The Edge Of Excellence Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

The Edge Of Excellence Podcast

Matthew Stewart

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/10d. Total Eps: 199

The Edge Of Excellence Podcast is about exploring how young aspiring leaders can create a personal impact today, tomorrow, and create their dream future now. The goal is to deconstruct and synthesize successful archetypes and proven principles from high-profile entrepreneurs, systems, and resources that work, successful peers, mentors, and creators. Learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇺🇸 USA - entrepreneurship
23/08/2026
#95
🇺🇸 USA - entrepreneurship
22/08/2026
#92
🇺🇸 USA - entrepreneurship
20/08/2026
#98
🇺🇸 USA - entrepreneurship
19/08/2026
#100
🇨🇦 Canada - entrepreneurship
25/06/2026
#71
🇨🇦 Canada - entrepreneurship
24/06/2026
#46
🇨🇦 Canada - entrepreneurship
23/06/2026
#30
🇺🇸 USA - entrepreneurship
08/12/2025
#96
🇺🇸 USA - entrepreneurship
07/12/2025
#77
🇺🇸 USA - entrepreneurship
06/12/2025
#60

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

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https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/
95 shares
https://rebrand.ly/acb9b9
29 shares
https://rebrand.ly/0e0f13
29 shares

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelcaitomap/
3 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariusmirshahzadeh/
2 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemcmackin/
2 shares

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

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RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 42%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

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140: Hirad Emadi | How Hard Work Generates Passion: A Unique Path To Success

Tuesday, July 16, 2024 • Duration 59:28

In today's episode of The Edge of Excellence, Matt is joined by Hirad Emadi, co-founder and President of Innovative Construction Solutions.

During this engaging conversation, Matt explores the journey of a successful entrepreneur who transitioned from a stable career to launching a thriving business. Hirad highlights the importance of identifying gaps in the market and consistently adding value, which can lead to repeat business and long-term success.

You'll discover the dynamics of partnerships in business, as well as the benefits and potential pitfalls of working with partners. Gain insights on how compromise and shared values are crucial for a successful partnership, and how different approaches can lead to various outcomes.

This episode provides a rich tapestry of experiences and lessons for anyone interested in the entrepreneurial journey.

Don't miss another episode of The Edge of Excellence podcast. Leave a review and subscribe today!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

Why consistently adding value and addressing gaps in service can lead to repeat business and long-term success.
The dynamics of business partnerships, including the benefits of compromise and shared values, and how different approaches can impact the success of a venture.
Achieving balance between a demanding career and personal life, and the importance of family and community involvement.
The value of developing essential skills like people skills and writing skills early in your career, and how these can contribute to long-term success.
The concept that passion can emerge from hard work and success, even in areas you weren't initially passionate about, and the importance of staying open to new passions.
And so much more...

Resources:

Hirad's LinkedIn

Innovative Construction Solutions

Read moreCollapse

139: Brad Baldridge | What Are The Best Financial Strategies For College?

Tuesday, July 9, 2024 • Duration 46:44

In today's episode of The Edge of Excellence, Matt is joined by Brad Baldridge, certified financial planner, college funding consultant, and chief podcaster at Taming the High Cost of College.

Matt and Brad explore the multifaceted process of preparing for an important milestone that affects many families—paying for college. They discuss various strategies and options available to navigate this complex landscape, as well as the importance of understanding different types of support and how they can impact overall outcomes.

You'll discover the specific challenges faced by those in unique situations, such as owning a business or dealing with unexpected financial changes. You'll also find insights on how to leverage available resources and make strategic choices to optimize benefits.

Whether dealing with financial aid, merit-based awards, or other types of support, this episode provides valuable guidance for anyone facing this pivotal stage in life.

Don't miss another episode of The Edge of Excellence podcast. Leave a review and subscribe today!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

The differences between need-based aid and merit-based aid, and how to identify which type of aid you might qualify for.
Why top-tier schools like Harvard and Yale often do not offer merit aid and focus solely on need-based aid, and how this can affect your financial planning.
Specific strategies for business owners to manage their finances and maximize aid eligibility, including tax benefits and income management.
The importance of finding a college where you will thrive, and how this decision can outweigh the prestige of attending a more expensive institution.
Practical advice on leveraging available resources, doing thorough research, and making informed decisions to achieve long-term success in your educational journey.

130: Kory Finley | The Drive to Excel

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 • Duration 47:54

On today's episode of The Edge of Excellence, Matt is joined by guest Kory Finley, as they focus on Kory's journey to personal and professional excellence. The discussion opens with Kory sharing his definition of excellence as the consistent effort to perform at one's best every day, regardless of the circumstances. Kory narrates his life story, from being a multi-sport athlete in high school to entering the challenging world of business and cattle ranching. He emphasizes the importance of taking personal responsibility and learning from setbacks to propel oneself towards success.

