The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts

The Making Of Alex Dixon: From Goldman Sachs to CEO of Resorts World Las Vegas

In this episode of The Making Of, I sit down with Alex Dixon, former CEO of Resorts World Las Vegas and former executive at MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment. Alex shares his journey from growing up in Las Vegas as a third-generation casino employee to working at Goldman Sachs in New York and London, where he advised on major deals including Disney’s acquisition of Pixar and multi-billion dollar financings. We dive into what it was really like helping build and operate massive casino properties including Horseshoe Baltimore, MGM Springfield, Circus Circus, and Resorts World Las Vegas. Alex also talks about leadership, scaling teams from a handful of employees to thousands, navigating private equity, economic development, casino operations, and the sacrifices required to rise through the gaming and hospitality industry. This episode is packed with insights on business, career growth, hospitality, finance, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to lead billion-dollar operations at some of the biggest names in Las Vegas.

The Making Of David Sauers: Building Royal Restrooms Into a Nationwide Franchise

In this episode of The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts, I sit down with David Sauers, co-founder of Royal Restrooms, one of the first luxury portable restroom companies in the country. David shares his journey growing up in Savannah, Georgia, working odd jobs as a kid, pursuing professional golf, getting into banking, and eventually building a nationwide franchise business after a frustrating experience at a local festival sparked an idea. We talk about entrepreneurship, risk-taking, franchising, balancing family and business, private equity interest, AI in marketing, and what it really takes to grow a company over 20+ years. David also shares lessons on leadership, sacrifice, branding, and why execution matters more than just having ideas. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, franchising, business growth, or hearing the real stories behind successful companies, this episode is for you.

In The Making Of: Jesse Choe

In this episode of The Making Of Hosted by Jack Pitts, I sit down with Jesse Choe, CEO and Co-Founder of Bidflow. He breaks down his journey from early startup experiments to raising $1M at 19, dropping out of college, and getting into Y Combinator. Jesse shares how his path started with building “fake startups” in high school, learning through failure, and eventually realizing the importance of customer validation and solving real problems. The conversation covers the pivots that actually mattered, the pressure of the YC process, and how rejection and iteration shaped his approach. They also dive into co-founder dynamics, burnout, and how they landed on Bidflow by focusing on a real pain point in electrical estimation. A grounded look at what it actually takes to build something from scratch and figure it out in real time.

The Making Of Shane Crocker: From Family Business to Multi-Industry Operator

On this episode of The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts, Shane Crocker shares his journey from growing up in a family business to building and operating across healthcare, oilfield services, and franchising. He breaks down how he approaches scaling in niche markets, making strategic decisions, and navigating private equity involvement from an operator’s perspective. The conversation also gets into leadership, risk-taking, and how he balances building businesses with family life.

The Making Of Dave “Laundromat Millionaire” Menz

Dave “Laundromat Millionaire” Menz didn’t start with much. He grew up in poverty in Flint, Michigan, wearing hand-me-down clothes and learning early that if he wanted something, he had to go get it. After spending 17 years in a stable corporate job, Dave found himself stuck, comfortable but unfulfilled. Instead of coasting, he made a bet on himself. Alongside his wife Carla, he saved aggressively, lived below their means, and bought a rundown laundromat that was losing money at the time. What followed was years of sacrifice. Working 90–100 hour weeks, reinvesting every dollar, and slowly turning broken businesses into profitable ones. No shortcuts, no outside capital, just grit and consistency. In this episode, Dave breaks down what it actually takes to build something from nothing, the risks most people avoid, and why delayed gratification is the real edge in business.