Episode 114: Ameen Nassiri, Founder & CEO, SPS Worldwide LLC

Episode 114: Ameen Nassiri, Founder & CEO, SPS Worldwide LLC

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Ameen Nassiri, founder and CEO of SPS Worldwide, shares the story of a company that grew from a catalog promotional products business into a specialized design, development, and manufacturing powerhouse trusted by some of the world's most demanding luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Prada, L'Oreal, Nike, and Bulgari. What began with a cold call to Boeing at age 24, fueled by nothing more than a shared love of the Flyers and the kind of fearless ignorance only youth can provide, evolved over 25 years into a firm renowned for fully custom promotional programs that go far beyond putting a logo on a pen. Ameen traces the pivotal moment he walked out of a job after a new CEO told him to remind clients how lucky they were to work with the company, and how a phone call to his father, a physician who believed that serving others is a privilege and not a power play, provided the $20,000 and the conviction he needed to start something of his own. The conversation covers two of the most instructive inflection points in SPS Worldwide's history: a deliberate and painful decision in 2014 to cut the company in half by eliminating two underperforming business lines in order to double revenue, and the post-COVID surge that sent orders flying in faster than the team could process them. Ameen discusses how investing in technology during the downturn prepared the company to scale without a proportional increase in headcount, how AI is now helping his team reclaim 10 hours a week without eliminating a single role, and why he believes the rise of artificial intelligence is actually intensifying the human desire for real connection, which is exactly what luxury retail has always depended on. His closing message for founders is as direct as the man himself: failure is only final if you quit, and the people who will be replaced are not those threatened by AI but those who refuse to learn it. Connect: Website: https://www.spsworldwide.com [https://www.spsworldwide.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameen-nassiri-2178018 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameen-nassiri-2178018/?isSelfProfile=false]

Episode 113: Chris Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer, VERITIV

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Chris Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer of Veritiv Packaging and Supply Chain Solutions, offers a rare inside look at how a nearly $7 billion specialty packaging distributor thinks and operates like an entrepreneurial solutions partner rather than a traditional distributor. With more than 1,000 sales reps, 121 distribution centers across North America, and a design team of over 120 packaging engineers, Veritiv serves businesses of every size by taking a total cost of ownership approach to packaging, helping customers reduce carrying costs, reclaim warehouse space, automate manual processes, and navigate the increasingly complex demands of major retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Target. Chris shares how Veritiv's just-in-time inventory model, co-packing and kitting capabilities, and deep supply chain expertise make the company far more than a vendor, positioning it as a strategic growth partner for the small and midsize businesses it serves. The conversation covers how Veritiv helps customers through both contraction and rapid growth, from redesigning cold chain packaging to hit a lower freight cost threshold to building custom retail displays for a brand making its first appearance on a Costco pallet. Chris also pulls back the curtain on Veritiv's AI Transformation Lab, where the company is deploying agentic AI to handle manual order entry, optimize logistics networks through digital twins, and build product recommendation engines that give sales reps instant access to solutions from 7,000 suppliers. He closes with a clear message for small business owners: find a packaging partner that goes beyond price, embrace AI before it becomes a competitive disadvantage, and build the kind of organizational resilience that lets you capture opportunity no matter what the market throws at you. Connect: Website: https://www.veritivcorp.com [https://www.veritivcorp.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismbradley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismbradley]

