Santa in the Shark Tank | Mitch Allen

We revisit a holiday classic this week: Mitch Allen, the founder and "Chief Elf" of HireSanta, joins Dave for a talk about the business. Mitch is a serial entrepreneur and has had other successful businesses prior to founding HireSanta, a company that helps organizations hire professional Santa Clauses. He shares his story of appearing on Shark Tank and how everything you see on TV is not quite what it seems.  Links: HireSanta: https://www.hiresanta.com/ Mitch's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchell-allen-45b54a5/

Casey Brown is a top pricing expert and professional speaker. She is the founder of Boost Pricing, where she helps companies discover their true pricing power and increase profits. Over the course of her career, Casey has personally helped over 1,000 companies generate more than US$1 billion in incremental profits. This episode focuses on how entrepreneurs can confidently own their value and negotiate fearlessly. Casey talks about common customer tactics and gives you practical steps to set prices that reflect your worth. She is also a best-selling author and her book, Fearless Pricing, guides business owners to own their value and command the prices they deserve. Listen in. Links: Casey's Website: https://www.caseybrown.com/ Casey's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseybrownboost/ Boost Pricing: https://boostpricing.com/ Fearless Pricing: https://a.co/d/e9oWiq4  

Param Dedhia, MD, is an internal medicine doctor, integrative medicine practitioner, and sleep expert. In this episode, Dr. Dedhia discusses sleep and well-being. He also talks about the rise of GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic, and their benefits for managing obesity and diabetes. Dr. Dedhia also touches on the importance of mindfulness, joy, and being present.  Links: Param's Website: https://www.param.com/  

Description: We revisit a classic this week with Joe Foster, the founder of Reebok. From building shoes at his grandfather's business to founding one of the most well-known shoe brands in the world, Joe Foster has had quite the journey. He and his brother Jeff worked at their grandfather's shoe business, the JW Foster company, which was known for the first spiked running shoe. After returning from World War II, Joe and his brother noted that their family business wouldn't be able to grow in the state that it was in—still cobbling shoes using designs from the 1930s. They wanted to create something that would eventually rival shoes from Nike and Adidas, behemoths in the industry. As a result, Reebok was founded. Listen in as Joe shares his incredible story. For a deeper dive, check out Joe's book, "Shoemaker"!   Links: "Shoemaker" by Joe Foster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Shoemaker/Joe-Foster/9781471194016  

We dug another episode from the crypt this week featuring Tyler Hamilton! Tyler Hamilton is a former professional cyclist. He's competed in a number of events throughout his extensive career, from the Olympics to the Tour de France. Tyler joins the podcast today to discuss his book The Secret Race and his involvement in the doping culture that surrounded professional cycling. Listen in as he shares his incredible story!   Related Links: The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: https://amz.run/5dYQ Contact Tyler: [email protected] Adventure Base Camps: https://www.adventurebasecamps.com/  

Dandapani returns to the podcast this week. Dandapani is a Hindu priest, entrepreneur, and author. After earning an electrical engineering degree in Australia, he dropped everything to become a Hindu monk in Hawaii. After becoming a Hindu priest, Dandapani ventured into the world of entrepreneurship. Using his experience as a Hindu monk and priest, he has developed a mentorship program for entrepreneurs, helping them find deeper meaning and focus in their lives. In this episode, listen in as Dandapani talks about the importance of self-awareness, practicing focus, and living with intention.    Related Links: Dandapani's Website: https://dandapani.org/ The Power of Unwavering Focus: https://dandapani.org/unwavering-focus-book/  

John Osher is a serial entrepreneur behind hundreds of consumer products, including the iconic SpinBrush, the "five dollar electric toothbrush," which became the top-selling toothbrush in the U.S. in just fifteen months. After the massive success of SpinBrush, he then sold the company to Procter and Gamble in 2001 for the highest multiple in consumer product history. In addition to his business ventures, he is also a renowned producer, having successfully produced several Broadway shows such as Hairspray and The Jersey Boys. Known for his success in building and selling businesses to Fortune 500 companies, John shares insights into his incredible entrepreneurial journey. Link: John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-osher-90782611

Marcus Lemonis is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and TV personality most known for The Profit and The Fixer. He is also the CEO of Camping World, Good Sam Enterprises, and Beyond Inc. In this episode, Marcus shares his entrepreneurial journey. From lessons learned to his thoughts on leadership, Marcus has had a successful career building businesses. Listen in for his practical advice and his inspirational story.   Links: Marcus's Website: https://marcuslemonis.com/

Alex Goryachev is a Forbes-recognized innovation expert and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. In this episode, he shares his expertise on harnessing the power of AI to drive transformative change. With hands-on experience at top brands like Cisco, Dell, IBM, and Pfizer, Alex cuts through the hype and delivers authentic, actionable insights on overcoming AI resistance and sparking innovation.   Links: Alex's Website: https://www.alexgoryachev.com/

Jeff De Cagna is an association contrarian, foresight practitioner, futurist, and keynote speaker. He's the executive advisor for Foresight First LLC, a governing orientation that "prioritizes the future and challenges association and non-profit boards to question their orthodox beliefs." As of August 26, 2025, ChatGPT, a popular generative AI-chatbot, has been out for 1000 days. In those 1000 days, the AI landscape has changed tremendously. While there have been positive developments as a result of the generative AI boom, Jeff and Dave take a closer look at how AI has impacted the world.   Links: MIT AI Risk Repository: https://airisk.mit.edu/ Foresight First: https://foresightfirst.io/ Empire of AI by Karen Hao: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743569