The Gstaad Guy sits down with Steve Varsano, founder of The Jet Business, the world’s first street-level showroom for corporate aviation, to trace his rise from humble beginnings to becoming one of the most influential dealmakers in private aviation. With a career spanning entrepreneurship, corporate acquisitions, and global jet sales, Steve has built his reputation on vision, resilience, and an unmatched ability to close high-stakes deals.
The conversation explores the inner workings of the aviation business, from M&A and corporate jet transactions to navigating negotiations with precision and confidence. Steve reflects on the discipline behind deal-making, the relationships that sustain success at the highest levels, and the entrepreneurial mindset that turns challenges into opportunities. A rare insight into how relentless drive and the art of the deal define one of the most exclusive industries in the world.
Filmed at The Jet Business showroom in London.
Chapters:
Steve Varsano Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro ✨
(02:22) Entering the aviation world ✈️🌍
(03:58) Aviation lobbyist 🛩️ 🏛️
(06:08) The first sale 💼💰
(12:33) Private Jet vs. Corporate Jet 🛩️⚖️
(12:45) The Jet Business 🏢✈️
(15:19) The reality of entrepreneurship 🚀💡
(17:51) Corporate jet landscape 🌐🛩️
(25:43) Friendship vs. Business 🤝🏻💼
(27:11) Doing business with friends 👫💼
(30:10) Building your personal brand 👤🌟
(33:44) A chameleon in life & business 🦎💫💼
(38:08) Ego is the worst trait 🙅♂️😤
(40:27) Winning on feeling and not on paper ❤️📄❌
(44:59) Importance of asking questions ❓🧠
(47:54) Shift to corporate aviation 🔄✈️
(51:07) Buying time ⏳💵
(55:28) Why fly corporate? ✈️💼
(59:36) Corporate travel etiquette 🛫🤵
(01:04:21) À La Poubelle vs. Fantastique 🗑️✨
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Popular Podcasts
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com