The Calling and the Climb

When Success Changes You: Taylor Kovar on Faith, Wealth, and Letting Go

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton sits down with Taylor Kovar for a conversation about faith, entrepreneurship, stewardship, and the deeper personal transformation that often comes with building and leading businesses.   Taylor Kovar is a CFP® professional, entrepreneur, and business leader who grew up in a converted barn where his parents taught him the value of hard work, faith, and serving others. Over the past two decades, he has built and led businesses across healthcare, finance, and technology, leading more than 300 employees along the way. Today, Taylor leads a wealth management firm, teaches Entrepreneurial Finance, and is the co-founder of BudgetGPT, a mission-driven financial tool designed to help families approach money with clarity and confidence.   In this conversation, Taylor reflects on two defining seasons in his journey: the shift from employee to owner, and the season after selling a business he had spent years building. He shares how carrying the weight of payroll, culture, leadership, and long-term decisions shaped him—and how letting go of a successful business forced him to wrestle with identity, purpose, and faith in a new way.   At the center of Taylor’s story is a powerful belief: wealth is ultimately about freedom—the freedom to serve well, lead faithfully, and walk through the doors God opens.   Learn more about Taylor and his work at GrowVia Group: https://growviagroup.com/

From Church Media to Professional Videography | Garet Maddox's Entrepreneurial Journey

What does it take to turn a childhood passion into a career? In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip sits down with videographer and entrepreneur Garet Maddox, founder of Cinemaddox. Garet shares how a love for making videos as a kid eventually grew into a professional career serving clients across music, sports, churches, construction, comedy, and film.   They discuss the realities of freelancing, building client relationships, overcoming perfectionism, and the lessons he's learning as a young entrepreneur. Garet also shares how his faith has shaped his journey and how some of the greatest opportunities in his career were doors he never could have planned for himself.   Whether you're a creative professional, entrepreneur, business owner, or someone trying to discover your calling, you'll find valuable insights in Garet's story.   About Garet Maddox: Garet Maddox is a full-service video producer and founder of Cinemaddox. His work spans a variety of industries including music, film and television, comedy, sports, construction, and churches. Through his work behind the camera, Garet has built a career helping organizations and individuals tell compelling stories through video.   Subscribe for more conversations with entrepreneurs, leaders, creators, and people pursuing their calling while navigating the climb of life and business. #Entrepreneurship #Videography #ContentCreation #CreativeEntrepreneur #Podcast #FaithAndBusiness #TheCallingAndTheClimb #Cinemaddox

From Filing Bankruptcy to Scaling a Billion Dollar Business | Galen Walters Interview

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip sits down with entrepreneur, business strategist, and author Galen Walters to discuss his remarkable journey from financial collapse and bankruptcy to helping build and lead businesses that now serve grocery retailers around the world. Over more than four decades in business, Galen has founded multiple companies, navigated private equity transactions, led technology ventures across several continents, and developed management systems used by organizations ranging from corporations to churches. Today, he serves as Chairman of Relationshop and continues to mentor leaders, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations. Whether you're building a business, leading an organization, or climbing through a difficult season, Galen's story is a powerful reminder that failure does not have to be the final chapter. 🎙️ The Calling and the Climb is a podcast about entrepreneurship, faith, leadership, and the lessons learned along the journey to success.

Building A Multi Million Dollar Business From $600 | Ryan O'Neal Interview

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton sits down with entrepreneur Ryan O’Neil, founder of Curate, to talk about the real journey of building a business from the ground up. Ryan shares how he went from failed startup experiences to launching Curate from a simple hackathon idea with only $600, eventually growing it into a multi-million dollar company. This conversation dives into the highs, lows, risks, lessons, and mindset shifts that come with entrepreneurship while you’re still “in the fight.” Philip and Ryan cover a lot of topics from Learning through failure, Bootstrapping a startup with limited resources,  Building before everything feels perfect, and staying grounded during the climb Learn more about Ryan and Curate:  https://curate.co

From Worm Farmer to Founder of a 120 Employee Business | John Darby Interview

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton sits down with John Darby to explore what leadership looks like across multiple arenas—from public service to entrepreneurship to scaling mission-driven organizations. John shares insights from building businesses, leading teams of over 100 employees, and navigating the challenges of growth, culture, and responsibility. The conversation dives into what it really takes to lead well, how purpose and profitability intersect, and the lessons learned along the way.