The Inspired Stories Podcast

Anthony Codispoti
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Anthony Codispoti has started, built, and sold a variety of successful businesses, including a 7-figure wholesale business (successful exit), a 7-figure consumer business (exited to private equity), a SaaS business (successful exit), and fiscally advantaged benefits. As an innovator and pioneer, he has been awarded patents, earned best seller badges, and gained scores of battle scars. In this show, we gain inspiration from the successes achieved and challenges overcome by today's business leaders.

  1. 10h ago

    Ron Klabunde on the Four Numbers Every Real Estate Investor Must Know to Make Wise Decisions

    Ron Klabunde, founder of Smart REI, spent 18 years as a pastor, got fired at the height of a national speaking career he describes as the moment humility finally arrived, built a nonprofit that mobilized 76,000 volunteers across 29 states and fed 170,000 children, watched COVID wipe out 78 percent of the revenue in three weeks, stepped off salary to protect his 32-person team, and eventually found an entirely new vehicle for the same mission: helping real estate investors build a life worth protecting before they commit capital to a deal. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: Leading a high school Bible study at 15 and going directly into ministry after college The arrogance that came with a national speaking platform at 25 and the church firing that stripped it all away Why he structured the Replenish Foundation as non-faith-based to unlock corporate funding The first event: 600 people, 40,000 meals, under two hours — and the 16,000 meals the school principal called to say nobody would eat 76,000 volunteers, 650 business partners including Microsoft and Volkswagen, 29 states — then COVID in three weeks Coming off salary to save 32 jobs and the leadership principle behind that decision The investor happy hour where he discovered his empty pond in real estate lending The four numbers every investor must know: holding costs, rent-to-mortgage ratio, total wealth ROI, and cash flow Why every spreadsheet is broken and why the Smart REI platform uses 23 interconnected calculators instead The dream determines the deal — and the numbers protect the dream 🌟 Ron’s Key Mentors: His Nonprofit Investor (Turned Connector): The woman who had funded Generosity Feeds and knew Ron’s character well enough to invite him into lending when he needed a new vehicle for his mission JP (Real Estate Investor, 22,000 Units): The mentor who modeled how to use real estate wealth to genuinely serve tenants — free telehealth, tutoring, and financial coaching for every door at $15 a month The COO of Replenish Foundation: The leader who held the organization together through COVID and carried the mission forward while Ron stepped aside His Faith and Scripture: The anchor through every reinvention — from the church firing to COVID to the new chapter in lending 👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it looks like to lose everything you’ve built and find the mission still intact, why 78 percent of your revenue disappearing in three weeks can still be the beginning of something, and a philosophy about money and real estate that has nothing to do with wealth and everything to do with the dream behind it. 🔗 Connect with Ron Klabunde: Website: smartrei.us Email: ron@ronklabunde.com LinkedIn: Ron Klabunde 📤 Transcript Available: Ron Klabunde on the Four Numbers Every Real Estate Investor Must Know to Make Wise Decisions 📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

  2. 1d ago

    Matt Lee on Why Accountability Without Grace Is Just a Countdown to Someone Walking Out the Door

