OTSS Podcast

Kahn Media
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This is the guiding principal behind most new businesses, the entrepreneurial "eat or be eaten" ethos that drives the builders, the doers and the risk-takers responsible for history's greatest brands and companies. www.otsspodcast.com

  1. Mark Neifeld, Commissioner & CEO of Sport Fishing Championship (SFC)

    FEB 12

    Mark Neifeld, Commissioner & CEO of Sport Fishing Championship (SFC)

    From a young age, Mark Neifeld knew he wanted to be involved in sports. However, unlike most kids who dream of being a star quarterback or center, Mark wanted to pursue a career in sports management. After graduating from college, his first job at the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning allowed him to pursue that dream. Eventually, he would also work with the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. However, as a natural entrepreneur, Mark decided to head out on his own and create his own path. The result is the Sport Fishing Championship (SFC), a unique saltwater fishing championship with over a dozen rounds of competition spread across the Atlantic, the Gulf and Cabo San Lucas. Using cutting-edge technology, the SFC delivers all the action from its tournaments to online viewers in real time. Launching the high-stakes billfishing tournament with multi-million dollar boats, multiple stops and covering competition in the middle of the ocean was no easy task. Making it sustainable over the long run was an even bigger challenge. On this episode, Mark shares with “Only The Strong Survive” host Dan Kahn what he learned from launching the SFC, what it takes to keep it going and how it was the ultimate test of his entrepreneurial skills. Click on the icon above to watch the entire interview, and here are our top five takeaways: * Absorb as much knowledge as you can from those around you. * Doing discovery before launching a business is critical. * Understanding why your idea or product hasn’t existed before is also essential. * Long-term thinking always wins over short-term profits. * Successful entrepreneurs can’t be afraid of failure. Be A SpongeMark credits a lot of his success to being around the right people early in his career. Whether they were mentors, leaders or successful entrepreneurs, Mark tried to learn as much as he could from them. His advice is to always “be a sponge” and absorb as much wisdom as you can from others. “I had the great opportunity to work with all the people over at Teall Capital and Ben (Sutton) and all the people he had worked with for over 20 years. You know, just be a sponge,” said Mark. “I was younger back then, but I really was just a sponge. If you have an opportunity to have access to someone who really wants to mentor you and will tell you how they built their business, take it.” Look Before You LeapMost entrepreneurs like to move fast. However, not taking the time to understand what you are getting into can ultimately lead to failure. For Mark, a detailed, lengthy discovery process for his idea of a saltwater fishing league was hugely beneficial. It helped him get an idea of what potential pitfalls were ahead and how to best tackle them. “Turn of the calendar year on Jan. 2, I told myself I was going to put 90 days on my calendar to do discovery,” said Mark. “For me, at the time, I didn’t even really know what the problems or opportunities were. I was just asking questions. So I started picking up the phone and calling major tournament owners and asking them why there isn’t a PGA Tour of fishing?” Know the WhyBeyond discovery, Mark notes that it is also essential to understand why something you are trying to make doesn’t exist. The answer to that question for a saltwater fishing championship was that all of the action takes place in the middle of the ocean. There was simply no way to bring the fishing live to online viewers. However, that was about to change with the advent of new technologies like Starlink. “If we did what everyone else was doing, we wouldn’t be here right now. Bass fishing has been live for a long time. Why? Because you can transmit from a lake, back to a truck, and up and out. But try broadcasting from 450 miles offshore in the middle of the ocean,” said Mark. “So I got into it with SpaceX and learned about the LEO grid and where they were in that project. That was March of 2021, and as soon as I had that information, it was go time.” Always Think Long TermFor entrepreneurs, there can be a struggle between short-term profit and long-term thinking. Often, the two can be at opposite ends of important business decisions. However, for Mark, thinking long-term is key and leads to a more sustainable brand that also generates a profit. “My thing early on was that we needed to build the PGA Tour of fishing. The PGA is a 100-year league, so we needed to build a 100-year league. We need to think about how we can build a sustainable product with a strong business model behind it,” said Mark. “Ultimately, I am a capitalist and an entrepreneur and a red-blooded American. We want to create jobs, we want to lift the community. The captains, the mates and the people who work on these boats are superstars. We have to do our part to elevate them across sports media and entertainment culture.” Never Be Afraid of FailureFear of failure is something that paralyzes many. However, for entrepreneurs, that fear must be set aside completely. According to Mark, one has to accept that failure is part of entrepreneurship. If you don’t let go of that, you will never take the many chances required to be successful. “As an entrepreneur, you have to be prepared to fail. I fail all the time. I have failed with SFC, with certain projects or initiatives, or things like that. For me, I have never been afraid of failing,” said Mark. “I am saying all of this because hopefully there is a listener out there who has an idea, has the know-how, and has thought of a business and wants to go out and pursue that business. If I could speak to that person, I would say that you can’t be afraid to fail.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    57 min
  2. Jason Noel, CEO of Fat Fender Garage

