This week on the podcast Matt sits down with Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductee Curt Bradbury, Chief Operating Officer of Stephens, Inc. Curt begins the episode by walking through the beginning of his career working with Jack Stephens and how he was given the opportunity to turn around a struggling bank at the age of 35. Based upon that experience, Curt highlights the importance of change management and he walks through how he was able to turn around a struggling Worthen Bank and lead it to to an acquisition and eventual merger into Bank of America. He then discusses the history of Stephens Inc., his background in economics and history and his views on the ethical underpinning of capitalism.

This week on the Be Epic podcast we are kicking off a short series of conversations with the 2023 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductees. We begin the series with Judy McReynolds, Chairman, President and CEO at ArcBest. ArcBest is an integrated logistics provider based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. They are celebrating their 100 year anniversary of being in business in 2023. We begin the episode with Judy providing an overview of ArcBest, where they are today and their growth strategy along with how they approach acquisitions, challenges in the market and innovation. Judy then goes into more detail about the innovations that are currently taking place at ArcBest to better serve their customers. They finish the conversation with a look at how ArcBest has continued to grow and plan for the future.

This week on the podcast to wrap up the CEO Series, Matt sits down with Kim Eskew, Chairman & CEO of Harps Food Stores. Kim has been with Harps for 46 years, working his way up from an entry level position as a cashier and stocker to CEO. During the episode they discuss Kim’s journey through the company and how the grocery landscape has shifted over the years, especially in Northwest Arkansas. They also touch on how Kim made the transition from in-store management to corporate marketing and how the company transitioned from a family owned business to employee owned and what that means for employees at Harps.

This week on the podcast Matt sits down with President and CEO of Walmart U.S., John Furner as part of the CEO Series. They begin with an intriguing conversation what has most prepared John for his current position, including doing challenging things like taking on a role in China with Walmart. He encourages the audience to do the same because doing hard things can often help you to learn the most. He also touches on the importance of servant leadership and trust that leads to innovation. Matt and John then discuss the idea of change and John shares advice about how to prepare for it especially as a student who is entering the work environment. The discussion then leads into the changes Walmart has experienced and the way that they approach changes in the industry and experimenting with new opportunities. The conversation finishes out by discussing how Walmart has shifted their merchandising strategy as a result of the omni-channel transformation and how Walmart is driving future efficiencies in their business to save customers money so they can live better.

As we continue on in the CEO series, Matt sits down with the CEO of Simmons Foods Inc., Todd Simmons. They begin the episode by discussing the importance of quality control measures and setting high standards along with sustainable growth in a business. They then delve into the values at Simmons Foods including putting people first, acting with integrity, taking responsibility, being curious, and taking action. They then discuss the strategy at Simmons Foods, especially within their pet sector along with their redirection to B2B customers rather than building consumer brands.

This week we kickoff an exciting new series for the Be Epic Podcast, the CEO Series, where Matt sits down with top CEOs to discuss their companies, how they came to be CEO, innovation and more. To kickoff the series, this week Matt sat down with John Roberts, chief executive officer of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. In the episode, John and Matt to touch on a variety of topics including how John came to the position he is in today and past, current and future initiatives of the company. John starts off with an incredible story highlighting the importance of family while in positions of leadership and then moves into strategy from a portfolio management perspective. The conversation then moves onto the expansion of supply chain as an industry, the importance of logistics, and the advances made in leaving a better impact on the environment. Matt then inquires about John’s intermodal business and the way these companies are making a larger impact on the environment. The conversation closes with a discussion around the impact that a healthy work culture can have on individuals as well as the company. 

In this next iteration of the capital allocator series, Matt sits down with Don Huffner, Vice President at RZC Investments, which is a Bentonville, Arkansas, based multi-strategy investment firm focused on deploying capital into operating businesses at all stages from series A to buyout. It is owned by Steuart and Tom Walton. They start the discussion with a quick overview of RZC Investments including their focus when it comes to investing, although they are industry agnostic they do invest heavily in the outdoor industry and technology including investments in Eddyline Kayaks, Allied Cycle Works and AcreTrader. In general, their investments focus on strengthening and diversifying the economic fabric of Northwest Arkansas. They continue the discussion by diving into the decision making drivers when it comes to investing at various stages within a company's journey, especially the importance of getting to know founders and the people who are running a company that they are considering investment in. They also discuss total addressable market for a company and how RZC evaluates that metric for a company. They finish their discussion with an overview of Don's career journey and how he came to Northwest Arkansas and RZC.

This week Matt sits down with Ross Glotzbach, CEO and Head of Global Research for Southeastern Asset Management, for another insightful perspective on investing in the capital allocator series. Ross starts by defining what value investing is to them and the way in which his company, Southeastern, uses it. Ross then shares further insight about the impact long term value investing has had in the past and how it has changed over the years. Matt and Ross then discuss the process that Ross goes through in choosing whom to invest in and the conversation comes to a close with a discussion around the application of psychology in explaining investing behaviors. 

As we continue in the Capital Allocator series, Matt sits down with Michael Basch this week, Managing Partner of Atento Capital to explore the world of seed fundraising and the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem that is developing in Northwest Arkansas and Tulsa. They begin the conversation with an overview of the angel investing collaboration between Atento Capital, the George Kaiser Foundation in Tulsa and the Walton Family Foundation in Northwest Arkansas. The goal is to create a group of very active high value angel investors across both regions that are investing in deals especially in the region but also nationally, it is known as the 412 Angel Network. They then dive into the entrepreneurial ecosystem that is growing in Northwest Arkansas and how 412 angels can help with early investment strategy. The podcast closes with a discussion on the robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in Israel that Michael experienced and Michael shares advice for those looking to get into their first business venture. 

This week on the Capital Allocator Series of the podcast, Matt sits down with Sean Koffel, co-founder and managing partner of Watchfire Ventures to discuss their approach to venture capital that is focused on asymmetric outliers, or sturdy underlying businesses that present an intermediate path to cashflow positivity or profitability. They focus specifically on company formation to series A opportunities for funding in four verticals: consumer infrastructure software (aka any software that powers how you buy or sell things online), consumer 4.0 products, industrial commerce modernization, and adjacent tech enabled services businesses. Sean continues in the episode to share what he looks for in companies that they are looking to invest in, especially in early stage ventures and Matt and he discuss the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northwest Arkansas. They finish the discussion with a focus on consumer infrastructure software and the intersection of the consumerism and industrial industries.