Forge Fire Protocol Podcast

Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan and Steve Moynihan
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

Forge Fire Protocol is the operating system for entrepreneurs who want more than a job with extra paperwork. It’s the five-step sequence designed to take a raw idea toward a $10 million exit in three to five years, built for the AI era. Every episode is a working session. Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan open up the systems they actually run: AI executive teams, voice coaching agents, software built in days, and the tests that separate a sellable asset from a founder-trapped business. Nothing theoretical. Don wrote the book and has run 9 companies over 39 years. Mike has run his own technology business for 17 years and helps businesses use technology to grow, from seven figures to eight and from eight to nine. Steve chartered and led a bank and has built and run other businesses. Whether you’re sitting on an idea, scaling something that’s starting to strain, or planning your exit, the goal is the same: a business that runs without you. Follow the show for the next build. Forged in Fire. Built for Legacy.

  1. 2d ago

    $10,000 an Hour for $39 a Month: Inside Get Hyperskills

    Here’s Episode 21’s description in the same template, with the hook, learning points, and quotes swapped to match this episode’s content. The host bio, links, and follow sections are kept exactly as you supplied them since they’re standing boilerplate: Episode 21: Don LaPlume demos the AI voice coach he built live on air, then opens up the back office behind Get Hyperskills, a platform that lets anyone build, publish, and sell their own AI coaching agent, no code, no prompting skill required. Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan are the co-founders of Forge Fire Protocol, a business platform, book and podcast built around one goal: helping 10,000 founders reach a $10 million exit in the next 5 years. Don wrote the Forge Fire Protocol book after 39 years running 9 companies; Mike built the technology backbone behind the ecosystem after 17 years running his own IT business; Steve chartered and led a bank before co-founding Forge Fire Protocol. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN: The Live Demo: Don’s AI voice coach role-plays a real painting-business sales objection, out loud, in real time, with no script. Guardrails, Explained: The hard rules that keep an AI agent from ever doing the one thing it shouldn’t, like quoting a customer a price. The Real Cost Comparison: What a coach who charges $10,000 to $100,000 a day actually costs, set against what Get Hyperskills costs today. Build Without Prompting: How anyone can build, voice, and publish their own AI coaching agent just by answering a handful of plain questions. The Marketplace Model: How publishing your own coach lets you set your price and earn a percentage every month someone stays subscribed. FROM THE EPISODE: “These are hard rules the agent can never break.” Don “A lot of the coaches I’d want to work with, they’re $10,000 to $100,000 a day ... $10,000 an hour for some of them.” Mike “This is $39 a month if I subscribe.” Don “You get the knowledge, but the knowledge isn’t power.” Mike “If you don’t know, and you’re on the fence, you haven’t used it. It’s not even an option. You need to use it.” Mike “That’s their own IP, their own intellectual property, that would have to be sold for them.” Don “Every single breakthrough in your business, your income, and your life, it starts right here ... it’s designed to shatter your limits and weaponize your execution.” Steve FORGE FIRE PROTOCOL: TRY GET HYPERSKILLS: https://gethyperskills.com BUY THE FORGE FIRE PROTOCOL BOOK: https://book.forgefireprotocol.com JOIN THE $10 MILLION CHALLENGE: https://forgefireprotocol.com/challenge EXPLORE THE APP: https://app.forgefireprotocol.com READ THE BLOG: https://blog.forgefireprotocol.com SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: https://podcast.forgefireprotocol.com FOLLOW FORGE FIRE PROTOCOL: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forgefireprotocol Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forgefireprotocol LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forgefireprotocol YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forgefireprotocol TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forgefireprotocol FOLLOW THE HOSTS: Mike Sullivan Follow Mike: https://follow.themichaelsullivan.com Don LaPlume Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591528292494 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldlaplume/ X: https://x.com/don_of_solar Steve Moynihan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tsmoynihan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-steven-moynihan-81a06b1a/ X: https://x.com/SMoynihan85837