    JAN 29

    Jason Noel, CEO of Fat Fender Garage

    Jason Noel’s path to success, like many entrepreneurs, has been long and hard-fought. In high school, he discovered a love of woodworking and carpentry and quickly landed a construction job after graduating. Once he reached the six-month mark in his employment, Jason decided to launch his own contracting operation. He quickly learned that, without any formal training or business education, being his own boss was difficult. However, he made a go of it until the 2008 recession wiped out most new construction. Soon, he was forced to close the business, and a divorce shortly after capped off a very miserable year. Jason pivoted to real estate but soon missed the creative process of building something with his hands. While searching for another career path, his father-in-law had an old pickup that they both rebuilt. After selling it for a profit, buying another and doing the same, the idea for Fat Fender Garage was born. Now, Fat Fender Garage has gone from a one-man shop to a leader in parts, restorations and complete high-end builds of vintage trucks with over 70 employees. Achieving success with Fat Fender Garage wasn’t instantaneous or easy for Jason. Along the way, he learned several hard lessons about entrepreneurship and running a business. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive Podcast,” host Dan Kahn discusses with Jason how he rose to the top of the highly competitive restomod market and the lessons he absorbed along the way. Click on the icon to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways: * Most entrepreneurs consider quitting at some point. * You have to identify mistakes and take action to fix them. * Your needs can often be the same as your customers. * You will never succeed if you aren’t willing to work hard. * Integrity is everything in business. The Go/No-Go Period Every entrepreneur faces a moment when they have to decide whether to move forward or to fold. For Jason, that time came when his neighbors finally got tired of his backyard shop. He either had to take on the cost of moving into a much larger, legitimate shop or close his doors. The decision really came down to how much he believed in himself and his product. “This was a go/no-go period for me. Do we take on the risk of moving and all the extra expense and money? We are barely making it as it is. Deep inside, I had this belief that we had created something and started something that could be pretty good,” said Jason. “We had a really good product and brand that we were developing, and I always felt like I was almost there. I kept saying that for several years. So we decided to go ahead, let’s lease the building and committed to a three-year lease.” Figure Out What Went Wrong and Fix It Quickly Recognizing mistakes and then rectifying them is pivotal for any business. That lesson is especially true for brands just starting, as Jason learned after moving into the new shop. A handshake deal fell apart, costing the business significant money. Jason knew he had made a mistake and had to fix it quickly for Fat Fender Garage to succeed. “We made a lot of changes. We put contracts in place and took the good-guy handshake deal out of it. We just said that we are running a business on these terms, and if you don’t want us to build for you, you don’t have to hire us. But if you wanted us to work for you, it was based on these terms,” said Jason. “I just decided we weren’t going to be the cheapest shop in town anymore, and we weren’t going to be doing things the way we did before.” Find a Need and Fill It Originally, Fat Fender Garage had no plans to be in the parts business and only wanted to focus on vehicle builds. However, after making their own parts to simplify those builds, Jason thought others could use those same parts on their trucks. His notion was correct, and his customers had the same needs. The parts side of Fat Fender Garage was born. “I could buy all these parts, but they aren’t technically designed to go into the vehicle. They are designed to go into any vehicle, but they are not designed to go into my vehicle exactly the way they should. So we learned quickly that, in order to do it correctly, it was going to require fabrication,” said Jason. “I didn’t want to make a one-off of something five times; that is annoying. So what we started doing was making a part that works for us, because we are doing the same vehicle over and over. When that comes up next time, we just grab it off the shelf, and it makes it easy. That is how we got into the parts business.” You Have to Put in the Work Jason freely gives advice to others who ask him how to succeed. However, all the knowledge in the world won’t help if you aren’t willing to put in the work. If you are going to start your own business, you have to be prepared for it to take a lot of effort to succeed, because it absolutely does. “We have people show up at the shop, and I give them the tour. I tell them that I will tell them everything that I am doing. I can show it to you, I can tell you about it, and I can give you all the tips and tricks,” said Jason. “But I can’t actually do the work for you. So if you are not willing to do the work, you are never going to get there. You have to be willing to put the time, the effort and the work in.” Integrity is Everything With a business that sells a six-figure product, integrity is everything for Jason. Without a stellar reputation, clients will look elsewhere. However, he notes that integrity isn’t enough for oneself, but should apply to everyone you do business with. And you need to be prepared for those who don’t think the same way. “I want to have the utmost integrity in everything I do. However, I learned that not everybody is like that, not everybody is that way. So, as we are working in our businesses, only align yourself with people who have the utmost integrity and show who they are by the way they live their life and the things they are doing,” said Jason. “You can align yourself with those people, but those who don’t have that kind of integrity, just be careful because they are probably only going to be looking out for themselves. That might get you if you are not prepared for that.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    1h 9m
  3. Corky Coker Reflects on a Life in the Automotive Industry

