BLTNT Podcast

Matt Loria
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Business

We can all agree that some of the best moments occur over a meal. For eons, “breaking bread” has been the common element among all cultures for human bonding. Think about the many conversations that you’ve had over lunch that you wish you could share. This show is a platform to extend inspiring conversations about what we call BLTnT – Business, Life, Technology, and Transformations. Our guests are people we can learn from. They are storytellers. They are game changers, luminaries, business leaders, tech gurus, and friends. The show’s host, Matt Loria, is the CEO of Auxiom, an IT and Cyber Security company serving businesses. Matt considers himself to be blessed to make numerous connections in his daily life and have meals with a lot of interesting people. He draws upon his love of connecting to inspire the most intriguing thoughts and perspectives from his guests. He is here to continue the conversation that typically started over lunch. Of all the layers of BLTnT, transformations are arguably the most energizing. They take courage, luck, and fortitude. In each episode, our host will highlight at least one notable transformation or transition that the person has made, and we can be inspired by. Come join us for stimulating conversations with people making BLTnT moves! You can contact Matt Loria at: podcasts@auxiom.com www.auxiom.com www.linkedin.com/in/mattloria/

  1. From Church Choir to Running a Multigenerational Insurance Firm | Brendan Walsh

    2d ago

    From Church Choir to Running a Multigenerational Insurance Firm | Brendan Walsh

    Brendan Walsh can trace everything in his life back to one moment: an 8-year-old saying yes to church choir. That decision set off a chain nobody could have predicted. It led him to DePaul's voice performance program, to a fraternity conference in Rosemont where he met his wife, to a decade in Washington DC booking keynote speakers, and eventually to the phone call he never expected to take from his dad about joining the family insurance business. We covered: → Why the insurance industry is high need, low demand → What external accountability actually looks like in practice → How he thinks about the MDRT organization → How AI tools are changing the workflow of the Sandler sales philosophy → What a health framework from Dan Miller changed about how he eats, sleeps, and exercises Thank you Brendan for coming on the show! You bring a real warmth to conversations. Appreciate you! Chapters 0:00 - Intro 1:42 - Welcome Brendan Walsh 5:12 - Catalyst Solutions Group and Family Background 6:28 - How Music Changed Everything at Age 8 9:30 - Improv, Second City, and Life as a Yes-And Practice 16:08 - 12 Years in DC: Fraternity Work and Washington Speakers Bureau 21:26 - Joining the Family Business and the Move Back to Detroit 26:16 - Succession Planning and Buying His Father Out 32:08 - External Accountability and Why He Can't Go It Alone 43:05 - What the Million-Dollar Round Table Actually Is 48:01 - High Need, Low Demand: Insurance and Cybersecurity Compared 56:34 - Sandler Sales Training and AI in the Workflow 1:04:16 - Faith, Community, and Outreach at Christ Church 1:07:05 - Dan Miller, Sleep, Health, and the Sauna in the Bonus Room 1:12:00 - Wrap Up ~~~ This episode is powered by Auxiom. Finally ready to outsmart your IT chaos? https://auxiom.com/

    1h 13m
  2. The Thing AI Can't Tell You (And Why That's the Problem) | Curtis Hayes

    May 22

    The Thing AI Can't Tell You (And Why That's the Problem) | Curtis Hayes

    Most people selling AI tools promise you a shortcut… Curtis Hays has spent 25 years watching what happens when you chase shortcuts without a foundation. He started in banking and IT, building help desks and deploying enterprise systems before most people had email on their phones. Over time, that systems mindset followed him into digital marketing, and eventually into AI. But instead of finding a magic solution in AI, it was just the same old problem wearing a new hat: businesses pouring money into tools before they understand why things aren't working. We talked through a lot: → Why AI is a "false prophet" for businesses that haven't fixed their foundations → The difference between mirror marketing and actually speaking your customer's language → What the Sandler method looks like when you build it into an AI agent → Why the next two years will be harder for software companies than for the businesses using them The biggest takeaway: figure out the system first, then feed the system into AI. Curtis, thanks for bringing your full brain into our conversation. Talking to you is always a blast! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction & The Cowboy Hat Story 4:16 - Curtis's Background: From Banking to IT to Marketing 8:10 - The "False Prophet" of AI: Why Most Tools Disappoint 11:00 - Context Windows, File Creep, and AI Memory Problems 14:14 - What Business Owners Get Wrong About AI 16:04 - Building a Brand Guardian With AI 17:05 - Mirror Marketing vs. Window Marketing 26:27 - How to Slow Down CEOs Who Are AI-Obsessed 28:29 - Diagnosing Before Delivering: The IT Mindset Applied to Marketing 38:02 - The Real Story Behind Doubling a Client's Close Rate 43:15 - When Curtis Finally Understood What Marketing Actually Is 46:51 - Using Transcripts and Markdown Files to Ground Your AI 51:57 - The Danger of Asking AI Questions Without Context 53:36 - Should You Wait or Build Now? 57:45 - AI, Human Connection, and Where Curtis Thinks This Goes ~~~ This episode is powered by Auxiom. Finally ready to outsmart your IT chaos? https://auxiom.com/