    $10,000 an Hour for $39 a Month: Inside Get Hyperskills

  2. 3d ago

    The Ultimate Cheat Code: $1 Million of Talent for $19.99

    Episode 20: Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan open up their actual AI org charts and show you exactly how to build a full virtual executive team - CFO, CMO, legal counsel, grant hunter, guardrail bot, and more - without hiring a single person. Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan are the co-founders of Forge Fire Protocol, a business platform, book and podcast built around one goal: helping 10,000 founders reach a $10 million exit in the next 5 years. Don wrote the Forge Fire Protocol book after 39 years running 9 companies; Mike built the technology backbone behind the ecosystem after 17 years running his own IT business; Steve chartered and led a bank before co-founding Forge Fire Protocol. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN: The Honest Starting Question: Why Mike begins every build by admitting "I suck at accounting," and how naming your weakest seat is the fastest way to know which bot to build first. The Real Cost Comparison: What a high-quality attorney, CFO, CMO, and EOS implementer actually cost on staff, set against what the AI versions cost Don and Mike today. ■ Human in the Loop: How Don built "control of the purse" into every bot on his team, so AI can research and draft freely but never spends a dollar without his sign-off. One Team, Seven Companies: How Don runs all 7 of his businesses off a single AI org chart, financially walled off company by company but operationally shared for leverage. The $10 Million Exit Rule: Why a buyer wants to buy a business, not a founder, and what "being removable from the operation" actually requires. Naming Your Bots: How modeling an AI role on the best person you've ever seen do that job, a mentor, a public figure, even someone you've lost, changes how it performs. FROM THE EPISODE: "I suck at accounting. I'm not even, like, kinda good." Mike "What does it cost to bring an attorney on staff? ... $750 to $1,000 an hour." Don and Mike "I have control of the purse. It's not gonna spend money where I don't allow it. But it has access to everything." Don "This particular board would probably cost me over a million dollars a year in salary ... I'll bet this board doesn't cost me more than $3,000, $4,000 a year in AI." Don "In order to have a $10 million exit, what do you need to do? You need to be removed, or removable, from the operation." Don "What would it cost me? ... $50,000 to $150,000 ... it's included in my $19.99 a month subscription." Mike "It's the ultimate cheat code for leverage ... run a multi-million dollar operation with the headcount of a lemonade stand." Steve FORGE FIRE PROTOCOL: BUY THE FORGE FIRE PROTOCOL BOOK: https://book.forgefireprotocol.com JOIN THE $10 MILLION CHALLENGE: https://forgefireprotocol.com/challenge EXPLORE THE APP: https://app.forgefireprotocol.com READ THE BLOG: https://blog.forgefireprotocol.com SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: https://podcast.forgefireprotocol.com FOLLOW FORGE FIRE PROTOCOL: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forgefireprotocol Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forgefireprotocol LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forgefireprotocol YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forgefireprotocol TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forgefireprotocol FOLLOW THE HOSTS: Mike Sullivan Follow Mike: https://follow.themichaelsullivan.com Don LaPlume Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591528292494 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldlaplume/ X: https://x.com/don_of_solar Steve Moynihan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tsmoynihan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-steven-moynihan-81a06b1a/ X: https://x.com/SMoynihan85837