    JAN 15

    Corky Coker Reflects on a Life in the Automotive Industry

    Corky Coker originally had no plans to enter the family business. His father had originally started Coker Tire in 1958 as a small shop that sold tires, performed retreads and handled light maintenance jobs. Even though he grew up as a “car guy” with his uncles and dad constantly working on Model As and Ts, Corky wanted to be a veterinarian. However, after getting all “Bs” in college (babes, brews and banjos, according to Corky), his father promptly told him to come back and help run the family business. Corky took over what, at the time, was a small niche of the business, focusing on finding tires for classic and collector cars. Having flipped cars before he could legally drive and working in the tire shop since he was a kid, Corky quickly found success. Over the years, he painstakingly grew that niche into the main business, turning Coker Tire into a global leader in tires for collector, antique and restored vehicles. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Corky shares with host Dan Kahn how he grew Coker Tire from a small family-run business into an iconic brand. Filled with deep insight from decades of experience, Corky’s knowledge is valuable for any entrepreneur, leader or CEO. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways: * Success is all about finding the right niche and owning it. * There are pros and cons to private equity. * Suppliers play a larger role in a brand’s success than most people realize. * Investing in quality always pays off in the long term. * Work hard, but don’t ignore your family. Find Your Niche and Own It Coker Tire is a prime example of how crucial it is for a business to find its niche and own it. The company initially started as a more general one, selling tires and performing small maintenance jobs. However, zeroing in on manufacturing specialty tires for collector and antique cars unlocked growth that never could have been achieved in Coker Tires’ original, more generalized form. “Anything that you do, do to the best of your ability. Just explore and learn everything there is about it,” said Corky. “A niche, a specialty, our business was classified as a niche. I basically owned that niche because I knew everything about it. I knew what the customer wanted, and I knew how to find out what the customer wanted. You have to stand before them and show them empathy and integrity, and that you are one of them.” The Dilemma of Private Equity Private equity has made a significant entry into the automotive aftermarket, purchasing multiple businesses. With his children not interested in running the business, selling Coker Tire to private equity made sense for Corky to retire. However, he notes that the move did not come without some unforeseen downsides. “Private equity has a different attitude about people,” said Corky. “Most private equity firms hire smart people, but they don’t hire people from the industry very often. That is a big mistake because they tick off their customers, their suppliers and their employees. That is their dilemma, and they have come into our industry and paid a lot of money (for companies).” Your Suppliers Are Extremely Important Many companies focus on introducing new products and services to stay constantly ahead of their competitors. However, according to Corky, your relationships with your suppliers are just as important. You can create as many products as you want, but none of that matters if you can’t get the supplies needed to manufacture them. Solid relationships with your suppliers are a key to success. “The hardest part of making Coker Tire a success was sourcing product. We developed products at great places, and we became partners with our suppliers,” said Corky. “That is what some of the private equity folks don’t get. They go and hire buyers from big corporations who believe everything is a commodity, and they try to save five cents here and there. We developed relationships with our suppliers to begin with, so I was always able to get on their production schedules.” Quality Doesn’t Cost, It Pays Coker Tires’ ability to grow and scale over the years has been impressive. Central to that growth was a relentless pursuit of quality with its products. While some may view quality as a cost, Corky explains that investing in it always pays off in the end. “Quality doesn’t cost, it pays. The pursuit of the best you can do pays. People look for it, they desire it and they will tell others about it,” said Corky. “When you have a problem with a product, and you don’t handle it, that guy will tell seven people. If you have a product that is wonderful, you might be on a podcast with a guy who has your tires on his hot rod and loves them. Quality does count, and it does pay, and I am thankful for that.” Advice for Entrepreneurs from Decades of Experience Having built Coker Tire from a small family shop to a global leader in specialty tires, Corky’s knowledge runs deep. Thankfully, he doesn’t gatekeep any of that expertise that comes from decades of experience. His best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is a simple mix of hard work, family and sticking to what you know. “Make a list and be about it. Number two, do what you know and do it well. Work half the time, that is 12 hours a day. Pay attention to your family and don’t ignore them. I did when I was a young adult, and I was out on the road doing 200,000 miles a year on airplanes, etc. My kids grew up without me, and that is one of the reasons they didn’t want the tire company,” said Corky. “But that was God’s grace for me, too, by the way. I sold the company in December of 2018, and the market just started declining somewhat, then COVID happened, and it hasn’t been the same since.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    57 min
  4. Best Advice of 2025 - OTSS Podcast