    Matt Lee, HR Business Partner at Shamin Hotels, started washing dishes at $4.50 an hour in a Georgia steakhouse at 15, earned a culinary degree, spent 26 years opening restaurants from Atlanta to Columbus to New Hampshire before his wife’s corporate career gave him the opportunity to hang up the toque, take a free education through the University of Richmond’s tuition assistance program, and figure out that everything he had been doing in kitchens was HR work with a different name. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: Starting at $4.50 an hour in a steakhouse and what Brian Davis, a manager who believed in him, made possible How Chris Brandt taught a young, hot-headed chef to channel his emotions instead of express them Opening restaurants in Atlanta, Columbus, and New Hampshire while following his wife’s Anheuser-Busch career The moment he realized he could get a free HR degree through the University of Richmond and what drew him to that field specifically Why career changers struggle to get callbacks and how relationships, not resumes, got him his first HR role The consulting versus compliance tension in HR and how Matt walks that line at 20-plus hotel properties The front office manager who wouldn’t hold her team accountable — and why she was right to be worried What accountability with grace actually looks like in practice and how it differs from accountability alone Rolling out a new HRIS system across 60-plus properties and what the training should have looked like Opus LMS: the AI-assisted learning management system that will let housekeepers map their own career pathway 🌟 Matt’s Key Mentors: Brian Davis (First Manager, Georgia Steakhouse): Saw potential in a 15-year-old dishwasher, promoted him to grill cook, introduced him to hip hop, and modeled what it looks like to believe in someone Chris Brandt (Executive Chef, Atlanta): Taught Matt to channel his emotions, pull people outside instead of confronting them on the line, and lead with curiosity instead of reaction Shannon Flynn (HR Director, Shamin Hotels): Hired Matt into the role and has been his mentor as he continues building confidence in the HR space 👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what kitchens taught one HR professional that business school never could, why the hardest thing Matt has overcome is still a work in progress, and how accountability with grace is more than a philosophy — it’s a specific skill that looks very different from accountability alone. 🔗 Connect with Matt Lee: Email: matt.lee@shaminhotels.com Website: shaminhotels.com LinkedIn: Matt Lee, Shamin Hotels 📤 Transcript Available: Matt Lee on Why Accountability Without Grace Is Just a Countdown to Someone Walking Out the Door 📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

  3. 4d ago

    Megan Johnson Started Her Career Doing Layoffs, Now She Runs a Culture Built on Generosity

    Megan Johnson, Director of People and Culture at Simple Modern, entered HR by conducting layoffs she never saw coming on fresh-out-of-college money, almost left the field entirely, rebuilt her conviction through a consulting firm that showed her what HR could actually look like, and spent five years in oil and gas learning to be disruptive from a mentor who told her to go figure it out and come back with the results. When a LinkedIn job posting caught her eye at a drinkware brand she’d never heard of, she took a leap from a stable insurance company to become Simple Modern’s first in-house HR director — and she’s been building ever since. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: Conducting mass layoffs at Chesapeake Energy fresh out of college and what that did to her view of HR The consulting firm that showed her HR could be fun and how two women there saved her career Five years at a second oil and gas company and the mentor who taught her to take the meeting without the boss and fail forward Four years building sales compensation expertise at American Fidelity and why it turned out to be exactly what Simple Modern needed Why Simple Modern exists to give and what that mission does to the energy inside a company of under 100 people The giving summit: how employees vote to allocate charitable dollars and why every staff member donates to their own cause each year Moving from a PEO model to full in-house HR and what the level of service actually changed What Rippling gave them that the PEO couldn’t — and why birthday lunches were an immediate win Hybrid schedule, catered lunches twice a week, 12 weeks paid maternity leave, and a childcare stipend — and why none of it compromises profitability JumpScore: the cheer competition software platform Megan has been building since maternity leave 🌟 Megan’s Key Mentors: Two Women at the HR Consulting Firm: Showed her that layoffs can lead to growth and that HR done right can be fun — she’s still having lunch with one of them Kelsey (Leader at Second Oil and Gas Company): Gave her full permission to be disruptive, fail forward, and build relationships with executives without a chaperone John Coulman (Hiring Manager, Simple Modern): The LinkedIn post that caught her eye and the leader who brought her into a company she now can’t imagine leaving Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern): Built a company around generosity from day one and creates the cultural permission for everyone else to follow 👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it looks like to build an HR function from scratch inside a company where the mission is giving, why loose culture and serious profitability are not opposites, and how a people-first approach to water bottle sales ends up changing how every employee shows up on Tuesday morning. 🔗 Connect with Megan Johnson: Website: simplemodern.com Website: jumpscoreofficial.com 📤 Transcript Available: Megan Johnson Started Her Career Doing Layoffs, Now She Runs a Culture Built on Generosity 📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

