Best Ben There Done Matt Podcasts (2025)

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How grow your firm through specialization with Joel Hughes 50:24

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1M ago50:24

50:24

Building a business involves making wise choices, focusing on what matters most, and driving long-term value. Joel Hughes, CEO of Rightworks, has guided his company from a niche QuickBooks hosting service to a comprehensive platform for accounting professionals. With a background in engineering and years of startup experience, Joel shifted to the a…

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The Power of Strategic Partnerships in Accounting with Alek Koenig 40:30

2M ago40:30

40:30

Scaling your business requires laser focus, strategic partnerships, and deep customer insights. Alek Koenig, CEO and Founder of Settle, has built his company by doubling down on what works, minimizing distractions, and embedding deeply within the customer’s operational needs. Starting his career at Capital One and Affirm, Alek transitioned from cor…

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Embracing AI in accounting with Ben Stein 50:33

2M ago50:33

50:33

Scaling a business isn’t just about growth; it’s about building the right systems and empowering your team to thrive. Ben Stein, CEO of Keeper, made the transition from fractional CFO to scaling a global business by focusing on efficiency, technology, and creating a culture of accountability.In this episode, Ben shares key lessons from growing Keep…

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Building a company, not a firm with Dave Olsen 51:48

3M ago51:48

51:48

Success in business hinges not only on numbers and processes but also on vision, strategy, and the right team. Dave Olsen, the CEO of Nimbl, discovered that true scaling requires more than individual effort. His journey from the Big Four to becoming a fractional CFO revealed that structuring a company for sustainable growth is crucial for creating …

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Leading the shift to AI-first accounting with Jody Padar 52:27

3M ago52:27

52:27

Building a successful firm requires more than just number-crunching; it demands foresight, adaptability, and a willingness to innovate. For the Radical CPA, Jody Padar, embracing the ever-changing landscape of accounting has been crucial. From pioneering cloud accounting to mentoring others in adopting technology, Jody’s career is a testament to tr…

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What Accounting Firms Can Learn from Orthodontics 40:17

4M ago40:17

40:17

Running a business takes more than just expertise—it takes vision, resilience, and the ability to adapt. For Dr. Christian Johnson, Board-Certified Orthodontist and Pediatric Dentist, that adaptability has been key. From balancing the demands of a student-athlete to launching her own practice while still working as an associate, she’s built a caree…

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Building a profitable firm you can grow with Joe Woodard 49:54

4M ago49:54

49:54

Running a firm takes more than expertise—it takes strategy, leadership, and the right mindset to scale. For Joe Woodard, CEO of Woodard, that mindset has been key. After starting as a practitioner, he built a career helping accountants break free from underpricing, inefficient processes, and technician thinking. He’s seen firsthand that success isn…

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How AI is reshaping accounting with Sasha Orloff 1:00:07

4M ago1:00:07

1:00:07

Accounting is no longer just about tracking numbers. It’s about delivering real financial insights, making better decisions, and shaping the future of businesses. For Sasha Orloff, CEO and Co-Founder of Puzzle, that future is AI-native. After years of working in fintech and scaling financial services, he saw firsthand how accounting could be transf…

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Breaking the Accounting Growth Barrier 0:51

5M ago0:51

0:51

Most accounting firms never grow past a few hundred thousand dollars. They get stuck in manual work and outdated processes, making it nearly impossible to scale. But what if you could break through that ceiling?For accounting firm owners looking to grow beyond seven figures, the challenge isn’t just getting there—it’s what comes next. In this episo…

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The roadmap to selling your business with Alexis Grant 47:36

5M ago47:36

47:36

Building a business isn’t just about hitting revenue milestones.It’s about knowing when to scale, when to sell, and how to maximize value. For Alexis Grant, Founder & CEO of They Got Acquired, the journey to helping entrepreneurs navigate acquisitions started with her own experiences selling two media businesses. She realized that many founders, es…

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The art of scaling with purpose with Abhik Pramanik 47:07

5M ago47:07

47:07

Entrepreneurship isn’t just about building a product. It’s about building a culture and a vision that lasts. For Abhik Pramanik, Co-Founder & VP of Engineering of Ashby, the journey to creating a company wasn’t a straight path. From working in visual effects at Industrial Light & Magic to the world of entrepreneurship, Abhik learned firsthand that …

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Scaling smarter, not harder with Wiley Jones 41:45

6M ago41:45

41:45

Turning challenges into opportunities is the foundation of every great business. Wiley Jones’s journey to entrepreneurship wasn’t driven by a dream to start a company—it was a relentless need to solve a problem. As CEO and co-founder of Doss, Wiley turned his background as an electrical engineer into a mission to address inefficiencies he encounter…

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A billion-dollar enterprise built on empathy and grit with Robert Irvine 59:21