    JAN 1

    Best Advice of 2025 - OTSS Podcast

    2025 has been an amazing year for the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast. Throughout the year, we recorded 25 episodes, bringing our total to 55 installments of OTSS since its launch just over two years ago. We have had some fantastic guests since the start, sharing their insightful knowledge on entrepreneurship, marketing, running a business and what it takes to be successful in today’s ever-changing business environment. For this special episode, we decided to take a look back at some of our best episodes from “Only The Strong Survive.” Rather than just one guest, this unique episode features a multitude of leaders, authors, experts and entrepreneurs sharing their deep insights with host Dan Kahn. Give it a watch to see our favorite and most impactful moments from “Only The Strong Survive,” and we have even more in store for 2026. A special thank you to our guests and viewers who have helped make it a great year. Here are our top five takeaways from this episode: * Company culture is just as critical as the products you make. * Running a modern business involves having lots of emotional intelligence. * True leaders aren’t afraid to ask for help. * Building a community around your brand is central for creating a connection with your customers. * Ikigai is a path to happiness. BluePrint Engines CEO Norris Marshall on Crafting Company Culture Company culture is often overlooked in the drive to produce more products and create new ones. However, it is essential and should never be ignored. Recognizing this fact long before company culture became a more recent focus, Norris Marshall carefully built the right one. The move proved wise, as Marshall built a brand that employees want to be a part of and move forward. “I guess the culture comes from me, how I want to treat our employees and how I expect our managers to treat our employees. I start with the idea that everybody wants to do a good job, and you just have to find a way to let them,” said Norris. “I also do believe that people are capable of a lot more than we realize if we challenge and encourage them. So, I am big on challenging and encouraging. I’ve got a lot of push, and I am not easy to work for. At the same time, I am on their side, and I want to help them. I think you need to make it personal, too. People need to know that you care about them, and when the moment arises to show that, you really need to show up.” Hellwig CEO Melanie White on How Running a Modern Business is Different Melanie White wasn’t always sure that she wanted to run the family business. In college, she pursued a degree in psychology instead of the “usual suspects” of business, finance or marketing. However, that choice proved to be a wise one, as running a business today is different. Now, understanding how to motivate and interact with a wide range of employees is just as important as technical business know-how. “I feel like it (the psychology degree) has helped me quite a bit,” said Melanie. “Now, it is a very different time when businesses are lucky to have team members. So, it is a shift that we have to make that is subtle but really important. As a business, we have to look at how to motivate our team members, attract them and be a really good place to work.” Not Your Average Joe’s Tim Herbel on True Leadership Business leaders often have pretty big egos, and sometimes, rightfully so. However, that same ego that helped build a business can also destroy it. Thinking you know the solution to every problem is a surefire way to slow or reverse your brand’s growth. A true leader will recognize their limitations, ask for help and surround themselves with people who can assist them. “Once upon a time, I had a lot of talent, and I knew it. The ego got in the way, and it wasn’t until I failed miserably at life and had some time on the anvil that I realized that I don’t have all the answers,” said Tim Herbel. “It wasn’t until I failed and learned from failure that I learned what leadership is. Leadership is about being transparent and saying, ‘I don’t know, and I could use your help.’ Learning to ask for help as a leader is hard. But if you do it, you get surrounded by a good team.” Author and Marketing Expert Mark Schaefer on the Importance of Community Brands can be hyper-fixated on the next great product or idea. However, building community is just as crucial for a company as its products. Developing a community creates a connection with your customers that keeps them consistently returning to your brand, rather than your competition. “As human beings, we don’t just want community; we need community because it helps form our identities. No matter what happens in this world, if a brand can create a community, it is the ultimate emotional connection,” said Mark Schaefer. “People don’t just love your soft drink or your cosmetics; they love each other in a community, and they will literally belong to a brand.” SEMA’s RJ De Vera on Ikigai Ikigai is a compound of the two Japanese words “iki” and “kai,” which roughly translates to “a reason for living.” However, the concept of Ikigai builds on this translation by finding fulfillment through aligning one’s passion with their skills and talents. For anyone looking to start their career, RJ De Vera notes that Ikigai is well worth exploring. “Everyone says to find your passion, but I think there is more to it than that. There is this philosophy called Ikigai. It comes out of Japan, and it is this idea that you merge your passion and your skill,” said RJ. “So, what do you love, what are you passionate about, what are you good at, what does the world need and what can you get paid for? My advice to people would be to find the center point of all of those things. If you love car culture, develop the right skill set in something that can help you make a living, which is hopefully something that this culture and world needs. I think that is where you find success.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    34 min
  5. Peter Nam, Founder of Gunther Werks and Vorsteiner

