The Real Intelligence Podcast

Gary Kadi
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship

If your business stops the moment you step away, this show is for you. The Real Intelligence Podcast is about how we work and live in the new AI world, hosted by Gary Kadi and Gus Waite. It is for business owners and C-suite executives who are ready to stop being the bottleneck in their own business. Season one, Inside Man, asked what success was costing the man behind it. Season two goes outside and asks the harder question: how do you redesign a business so that success no longer requires the owner, the team or the family to suffer? Gary and Gus build the answer in public. Every episode is what they are actually installing, inside delegAIte and inside the businesses they work with. What worked, what did not, and what it cost to find out. Real systems, real stories, no theory. Gary Kadi has spent more than 30 years coaching business owners and has worked with more than 6,000 businesses. He founded NextLevel Practice, created the category of Complete Health Dentistry, and built and sold his own company in a triple-win exit. Gus Waite is Chief of AI Innovation and Integration at delegAIte, and runs delegAIte itself as the proof: an agentic company with no employees, where everything that repeats is handled by systems and the people do only what they love. What we cover: agentic AI inside a real business, the Eight Divisions, scaling without adding headcount, getting the owner out of the operating seat, what to automate first and what to leave alone, and the beliefs that have to move before any of it works. Recent conversations include building the first FDA-cleared skin cancer scanner for family doctors, and what it takes to run a five million dollar company with no employees at all. Book a call: delegaite.co Nobody gets replaced. Everybody gets elevated.

  1. 16h ago

    Success Isn't Wealth: What High Achievers Get Wrong | Dr. Matt Markel

    What if you did everything right in your career and still did not feel financially free? That is where Dr. Matt Markel found himself. Matt went from entry level engineer to the C-suite: head of radar at Waymo, CEO of Spartan Radar, CTO at Epirus, with patents in radar and defense technology. He grew up with a heavy scarcity mindset, and after decades of doing everything the playbook said, he still did not feel free. So he built Strata, which teaches eight habits for financial independence grouped into three areas: capture money before lifestyle spends it, govern it in a smart way, and protect it. We talk about why success and wealth are two different games, how our generation got moved from defined benefit to defined contribution and quietly took on all the risk, why ownership beats effort, and his book, Anti-preneur, which makes the case that you can build wealth without quitting the career you worked so hard for. And the line I keep coming back to: you cannot consistently behave in a manner that is inconsistent with how you see yourself. What we get into: Why success and wealth are not the same thingHow a scarcity mindset follows high achievers into the C-suiteMatt's path from engineer to Waymo, Spartan Radar and EpirusWhat Waymo's focus on safety taught him about building systemsThe retirement savings shortfall most professionals ignoreHow defined contribution plans shifted the risk onto youOwnership over effortThe eight habits: capture, govern and protectWhy software can scale the lesson better than another bookThe Anti-preneur case for building wealth without quitting your careerYou can't outearn your self-image Timestamps 00:00 Meet Dr. Matt Markel01:05 Growing up with a scarcity mindset02:00 From engineer to the C-suite03:40 Success and wealth are not the same05:01 The Waymo wake-up on real wealth06:20 Radar, safety and Waymo's edge10:05 Making things better, not inventing Post-its12:11 The retirement savings shortfall13:53 Ownership over effort16:28 Strata and the eight habits17:43 Capture, govern and protect20:02 Why software beats another book21:39 Where to find Strata22:50 The Anti-preneur idea25:09 Why most startups fail26:04 Professionals build what entrepreneurs invent27:09 You can't outearn your self-image28:03 Where to connect with Matt About the guest Dr. Matt Markel is the founder of Strata Financial Education and the author of Anti-preneur. Former head of radar at Waymo, CEO of Spartan Radar and CTO at Epirus. This episode is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Strata: https://learnstrata.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-markel Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    Success Isn't Wealth: What High Achievers Get Wrong | Dr. Matt Markel