During the discussion, Kory discusses his time in college and his early career, particularly his involvement with College Works, where he excelled as a freshman intern. His success was partly due to his competitive nature and the desire to be recognized as the best. Kory reflects on the moments that shaped his career, including significant sales achievements and the strategic decisions he made, like turning down financial support from his parents to foster independence and avoid any potential for guilt-driven influence.

Kory's philosophy revolves around ownership and responsibility, believing that these are critical to achieving excellence. He shares how confronting and overcoming challenges, like dealing with customer complaints and leading teams, were invaluable learning experiences. Throughout the episode, Kory and Matt highlight the importance of making deliberate choices about how to spend one's time and the value of investing in meaningful activities and relationships that promote personal growth and success.

Join Matt and Kory for this fascinating episode.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show:

Kory's definition of excellence as the persistent effort to perform at your best daily, regardless of external conditions.
The importance of taking ownership of problems and failures as a key strategy for personal and professional growth.

39: Devan O‘Dowd | Working Smarter and The Shockingly Simple Basics of Success

Tuesday, November 2, 2021 • Duration 47:55

On today’s episode of The Edge of Excellence, we interview Devan O'Dowd, Director and Equity Partner of Global X, an exchange traded fund firm. He originally studied Environmental Economics and Law in preparation for becoming a lawyer before making the shift to finance.

In his youth, Devan had dreams of being in the NHL and spent much of his time playing hockey and trying to keep his grades up. During college he played hockey, but realized that he wanted to pursue a career as a lawyer.

His time at the University of Illinois was a busy one, as Devan joined a business fraternity and a social fraternity, played hockey and ended up being part of College Works as well. It was during this time that he really began to get to know more about himself, his strengths, and of course the areas he needed to work on.

Eventually, his desire to make an impact led to a shift in thinking, one that led him to the world of ETFs and Global X.

This show will inspire you to follow your passion and use every day as another step toward excellence.

You don't want to miss this!

What You Will Learn in this Show:

Examples of measurable and repeated ways to succeed every day.
Devan's path to a finance career as well as an introduction to ETFs.
Why doing what others won't, allow you to achieve what others can't.
And so much more...

Resources:

Edge of Excellence is Brought to you by College Works Painting Internship

38: Steve Brazeel | Working Smarter and The Shockingly Simple Basics of Success

Tuesday, October 26, 2021 • Duration 48:13

On today’s show, we interview Steve Brazeel, founder and CEO, Sunterra Produce show who shares with us his distilled wisdom on work ethic, and working smarter, and the foundational elements that contribute to success.

Growing up, Steve spent 18-hour days helping his father on the farm. And so, while his upbringing instilled in him great work ethic, the importance of working smarter eventually dawned upon Steve.

Upon graduating from the University of Arizona, Steve worked with industry giants like Sun World International and the DiMare Co. In this segment of the show, you will learn how Steve took massive pay cuts just because he could learn more and gain more depth.

Eventually, his desire to generate greater and greater value led him to entrepreneurship.

Founded in 2000, SunTerra has grown from a one-person firm to an industry leader catering to giants like Walmart, COSTCO and Trader Joe’s.

This show will surely inspire you to put your best self forward.

Do not miss!

What You Will Learn

Working smarter, using your brain and not your back
The biggest (and shockingly simple) contributors to success
How to generate more and more value as a professional and as an entrepreneur
And so much more…

Resources

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

College Works Paintings provides college and university students a unique, life-transforming opportunity to build business management and leadership skills, hands-on. The internship empowers students to run their own local businesses, manage their own crew of people, and provide a much-needed service within their communities - while earning money as well as an invaluable experience.

Their internship allows students to not only gain valuable work experience but to help finance their college educations as well. The company is known for having some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry.

37: John Hepworth | What Does It Take to Grow and Scale a Successful Business?

Tuesday, October 19, 2021 • Duration 39:08

On today’s show, we interview John Hepworth, co-founder, Firstway Fundraising who reveals how he turned his charitable project into a thriving business. He also shares how he found the gumption to start a large business at the age of 25.

John credits his parents for his hardcore work ethic. From a young age, John was keen on earning money and being independent. So, he ended up doing odd jobs to get by.

When John signed up for College Works, admittedly, he thought that it was going to be a piece of cake. But he soon realized that he had a lot to learn.

In this segment of the show, John shares why you need to step out your comfort zone, and learn to work with different people who may not have the same outlook as you.

After College Works, John worked with an insurance company for a bit before starting a fundraising business with his good friend, Jaime. Eventually, he moved to the US to grow and scale his organization.

Topics discussed today include the real definition of excellence, the importance of adaptability, and continuously trying new things.

Do not miss this one!

What You Will Learn In This Show

The meaning of excellence
The importance of adaptability, and constantly trying new things
How to work with different people with contrarian outlooks
And so much more…

Resources

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

36: Calvin Cox | Living Off Your Investments – A Roadmap To Financial Freedom

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 • Duration 29:23

How can you truly achieve financial freedom and accumulate enough capital so that you can live off your investments?

