What happens when a “fake” business experiment accidentally becomes a multimillion-dollar company?

In Episode 86 of the KillerGrowth Podcast, Samuel sits down with Peter Kuhlman, founder of MinMax Games and owner/partner at DuPage Industries, to talk entrepreneurship, e-commerce, trading cards, collectibles, and the strange economics behind an industry built on scarcity, nostalgia, competition, and FOMO.

Peter grew up around DuPage Industries, his family’s appliance-installation-parts business. During COVID, with DuPage performing well, Peter and his brother wanted to diversify and learn business-to-consumer marketing.

Their idea was simple: open a “fake game store” and use it to learn.

Then MinMax Games did more than $1 million in sales its first year and roughly $3 million the next.

Peter explains how an e-commerce-first strategy helped MinMax grow, why the company doubled down on Flesh and Blood when competitors pulled back, and why investing directly in players, tournaments, and community became more valuable than traditional sponsorships.

Then the conversation goes deep into the trading-card economy.

Peter breaks down why opening packs combines elements of collectibles, investing, lotteries and FOMO; how influencers can move markets; whether cards should really be considered investments; and why he believes parts of the grading and resale ecosystem can artificially push prices higher.

They also discuss high-end collectors, buyback mechanics, market manipulation, PSA and Beckett grading, and what happens when people put serious money into collectibles they may not fully understand.

In this episode:

• Turning a “fake” game store into a real business

• $1M+ in first-year sales

• Why e-commerce changed the game

• Finding a niche with Flesh and Blood

• Community-building vs. affiliate marketing

• The psychology behind opening packs

• Trading cards as investments

• Influencers and collectible markets

• Grading, resale fees and rising prices

• When collectibles start looking like gambling

• Why execution matters more than a powerful brand

If you’re into entrepreneurship, e-commerce, Pokemon, Magic, Flesh and Blood—or simply fascinated by markets where cardboard can be worth thousands—this one gets wild fast.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

Who’s actually driving the massive growth in data centers?

According to Sam McVay and Tyler Norris, the answer is simpler than you might think: all of us.

In Episode 85 of the KillerGrowth Podcast, Sam and Tyler revisit the data center conversation as their hometown of El Dorado, Kansas prepares to vote on a proposed 10-year prohibition on certain large data centers and battery energy storage systems.

This isn’t their first conversation about the subject. But after months of research, conversations, community debate, and their involvement with El Dorado Forward, they wanted to explain where they stand, why they became involved, and what they believe communities should be asking before making long-term decisions about industrial development.

They discuss why they view the issue through the lens of economic development rather than simply being “pro-data center,” why regulation and negotiation matter, and why they believe good and bad projects can exist within the same industry.

The conversation also gets into water and electricity, Kansas data center policy, local infrastructure, tax incentives, NDAs, special-use permits, community trust, misinformation, and the fear people can feel when publicly taking a position on a controversial local issue.

And they return to a fundamental point: Netflix, cloud storage, AI, streaming, smart homes, security cameras, and countless other services people use every day require physical infrastructure somewhere.

In this episode:

• Why data center demand is growing
• Why Sam and Tyler became involved
• Economic development in small communities
• Water, power and infrastructure
• Regulation vs. prohibition
• Kansas data center incentives
• Why development projects use NDAs
• Data centers and consumer demand
• Community trust and misinformation
• Visiting a large data center in person
• Disagreeing without demonizing your neighbors

This is ultimately a conversation about more than data centers. It’s about how communities evaluate opportunity, manage risk, disagree constructively, and make decisions that can affect them for decades.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

Heath Jeppson’s books:

The Death of a BANANA Republic: https://a.co/d/06PUIKxh

The Cloud Has Hit the Ground: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H1QK3QTR

What if the debate over data centers is really part of a much bigger story about AI, energy, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and America’s future?

In Episode 84 of the KillerGrowth Podcast, Sam sits down with Heath Jeppson, cybersecurity analyst and author of The Cloud Has Hit the Ground and The Death of a BANANA Republic.

Heath’s career has taken him from the Marine Corps and industrial trades to FEMA disaster recovery, federal IT, industrial control systems, and cybersecurity work involving water, wastewater, power, and other critical infrastructure.

That background eventually led him into the rapidly growing debate surrounding data centers. Heath explains why he believes the conversation shouldn’t simply be “for” or “against,” but should focus on how projects are built, how much water and power they use, how infrastructure is protected, and whether developers become genuine long-term community partners.

They dig into America’s electrical grid, AI’s rapidly increasing computing demands, water and cooling technology, cybersecurity, community trust, and why Heath compares today’s AI competition to an arms race.

PEOPLE & RESOURCES MENTIONED

Chris Crosby / Compass Datacenters:

https://www.compassdatacenters.com/author/ccrosby/

Congressional testimony: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/SM/SM21/20260121/118870/HHRG-119-SM21-Wstate-CrosbyC-20260121.pdf

Kirk Offel / OVERWATCH:

https://kirkoffel.com/media/

Congressional testimony: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/SM/SM21/20260121/118870/HHRG-119-SM21-Wstate-OffelK-20260121.pdf

Mike Sarraille:

https://weareoverwatch.com/team/mike-sarraille/

Nicole Perlroth:

Black Hat keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C1UL5sO_ME

To Catch a Thief: https://www.rubrik.com/lp/to-catch-a-thief-podcast

Dr. Emma M. Stewart:

Black Hat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffsrRKE5j9s

DEF CON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=930l_omgN1w

Bryson Bort:

https://www.rsaconference.com/experts/bryson-bort

Hack the Plant: https://www.rstreet.org/issues/hack-the-plant-podcast/

Heath Jeppson:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heath-jeppson-cissp-362371163

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com