  2. 1d ago

    Why Founders Can't Let Go: The Inner Work Behind Scaling a Business | Remy Meraz

    Most conversations about delegation start with mechanics: what to hand over, to whom, and in what order. My guest today says that is the second question. The first one is harder. What actually belongs on your plate in the first place? Remy Meraz is the co-founder and president of Zella Life, a coaching and behavioral analytics platform that received funding from Google's Latino Founders Fund. She started doing the inner work because of a toxic boss whose leadership by fear and intimidation made her and four other people sick. Later she left her marriage, went from a six-figure salary to nothing, moved into a studio, watched her first venture go down, and got fired from the job she took to get by. Once she started building Zella, the first corporate client and the Google funding followed within a couple of months. We get into why strong individual contributors struggle when they become managers, why delegation is an inside job, psychological safety and the cost of silence, and how AI can reduce cognitive load without replacing empathy and human connection. Her one piece of advice: build yourself first. What we get into: Why scaling a company starts with scaling yourselfBeing capable does not mean you should do everythingWhy good employees struggle when they become managersHow AI amplifies what is already inside an organization, good or badUsing AI to reduce cognitive loadDelegation is an inside jobFear, control, and the illusion of being in controlKnowing what you suck at, even if you are great at itPsychological safety and the cost of silenceConfidence is a muscle you build in small stepsThe power of surrender, and Remy's own journey through itReframing failure as the chance to learn Timestamps 00:00 What belongs on your plate in the first place00:56 Meet Remy Meraz and Zella Life02:04 From toxic leadership to personal transformation03:41 Why Remy built Zella Life07:32 Why founders have to do the inner work09:12 Why good employees struggle as managers12:23 AI for good: technology, empathy and human connection14:09 How AI can reduce cognitive load17:52 Delegation is an inside job18:15 Fear, control and the illusion of control21:19 Getting underneath the behavior23:03 Psychological safety and the cost of silence27:03 Building confidence through small steps27:56 The power of surrender33:07 Remy's journey of surrender and rebuilding37:16 The "what if" game and fear of failure39:56 When the first venture failed46:10 Nobody gets replaced. Everybody gets elevated46:39 Remy's one piece of advice for founders47:12 Where to connect with Remy About the guest Remy Meraz is the co-founder and president of Zella Life, a coaching and behavioral analytics platform. She offers a complimentary coaching session through the Zella Life website. Zella Life: https://zellalife.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/remy-meraz/ Email: Remy@zellalife.com Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    Why Founders Can't Let Go: The Inner Work Behind Scaling a Business | Remy Meraz

  3. 2d ago

    AI Is Making Logistics Faster. But Are We Solving the Right Problem? | Chris Condon

    Most people in logistics will tell you the problem is speed. Quote faster, book faster, move faster. My guest today thinks that is the wrong diagnosis. Going faster without better judgment just moves the mistake further down the line. Chris Condon started out driving a forklift in a container yard in Kent, Washington in 1995. He spent 16 years at Expeditors, took over a freight company that was $59 million in debt and had it profitable inside one year, then built and sold another one. Today he runs Aircon, an AI platform for air freight forwarders. The reason I wanted him on: he walked away from a part of the business that was making money because it was not the company he needed to exist. Running a tech enabled wholesaler alongside a tech brand confused the market and put his neutrality in question, so he cut it. What he found next is that most of his customers are missing 30 to 40 percent of their inputs, and the quote is just the visible output of the work. What we get into: Speed without judgment relocates the errorFrom forklift driver to logistics leader, and what the dock teaches that no dashboard showsTurning around a company with $59 million in debt in one yearStop selling the service and solve the customer's real problemThe noise and trust problem around AIWhy people and judgment matter more than dataWalking away from a profitable business model to stay neutralCaptain Cargo, and the brand that did not fitThe 30 to 40 percent of inputs most forwarders never seeIs the problem the technology or the willingness to let go of the work?Using AI to elevate human capacity and customer value Timestamps 00:00 Why speed without judgment creates bigger mistakes01:05 From forklift driver to logistics leader02:24 What dock level execution teaches you04:51 Turning around a company with $59 million in debt08:16 Stop selling the service, solve the real problem10:39 The noise and trust problem in AI15:29 Why people and judgment matter more than data20:09 Walking away from a profitable business model23:06 The inputs customers do not know they are missing24:44 Captain Cargo and the brand that did not fit26:50 Speed without judgment relocates the error33:37 Technology, or the willingness to let go of the work?37:13 The takeaway: use AI to elevate customer value38:23 Where to connect with Chris39:08 How his wife felt about shutting down Captain Cargo About the guest Chris Condon is the founder of Aircon, an AI platform for air freight forwarders. He started on a forklift in Kent, Washington, spent 16 years at Expeditors, and turned around a freight company carrying $59 million in debt. He welcomes engagement from the industry on LinkedIn. Aircon: https://aircon.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-condon-air-freight-ai/ Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    AI Is Making Logistics Faster. But Are We Solving the Right Problem? | Chris Condon

