Rachel Wallis is a second-generation business leader, former CEO of Wallis Companies, and founder of The Sixth Level, a leadership and culture consultancy. During her tenure, Wallis Companies grew into a multibillion-dollar enterprise with fuel distribution, convenience retail, and car wash operations across the Midwest. Rachel is also the first woman to serve as President of the Missouri Convenience Store Association and is the co-author of The Sixth Level, a book focused on building thriving, human-centered organizational cultures. Her career spans hands-on operational leadership, large-scale acquisitions, board governance, and now executive coaching and consulting.

In this episode, Rachel and Raj explore leadership through the lens of culture, people, and long-term sustainability. Rachel shares insights on mental health and leadership, emphasizing the importance of seeking coaching and support just as one would medical care. The conversation dives deep into the convenience store industry, including data-driven decision-making, branding strategies, and the evolution of gas stations into experiential destinations—highlighted by the growth of Wally’s. Rachel also walks through the strategy and relationship-driven execution behind Wallis Companies’ most successful acquisition, her decision to step away as CEO, and the personal clarity that followed. The latter half of the episode focuses on The Sixth Level framework, its four core principles, and why modern organizations must adapt to what Rachel calls the “human potential era.” The episode closes with reflections on intentional leadership, presence, and integrating work and life with purpose.

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Website: https://www.sixthlevel.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-wallis-andreasson

Book: The Sixth Level

00:00 Introduction and Rachel’s background

01:51 Childhood and the origin story of Wallis Companies

06:31 Growing up in the business and early lessons at home

09:23 How the business scaled and the industry shifted over time

12:28 Leadership principles: humility, people, and relationships

15:06 Organic growth vs acquisitions and pivotal early deals

20:01 Real estate strategy and fuel distribution explained

23:54 Rachel’s path inside the company and becoming a leader

29:48 How Rachel learned: MBA, peer groups, coaches, consultants

32:56 Mental health, coaching, and why leaders should seek support

34:11 Data, promotions, and “secret sauce” in convenience retail

36:36 Convenience stores as destinations and the evolution of the experience

37:12 Wally’s: concept, differentiation, and expansion plans

42:02 The 2016 acquisition: strategy, relationships, and execution

49:03 Stepping away as CEO and transitioning to a new chapter

53:12 The Sixth Level: the book, culture flywheel, and core principles

01:03:24 Generational engagement, hybrid work, and the future of leadership

01:07:18 Closing lesson: intentional leadership and being present

01:10:11 Where to find Rachel and learn more about The Sixth Level

This podcast is brought to you by Storyboard Living.

If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email deals@storyboardliving.com

Connect with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/

#Leadership

#Entrepreneurship

#FamilyBusiness

#BusinessGrowth

#CompanyCulture

#ExecutiveLeadership

#WomenInBusiness

Shaun Hayes returns for his second appearance to share hard-earned lessons from a career that spans entrepreneurship, banking, and executive leadership. He’s an author and speaker who has built and scaled businesses, evaluated thousands of business plans, and brings a pragmatic operator’s lens to what actually makes companies succeed or fail. This conversation frames his newest book, The Green Choice, as a “gut-check roadmap” for newly minted and aspiring entrepreneurs who want real-world perspective rather than motivational slogans.

Across the episode, Shaun and Raj unpack the realities founders face when leaving “the mothership” of corporate structure: execution over planning, the infrastructure “step function” that forces constant reinvestment, and why cash flow (not just profitability) is the true survival metric in years 1–3. Shaun highlights common failure points—especially leases, poor financing structure, misunderstanding cash cycles, and underestimating the psychology of managing people. He also emphasizes the importance of mentorship, disciplined frugality early on, realistic expectations of team motivation, and the need to build a results-oriented culture. The conversation closes with actionable personal rules: do the tasks you avoid before 9 a.m., and do one uncomfortable thing every day.

