Episodes

This one's a little different — Dustin Walter is the founder of Independent Restoration Services, the network Brian is a partner in. In this episode, Brian gets to ask questions as an insider, and Dustin breaks down how IRS's ownership model works, why he built a centralized back office instead of a traditional franchise, and what he actually looks for in the people he partners with. What we cover: Dustin's path from a decade in the insurance industry (adjuster, supervisor, manager) to foundin...

Mick Montesi runs an aerospace components manufacturer supplying structural metal parts to defense, commercial, and space OEMs like Boeing and Airbus. In this episode, Mick breaks down what it actually takes to become an approved aerospace supplier, why the onboarding process can take up to two years, and how his company competes on speed and in-house capability rather than price. What we cover: What an aerospace components manufacturer actually does and who the end customers are Why defense...

Sammy and Elizabeth Kaufman run Kaufman Logistics, a freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and 3PL company handling the physical movement and compliance side of importing goods into the US. In this episode, Brian sits down with the husband and wife duo to break down an industry most business owners rely on constantly but rarely understand. What we cover: What freight forwarding actually is, and how it differs from customs brokerage and 3PL (most companies think these are the same thing) Why n...

Anderson Lemos spent 17 years in manufacturing, ten of them on the floor as a manufacturing and applications engineer, before moving into commercial roles. Today he helps manufacturers price their products and aftermarket parts the right way, so their plants produce healthy margins instead of guessing. We get into why pricing in manufacturing is inherited instead of designed, why a McKinsey study found a 1% price increase can drive an 8% increase in profit, and why so many manufacturers are sit...

Justin Samaniego runs product and digital strategy at Medline, one of the largest medical distribution companies in the world. Before that, he spent years in industrial B2B distribution, moving from sales rep to sales ops to building digital tools from scratch. This conversation is for any distributor or manufacturer wondering if "going digital" means replacing your sales team. It doesn't, and Justin explains why. What we cover: Why the smartest distributors don't try to automate everything, ...

Ryan Kirby, Partner at Alderman & Company, on What It Actually Takes to Sell an Aerospace & Defense Business Ryan Kirby is a Partner at Alderman & Company, an investment bank focused exclusively on aerospace and defense M&A. He's spent his career on the sell side, helping owner operators position their companies, find the right buyer, and walk away with the best outcome, not just the highest number. In this episode, Ryan and Brian get into the real mechanics of selling a business in A&D, and mo...

In the third installment of our Metric Marine series, Brian sits down with Jessica Stahl, COO of Metric Marine, for a deep dive into the operational engine behind one of South Florida's leading marine supply distributors. If the first two episodes covered vision and marketing, this one gets into the gritty day-to-day of how a distribution business actually wins or loses. In this episode: How Metric Marine handles 1,500–3,000 RFQs per month and what it takes to turn them around within the hour ...

Brian sits down with Patrick Dichter, owner of Apple Tree Business Services, to break down what small business owners — especially those in manufacturing, distribution, and home services — actually need to understand about their financials. Patrick works with companies ranging from $250K to $20M in revenue and shares the accounting blind spots that cost owners real money. Topics covered: P&L vs. balance sheet — which one matters more, and why inventory-heavy businesses can't ignore the balance ...

Dan Verboski didn't grow up dreaming about signs. He left the State Department in 2017, looked for a business to buy, and ended up in Tyler, Texas taking over a 72-year-old sign company he knew nothing about. Leon Signs is now 80 years old and Dan runs a 26-person operation making custom, large-format lighted signs for banks, churches, restaurants, and national rollouts across East Texas. In this episode: Why 87% of Dan's revenue comes from repeat customers and what that says about how to prot...

Brian sits down with JD Beck, owner of Mountain Valley Plumbing and HVAC, to talk about what it actually takes to go from employee to business owner in the trades. JD's path wasn't a straight line. After four years as an Army engineer officer building runways and forward operating bases, he spent five years climbing the ladder in commercial elevators — field supervisor, department manager, covering Colorado and Wyoming. Good career, good trajectory. But the ceiling was closing in and nothing on...

What do screws, ship supplies, and mouthwash have in common? They're all "boring", and yet, they can all be marketed brilliantly. This week, Brian sits down with Jochebed Zakrzeswki, Director of Marketing at Metric Marine and brand strategist for B2B & ecommerce businesses, to talk about how businesses in dull industries can find their voice, attract the right customers, and grow without losing what makes them human. In this episode: Sell the emotion, not the product — Why Metric Marine doesn...

Bear with us on this one — Brian was running on cough medicine and not much else when we recorded this. The content is worth it. In this episode, Brian sits down with Guillermo Ochoa of Merseyshell LLC — a manufacturing veteran with 15 years across the auto industry and Bimbo Bakeries (the largest bread manufacturer in the world) — who is now on a self-funded search to acquire and operate a small industrial business. Guillermo walks through his career arc from R&D engineer to warehouse automati...

In industrial distribution, customer experience is rarely treated as a competitive advantage. Most companies assume the product and the price are all that matter. Shelly Chandler has spent her career proving that wrong. Note: This is a replay of a 2021 interview with Shelly recorded during her previous role. The lessons she shares on customer experience strategy are arguably more relevant today than when they were first recorded. Shelly was the VP of Customer Experience at American Tire Distrib...

Most people have never thought about the chemistry behind a printed page. Rachel McGrath has spent her career mastering it. Rachel is the CEO of Tower Products, a manufacturer of technical chemicals for the printing industry — fountain solutions, dust control innovations, and specialty products that determine whether a print run succeeds or fails. In this episode she pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to operate in a highly specialized manufacturing niche — from product developmen...

In this episode, Jonas shares his journey from the factory floor to private equity — covering the real challenges of managing manufacturing operations, lessons learned in the automotive industry, and what drew him to search funds as a path to ownership. Whether you're a plant manager, an aspiring entrepreneur, or an investor, Jonas delivers grounded insights on lean principles, cultural fit, and what it takes to create lasting value in manufacturing businesses. Key takeaways The automotive ind...

In this episode, I sit down with Thomas Campbell, CEO of Metric Marine, to discuss how you modernize a specialty distribution business without overcomplicating it or breaking what already works. Learn More About Today's Guest Website: https://www.metricmarine.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tcampbelliv/ Email: thomas@metricmarine.com

In today's episode I sit down with Rob Trepa of YawPitch and discuss the evolving world of technical sales. What these firms do and how you can use them to extend your reach as a manufacturer of complex products. Learn more about today's guest: Website: yawpitch.com Email: rob@yawpitch.com

In this episode we go deep into discussing the sales and management challenges of advanced composite manufacturing with Jose Di Geronimo, CEO of Amalga Composites. Learn More About Today's Guest Website: https://amalgacomposites.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josedigeronimo Email: josedg@amalgacomposites.com

Most businesses are not won in strategy meetings. They are won or lost in the day to day trenches. This is a short introduction to The Industrial Side. Why it exists, why now, and what you can expect. After hundreds of conversations with operators across distribution, manufacturing, and field service businesses, one thing became clear. The gap is not ideas. It is execution. This podcast is about those trenches. The goal is simple. Pull out practical lessons operators can apply immediately t...