    12/18/2025

    Peter Nam, Founder of Gunther Werks and Vorsteiner

    Peter Nam is unique for starting not just one successful brand but two. After graduating from Boston University with a degree in finance, he struggled to find a job in his field immediately following the burst of the dot-com bubble. Instead of continuing his fruitless search, Peter decided to launch a passion project selling high-quality carbon-fiber parts for European vehicles. Over 20 years later, Vorsteiner remains an innovative force in crafting aerospace-grade carbon components for exotic and high-performance vehicles. Having been passionate about cars since childhood, Peter realized that modern cars were quickly losing their character and were overburdened with technology. In response, he founded Gunther Werks in 2017. Zeroing in primarily on the Porsche 993 platform, Gunther Werks completely reimagines the 993 to perfectly blend modern technology with an analog driving experience. Today, Gunther Werks is well-known across the automotive world for pushing the boundaries of performance and bringing back the joy of driving with its meticulously crafted and highly sought-after vehicles, such as the Turbo, F-26 and the GWX. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Peter discusses what it was like to build two successful businesses from the ground up and the vital lessons he learned along the way. Click on the icon above to hear the entire insightful interview with host Dan Kahn, and here are our top five takeaways from the discussion: * Success never comes easy. * Entrepreneurship involves wearing many “hats.” * Learning on the job and rapidly adapting is a key to success. * Efficiently producing a product will be your biggest challenge. * Don’t count on people changing their ways. Expect to Struggle Most people only see Vorsteiner’s current state as a highly successful brand. However, like many startups, there was a long struggle to get Vorsteiner where it is today. Success never comes easy, and you should expect plenty of adversity along the way. If you don’t like struggling, then entrepreneurship probably isn’t for you. “It was quite a struggle, actually, trying to penetrate the market where people were used to buying from high-end German tuning brands, and here I was, an American-based brand, trying to make products for BMWs,” said Peter. “It was a struggle to convince people that our brand and our products were on the same level as our competitors. It took years for us to break through and penetrate that market.” Expect to Wear Lots of Hats Unless you have significant financial backing for the launch of your brand, you will have to fill many roles yourself. In its earliest days, Vorsteiner was essentially a one-person operation, with Peter handling product design, shipping, invoicing and everything else to keep the lights on. Even as the company grew, there wasn’t the budget for financial or management specialists. Peter had to fill these roles himself and try to learn on the fly. “We were very lean top-down. It was mostly manufacturing and operational staff that I hired. I couldn’t go out and hire a CEO or CFO for $100,000 or $200,000 a year,” said Peter. “We didn’t have the budget for that, so I basically had to wear those hats myself and have people who were manufacturing the products and doing the operations and shipping to support me. I had to wear a lot of hats both operationally and management-wise in my earlier years, and I had honestly no idea what I was doing.” On-the-Job Learning Launching what was essentially a low-volume, high-performance bespoke car company with Gunther Werks was definitely a new direction for Peter. Hiring engineering experts and other specialists was a massive help in bolstering the areas where Peter needed specialized knowledge. However, a significant factor in Gunther Werks’ success was Peter and his team’s ability to quickly learn on the job and rapidly adapt. “There is no book you can read from Barnes & Noble about how to build a car company. You have to learn on the job. Even if I were to work in the finance field and investment banking, just because I have a finance degree, it doesn’t mean anything,” said Peter. “Most of the learning actually happens on the job. You have to adapt and constantly be learning and constantly improving your processes. It is a never-ending process. I am learning every single day, and the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” One-offs are Easy, Production is Not Most startups have a hyper focus on developing the products they will sell. However, Peter notes that the challenge isn’t coming up with a product or prototype, but rather how to produce it efficiently and on a large enough scale to make a profit. While they are entirely different products, the hard-fought production lessons that Peter learned with Vorsteiner were critical to the success of Gunther Werks. “When you are building a concept car or a proof of concept or a show display vehicle, anybody can do that in their mom’s garage. It is actually not very difficult for me to build a one-off concept car. It is actually productionizing that car, which is really an incredibly painful challenge,” said Peter. “It is so difficult, and this is where most of the car builders fail. They build a one-off car, and they don’t know how to productionize it and make money doing it. This is why you see so many car builders, a majority of them, fail after two to three years.” Don’t Try to Change People One painful lesson that Peter has learned through hiring people for both his companies is that people don’t really change. While most of us want to mentor and develop employees, it can be nearly impossible if the person is unwilling or unable to change. For Peter, holding onto substandard employees with the hope that they might one day change their ways is a recipe for failure. “One of the things I have learned from hiring hundreds of employees for both of my companies is that it is very difficult to change somebody. I thought, ‘Okay, he could work out, and I can change him and mold him into what I want him to be.’ I would say that is almost always a recipe for disaster,” said Peter. “I think that is the biggest mistake I have made when dealing with poor-performing employees who didn’t have the right vision, and I thought I could change them. I wasted many years trying to mold these people, and it just didn’t work out in the end.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    45 min
  6. Lauryn Menard of GOB on “Only The Strong Survive”