    1h 2m
  3. The Man Who's Been Running a 1,300-Acre Club Since He Was 26 | Charlie Mann

    May 15

    The Man Who's Been Running a 1,300-Acre Club Since He Was 26 | Charlie Mann

    Charlie Mann’s dad started Hunter Creek Club in 1958, when Charlie was a small boy. By the age of 26, Charlie owned it… He's the first to admit he had no business being the owner of a company that size at that age. But still, he figured it out. Until everything changed. 2008 hit and 85% of his business was automotive. General Motors banned corporate entertainment. Print media dried up. And the story of how he bounced back is incredible. In our episode, we covered: → Why the shortage of volunteers in hunter safety classes is a big threat to the future of hunting → What it means to be the caretaker of something, not just the owner → How pharmaceutical reps accidentally saved the club during a Detroit crisis → The difference between managing a team and keeping their mojo intact → What Charlie learned from The General (his dad) about pessimistic optimism Charlie, thank you for letting me come out to Hunter Creek and for being as generous with your stories as you were with your time! Chapters 0:00 - Welcome to The Enthusiastic Life 2:19 - Introducing Charlie Mann and Hunter Creek Club 3:17 - Hunter Safety Courses: How They Work and Why They Matter 8:01 - The Shortage of Instructors and the Future of Hunting 10:46 - A Million Deer Hunters Down to 380,000 14:24 - The Caretaker Mindset: Leading Without the Ego 20:34 - Charlie's Origin Story: Buying the Club at 26 25:22 - The 2008 Recession and Surviving a Business Crisis 30:05 - How Statin Drugs Accidentally Saved the Club 36:19 - AI, Technology, and What's Coming Next 44:30 - A Day in the Life at Hunter Creek Club 51:18 - Networking the Charlie Mann Way 55:15 - Famous Faces at Hunter Creek: General Yeager and Kirk Gibson 58:37 - Closing Thoughts and Thank You ~~~ This episode is powered by Auxiom. Finally ready to outsmart your IT chaos? https://auxiom.com/

    1h 1m
  4. How He Went From Sports Medicine to Managing Millions in Sales | Aaron Salko

    May 8

    How He Went From Sports Medicine to Managing Millions in Sales | Aaron Salko

    What does it actually mean to be a high performer? Aaron Salko grew up washing dishes at seven, then afterwards played D1 baseball at Seton Hall. His background in psychology, biology, and sales forced him to study why some people perform and why others don't. He and his business partner turned ten years of sales strategy sessions into a book, then a framework, and then a platform.... The result? The Ninth Stratum: a five-category, 45-skill operating system for human performance. In our episode we covered: → The five categories of high performance, and the one everyone skips → How toxic performers aren't broken, but just deficient in specific skills → What alcohol is actually doing to your recovery → The "threshold" technique Aaron uses to transition between roles and why it works Aaron, thanks for making the trip to Michigan and for sharing a framework you've spent decades building! It’s going to provide massive help to everyone listening. Chapters 0:00 - Introduction & Teaser: What Is High Performance? 1:06 - Meet Aaron Salko: From the Lake House to the Studio 2:26 - The Book: The Ninth Stratum 3:27 - Aaron's Career Path: Sports Medicine to Global Sales 6:09 - Growing Up Inside Stephen Gould 12:08 - Are "Innate" Skills Real? The Nature vs. Nurture Debate 20:49 - The Origin of the Ninth Stratum Framework 24:33 - The Five Categories of Human Performance 27:03 - Breaking Down All 45 Performance Skills 29:06 - The Nine Stratums Explained: From Unaware to Teaching 37:09 - Sleep as a Performance Activity 43:26 - Personal Appearance and Showing Up to the World 46:03 - The Threshold Technique: Transitioning Between Roles 59:11 - Taking the Framework Into Organizations 1:02:03 - AI, Human Performance, and What McKinsey Found 1:05:17 - The Interview Tool: Hiring for Performance-Based Skills 1:10:05 - How to Connect with Aaron & Wrap-Up ~~~ This episode is brought to you by Auxiom Find out more: https://auxiom.com/

    1h 12m
  5. How He Went From the Bad Boys Pistons to Owning a Premier League Club | Andy Appleby

