What if the fastest way to grow your business isn't through better ads or more AI tools, but through the courage to actually be seen? On this episode, Matt Wolfe and Orsi Herbein welcome Alex Kuhn, founder of All In, for a conversation about why human connection, partnership, and being the face of your brand might be the real unlock for scaling a service-based business.

Highlights

• Alex Kuhn shares his childhood dreams of being a professional baseball player and a motivational speaker, and how those early inspirations shaped his coaching style today
• Why access to a network isn't enough — Alex breaks down the difference between "access" and "activation" in partnerships
• The four questions behind Alex's "All In" methodology and why frameworks beat step-by-step systems
• Why niching down (into a personality, not just an industry) unlocks more opportunity than trying to serve everyone
• Alex's take on AI: it will amplify human connection for those who nurture it, and leave behind those who don't
• The story behind Alex's "hidden opportunity" moment, his biggest business failure, and how it led him to trust his gut and act fast
• Why "second contracts" (81% client retention) is the only metric Alex really tracks
• A fun, personal Behind the Brand Q&A covering karaoke songs, morning routines, and the moment that changed the course of Alex's life

Chapters

0:00 – Intro & Welcome

1:20 – Meet Alex Kuhn

5:12 – Alex's Origin Story

7:58 – What All In Does

12:27 – Human Connection vs. AI

16:16 – Access to Activation

19:23 – Hidden Opportunity and Niching

26:03 – FOMO and Going Narrow

30:54 – Heart for Service

35:46 – Values and Scaling Tension

37:13 – Values Set Boundaries

38:00 – Intuition Over Logic

39:20 – Failures and Ownership

41:26 – Decide Fast, Go Now

42:35 – Frameworks Not Systems

46:18 – Perfection Myth

48:42 – Behind the Brand Quiz

58:33 – Success Means People

• 1:01:42 – How to Reach Alex
• 1:02:51 – Scale Beyond Referrals

Resources Mentioned

• All In — allinworldwide.com
• Scale Beyond Referrals — scalebeyondreferrals.com

The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.

The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co

What if the secret to scaling your business isn't about selling harder, but about serving better? On this episode, Matt Wolfe and Sarah Pattisall sit down with Dusty Holcomb, CEO of The Arcqus Group, to unpack a career built on one deceptively simple idea: leadership isn't about you. Dusty shares how a 23-year-old version of himself learned that lesson the hard way, why he reframes "sales" as "service," and how the ability to say no to the wrong clients is often what protects your ability to scale the right way. Along the way, they dig into brand story as a culture catalyst, the leadership operating system Dusty built from decades of hard-won lessons, and why clarity — not execution — is where real growth begins.

Highlights

• Dusty's childhood dream was to be a cowboy or a game warden — and he argues leading people isn't all that different.
• The core leadership lesson that shaped his entire career: "It isn't about me."
• Extracting value is linear; creating value is exponential.
• Leadership is influence — helping people see what isn't yet created or possible.
• A five-question framework Dusty uses with CEOs, including the pivotal question: "Where do I fit in?"
• Why story translates words into behaviors and moves people from "mercenaries" to "missionaries."
• The moment a team member called Dusty out at 23 years old — and how that became his first real lesson in clarity.
• A leadership operating system built on clarity, alignment, and execution — in that order.
• The story of turning down a big prospect because it wasn't the right fit, and why saying no protected the business.
• Reframing sales as service: "I'm not showing up to sell you anything, I'm showing up to serve you."
• Why relational value — introducing people with no expectation of return — creates a compounding flywheel of opportunity.
• Dusty's book-in-progress on how leaders can be more impactful in the age of AI.

Chapters

• 0:32 — Welcome and Teaser
• 2:57 — Meet Dusty Holcomb
• 3:20 — Cowboy Dreams Origins
• 6:11 — Service First Leadership
• 10:40 — Inspiration and Agency
• 14:47 — Story as Culture Catalyst
• 20:03 — Exceptional Service Framework
• 26:47 — Scaling Service Through Leaders
• 31:31 — Leadership Operating System
• 34:32 — Clarity Lesson Hard Truth
• 36:29 — Values Meet Actions
• 37:51 — Coaching And Blind Spots
• 39:08 — Brand Story Drives Scale
• 41:20 — Saying No To Grow
• 44:57 — Marketing With Discipline
• 47:47 — Sales As Service
• 52:10 — Relational Value Flywheel
• 56:35 — Behind The Brand Quiz
• 1:00:59 — Success Definition And Farewell

Resources Mentioned

• Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• Dusty Holcomb on LinkedIn
• The Arcqus Group
• My Rules of Engagement — myrulesofengagement.com
• Scale Beyond Referrals — scalebeyondreferrals.com

The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.

