What happens when a laid-off marketer, a former music teacher, and a chance meeting lead to a design and web agency? In this episode, Jason and Lisa Cerezo share how Neon Moth was built through partnership, necessity, and a deep commitment to serving small businesses well. You’ll hear how they grew from $300 websites to a dependable agency built on clarity, communication, and care.

Key Takeaways

• Their first client that helped them build dependable recurring revenue
• How clear content, honest expectations, and agreed boundaries keep projects on track
• Why being “penny wise and dollar foolish” can damage your work
• The relationship dynamics that make a husband-and-wife team succeed in business

Doing hard things isn’t optional in entrepreneurship, it’s the requirement. In this episode, Benjamin Behrooz, Founder of My1Brand, reveals why discomfort is the doorway to better leadership, stronger teams, and real creative excellence. You’ll hear how hardship shaped his career, how he builds empowered teams, and why great agencies must invest in doing things the right way instead of the easy way.

Key Takeaways

• Why embracing difficulty is essential to building long-term success
• The mindset shift that turns failure into forward momentum
• How to empower your team to make strong decisions without constant oversight
• What happens when agencies rely on “value-meal marketing” instead of true strategy

What happens when you pack a bag, buy a ticket, and bet everything on yourself?
In this episode, Nico Pisani, founder of White Canvas and Loop3, shares how one bold month in New York transformed his mindset, business, and approach to risk. From humble beginnings in Argentina to building two successful agencies, Nico’s story is a testament to action over perfection and the lessons that only failure and courage can teach.

Key Takeaways

• Why sometimes taking action without a plan is the fastest path to clarity and opportunity
• The hidden danger of growing too fast
• How learning through failure builds wisdom you’ll carry forever
• The importance of saying no to stay aligned with your bigger vision

Company: RicketyRoo

Guest: Blake Denman

Year Started: 2009

Employees: 11-25

Some stories start with ambition, this one starts with a crash. In this episode, Blake Denman, founder of RicketyRoo, shares how a near-fatal accident and a long recovery reshaped his perspective on business, leadership, and life.

Key Takeaways

• How trauma can transform the way you lead and make decisions
• The “User Guide” system RicketyRoo uses to strengthen remote culture
• Why self-awareness and communication beat rigid policies
• The surprising role anxiety plays in focus and performance
• How trust became the foundation of Blake’s agency environment

Company: Nopio

Guest: Piotr Nowak

Year Started: 2010

Employees: 11-25

What happens when a lifelong developer decides to step out from behind the code and build something of his own? In this episode, Piotr Nowak, founder of Nopio, shares his journey from being fired from a comfortable job to creating an international digital agency based in Poland. He reveals how embracing simplicity, culture, and clear purpose helped him transform complex projects into meaningful, lasting partnerships.

Key Takeaways

• Why getting himself fired became the best catalyst for Piotr’s entrepreneurial journey
• How simplifying services led to stronger results and happier clients
• The lessons learned from running a Poland-based agency serving U.S. businesses

Company: X Agency

Guest: Darwin Liu

Year Started: 2016

Employees: 1-10

Most people avoid embarrassment and failure, Darwin Liu trained for it. In this episode, he reveals how doing the uncomfortable on purpose helped him build a multimillion-dollar agency and stay sharp in an industry that's rapidly changing. You'll hear the mindset behind pushing limits, hiring struggles, and why boredom can be a sign of progress.

Inside this Episode:

• Why getting comfortable with embarrassment builds real confidence
• The difference between being an entrepreneur and running a company
• The critical stage where most agencies fall apart
• What happens when you build mental toughness instead of avoiding discomfort

Company: Dapper Codes

Guest: Kelly Gordon

Year Started: 2007

Employees: 1-10

Most agency owners don’t realize how long they’ve been operating in survival mode, it becomes default. In this episode, Kelly Gordon of Dapper Codes shares what it really took to move from reacting to everything to leading with intention. You’ll hear the turning points, the mindset shifts, and the cost of staying in “hard mode” too long.

Key Takeaways

• The unseen impact of staying in survival mode
• Why hard things take much longer than we expect
• How positioning evolves over time, not overnight
• The danger of selling services you shouldn’t
• What changes when vision finally replaces urgency

Company: Norbella

Guest: Stephanie Noris

Year Started: 2009

Employees: 1-10

Running an agency means solving problems every day, but what if one lesson could make most of them easier? In this episode, Stephanie Norris of Norbella shares how mastering tough conversations, focusing on people, and tackling root challenges have shaped her 16-year journey in business.

Key Takeaways

• Why learning to have difficult conversations solves more problems than any process or tool
• The pursuit of happy people and great work
• How focusing on team growth and culture leads to stronger client results
• Why chasing shortcuts often backfires