    May 1

    How He Went From the Bad Boys Pistons to Owning a Premier League Club | Andy Appleby

    Andy Appleby sent his resume to EVERY major league team; the Detroit Pistons were the ones who said yes. He was a kid from New England with no real connections, so he did the only thing he could - worked harder than everyone else... He spent 12 years with Palace Sports during the Bad Boys era, learning everything he could. Then he went out and built his own path. In our episode, we talked about: → Why Andy sees working three times harder than everyone else is a real strategy for success → What it actually looks like to build a winning culture → How the sports business has changed since the pandemic → What he looks for in players beyond raw talent → The charitable work happening off the field (70,000 kids in their reading program each year) Andy, I really appreciate you taking the time to make a meaningful conversation with me! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 0:41 - Andy's Background and the Pistons Years 1:59 - How the USPBL Came to Be 4:34 - What the Ballpark Offers Beyond Baseball 8:26 - General Sports: The Sports Agency Side 11:20 - How Andy Manages Multiple Businesses 12:37 - Lessons From a Career Built on Outworking Everyone 16:17 - Mentors Who Shaped Andy's Path 18:35 - Technology and AI in the Sports World 20:00 - Helping Players Get Noticed and Signed 24:05 - What Character Really Means in This League 27:09 - Independent vs. Affiliated Baseball Explained 30:41 - Player Psychology and Mental Health in Sports 34:26 - New Office Build and What's Coming Next 35:34 - The Future of Live Sports and In-Person Experiences 38:00 - Personal Side: What Most People Don't Know About Andy ~~~ This episode is brought to you by Auxiom Find out more: https://auxiom.com/

    40 min
  6. The Principal Said He Wouldn't Graduate... He Became a CIO | Todd Loiselle

    Apr 22

    The Principal Said He Wouldn't Graduate... He Became a CIO | Todd Loiselle

    Todd Loiselle is a CIO and author, who was told in first grade he wouldn't make it through high school. Todd has ADHD and dyslexia. In grade school, letters scrambled when he looked at them. He couldn't keep up and started acting out. While sitting across from his parents, his principal told them their son had a ceiling. He took that as a challenge and now has risen to Chief Information Officer, written a book called Learning Your Way, and built a free AI tool for students. We covered: → Why ADHD and dyslexia are strengths, not deficiencies → What a true CIO actually looks at when walking into a new organization → How AI agents are about to change which jobs exist → The book structure Todd built specifically for kids who don't like reading Todd, thank you for sharing your story so openly. I don't think I'll ever forget it! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction & Teaser 2:29 - Todd's Origin Story: First Grade and the Diagnosis 5:15 - The IQ Test and What Todd's Mom Fought For 8:24 - Miss McClive: The Teacher Who Said "I Am You" 11:04 - Learning Through the Senses: The Orange Lesson 17:04 - Building a Personal Learning System 20:26 - Family, Marriage, and Raising Kids with ADHD 29:40 - Career Path: Arthur Andersen to CIO 41:31 - How Todd Thinks About a Business When He Walks In 43:11 - National Food Group: What They Do and How They Operate 47:00 - The Cloud Argument (and Why Doubters Are Behind) 53:44 - AI's Impact on Jobs and the Future of Work 1:03:09 - The Book: Learning Your Way 1:08:04 - The Free AI Tool and Todd's Goal to Help a Million Students 1:12:32 - Closing and Where to Find Todd ~~~ This episode is brought to you by Auxiom Find out more: https://auxiom.com/

    1h 14m
  7. What Getting Laid Off Taught Him About Betting on Yourself | Chris Bommarito

    Apr 17

    What Getting Laid Off Taught Him About Betting on Yourself | Chris Bommarito

    Chris Bommarito runs Castor Engineering, a manufacturing automation company he built from scratch. He started the whole operation from the ground up after being suddenly laid off from a job he deeply cared about. It was a huge shock at the time, but it pushed him to build something of his own. Seven years later he has 20 employees, a growing AI practice inside his company, and an investment in an airline. What we covered: → Why new entrepreneurs should stop trying to replace their previous income → How Chris thinks about AI's impact on manufacturing and entry-level jobs → The decision-making framework from the book How We Decide and when to trust your gut → What it means to own "a piece of the machine" in an AI-driven economy → His investment in Avelo Airlines and why he believes the frequent flyer loyalty game is a trap Chris, thank you for showing up as yourself and sharing your story! Chapters 0:00 - Introduction & How They Met 1:13 - Meet Chris Bommarito 3:38 - The Enigma Code and Alan Turing 6:15 - AI, Black Mirror, and Reanimating the Dead 8:00 - Entrepreneurship Is in the DNA 13:03 - Family First: "My Wealth Is in My Family" 15:10 - What Castor Engineering Actually Does 19:36 - Chris's Career: From Intern to Founder 28:38 - Getting Fired and the Toyota Call 33:06 - The Fear of Replacing Your Income 37:23 - On Mentorship and Why Chris Does It 43:13 - Chris's AI Journey and Where It's Headed 49:06 - The Innovator's Dilemma and AI Investment Risk 58:38 - Who Really Controls AI? The Pyramid Theory 1:06:04 - Investing in Avelo Airlines 1:11:10 - Book Recommendation: How We Decide 1:24:45 - Parenting Advice for New Dads 1:28:25 - Outro ~~~ This episode is brought to you by Auxiom Find out more: https://auxiom.com/