  4. 5d ago

    Skip Harless Spent His First Year at Grand Geneva Wondering Why He Ever Said Yes

    Skip Harless, Managing Director of Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, graduated with a fine arts degree from Texas Tech, took a personality test, and walked into every hotel in Dallas until one of them hired him. Thirty-five years later, he runs a 1,300-acre resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin that started as a Playboy club, earned the number one spot in the 2025 Condé Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards, and has posted three back-to-back record years — after a first year that nearly broke him. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: How a fine arts degree and a personality test called What Color Is Your Parachute launched a 35-year hotel career Lesson one at a 1,600-room Hyatt during the air traffic controllers strike: lean into your team, not away from them The GM who taught Skip the art of details — and what a daily 5 PM transformation at a Colorado ski resort looked like Walking into Grand Geneva in 2022 to a property slammed with post-COVID demand and nowhere near enough staff Building a 170-bed associate housing facility from scratch as a recruiting tool for international interns Why the middle manager is the most overlooked level in hospitality — and the 30-minute lunch training sessions that changed everything The executive team fight that almost derailed the strategic planning session and became the turning point for three record years Managing 16 direct reports and 1,200 peak-season employees across 1,300 acres — and the scheduling system that keeps him connected The glamping ridge overlooking the entire property that could open as soon as next summer Why luxury guest expectations post-COVID are higher, not lower, despite everything that happened to service quality 🌟 Skip’s Key Mentors: His First Hyatt GM (Dallas Fort Worth Airport): Put him in a management development program with no experience and gave him the foundation he still builds on The Detail-Obsessed Hyatt GM He Worked With Twice: Opened a luxury ski resort from the ground up with Skip and taught him how to curate every sensory detail of a guest experience His Wife: The long-distance sounding board who held him together by phone from another state through the hardest year of his career The Jade Point Consultant: Guided a 16-person executive team through a two-and-a-half-day strategic planning session that turned a big fight into alignment and launched three record years 👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it looks like to question every decision you’ve ever made and then find your footing anyway, why the fight that almost fractured an executive team became its greatest strength, and how a fine arts student from Texas Tech became one of the most decorated resort managers in the country. 🔗 Connect with Skip Harless: Website: grandgeneva.com 📤 Transcript Available: Skip Harless Spent His First Year at Grand Geneva Wondering Why He Ever Said Yes 📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

  5. Aug 18

    Johnny Berguson Trained a Trick Horse, Borrowed $500, and Built a Company That Serves 250,000 Churches

    Johnny Berguson, founder and president of Kingdom Inc., started with a $500 borrowed investment, a trick horse he trained without a bridle, and a cassette tape course rooted in biblical principles. What followed was one of the most unusual origin stories in business — an accidental ad placement that generated 5,000 orders overnight, a faith-driven pivot into church audiovisual supply, and 40-plus years of growth that landed Kingdom on the Inc. 500 list twice and served a quarter million ministries worldwide. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: Training an Arabian horse without a bridle at age 13 and performing at rodeos and the 700 Club Proverbs verse that gave Johnny permission to start the horse training cassette course Free book strategy that converted curiosity into sales from day one Backwards ad placement that accidentally launched the blank cassette tape business overnight COD fulfillment model and the bank loan that made 5,000 orders possible Transition from horse training tapes to church AV supplier and proprietary product lines Customer service as the core competitive advantage: 320-mile delivery to fix a $20 mistake Twenty years of debilitating panic attacks and the neurological diagnosis that finally resolved them Faith as the daily operating framework for every business decision Patent-pending product in development aimed at spreading the gospel nationwide 🌟 Johnny’s Key Mentors: Juanita Berguson (Wife and Business Manager): Co-founder in everything but title; manages operations and helped build Kingdom across every era of the business College Professor: Planted the seed that Johnny might one day use his horse to spread the gospel Episcopal Priest and Psychologist: The only professional who recognized Johnny’s panic attacks had a physical root and referred him to the right doctor Bible and Prayer: Johnny’s stated framework for every major decision in business and life 👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it looks like to build a company entirely around your values, why customer service is a spiritual practice, and how a misprint on a card deck ad accidentally launched one of the largest church AV suppliers in North America. 🔗 Connect with Johnny Berguson: Website: kingdom.com Email: johnny.berguson@kingdom.com 📤 Transcript Available:Johnny Berguson Trained a Trick Horse, Borrowed $500, and Built a Company That Serves 250,000 Churches 📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

