she is widely considered the world's scientific expert on habit formation and change. She has published over 100 articles, and her research has been supported by Proctor & Gamble, National Science Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institut...
Alan Krashesky is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist. As ABC 7's primary news anchor, he currently co-anchors three of ABC 7's top-rated weekday newscasts at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. Among Chicago's most trusted news anchors, Krashesky is well-known and respected for both his news anchoring and news reporting. Every newscast he has anchored has consistently been rated No. 1 in the Chicago market. He joined ABC 7 as a gen...
Jocko Willink is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Extreme Ownership, Dichotomy of Leadership, host of the top-rated Jocko Podcast, and co-founder of Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Executive Officer, leadership instructor, speaker, and strategic advisor. Jocko spent 20 years in the SEAL Teams, starting as an enlisted SEAL and rising through the ranks to become a SEAL officer. J...
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
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