GO with Joe
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.
Episodes
The Real Pitch Is Identifying the Problem.
Most salespeople lose before they even start, not because their product is bad, but because they're leading with the wrong thing. In this episode, Joe breaks down a real conversation he had with a 401k salesman who couldn't get anyone on the phone, and walks through how asking questions (being curious!) helped to reframe the pitch from product to problem. No sales playbook required.
Key Ta...
How to let them know you understand the problem.
After a frustrating sponsorship call that went sideways fast, Joe breaks down the communication framework he's used in boardrooms, hiring conversations, and high-stakes pitches for over two decades with Ford, GM, Costco, Walmart, and hundreds of other businesses. This isn't just a sales playbook. It works anywhere two people are trying to better understand each other (even at the din...
Here's 4 Simple Steps to Get Started.
Most people are using AI to write emails and clean up presentations. Joe is using it to build software, run research, and solve real business problems…before his burrito arrives.
The barrier isn't skill. It's jargon. Words like "code," "skills," "terminal," and "MCP" make this technology feel like it's not for you. It is. All you need is curiosity and a clearly stated problem.
Key Takeaways:
Joe's building his second $100M+ company — and this time, the blueprint looks completely different.
As Joe begins his investor journey for Go Brewing, what he's learning is forcing him to rethink how he sees the business from the ground up. In this episode, Joe breaks down why top-down market projections fail with serious investors, how he built a store-level sales model that actually predicts performance, and why the most valuable...
On standing out in a world where everyone's using the same playbook and why breaking through is only half the battle.
You have three seconds. Maybe less. And if you spend them looking like everyone else, no amount of polish is going to save you. But here's what nobody talks about: getting attention without something thoughtful and meaningful to back it up is just noise. Joe breaks down how to stand out in the moments that matter in...
Are you running on autopilot, or actually paying attention to how you feel?
Most people know something's off before they can name it. Joe breaks down why self-awareness alone won't move the needle, and why the only way out of a funk, a spiral, or a stretch of low performance is to stop waiting and start doing. Even one small thing.
Key Takeaways:
- Mood follows action (credit: Rich Roll). Recognizing...
Most marketing strategies aren't failing because of budget or tactics. They're failing because nobody asked why.
Joe has seen too many organizations spending real money on content calendars, vanity metrics, useless KPIs, and social media strategies that will never move the needle. He's done pulling punches. In this episode, Joe breaks down why the way most businesses and nonprofits think about communication is outdated, and what it...
Most people give presentations the wrong way — leading with credentials, cramming slides full of text, and talking about themselves when the audience only cares about one thing: what's in it for me. The result? Tuned-out rooms, forgotten pitches, and missed opportunities that could have changed everything.
Joe has given hundreds of presentations, from weekly all-staff meetings to major keynotes, and he's sat on the other side of th...
This is bigger than the Internet. It's a new way of being in the world. And its transformation of "work" is a force multiplier.
(Part 3 in a mini-series on how to use AI now.)
Most people think AI is a tool you learn, like Excel. It's not. It's something you have to learn to think with — and that changes everything. Joe and Dakota discuss why the people who get that now will be years ahead of everyone else, and why the ones who don...
This is what democratized tech solutions look like, for business and life.
(Part 2 in a mini-series on how to use AI right now.)
From a custom app that rewards his son's treadmill miles with screen time to a personal news feed curated around his exact interests, to developing a bespoke headless commerce app for his business, Joe makes the case that anyone, not just entrepreneurs, can now design the technology experiences they've al...
Googling Gives You Answers. AI Builds Tools to Solve Your Problems. Just Ask It.
(Part 1 in a mini-series on tips for using AI)
Most business leaders are using AI to draft emails and summarize...
Why Big Goals Work and How Lived Experience Can't Be Measured
The goal was 5:35. The qualifying time for a double amputee to get into the Boston Marathon. It was an outrageous target and Joe had no idea. In this episode, recorded on the road while traveling to an Innovation Summit, Joe shares the Cedric King story that changed how he thinks about goal-setting, performance, and the surprising relationship between the two. What looks...
How to align information with action, not distraction.
Comparison is the thief of joy — and it might be the thing quietly killing your momentum. Joe breaks down why watching competitors, obsessively consuming industry content, and chasing every "squirrel" in your feed can keep you from reaching your own destination. To get where you’re going, you have to know why and how you want to get there.
Key Takeaways:
- Read more
What happens when the life or business you've built becomes the very thing preventing you from growing? In this episode, Joe digs into the hard truth that the things (the co-workers, the business structure, the story about who you are and what you do) that got you to where you are today, may not be what gets you to where you ultimately want to go. From the factory floor to entrepreneurship, from personal bouts of injury and depress...
The Alter-Ego Trick To Beat Performance Anxiety
Anxiety can be debilitating whether it manifests as a stutter, a bad attitude or feeling stuck. In this episode, Joe shares how he went from a kid with a stutter to a keynote speaker using a powerful mental technique: creating an alter ego. Learn the persona method Joe used to overcome his anxiety, how he taught his daughter to use it for sports performance, and why preparation and re...
How to get the trademark you want and need.
Ready to launch and name your new business? Don't file anything until you listen to this. Veteran entrepreneur Joe Chura shares the complete process for choosing a business name that won't get you sued—from Google searches and domain availability to USPTO trademark filing and protecting your brand equity.
Key Takeaways:
- Why Google and GoDaddy aren't enoug...
And why taking a lesser valuation might actually accelerate your growth.
Veteran entrepreneur and investor, Joe Chura, breaks down the critical questions every entrepreneur needs to answer before raising capital—and explains why even successful founders get more "nos" than...
Can ChatGPT count the Rs in "strawberry"? Joe Chura tests ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude AI with one simple question—and the results expose a dangerous pattern in how AI tools handle mistakes and how business leaders need to validate authority while integrating new technologies into their operations for essential gains in productivity.
If AI can confidently contradict even the Dictionary, how do we make decisions when the tools...
Though he built and sold two businesses for over $200 million, Joe shares how he still suffered from imposter syndrome and the Fortune 500 Boardroom moment that transformed his mindset about self-doubt, the value of experience and the actions he takes to keep learning (even from his interns).
Key Takeaways:
- Why imposter syndrome is just a story you tell yourself (not reality)
- Read more
Why New Year's Resolutions Fail & How to Actually Achieve Your Goals
Tired of abandoning your New Year's resolutions by February? Discover why traditional goal-setting doesn't work and learn a proven framework that actually sticks.
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