6M ago59:21

59:21

A true leader leads with empathy, while a true entrepreneur perseveres with grit. In this episode, Robert Irvine, world-renowned chef, entrepreneur, and host of Restaurant: Impossible, has taken on the challenge of growing multiple businesses in diverse fields—from food to technology. With more than 8,000 employees and 14 companies, Robert shares t…

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What I learned about leadership in 2024 27:18

7M ago27:18

27:18

The journey to building and scaling a successful business is messy, challenging, and full of lessons. In this special episode of After the First Million, we reflect on the most impactful conversations from the past year, highlighting the key themes that define the entrepreneurial journey. A special thanks to our guests who joined us this year: Tiff…

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From 21 to 500 Employees: Lessons on Scaling with Chad Peterman 39:06

7M ago39:06

39:06

Writing down your vision sets the course, but communicating it is what gets everyone on board. Chad Peterman knows this well. As President and CEO of Peterman Brothers, he focused on building a strong company culture. This helped scale the family business from 21 employees to over 500 across four states—Peterman Brothers is now one of the fastest-g…

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Don't Let Life Happen To You 9:34

7M ago9:34

9:34

If you are anything like me, you can likely point to 3-5 decisions in your life that you are putting off for many reasons – one may include, what you think others will think about you and your decision. This is a guide on how to beat that desire and make life happen – instead of letting life happen to you. *** Welcome to Where We've Gotten So Far –…

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The lawyer who created a billion-dollar industry with Brian Powers 44:02

8M ago44:02

44:02

Scaling is simple: it’s about doing what works, over and over again. In this episode, Brian Powers shares how he applied this strategy to scale his company, PactSafe (now Ironclad), a tech startup that became a $15 billion market leader. He talks about the challenge of transitioning from a structured legal career to the unpredictable world of tech …

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Key characteristics of successful founders with Rich Hagberg 40:44

8M ago40:44

40:44

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” To succeed, founders need to keep on learning and evolving. Drawing from over four decades of coaching experience, Rich Hagberg breaks down the key traits that differentiate successful founders from unsuccessful ones. Rich also shares his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, and how he founded the Hagber…

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Leading as your authentic self with Adam Weber 42:18

9M ago42:18

42:18

Authentic leadership involves balancing composure with vulnerability. Like all founders, Adam Weber started out as a “clunky” leader, unsure of what strategies to use to rally his team. From his experience co-founding Bluebridge and Emplify (which was acquired by 15Five), Adam shares his growth as an executive, the challenges of building a transpar…

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The art of evolution and calculated risk with Sharon Rechter 27:15

9M ago27:15

27:15

Entrepreneurs never back down from challenges. We embrace it. In this episode, Sharon Rechter shares her challenging journey of starting her own cable network, First Media, while being dyslexic. Throughout our conversation, you’ll notice the prevalent theme of evolving as a company and adapting to change. Sharon shares lessons learned, like embraci…

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Building up a community while growing a company with Sims Foster 35:42

9M ago35:42

35:42

Success in entrepreneurship often stems from having a strong 'why’. For Sims Foster, his deep connection with his hometown drove him forward. In this episode, Sims opens up about his entrepreneurial journey, from selling door-to-door as a kid to managing Foster Supply Hospitality with his wife. He shares insights on balancing a day job while growin…

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Productivity Hack That No One Talks About 3:39

10M ago3:39

3:39

Be warned: You will get 2x more done using this technique. *** Welcome to Where We've Gotten So Far – follow our progress real-time while we follow yours! All our thoughts and actions are real time and happening at a moments notice. My name is Matt – I used to be fat, depressed, and addicted to porn. Now, I am 23, an associate at a premier venture …

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Finding your leadership groove with Lindsay Roselle 49:58

10M ago49:58

49:58

How hard can a business, and a baby, be? Lindsay Roselle, a seasoned entrepreneur and passionate advocate for high-achieving mothers, talks about her transformative journey through motherhood, where she faced the challenges of preserving her individuality and ambition, often intertwined with grief and self-abandonment. We'll also explore the disrup…

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From burnout to breakthroughs with Kevin Bailey 37:27

10M ago37:27

37:27

Much like athletes, business leaders need coaches to help them perform at their best. In this episode, Kevin Bailey talks about the exhilaration of early success and the immense pressure that can lead to burnout and imposter syndrome. Kevin shares his story of founding and scaling companies, dealing with burnout, and eventually transitioning to a f…

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Business success and boldly being yourself Lindsay Tjepkema 41:43

11M ago41:43

41:43

Understanding yourself is at the core of successful entrepreneurship. In this episode, Lindsay Tjepkema, former CEO and founder of Casted, shares her mantra of “being boldly yourself” through all the trials and triumphs of leading an organization. She recounts her experience leading a rapidly growing company through economic challenges and shares t…

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Being consistent and solving big problems with Dagan Xavier 41:25