  4. 3d ago

    His Brother Was a Cardiologist. He Still Died From a Misdiagnosis | Dr. Steven Charlap

    My guest today lost his brother to a misdiagnosis. His brother was a cardiologist. Think about that for a second: a physician inside the system, with every advantage, and the system still missed it. Dr. Steven Charlap is a surgeon trained at NYU with an MBA from Harvard. He spent 21 years co-founding and running HealthDrive, a mobile medical company that served over five million patients across 13 states, made the Inc. 500 twice and exited to private equity. He gave his personal phone number to the families of his patients. He could have stopped there. Instead he spent the last decade, and over four million dollars of his own money, building MEDOME.ai, an AI powered personal health record that runs the full medical interview, applies more than 500 algorithms, and hands you back the questions your doctor does not have time to ask. His answer to what his brother's story teaches us is three words: trust but verify. Doctors are human, under pressure, and there are 28,000 diseases. When he first went to doctors with MEDOME, some told him they did not want more information on their patients. So he built it for the rest of us. What we get into: Trust but verify, and why even great doctors miss things28,000 diseases, and why no physician can see them allThe three-drug interaction his own product caught for himWhy doctors told him they did not want more patient dataHow MEDOME gathers your history, wearables and lab resultsGenerating the questions to ask your doctor, and recording the appointmentHow doctors respond to a patient who walks in informedSpending more on the product than on marketingAI in primary care and the doctor shortageTen dollars a month, and who this is forTaking care of yourself before you have a problem Timestamps 00:00 He lost his brother to a misdiagnosis01:13 HealthDrive and handing out his personal phone number02:48 What his brother's story tells us: trust but verify04:13 Why doctors miss uncommon diseases05:13 The three-drug interaction that nearly hurt him06:44 Direct to consumer, and why doctors said no to more data09:58 Detecting signals before symptoms appear10:57 Plugging in your wearables12:49 Questions for your doctor and recording the visit13:04 How doctors respond to an informed patient15:54 Product over marketing18:57 AI in primary care and the doctor shortage21:54 Trust but verify, applied to the technology itself25:02 How to get access, and ten dollars a month30:07 Using it to build a health plan32:01 Steve's parting message About the guest Dr. Steven Charlap is a surgeon trained at NYU, a Harvard MBA, and the co-founder of HealthDrive, which served over five million patients across 13 states. He is the founder of MEDOME.ai, an AI powered personal health record. This episode is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. MEDOME: https://medome.ai Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    His Brother Was a Cardiologist. He Still Died From a Misdiagnosis | Dr. Steven Charlap

  5. 4d ago

    You're the Bottleneck: How AI Is Changing Delegation for Founders | Vlad Podoliako

