Behind the Frame

Jay Duffy
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship

Behind the Frame is a business-focused podcast that explores the real-world journeys of Maryland’s most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. Hosted by Jay Duffy and Morgan Watson, co-founders of Frame Wealth, the show offers a candid look at the do's and don'ts of building a business, from early challenges and pivotal mistakes to breakthrough moments and lasting wins. Each episode features in-depth interviews with founders and executives who share their experiences, lessons learned, and advice for the next generation of business builders. Whether you're launching your first company or looking to sharpen your leadership skills, Behind the Frame gives you a front-row seat to the mindset, resilience, and strategy behind business success.

  1. 4d ago

    Calm Through the Chaos: Life, Death, and Business Leadership with Mike Berna

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Annette Quigley are joined by career firefighter, paramedic, and founder of Atlantic Technical Rescue, Michael Berna. Drawing from more than four decades of front-line emergency service, Michael takes listeners behind the scenes of high-risk technical operations—from swiftwater floods and helicopter extractions to global disaster response. He shares how muscle memory, emotional restraint, and realistic training serve as the ultimate competitive advantages when facing unexpected crises in life and business. A Calling Born from Crisis: Michael reflects on losing his father to a sudden cardiac arrest at age 12, an event that deeply influenced his lifelong commitment to emergency services, trauma medicine, and life-saving education. Building a Global Specialty Niche: After partnering with rescue pioneer Jim Segerstrom, Michael transitioned from hands-on fieldwork to launching his own training LLC. He discusses managing liability, certifying rescue personnel across the East Coast, and adapting modern tools like AI-driven handheld sonar without losing the human element. The "3-Day Rule" for Tough Leadership Calls: Learning to avoid rash decisions during personnel conflicts, Michael shares the defining advice he received from a mentor: giving yourself three days to let emotional drama drain before delivering tough feedback or making high-stakes choices. Realistic Training Over Checkbox Compliance: Michael explains why true preparation requires putting teams into uncomfortable, high-velocity environments. He breaks down why low-volume, high-risk situations demand uncompromised standards and decisive judgment to prevent catastrophic failure.

  2. Oct 9

    Cattle, Commerce, & The Entrepreneurial Life with Carrie and Kevin Ford

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Morgan Watson sit down with long-time friends Carrie and Kevin Ford, owners of Blue Star Farm. Between full-time roles in orthopedic medical sales and public safety (firefighting), raising four kids, running a local farm, and navigating a state senate campaign, Carrie and Kevin embody what it means to build a life of purpose through unyielding work ethic and spousal partnership. The Blue Star Origin: Carrie and Kevin recount how their high school connection led to a lifelong partnership, outlining the emotional origin behind naming "Blue Star Farm" to honor a childhood friend. The Reality of Agricultural Entrepreneurship: Kevin details the intense physical and financial demands of building a pasture-based dairy and beef operation from scratch. He debunks the romanticized "Yellowstone" myth of farming, detailing the winter pipe freezes, strict state regulations, and the sheer grit required to manage livestock 365 days a year. Juggling Multiple Parallel Careers: From Carrie scaling her medical device distribution company to Kevin serving as a fire lieutenant for over two decades, the couple explores how they balance demanding day jobs while keeping their family grounded. Direct-to-Consumer Local Innovation: The Fords share their experience pioneering the "An-Gucci" crossbreed (Wagyu and Black Angus), bypassing traditional online e-commerce friction to build a hyper-local, direct-delivery network through word-of-mouth and community relationships.