On today’s show, we interview real estate agent and investor, Calvin Cox who shares with us his money philosophy. You will learn how to inculcate financial discipline so that you achieve the ultimate dream – living off your investments.

Growing up, Calvin worked multiple jobs in high school and college which taught him the importance of great work ethic.

However, it was not until he was 27 that Calvin understood the power of compounding. A chance meeting with a financial advisor proved to be a complete eye-opener, and Calvin decided to invest $2,000 every month – a habit that he has stuck to for the past 23 years.

Alongside, Calvin also managed to build a large real estate portfolio and start his mortgage company – which he sold at the age of 39.

Today’s show is all about inculcating discipline and delayed gratification so that you can hit your biggest financial goals.

If you want to live off your investments, and truly enjoy great work life balance, listening to today’s show can help you chart out a roadmap.

Do not miss this one!

What You Will Learn In This Show

How do I decide that real estate investing was right for me?
Sacrifices that I made in my twenties that I don’t regret making
How has my vision evolved over the years?
A roadmap to financial freedom and living off your investments
And so much more…

l businesses, manage their own crew of people, and provide a much-needed service within their communities - while earning money as well as an invaluable experience.

35: Chris Bates | Showing Tenacity And Building A Sustainable Business

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 • Duration 44:42

Why are most entrepreneurs unable to grow and scale their business? And in the process, unable to realize their fullest potential?

On today’s show, we interview the CEO and founder of Teacher Zone, Chris Bates who shares with us distilled wisdom on goal-setting, tenacity, and building a long-term, sustainable business.

As always, we start this show with Chris sharing his definition of excellence. You will learn that while goal-setting is important, constant never-ending improvement is imperative for those aspiring to be excellent.

Growing up, Chris aspired to be a rockstar. But unlike many of us, he actually packed up his bags and moved to Hollywood to pursue his dreams.

After a while Chris decided to transition to real estate investing after four years, he shares some important lessons that he learned from this stint of his in this segment of the show.

You will learn why you should pick a scalable business model with the potential of generate recurring revenue. And if you have a transactional business that you are struggling to scale, listening to Chris will surely inspire you to level up.

Currently, Chris manages Teacher Zone which is a SAAS-business for teaching organizations.

You will also learn the importance of showing tenacity and following through on your ideas in today’s show.

Do not miss this one!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Why you cannot be a successful artist without being a good business person
The basics of creating a sustainable business with consistent, recurring revenue
Why did I give up on my dream of being a rockstar?

Resources

Winning

34: Dr. Adnan Hussain | Building Grit and How the College Works Internship Has Helped Me As a Medical Professional

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 • Duration 42:53

Can a College Works internship help those pursuing high-profile careers?

On today’s show, we interview the Emergency Department Chair at Amita Health, Dr. Adnan Hussain who shares with his distilled wisdom on excellence, failure, and grit.

Born to Pakistani immigrant parents, Adnan had a normal suburban upbringing. A higher performer in high school, he managed to get a full-tuition scholarship to medical school.

And it was at this juncture that Adnan stumbled onto the College Works opportunity. Cultivating grit was the most important lesson that Adnan learned as a student painter.

He also talks about how his first year as a manager was in stark contrast to his second year as a district manager.

Managing a team of 60 people was a huge challenge for Adnan. This experience built his foundational skill sets that are helping him to date.

As an emergency department chair, Adnan is in charge of operations, recruitment, and finances at his hospital. You will get a peek into his daily workday in this segment of the show.

Other topics discussed on today’s show include how to make yourself more and more valuable, and regaining optimism even in the most trying situations.

Do not miss this one!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Tackling failure, and the importance of grit
How my DM (District Manager) experience at College Works was significantly different from my managerial experience
Sacrifices that I had to make in my early years
How to add more value
And so much more…

Resources

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

33: Sean Nachtigall | Shedding Your Fears And Venturing Into The Unknown

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 • Duration 46:03

On today’s show, we interview Sean Nachtigall who shares with us his distilled wisdom on grit, belief, and embracing the unknown.

Growing up, Sean was averse to sales and marketing. He had some preconceived (and utterly false) notions that were shattered once he started working as a College Works painter.

Sean shares his big why for taking up the College Works internship in today’s show. You will learn why embracing discomfort is the only way to grow to the next level.

Admittedly, Sean was absolutely terrified in the initial phase of the internship. But having a chip on his shoulder helped him push through and finish the internship with flying colors.

As a sales engineer for Vertical Systems LLC, Sean helps design, develop and install HVAC systems. You will get a peek into Sean’s role and daily responsibilities in this segment of the show. Specifically, we discuss the importance of developing versatile skill-sets so that you can work with multiple people across a wide range of spectrums and just get the job done.

Do not miss this one!

What You Will Learn In This Show

The real definition of sales and marketing
Why you need to work on developing versatile skill-sets
Embracing the unknown, and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable
And so much more…

Resources

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

The Edge Of Excellence Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

The Edge Of Excellence Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other99+

LinkedIn99+

Apple Podcast6

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

LinkedIn99+

Apple Podcast6