Courage, Love, and Entrepreneurship: The Thompson's Story

What happens when you combine love, adventure, military service and entrepreneurship? You get the invigorating life story of Kevin and Hannah Thompson. Together they share a deep commitment to family, a passion for the outdoors, and a spirit of perseverance that has seen them through military deployments, personal health crises, and the ups and downs of starting their own business.

Their tale begins with a love story that survives the rigors of Kevin's military service and the challenges of their first year of marriage. Kevin's time in the US army, his deployment to Iraq, and his return home form a saga that is both heartbreaking and inspiring. But this couple's story doesn't end there. After Kevin's military service, he embarked on a variety of entrepreneurial ventures, beginning with being a helicopter pilot and then owning his own pawn shop.

A terrifying battle with COVID-19 lands Kevin in the ICU, battling for his life on a ventilator, and leaves Hannah facing the agonizing uncertainty of the situation alone. But even in the face of such adversity, the Thompsons are not defeated. They channel their experiences into launching AK Mountain Dog, a unique pet treat business. Their partnership, based on shared values and complementary strengths, proves to be a winning formula for entrepreneurship. Kevin, with his military discipline, and Hannah, with her resourcefulness, embody a customer-focused approach that sets their business apart. Witness these inspiring entrepreneurs as they navigate challenges, solve problems, and build a brand that leaves an enduring legacy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey there, thanks for joining us for Tales of
Misadventure, a podcast allabout business blunders.
On this podcast, nicoleDonnelly, founder of DMG Digital
, talks to entrepreneurs andlearns how they turn their
lemons into lemonade.
Dmg Digital is a contentmarketing agency focused on
helping manufacturers attractnew buyers through digital

(00:23):
self-serve.
Nicole Donnelly is a fourthgeneration entrepreneur, a girl,
mom and an avid traveler.
Now let's head into a tale ofmisadventure with your host,
nicole Donnelly.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Welcome to Tales of Misadventure, where amazing
entrepreneurs share theirstories of failure and how they
turn lemons into lemonade.
Today we are joined by KevinThompson, the man, the myth, the
adventurer extraordinaire, withhis incredible wife, hannah,
and their dynamic duo of kiddos.
This episode is all aboutsharing Kevin's own tales of

(00:57):
misadventure, from thrillinghunting expeditions to reeling
in the big catch, camping understarlet skies and conquering
untamed trails.
Kevin's love for the greatoutdoors knows no bounds.
But that's just the beginning.
Ever heard of a serialentrepreneur who can juggle pawn
shops, trucking companies andeven firearms training

(01:18):
facilities?
Yep, that's Kevin.
And hold on to your hatsbecause he's not just a business
whiz.
Kevin is a proud US Army veteranwho served this country proudly
in Iraq from 2003 to 2004.
But here's the twist Before hisoutdoor conquests and
entrepreneurial escapades,kevin's heartbeat to the rhythm

(01:38):
of farming and ranching, a dreamof being a large animal vet led
him on a unique path, workingwith critters big and small.
And guess what?
That very journey led him tocraft healthier treats for dogs
everywhere, birthing the geniusthat is a K mountain dog.
Kevin Hannah, welcome to theshow today.
I'm so honored to have you.

(02:00):
Thanks for having us.
This is going to be so fun.
How are you guys?

Speaker 3 (02:04):
Good Good, we're enjoying the rain in Alaska.

Speaker 4 (02:09):
Enduring the rain.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Enduring the rain.
Yeah, how's your.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
How's your Alaskan summer been?

Speaker 3 (02:17):
It's been a cold one, it's not.
We haven't got the typicalsunny days we usually get.
So there there are people whoare, who are not as happy about
the way the summer went, but youknow, all in all it's been a
good summer.
I love Alaska.
It's it's it's our home.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Oh, I have never been to Alaska but my husband lived
there for two years when he wasin high school.
His dad was a Jag for the AirForce.
They lived in Anchorage and heloved living in Alaska.
Of all the places that he lived, I think it was one of his top
two favorite places.
I mean, he just talks so fondlyof all the camping trips he did

(03:02):
where he actually camped in icecaves and just like just so fun
.
So it's it's just such a fromwhat I hear, a remarkable place.
And you know, I feel like ifyou're living in Alaska, you're
just like a special type of justrugged individualist and I
think your story really reallytells that story very well,

(03:25):
kevin.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
Thank you.
Yeah, no, it's.
I tell people it's.
It's really hard, especiallywhen you're marketing a brand.
In Alaska, half the people wantto think I live in an igloo and
ride a dog sled to work everyday.
The other half realized thatthere's a Costco 45 minutes away
.
So whatever version you want tobelieve of that, like I can

(03:51):
tell you that you're sure.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
It's somewhere in between right.
Yeah so well, my very firstquestion for both of you, and
welcome to the show to Hannah.
It's great to have you on.
This is so fun.
It's it's actually my firsttime having a couple on the show
, so this is like a veryexciting milestone.
So this is going to be a veryunique and cool to hear you guys
both talking.

(04:14):
But we'll start with you,hannah.
If you could pick any animalthat was your spirit animal,
that was just like the essenceof who you are as a person
personality what spirit animalwould you be and why?

Speaker 4 (04:30):
Oh, wow, Hmm, you know I'd like to say something
elegant like a dolphin, butanybody who's around me knows
I'm not, so probably like adraft horse pushing forward.
Whatever you do, just keepmoving forward.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Whatever you do, keep moving forward.
That's really beautiful.
I'm a horse too, so you and, Ithink, are kindred spirits in
that way I love it.
Very cool.
What about you, Kevin?
If you were a spirit animal,what would your spirit animal be
?

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Well, I get compared to a Sasquatch the most, or a
bear, you know, I it's.
It's one of those things I'vereally just liked dogs.
I like the oil there.
They get the job done.
They do what they need to.

(05:24):
They don't care about yourpolitics, your social issues,
any of that.
They're just out there to havefun and get the job done.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
I love that.
You know my girls have beenbegging, begging, begging us to
get a dog.
They're not, you know, they'reslowly breaking me down and I
think the one thing that is likeone of the reasons why I would
love to have a dog is because,from what I understand and from
my friends tell me, your dogalways loves you, no matter what
.
They never get mad at you,they're always there.

(05:57):
They're so excited when youcome home, like you can always
count on them to just alwaysgive you the love, right.
And so sometimes I think youknow life, I'm an entrepreneur,
you're an entrepreneur, andfamily and juggling all that,
it's just the idea of some,someone being there that's just
always just going to love you.
No, everyone is pretty, prettycool.

(06:18):
So well, thank you.
The dog and the horse, the dogand the horse this is a baby,
okay?
So let's talk a little bit.
You have quite the story, quitethe story.
So let's, I want to hear alittle bit about, kind of what
led you to a K mountain dog.
I know you, you, for many, manyyears ago, you, you were in the

(06:41):
military.
But let's start before that,when you were a little boy
growing up, kevin, what was it.
I understand you loved.
You had a dream of being alarge animal, bet.
Tell me a little bit about whatthat was like as a kid and kind
of how that shaped andinfluenced you and where you are
now.
What was it that you loved somuch?
Tell us about your childhood.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
You know, I've always liked animals.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
I was a collector.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
It didn't matter if it was a snake, a lizard, a
mouse Like I was bringingeverything home.
My my grandma, after my grandpapassed away, came to live with
us and I scared that poor womanso many times with what was in
my pockets.
She wouldn't she, she wouldmake me empty my pockets before
I came in the house becausethere was a lizard or a snake or

(07:28):
or something that I had trappedand that I was sure that I
could make my pet.
And so going from there to youknow, owning pigs and horses and
cows and I, the neighbor downthe road was a large animal bet
and he always had this cooltruck with this canopy on it

(07:49):
that he could just roll into afield and fix anything that went
wrong.
I thought that was a pretty cooljob, and so I just you know,
growing up around agriculture,you learn to doctor your own
animals.
You don't always have the moneyto call the vet, so when the
vet's there you pay attentionbecause you can save money by

(08:12):
doing it yourself the next time.
And so just, you grow up in anenvironment of of opportunity,
ingenuity and getting thingsdone.

Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, resourcefulness right.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:32):
Where did you grow up ?
Where did you grow up in Alaska?

Speaker 3 (08:35):
No, so most so.
Up until my junior year in highschool, we lived in Bend,
Oregon, and then we moved toFruitsland, Idaho, when that's
where I, and when I left highschool I went off to the
military.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Very nice, let's talk about that.
What inspired you to join themilitary?
What was it that led you downthat path after high school?

Speaker 3 (09:03):
A judge.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
A judge, oh there.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
Yeah, Judge Pratt in Vale Idaho.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
Or sorry, vail Oregon sorry.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
Vail, oregon.
I got myself in some troublebecause I was a I was a turd as
a kid and my dad so my grandpawas my grandpa was in the Army
Air Corps in World War II.
My dad was a Ranger in.
Vietnam.
So we have family history ofserving and we have family

(09:39):
history of all joining themilitary about the same way too.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
So there's a judge involved in all of these stories
.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yes, yes, there is, there is, yeah, so.

Speaker 2 (09:51):
Way to keep that legacy burning.

Speaker 3 (09:54):
Hopefully it ties with me.
So I got myself in some troubleand I was sitting in the
courtroom before the before thatit kicked off and the judge
walked in and looked over and hesaid Mr Thompson, what are you
doing here?
And I said, oh, I got introuble.
And by that time they kind ofknew who I was.

(10:14):
And he said Okay, and so we hadworked out a deal with the
prosecutor that I was going to,you know, get, do my, do my
community service and all thisother stuff.
And so that kicked off andjudge Pratt looked at me and he
said Mr Thompson, I'm going togive you a day in jail and your

(10:35):
probation's up when your finesare paid and I suggest you leave
town, because the next time I'mgoing to railroad you.
I said Okay, and so I walkedout, paid my fines, did my day
in the county jail and my dadtook me to the recruiter and I
signed up.

Speaker 2 (10:55):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
So it's not you've never seen that.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
You've never seen a judge since right.

Speaker 3 (11:01):
Nope, nope, I haven't .
When, after I graduated basictraining and I went to Iraq, I
they gave.
So they give you.
In the unit I was in, they gaveyou a pat.
You get your patches sewn onand all that, and you have an
extra patch, and so I milled itback to the judge.
So and it kind of funny, fastforward when I own the pawn shop

(11:28):
his wife walked in because shewas.
it was a pawn shop but it wasalso an outdoors store and she
was looking to buy a newpheasant shotgun for her husband
.
I looked over and I introducedmyself and she kind of looked at
me and she, she knew who I was.

(11:50):
She said, kevin, you neverwould have thought I would walk
into a place that you own.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
So the military turned you around.

Speaker 3 (12:02):
Yes, yes, the military taught me discipline,
the discipline I needed, andreally gave me the ability to
direct a lot of my energy in amore positive way.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
I love that.
Well, I just want to thank youfor your service.
It is such a gift that we havemen like you who are willing to
go and serve our country andprotect our freedom.
And you know it's it's a hugesacrifice that you made to do
that and I thank you for it.
It's just, you know, it's justa wonderful, wonderful thing to

(12:38):
be able to meet veterans likeyou who are willing to take that
risk and put their life on theline for for the rest of us back
home.
So, thank you, thank you foryour service.
It's, you know, I have no doubtthat it was a challenging and
very difficult experience andI'm sure you could probably

(12:59):
speak forever about that.

Speaker 3 (13:02):
You know what?
The thing about the militaryand I that I tell people is I it
was.
I look back and it was probablyone of the fondest and worst
memories of my entire life Wow,and wrestling with that on the
other side is is is interestingbecause I still have friends,

(13:24):
that we stay in touch, but atthe same time, I wouldn't have
traded my experiences for theworld.
It's made me who.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
I am today.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
War is terrible and I hopefully nobody ever has to do
it again, but at the same timethe military really does offer.
For a kid like me that wasgoing the wrong direction.
I wish my story was morepatriotic, but literally it was
to stay out of jail and andredirect my life in a different

(13:58):
trajectory.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
Well, kudos to you for seizing that opportunity in
that way.
You know, I think that says alot about you, your character
and your resiliency.
So that's just, you know.
I think that's wonderful,wonderful and thank you.
Thank you for your service.
Yeah, not everyone goes for,you know, righteous reasons,

(14:27):
right, but even still, itdoesn't matter, it's still, it's
still a sacrifice, it's still,you know.
But to hear you say that it wasthe best and the worst is just
so fascinating.
You know, I find that to betrue with so many of our most
difficult challenges,challenging experiences in life.
They're incredibly painful, butthen they're also just

(14:49):
incredibly rewarding at the sametime, so cool.
Well, how did you two meet?
I got to know.
How did you guys come together?

Speaker 1 (15:00):
I trick her.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
I trick her Did you walk into the pawn shop too.

Speaker 4 (15:05):
We didn't like each other at first, we did.
We've been together for a while, yeah.

Speaker 3 (15:11):
I thought she was just stuck up.
Goody two shoes.

Speaker 4 (15:15):
That is egotistical and full of himself, and I was.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
Sounds like a match made in heaven.
I'm like like perfect fodderfor romantic comedy right.

Speaker 3 (15:28):
Comedy.
That's great so my roommate hada huge crush on Hannah and he
was afraid to ask her out, andso he was constantly trying to
get me roped into somehowinviting Hannah on different
things that we were going to,and so one of them was a camping

(15:50):
trip.
And so Hannah, she didn't wantto go camping with a bunch of
guys out in the middle of thewoods it's probably not safe,
but so but there was anothercouple that were going, so she
was going to stay in theircampsite and we were going to
all have fun out there.
Well, the whole weekend, herand I ended up spending time

(16:12):
together and talking and gettingto know each other.
And and so I, we went to anarea of the reservoir where
there was a big, there was a bigcliff and we were all jumping
off into the water and I waslaughing.
I told my roommate I'm like thatgirl's never done anything

(16:34):
adventurous in her life.
I'm be imagining if she evengets in the boat.
And so I took the boat aroundthe cliff to make sure it was
deep enough.
And we she looked at me and shegoes well, if I don't like that
high, can I jump from a lowersection?
And I was like, yeah, whatever,just get up there.
And so we hiked up there andshe's like all right, I want to

(16:55):
jump from a lower section.
I said no and I said I know howto prepare, this is where you
jump from.
And she's like so you lied to me.
I was like, yeah, whatever.

Speaker 4 (17:04):
So she jumped and I told him I would jump, so I was
going to jump.
I didn't think I would.

Speaker 3 (17:12):
I didn't think she was going to.
I was like I got a hike all theway back down with her and so
that's when you knew right.
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, no we.
She jumped and I was like, allright, maybe there's more to her
than meets the eye, and so wehung out.

