Elk Ridge CEO, Lame Kinikini: The Creative Finance Playbook That Built a $75M Portfolio

5th Quarter Podcast Steve Harward Full Episode

Steve Harward is the founder and CEO of Prime Corporate Services, a company he built to over nine figures in annual revenue. No paid advertising. No aggressive sales tactics. No cold outreach. Just relationships. In 13 years, he's gone from a barely-made-it-through-high-school kid from a trailer park to running a business that fields 400–600 one-on-one sales appointments a day — built on a philosophy he calls "Win by Giving." He started the company with his mom and two brothers. They're still there. He got up at 5 AM in Utah to be here. In this episode, we get into: "Win by Giving" — the philosophy behind a nine-figure company built entirely on relationships, and where it actually came from (hint: it's a trailer park in Utah and a single mom) What Win by Giving looks like on a Tuesday morning inside Prime — and why it's not abstract, it's operational "Heart spark moments" — the listening technique behind every major partnership Steve has ever built Why most people stay transactional — and the "dark rabbit hole" that keeps them there The dark season: divorce, two little boys aged two and three, a mattress on the floor, mornings he didn't get out of bed The strategic decision that saved him: renting an apartment with a bedroom window that looked directly into Prime's parking lot "I ran my support email for seven years — all the way up to $27 million in annual revenue. It would ding at 2 AM and I'd respond within seconds." Starting a family business with his mom and two brothers — including the UFC fights that broke out in the office The mastermind unlock: a $40,000 investment, a room called War Room, goggles off — walked in with 7 partnerships, left with 14 "I'm working harder today than I've ever worked in the history of this business" — what momentum looks like at nine figures His go-kart interview test: "I got two go-karts in the parking lot. Want to race?" "I lost 6,000 contacts overnight" — and the unexpected beauty he found in it Building trust at scale: his "love bomber," anniversary meetings that make employees cry, and why fake is the one word that will never be used in a sentence about him Nolan at Legoland: a nine-year-old tracks down a kid in a wheelchair to give him his stuffed animal — and what Steve says when Bilal asks about legacy The Randy story: chartering a helicopter, flying to Sugar City, Idaho, filming a dying man's last words as a gift — and the picture he still looks at on his phone Steve gets raw about the divorce that nearly took him under, the "dark rabbit hole" of transactional business thinking, and why he believes the people who've made his dreams come true create an obligation — not a comfort. We go deep on what it costs to give at scale, how to listen so well you know what matters to someone before they've told you, and what a nine-figure relationship business actually looks like from the inside. Move with clarity. Build with soul.

How This Founder Made and Lost $1.2M By His 21st Birthday, Jeremy Newsome, RealLife Trading

Jeremy Newsome is the founder of RealLife Trading, one of the largest trading education platforms in the world, teaching hundreds of thousands of people how to trade safely. At age seven, he watched Forrest Gump, sold blackberries door to door, saved $1,300, convinced his dad to match it, and bought Apple stock. That investment would be worth $40 million today. He turned $400K into $1.2M trading silver by age 20 — then lost it all on his 21st birthday. He's completed three Ironmans, co-hosts the Broke to Awoke podcast, and sits on the board of Aerial Recovery, the world's largest anti-human trafficking organization, which has saved over 8,500 children. In this episode, we get into: - How a seven-year-old watched Forrest Gump and saw a roadmap to financial freedom — "we don't have to worry about money no more" - The blackberry hustle: shirtless, no shoes, Georgia summer, $1,300 in Ziploc bags sold door to door - His dad's investing lesson that still holds: "If revenue is increasing, the stock price will go higher over time" - The $40 million mistake — selling Apple in 2000 and never reinvesting - Turning $400K of other people's money into $1.2M trading silver at age 20 - Buying silver at the highest price in human history with leveraged money — and losing $1.2M on his 21st birthday - "I didn't want to lose my dad's approval" — the spiritual root of why he held instead of cutting losses at $500K - "Financial freedom is second grade math repeated consistently" — 300 people x $167/month = $50K/month - Why triple partnerships never work — the math of two ganging up on one - "Don't give equity away" — the most expensive lesson entrepreneurs keep repeating - Paying $1,000/hour for a business coach when he was broke — and why it changed everything - "Money cannot buy a finish line" — why physical discipline is the key to trading discipline - 14,200 jump ropes in 14 hours straight — the migraine, the puke, and why he'd do it again - "The brokenness of any country is in direct proportion to the brokenness of its men" - Aerial Recovery: repurposing special forces veterans to save children from sex trafficking across 16 countries - 8,500+ children saved — the largest anti-human trafficking organization in the world - "There's no one else saving kids with their trading profits" — why he's playing a different game Jeremy gets raw about the father wound that caused his biggest financial loss, the business partner divorces that ripped out his heart, and why he believes most men are broken and settling. We go deep on the spirituality of money, why your happiness is a non-negotiable business strategy, and how he went from a kid who didn't want to worry about money to a man who uses trading profits to save children from trafficking. Move with clarity. Build with soul.