    Every founder I know has had the same instinct at least once. Growth stalls, so we lean in. Work harder, do more. More meetings, more approvals, more of you. My guest today did exactly that and watched it make things worse. Vlad Podoliako started out as a researcher finding sales leads in Kyiv. Two years later he was chief data officer. In 2017 he founded Belkins, now one of the highest rated B2B client acquisition firms in the world, and built it without outside money. He is a Forbes 30 Under 30, and today he has 16 companies. When Belkins hit the wall, what finally worked was Vlad stepping back from an entire function and letting someone else genuinely own it. Results improved because he was not there. We get into the 80% rule, the need to be needed, the hostage relationship between owners and indispensable employees, and why memory, a company brain built from your own knowledge, is the foundation of an AI native company. What we get into: Why the founder becomes the biggest bottleneck in the companyForcing change vs. empowering peopleBreaking the hostage relationship with an indispensable employeeThe 80% rule of delegationWhy founders work at 200%, and what that does to the teamThe founder's need to be neededWhat building 16 companies taught Vlad about letting goDoing only what you love, and letting go of controlHow to build an AI forward companyWhy AI native companies need memoryThe company brain and what it does for founder capacityDon't be afraid to create Timestamps 00:00 Every founder's instinct, and meet Vlad Podoliako01:31 When the founder becomes the bottleneck04:16 Forcing change vs. empowering people05:57 Breaking the hostage relationship07:47 The 80% rule of delegation10:13 Why founders work at 200%12:13 The new age of AI and delegation14:09 The founder's need to be needed15:35 Building 16 companies19:54 Doing only what you love21:24 Letting go of control22:33 Becoming the visionary and creator24:04 How to build an AI forward company27:07 Why AI needs memory28:44 The company brain31:01 How AI changes founder capacity32:04 The power of entrepreneurship34:45 How to connect with Vlad35:27 Vlad's advice: don't be afraid to create36:16 Closing About the guest Vlad Podoliako is the founder of Belkins, a B2B client acquisition firm he built without outside money, and a Forbes 30 Under 30. He started as a researcher finding sales leads in Kyiv and was chief data officer two years later. LinkedIn is the best place to find him. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiefdata Belkins: https://belkins.io/contact-us Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    You're the Bottleneck: How AI Is Changing Delegation for Founders | Vlad Podoliako

  6. 5d ago

    Building the First FDA-Cleared Skin Cancer Scanner for Family Doctors | Cody Simmons

    Eight years. Tens of millions of dollars. Not one unit sold. That is what it took Cody Simmons and his team to get DermaSensor through the FDA, the first automated skin cancer detection device cleared for primary care doctors. And the first three people on the team are still working together nine years later. Cody is the co-founder and CEO of DermaSensor. Time named it one of the best inventions of 2024, and it landed on Inc's list alongside Anthropic and NVIDIA. He did his graduate work in bioengineering at Stanford and spent four years at Genentech before joining his co-founder, a serial medical device entrepreneur, to turn a research technology into a company. Skin cancer is the cancer you can see, and yet only about eight percent of the hundred million Americans at risk get the recommended annual skin exam. I know why people avoid it. I sat on a mole for a long time because I did not want to hear the answer. So we walked through the four things every founder building something hard runs into: regulation, capital, trust and scale. And Cody told me about the second patient ever scanned after clearance, a man who was sure his mole was fine. It came back a 10 out of 10. What we get into: Why they went after family doctors instead of dermatologistsFrom a microwave-sized desktop system to a one pound handheldHealthcare, hardware and the FDA, all at onceHow you hold a team together for eight years with no revenueRaising capital for something you are not allowed to sell yetThe real objection: why not just use a photo and an algorithmA live demo, and how the device reads up to a millimeter beneath the surface of the skinEarning trust from people with far more training than youNot cutting corners on clinical data, and the pulse oximetry problemWhat broke first when they were finally cleared to sellWhy Cody is now glad clearance did not come in 2023300,000 primary care physicians at 140,000 locations, and why a small team cannot do it alone Timestamps 00:00 Meet Cody Simmons and DermaSensor01:27 The founding story03:39 From a microwave-sized machine to a one pound handheld04:31 Why family doctors, not dermatologists06:35 What primary care doctors miss08:34 The mole I did not want to look at10:18 The second patient ever scanned12:00 Zooming out: regulation, capital, trust, scale14:36 Eight years of R&D before selling unit one16:56 The three people who stayed nine years18:39 Raising money for something you cannot sell yet21:49 Why not just a photo and an algorithm23:22 Live demo of the device26:33 Five tissue samples and the risk scale28:27 Earning trust from people with more training than you31:43 The pulse oximetry problem and what the FDA asked for34:17 What broke first at launch35:39 Why the timing worked out better36:18 Scaling to 300,000 physicians39:19 How to reach Cody About the guest Cody Simmons is the co-founder and CEO of DermaSensor, the first automated skin cancer detection device cleared by the FDA for primary care doctors. Stanford bioengineering, four years at Genentech, and ten years into building DermaSensor. He is responsive on LinkedIn. DermaSensor: https://www.dermasensor.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyvsimmons/ Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    Building the First FDA-Cleared Skin Cancer Scanner for Family Doctors | Cody Simmons