  6. Aug 18

    The Dough Rests 72 Hours: Daniel Karen Cohen on Why Mr. O1 Pizza Is Built Differently

    Daniel Karen Cohen, CEO of AKA Restaurant Holding LLC, got his start when McDonald’s came to Venezuela in 1985 and recruited from universities because part-time work didn’t exist in the country. He became a general manager before he finished his degree, went to Hamburger University twice, joined Andres Garcia’s group to help build Wendy’s across Venezuela, grew 50 restaurants in 48 months, won a US residency lottery, moved to Miami in 2008, and eventually found an artisanal pizza brand that rests its dough for 72 hours — and has 4.9 stars across 30 locations. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: How McDonald’s introduced part-time work to Venezuela in 1985 and changed who could enter the workforce Being promoted to general manager before finishing his university degree and what Hamburger University taught him that school couldn’t Joining Andres Garcia’s group at 25 to lead a 20-restaurant pizza concept and learning what happens when you push change too fast Choosing Wendy’s over a McDonald’s franchisee offer by doing a two-chair exercise with his mother Growing 50 Wendy’s locations in 48 months and what he’d do differently now Moving to Miami in 2008 after winning the US residency lottery and starting over in a country where he had to relearn how to do business Converting Latin food concepts to Francisca Chicken during COVID and using the analysis to find Mr. O1 Why manager partners outperform managers by three to five degrees — and how the equity structure works The divorce, the Kabbalah study, and the remarriage — and what three years apart taught him about appreciation Two sons now working in the business, one of whom just opened his first Mr. O1 location in Sarasota 🌟 Daniel’s Key Mentors: Lorenzo Bustillos (McDonald’s Venezuela Owner): His first reference for what it means to lead with people — a man who inspired everyone around him to be extraordinary Andres Garcia (Business Partner): The entrepreneur who saw Daniel’s talent at 21, called him back for Wendy’s, and has been his partner across every major chapter since His Mother: Put two chairs back to back and asked him questions from both seats when he couldn’t choose between McDonald’s and Wendy’s — that conversation changed his life His Wife: A Kabbalistic astrologer and teacher who found the spiritual path first and brought Daniel along — and who came back after three years apart 👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what culture actually looks like inside a restaurant with 2,500 employees, why slowing down growth is sometimes the fastest way to build something that lasts, and how a man who opened McDonald’s in Venezuela as a university student ended up building a franchise around 72-hour dough and Italian-imported flour. 🔗 Connect with Daniel Karen Cohen: Email: kac@aka03.com Website: mistero1.comSocial Media: @danielkarencohen, @mistero1pizza 📤 Transcript Available: The Dough Rests 72 Hours: Daniel Karen Cohen on Why Mr. O1 Pizza Is Built Differently📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

  7. Aug 17

    Kory Cutler is Doubling Down on Old-school Family Values to Scale Axis Hospitality in a Modern World