    The Ultimate Cheat Code: $1 Million of Talent for $19.99

  3. Nov 3

    5 Apps, $800 a Month Wasted - We Built One to Replace Them All

    Episode 18: A painting company owner was running 5 different apps, paying $800 a month, and none of them talked to each other. Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan break down the real problem (it's not the cost, it's the orchestration) and walk through CoatLine, the business operating system they built to replace it, start to finish, in one week. See it yourself: coatline.tech/demo WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - Why the real cost of running 5 apps isn't the subscriptions, it's the integration and the training - The "orchestra has a conductor" problem with stacking best-in-class software - How a minimal viable product in 2026 does what version 10 used to do five years ago - Why the first reaction to any new system can't be negative, even if it's great - How real-time customization (a button added mid-demo, live) changes what "support" means - What a white glove setup actually removes from a 30-day implementation nightmare - How an AI sales coach with a "silence mode" reviews a live sales call and reports back FROM THE EPISODE "5 apps, $800 a month wasted. We built one to replace them all." Don "The question is the orchestration." Mike "But the bottom line is it orchestra has a conductor." Mike "I love the fact that longer was a week." Mike "Do you know how much better that is than retaining 10 cans of paint in your house unnecessarily for a decade?" Mike "This is duplicatable. What we're doing, you could do this. You just need the tools." Don Don, Mike, and Steve walk through the actual product: scheduling, fleet tracking, a customer portal that remembers exact paint formulas for a decade, a lead-capture system that calls a prospect inside a minute, and an AI sales coach that can run role-play or silently score a real call. TIMESTAMPS 00:35 Welcome, and the hook: 5 apps, $800 a month wasted 01:08 Introducing CoatLine and coatline.tech 01:36 The friend with a painting company, the apps, and the $800 a month 02:39 Finding a pain nobody had quite named yet 03:25 It's not just cost, it's orchestration 04:49 "Orchestra has a conductor" 05:01 Why they build instead of subscribe 06:08 The tasks CoatLine automates for painting contractors 07:32 Replacing all of it, and the soft costs nobody counts 09:05 The minimal viable product, and why v1.0 now beats v10 from five years ago 10:48 Built in one week 11:17 The mastermind session: "what do you really want?" 11:46 The reticular activating system, explained with a Yukon Denali 13:51 Why the gut reaction to something new can't be negative 14:24 Simplify to 4th and 5th grade logic 15:07 What CoatLine actually automates, in Steve's words 16:08 Why "longer" was only a week 17:00 Built as a business, not a favor 17:33 Dashboard walkthrough: jobs, bottlenecks, ratings, revenue 19:03 The scheduler: drag a crew in, done 21:22 Fleet tracking: vehicles, lifts, maintenance 23:49 Real-time customization: "you tell us, we build it" 25:55 The "last week" button that didn't exist a week ago 26:16 Dispatch map, GPS check-ins, and read-receipt safety messaging 27:55 The customer portal: exact paint codes customers keep for a decade 29:25 "Ten cans of paint in your house, unnecessarily, for a decade" 31:32 On-site estimating, room by room 32:54 Naming rooms the way the homeowner does 38:08 The Call Now system: calling a lead inside a minute 39:04 The 391% conversion stat 40:53 White glove setup: no 30-day implementation nightmare 42:34 Inside the coaching platform: AI sales coach and silence mode 46:36 "Have you ever seen a painting app that comes with that?" 48:08 The sales system itself: coatline.tech/demo, and Emma 55:20 Why none of this exists without Forge Fire Protocol 58:27 Get the book, and why this is duplicatable SEE COATLINE coatline.tech/demo Book a live demo or run the self-guided AI demo on your own time. No pressure, no pitch. GOT YOUR OWN SOFTWARE HEADACHE? If you're running multiple apps that don't talk to each other in your trade or your business, tell us. Forge Fire Protocol builds the exact package you need, and discounts the first build for the input. Subscribe, like, and share the show so you never miss an episode. Forged in Fire. Built for Legacy.

    5 Apps, $800 a Month Wasted - We Built One to Replace Them All

  4. Oct 22

    You Don't Know What You Don't Know

    Episode 17: You've never met a successful entrepreneur without a coach. Not one. Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan dig into why coaching changes outcomes, how it's different from a mastermind, and how to actually find the right one for where you are right now. Test your idea free: app.forgefireprotocol.com WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - Why "you don't know what you don't know" is the entire case for coaching, in seven words - The real difference between a mastermind and a coach, and why you need both - How to tell when you've outgrown a coach, and when to change - Why your mentors don't have to be alive, or even reachable, to still coach you - What it actually costs to buy real proximity to the people ahead of you - How coaches are starting to license the Forge Fire Protocol's five-phase system for their own clients FROM THE EPISODE "I have never in my life met a successful entrepreneur who didn't have coaches, plural." Mike "You don't know what you don't know." Mike "Success leaves clues. Follow the people who have had success." Mike "Wouldn't it be a shame if you wasted all of that knowledge?" Don, recalling a mentor's advice "Those coaches don't have to be living." Mike Steve also tells the full story of the advice that got him through the toughest negotiation of his life, and Mike gets candid about a coach from his teenage years whose influence he still carries. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome and today's topic: coaching 01:30 Why coaching matters: Mike on the athletes you already know 02:58 The bear-trap woods story, and a decision made at a party 06:36 What a coach actually changes: courage 08:03 Trust the process, and knowing when to switch coaches 10:49 Live coaching, demonstrated: Mike coaches Don in real time 14:22 Don's conversation with business coach Doug Babcock 17:25 Mike gets emotional: Coach Jerry Bilodeau and the team that ran as one 21:41 Interviewing mentors, living or not, into your own mastermind 22:12 Pulling Einstein, Jobs, and Musk into the Forge Fire mastermind 22:50 Masterminding versus coaching: the real difference 27:58 Steve's story: a mentor's advice before a big meeting 29:50 Starting a bank, and the call that changed everything 38:00 Don's mentor, Bob Dorn: "wouldn't it be a shame to waste that?" 40:04 Coaches don't have to be living 42:07 The coaching program being built into Forge Fire Protocol 45:56 The five-phase licensing spine for coaches 46:44 Why you need more than one coach, and the law of proximity 49:11 Success leaves clues 50:09 Register free and test your idea: app.forgefireprotocol.com TEST YOUR IDEA, FREE app.forgefireprotocol.com Register for the free version of the app to run the 72-hour market test. ARE YOU A COACH? Forge Fire Protocol is building a coaching program and licensing system, and looking for coaches to join a case study right now. If you teach mindset or strategy and want the business systems to go with it, reach out through forgefireprotocol.com to start that conversation. Subscribe, like, and share the show so you never miss an episode. Forged in Fire. Built for Legacy.

