The Turning Pro Podcast

Tom Shea is the founder and CEO of Adgile, the company turning last-mile delivery trucks into mobile billboards and proving real ROI for every brand on the road.Five years ago, Tom was ready to walk away. The company had burned $1.8 million, his Series A deal collapsed at the finish line, and his co-founders left. But instead of giving up, he stayed in the game and quietly turned Adgile into one of the most exciting businesses in out-of-home advertising.In this episode, Tom breaks down how he built a profitable, scalable company by thinking differently about physical space. He explains how their attribution tech works, shares the early moments that almost killed the business, and opens up about walking away from a $7 million deal to stay independent.

Chad Cohen is the founder of Fortem Media, a creative agency helping brands land at the center of culture, and the co-founder of Unofficial Run Club, one of the fastest-growing running communities in the world.Two years ago, Chad hit a wall. Burnt out and mentally exhausted, he turned to therapy and was given a challenge that would change everything: run the New York City Marathon.Since then, he’s built a thriving agency, scaled a global community, and brought on a full-time videographer to document every step.In this episode, Chad opens up about how movement helped rebuild his mindset. He talks about the highs and lows of agency life, building a personal brand with intention, learning to manage a team while always on the move, and why he doesn't believe in turning pro.

Sydney Karmes-Wainer is the founder of French Squirrel, a cult-favorite snack brand built on hormone health, gut-friendly ingredients, and showing up authentically both online and off.She started by posting recipes on Instagram. Five years later, she’s running a fast-growing CPG company, educating her audience on wellness, and selling out her products at launch.In this episode, Sydney gets candid about what it actually takes to build in public. She opens up about pricing psychology, walking away from conventional advice, the loneliness of solo entrepreneurship, and how one conversation with Andrew Huberman reminded her she’s on the right path.

Chris Hladczuk is the co-founder and CEO of Hanover Park, an AI-native fund admin helping top venture firms run smarter and faster.Before starting Hanover, Chris scaled Meow to $1.5 billion in assets as Chief Revenue Officer, built a strong online audience, and learned how to win through founder-led sales.In this episode, he shares his full playbook. He breaks down how to pitch high-trust clients, what it takes to build a sticky product in fintech, why SaaS is losing its edge, and how he closed a $25 million deal after 26 follow-ups.This is a conversation about selling with obsession, building with urgency, and staying relentless in a crowded market.

At just 16, Shirah Benarde had a dream that sparked one of the most innovative drink safety products on the market: NightCap.Fast forward to today, and she's a Shark Tank alum, public speaker, and Gen Z founder making legislative change in California and beyond. In this episode, Shirah joins us to talk through everything: dropping out of college, navigating imposter syndrome, leading a company while still figuring it all out herself, and passing a bill to mandate drink covers in every California bar.This is a story about building from scratch, trusting your gut, and staying grounded when the mission gets bigger than you.

Aaron Schwartz has built and sold startups, advised 30+ founders, and helped raise millions. Now he’s back in the trenches as co-founder and president of Orita.ai - a platform helping brands fix email deliverability and segment smarter using AI.In this wide-ranging episode, Aaron opens up about the chaos of early-stage founding, what most people get wrong about go-to-market, and why he’s more focused than ever on building for durability, not just scale.This is a masterclass for any operator, advisor, or founder figuring out how to go pro without losing their mind.

Jon Laster is a stand-up comic, MC at the Comedy Cellar, and now founder and CEO of Blapp, an app that maps and sells Black-owned businesses.In this powerful episode, Jon shares how the murder of George Floyd led him to shift gears from punchlines to product-building. What started as an idea during lockdown is now a growing tech platform with real impact: helping Black-owned businesses get discovered, generate revenue, and stay alive.Jon opens up about what it really takes to build a startup with no traditional tech background, how he convinced names like Chris Rock and Tiffany Haddish to invest, and why he sees comedy as the ultimate founder bootcamp. This is a conversation about resilience, reinvention, and staying scrappy — no matter how many nights you bomb on stage.

Bobby Shmurda (real name Ackquille Jean Pollard) is a musician, entrepreneur, and cultural force who joins us to unpack his radical transformation from the streets to the boardroom. Best known for his explosive rise in hip-hop and time behind bars, Bobby is now all-in on building wealth, investing in startups, and giving back through hands-on community work. In this episode, Bobby opens up about how prison gave him the structure to run multiple businesses, why he refuses traditional managers to maintain control, and how he’s applying street smarts to venture capital. He breaks down the moment he got serious about generational wealth, the lessons he learned reading contracts inside a jail cell, and why he proudly calls himself a “pimp nerd” obsessed with equity, margin points, and capital gains. This is Bobby Shmurda like you’ve never heard him before.

Max Crowley, host of The Early Podcast, joins us to unpack his wild career journey - starting as employee #25 at Uber, launching a mobile-first coffee startup that was later acquired by GoPuff, and stepping into the high-stakes world of startup fundraising and operations at scale.In this episode, Max breaks down what it was like building Uber’s early operations from the ground up, why scrappy talent always wins, and how Bandit, his app-based coffee shop, pivoted and sold during the height of COVID. He shares what he learned in the trenches as Chief of Staff to GoPuff’s founders, how he thinks about hiring A+ players, and why his new obsession is building in public through storytelling.He also opens up about imposter syndrome, the art of reinvention, and what it means to stay in the game long enough to find your next thing.00:00:00 – Introduction: Meet Max Crowley, Host of The Early Podcast00:03:49 – Reinvention Mode: What Max Learned from Taking a Step Back00:13:13 – The Invisible Contract: Why Consistency Builds Trust00:14:21 – Early Days at Uber: Max Was Employee #2500:23:13 – Uber Began with Just a Text Message00:40:19 – Founding Bandit: The Idea Behind the App-First Coffee Shop00:58:49 – Don’t Feel Like a Founder? Go Join a Rocket Ship01:00:39 – Max’s Turning Pro Moment: Joining Uber at Age 24

Allie Egan, founder and CEO of Veracity, joins us to unpack how her personal health journey led to launching one of the most innovative brands in holistic wellness. After stints in banking, private equity, and high-growth DTC fashion, Allie built Veracity to help people get to the root of their health issues, starting with hormone and biofactor testing.In this episode, Allie shares the story behind reversing her own Hashimoto’s diagnosis, how she balances building a venture-backed business with raising two kids, and the systemic issues in modern healthcare that inspired her to act. She also dives into practical wellness advice, the business of building trust in supplements, and why education, not hype, is the real growth engine.00:00:00 – Introduction: Meet Allie Egan, Founder & CEO of Veracity00:04:04 – The Health Scare That Changed Everything: Diagnosed with Hashimoto’s00:09:17 – Why Founders Need to Question Everything - Even Their Doctors00:21:29 – No Such Thing as Balance: How Allie structures work, family, and focus00:29:35 – Why Wellness Is Broken: A fresh take on preventative health and biohacking00:37:29 – The Most Overhyped Wellness Trend (and what to do instead)00:39:21 – Why You Shouldn’t Use Mouthwash (and other gut health surprises)00:46:09 – From Operator to CEO: The future of DTC and what’s changing in e-commerce00:51:10 – Why She Runs Marathons: The mindset behind endurance - at work and in life