  7. 6d ago

    $5M With No Employees: The Belief That Has To Move First

    What if I told you that you could build a $5 million company at 70% EBITDA with no employees? Not a few. None. When Gus put that to me, it broke my brain. But the number is the wrong place to start, and this episode is about why. Underneath it is a belief most founders carry without ever naming it: if I did not touch it with my own hands, I did not earn it. If I can't justify it, I can't receive it. That belief has to move before any system, any agent, or any workflow can do anything for you. Season 1 asked what success was costing the man behind it. Season 2 asks what you do with the freedom once you actually have it. Gus and I work through both sides, the inside man and the outside man. And we give you one exercise to do on paper: four columns. What do I love to do, what do I hate to do, what do I have to do, and what should I never be doing. Gus held his own list up on camera and found that three of the things he thought he loved were really things he just had to do. What we get into: Why every upset in a business traces back to a missing agreement or a broken oneWho does what by when, and how tracking agreements went from a paper form, to email, to an agent that does it for youWhy founders build businesses that cannot run without themThere is no value in suffering, and learning to receive results you did not grind forAttraction over promotion, and how Gus went from a year without a client to seven clients in 30 daysAI forward vs AI native, and which one you are buildingTwenty units of energy out, one unit back, and what changes when momentum arrivesTerminal vagueness around money, and what a co-CFO looks like in practiceDefining your abundant number instead of chasing moreAnalog, digital, agentic, and where you are actually standing right nowNobody gets replaced, everybody gets elevatedHumans in the loop, and why making your team AI literate is the owner's responsibility Timestamps 00:00 The hook: $5M, 70% EBITDA, no employees01:06 The old growth formula and why it broke02:50 What do you love, hate, have to do, never do04:37 Agents and the world of agreements08:13 Back to the inside man09:40 Why founders build businesses that cannot run without them11:15 Redefining success beyond money14:31 Attraction rather than promotion15:27 Building something AI native19:15 AI forward vs AI native20:40 Twenty units of energy out, one unit back23:13 Inside man is connection to self, outside man is connection to others27:42 The four column exercise, do it on paper29:25 Gus holds up his actual list31:28 Terminal vagueness and the co-CFO build33:56 Analog, digital, agentic applied to your money41:15 No employees does not mean firing anyone43:23 Humans in the loop, explained45:13 How your team knows you have actually changed48:15 Why we are doing any of this About the guest Gus Waite is the founder of Independent Brokers Collective and my co-host on DelegAIte. Former NYC managing broker, former actor and stand up comedian, current Cape Cod resident who will absolutely make you laugh before he makes you think. IB Collective: https://ibcollective.ai Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    $5M With No Employees: The Belief That Has To Move First