    You Don't Know What You Don't Know

  5. Oct 21

    Don't Die With the Idea Inside You

    Episode 16: You've got an idea. You've had it a while. So what's actually stopping you? Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan dig into the real reason good ideas stay stuck in people's heads: perfectionism, fear, and the self-talk running in the background of every "not yet." Register free and test your idea: app.forgefireprotocol.com WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - Why perfectionism isn't discipline, it's a way of never finishing - The three-step process for replacing a negative thought: recognize it, reject it, replace it - Why "progress, not perfection" sounds backwards until it doesn't - The real reason people hide behind endless planning and call it being realistic - Why certainty is an illusion, and what's actually certain instead - How to get compensated for a good idea even if you never want to run the business yourself FROM THE EPISODE "Our goal is progress, not perfection." Mike "Fear causes hesitation. Hesitation causes your worst fears to come true." Steve "Don't, don't die with the idea inside you." Don "That certainty is just certain for the same old, same old, which has not got you where you want to go." Mike "The only thing I will not accept is no-thing." Mike "Success leaves clues." Mike Mike also shares a story from a tough sophomore year in high school and what his brother did about it, and Don explains why not everyone is meant to launch a business themselves, and what to do with your idea if you're not. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome and today's question: what stops people? 01:14 Perfectionism: Don's early story 02:34 Steve: getting ready to get ready to get set to get ready 03:17 Mike: fear, doubt, and feeling unworthy as a young athlete 04:39 Mike's brother's intervention, and progress not perfection 07:13 What you feed your mind: Don on self-talk and news 09:26 Thoughts control beliefs, beliefs control actions, actions control results 09:43 You can't delete a thought. You can only replace it 11:20 Fear causes hesitation, hesitation causes your worst fears 13:14 The Tesla Roadster tangent, and 0 to 100 in real life 16:23 Certainty is an illusion 18:00 Testing the idea instead of judging it 19:24 The 72-hour market test, explained 19:58 Mike's rule: the only thing I won't accept is nothing 21:19 Don's negotiating story: $100,000 vs $106,000 24:18 Why community and mentors change the outcome 26:10 "You're a great starter, a terrible finisher" 28:05 Not everyone is meant to launch a business 29:11 The idea was given to you for a reason 31:20 Get compensated for your idea, without building it yourself 32:52 Don't die with the idea inside you 34:49 Take the founder out of the operational role 37:07 What if they all succeed? 39:00 Lessons, not failures: the fly and the window 40:00 Success leaves clues 41:22 Register free at app.forgefireprotocol.com TEST YOUR IDEA, FREE https://app.forgefireprotocol.com Register for the free version of the app to define your ideal client and run the 72-hour market test. No cost, no catch. GOT AN IDEA YOU DON'T WANT TO BUILD YOURSELF? Don and the team are putting together a group that will take validated ideas to market on the idea owner's behalf, with compensation for the idea. Reach out through forgefireprotocol.com to start that conversation. NEXT EPISODE Why coaching matters, and how to find the right coach for your business. Subscribe, like, and share the show so you never miss an episode. Forged in Fire. Built for Legacy.

