“Bend”ing Rules
Latest episode
Bending Rules -- Dood Woof CEO, Elina Panteleyeva explains how she…
Bending Rules -- Dood Woof CEO, Elina Panteleyeva explains how she…
About this podcast
It is difficult to choose the entrepreneurial and risk-taking path. I made that decision, and after a lot of mistakes, I eventually found a balanced life that resulted in more time with family, friends, and the community. This podcast will focus on the lessons and experiences of successful (and sometimes not-so-successful) entrepreneurs and rule-breakers who have endured along their journeys and found positive outcomes—whose efforts were the result of deliberate approaches, not those of starry-eyed 'unicorns,' but rather committed, determined company builders and visionaries.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 31 episodes
- Bending Rules -- Dood Woof CEO, Elina Panteleyeva explains how she went from being fired to starting a company that generated 650K in its first year and is on target to more than double sales in 2025 · 45 min · Season 2 Episode 5Intro: I have always believed in learning from entrepreneurs younger than myself, which seems to be happening more and more these days, and this episode with Elina Panteleyeva is…
- Bending Rules -Chris and Jeremy, founders of 10 Barrel Brewing Co, which they built and guided to a successful exit to Anheuser-Busch in 2014, share the ups and downs of that journey and what followed · 1 h 7 min · Season 2 Episode 3Intro: I have had the pleasure of interviewing several individuals who have built great companies (Hydro Flask, G5, Cairn, Walker Tracker, etc.) in my hometown (I still see it as…
- Christa King, a two-time startup founder, and I dive deep into failure and explore where to find the fortitude and drive to start again · 54 min · Season 2 Episode 3Intro: I was joined by Christa King. Christa has over 30 years of experience in pioneering commercial strategy in hospitality, launching and executing high-impact revenue…
- Bending Rules | Michael Ulin, Co-Founder of Paxton AI, a legal technology company that recently closed a $22 million Series A, shares his journey into entrepreneurship and how it led him to Paxton AI · 56 min · Season 2 Episode 2Intro: Chris Capdevila and I were joined today by Michael Ulin, most recently a Co-founder of Paxton.AI, a legal technology firm designed to transform the legal landscape with…
- Bending Rules - Mark Josephson, former CEO of Bitly and later founder of Castiron, discusses the trade-offs in hiring an outside CEO versus navigating the journey as a founding CEO · 59 min · Season 2 Episode 1Intro: One challenge in growing a company, especially as a first-time entrepreneur, is answering the question, “Am I the right person for the CEO job at this time?” I’d say that…
- Rob Little, CEO of Cairn, a company he co-founded in 2014 and acquired by Outside Magazine in 2021.. · 1 h 2 min · Season 1 Episode 27Intro: Rob Little, former CEO and Co-Founder of Cairn—a discovery platform founded in 2014 and acquired by Outside Magazine in 2021—joins Bending Rules to share his journey into…
- Bending Rules - Dan Hobin, Founder/Former CEO of G5, one of Oregon's most successful SaaS companies in the last couple of decades, employing ~250 people when acquired in 2021 · 1 h 11 min · Season 1 Episode 26Intro: Dan Hobin’s name is synonymous with entrepreneurship in the state of Oregon. He first gained recognition as the co-founder and CEO of G5, a SaaS company he led to become…
- Bending Rules -- Alan Rich, most recently Founder and CEO of Chrome River, a company that was acquired for 520M in 2019, shares his journey and what keeps him inspired to keep creating companies. · 1 h 0 min · Season 1 Episode 26Intro: Alan Rich, a lifelong entrepreneur, is likely best known as the former Founder and CEO of Elite Information Systems, a company that was acquired by Thomson Reuters, as…
- Scott Allan, CEO of Hydro Flask, a consumer product company that he guided from $2 million in sales to $100 million in a four-year period (2012-2016), is a story worth telling. · 1 h 31 min · Season 1 Episode 25Intro: Scott Allan, Former CEO of Hydro Flask, a consumer product company that he guided from $2 million in sales to $100 million in a four-year period (2012-2016), is a story…