    Kory Cutler, CEO of Axis Hospitality Construction, grew up in suburban Chicago after his parents divorced when he was five, cold-DM’d his way into a sales job at Cardinal Health, chased incentive trips across the country, and then walked away from a six-figure income to join a family business he knew nothing about — because his wife’s grandfather had built a post office in Columbus and started a construction company that was now three generations deep and ready for someone to take it national. He showed up with no title, no salary, and no construction experience, and tripled the company in three years. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: How a parents’ divorce at age five shaped a drive for stability that still fuels everything Kory does Cold-DM’ing Kevin Humphrey on LinkedIn in college as message number 104 and getting the one reply that opened the door to Cardinal Health What Randy Brown, Kory’s MBA mentor at Butler, showed him about what the CEO path at a public company actually looks like Walking into Axis with no plan, counting shower heads, and just trying to stay busy while learning the business Why Axis stopped hiring local subcontractors and built a national network of traveling crews instead How renovation work inside a live hotel is completely different from any other construction job and why that matters for who you hire Playing offense during COVID — calling hotel owners not to pitch, but to connect them with vendors who could actually help The chicken-and-egg problem of rapid growth: do you get the people first or the work first? The AI-plus-anti-AI philosophy: for every automation they adopt, they pair it with a handwritten note or a human touchpoint Naming their daughter Polly after Blair’s grandfather Paul, who started all of this from Brooklyn 🌟 Kory’s Key Mentors: His Father: A relative stranger until travel baseball brought them together — then a best friend who talked to Kory about money, love, and career at an age when most kids don’t have those conversations Kevin Humphrey (Cardinal Health Rep, LinkedIn Cold DM): The one person out of 100-plus messages who replied, made a call, and opened the door to Kory’s entire sales career Jack Simmons and Cameron Brady (Cardinal Health Managers): The two bosses who turned Kory into the polished professional he became Randy Brown (CHRO, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield; Butler MBA Mentor): The Yoda in a Cleveland Browns jersey who helped Kory realize the corporate path wasn’t for him and asked the questions that got him there himself Joel Kingsley (Father-in-Law, Axis Founder): Gave Kory more autonomy than he deserved early on and shaped every part of how he learned the business 👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what happens when you walk into a room knowing nothing and decide that’s an advantage, why giving away value during the worst possible time is the best sales strategy, and how a post office in Columbus built by a guy from Brooklyn turned into a national hospitality construction company three generations later. 🔗 Connect with Kory Cutler: Website: Axishc.net Email: kory@Axishc.net Podcast: Partners in Progress (PIP) Website: Axishc.net Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kory-cutler-a0366534/ 📤 Transcript Available: Kory Cutler Walked Into His First Day at a Family Business With No Title, No Salary, and No Construction Experience 📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

  8. Aug 15

    The Grit Behind Wing Snob: Brian Shunia on Detroit, Dropouts, and Building Something Real

    🎧 From High School Dropout to 70+ Franchise Locations: Brian Shunia’s Wing Snob Story Brian Shunia, co-founder and CEO of Wing Snob, built one of QSR’s fastest-growing wing brands starting from a shuttered 880-square-foot pizzeria in Lavonia, Michigan. What began as a single concept with a tiny menu and a $200 factory order has grown to 70+ open locations across multiple states, with hundreds more in the pipeline — driven by simplicity, culture, and relentless operations discipline. ✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn: High school dropout to GED to first job at 14 as a barista Early career spanning restaurants, call centers, sales, and a marketing agency Front Page Deli: from $50 days to $5,000 days through canvassing and factory catering Lessons from scaling the deli too fast without the right systems Real estate pivot that led to meeting future Wing Snob co-founder Jack Maschini Choosing wings for simplicity: fast to prep, fast to execute, infinite flavor options Selling the first location to fund three more and prove the franchise model Snob Central: proprietary app centralizing training, auditing, ordering, and communication Supply chain strategy: staying east of the Mississippi while filling geographic gaps AI deployment: automated review response and AI phone lines across locations 🌟 Brian’s Key Mentors: His Brother: got him into the restaurant industry after high school; taught early ops fundamentals Jack Maschini (Co-Founder): business school background and franchise expertise that complemented Brian’s ops instincts Dallas Powerhouses: senior operators and VPs of thousand-unit chains who shaped Brian’s leadership approach MUFC Network: fellow franchise entrepreneurs met over four-plus years of industry shows His Sister: pushed him to get his first job at 14 and instilled early work ethic 👉 Don’t miss this raw and energetic conversation about grit, franchising from scratch, and why simplicity might be the most underrated strategy in the restaurant business. 🔗 Connect with Brian Shunia: Website: wingsnob.com 📤 Transcript Available: The Grit Behind Wing Snob: Brian Shunia on Detroit, Dropouts, and Building Something Real 📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast 🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast 📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

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5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Anthony Codispoti has started, built, and sold a variety of successful businesses, including a 7-figure wholesale business (successful exit), a 7-figure consumer business (exited to private equity), a SaaS business (successful exit), and fiscally advantaged benefits. As an innovator and pioneer, he has been awarded patents, earned best seller badges, and gained scores of battle scars. In this show, we gain inspiration from the successes achieved and challenges overcome by today's business leaders.

Information

  • Creator
    Anthony Codispoti
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    540
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Anthony Codispoti
  • Show Website
    The Inspired Stories Podcast

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