  3. Sep 25

    The Long Game: Math, Leadership and National Security with Ed Frankovic

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Morgan Watson go behind closed doors with Ed Frankovic, Director and Owner at Tiber Technologies. Holding advanced mathematics degrees from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins, Ed brings over three decades of systems engineering, national security, and executive leadership experience to the table. In this candid conversation, Ed shares how prioritizing employee satisfaction and building an organic, family-oriented culture has driven Tiber Technologies to be recognized repeatedly as one of Baltimore's Top Workplaces. The Evolution of an Organic Tech Leader: Ed shares his career path from a mathematician analyst at PEPCO to a decade in federal government national security and leading programs for major defense contractors. He details why he chose to leave large-scale corporate management to help build Tiber Technologies into a people-centric, non-acquisition-focused business.   Building a Top Workplace in a Dispersed Environment: Managing clearanced software engineers who work across scattered government and client facilities presents unique cultural challenges. Ed explains how Tiber fosters unity through non-mandatory off-sites, personalized 5-and-10-year service awards, and flexible, trust-first policies that measure output rather than clock-in hours.   Scaling Up to Prime Contractor Status: Ed outlines the structural pivot required when transitioning a company from a reliable subcontractor to a primary contractor. He explains why business owners must invest heavily in back-office infrastructure, HR, and compliance before attempting to scale sales or pursue direct government contracts.   The "Smooth" Candidate Warning Sign: Reflecting on leadership blind spots and past hiring missteps, Ed shares his key filter when interviewing senior talent: avoiding candidates who are "too smooth" or treat the interview as a performative pitch rather than a genuine conversation about values and technical capability.

  4. Sep 14

    Pulling Back the Blinds: Becoming a Business Owner with Mark Wiley

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Annette Quigley are joined by Mark, owner of multiple Budget Blinds territories across Harford County and Northern Baltimore. After a quarter-century in telecommunications corporate management, Mark made the leap into entrepreneurship in 2011, scaling a single-operator business into a thriving multi-territory franchise. The Corporate Pivot: Mark reflects on leaving a 25-year corporate career following corporate downsizing and the sudden passing of his mother. He shares how her final encouragement inspired him to bet on himself and purchase his first franchise territory. The Dynamics of Husband-and-Wife Ownership: Mark details the realities of co-owning and operating a business with his wife, Nancy. He shares how they divide their responsibilities by combining her eye for "fashion" with his background in "function" and operational systems. The Growing Pains of Scaling: Facing early challenges with an neglected business database, Mark outlines why scaling a business is far harder than starting one. He discusses managing supply chain shifts, navigating new 2024 cordless safety regulations, and why he'd rather carry a sales backlog than hire the wrong fit. Incentivizing Lasting Client Impressions: Highlighting that installers are the final touchpoint a customer experiences, Mark emphasizes the necessity of aligning employee goals with customer satisfaction.

  5. Aug 28

    The Endurance of an Elite Athlete Turned Entrepreneur with Kelly Burger

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Annette Quigley sit down with two-time All-American, Team USA World Champion, and JMU Hall of Famer Kelly Berger. Kelly shares her journey from the high-stakes world of international athletics to the "messy middle" of fitness entrepreneurship, revealing what it takes to build a thriving community around a simple ethos: keep showing up. The Athlete’s Mindset: Kelly discusses her roots as an unrecruited walk-on who used a "prove them wrong" mentality to fuel an 11-year career with Team USA. She reflects on the emotional transition of hanging up her lacrosse stick at the peak of her career and finding a new purpose in coaching others. The COVID Pivot: When her initial loan approval for a spin studio was frozen during the 2020 lockdowns, Kelly adapted overnight. She launched virtual workouts in her kitchen, built an online presence on Instagram, and scaled Resistance Fitness into an on-demand platform before opening her flagship brick-and-mortar location, Resistance Cycle, in Baltimore's Harbor Point. Scaling Beyond a Single Specialty: Facing shifting fitness trends, Kelly outlines her business strategy for expanding her studio’s offerings beyond cycle classes. She details how rearranging floor plans and adding strength and bar programming allowed her to maximize customer retention and adapt to the post-pandemic market. Overcoming Perfectionism and Burnout: Kelly offers a candid look at the daily realities of balancing motherhood with scaling a business. She explains why perfectionism is an early-stage trap that wastes valuable time, advocating instead for delegating tasks, stepping back to lead, and embracing the valuable lessons found in every "failed effort."

