Think Business with Tyler

Vince Perri once brought in over $500K in a single year, and still found himself nearly broke. After scaling a public adjusting firm during a major hurricane surge, Vince assumed his CFO, COO, and CMO had everything under control. But the numbers weren’t adding up. Cash was disappearing, payroll was overwhelming, and his business was on the verge of collapse. What followed was a brutal wake-up call and a full reset. Vince took ownership, overhauled his systems, and rebuilt with a focus on simplicity, structure, and financial visibility. Now a certified business broker and exit strategist, Vince helps owners create businesses they can actually sell—or walk away from without regret. In this hard-earned, operator-level conversation, Vince shares: * How a high-income year still led to a cash crisis * Why trusting advisors too much nearly destroyed his business * The turning point that forced him to implement Profit First * How he rebuilt using SOPs, Loom, and team accountability * Why your business isn’t healthy if you can’t leave for 30 days * His method for creating “value clarity reports” before a sale * Why recurring revenue and owner independence drive valuation Key Lessons: Revenue Can Lie – Big income doesn’t mean you’re safe Blind Trust is a Risk – Understand your advisors or pay the price Process First, People Second – Don’t hire leadership without systems Owner-Dependent = Unsellable – Build it so it runs without you Information Should Be Timely – Late numbers aren’t helpful Host: Tyler Martin, Think Business Podcast Want a financial strategy that scales with your service business? Let’s talk: 📅 Book a Strategy Call [https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy] 🎧 Subscribe: ThinkBusinessWithTyler.com [https://thinkbusinesswithtyler.com] Follow Tyler: 🔗 LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinktyler] 📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thinkbusinesswithtyler] ▶️ YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@thinkbusinesswithtyler] 🎵 TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Aubrey Amatelli walked away from a toxic executive role, burned out and battling workplace harassment. A year later, she bootstrapped PayRio—a fintech startup focused on cannabis and alternative medicine payments—and hit profitability without taking a salary. As a single mom of three, Aubrey didn’t just build a company—she built a system designed to withstand chaos. No outside funding. No fluff. Just smart execution, relentless focus, and a culture her team now calls family. She now leads one of the fastest-growing high-risk payment processors in the country, recently earning “Best Place to Work” from Cannabis Business Times. In this real-world, founder-to-founder episode, Aubrey shares: * Why she left a C-suite role after hitting a wall with toxic leadership * How she bootstrapped with 1099 sales reps and kept costs lean * The playbook she used to become profitable in year one * What happened when a key partnership fell apart and cost her seven figures * How she treats contractors like full-time employees to drive loyalty * The system she built to manage culture and turnover as she scales * What she’s doing to prepare for federal cannabis legalization Key Lessons: Build Through Adversity – Your worst season can launch your best work Trust is a Growth Strategy – Aubrey hired people she already knew and built from there Run Lean, Not Bare – Focus on profitability before scale Culture Is Earned – Treat your people like people, not payroll Prepare for the Inevitable – Market changes are coming; build now, pivot later Host: Tyler Martin, Think Business Podcast Want a financial strategy that scales with your service business? Let’s talk: 📅 Book a Strategy Call [https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy] 🎧 Subscribe: ThinkBusinessWithTyler.com [https://thinkbusinesswithtyler.com] Follow Tyler: 🔗 LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinktyler] 📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thinkbusinesswithtyler] ▶️ YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@thinkbusinesswithtyler] 🎵 TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Matt Ebert opened his first body shop with $100K in credit card debt, no formal education, and no safety net. Today, he runs Crash Champions—one of the largest collision repair companies in America, with over 600 locations across 38 states. But Matt didn’t scale overnight. He bootstrapped for 15 years, maxed out SBA loans, stretched every dollar, and nearly lost everything trying to get past four shops. He didn’t bring on private equity to cash out—he used it to double down. In this episode, Matt shares what it really takes to scale a gritty, blue-collar business into a national powerhouse—without losing control, culture, or clarity. In this candid conversation, Matt reveals: * Why most businesses break at location #2 (and how he survived) * How he grew past cash flow hell and vendor delays * What he looked for in a private equity partner—and what scared him most * How he keeps culture strong at 600+ shops * Why staying founder-led gives him an edge * What he’s building toward now—and why he’s not slowing down Key Lessons: * Survival Comes Before Scale – You can’t grow what you can’t keep