  8. Oct 22

    How to Build a Business That Stops Costing You Your Life

    Season 1 was Inside Man. We spent a year asking what success was costing the man behind it. Season two is DelegAIte, and now we go outside. Same heart, new game: how do you redesign the business so success no longer requires the founder, the team, or the family to suffer? In this episode I sit down with Gus Waite, my partner in crime and the founder of Independent Brokers Collective. Gus spent 20 years as a managing broker in New York City running a team of 100 agents before landing on Cape Cod. We met in recovery. We started having coffee. He said one thing that changed my direction, and six months later I am doing only what I love and helping other founders do the same. This is not a guru show. We are students and teachers. We build it on ourselves first, we go through the frustration first, and then we bring it to you. Done with you, not to you. What we get into: Rewirement, and why your next game finds you instead of the other way aroundRedefining success as doing what you love in service of other peopleThe moment in the shed that changed everything for meElevate people, never replace them. The non-negotiable behind all of thisBlack, white and gray: what should be automated, what never should, and the interesting part in the middleEvery job is a series of tasks, and how to see yours clearlyTeam resistance, and the difference between a forward company and a native oneWhy the founder cannot hand this off to the integrator on day oneSource Code and the co-CEO: capturing your beliefs, your voice, and the words you hateAnalog, digital, agentic. Where you actually are on that pathReal time numbers instead of reading history on the 15th of the month Timestamps 00:00 Welcome to season two02:21 Who Gus is and how we found each other04:26 Resistance, Cape Cod, and the birth of rewirement07:13 From "I have to make money" to "I want to do what I love"09:09 What is success costing the man behind it10:52 Redefining success13:24 Why this is not a guru podcast15:51 The aha moment in the shed19:25 Elevate people, never replace people21:04 Five million with one employee22:16 The two groups nobody is serving26:51 Team resistance and what to do about it27:41 Black, white and gray31:33 Why founders cannot delegate this too early32:24 One dashboard instead of fifteen logins33:19 Source Code and the co-CEO38:08 What happened when I got my own Source Code40:34 Analog, digital, agentic41:15 Real time numbers versus historic numbers44:50 What is not changing in season two47:13 Gus's parting message About the guest Gus Waite is the founder of Independent Brokers Collective. Former NYC managing broker, former actor and stand up comedian, current Cape Cod resident who will absolutely make you laugh before he makes you think. IB Collective: https://ibcollective.ai Want to be a guest? We are looking for real operators, not celebrities. Fill out the guest form at the link below: https://forms.gle/guCp7wDBoUjkX86t7

    How to Build a Business That Stops Costing You Your Life
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

If your business stops the moment you step away, this show is for you. The Real Intelligence Podcast is about how we work and live in the new AI world, hosted by Gary Kadi and Gus Waite. It is for business owners and C-suite executives who are ready to stop being the bottleneck in their own business. Season one, Inside Man, asked what success was costing the man behind it. Season two goes outside and asks the harder question: how do you redesign a business so that success no longer requires the owner, the team or the family to suffer? Gary and Gus build the answer in public. Every episode is what they are actually installing, inside delegAIte and inside the businesses they work with. What worked, what did not, and what it cost to find out. Real systems, real stories, no theory. Gary Kadi has spent more than 30 years coaching business owners and has worked with more than 6,000 businesses. He founded NextLevel Practice, created the category of Complete Health Dentistry, and built and sold his own company in a triple-win exit. Gus Waite is Chief of AI Innovation and Integration at delegAIte, and runs delegAIte itself as the proof: an agentic company with no employees, where everything that repeats is handled by systems and the people do only what they love. What we cover: agentic AI inside a real business, the Eight Divisions, scaling without adding headcount, getting the owner out of the operating seat, what to automate first and what to leave alone, and the beliefs that have to move before any of it works. Recent conversations include building the first FDA-cleared skin cancer scanner for family doctors, and what it takes to run a five million dollar company with no employees at all. Book a call: delegaite.co Nobody gets replaced. Everybody gets elevated.

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