The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co

What if the biggest threat to your clients' life work isn't a bad market — it's a business that simply won't survive due diligence?

George Sandmann, founder and CEO of GrowthDrive, has spent decades building companies, crashing a few into the side of the mountain, and coming out the other side with a clear-eyed mission: help financial advisors equip the private businesses they serve to grow, scale, and actually succeed at transition. George is an attorney, a data geek, a passionate entrepreneur — and a self-described addict when it comes to helping people win. In this conversation, we unpack the staggering statistics behind business exits, introduce the concept of "strategic capacity," and explore why community, culture, and human connection are the real engines behind GrowthDrive's growth.

Episode Highlights

• 19 out of 20 businesses do not qualify to successfully complete an M&A transaction as currently run — and 75% of owners who do sell end up regretting it (per the Exit Planning Institute)
• There is approximately $10 trillion worth of businesses that need to transition, but only $2 trillion in available capital — making it literally market-impossible for everyone to sell to a third party
• George's "Clarity" technology platform helps business owners see exactly where they stand vs. best-in-class, and calculates a predicted transaction price — not just a value
• Strategic capacity is the true north star: a business's ability to predictably and sustainably grow free cash flow
• GrowthDrive operates as a "tiny giant" — just two core team members, with a dedicated offshore dev team and a self-sustaining advisor community that provides peer-to-peer support
• Culture isn't ping pong tables and pizza Fridays — it's the outward manifestation of what a business actually believes and how it operates
• Brand is the story. When that story is right, it doesn't just fix marketing — it rallies the team and transforms culture
• AI is accelerating a hunger for human connection, which is a massive advantage for relational B2B service providers
• GrowthDrive now grows almost entirely through referrals, having shifted away from traditional webinar and outbound marketing models

Chapters

0:00 – Intro & Meet George Sandmann

1:14 – Meet George Sandmann (pre-interview debrief with Holland)

4:38 – Human Opening Question

4:38 – From Law to Startups

5:30 – Mission & Market Data

9:31 – Advisor Model Explained

9:51 – Entrepreneurial Addiction

11:41 – Community Builder Role

12:48 – Clarity Tech Platform

14:47 – Exit Planning Hard Truths

17:55 – Who Should Call GrowthDrive

21:27 – Client Relationship Story

25:10 – Scaling High Touch Service

31:26 – Tiny Giant Team Model

34:21 – Brand Growth Basics

35:48 – GrowthDrive's Brand Story Evolution

36:30 – Strategic Capacity Category

37:45 – Culture Drives Brand

39:48 – StoryBrand & the Rallying Cry

41:47 – Attracting A-Players

42:48 – Scaling Culture Principles

44:48 – Marketing Shift & Referrals

47:23 – Human Moments in B2B

49:08 – Marketing Budgets & AI

51:33 – Behind the Brand Quiz

54:05 – Last Thing That Made You Laugh

58:44 – Legacy & Closing

Resources Mentioned

• GrowthDrive
• The Growth Driving Advisor: Proven Strategies for Leading Businesses from Stuck to Best in Class by George Sandmann
• Call Sign Chaos by General Jim Mattis
• Can I Borrow Your Car? by Mike Garrison

The CEO’s Heart for Service is a production of Brand3. If you’re a B2B service provider who delivers exceptional service but struggles to get your marketing to connect with the right people, find us at brand3.net. And sign up for our Brand3 Newsletter that only sends marketing insights worthy of your inbox - genuinely helpful stuff for the road ahead.

The CEO’s Heart for Service is also supported by Forge Podcast Company, a turnkey production solution for using podcasts to reach a wider audience, win new clients, and grow. Find them at forgepodcast.co