Speaker 4 (17:30):
We hung out the next two weeks.
Then he asked me out and thenthree months later, he proposed
Wow, and then, six months afterthat, we were married.

Speaker 2 (17:41):
So wow, and how many years have you been married now?
We just celebrated 14.
Wow, congratulations.

Speaker 4 (17:49):
But we're very honest , the first year was horrible.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
That's terrible.

Speaker 4 (17:54):
That's not uncommon, you know that's pretty common.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
You're just getting used to each other and figuring
it out and all of that.

Speaker 3 (18:01):
Well, we look, we were looking at all these other
people are running around havingthis honeymoon year and we
looked at each other and we'relike I don't still don't know if
I like you or not.
It was, but we got it out ofthe way in the beginning.

Speaker 4 (18:15):
We mostly like each other now yeah.

Speaker 3 (18:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
I can totally tell just the chemistry that you have
together, that you guys arejust like a fierce team together
and you've been through a lotover the last 14 years.
A lot, let's talk about that.
I know you have some history,Kevin.
You were, you came back from,you came back from Iraq and you
were injured, I believe right.

Speaker 3 (18:40):
Yeah, I was injured, yep.

Speaker 2 (18:43):
And then you had the serial entrepreneurial bug, it
sounds like.
Is that when you started thepawn shop?

Speaker 3 (18:49):
So no, I was flying helicopter.
I came back, I used my GI Billand I became a helicopter pilot
and I was flying helicopters.
I had a really unique abilityor opportunity.
I, right out of school, I gotpicked up by a firefighting
company and then, based off ofmy military background, I was
able to work for a companycalled Evergreen and we worked

(19:12):
around the world.
That's when, on the way backfrom one of my trips, I met
Hannah and Hannah and I hadgotten right as Hannah and I had
gotten married.
I was supposed to be going tothe Gulf Coast and flying oil,
and the BP oil spill had justhappened and they had laid off
all the pilots, and so now Ihave a brand new wife and no job

(19:38):
.
So I looked at it and said youknow, we can sit here and wait
and possibly go broke, or I canbuy this pawn shop.
And so we bought the pawn shopand it was.
It had been mismanaged, it wasin horrible shape, and so we I
went in there.
I understood firearms reallywell, I taught myself how to buy

(20:02):
gold, diamonds and silver, andI remodeled.
I went in, remodeled it andturned it into a sporting goods
store that does pawns, and so myfirst investor pitch I had with
it.
I got to the end of the pitchand the guy looked at me and

(20:23):
said that is the most irritatingthing I've ever heard in my
entire life.
And I looked at him and I youknow, one of the things the
military taught me is how tohave a thick skin.
And so I looked at him and Isaid why is it so irritating?
He's like well, it's mainlyjust you.
And so I said well, okay.

(20:46):
I said if you're going to giveme that kind of feedback, then
we're going to sit here andfigure out what it is about me
that is irritating in a pitch.
And so we sat there and weredid the entire pitch together
and, and as he talked to me,he's like you should have
mentioned that you should havedone this, you should have done
this.

(21:06):
And so he just brutalized mefor over three days on how to
give pitches and how to not beirritating.
And so we he ended up notinvesting, but I ended up
pitching it to another guy whobecame a very close friend of
ours and he, when I took thatpitch to him, he bought the

(21:29):
first time.
He said yes, I'll give you themoney, kevin, let's, let's move
forward.
And so we were able to moveforward.
Funny thing is is the guy whotold me I was irritating I had
I've pitched over 15 times tohim and the greatest compliment
I ever got from him was at theend.
He said congratulations, kevin,you're not as near as

(21:53):
irritating as you used to be.
And so he's still.
He's still an advisor, he'sstill a confidant I mean, I
still run things fast andbecause he just brutally honest.
But it was really interestingto have someone who just had no
care for my personal feelingsbut had every care for my

(22:14):
success.

Speaker 2 (22:18):
That is such a great.
No care for your personalfeelings, but every care for
your personal success asentrepreneurs, as business
owners.
To be able to know thedifference and to and you
recognize that and leaned intoit.
It takes a lot of humility anddiscernment to be able to
understand that and know that,that those are two very

(22:38):
different things.

Speaker 1 (22:39):
Yes.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
So that is really cool and the fact that you have
a great relationship with him.
Now, I mean, so many peoplewould have taken that feedback
and would have just gottenoffended and defensive right.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Oh, I was very offended.
He's.
He's an older guy.
I'm looking at this guy going.
Man, I could drag you out yourown backyard and hurt you for
what you just said.
But then it just clicked in myhead.
I was like you know what?
He hasn't thrown me out, likehe could tell me to leave, and
he hasn't told me to leave.

(23:12):
So until he tells me to leave,I'm going to stay here and I'm
going to get the information hehas.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
I think that's a really good point that you make,
that sometimes we are going toget offended, but it's important
that you still, even if you getoffended, look for the
opportunity, look for what youcan learn from the experience.
Wow, that's fascinating.
So you had many, many pitcheswith him.

Speaker 3 (23:37):
I have pitched to him a lot and it's got to the point
now where, if I'm looking atdoing something else, I'll call
him up and I'll say, hey, ron,do you, do you have a couple
minutes?
And he, well, what are we doing?
I'm like I'm going to take thecrap out of you.
And he's like, all right, let'sgo.
And so, and it's like I saidit's, I've pitched to him a

(23:58):
couple of things and the thingis is when you're doing pitches,
you have to know your audience.
He's his.
He could invest in anything Idid and and I could easily.
It's not about the funds, it'sabout having the right
partnership and the partnershipI have with him.

(24:18):
He gives me so much morevaluable things than funds
because he tells me exactlywhere I'm wrong.
Any argues with me and I doneed people in my life that
argue with me, that I can argueback with and we can come to a
best idea.

Speaker 2 (24:42):
So true, I call that the challenger.
I think every entrepreneurneeds four people in their life.
They need a cheerleader, achallenger, a coach and a mentor
.
And those challengers you gottahold on tight to them because
they're gonna help you getbetter.
And so I think that's reallybeautiful.

(25:04):
In my life that's my husband.
Same thing, he is totally mychallenger.
I'll come to him with an ideaand he'll tell me all the
reasons why it's not gonna workand I get so mad.
I'm like that's not what Iwanna hear.
You just don't get it.
And then I step back and Ithink about it and I'm like he's
so right, and then it's reallya great thing, because then it

(25:28):
helps me refine whatever theidea is.
And then I'm like, okay, andthen it just ends up better.
So that's really cool.
So tell me a little bit about Iknow this.
We all went through this crazyexperience several years ago
with COVID and it feels now likea very distant memory, like,
thankfully right.
But I know you guys had a ohyeah, right, I know you guys

(25:52):
went through quite a difficulttime during that time.
Do you wanna, would you becomfortable talking a little bit
about that, or yeah, yeah?

Speaker 3 (25:59):
So it started out we were at a church camp out and we
had we've been camping withsome friends and they one of the
friends called us back and saidhey, I just popped off for
COVID and all the data I hadseen on it was, as you know, the
elderly and the really youngwere the main people they were

(26:21):
worried about.
So and I've been sick before Ididn't think much of it, so
isolated myself, quarantinedmyself to the back of the house
and, you know, food and water,just kind of trying to keep
things down.
Well, my friends called andchecked on me and my comment and
I have kind of a differentsense of humor, but I told them

(26:45):
and said you know, I've hadworse hangovers, like I'll get
over this, don't worry about it.
Well, it one night just turnedbad, and it turned real bad and
I was having a hard timebreathing.
So I told Hannah and I saidprobably should go to the
hospital.
And so we went down to the ERand I figured it was gonna be an
in and out kind of deal.

