Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Small Business Unscripted
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Founder is a Fundraiser: Isabel Guzman on Capital and Growth | 11 Mar 2026 | 00:26:03 | |
Isabel Guzman didn't plan on a career in policy. She planned on building businesses — starting in the front office of her father's veterinary practice, continuing through Wharton, Penn, and a stint at Procter & Gamble, and eventually back to California to help her dad scale what had become a chain of hospitals. Government found her, not the other way around. But once she was in, she went deep — and what she learned about how capital actually flows to small businesses changed how she thinks about everything. In this episode, Isabel joins Everett to break down the most common and costly misconceptions small business owners have about working with the government: why the grant era of COVID was an anomaly, not a baseline; why getting a "no" from one SBA lender doesn't mean the door is closed; and why building a strong private-sector portfolio is the single most important thing a founder can do before pursuing government contracts. Follow Small Business Unscripted so you never miss a conversation. 3 Takeaways:
Timestamps: Isabel’s Best Insights: "Expect that [getting government contracts] is going to be hard work to learn the rules of the road. Building up your portfolio of private companies can really help you advance further in the government contracting space." "I'm proud now to say everywhere I go that I've failed multiple times. But that doesn't mean I don't keep going." Connect: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Bet on Yourself: Emory Jones on Building Paper Planes & Walking Your Own Path | 11 Feb 2026 | 00:37:15 | |
Emory Jones went from a 13,000-person town in Maryland to Brooklyn at 16 with no family connections. Fashion was his communicator—the thing that helped him navigate rooms and build a career that spans Rocawear, Puma, and the creation of Paper Planes. But Emory's real superpower isn't just design—it's understanding that people buy energy and lifestyle before they buy product. He shares how he helped bring Puma back into cultural conversation after years of being ignored and the moment a nickname from his past became a movement about self-belief. This episode goes deep on building brands that match how you actually live, why comfort and function beat hype every time, and how walking—literally just walking with people—has become Emory's secret weapon for business, relationships, and creativity. What You'll Learn:
Emory: "Fashion has always been my communicator. Before I know what you do or where you're at, I can figure you out by sight. That alone helped me balance rooms." "If you're building something, you can't pick and choose who your customer is anymore. The guy across the street that you didn't think was your customer? That's your customer. Don't set yourself up for disappointment." Links & Resources:
Keep the conversation going at smallbusinessunscripted.com Timestamps: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| 300 Rejections to Unicorn Status: How Wemimo Abbey Built Esusu | 07 Jan 2026 | 00:39:29 | |
Wemimo Abbey immigrated from Lagos, Nigeria at 17. When he and his mother tried to borrow money, they were turned away by a major bank and sent to a payday lender charging over 400% interest. His mother sold his father's wedding ring to get them started in America. That experience became the foundation for Esusu, a fintech platform that reports rental payment data to credit bureaus—helping millions establish or improve credit scores. Before Esusu, less than 3% of the $1.4 trillion renters pay annually showed up on credit reports. Wemimo shares how he and co-founder faced 326 rejections, got kicked out of a Denny's for being $100,000 in credit card debt, and still pushed forward. They created a win-win-win model: landlords get more on-time payments, renters build credit, and lenders can better assess risk. The result? Over $50 billion unlocked in economic activity, bipartisan support in Congress, and partnerships with Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Zillow. What you'll learn:
Wemimo: "We always say think outside the box, but we never let people outside the box engage. That tells you how lopsided access to capital really is." "Be caught trying. In life, you're gonna be knocked down. People will tell you no. Your ideas won't work. You're gonna have heartache in life. You just gotta show up and be caught trying." Links & Resources:
Keep the conversation going at smallbusinessunscripted.com Timestamps: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| How to Rally Teams Around Your Vision with Andre Johnson | 03 Dec 2025 | 00:34:35 | |
Andre Johnson has worked everywhere—music A&R, gaming (he got Steven Spielberg's approval for a Jurassic Park VR game), hospitality, and now as EVP at Magic Johnson Enterprises. What connects it all? Vision. And the ability to get people rowing in the same direction without using fear. Andre breaks down how MJE evaluates partners (it starts with how they treat their people), where the next sports investment opportunities are hiding, and why the gaming industry's customer feedback loop should be required learning for every entrepreneur. What you'll learn:
Andre: "Fear-based culture doesn't work. I don't care how much success somebody has had. The team behind them will tell you it's not that way." "Gaming's not gonna slow down. You think about all the studios and people who have IP, they're now trying to get the gaming audience. The more that we can help young people see a pathway along those things, then we will start to see some of the great inventors of tomorrow." Links & Resources:
Timestamps: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Bringing Game Day Discipline to Business with Azurá Stevens | 05 Nov 2025 | 00:21:00 | |
Azurá Stevens is a power forward for the WNBA, but her understanding of business runs deep. Watching her dad start a food truck business, she learned that preparation, persistence, and authenticity matter as much in business as they do on the court. In this episode, Azurá gets real about the parallels between professional sports and entrepreneurship—the intensity of high-pressure moments, the discipline of showing up daily without seeing immediate results, and why authenticity is the only strategy that works for building lasting partnerships. What you'll learn:
Azurá: "There's a lot of parallels between on the court and business—discipline, putting in daily habits and not always seeing the results immediately, but eventually those coming to fruition." "Just stick with it. Even seeing my dad start the food truck, there were so many unknowns, but things tend to work out the way that they need to." "I always take a step back and ask: what am I learning right now? What is this situation trying to teach me?" Links & Resources:
Timestamps: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| How Brian Smith Built UGG® Into a Global Brand | 08 Oct 2025 | 00:40:34 | |
Brian Smith sold UGG boots out of a van at Malibu. His first year? Twenty-eight pairs. For five years, he worked construction jobs while sales barely hit $30,000 annually. Then a group of 12-year-old surfers called his ads "so fake." That brutal feedback changed everything. He switched to authentic athlete sponsorships, and sales jumped from $30,000 to $220,000 in one season. Brian gets honest about the realities of building a product business—the profitless prosperity trap, running out of capital right when you're gaining traction, and why he gave away 150 pairs of boots in his most effective marketing campaign ever. What you'll learn:
If you're grinding through the early stages or wondering if you should give up, this is what you need to hear. Brian: “There's a certain amount of ignorance you have to have. Because if you knew what was about to happen, you’d never start.” “You can’t give birth to adults. Every business starts as an infant. And most die in infancy—not because they’re bad ideas, but because people give up.” “Profitless prosperity—it’s when you grow fast but can’t afford to keep going. Margins matter more than momentum.” Links & Resources:
Timestamps: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| The Science of Leadership: Robert Green on Culture, Curiosity, & Innovation | 10 Sep 2025 | 00:27:23 | |
NASA to Silicon Valley CEO? That's Robert Green's unconventional path to launching Dizzion, Inc., a secure virtual desktop company that's changing how we think about cloud computing. But here's what makes Robert different: he brings a scientist's mindset to the busy world of entrepreneurship. Robert and Everett dig into why great products still need brilliant marketing, how to raise money without losing your soul, and why being honest with your team (even when it hurts) builds the kind of culture that actually lasts. Robert: “A great product doesn’t sell itself. Without marketing, messaging, and value, even the best ideas can die on the shelf.” “Resilience means owning your mistakes, being accountable, and never running away.” Links & Resources:
Timestamps: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| The Evite Evolution: How David Yeom Rebuilt a Legacy Brand | 13 Aug 2025 | 00:38:40 | |
David Yeom knows success—from high-growth roles at Honest Company, eBay, and startups to buying and reinventing Evite. But if you ask David what makes him successful, he’ll start by telling you about his failures. That’s exactly what David and host Everett Sands dig into in this debut episode of Small Business Unscripted: how failures turn into the most valuable lessons. David shares why it all starts with finding what makes you “tick,” and breaks down the strategic moves that led Evite to profitability for the first time in a decade—and set the stage for international growth. Whether you're a small business owner, thinking about launching something new, or just figuring out what drives you, this episode is packed with real-world insights on perseverance, product instinct, and building a business you love. David: Links & Resources: Connect with Everett: linkedin.com/in/everettksands Timestamps: Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Trailer | 28 Jul 2025 | 00:00:33 | |
Anyone who’s built a business knows it never goes exactly according to plan. Every entrepreneur has a different story and their own stack of hard-won lessons. This is the show that takes you behind the scenes of building and scaling a successful business. Join host Everett Sands, CEO of Lendistry, as he and a diverse set of entrepreneurs and leaders throw out the usual questions and get real about the motivations, secrets, and strategies that brought them where they are today. Through triumphs and disruptions, there is no script - there’s only the story. This is Small Business Unscripted with Everett Sands. Brought to you by the team at Lendistry. Links:
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||