We Live to Build

Building a seven-figure, fully remote business is the dream for many entrepreneurs. My guest, Matthew Yahes, CEO of Extend Your Team, has actually done it. In this interview, he shares how I built a 7-figure agency with a team in the philippines, leveraging highly skilled, mid-career talent to scale his operations. Before finding this success, Matthew shares the hard lessons he learned from two major business failures: a restaurant chain undone by predatory investors and a multi-million dollar e-commerce business wiped out by COVID. This episode is a masterclass in resilience and remote team building. Check out the company: https://www.extendyourteam.com/Book a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - The Vision for Remote Work01:25 - How Getting Laid Off Forced Me Into Entrepreneurship 03:32 - My First Two Businesses Failed. Here's Why. 06:18 - The Secret to Building a Great Remote Team in the Philippines 09:10 - Cultural Insights for Managing a Filipino Team 17:45 - My $350 "No Ghosting Fee" That Filters Out Bad Clients 25:08 - The Fatal Flaw of Building a Business With Only AI 29:03 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Miller is the Founder and CEO of Alchemy of Scale, a coaching practice that helps entrepreneurs systematize their operations and unlock true business growth. Imagine hiring a trader with a perfect resume, only to have them go rogue and lose millions of dollars in seconds. In this episode, David shares the full story of How a Rogue Trader Cost My Company $10 Million, including the six-year battle with the SEC that followed. We also discuss the systems he learned from this failure that allowed him to scale his next business to $10M in just 2.5 years. This is a raw, cautionary tale about trust, resilience, and the real cost of leadership. Check out the company: https://alchemyofscale.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - The #1 Rule for Effective Leadership00:38 - Introduction to David Miller01:20 - Why Every Entrepreneur Must Embrace Failure02:19 - Overcoming a Scarcity Mindset03:04 - From 11 Years to 2.5 Years: The Secret to Scaling to $10M07:23 - Trust: The Most Valuable Currency in Business16:54 - The $10M Mistake: My Rogue Trader Story25:42 - Navigating Banking Shutdowns & High-Risk Industries31:02 - How to Build Trust and Network Effectively38:10 - Conclusion and Final Takeaways📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a lawyer helps build an AI that could one day make his own job obsolete? I sat down with Ryaan Ibtisam, a practicing lawyer and the Co-Founder of Symphony AI, to get his candid take. He gives a lawyer's honest opinion on AI replacing him, discussing his initial fear of the technology and his prediction that law firms may hire 80% fewer junior associates in the future. We also cover how their specialized AI can close a funding round in under an hour and the surprising differences between East Coast and West Coast clients. Check out the company: https://cimphony.aiBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - Introduction: The Future of Junior Lawyers00:31 - Meet Ryaan Ibtisam, The Lawyer Building a Legal AI02:10 - Why AI Both Impresses and Scares Me 02:53 - Will AI Fire 80% of Junior Lawyers? 03:55 - How Our AI Closes a Funding Round in 30 Minutes 08:30 - Why You Still Need a "Lawyer in the Loop" 10:23 - The Lawyer Who Got in Big Trouble for Using AI 17:36 - Why a Single Word ("Chicken") Can Void a Contract 28:39 - Final Thoughts: Are You an AI Doomer? 📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tired of spending weeks sifting through candidates and conducting repetitive first-round interviews? My guest, Vol Goloshuk, CEO of AI Champ, is building the solution. We discuss his company, which has created an AI that conducts 100 interviews so you don't have to, providing a shortlist of the best candidates in minutes, not weeks. We also explore why a human is still essential for making the final hiring decision, especially when it comes to cultural fit. If you're involved in hiring, this is a glimpse into the future of recruiting. Check out the company: https://aichamp.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - Introduction: The Future of AI Recruiting01:02 - How AI Analyzes Candidates Better Than Humans 03:43 - Overcoming Bias in AI Recruitment 06:58 - Why You Still Need a Human in the Loop 10:34 - Can an AI Interviewer Go Off-Script? 16:39 - The AI That Gives You Feedback After a Rejection 22:18 - The Future of Sales: Your AI Will Buy From My AI 27:36 - The Hardest Part of Building an AI Recruiting Tool 📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joshua Hale is the owner of JH Media and Consulting, which leverages cutting-edge AI technology and strategic business insights to help entrepreneurs realize their full potential. Could an AI know you better than you know yourself? In this interview with AI consultant Joshua Hale, we explore the shocking personal and professional uses of artificial intelligence. In a deeply vulnerable moment, Joshua shares the story of when I Asked AI to Find My "Hidden Negative Loops." The Truth Was Brutal. We also discuss how he uses AI to condense six weeks of market research into a single afternoon, helping solopreneurs build businesses faster than ever before. Check out the company: https://joshuahale.ioBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - A Shocking AI Revelation01:19 - The Power of AI in Business Consulting03:18 - How I Do 6 Weeks of Research In One Call05:35 - Using AI to Manage Business Expenses07:25 - How AI Helps Businesses Survive Market Changes10:02 - The "Work Party" Model for Client Accountability14:14 - Rebranding an Entire Business Using AI Image Generation20:28 - Why You Don't Need Investors to Build an MVP Anymore25:54 - The "Do It For You" Model of Course Creation27:14 - My "Brutal" AI Therapy Session📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your obsession with high ROI might be secretly harming your company's long term growth. In this interview with Brook Shepard, CEO of Mason Interactive, we discuss the core reason why You're Killing Your Business By Only Focusing on Existing Customers. Brook explains how an over reliance on existing customers leads to a death spiral. He also reveals the number one sign of a sophisticated founder and how to grow your brand during economic uncertainty. This is a must watch for any founder or marketer. Check out the company: https://masoninteractive.