(27:06):
Went into the ER, I, theytested my oxygen, they said
we're gonna keep you, and fromthere I continued to decline and
Hannah couldn't come see me.
We couldn't.
We were interacting over thephone.

(27:26):
I used to put my phone onspeaker and Hannah and keep it
on speaker at the house, just soI could hear the sounds of the
house and the kids runningaround and everything that was
going on Just kind of kept mecentered into and kept a similar
thing.
One of the trainings you gothrough in the military is, you

(27:47):
know, is how to be isolated orhow to be in situations where
that are less than ideal.
And so what I learned in thoseis is to find something that is
that is a normal, whether it'sin your head or it's a or it's
just hold on to something.

(28:07):
And so I would just put myphone on speaker and she'd leave
hers on speaker and I'd justhear the sounds of the house,
the kids running around hermaking breakfast, doing things
you know, yelling at the kids,kids fighting, whatever it is.
And so we went through a weekand I had, when I first got

(28:28):
there there was some reallyrough times.
They call it a code blue, butit's when you stop breathing.
I'd stop breathing at leastonce and blacked out.
And then and then I got clearedof COVID.
They used a Ramdisevereprotocol on me and you know

(28:53):
people go back and forth on that.
You know it cleared up theCOVID but it caused a my immune
system to drop so much that Iended up with a bacterial
pneumonia and that's thatproceeded and got more
aggressive and more aggressiveand that's what sent me back

(29:15):
down.
But so I got cleared of COVID.
Hannah was able to come back into the hospital once I was
cleared and then, it just gotreally aggressive from there.

Speaker 4 (29:25):
So the first week that he was in he was in ICU
that he was able to maintain hisbreathing and was moved out of
the ICU, and so we were reallyblessed that when they moved him
out of the ICU and the kids andI had our 10 day quarantine
then I could go in there withhim.
So I was in hospital with himfor that first week or the
second week that he was out ofthe ICU.
But yeah, the bacterialpneumonia, and then he also had

(29:47):
pulmonary embolism.
So I ended up with two bloodclots long.
And so as that week progressed,yeah, it just it wasn't getting
better and he was really,really fighting hard.
But they just said your body isso exhausted.
So they'd got it cleared for meto be able to stay with him
more.
But then one evening he wasgetting up and moving and he

(30:07):
just completely lost it and theycouldn't get enough oxygen to
him.
So they ended up brushing himback down to the ICU and so that
night the doctor and I talkedabout the need of a ventilator.
We had talked about it theentire time he was there and
actually they were really justtrying to get people to go on
ventilators before their bodieswere so tired to fight it.

(30:29):
But we've gotten to the pointwhere he fought as much as he
could and we went in and prayedwith him about it and we just
said you know, if he needs to doit, do it.
So about three o'clock thatmorning he ended up that he
started to go under again.
So they put an emergency, didemergency procedure and put him
on a ventilator.

(30:50):
So he was on a ventilator foreight days and the next morning
when I came back in, the doctortold me like he's the worst of
the worst.
I was the first one they metwith because he had the worst.
The machines were maxed out,they were looking at maybe
shipping him to Seattle orPortland to do ECMO treatments,

(31:11):
but the doctor was pretty honestthat there's not a lot of beds
or availability and getting himthere.
So that first day was prettyrough, just not knowing what was
gonna happen.
And then it was definitelytouch and go for eight days.
I mean, there was days he wouldprogress and then I was super
excited.
We were praying, everybody'spraying, but the staff was like

(31:32):
we've seen this and then itplateaus and then it goes bad
again and so it was emotionallyjust a lot of ups and downs and
he slowly made progress and thenhe would plateau, had a day
that was pretty rough and thenjust slowly started to get
better.
But the longer you're on aventilator it worries them
because your body's just notdoing the things it needs to do
on its own.
So they'd actually talked aboutputting a trach in him and that

(31:54):
was kind of like a baby step toget him off the ventilator.
So the night, the seventh night, the nurse had come in and they
had done a I can't rememberwhat it's called but they would
wake him up just to see if hecould breathe, and so I would be
there with him, but then they'dput him back under after a
couple hours, but he still hadthe ventilator everything in and

(32:15):
which was really hard for himbecause he couldn't move.
He was sedated but he had thismachine and breathing for him.
So that night they'd started toput him back on his medications
and the new nurse came in andwas talking to me in the
outgoing nurse and I was like,okay, so do we have plans
tomorrow to put the trach in him?
And Kevin was lucid enough to belike like, he was like grunting

(32:38):
and I was like, oh, he doesn'tknow about that.
Like, let's just, I don't thinkthey've made any set plans, but
they were planning on doing itthat morning.
Anyways, who knows what gotinto him.
But they'd already started thesedation and all the medications
and I was getting ready toleave.
So I left and I didn't even getoutside of the, out of the ICU

(33:02):
and I told the nurse I'm leaving, because they used to go tie
him down and we joked oh, hedoesn't even have the energy to
move his arm.
And I didn't even get out ofthe ICU and he pulled his
ventilator out.

Speaker 2 (33:14):
Oh, my goodness.

Speaker 4 (33:16):
So luckily or I guess I was they didn't tell me about
it, so I got home before I gotthe phone call.

Speaker 3 (33:21):
The next.
Thing.
I the first memory I had wasthis nurse standing over the top
of me and they're trying tohold my arms down and they're
trying to get something out ofmy mouth and I think they're
attacking me, and so I'm tryingto attack them back and so

(33:43):
there's struggle ensues and I'ma horrible patient.
I don't like being told what todo.
I don't want to be, I don'twant to comply with anything and
I don't like people touching me.
I don't like people touching me, and so I'm fighting them on
everything.
And so they finally got me calmback down.
They finally, and I, yeah, andso I we had amazing nurses.

(34:09):
I can't say enough good aboutthe nurses we had and doctors
they were awesome, but they sothey got me kind of calm back
down and they woke me up thenext day sitting there with this
doctor, and he he said you know, mr Thompson, you're the
hardest person I've ever had tomedicate.

(34:31):
And I said well, what?

Speaker 4 (34:32):
do you mean the hardest one to sedate?

Speaker 3 (34:34):
He said every time I'd turn your sedation up, you'd
fight me, you'd wiggle yourfinger, you'd wiggle your toes,
you'd try to move something he'slike.
So I'd turn it up again andyou'd fight me again.
He goes.
You fought me this entire time.
Every time he's like I would goto my office and just go.
I'm trying to help this guy.
Why is he fighting me?

(34:55):
There's that a point.

Speaker 4 (34:58):
I got a nurse because he was moving his eyebrows,
like I mean he's sedated andhe's what's the other medication
, but like completely not evensupposed to be able to move and
he's moving his eyebrows.
So I had to go get them andlike I don't think this is
normal.
That was like on day five orsix, yeah, yeah.
So it was really touch and gothat night because they're like

(35:18):
if he goes back, if he recesses,we've got to do another
emergency ventilator procedure.
So but yeah, he was raring togo the next day.
He was sitting up.
I mean he had no strength, likehe couldn't even put the spoon
up to his mouth by himself.
We had to help him.