  6. Oct 13

    Stop Losing Leads: Fix These 5 Business Problems

    Missed leads, unclear ideal clients, and a packed calendar can keep your business busy without moving it forward. In Episode 15, Don LaPlume, Michael Sullivan, and Steven Moynihan break down five common business problems—and practical ways to start fixing them. Learn how to respond to inquiries faster, define your ideal client, reduce time drains, prioritize income-producing activities, and improve customer communication before, during, and after the sale. The team shares real examples, a respectful way to say no, and ideas for using AI and automation to support better business systems. Take your next step: Join the $10M Challenge https://forgefireprotocol.com/challenge In this episode: Stop letting missed calls and slow follow-up create lost opportunities. Make your ideal client easier to recognize and refer. Protect focused time for work that moves revenue forward. Build a reliable customer follow-up process. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:58 Five recurring business problems 03:02 The callback that built trust 08:39 Initial contact and missed opportunities 20:27 Define your ideal client 26:09 Time drain and protecting focus 28:10 AI and reducing repetitive work 31:36 Income-producing activities 33:43 Saying no respectfully 36:06 Communication throughout the customer relationship 45:20 Progress, not perfection Which problem will you tackle first? Share this episode with another business owner, follow the podcast, and leave a review wherever you listen. Ready to stop losing leads and start building? Choose one problem from this episode and take one concrete step today. Join the $10M Challenge to get started: https://forgefireprotocol.com/challenge Forged in Fire. Built for Legacy.

  7. Oct 7

    The 10 Questions That Expose Who Your Real Customer Is

    Episode 14 Overview: Most founders run their 72 hour market test aiming at "anyone with the problem." That is why the calls go nowhere. Don, Mike, and Steve run a live, unscripted walkthrough of the new Define Your Ideal Client tool inside the Forge Fire Protocol app, the step that comes before the test, not after it. You will watch them answer the AI's questions in real time, including the one most founders get wrong: the pain has to be something that happened this week, not a feature on a wish list. They land on a complete client brief, down to the exact sentence to use when reaching out to the first 20 people. Free tool, no pitch, built for anyone who has an idea and hasn't picked up the phone yet. Show Notes (Timestamped) 00:00 — Intro. Today's focus: finding your ideal client before anything else. 00:07 — Why this matters now. The hosts share why Forge Fire Protocol wasn't growing fast enough even with a green 72-hour market test result, and why the missing piece was never the offer; it was the target. 00:11 — Inside the app: the new Define Your Ideal Client tool under the Spark stage, free on every account, built to run before the 72-hour market test. 00:19 — The real question first: is "anyone with an idea" actually the right person to target? The hosts argue most people with ideas never take action on them, so targeting ideas alone isn't enough. 00:20 — Question 1 live: "In one sentence, what do you sell and what does the buyer walk away with?" Don, Mike, and Steve each answer it differently, and the AI pushes back when the answer runs too long or too wide. 00:27 — Who signs the check. The AI forces a choice between two buyer types instead of letting the hosts hedge with "both." 00:36 — The pain has to be this week, not someday. The difference between a feature-list answer and a real, present-tense pain point. 00:41 — What happened this Tuesday. A concrete trigger moment beats a vague description of being "stuck," and the hosts each share their own version of hitting a financial ceiling. 00:45 — How they're coping today. Most people aren't using a competitor, they're just living with the problem, which changes how you pitch them. 01:00 — Finding the first 20 people without spending on ads. Groups, associations, existing networks, and LinkedIn search, in that order. 01:07 — Money and fit. Narrowing a niche down to the people who have both the budget and a reason to act right now. 01:08 — The one-sentence test. The exact line you would use to describe the 20 people you'd reach out to, which becomes your outreach message. 01:10 — The final client brief. The AI compiles every answer into a complete profile: who to contact, where to find them, the opening line to use, and who to avoid. 01:14 — Close. Why this step removes the paralysis of "who do I even call," and why it challenges you to run this exercise even if you've been in business for decades. Key Quotes Don LaPlume: "There are people that have phenomenal ideas, and they never take action on those." Michael Sullivan: "Modern researchers think it's around about 6,200 thoughts a day. Just think how many ideas are coming through that, that you're just dismissing." Don LaPlume: "A clear client is not a guarantee the idea will work. The test still has to validate, or you pivot, or you kill it." Michael Sullivan: "Get the thought out, uninterrupted, from mind to digitized output." Thomas Steven Moynihan: "There are some people that have that inner drive where they know they can do more and they have that idea. And by not taking action on it, that can gnaw at you inside." Michael Sullivan: "They're spending too much of their time in Non-Income Producing Activities (Non-IPA)."