Elk Ridge CEO, Lame Kinikini: The Creative Finance Playbook That Built a $75M Portfolio

Lame Kinikini is the founder and CEO of Elk Ridge Investments, an alternative investment firm managing over $75 million across real estate, short-term rentals, creative finance, and asset-backed lending. He's closed more than 200 creative finance deals, built Elk Ridge into an eight-figure company in under five years, and now mentors over 100 students through his Fearless Investors community. But he didn't start with money — he started knocking doors. In this episode, we get into: - From $40K summers to six-figure seasons — how door-to-door sales at Vivint built the mental fortitude behind everything - "Tell me I can't" — the Michael Jordan quote on his wall and the mindset that let him close his first creative deal with zero experience - 50 properties in 5 months — the hockey stick that started with one bad deal he still holds today - Why his first creative finance deal lost him money — and why he calls it tuition, not failure - The 2023 crash: 48% supply influx, rates through the roof, burning cash month to month — and the pivot that saved everything - Creative finance as the cheat code — how a blended 4% rate across his portfolio made him profitable when everyone else was drowning - $1.4 million in quantifiable losses — and the unquantifiable cost of depression, firing people, and sleepless nights - "I've never been a depressed person" — the Thanksgiving he woke up and regretted it, and why he'll never dismiss mental health again - The wrong partner who almost derailed everything — and the right one who helped them pass last year's numbers by midsummer - "The cheapest you'll ever get great talent is today" — why tripling payroll doubled revenue - His dad's line: "When you don't give when you have nothing, you'll never give when you have everything" - Date nights as competitive advantage — why Tuesday and Thursday with his wife is his most dangerous business habit - "Money increases your capacity to serve" — the spiritual operating system behind the portfolio - Why enough stopped being about material things and became about legacy that never runs out Lame gets raw about hitting rock bottom in 2023, the depression he never thought he'd experience, and the business partner betrayal that almost broke him. We go deep on creative finance mechanics, why your spouse is your greatest business asset, and the moment he realized wealth was never about the portfolio — it was about how many people he could serve. Follow Lame: @lame.kinikini Move with clarity. Build with soul.

"Once You Do This, You Become Unstoppable": Jess Mah, 9-Figure Founder & Venture Studio CEO

Jess Mah built a six-figure business in middle school, dropped out of high school at 15, and at 19 became one of the youngest women accepted into Y Combinator. On paper, she was a Silicon Valley prodigy — Forbes and Inc 30 Under 30, venture-backed, scaling fast. But in 2012, the bank balance was heading toward zero, the product wasn't working, and she fired her team just to survive. She rebuilt inDinero into a hundreds-of-employees company at a nine-figure valuation, stepped out of the CEO seat on her own terms, and now runs a venture studio building companies across AI, fintech, and bioelectrical therapies targeting cancer. She's also the youngest graduate of the Harvard President's Program. In this episode, we get into: - Forbes 30 Under 30 while burning cash — the gap between perception and reality in 2012 "- I was bottom quartile intelligence, but the most creative and hardest working" — leaning into what you're actually good at - The Steve Blank advice that changed everything: people don't buy tools, they buy outcomes - Firing friends — why she's done it dozens of times across multiple companies and how she structures it differently now - "Even Fortune 50 CEOs tell me they should have fired that person a year earlier" — why no one outgrows this mistake - Stepping out of the CEO seat during COVID — and why she didn't lose her identity doing it - EMDR therapy as an entrepreneur's secret weapon — "You would be unstoppable" - Building from desire vs. brute force — how her approach to starting companies has fundamentally changed - The apprentice model: what she would have done if she couldn't start a company — work for Richard Branson for free - Why short-term relationships are like day trading stocks — you don't get compounding returns - Twice-a-week check-ins with every team member for the first 30 days — her highest-leverage use of time - Playing the long game: the people who look wrong on paper but work with you for 25 years Jess gets raw about the loneliness of being a kid programmer before coding was cool, the weight of public accolades when your company is dying, and the psychological game that separates builders who last from those who don't. We go deep on inner game — meditation, somatic therapy, EMDR — and why she believes 50% of entrepreneurship is working on yourself. She makes a compelling case that the founders who win aren't the smartest, they're the ones who build environments where everyone around them gets to create something awesome. Follow Jess: @jessmahofficial Move with clarity. Build with soul.

Building The First AI Native Holding Company: Infinity Constellation CEO, Brennan Pothetes

Brennan Pothetes is a fintech operator who built and sold Butter Insurance to Odeko, then got tapped to create something that's never been done before — the first AI native holding company. Infinity Constellation launched in May 2025 with $17 million, eight AI companies already post-revenue, and a thesis that the entire venture model is broken. He calls it Y Combinator meets Berkshire Hathaway. In this episode, we get into: - Why he believes too much capital has killed more companies than it's helped - "Headcount kills" — the core pillar that makes his CEOs solve with technology before people - One engineer built a marketplace system in 28 days that used to take 18 months and $20M - Y Combinator meets Berkshire Hathaway — why he took pieces of both and rejected the rest - Starting companies for $250K–$500K and getting to $1M ARR before deploying real capital - The biggest company in the portfolio: $300K invested, almost $6M in contracted ARR - 25% equity guaranteed at $1B EV — the incentive structure that aligns founders, investors, and LPs all the way down - Why he doesn't do one-on-ones — and what Jensen at NVIDIA taught him about information flow - The burnout story: 70+ cold calls a day for 8 months, couldn't get off the couch, and his wife asked "Do you want to be the CEO of an insurance company?" - "If you're burnt out, you're not loving what you do" — the controversial take on founder burnout - Speed is the ultimate moat — why he'd 100x his pace if he could - The $2 trillion service economy reshuffling for the first time in 200 years - Autonomous CEOs — the experiment he's already running - Planning for IPO, not exit — why Constellation Software and Berkshire are the models Brennan gets raw about selling a company he'd fallen out of love with, the identity shift from first-time founder to holdco CEO, and why the founders who win aren't the ones with the most capital — they're the ones who love the game. We go deep on incentive design, the trust curve of AI adoption, and why the tech moat every VC is chasing might not exist in 5 years. Follow Brennan: @brennanpothetes Move with clarity. Build with soul.