alive * Think Bigger, But Know Your Numbers – Dreams need discipline * Use Capital, Don’t Depend on It – PE should be a lever, not a life raft * Don’t Rob Peter to Pay Paul – Scaling can backfire without the right team in place * Founder-Led Still Wins – When you’ve done the job, people trust your leadership Host: Tyler Martin, Think Business Podcast Want a financial strategy that scales with your service business? Let’s talk: 📅 Book a Strategy Call: https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy [https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy] 🎧 Subscribe: ThinkBusinessWithTyler.com [https://ThinkBusinessWithTyler.com] Follow Tyler: 🔗 LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinktyler] 📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com] ▶️ YouTube [https://www.youtube.com] 🎵 TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Eric Malka crossed the border at 17 with no green card, no college degree, and just $100 in his pocket. Twelve years later, he sold his luxury grooming brand, The Art of Shaving, to Gillette in one of the most unexpected strategic exits of the decade. What started with a 250-square-foot NYC shop and a few products on consignment turned into a globally recognized brand that redefined men’s grooming. But Eric didn’t just build a business—he built a playbook on grit, execution, and staying calm when everything’s on the line. From dodging shady vendors to navigating the 2008 financial collapse mid-acquisition, Eric’s journey is proof that bootstrapped brands can still win big. In this no-fluff, straight-shooting episode, Eric shares: * How being broke and undocumented shaped his entrepreneurial mindset * Why he started with $12K and a tiny store before chasing scale * The newspaper article that 20x’ed his revenue overnight * What happened when a key supplier tried to blackmail him for equity * How he built an entire new product line in secret * What drove his decision to sell during the Great Recession * The most common mistake he sees new founders make today Key Lessons: Execution is Everything – Ideas are cheap, but execution is what builds empires Start Small, Think Big – Small, profitable wins compound fast when paired with bold vision Don’t Chase More – Know when “enough” gives you freedom and take it Vendors Aren’t Partners – Protect your leverage and be ready to pivot fast Build for Pressure – Your calm under fire will define your success Host: Tyler Martin, Think Business Podcast Want a financial strategy that scales with your service business? Let’s talk: 📅 Book a Strategy Call https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy [https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy] 🎧 Subscribe: ThinkBusinessWithTyler.com [https://www.thinkbusinesswithtyler.com/] Follow Tyler: 🔗 LinkedIn [http://linkedin.com/in/thinktyler] 📸 Instagram [http://instagram.com/think_tyler] ▶️ YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@thinktylercfo] 🎵 TikTok [http://tiktok.com/@thinktyler] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

William Holsten went from corporate marketer to carnival game inventor—then turned failure into a business-saving framework that’s helping founders avoid costly mistakes. What started as a fun idea to support a charity carnival became Pitch Burst, a hit water balloon game that gained national attention. But behind the scenes, poor materials, refund requests, and engineering missteps nearly tanked the business. Rather than quit, William went back to the drawing board—and created a smarter way to build and scale. He turned hard-won lessons into a repeatable system: one that’s now captured in his book Uh-Oh: Avoiding Dumb Mistakes in Business, and shared with founders across the country through his work as a SCORE mentor. In this honest, tactical episode, William shares: * The product launch mistake that wiped out his capital * His 5-part decision tree for what to do when things go wrong * Why most “testing” isn’t nearly enough * How he sold his patent and walked away whole * The power of pre-mortems, quitting coaches, and self-assessments * Why optimism can blind entrepreneurs to early warning signs * The one question from his son that changed everything Key Lessons: Test Like It’s Life or Death – Real-world stress testing beats optimism every time Decide Smarter – Use William’s five paths to respond to failure: fix, pivot, quit, accept, or ignore (spoiler: never ignore) Learn Before You Leap – Pre-mortems and customer journey maps help avoid “uh-oh” moments before they happen Get Out With Grace – Even struggling businesses can sell—if you structure the deal right Mentorship Is Free—Use It – The smartest founders ask for help early and often Host: Tyler Martin, Think Business Podcast Want to build a business that avoids dumb mistakes? Let’s talk: 📅 Book a Strategy Call https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy [https://calendly.com/tylermartin/strategy] 🎧 Subscribe: ThinkBusinessWithTyler.com [https://www.thinkbusinesswithtyler.com/] Follow Tyler: 🔗 LinkedIn [http://linkedin.com/in/thinktyler] 📸 Instagram [http://instagram.com/think_tyler] ▶️ YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@thinktylercfo] 🎵 TikTok [http://tiktok.com/@thinktyler] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]