Episode 112: Alexander Tuttle, Founding Partner, Tuttle Yick LLP

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Alex Tuttle, founding and managing partner of Tuttle Yick LLP, shares the winding, self-made path that took him from a small town in Connecticut through law school in Washington, D.C., a master's program in real estate at NYU, and a series of increasingly specialized roles in construction and real estate law before landing in a cubicle in the Daily Planet building next to a stranger he met in a cab, who would eventually become his partner. Built entirely on word of mouth and long-term client relationships rather than advertising or transactional work, Tuttle Yick has grown into a 17-person boutique firm in New York City with three core practice areas: commercial real estate, construction law, and commercial litigation, along with a rapidly growing niche in the complex licensing agreements that govern construction access between neighboring properties in one of the densest cities in the world. The conversation explores the firm's evolution from a one-man operation where Alex touched everything to a multi-partner boutique navigating the real challenges of scaling systems, billing processes, and team redundancy, challenges that are common to every growing services business but particularly acute in law. Alex speaks candidly about how the pandemic turned out to be manageable because construction never stopped, and about how the firm is now grappling with one of the most honest questions in professional services today: what does AI actually mean for a business built on human expertise, confidentiality, and billable hours? He closes with a refreshingly grounded vision for the future, one focused less on headcount and square footage and more on keeping their eyes open to organic opportunity and rounding out the practice with complementary areas that can weather any economic cycle. Connect: Website: https://www.tuttleyick.com [https://www.tuttleyick.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adtuttle [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adtuttle/?isSelfProfile=false]

Episode 111: Bill Sowell, Founder & CEO, Sowell Management

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Bill Sowell, founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Sowell Management, shares how a career-defining decision to convert his personal financial practice to a fee-only model in 1995 set him decades ahead of an industry-wide shift that is still accelerating today. Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sowell Management has grown into a nearly $7 billion registered investment advisory firm built entirely on organic growth, serving fiercely independent financial advisors with a full suite of back-office, compliance, portfolio management, and business development support. Bill discusses how the firm's deeply consultative approach, treating every advisor relationship as unique as a fingerprint, has allowed Sowell to differentiate itself from competitors who force advisors into a rigid box, and how a landmark partnership with Merchant Capital now positions the firm to pursue an ambitious M&A strategy alongside its continued organic growth. The conversation covers two pivotal turning points in Sowell Management's history: a slow and painful 50% revenue contraction that forced the firm to stop fishing in one small pond and expand across the country's largest independent broker dealer networks, and an overnight transformation in early 2017 when a competitor's regulatory crisis sent a billion dollars in assets to Sowell's platform in a single quarter. Bill reflects candidly on the culture, people, and sheer determination that allowed the team to absorb that growth without losing a single advisor from the transition, and on what it has meant to build a company that both of his children ultimately chose to join on their own terms. With a goal of reaching $15 billion in assets within three years, Bill's message to the market is straightforward: if you care about your clients and your legacy, there is a conversation to be had. Connect: Website: https://www.sowellmanagement.com [https://www.sowellmanagement.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-sowell-0778a33b [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-sowell-0778a33b/?isSelfProfile=false]

Episode 110: Doug Niemeyer, President & General Manager, TexLynx Americas

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Doug Niemeyer, President and General Manager of TexLynx Americas, pulls back the curtain on the software that quietly powers global commerce, the barcode label design, print automation, and label management platform trusted by 750,000 companies across 170 countries. For 30 years, TexLynx has operated as the invisible infrastructure behind virtually every product that moves through a supply chain, from hospital medications to grocery deliveries to chemical containers, without ever taking a dollar of venture capital. Doug shares how he has spent 17 years building the Americas division from the ground up, starting as an account manager and cultivating a team whose average tenure rivals that of the company itself, and what it truly means to stay in your lane and be a mile deep and an inch wide in a market most people never think about until something goes wrong. The conversation explores how a 41-person team manages to serve a global customer base at scale by obsessing over service quality, including the deliberate and hard-won decision to answer every incoming support call with a live human being. Doug also discusses how supply chain disruption, reshoring, and rapidly shifting compliance requirements have brought barcode labeling from a background function to a boardroom conversation, and how TexLynx has positioned itself to capture that demand through education, automation, and deep customer partnerships built on trust. He closes with a powerful reminder for founders building in overlooked niches: resist the shiny object, partner with customers as if you truly have their best interests at heart, and be willing to tell them when they don't need to buy anything from you today. Connect: Website: https://www.teklynx.com [https://www.teklynx.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-niemeyer [https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-niemeyer]