11M ago41:25

41:25

Sometimes great ideas turn into companies simply because it’s the right idea at the right time in history. I’m joined by Dagan Xavier, the visionary founder of Label Insight, a pioneer in the food data industry, that was eventually acquired by Nielsen IQ. In this episode, Dagan shares his personal story of how he transformed a simple idea to help h…

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How success can look different with Jeremy Reymer 36:56

12M ago36:56

36:56

Entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money, it’s about solving problems. In this episode, Jeremy Reymer highlights the importance of connecting with your team, customers, and industry experts. He shares his journey from starting a small trucking company to transitioning to the tech industry with DriverReach. Throughout the conversation, you’ll …

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Riding two rollercoasters: work and personal with Devin Bramhall 41:52

1y ago41:52

41:52

Leadership is about responsibility, not approval. In this episode, Devin Bramhall talks about her journey as the former CEO of Animalz and the challenges that came with leading a marketing agency. She opens up about the tough calls she’s had to make and the inevitability of making decisions that won’t satisfy everyone. Her experience highlights the…

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Rebuilding and learning from failure with Steven Plappert 45:53

1y ago45:53

45:53

Do you have what it takes to start all over again? In this episode, we’re joined by Steven Plappert, the resilient entrepreneur behind Forecastr and former co-founder of FantasyHub. Steven opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of launching startups, the invaluable lessons learned from his humiliating public failure, and the role relationships …

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How Lee Rubin pivoted and built a top 10 fastest-growing tech company 41:02

1y ago41:02

41:02

How did the owner of an event planning agency transform her business into one of the top 10 fastest-growing tech companies? This is the journey of Lee Rubin, recognized as a 2023 Top 200 Female Founder, and the dynamic force behind Confetti, ranked #124 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. With a passionate team of 70 and a recent st…

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Mountain One vs Mountain Two Life 8:46

1y ago8:46

8:46

Have you ever gone hiking and come to find out what you thought was the top of the mountain, was just the start of another? That’s the topic of today’s episode - which mountain are you climbing? Mountain 1: Position, wealth, prestige, self-interest Mountain 2: Other-interest / other-centric, living your greater purpose, and matching the reflection …

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Introduction and Welcome 8:23

1y ago8:23

8:23

Welcome to the show! We hope to add atleast an ounce of positivity, encouragement, and other-centric advice to your life. *** Welcome to Where We've Gotten So Far – follow our progress real-time while we follow yours! All our thoughts and actions are real time and happening at a moments notice. My name is Matt – I used to be fat, depressed, and add…

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The impact of aligning your company with your values with Michael King 48:04

1y ago48:04

48:04

What happens when a nuclear engineer decides to redefine the finance world? This is the story of Michael King, a former Nuclear Engineer who became a visionary Fractional CFO. Michael's career has been marked by resilience and determination, transitioning from the disciplined world of the U.S. Navy to the dynamic field of finance. He founded KFE So…

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From trouble to triumph: lessons in resilience with Tiffany Sauder 49:25

1y ago49:25

49:25

What does it take to lead a company to success through turbulent times? In this episode, join Tiffany Sauder, CEO of Element Three and a 2018 40 Under 40 honoree, shares her journey of steering her company through two significant economic downturns and earning multiple spots on the Inc. 5000 list. Tiffany provides a candid exploration of her entrep…

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Embracing imperfection with Nick Smarrelli 51:10

1y ago51:10

51:10

How do you come to terms with the possibility that you might not be the ideal person to lead your company long-term? This is the story of Nick Smarrelli, a 10x Inc. 5000 winner and former CEO of GadellNet. During his time there, he helped them expand from 10 to over 200 employees. To say he successfully navigated the complex challenges of entrepren…

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Scaling to 500 and stepping down with Mark Caswell 41:02

1y ago41:02

41:02

Imagine starting your career thinking you want to be an engineer and becoming a CEO instead. This is Mark Caswell’s story. And in this episode, he shares how, during his time as CEO, Resultant acquired four companies, more than doubled its revenue, and expanded its team from 60 to nearly 500 employees nationwide. He walks us through his "messy midd…

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This is After the First Million 1:20

1+ y ago1:20

1:20

This is your destination for feeling empowered in building your business. These are the real, raw stories of entrepreneurs and business owners who have built their businesses through the messy middle of $1-50 Million, hosted by serial entrepreneur Matt Tait. Matt knows what it’s like to scale past the first million, and on this show he’ll be bringi…

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Design the Box w/ Tim Beattie 30:33

3y ago30:33

30:33

Having a hard time articulating your idea? Or are you hearing and idea for something that isn't quite detailed enough? We got a fun practice for you that will get your creative juices flowing like the magnificent salmon of Capistrano 😃 On this episode of OPP, we chat with Tim Beattie, Co-founder of Stellafai and visual practice warlock. Tim tells u…