    12/04/2025

    Lauryn Menard of GOB on “Only The Strong Survive”

    Growing up in the Adirondack Mountains, Lauryn Menard always had a love of the outdoors. Eventually, the big city and her interest in fashion design called her south to New York City. However, she quickly grew tired of the fashion world and wanted to stop chasing trends and focus on solving bigger problems. That realization led Lauryn to switch to a career in industrial design and co-found PROWL Studio, an industrial design and research studio specializing in sustainable products, with clients including Herman Miller and BMW. Eventually, Lauryn would fuse her love of nature with industrial design by becoming a bio-designer and founding GOB. The company aims to replace the 40 billion polyurethane single-use earplugs thrown away every year with ones that are fully biodegradable and made from Mycelium, a natural, farm-grown material derived from mushrooms. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, Lauryn shares insights from her unique entrepreneurial journey with host Dan Kahn. The in-depth discussion breaks down what it takes to launch a highly innovative business, how she plans to compete in a crowded space and what the musts are for modern brands to thrive. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways: * Create a vision to anchor your brand before building it. * Always hire someone unbiased to check your products before launch. * Hire people to fill the gaps where you lack skill. * Building brand awareness is vital to compete in crowded markets. * Don’t always listen to advice from others. Create an Ethos First Some entrepreneurs start by creating products and figuring out how to sell them. Lauryn pulled back even further and wanted GOB to focus on what happens to products at the end of their life cycles. That foundational work helped guide the vision for biodegradable earplugs and pave the way for future GOB products. “A product, no matter if you are talking about a massive dump truck with a million moving parts or you are talking about an earplug, it is nothing but materials at the end of the day. Once something is no longer usable, it’s obsolete, and you don’t need it anymore. All that is left are materials,” said Lauryn. “So, what we came up with was basically to begin with the end, which became an ethos and is how we still work at GOB. It is this ethos and idea that when you start thinking about a product, you have to think about its end of life just as much as its form and function.” Hire a B.S. Detector One important step Lauryn took early in the creation of GOB was to hire someone to validate whether its earplugs were effective. This move was a crucial one, as some entrepreneurs can have a strong bias towards their own products or ideas. An outside set of expert and unbiased eyes taking a close look at GOB’s earplugs and validating their effectiveness gave Lauryn the confidence to move forward. “We brought on an audiologist in Berkley, which is near where our office is. He was our b.s. detector to figure out if this is actually working,” said Lauryn. “You can have your own biases when you have an idea, and you think it is working. Then you get to launch, and no one checked you. That is what we wanted to avoid.” Fill Those Gaps We have heard the importance of hiring the right people from OTSS guests before. However, Lauryn takes it a step further and notes that it is crucial to identify your weaknesses as a CEO. Then you can hire people to fill those “gaps” and assist you in the areas where you need the most help. Doing so does take an honest assessment of one’s abilities, though. “I think that what I have uncovered as a creative CEO is that it can be an advantage if you are willing and able to look at the things you are bad at and fill those gaps with people who are incredible at those things,” said Lauryn. “We have a COO who has helped scale consumer product companies before. He was at Quip, the toothbrush company, he was at Fable, the dog care company, and a few others. He fills my gaps perfectly. Obviously, I need to understand the P&L, I need to understand our budget and set those things, but it is more of a collaborative process.” Brand Awareness is King If you want to compete in a crowded space, you absolutely have to build brand awareness. For Lauryn, that means embracing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales model. That setup allows GOB to reach, interact and market directly to its customers, rather than going through a middleman or wholesalers. “I think if you want to be successful out in the world physically, at retail stores, venues, etc., these days, you have to have brand awareness, and that starts with DTC. We are scaling our DTC sales for that reason,” said Lauryn. “We want to spread, for lack of a better way to say it, like a virus. We want to be everywhere. Our products that we create basically have the added benefit of being relevant and ubiquitous in so many places.” Don’t Always Take Advice Having a mentor and the advice of others as an entrepreneur is huge. However, Lauryn notes that you must weigh that guidance and mentorship against your gut instincts. Ultimately, your instincts are usually correct, even if they go against the advice of others, when making tough decisions. “Listening to people’s advice as if it is the way things need to be, I think that tends to be a thing with female entrepreneurs. We tend to take advice to heart maybe more,” said Lauryn. “I’ve taken people’s advice on hiring people that I shouldn’t have hired. I wasn’t listening enough to my gut and the signals that were present. I was taking mentorship maybe a little too far, I would say. I have learned to always double-check myself with myself and sit back before making hard decisions.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    56 min