Speaker 3 (35:36):
I thought I was amazing.

Speaker 4 (35:37):
Yes, we had to remind him that often, like you're not
.
Mentally and physically are twocompletely different things.
But yeah, he just charged outand so I think within what two
days of coming off theventilator he was out of the ICU
and then within a week's time,we just kept moving up floors
and he was released to go.
I would not say he was readyphysically to come home when he

(36:00):
did, but like emotionally, Imean, he'd been in there 32 days
by the time we oh my goodnesswe came home.
And so he came home on oxygen100% of the time Doctors
appointments.
He could barely walk from hisrecliner to the restroom.

Speaker 3 (36:19):
So my goodness, so they told me when I came home.
They said you need to go home,you need to sit in your chair
and we'll just see if you'll getbetter.
You'll probably never be off ofoxygen.
You're probably never going toprogress much.
But you know they make likeadaptive things, like you can

(36:42):
have an oxygen bottle on a cart,like we'll reduce the amount of
oxygen you need but you'llprobably never be off of oxygen.
And so they kind of gave methis bleak outlook.
And so I told him, I said sendme home.
And I told him I said callphysical therapy, tell him I'll

(37:03):
be in tomorrow morning.
And she's like how are we goingto get you there?
I said we'll figure it out.
Tell him I'm coming.

Speaker 4 (37:10):
We walked in the door and they're looking at me and
looking at him like he barelylooks like he's alive.
I'm like I know we're here, soall you could do is I mean,
really Such a fighter?
Yeah, realistically, you couldwalk back to the treadmill,
stand on it and walk back.

Speaker 3 (37:26):
Yeah, so the guy who you don't?

Speaker 4 (37:27):
tell Kevin no.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
Yeah.
It's almost like you want to betold no, Kevin.
You want to be told no.
So you can prove that you cando it right.

Speaker 3 (37:39):
I, you know what.
So we have a company Mantra andit's tell me what's impossible.
I'll show you the limits ofyour capabilities.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
Tell me what's impossible.
I'll show you the limits ofyour capabilities.
That is so inspiring.

Speaker 3 (38:02):
So when they told me that I couldn't do this, the
physical therapist is a veteranand I called him and.
I said, keith, I'm coming.
And Keith's like all right, andso I'm sitting in there.
The whole staff is staring atme like, and Keith comes over
and he goes, kevin, you got towalk across the room.

(38:24):
If you can walk across the room, I'll start working with you.
And when you're so low onoxygen, all your muscles feel
like they're on fire.
You hurt, like it's painful.
And I walked across the roomand he's like okay, well, let's
get a wheelchair.
And I said no, I said if I gotover here I'll get back.
And so the young lady who washelping me, the physical

(38:48):
therapist assistant, her husbandthere's a lot of veterans in
Alaska, her husband was justgetting out of the army and she
kind of laughed and she's likethat's exactly how my husband is
.
And so I walked back.
We got in a car.
We almost ran out of oxygen onthe way home, but it wasn't.

(39:09):
Quit wasn't an option.

Speaker 2 (39:12):
Quit wasn't an option .
Yeah it seems like that wholeexperience just galvanized you
to be able to, you know, kind ofmove forward in a new direction
and kind of I mean that'sincredible.

Speaker 4 (39:33):
I think it showed there how long was your.
Oh as I say, I just think itshowed our family what we were
capable of.
Like it just became a time thatthe healing process we just
stayed home, my home school, ourkids, and so it was just we
were home, we were getting dadto appointments, we were
homeschooling at physicaltherapy and doctor's
appointments.
They saw dad just like workingthrough, like just keep going.

Speaker 3 (39:54):
And so I think as a family it really just showed us
what we are capable of and yeah,well, and I am incredibly lucky
there's not a lot of guys outthere that have a wife who you
go down on a ventilator and runsyour entire family.
But that's why I put an emailwhen you and I talked like you

(40:15):
want to talk to the realstrength behind the relationship
, like I went completely offlineand our house ran like through
a amount of stress that she hadno ability to train for, no
ability to really plan for justbe able to keep putting one foot

(40:36):
in front of the other and keepmoving Like there's not.
I don't.
I'm incredibly lucky to havethe wife that I do.
I'm incredibly lucky to havebest friend and partner in life
that I know I can count on, evenin the worst situations.

Speaker 2 (40:56):
My gosh, you're giving me the goose bumps.
That's so beautiful.
Oh my gosh, what a powerful,powerful relationship the two of
you have, and what a wonderfuljust to go through that together
and to be able to see you bothbe so resilient, in that way

(41:17):
that you could rely on eachother.
I mean, that is truly what's sogreat about a wonderful
partnership and marriage thatway.
That's amazing, well, and it'sreally cool.

Speaker 3 (41:30):
And in a partnership like we've been able to share is
is I have strengths that Hannahdoesn't have, and Hannah has a
lot of strengths that I don'thave, and so we're able to
understand where the otherperson fills in.
And so there's so many timeswhere I'm beating my head

(41:52):
against the wall and Hannah canstep in and say, hey, this is
where you need to be and itmakes sense.
And there's other times whereHannah's looking at a situation
and I see things from more of along-term standpoint, and they
say, hey, if we just tweak thisa little bit, we'll be better,
and so just being able to playoff each other's strengths is so

(42:15):
.
It makes us so much moreeffective.

Speaker 2 (42:20):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I just had a reallywonderful conversation with a
consultant, yesterday actually,and he was talking about
business partnerships, which Ithink you know, and he was
saying that you know, yes, mostbusiness partnerships don't end
well, but if you really want tobuild an extremely successful

(42:41):
enterprise, if you look at mostof the extremely successful
enterprises out there, they'reusually like, majority of the
time, partnerships, and it'sbecause you can really, you know
, you be able to gain strengthfrom each other and rely on each
other and you have, you know,double the mental, emotional,

(43:03):
physical energy to be able tohandle.
You know, and so I think that'swhat's so great about, like
marriages and family andbusiness partnerships is that,
yes, that times they can bechallenging, but in a beautiful
way, you know, in a way that canhelp, but it even sounds like
your partnership isn't evenchallenging.
You guys are just like oh, no,oh no.

Speaker 3 (43:23):
Oh no, oh man, our house gets loud at times.

Speaker 2 (43:31):
Okay, so you're like you're normal.
Then You're not like this.

Speaker 3 (43:36):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (43:37):
Your strength can also be your greatest weaknesses
, right yeah.

Speaker 2 (43:40):
Your strengths can also be your greatest weaknesses
.
Isn't that the truth?
It is so true.
Yeah, absolutely so true.
So tell us a little bit aboutoh yeah, go ahead, I'm gonna go
put on mom hat.
So thank you Okay sorry, hannah, it was so nice to meet you.

Speaker 4 (43:55):
Thank you for sharing your story.

Speaker 2 (43:58):
So let's talk about, like, what led you to AK
Mountain Dog, so your threerecovery, like, what was it that
led you to build this company?
What made you want to take theleap there?
So Hannah.

Speaker 3 (44:12):
Hannah's been on this health kick and trying to make
me healthier and I work at everymountain.
So whether it's like eliminatingsugar and going to monk fruit,
doing all these other things,like, she's always trying to
make me healthier, and so I hadbeen buying Mountain House
freeze dried backpacker meals.

