The One Away Show

Adam Spector was running out of cash. He couldn't raise more money, and he and his co-founder were deep in the kind of long debates that slow a company down. So they did something most founders never consider. They split the company in two. One half took the venture money and went a new direction. Adam took the small services arm that had been quietly working and bet on it. He told his 20 to 30 customers the price was about to double and gave them a choice: shut down or move over. None of them left. That arm became Chore, an outsourced HR and finance team for startups. Four years later, it's a business he built with no venture capital, one that pays him and his team from the quality of the work. In this episode, Adam breaks down: Why splitting the company in two was the most decisive moment of his career What it's like to go from co-founder to sole founder, and why decisions got faster Why AbstractOps, the original idea to automate back-office work, failed, and what the services arm taught him Why most founders are "penny wise and pound foolish" about HR, payroll, and compliance The laundromat test for finding your comparative advantage, and why you shouldn't build your own laptop How he delegates, and why autonomy brings out people's best work What a strict schedule, no hobbies, and no video games in eight years look like when you're running a company with two young kids Why he's scared of AI in the short term and wildly optimistic in the long term, and where humans still win If you've ever wondered what it takes to build something real on your own terms, this one's for you.

TK Herman has started four companies and had four exits. Three were great. One was a disaster. That one was an indoor pickleball business. By September 2024 he was $2.3 million deep and feeding it $50 to 60 thousand a month, with no end in sight. He was so stressed he thought he was having a heart attack. Then one morning, lying in bed, he made a decision. The real courage wasn't pushing forward. It was pulling the ripcord. He called the franchise group that same day and was out within a month. He describes his mind back then as a browser with 175 tabs open. He just wanted to close them. That decision was the tip of a much longer journey. Twelve years earlier, a personal development course and one moment where his wife, newly married to him, told him the truth instead of sugarcoating it, started a deep look in the mirror. It changed how he shows up as a husband, a father of five, and a CEO. In this episode, TK breaks down: What it felt like to be $2.3 million deep and realize that quitting took more courage than continuing The four exits in five years, and what he learned from the one that went wrong Why he believes a company will never outperform the internal self-image of its CEO The "I'm not good enough" story he carried for 30 years, and the stranger who revealed it was never true Growing up with a do-it-yourself dad, and why he always felt lazy next to him How being the "poorest person in the room" at an elite entrepreneur group taught him how small he'd been thinking Why he feels like one of the richest people in the room on the inside What he'd rather leave his kids than $2 million If you've ever carried a story about yourself that turned out to be false, this one's for you.

Matt Fleissig didn't find his life's work in a boardroom. He found it at a community barbecue in the Catskills — talking about snow plowing. That casual conversation with Steve Braverman, the man whose family invented the powder-free latex glove and sold it to Kimberly Clark for $1.4 billion, turned into a Monday morning meeting in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Which turned into a founding partnership. Which turned into Pathstone — a firm with nearly 1,000 employees overseeing over $200 billion in assets for ultra-high-net-worth families. Oh, and the other guy named Matt almost didn't hire him because of the name conflict. In this episode, Matt breaks down: The barbecue moment that changed his entire trajectory — and why he almost didn't get the job What Steve Braverman taught him about culture, mentorship, and treating people like partners from day one Going from 19 families to 2,500 — and what it actually takes to scale without losing who you are Why "terminal velocity" is the greatest insult you can tell a founder — and what they did about it The moment he realized out-hustling everyone wasn't enough anymore Why ultra-high-net-worth families need more than an investment manager — and how Pathstone built around that The uncomfortable feeling in your stomach when you pick up the phone — and why that's the size of your business growing What it means to never say no for a living If you believe the best opportunities in life show up when you least expect them — this one's for you.

Raj Singh spent almost a year and thousands of dollars on coaching, therapy, breathwork, and meditation. It was transformative. It was also completely inaccessible to most people on the planet. Then he sat down at a poker table in Venice next to Mark Manson — author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck — and everything clicked. Both of them had been circling the same idea: what if the world's best personal advice didn't have to cost a fortune? What if AI could deliver the kind of deeply personalized guidance that only the top 1% can currently afford — and bring it to everyone else? That conversation became Purpose — an AI-powered personal growth companion built to be the mentor, coach, and thought partner that most people never get access to. In this episode, Raj breaks down: The year-long sabbatical that changed how he sees personal growth — and what he learned about himself that surprised him most Why the best advice in the world doesn't scale — and how AI changes that equation for the first time Starting his first AI company in 2014 — a decade before it was cool Why every adaptation eventually becomes maladaptive — and what to do about it The social media trap: how platforms hijacked the comparative mind and the mental health cost we're all bearing Why he's wildly optimistic about AI — and what he thinks it will finally get right The 300 notifications a day problem — and how AI might actually give us our attention back If you believe the best version of yourself is just one right conversation away — this one's for you.

It was just before Christmas 2008. Eddy Arriola had spent the entire year building a community bank from scratch — the team, the investors, the strategy, everything. Then the phone rang. Florida regulators told him their priority wasn't opening new banks. It was shutting down the ones already failing. He wasn't their problem to solve. Eddy was devastated. And then his brother said four words that changed everything: you just keep going. That perseverance — forged first on wrestling mats, then in the depths of the financial crisis — carried Eddy all the way to founding Apollo Bank, building it for over a decade, and eventually selling it on his own terms. In this episode, Eddy breaks down: What it actually felt like to start a bank during the worst financial crisis in modern history Why he always knew the exit before he even opened the doors How wrestling taught him that the most skilled person rarely wins — the most persistent one does The silver linings he could only see in retrospect — and what that taught him about trust Why relational leadership is the only framework that actually scales What happened to his identity after the sale — and how he found his way back The pool moment: why presence is the real luxury most successful people never allow themselves The bronze medal analogy that reframes everything about what it means to make it If you've ever gotten a phone call that felt like the end — and had to find a reason to keep going anyway — this one's for you.