  7. 11/20/2025

    Joe Molina, Founder and President of JMPR

    Joe Molina built one of the most respected public relations agencies in the automotive world from the ground up. While serving in the U.S. Army and writing for his base’s newspaper, he somehow arranged for a concert with a then-up-and-coming band called Kiss. After the concert with the band that would rapidly become rock legends, Joe quickly realized that he no longer wanted to be a journalist but a publicist. Not one to ever sit around idly, Joe quickly put his plan into motion. One year after leaving the U.S. Army, he founded JMPR and steadily grew its client base. Over its 40-plus years, and through considerable hard work and persistence, the agency secured some of the biggest automotive brands among its client roster, including Rolls-Royce, Ducati, Lamborghini and many more. Eventually, Joe would sell the company before semi-retiring in Indiana. Among the many JMPR employees who got their start in public relations at the agency was “Only The Strong Survive” host Dan Kahn. On this episode of the podcast, Joe and Dan reflect on what it was like working together before becoming fierce competitors. The former president and founder of JMPR also explains what it took to build a successful company from scratch and run it for decades. Click on the icon above to listen to the entire insightful episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” and here are our top five takeaways: * Don’t just do what you love, do what you know. * Trickling down from the top is quicker than starting at the bottom. * You have to know when to let go. * It is okay to not always be number one. * Hire the right people and strive to retain them. Do What You Love (and What You Know) Joe attributes much of his early success to his passion for exotic cars. Combining what he loved and also had an in-depth knowledge of with a fearless attitude opened many doors early on. While there were definitely other agencies, few of them combined the automotive expertise and passion that Joe had. “It all grew from the fact that, as a kid, I just loved cars. I knew all the things about exotic cars, not just regular cars, although I knew that industry too. I knew everything, every fact, every this, that and the other,” said Joe. “I could talk to anyone about anything, and I knew just enough to where they would say he knows his stuff, so he must be connected somehow.” It is Easier to Trickle Down Than Up Another key to JMPR’s success Joe cites was his relationship with publishing icon Robert E. Petersen. At the height of his empire, Petersen published nearly every major automotive magazine in the United States, along with other popular publications such as Guns & Ammo and Teen, and founded the Petersen Automotive Museum. Doing an excellent job for Petersen led him to recommend JMPR to his many contacts across multiple industries. “For 17 years, we represented the Petersen Automotive Museum. They only ever had two PR agencies; I was one, and you (Kahn Media) were the other. But he introduced me to everybody,” said Joe. “I represented MotorTrend, Hot Rod, Teen magazine, Guns & Ammo, all of his 40-some-odd titles and his events. Then his friends wanted to hire me, and I was dealing with the guys who owned the companies. It was like I started at the top, and it is easier to trickle down than trickle up.” Knowing When to Let Go Selling a business is a highly personal experience for any entrepreneur who has built their company from the ground up. The same was true for Joe, as he wrestled with the decision to finally sell JMPR. However, knowing when to let go of a company is just as critical of an entrepreneurial skill as knowing when to start one. “It’s a very personal thing of when to let go. I happened to be in my mid-60s and had a run for 43 years, 45 if you count some of the army years, and it was just time,” said Joe. “There is a time, if you are successful, or you think you are successful, or they tell you that you are successful, when you have to get off the stage and let other people on to perform. My time was over, everything was changing and I felt like an analog guy in a digital world.” Nobody Stays on Top Forever (and That’s Okay) For such a hard-charging and competitive individual as Joe, his perspective on staying ahead might be surprising to some, but it is shaped by decades of hard-fought experience. He notes that the desire to be number one in your industry is natural, but it ignores the cyclical nature of business. Staying on top also requires a lot of sacrifice that might not be worth it in the long run. “Nobody stays on top forever. There is a rhythm to these things, and if you want to stay up forever, you are going to have to give away your sanity, your family and everything else to keep up with it because you have to be completely obsessed and have very little emotional room for anybody else,” said Joe. “I realized I had my day in the sun, I made it, I was there for several years at the top of the list, and I had made a good living.” Always Hire Smart People One piece of advice that Joe gives is one that we hear regularly from guests on “Only The Strong Survive.” That tip for success is to always hire smart people and treat them with respect. The right employees can make all the difference between your brand being successful or an afterthought. “Always hire people who are smarter and know more than you and understand things that are changing quicker than you. Hold them with respect, and it is not just about paying them, it is about respecting them. You only got them for a little while,” says Joe. “The other thing we all learned is that everything has its time, and it’s a treadmill, and everyone is with you for a portion of their career. But try to find the bright ones, find the ones that can still work a room when there is a room to be worked, even if that is now a digital room.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    1h 5m
  8. RJ de Vera, Vice President, Marketing at SEMA