(44:33):
And when I go deep into thewoods we do go really far in on
our moose hunts and our bearhunts and our caribou hunts and
even fishing trips.
It's not uncommon for us to beover a hundred miles from the
nearest road and so we take foodwith us.
Well, she was reading theingredients, she kept telling me

(44:54):
how they're bad for me and Iwas like, well, there's no real
better option right now.
So she went upon a harvestright freeze dryer and she
started freeze drying meals andputting them in packages so it
was just for our personalconsumption.
Well, after what happened, I waslooking to just I kind of went

(45:17):
into scramble mode Like how canI make some money for our family
and keep us going?
And so I knew some people, thatsome really high-end dogs who
were feeding their raw diet, andI knew from.
I've always kind of trackedwith animal nutrition and
different fads in animalnutrition.

(45:38):
And so this raw diet, it wasbeyond the phase of being a fad
and it was becoming a mainstay.
Well, one of the big problemswith the raw diet is the amount
of freezer space that isrequired for you to truly feed
the raw diet.
And so they got me to a friend.

(45:58):
I told him I was like you know,my wife's got this freeze dryer
.
We can freeze, dry all thatfood, eliminate the freezer and
then you can just throw it onthe shelf, add water and there
you go.
And so we tried it out and he,he's like this is amazing.
So I saw that, okay, so therewas a market, but I live in
Alaska.

(46:19):
Shipping's hard, all this otherstuff's hard.
I talked to a farmer and wewere looking at food prices and
some other things and he, thefarmer, made a comment to me and
he's like I can grind a pigfrom snout to tail, use the
entire pig and make twice what Ican sell it to humans for.
And I was like there's no way.
And he's like, yeah, that's anall he goes.

(46:42):
I make more money in dog foodand so I looked at it and I so I
was looking at protein sourcesand there's been an issue with
more dogs are becoming allergicto chicken, so they're looking
for a replacement protein.
Well, salmon has always beenvery high end and expensive.

(47:02):
So we looked at okay, how canwe make this?
We started out with asupplement and we started
turning it into a supplement.
Well, a friend of mine who's aveterinarian said the supplement
market is you know, you canclaim anything, there's no
regulation on it and people arehighly, highly wary of the
supplement market.

(47:22):
So he said what the industryreally needs is a solid treat
Somebody can give their dog.
That is in a bunch of junk.
The most of the pet treats onthe market today are owned by
candy companies or, in the otherones, general Mills.
So Mars owns a majority of likethe Beggins strips and those

(47:45):
type of pet treats.
And nothing against Mars, Ilove their candy, but that's who
owns those, and so that cultureof building things is going
into those.
There's been a lot of cottagetype pet treats that came out

(48:07):
that had a hard time keeping upwith demand, and so what I saw
was is I was sitting on top ofthe most valued resources in pet
food, which is salmon, wildcaught Alaskan salmon.
There's farm salmon that I haveno problem saying nobody should
eat.
You shouldn't feed it to yourdogs, it's destroying the ocean,

(48:28):
it's destroying.
They feed it antibiotics.
The reason it's the color pinkthat it is is because they feed
them dye and that's how they can.
So if you see Atlantic Baysalmon, anything that says
organic salmon our salmon can'tbe organic because it's wild
caught.
It has to be farmed in order tobe organic.

(48:51):
So, a lot of that organic salmonand those type of things that
they're branding and marketingavenues that I mean I'm not here
to tell anybody how to dobusiness, but we don't use that
stuff and getting our messageout about wild caught Alaskan
salmon in a sustainable modellike the Alaska fishery has.

(49:11):
That is where that's where wewin.
And on top of that.
So in order for we use and weuse a portion.
We use a portion of the salmonthat is actually perfectly good
and used to have a market.
It used to have a huge market,but the market dropped off, so

(49:31):
they started just grinding it upand pumping it back into the
ocean because they can't use itand they can't just store it for
storage.
So I knew one of the guys whoowned the canneries and so I
proposed an idea to him.
He gave me a good deal on abunch of it.
Give it to me for free.
And so I went and I startedmaking these little fish treats.

(49:56):
Well, the problem is is whenyou freeze dry salmon, it falls
apart and turns to dust.
So we had to figure out how tomake it stay in a fish shape,
yeah, and so we ground it up,got it all put together, so I
went and I invented the moldmachine that causes the salmon

(50:18):
to stay in a fish shape and be acrisp little treat.
Without cooking, without addingadditives or preservatives.
We have a solid little fishtreat that people can give their
dog.

Speaker 2 (50:33):
That is incredible.
Just the what I hear from thatstory.
Many things I think that reallylike hit me is, well, obviously,
innovation, but resourcefulness, and it almost was kind of like
a happy accident, a little bitLike you weren't intentionally
wanting to create a dog treat.
It was like your wife waswanting you to eat healthier,

(50:55):
and so it's kind of like youwere just organically living
your life and your creativewheels were spinning and you
were thinking like, well, howcan I, what can I do here?
And you were thinking veryentrepreneurial to say like, how
can I make money at this?
Where's the market for thisproduct?
And where's the opportunity andthe resourcefulness of being

(51:18):
able to ask for help from allthe people that you did and the
connections that you had to beable to figure out what's gonna
be, how you can use the product,where you can get access to it,
and to be able to leveragethose connections is just a
masterclass in entrepreneurship.
It's like taking advantage ofthose happy accidents and
looking for opportunity in justyour every day.

(51:39):
What you're doing, you know andtrying to see like, could this
be solving a problem here?
How could this be solving aproblem?
And then you know, reallytalking to people and asking and
getting feedback andunderstanding exactly how it can
be used and thinking likewhat's the best way for me to
make money here, you know sowhat is cool.

Speaker 3 (52:00):
That's what it is is we?
I tell people like, when youenter into this crazy life of
entrepreneurship and it is crazy.
It is absolutely crazy.
I have a lot of companies thatI really enjoy watching.

(52:23):
You know we and I benchmark offof things that they do that is
successful and things that Ithink I can incorporate and kind
of make, but I don't.
You have to have that internalmotivation that just drives you
to see problems, see solutions.

(52:45):
So many times I think what weget lost in is is we see a
problem and we look for who'sfault it is.
I drive and we just had a hugecompany meeting about this three
weeks ago, because that startedcreeping into the culture of
our company and we have a noblame policy in our company.

(53:06):
I don't care who's fault it is.
I want to know why the systemdidn't work.

Speaker 2 (53:12):
So if we get to the end.
It's not the people, it's theprocess.

Speaker 3 (53:16):
Exactly so if I get to the end and something didn't
happen, well, the instructionsweren't followed.
Why weren't the instructionsfollowed?

Speaker 2 (53:24):
Exactly.

Speaker 3 (53:25):
Well, are they not clear enough?
Are they not Like we, let's goin and examine every point of?
Sometimes you get to the endand it was hey, the person was
not having a good day, orsometimes that's not the right
person for that position.

Speaker 2 (53:40):
Exactly which falls on the entrepreneur.
It means you've got to.
You put the wrong person in thebus and you got to find another
.
You know.