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Metrics Based Process Mapping w/ Philip Double 20:40

3y ago20:40

20:40

Finding where to apply your creative thinking to either improve a process or digitize it into software can be challenging. There's often much confusion as to what the process even looks like in its entirety - confusion amongst even those who use the process daily! Yep - that happens a LOT, folks 😅 But what if you could map out a process visualize a…

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Alternative Worlds w/ Ben Tinker - and what the heck is a Graphic Facilitator?? 49:42

3+ y ago49:42

49:42

Ever feel like your team is stuck in its thinking? Having trouble doing big-idea ideation, and settling for small ideas that only result in incremental improvements? Wanna try to find that earth-shattering, futuristic idea that can capture the attention of your entire market? Well boy, do we have a solution for you 😃 Joining us on this episode is B…

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Icebreakers w/ Jen Brown 48:42

3+ y ago48:42

48:42

Icebreakers. Woof. We've seen them go well, and we've seen them...well....on the caliber of the Star Wars prequels. So what makes the good ones good and the bad ones bad? And what's the REAL point of icebreakers in the first place?? Do they even HAVE a point? SO MANY QUESTIONS! Joining us on this episode is Jen Brown, founder, facilitator, curricul…

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Definition of Ready and Done w/ Brian Tomlinson 44:25

4y ago44:25

44:25

What do you mean I need to write down what it means for work to be ready and done? That's pretty obvious, isn't it Klint?? Jeez, Klint... Well guess what? Klint is right. How your team defines work that is ready to be picked up and when exactly it is fully completed may differ from the team next to you...and it should! On this episode, Brian Tomlin…

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Lean Coffee w/ Prakriti Koller 49:08

4y ago49:08

49:08

We've all been there....stuck in a meeting where the agenda is boring and isn't discussing what we should REALLY be talking about... Well, good news! We got the fix with Lean Coffee! 😃 Joining us again with her energy, smarts, and passion for people is Prakriti Koller, North American Agile Lead at Red Hat. Prakriti walks us through how to facilitat…

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Affinity Mapping & Dot Voting w/ Jordi Calderon 47:01

4y ago47:01

47:01

Want a dead-easy way to organize information and collaboratively prioritize it? Yes. Of course you do. I do, for crying out loud... On this episode, Jordi Calderon, UX Consultant at Red Hat Open Innovation Labs, shows us a 1-2 punch for grouping information together and aligning on the most important insights/ideas for your team to explore first. F…

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Developer Empathy w/ Serge Dibao 41:43

4y ago41:43

41:43

Do all members of your team share equal time in the spotlight? Or do your developers seems to be marginalized when credit is given to the team? On this episode, Serge Dibao, Engagement Lead at Red Hat Open Innovation Labs, hits us with a thought-provoking episode centered on Developer Empathy. You learn what Dev Empathy is, why it's important, and …

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We're BAAAAAAAACK! 21:50

4y ago21:50

21:50

Well hey there! It's been a while! Did you forget what we looked like? We sure did....yeesh. But hey, we're back and we're ready to get back into the rhythm of exploring team practices together 😃 This time around we're gonna shake things up a bit....take a listen as we talk about how the show is going to evolve now that 2021 is upon us. And as alwa…

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CI/CD w/ Tyler Auerbeck 50:59

5y ago50:59

50:59

Why do so many teams wait to push an update until there's a huge amount of changes being made? That's just silly......silly, we say. Here's a pro tip - Small, regular code commits reduce the number of integration problems. That's what CI/CD is all about! On this episode, Tyler Auerbeck, Site Reliability Engineer at Red Hat Open Innovation Labs, dro…

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The Big Picture w/ Haitham Shahin 46:14

5y ago46:14

46:14

Wanna learn a dead-simple way to align your team on what your CI/CD pipeline will look like? AND create a visual to explain how everything works together to stakeholders? Well Haitham Shahein, Consulting Engineer at Red Hat Open Innovation Labs has got the answer for ya - The Big Picture 📸 The Big Picture is a practice that visualizes all the steps…

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Retrospectives w/ Mary Provinciatto 42:47

5y ago42:47

42:47

Constant improvement is something every team [should] strive for. Should. Seriously, they should....but how can you actually be intentional about it? Retrospectives - that's how! On this episode we are joined by Mary Provinciatto, Engagement Lead at Red Hat Open Innovation Labs, to discuss the power of retrospectives and the many forms in which the…

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T2R2 w/ Donna Benjamin 47:35

5y ago47:35

47:35

No, not that robot from a galaxy far, far away....this is T2R2! It's an online meeting method that encourages people to participate and respond in real time. It also helps make sure everyone who has something to contribute gets heard, with clear action items at the end. On this episode we are joined by Donna Benjamin, Asia-Pacific Engagement Lead a…