  6. Jul 31

    Designing a Second Chance with Wendy Miller

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Annette Quigley sit down with Wendy, an accountant-turned-interior-designer who flipped the script on her career to build a thriving design boutique. Wendy opens up about escaping the corporate cubicle, surviving the "messy middle" of a mid-life pivot, and the unique dynamics of running a design-and-build business alongside her husband.  From Bank Audits to Color Palettes: Wendy shares her journey from a high-stress corporate career auditing banks and working in internal audit at Walmart to finding her true calling in aesthetic design.The Perfectionism Tax: Wendy highlights a major mistake common among early-stage entrepreneurs: overdelivering due to perfectionism and unknowingly giving away valuable time for free.The "Joy Factor" & Filtering Clients: Thanks to targeted business coaching, Wendy discusses how she learned to screen prospective clients through a strict "joy filter" to prioritize fulfilling relationships over mere cash flow.Redemption & Second Chances: Wendy unpacks her personal philosophy of structural and emotional redemption, sharing how renovating an old barn with her contractor husband served as a profound metaphor for rebuilding their lives after divorce.Cutting-Edge Visualization Tools: The conversation explores how modern 3D rendering and digital tools bridge the gap between a designer’s creative vision and a risk-averse client's expectations.

  7. Jul 17

    Running Toward Criticism with Winston Lord

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Morgan Watson sit down with serial entrepreneur and veteran business advisor Winston Lord. Winston shares a masterclass in the realities of building, scaling, and successfully exiting a technology-driven startup. From the early hustle of a $1,000 Craigslist short bus to processing data analytics for thousands of restaurants, this episode outlines why an unfiltered willingness to listen always outlasts empty business hype. The Anatomy of the Hard Pivot: Winston details his journey founding Venga, a customer intelligence and CRM platform that was ultimately acquired by Booking Holdings. He shares the critical, high-stakes moments when his team had to drop their egos and discard a completely functional consumer app to transition toward B2B point-of-sale (POS) data integration.The "Always Be Listening" Leadership Mindset: Challenging the generic "Always Be Closing" sales mantra, Winston introduces his concept of ABL: Always Be Listening. He discusses how the ultimate blind spot for young executives is relying too heavily on automated metrics and AI, rather than developing a deep, organic understanding of their team and customer base.Hiring for Attitude Over Performative Skill: Drawing from major hiring mistakes that compromised internal culture, Winston unpacks his warning signs for spotting bad talent. He warns against hiring individuals who are simply "too smooth" on a resume and emphasizes why an owner must empower uncompromised core values.Run Toward Criticism: In a powerful conclusion, Winston shares the defining business advice he received from his long-term mentor, Jeff Zients: run toward constructive criticism. Learn why treating negative feedback as an investment rather than an attack is the foundational secret to personal and professional growth.

  8. Jun 26

    Cultivating a Legacy: Upgrading Systems Without Compromising Culture

    In this episode of Behind the Frame, hosts Jay Duffy and Morgan Watson are joined by Ted Carter, president of Pinehurst Landscapes. As a second-generation business owner, Ted shares the strategic, architectural, and structural changes required to scale a family business from a 1960s local lawn route into one of Maryland’s premier landscape design and construction firms. The Evolution of a Family Business: Ted details how his father originally launched Pinehurst in 1964 with a single pickup truck. He outlines the grit it took to grow up on a 50-acre nursery farm and why he originally tried to run away from the industry before finding a deeper appreciation for entrepreneurship. Modernizing Operations Without Friction: Returning to the business during the depths of the 2008 economic crisis, Ted faced the ultimate challenge: introducing modern technology and CAD systems to a 40-year-old operational model. He reflects on the unique dynamic of leading team members who had known him since childhood. Hiring and Firing strictly on Core Values: Pinehurst boasts incredible employee retention, with team members staying for decades. Ted explains his leadership philosophy of being completely uncompromised regarding organizational standards. Learn why a great business should actively choose to hire slowly and fire fast to eliminate cultural "cancers". The Power of Peer Groups and Blind Spots: Ted unpatches the massive business value of participating in a national peer network. He explains how regular, rigorous auditing from objective business peers helps expose organizational blind spots that owners are often too close to see themselves.

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About

Behind the Frame is a business-focused podcast that explores the real-world journeys of Maryland’s most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. Hosted by Jay Duffy and Morgan Watson, co-founders of Frame Wealth, the show offers a candid look at the do's and don'ts of building a business, from early challenges and pivotal mistakes to breakthrough moments and lasting wins. Each episode features in-depth interviews with founders and executives who share their experiences, lessons learned, and advice for the next generation of business builders. Whether you're launching your first company or looking to sharpen your leadership skills, Behind the Frame gives you a front-row seat to the mindset, resilience, and strategy behind business success.

Information

  • Creator
    Jay Duffy
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Behind the Frame
  • Show Website
    Behind the Frame