Speaker 3 (53:48):
Yeah, I love Jim Collins good to great and
building level five systems, andso we really concentrate on
that.
Within our company, we had ayoung man who wasn't working out
and I sat down with him and Isaid, hey, look, it's no secret,

(54:08):
you're not working out here, sowhat's your passion?
Where do you want to go?
And he said, well, what do youmean?
And I said, well, what do youwant to do with your life?
And he's like well, I want tobe a baker.
I'm like all right, I know somebakers, let's give him a call.
And he's like really, he's likethis is the best way I've ever

(54:30):
been fired.
I'm like I'm not fired, I justwant you to see, I want you to
reach your potential.
Your potential doesn't looklike it's going to happen at
this company, so go reach yourpotential and I'll find somebody
else.
The process of getting theright people on the bus is the

(54:50):
most important thing, and whenthe wrong person's on the bus,
we need to help them go findtheir bus so that we can get the
right people on ours.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
I love that it's leading with so much empathy,
the way that you handled thatsituation, and what's great
about that, too, is that you'resetting a great example for the
rest of the team to show thatyou're fair on both sides, like
if they're doing well andthey're performing well, you're
going to reward them, but alsoif there's a problem and it's
recognized, you're not going totolerate it, you're going to

(55:22):
find a solution.
You're fair on both sides,you're going to find a way.
Yeah, I had a very similarsituation where I had to have a
hard conversation with a teammember.
Same situation that just therewere things that weren't
happening, expectations, etcetera and I just was very clear
and I said, yeah, these are theexpectations we set and this is
what needs to happen over thisto work.

(55:43):
That person self-selected.

Speaker 1 (55:46):
Like.

Speaker 2 (55:46):
I didn't have to.
It was amazing.
Like they said, this isn't afit and I didn't have to be the
one.
They just realized andrecognized it.

Speaker 3 (55:56):
So it's so exciting when you define what it looks
like to be on the bus, peoplewill quickly realize whether
they fit or not.
And it's not that they'rebetter or worse, it's just
that's not where they belong.
And the sooner we can plan thatout and the sooner they can

(56:17):
find out where they belong,everybody's happy.
And so we, even among you, weretalking about partners earlier.
Like I, have had to exit somepartners over the year and it
was difficult because it is verymuch like a marriage, and

(56:41):
exiting those partners can berough, but at the same time,
when you're doing that, you haveto do it from a standpoint of
this isn't a personal thing.
This is you don't fit on thebus Right, it's a business
decision.

Speaker 2 (56:56):
Yep, we have to do what's right for the business.

Speaker 3 (57:01):
And when you have partners.
My wife and I joke about ourloud conversations in the house,
but partners have to have loudconversations.
One of my partners is a retiredMarine January Sergeant and if
you don't think I have loudconversations after I, as a

(57:21):
former Army guy and into aMarine, there are some very loud
conversations.
We have a different way oftalking, we have a different way
of relating to each other andwe have a different way of
airing out our issues, but atthe end of the day, we both know

(57:42):
same team, same mission.
We want what's best for thecompany.
Yeah, it's like the go ahead ohand then we have our CFO, who is
a numbers genius.
He's a great guy.
There's three of us that ownthe company and he is hilarious.
You couldn't find a moreperfect opposite to what the

(58:08):
other two partners are.
I mean, I met one of his oldcollege roommates and he's like
I don't think the guy wore shoesall the way through college,
Like he was a grateful dad, andhe's running around with an Army
guy and a Marine and I lovegrateful dad.
I mean they're great, but thecultures are just different.
But it fits so well together.

(58:29):
When he came on board it wasjust like, yeah, it was seamless
, it was obvious.
He always should have beenthere.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
Oh, isn't it?
That's so cool that you canfeel, that you feel when it's
right.
I've experienced the same thingwhere you're just like, you
know it's right.
There's something about therelationship that just fits,
even if it might have themoments where you're having
those difficult conversations,right, and you come from

(59:03):
completely different backgrounds.
But something about it it justfits and is right and you just
have to lean into it.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (59:10):
Well, and the nice thing is is he understands that,
as CEO, I'm going to take thereins and I'm going to run as
fast as I can and I'm a hard guyto slow down.
But he's comfortable with thetension between him and I, where
he's like no, kevin, we can'tdo this.
And I say, but why?

(59:32):
And we get through millions ofwhy conversations before we're
like OK, no, that's the plan.
Ok, our marketing plan isn'tright, our demographic view
isn't looking the same, so wecan't run here.
We have to do this first.
It's not that.
No, we can't.
It's no, not right now.

Speaker 2 (59:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (59:54):
And so being able to do that.
And that's where, when you wereback to the beginning of our
conversation, when you'retalking about challengers and
those, one of the most difficultthings as an entrepreneur is
not to have what we call missioncreep.
We are so in tuned with ideasthat are flowing out and market
potentials and good ideas, likeall those things.

(01:00:17):
We have to have those people inour life that say no, do one
thing great.

Speaker 2 (01:00:22):
Yeah, so true, it is so true.
You have to learn to say no.
You have to learn like, becauseyou're so right as
entrepreneurs, you're just fullof ideas and full of vision and
full of what you want to do.
But you have to have focus, youhave to be focused, otherwise

(01:00:43):
you're never going to accomplishany of it, and there has to be
someone to help you focus in andhave some grounding influence,
to be able to help you go andmove in the direction that's
going to make sense at thatmoment, to help you get where
you want to go.

Speaker 3 (01:00:59):
Well and I laugh because people ask me they're
like well, you know, how did youcome up with this company?
What was your idea?
How did you do it?
You know, I looked at whatBlack Rifle Coffee and their
leadership did and I was talkingto somebody the other day and
they said we looked at a lot ofthings that Evan and his team

(01:01:21):
did over there and there aresome really cool things that
they did through social mediaand a lot of those other avenues
that we could use some of thosepieces and we're big in the
military about following thosewho came before you, look at
their successes and see if youcould incorporate that in your
model.
So I mean if you go throughtraining, you learn about what

(01:01:41):
we did in World War I, World WarII, Korea, Vietnam and so on,
and so we learn, we build thatand so very much the same way.
When I saw what Black Rifle didas like, OK, we're not going to
go that far with that community, we're going to be more, you
know, white picket fence andgolden retrievers, but we can

(01:02:05):
use a lot of the models thatthey used for success, and so we
pulled from some of the ones.
Another one is a company I lovein fact I'm wearing this hat
Bison Union.
He's a coffee company and hereally embraced kind of the
outdoor lifestyle.
So we so I'm constantly on hiswebsite, I order his coffee

(01:02:26):
already.
He's a great guy, but I'mlooking at what he's doing
because he's got some reallycool ideas.
And then I look at it betweenthe two of those and there's a
couple other companies.
I look at them I'm like, OK, sohere's where that's going in
the coffee market.
So how do I apply that to thedog market?
and still, get that kind ofsuccess Because they have such a

(01:02:48):
loyal following and they'reable to build such a great
customer experience that peoplekeep coming back to them.
Well, there's an equalfanaticism about dogs that there
is about coffee.
So how do I capture theimagination of these customers
so that I can gain their loyaltyand gain them?

(01:03:08):
Number one create the bestproduct out there.
And we do.
We are the best damn entry onthe market right now.
There's nobody who does what wedo.
Number two get your message outand get your story out.
Get your message out of who youare and how you've come to be.
And then it's not the third,but it's probably one of the

(01:03:32):
most important was havephenomenal customer service.
So at the end of the day, whena customer calls my company,
they get greeted.
We want to hear their stories,we want to hear about their dog,
we want to hear the things thatworked, the things that didn't.
And a customer called me andirritated one of our team

(01:03:53):
members.
But he called me and he saidthat he weighed our treats and
they were off by three grams.
And I'm like whoa guys, why arewe upset?
And they're like who is sittingaround weighing our treat?
Obviously this guy and he saidhey, thanks for the feedback,

(01:04:14):
here's your free bag of treatsand I wish you the best.

Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
It's such great marketing.
As a marketer, everythingyou're saying is the key to
really like marketing is aboutreally understanding and
listening to your customersbetter than anyone else and
figuring out how you can solvetheir problems better than
anyone else.
The closer you can get to yourcustomer and just be open and
humble when they give you thatfeedback, as a company, you're

(01:04:41):
going to be eons ahead of anycompetitor.
I had a client who told me oncehe was like should I be doing
what my competitors are doing?
They're doing this, should webe doing that?
And I'm like that is not theright question.
You need to be asking what isit that my customers need right
now?
Am I listening to them?
Do I know and understand whattheir problems are better than

(01:05:03):
anyone else?
Who cares what your competitorsare doing?
If you are close to yourcustomers, your competitors are
all going to be chasing you.
So I love everything that youjust said, those three points,
and I think we should say themagain.
The first one you said is makea really great product.
The second one is just bereally good about getting your
vision and your story out there.
And the third is like reallygreat customer service.

(01:05:24):
I mean those are absolutelylike the great hallmarks of a
just kick a brand.
So I just like salute you andcommend you for what you're
building and the product justseems so remarkable.
I don't have a dog, but if Idid I'd be buying it, that's for
sure.
So I just.
This has been such a wonderful,amazing conversation and I just

(01:05:46):
love what you're building at AKMountain Dog and what you're
doing, kevin.
It's great stuff.
I have, like one question I'dlove to ask you, and that is as
we close out our show today whatdo you want to be known for?
You've such an amazing historyand story.

(01:06:08):
If you think about your lifeand what you've been building
and your family and everythingand let's just say you're on
your deathbed 50 years from nownot on a ventilator, you've
lived a very full life.
When you're sitting there andyou're looking back on your life
, what is it that you want to beknown for?

(01:06:28):
What do you want other peopleto say about you and what do you
want to?
What's the legacy you want tocreate?

Speaker 3 (01:06:35):
You know, I want to be a good dad and a good husband
.
That's it.
I mean, money comes and goes,businesses are built in fall,
they're bought and sold.
I got two great kids, I got anawesome wife and yeah, I want

(01:07:01):
people to say that guy, he was agood dad and he was a good
husband.
I'm speechless man.

Speaker 2 (01:07:09):
I mean, that's what matters.

Speaker 3 (01:07:12):
Like we can go make all the money we want, it
doesn't matter.
Like if if I'm not shootingbows in the backyard with my kid
.
Like if my son doesn't, myson's not on fire because he's
running through doing judo.
My daughter loves to go pickberries.
She lives to ride on a fourwheeler.
You know she just, she's a goodguy.
She lives to ride on a fourwheeler.

(01:07:33):
She wants to do gymnastics,ballet, judo.
That is my daughter.
Like she's 100%.
My son is my wife.
Like his person.
Yeah, but my daughter she'srunning a million miles an hour
and I love it.
Like she has so much energy, somuch creativity.

(01:07:55):
She is just exploding onto thescene and and it's, it's
hilarious Cause she's like, well, dad, you know these girls are
doing this, and I'm like, okay,well, is that what you want to
do?
She's like, no, I want to goout in the woods.
I'm like, all right, then yougo do that.
Like, let's, let's explore life.
Like you know, that's the kid'sside.

(01:08:16):
You know I am the luckiest guyin the world.
I got an awesome wife and, likewe, we live in our own little
world.
Like we go on dates and it'sour own little world.
Like who cares what elseanybody else is doing, Like
we're goofing off, Like welaughed that we end up at Home
Depot at most days, Like lookingat, we'll go to the movies and

(01:08:38):
we end up at Home Depot and sowe end up at Costco.

Speaker 2 (01:08:42):
That's funny.

Speaker 3 (01:08:44):
Yeah, see, we all have that into the date.
Like we don't have kids, whatare we going to do?
And so, like it's just likeenjoying that time.
Like I don't want I mean, Idon't want anything else, I want
time, and that's why I didn'tgo chase back after aviation,

(01:09:05):
that's why I mean I don't know alot of people out there.
They get to like just hang outwith their kids, like be, be a
dad, be a husband, like go havefun and and and.
The more I concentrate on beinga good dad and husband, the
more successful I am in business.

(01:09:26):
When we have our prioritiesright, we can we just we just
see things differently.

Speaker 2 (01:09:44):
And I have no words.
I'm speechless.
Wow, you, you literally broughtme to tears.
I think you're just humilityand it just says a lot about you
as a person.
Those kids are lucky to haveyou as a dad and your wife is
certainly lucky to have you as ahusband, and it's so refreshing

(01:10:07):
to to just be part of this.
You know, to know you, and anhonor to be able to hear about
just the person that you are andwhat you're building with your
family and your commitment tothem.
First of all and foremost and Ijust, I just am so honored to

(01:10:28):
know you and have thisconversation.
It's been such a fun, fun, fun,fun experience and I man, I,
just I wish you every successwith your family, with your
company, your kids andeverything.
I wish there were more peoplelike you in the world, kevin.
The world needs more.
The world needs more peoplelike you, fighters, who just

(01:10:53):
love their family and want tohave an impact and do it the
right way and do it for theright reasons, and so thank you
for being an example in that way.

Speaker 3 (01:11:02):
Thanks for having me on.
If there's any encouragement Ican give to anybody out there
who has a little girl, like I door or it's on.
You know the entrepreneurshipis is like a battle and we have
to walk out of the house andwe've got to do the battle and
be the be the big scarymarketing guy or whatever you

(01:11:24):
need to be.
At the time you got to walkback in the house, put on the
pink bow and have the tea party,like that's how that's.
You got to get that mindset.
And once you get that mindsetlike you're good to go, like and
I work on it.
It's nothing that you arrive at, it's something you work at
every day and and I just thankyou for having given us this

(01:11:47):
opportunity Like I really enjoysharing our story.
I enjoy sharing how we cameabout and if it helps anybody
think great.
And if it doesn't, then youknow it's still our story.
We had a blast making it.

Speaker 2 (01:12:01):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's, it's definitely.
It's an exciting story andyou're still building it.
That's what's cool.
It's it's never done right.

Speaker 3 (01:12:11):
Oh yeah, no.

Speaker 2 (01:12:12):
Well, thank, thank you so much, kevin.
This has been such so much fun.
I just you know, laughed I'vecried, I've man Sheesh.
Anyway, as we wrap up thisepisode of tales of misadventure
, we are reminded that withentrepreneurship, there's no
straight path to success.

(01:12:33):
It's the unexpected twists andturns that shape our stories and
make them worth telling.
So embrace the misadventures inyour own life and let them
guide you towards your ownblessings.
Thank you for tuning in.
We'll be back soon with morecaptivating tales of
misadventure.

Speaker 1 (01:12:50):
Tales of Misadventure is produced, edited and
moderated by Julie Bicello, withBicello Media, music by Marcus
Way.
Special thanks to our amazingguests and the entire DMG
Digital team.
Visit us at dmgdigitalio to getaccess to all our podcast
interviews and other helpfulresources, and if you'd like to
get updates on the latest andgreatest, please sign up for our

(01:13:11):
email newsletter.
We'll see you next time foranother episode of Tales of
Misadventure.
Until then, keep fallingforward.