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - The Mindset of a $30M Agency CEO01:17 - The Real Satisfaction of Growing Brands01:36 - Why I Still Work 14-Hour Days at 4904:00 - "It's Not My Job To Do What a Client Asks"05:27 - How to Adapt When Your Old Strategies Die07:18 - Grow 90% in a Downturn (The COVID Lesson)10:18 - The #1 Sign of a Sophisticated Founder20:55 - The "Efficiency Death Spiral" That Kills Businesses21:42 - Final Advice: Pick Yourself Up & Go📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Salim Rennewi is the Founder and CEO of SellAbroad, which helps brands expand into the MENA market (Middle East). You've Chosen the Hardest Business Model on Earth. In this interview, Sell Abroad co-founder Salim Rennewi validates the immense difficulty of e-commerce and explains that the natural progression for an operator often involves learning painful lessons by burning money, losing employees. As a solution for brands struggling with new US tariffs, Salim explains why they must expand to new regions like the Middle East, where ad costs are 50% lower and customer LTV is higher. He also shares critical cultural insights for selling in the region, such as why your dog-related product will likely fail, but your cat product might be a huge success. Check out the company: https://sellabroad.ioBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - You've Chosen the Hardest Business Model on Earth01:57 - The "Crazy" Way E-commerce Aggregators Burned Millions04:58 - You're Thinking About the Middle East All Wrong11:15 - Why Your Dog Product Will Fail in the Middle East14:09 - Why Trump's Tariffs Are Forcing Brands to Go Global16:44 - How to Get "Tariff Relief" for Your E-com Brand20:19 - Why Most E-com Brands Are Bad at Managing Money26:33 - The Most Important Skill an Entrepreneur Can Have📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russell Brand is the Founder & Managing Director of Resonsible, which consults companies on their IT and general strategy, and he says your startup will fail because you don't listen. In this interview, startup advisor Russell Brand gives a brutally honest assessment of why most founders fail. He argues that as many as 19 out of 20 companies fail because their founders don't listen, primarily to their customers. They are too focused on their "solution in search of a problem" and ignore critical feedback until it's too late. Russell also explains why having goals without systems is a recipe for long-term unhappiness, and why co-founder misalignment on what "success" means is a primary reason that three-quarters of businesses with exit opportunities fail to capitalize on them. Check out the company: https://responsible.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - Why You Should Listen to Your Grandfather03:30 - The #1 Red Flag in a Founder06:15 - The Fatal Flaw: "Solutions in Search of Problems"09:00 - Why Co-Founder Misalignment Will Destroy Your Business12:30 - Are You Pitching a "Perpetual Motion Machine"?16:00 - I Don't Care About Your "Wins" or "Losses"19:45 - Why Your Goals Are a Recipe for Unhappiness23:00 - The Final Warning: A Startup is a 10-Year Project📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Strippelhoff is the Partner and CEO/CRO of Red Hawk Technologies, which develops game-changing custom software and platform integration solutions for private equity and mid-market clients. AI Can Write Code, But It Can't Do Architecture. In this interview, Matt gives his expert take on the current state of AI in software development. He explains that while AI tools are great for expediting code generation, they can't handle the high-level strategic work of software architecture . He warns that AI won't ask the critical questions about scalability, business logic, or API handling that are necessary to build a sustainable product. Matt also reveals the hidden legal risk of using AI coders: they might use "copyleft" open-source components that could accidentally make your proprietary software free. Finally, he tells the story of how his company broke through a decade-long revenue plateau by making a conscious decision to stop being a lifestyle company and grow as an asset. Check out the company: https://redhawk-tech.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - From Graphic Designer to Coder in 199405:01 - The Evolution From Dreamweaver to AI Assistants08:07 - AI Can Write Code, But It Can't Do Architecture12:45 - The Hidden Legal Risk: Your AI Coder Might Make Your Software Free17:10 - Why the "Source of Truth" Is a Nightmare for Dev Teams21:13 - How We Broke Our $2M Revenue Plateau After 10+ Years25:30 - The "Consultant's Dilemma" That Keeps Your Business Small28:15 - The Hard Decision: Giving Up Equity to a New Partner📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You Don't Know Why Your Customers Are Really Buying From You. In this interview, RevHeat founder and CEO Ken Lundin argues that most founders, even those at $200 million companies, are clueless about why their customers truly buy from them . He explains that founders often think customers are buying features (like a report with four colors), but for any high-ticket item, the real reason is much deeper and solving a much bigger problem. Ken also reveals why your first sales hire will likely be the biggest disaster of your career, and shares his unpopular opinion that AI could completely replace salespeople in the future because sales is 75% framework and science. Check out the company: https://revheat.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - The Difference Between Being the Best and the Best-Known01:28 - The #1 Reason Founders Can't Scale Past $100k/Month02:18 - Why Your First Sales Hire Will Be a "Disaster"03:52 - You Don't Know Why Your Customers Are Really Buying From You05:08 - The Fatal Flaw of Most Technical Founders11:20 - The Rise of the Micro-SaaS Business Model12:45 - An Unpopular Opinion: AI Will Completely Replace Salespeople15:54 - The AI Note-Taker That's a "Game Changer" for Sales Calls19:18 - How I Use AI to Overcome My Hatred of Writing25:32 - The Final Rule: Sales is a Science, Not an Art📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.