Rich Thompson learned everything he needed to know about business behind the counter of a frozen yogurt shop in Northern California. His parents ran it. All five kids worked it. And from the time he was four years old, Rich watched his parents show up every single day — opening, closing, fixing orders, building relationships with every customer who walked through the door. That foundation followed him through a career in finance, into founding his own investment fund Caprice, and eventually into leading Dreamliner — a staffing and workforce solutions company with 600 employees — where he still shows up every day, in the trenches, the same way his parents did. In this episode, Rich breaks down: What a frozen yogurt shop in NorCal taught him about customer experience and community Why he's always bet on the jockey, not the horse — and what that means for how he invests The decision to leave corporate finance and build something on his own terms How athletics shaped his competitive edge and work ethic long before business did Why the owner in the trenches always outperforms the owner in the ivory tower The balance framework he uses to make decisions when hundreds of families are depending on you Why his next chapter is about helping founders who have the idea but don't know who to call What watching someone grow from individual contributor to leader does for him If you believe the best businesses are built on relationships, not spreadsheets — this one's for you.

In 2005, Benny Czarny had a simple mission: build a cybersecurity language that helped products talk to each other. Twenty years later, that mission has evolved into something far bigger — protecting the world's critical infrastructure. But the real turning point? A discovery buried inside a product test. While running compatibility checks on hundreds of antivirus tools, Benny found something alarming: antiviruses are only about 45% accurate when scanning a file. A coin flip. And most of the major cybersecurity incidents happening in enterprises? Caused by file flow. That insight changed everything. In this episode, Benny breaks down: Why he started with an OEM model — and why every founder building for the long term should consider it The accidental discovery that revealed a massive gap in the cybersecurity industry What it actually means to pivot from OEM to enterprise — and how it changed his job overnight Why critical infrastructure protection is so much bigger than OT security How he's built a company that promotes from within — interns becoming GMs, junior marketers running global teams The five year plan he updates every single year — and why they're beating it 290,000 certified students and counting at OPSWAT Academy Why making at least one mistake a day means you're not on vacation If you're building something for the long game — this one's a masterclass

Mitch Slater wanted to be in broadcasting. He worked for Larry King. He worked for Howard Stern. He produced game shows in Los Angeles. And then his dad's manager looked at him across a desk and said: you've got communication skills, you can handle rejection — we'll teach you the rest. That was 35 years ago. Today Mitch is one of the most respected financial advisors at UBS — and the lessons he learned watching Larry King every night still drive how he builds relationships with every client. In this episode, Mitch breaks down: How a career in broadcasting accidentally became a career in wealth management What Larry King taught him about listening — and why he never learned anything with his mouth open The return on relationship framework that has defined his entire career Why managing expectations is the most underrated skill in financial services How he built his niche — and why going deeper always beats going broader What he thinks AI will and won't do for the financial advisory business Why after open heart surgery last year, he's more convinced than ever that human to human will always matter 300 Springsteen shows and counting — and what that passion has to do with how he shows up at work If you believe relationships are the real currency in any business — this one's for you.

Harold Jurado packed everything he owned into a small Subaru Crosstrek, left his family in Chicago, and drove west with almost no money and no plan. He didn't know where he'd land. He ended up in San Francisco — and a job at Google running their noodle cafe, Threads, changed everything. Serving 2,000 people a day, watching lines stretch out the door rain or shine, Harold saw something most chefs never see: consistent, year-round demand. Not seasonal. Not trendy. Just people who always wanted a great bowl of noodles. That data point became a restaurant. That restaurant became Ramen Well. And now Harold is building his second company — Umami Hadi, a frozen ramen and chili oil brand built to go national. In this episode, Harold breaks down: Why leaving Chicago with almost nothing was the most important decision of his life What cooking at Google taught him about demand, scale, and proof of concept Why he chose ramen over sushi, steakhouse, or fine dining — and what that says about who he wants to serve The gastropub philosophy: taking everyday food and elevating it without losing accessibility What it's like running two companies at once — two rents, two payrolls, two babies The short term goal (one grocery store) and the long term vision (national, nine figures, exit) Why he thinks going out to restaurants more is one of the best things you can do for society If you've ever packed up your life and driven toward something you couldn't quite name yet — this one's for you.

Andy Hilger never planned on a corporate career. English and philosophy major. Master's in creative writing. Spent his 20s working in a group home and an environmental company — pretty sure the corporate world wasn't for him. Then he took a job at Allegiance Group just to pay the rent. And one chaotic meeting changed everything. A flip chart marker rolled in front of his chair. He reached down to pick it up. His boss pulled his chair away. And suddenly the behind-the-scenes note taker was standing in front of four angry people being told to "land the plane." What happened next set the trajectory for a 25-year career that took him from note taker to President of Allegis Group — one of the largest staffing companies in the world. In this episode, Andy breaks down: The one moment that pulled him out of the background and into the arena Why the best leaders breathe in stress and breathe out calm How a startup with "fire, fire, fire, ready, aim" energy became a billion dollar company The agility vs. ability framework — and why your degree's half life is about 2.5 years Why careers are still being run on waterfall when the world has gone agile What lifelong learners have that makes them nearly AI-proof How he's spending his next chapter: teaching at Duke, writing, and helping people retain their agency in a world that keeps changing If you've ever felt like a square peg in a round hole — and wondered if that might actually be your superpower — this one's for you.