- Bending Rules -- Monica Enand, CEO & Founder of Zapproved, shares her incredible and inspiring journey, including growing a company to 170 employees, and navigating the company to an exit in 2023 · 1 h 8 min · Season 1 Episode 21Intro: It’s not every day you have a chance to interview someone who was a successful start-up founder and, initially in her words, “a stay-at-home mom” who was bored. She went…
- "Bend"ing Rules - Taylor Welsh joins as employee #1, several years later assumes the CEO position and leads company to a successful exit in 2022. She's now onto her next exciting start-up. · 1 h 6 min · Season 1 Episode 20Intro: Taylor Welsh joined Walker Tracker as employee #1, several years later she was elevated into the CEO role by the founder. From there, Taylor successfully grew the business…
- Bending Rules - joined by "solopreneur" Reynolds Maxwell, a successful commercial real estate investor, shares journey from Corp America into solo entrepreneurship vs joining a smaller co or start-up · 1 h 15 min · Season 1 Episode 18Intro: Entrepreneurship is not a "one size fits all" type of endeavor. I have always been fascinated why some people want to build companies and others are more comfortable…
- "Bend"ing Rules -- from a team that raised 36M in a funding round, to boot-strapping his next venture, Nick McEvily doesn't sit still · 1 h 4 min · Season 1 Episode 17Intro: Nick was fortunate to cross paths early in his career and become a co-founder of a team where Mark Cuban participated in a large financing round. Having said that, Nick's…
- "Bend"ing Rules - Dan O'Day leaves Thompson Reuters to start ECFX, 5 years later the business is thriving; learn more about raising money, earning a customer's trust and jumping in with both feet · 1 h 8 min · Season 1 Episode 17Intro: It’s never too late to start a company, but in some ways it’s likely more difficult the longer one waits to take the proverbial jump, especially in the event you reach the…
- "Bend"ing Rules Trailer · 1 minIt is difficult to choose the entrepreneurial and risk-taking path. I made that decision, and, after a lot of mistakes I found a balanced life without having to compromise other…
- "Bend"ing Rules -- Learn how Special Forces Army Ranger, Kyle Morris, leverages his military experience to build a successful services/software company · 1 h 6 min · Season 1 Episode 15Intro: The path to entrepreneurship comes in all shapes and sizes. That's why when I had a chance to interview Kyle Morris, Special Forces Army Ranger (retd), now a successful…
- "Bend"ing Rules -- Gabe Ayers, founder of Apricity, bootstrapped his services company that eventually pivots to a product offering, which ultimately finds a successful exit. · 1 h 23 min · Season 1 Episode 15Intro: We all have heard war stories on starting companies, but it's even tougher (on some level) if you have take on all the risk yourself. That's what Gabe Ayers did when he…
- "Bend"ing Rules -- Patrick Davidson, Oracle Executive joins to share stories of being an "intrapreneur" and eventually an entrepreneur as well · 1 h 29 min · Season 1 Episode 15Intro: I was happy to have Patrick join to discuss what it means to be an "intrapreneur" at a company as large as Oracle. Patrick is on his second or third stint with Oracle…
- "Bend"ing Rules -- Justin Johnson joins BR today. Learn why Justin left a 20 year professional services career, a year way from sabbatical, to launch his first start up. · 1 h 22 min · Season 1 Episode 14Intro: I am sure more than once many of you have sat behind your comfortable corporate environment and thought "is now the time to take a leap of faith?" Well, Justin Johnson did…
- Bending Rules -- Ian Olsen, Restaurant Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Lemonade, a 50M+ in annual sales restaurant chain shares his journey with Pete and Chris · 1 h 31 min · Season 1 Episode 14Intro: We have all had a great idea for a restaurant at some point, right? Well, Ian picked his spots to invest and start new brands and restaurant concepts over the past 20…