Connect with the Host

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/⁠

Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-hayes-7a613813/

Timestamps

00;00;12 Why founders misjudge how badly others want to win

05;27;52 Why most businesses fail because of leases

09;07;13 How Shaun can read a business by its margins and rent ratios

14;12;56 Why business plans collapse the moment reality hits

18;10;05 The infrastructure “step” problem when scaling

24;31;44 The hard truth: not everyone wants success like you do

28;13;14 Why cash flow matters more than profit

34;14;44 The mindset shift from hourly pay to long-term payoff

43;09;49 Location traps and how bad real estate decisions kill growth

59;17;55 Two rules for success: before 9 a.m. and daily discomfort

#Entrepreneurship #SmallBusiness #BusinessStrategy #CashFlow #Leadership #Management #Scaling #Startups #Mentorship #Sales #PricingStrategy #RealEstateInvesting #Multifamily #PropertyManagement #Operations #FounderMindset #BusinessSystems #RiskManagement #BusinessFinance #Leasing

This podcast is brought to you by Storyboard Living.

If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email deals@storyboardliving.com

Connect with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/

Han Ko (Sacco Group) joins Raj Tut to share his journey from being born in South Korea, immigrating to Southern California, and ultimately building his career in the St. Louis region after studying engineering at Washington University. With a background in computer science, electrical engineering, and signal processing, Han climbed the corporate ladder in the telecom industry before taking the entrepreneurial leap to build and own software products himself. Over the years, he has become an active venture capitalist and advisor, involved in 80+ companies with collective valuations exceeding $1B, while also serving in regional economic development roles and supporting entrepreneurship through mentoring and speaking engagements. The conversation centers on Han’s core investing and leadership philosophy: taking other people’s capital creates a real moral responsibility, which is why he favors full transparency, clear risk disclosure, and investors who do proper diligence upfront. Han breaks down how he identified market needs early, made a high-risk decision to resign to protect IP ownership, and learned that building a product is only half the battle—distribution, validation, and relationships are critical to closing enterprise deals. He also explains how he “accidentally” became a venture capitalist by helping friends through funding gaps, then intentionally built his finance skillset to operate professionally. The episode closes with a practical operating principle that shows up in every chapter of his story: learn aggressively from mistakes, put in your best effort with the information you have, and build a life you can look back on without regret.

Connect with the Host

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠

⁠LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/⁠

Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠
TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Connect with Han Ko

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/han-ko-3b8814185/

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:00 Investor philosophy: responsibility, transparency, and disclosure
01:04 Storyboard Living sponsor message

01:35 Guest introduction and credentials overview

02:41 Han’s background: Korea to California to St. Louis via WashU

05:05 Early career: telecom engineering and moving up the corporate ladder

10:46 Selling enterprise software: production validation and due diligence lessons

11:55 Networking as the unlock for landing the first license deal

13:26 Choosing signal processing and “following the money” in grad school

14:29 After the exit: travel, restlessness, and returning to build again

15:57 Becoming an “accidental” VC by helping friends through funding gaps

17:32 Dot-com bubble context: overheated investing and lack of diligence

20:44 Building finance competence: learning valuation concepts like EBITDA

21:14 Professional growth: learning from mistakes and doing your best

29:13 Getting buyer attention: the “non-sexy” product problem

30:34 Making buyers come to you: the billboard strategy story

33:12 Helping portfolio companies: sharing mistakes and guiding decision-making

34:52 Why he’s an active investor: founder fit, communication, and empathy

39:02 Regional mission: bringing global companies to St. Louis for jobs and growth

46:42 Project phasing: historic building redevelopment and innovation ecosystem

47:34 Workforce gap: training center and trade pipeline focus

51:20 Illinois-side coordination and regional partnership efforts

53:06 Commercial real estate legacy: multi-generation background

57:02 Hole-in-one advice: do your best and live without regret

This podcast is brought to you by Storyboard Living.

If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email deals@storyboardliving.com

Connect with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/