Jack Hoss of Apleo Pins Fargo Small Businesses to the Top of Local Search While Dodging AI Slop

Jack Hoss of Apleo Pins Fargo Small Businesses to the Top of Local Search While Dodging AI Slop

Jack Hoss, founder of Apleo, joins Conrad Fargo for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, local SEO, artificial intelligence, and why the future of business may be more local than ever before. After years building marketing systems, investing in real estate, launching a nationally recognized podcast, and working with businesses across the country, Jack explains why he intentionally shifted his focus back to helping Fargo-Moorhead businesses grow.The discussion explores how local search has become one of the most valuable marketing channels for small businesses, why Google Business Profiles often matter more than social media, and how data can reveal what customers are actually searching for instead of what business owners assume they want. Jack shares real examples of helping local businesses dramatically increase visibility by following the numbers rather than intuition.Conrad and Jack also dive into AI, automation, and the growing wave of "AI slop" flooding the internet. Rather than rejecting technology, they argue that responsible use of AI should free business owners to spend more time building authentic, face-to-face relationships. The conversation expands into networking, lead generation, follow-up systems, entrepreneurship, momentum, productivity, and why locality may become an increasingly valuable competitive advantage.Along the way, Jack shares his entrepreneurial journey from Microsoft employee to real estate investor, podcaster, marketing consultant, and founder of Apleo. He discusses the influence of Rich Dad Poor Dad, building House Dudes, adapting after COVID, and learning to pivot by listening to the market. The episode concludes with a look at his newest community-focused project, a directory designed to strengthen connections between local businesses and networking organizations throughout the Fargo-Moorhead area.If you're a business owner, entrepreneur, marketer, realtor, or simply curious about where AI and local business are headed, this conversation offers practical insights alongside an honest look at building businesses that thrive through genuine human connection.

Aaron Templin Cultivates Community Through Front Street Taproom, The Cellar Comedy Club, And Risk

What does it take to build a bar from a vacation daydream into a ten-year Fargo institution? Aaron Templin, proprietor of Front Street Tap Room and Cellar Comedy Club at 614 Main Avenue, sits down with Conrad Fargo to unpack exactly that. Aaron's path runs from an accounting degree at Concordia College to managing 60 part-time employees at the Scheels Arena by his mid-twenties, before quitting, taking a trip to St. Petersburg, Florida with then-wife Lindsay, and returning with a bar concept inspired by a local-only Florida tap room. Back in Fargo, Aaron navigated the city's restrictive beer and wine license cap and eventually landed in the former One World Boutique space on Main Avenue, financed by Bell Bank after pitching nearly a dozen lenders. Front Street opened in October 2016 with a strictly Minnesota and North Dakota tap list. By March 2018, opportunistic buys at closing-venue auctions from places like Ushers helped Aaron furnish and launch the Cellar Comedy Club downstairs on the cheap. Today the Cellar drives most of the revenue through private events and live comedy. The conversation also covers the Peter Principle, what it actually means to step back from your own business, a brief detour into industrial hemp processing in Wahpeton, and why community may be the thing Fargo needs most right now.

Edison Arauz Bootstraps Edison Chiropractic from Nicaragua's Civil War Zone to Downtown Fargo

Conrad Fargo sits down with Dr. Edison Arouse, owner of Edison Chiropractic in downtown Fargo, to unpack a remarkable life journey that spans continents, conflict, and calling. Located at 624 Main Avenue near Rhombus Pizza, Salon Duo, and Seller 624, Edison Chiropractic blends chiropractic care, acupuncture, and elements of traditional herbal medicine into a personalized healing experience.Dr. Arouse shares his early childhood escaping Nicaragua during the Iran-Contra conflict, traveling through Central America as a young boy with his mother in search of safety and a better life in the United States. That experience, combined with the compassion of a Dallas physician who treated his family despite their financial struggles, planted the seed for his future in healthcare.The conversation moves through his unconventional path—from a promising chemistry internship to a desire for adventure that led him into the U.S. military as a combat medic, and eventually toward chiropractic and acupuncture after witnessing the limitations and stress of traditional medical systems. Along the way, Edison reflects on mentorship under Dr. Scott Varley and Dr. Guo, a seventh-generation acupuncturist, and how those influences shaped his integrative approach to healing.They also dive into the realities of running a solo practice, the importance of networking groups like Fargo Givers, and what makes Fargo a unique place to build a business. Edison emphasizes patient choice, offering chiropractic, acupuncture, or both depending on individual needs, while maintaining a philosophy rooted in faith, perseverance, and continuous forward motion.This episode is a raw and inspiring look at what it means to endure, adapt, and ultimately serve others through your work.

David Kawasaki Empathizes With Divorced Dads, Builds Forgotten Purpose Amid PTSD And Custody Wars

The episode opens with Conrad and David unpacking the difference between empathy and sympathy, a discussion that sets up everything that follows. David is a fourth generation veteran who deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and later served in Washington DC. He came home carrying PTSD that took years to surface, while his then wife was recovering from a concussion that ended her medical school career. The marriage unraveled, and what followed was a custody battle David says exposed deep flaws in how North Dakota family courts treat fathers, especially veterans labeled unfit simply for seeking PTSD treatment. Out of that pain, David and his wife built Forgotten Purpose, helping divorcing parents and neurodivergent families through mediation and plain spoken guidance built around one question, how will this affect the kids. David explains how he started by replying to strangers in Facebook groups like Divorced Dads Need Help, fielding hundreds of messages from people burned by expensive lawyers, and turning those conversations into clients with signed agreements of service. He talks candidly about raising five kids, the prejudice fathers face in family court, his conversation with Ty Groomer about changing the system, and an AI tool he is building to help people organize their own cases. Conrad and David also trade thoughts on philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and what it really means when two people disagree. The hour closes with David sharing why he and his wife always leave a light on in their home for anyone who needs a safe place to land, the inspiration behind the closing song, Tom Walker's Leave A Light On.

Zach Landry Questions Everything from Health, Labs, to Root Causes at The Wellness Way in Fargo, ND

Conrad sits down with Zach Landry, owner of The Wellness Way Fargo, to unpack a very different approach to chiropractic care and whole-body health. Instead of quick adjustments and short visits, Zach and his team spend the majority of their time analyzing lab work, reviewing blood panels, and helping patients understand the deeper “why” behind chronic symptoms. From hormone testing and food sensitivities to stress patterns and environmental exposures like mold, this conversation dives into what it means to look beyond surface-level treatment and focus on root causes.Zach shares his personal story of severe illness during chiropractic school, where he experienced full-body inflammation and was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune conditions. After traditional routes offered little resolution, his path led him to The Wellness Way model, where a combination of strict dietary changes, targeted supplements, and lifestyle adjustments helped him recover and ultimately shaped the way he practices today.The discussion also explores the realities of launching a business from scratch in Fargo, building a client base through social media and networking, and how a franchise model provided structure while still allowing independence. Along the way, Conrad and Zach debate the role of insurance, the complexity of the supplement industry, and why modern stress and environmental factors may be driving widespread fatigue and chronic illness.