Retained Trust
by Karl Hughes
Latest episode
Beyond Organic Growth: Tristan Pelligrino on Buying Agencies and…
Beyond Organic Growth: Tristan Pelligrino on Buying Agencies and…
About this podcast
Want to know what it takes to build, scale, and sell your agency?
Retained Trust is a weekly podcast where host Karl Hughes goes deep with digital service business owners to uncover the habits, tactics, and strategies they’ve learned to grow successful companies. Along the way, you’ll hear about Karl’s journey running and acquiring niche digital agencies as he learns from guests with a variety of backgrounds and experience levels.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 70 episodes
- Beyond Organic Growth: Tristan Pelligrino on Buying Agencies and Building Sustainable Businesses · 54 min · Episode 69In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Tristan Pelligrino, co-founder of Aragon Holdings, about building and acquiring marketing agencies. Tristan shares…
- Building Eight-Figure Agencies: John Ghiorso on Venture Studios, Market Timing, and AI · 53 min · Episode 68In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with John Ghiorso, founder of VantaFive, a venture studio and accelerator focused on niche marketing agencies. John…
- Beyond the Sales Playbook: Christina Brady on AI, Sales Training, and Leadership · 52 min · Episode 67In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Christina Brady, CEO and Co-Founder of Luster.ai, about her journey from sales representative to startup founder…
- Building a Million-Dollar Agency: The Systems Behind Seven-Figure Growth · 23 min · Episode 66In this solo episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes breaks down how service businesses can grow to $1 million in annual revenue. Drawing from his experience building and…
- Growing a Podcast: Robert Tuchman and Adam Hendricks on Organic and Paid Audience Growth · 57 min · Episode 65In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Robert Tuchman of Amaze Media Labs and Audience Lift, and Adam Hendricks of The Podcast Consultant, about what it…
- Building a Podcast Agency That Lasts: Rachael King on Pod People, Creative Growth, and Trust · 49 min · Episode 64In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Rachael King, founder and CEO of Pod People, about building a podcast production company over nearly a decade…
- Why Audio Builds Trust: Jeff Large on Podcasting, Agency Growth, and Authority · 53 min · Episode 63In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Jeff Large, founder of Come Alive Creative, about his path from teaching middle school to building a…
- Building Relationships That Drive Business: Dr. Jeremy Weisz on Podcasting and Networking · 49 min · Episode 62In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Dr. Jeremy Weisz about using podcasting to build relationships, strengthen trust, and create business…
- Building a Podcast Portfolio: Karl Hughes and Manuel Weiss on Acquisitions, Integration, and Growth · 51 min · Episode 61In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes welcomes back his business partner, Manuel Weiss, for a personal and business update. Manuel shares his move from Vienna back…
- The Real Story of Entrepreneurship | Trailer · 3 minBuilding a company is rarely the clean success story you hear after the fact. On Retained Trust, Karl Hughes sits down with founders and entrepreneurs to unpack what actually…
- Hiring Leaders Without a Playbook: Kimley Cox on Talent Strategy · 48 min · Episode 60In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Kimley Cox, founder of Drive Talent, a retained search firm specializing in precision manufacturing. Kimley shares…
- The Best Advice on Agency Sales & Growth (From 25+ Founders) · 22 min · Episode 59In this special episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes distills lessons from dozens of conversations with agency founders, consultants, and acquirers into a focused…
- Greg Heilers on Productizing SEO Services and Surviving the AI Shift · 53 min · Episode 58In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Greg Heilers, co-founder of Jolly SEO, an agency focused on earned link building and media placements. Greg shares…
- From Agency Owner to Fund Investor: Grant Hensel on Buying Enduring Businesses · 46 min · Episode 57In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Grant Hensel, founder of Nonprofit Megaphone and managing partner at Entrepreneur Capital. Grant shares how he…
- Building Barrel Holdings: Peter Kang on Scaling and Exiting Agencies · 55 min · Episode 56In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Peter Kang, co-founder of Barrel and Barrel Holdings. Peter shares his 18-year journey in building a digital…
- From Podcast to Portfolio: Will Smith’s ETA Journey · 57 min · Episode 55In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes chats with Will Smith, host of Acquiring Minds and partner at Minds Capital. Will shares how his frustration with startup…
- Buying Distressed Agencies: Mushfiq Sarker on Smart Acquisitions · 47 min · Episode 54In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes talks with Mushfiq Sarker, an experienced entrepreneur and founder of webacquisition.com. Mushfiq shares how he transitioned…
- Hard Decisions, Real Growth: The SearchLab Story with Mark Bealin · 54 min · Episode 53In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes talks with Mark Bealin, founder of SearchLab, a Chicago-based digital marketing agency specializing in local SEO and PPC. Mark…
- The Four-Hour Life and the Realities of Passive Income with Dan Andrews · 49 min · Episode 52In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Dan Andrews—entrepreneur, podcaster, and co-creator of the Tropical MBA and Dynamite Circle. Dan recounts his…
- Inside the Lab: Trials and Takeaways from a Challenging Quarter with Manuel Weiss · 45 min · Episode 51In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes sits down with his co-founder Manuel Weiss for their quarterly update. They open up about recent challenges and wins across…