    11/06/2025

    RJ de Vera, Vice President, Marketing at SEMA

    RJ de Vera has had an amazing career arc. Like many Southern California kids, he had childhood dreams of Ferraris and muscle cars. However, his automotive interests shifted to Japanese imports during his teenage years. Soon, RJ was traveling to Japan to check out car shows and find rare parts. His early expertise in the Japanese tuner car scene, before it gained widespread popularity, opened other doors. RJ was tapped to help with the launch of Super Street magazine and would serve as its editor-at-large. From there, he became an advisor for the first “Fast and Furious” movie, even playing the role of street racer Danny Yamato in the premier installment of the radically popular franchise. After his Hollywood debut, RJ helped build the Motegi wheel brand before heading marketing efforts at Meguiar’s. He now serves as the vice president of marketing for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). From selling auto parts out of his mother’s condo to leading marketing efforts at global brands, RJ has learned a lot from his journey. On this episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, he shares some of that wisdom with host Dan Kahn. Click on the icon above to watch the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways: * The platforms change, but people will always love modifying cars. * Working at a multinational company helps develop a bigger perspective. * The right timing involves envisioning your future self. * Adaptation is a constant need. * Ikigai is worth exploring for anyone seeking career direction and fulfillment. Modifying Cars Will Always Have a Universal Appeal When the import craze first took off, many hot rodders and muscle car builders frowned upon it. However, for RJ, what he was doing wasn’t that different from what those hot rodders had done as kids. Yes, the platforms were different, but the love of modifying cars was the same. It is a cycle that RJ sees continuing even today. “The very first article I was blessed to be featured in was one by Mark Vaughn for Autoweek,” said RJ. “It was called ‘Passing the Flames,” and in it, he said that there is this group of young, rebellious kids modifying and messing around with their cars, much like everybody who came back from the war had done with their muscle cars. They were just doing it on a different platform and recreating the idea of ‘hot rodding’ but with a different platform. We didn’t know it, but it was just fun for us. There is something about customizing your car that appeals to a great group of people that continues to happen over and over.” A Global Perspective Helps The jump to work for Meguiar’s was a big one for RJ. Owned by 3M, the car care company was part of a large multinational corporation. While that can be a negative for some, it was positive for RJ, as it helped him develop a global perspective and the ability to look at the big picture. “It really cut my teeth on what it means to work for a global Fortune 100 multi-national company. I think it really helped me get to my role now by having this perspective that is way more global and way bigger,” said RJ. “I can think at a different level, and I would have never really had that before, because I had consulted for bigger companies, but I was never in the trenches.” Timing is Everything The right timing has played a critical role in RJ’s career. From being in on the launches of Super Street magazine and “Fast and Furious” to joining Meguiar’s and SEMA, RJ’s timing has been spot on. However, it hasn’t been random strokes of luck. Instead, making the right moves involves constantly envisioning what you want the future to be. “Being at Meguiar’s, I felt it was like time for a change. All roads in any big corporate company lead to its headquarters, and I just didn’t see myself in Minnesota, which is where 3M’s headquarters is,” said RJ. “I really wanted to stay in automotive, and a lot of the bigger roles were beyond Meguiar’s at the end of the day.” You Have to Adapt SEMA is the largest and most influential association for the automotive aftermarket, an industry undergoing significant changes. To keep its members ahead of these changes, SEMA has had to adapt and evolve as well. For RJ, changing as an association is just as important as evolving as a business. If neither adapts, they will all get left behind. “Change happens so much quicker than it did 30 years ago. I think that is something we (SEMA) are embracing more and more because we have to,” said RJ. “We have to change quicker, we have to evolve quicker. Sometimes we have to push some of our industry because there are people who don’t want to change. But for us to prolong this industry and continue to help our members and the businesses in it find success, we have to be that catalyst.” Get Your Ikigai On Ikigai is a compound of the two Japanese words “iki” and “kai,” which roughly translates to “a reason for living.” However, the concept of Ikigai builds on this translation by finding fulfillment through aligning one’s passion with their skills. For anyone looking to start their career, RJ notes that Ikigai is well worth exploring. “Everyone says to find your passion, but I think there is more to it than that. There is this philosophy called Ikigai. It comes out of Japan, and it is this idea that you merge your passion and your skill,” said RJ. “So, what do you love, what are you passionate about, what are you good at, what does the world need and what can you get paid for? My advice to people would be to find the center point of all of those things. If you love car culture, develop the right skill set in something that can help you make a living, which is hopefully something that this culture and world needs. I think that is where you find success.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.otsspodcast.com

    1h 4m
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About

This is the guiding principal behind most new businesses, the entrepreneurial "eat or be eaten" ethos that drives the builders, the doers and the risk-takers responsible for history's greatest brands and companies. www.otsspodcast.com

Information

  • Creator
    Kahn Media
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Kahn Media Inc
  • Show Website
    OTSS Podcast