    1h 29m
  8. He's Been Called Mr. Fix It for 40 Years. Here's Why... | Monsignor Charles Kosanke

    Apr 15

    He's Been Called Mr. Fix It for 40 Years. Here's Why... | Monsignor Charles Kosanke

    Monsignor Charles Kosanke has been called Mr. Fix It for most of his priesthood. When a parish is bleeding money or a seminary is on the verge of losing its accreditation, Chuck gets the call. He shows up and stabilizes the operation; then he gets assigned elsewhere. The St. Anne's project is a different story... After he hit a wall in fundraising and out of options, he went to the chapel, and prayed. Days later, the name of a Catholic foundation director came to mind; a meeting that eventually produced a deal where the Basilica of St. Anne's was purchased for a dollar, restored for $40 million, and secured with a $20 million endowment. And he'll tell you plainly... God was the one who fixed it. We covered: → How he turned around failing parishes, schools, and a seminary with only a background in accounting and a willingness to make unpopular decisions → Why endowments matter more than annual giving → The restructuring happening inside the Archdiocese of Detroit → What it means to be named Monsignor → Why he believes a framework of surrender shared with high school seniors may save a life someday There's something about a person who gives up choosing for themselves and just keeps saying yes to the next hard thing. Most of us are trying to control the plan. Chuck, thank you for giving me your time and for walking through so much of your story. Chapters 0:00 - Introduction & the Turnaround Reputation 1:03 - Welcoming Monsignor Charles Kosanke 1:46 - De La Salle Honoree & Background on the Dinner 4:35 - Chuck's Story Begins at De La Salle 10:54 - Choosing the Seminary Over Western Michigan 12:00 - First Assignment at Shrine of the Little Flower 13:17 - Uncovering Embezzlement: Accounting Meets Ministry 15:20 - Earning a Doctorate in Rome (And Nearly Not Making It) 21:16 - Juggling the Seminary and Failing Parishes 25:07 - The Turnaround Pattern: A 40-Year Career of Fix-It Assignments 30:14 - Restructuring the Archdiocese of Detroit 39:34 - Pope Leo XIV and What His Election Means for the Church 45:36 - Diocese Priests vs. Religious Orders Explained 51:04 - Why He Became a Priest (The Real Answer) 55:26 - The Free Medical Clinic in Corktown 57:30 - $20 Million Raised and the Case for Endowments 1:10:46 - What Alumni Should Know About Giving to Catholic Schools 1:26:01 - When Chuck's Plan Became God's Plan 1:33:02 - The St. Anne's Miracle: A $40 Million Restoration for $1 1:40:04 - What He Told High School Seniors About Surrender 1:19:40 - Parting Words: Time, Talent, and Treasure ~~~ This episode is brought to you by Auxiom Find out more: https://auxiom.com/

    1h 39m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

We can all agree that some of the best moments occur over a meal. For eons, “breaking bread” has been the common element among all cultures for human bonding. Think about the many conversations that you’ve had over lunch that you wish you could share. This show is a platform to extend inspiring conversations about what we call BLTnT – Business, Life, Technology, and Transformations. Our guests are people we can learn from. They are storytellers. They are game changers, luminaries, business leaders, tech gurus, and friends. The show’s host, Matt Loria, is the CEO of Auxiom, an IT and Cyber Security company serving businesses. Matt considers himself to be blessed to make numerous connections in his daily life and have meals with a lot of interesting people. He draws upon his love of connecting to inspire the most intriguing thoughts and perspectives from his guests. He is here to continue the conversation that typically started over lunch. Of all the layers of BLTnT, transformations are arguably the most energizing. They take courage, luck, and fortitude. In each episode, our host will highlight at least one notable transformation or transition that the person has made, and we can be inspired by. Come join us for stimulating conversations with people making BLTnT moves! You can contact Matt Loria at: podcasts@auxiom.com www.auxiom.com www.linkedin.com/in/mattloria/

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Loria
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    83
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    BLTNT Podcast

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