  8. Oct 1

    You Built a Job, Not a Business | $10M Exit Math Explained

    Episode 13: You validated your idea. Now here is the math behind turning it into a $10 million exit. Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan break down EBITDA, SDE, MRR, and the multiples that decide what your business is actually worth, and why the founder is usually the thing holding the valuation back. Haven't validated an idea yet? Start there: forgefireprotocol.com/challenge WHAT A $10 MILLION EXIT ACTUALLY MEANS A $10 million company is one whose verified recurring revenue, multiplied by the multiple the market pays for that type of business, equals $10 million or more. Change the multiple, or change the revenue, and you change the valuation. This episode breaks down both sides of that equation. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - EBITDA and SDE: what they mean, and when each one is the right base for your valuation - Why MRR and ARR matter more than one-time revenue, and why 70 percent recurring is the number to hit - The four valuation bands, from a 2X owner-operated service business to a 10X-plus SaaS business, and what moves you from one to the next - Founder elimination and the CEO vacation test: can your business run for two weeks without you - Why $83,000 a month in MRR can be worth the same $10 million as $208,000 a month, depending on your multiple - Why the power of proximity and the right community change what you even know to build toward FROM THE EPISODE "A $10 million company is one whose verified earnings or recurring revenue, multiplied by a multiple the market pays, equals 10 million or more." Don "Is that freedom?" Mike. "That leash just gets tighter and tighter and tighter until you learn to let go." Mike "You can be the reason the business was founded. You can't be the reason the business exists and continues." Don "Why spend 5 years building something you could have done in 3 if you just structured it right?" Mike Steve also shares why he has thought in defined time horizons ever since a leukemia diagnosis and bone marrow transplant 38 years ago, and how that shapes the urgency built into the Forge Fire Protocol. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome and the $10 million question 00:34 Why $10 million, and why it matters 03:06 Does it have to be exactly 10 million 04:56 Steve's story: leukemia, a 10-year plan, and urgency 08:42 Don's neighbor and the house-flipping model 10:11 Why Mike joined Don: proximity over products 15:11 What a $10 million exit actually means 17:46 "Is that freedom?" 19:40 The dog-leash analogy 21:19 Steve's commercial lending company and zero freedom 23:48 Why Don built the eliminate-yourself rule into the protocol 25:05 Key terms: EBITDA, SDE, and your base number 28:50 What MRR and ARR need to look like for $10 million 31:53 Retail vs SaaS: why the multiple changes everything 36:35 The four bands: low, mid, upper, high 43:04 The exit value design: why structure beats time 49:08 The 70 percent rule and founder elimination 53:47 The CEO vacation test 54:37 Zero to $4 million in year one: Don's SaaS story 64:09 What community and mastermind actually give you 65:26 Two clients a month instead of hunting twenty 67:03 Next episode preview VALIDATE YOUR IDEA FIRST Everything in this episode assumes you already have a validated idea. If you do not yet, the $10 Million Challenge walks you through validating it, then shows you the blueprint to your first profit. forgefireprotocol.com/challenge NEXT EPISODE Don teaches how independent contractors can build a million-dollar-a-year income, the same training he just gave to a group of 35 people, which doubled from the week before. Subscribe, like, and share the show so you never miss an episode. Forged in Fire. Built for Legacy.

    You Built a Job, Not a Business | $10M Exit Math Explained
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About

Forge Fire Protocol is the operating system for entrepreneurs who want more than a job with extra paperwork. It’s the five-step sequence designed to take a raw idea toward a $10 million exit in three to five years, built for the AI era. Every episode is a working session. Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Moynihan open up the systems they actually run: AI executive teams, voice coaching agents, software built in days, and the tests that separate a sellable asset from a founder-trapped business. Nothing theoretical. Don wrote the book and has run 9 companies over 39 years. Mike has run his own technology business for 17 years and helps businesses use technology to grow, from seven figures to eight and from eight to nine. Steve chartered and led a bank and has built and run other businesses. Whether you’re sitting on an idea, scaling something that’s starting to strain, or planning your exit, the goal is the same: a business that runs without you. Follow the show for the next build. Forged in Fire. Built for Legacy.

Information

  • Creator
    Don LaPlume, Mike Sullivan and Steve Moynihan
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    Forge Fire Protocol Podcast