Make Money by Investing in Events and Masterminds

David Guttman is a serial entrepreneur, three-time Inc. 500 executive, and business strategist with more than 30 years’ experience building, scaling, and exiting multiple eight- and nine-figure companies. He’s bought and sold 15 businesses, raised over $25 million, and holds degrees from Brown and Wharton—but as he reveals in this episode, Guttman's most powerful business lessons have all come from hands-on experience, not classrooms. Joined by Anna, a first-time founder going through his new "Anti-MBA" program, David shows how anyone can launch, scale, and exit a real business—no fancy degree or pedigree required. On this episode we talk about:   The difference between academic knowledge and real-world business competence (and why David tore up his Wharton MBA diploma)   How Guttman’s new “Anti-MBA” course powers hands-on learning for first-time founders—including an 18-year-old launching a tech-savvy poster company   The secrets of buying, scaling, and selling businesses across 40+ industries, including key lessons from epic failures and wins   How to build winning businesses: bottoms-up budgeting, asking the right questions, and synthesizing knowledge from every team member   Networking, mentorship, and why podcasting is still the “single best tool for building relationships” in the modern era Top 3 Takeaways 1.  Building and scaling companies is about learning by doing, asking questions, testing assumptions, and embracing mistakes—not degrees or credentials.2.  All business victories (and most big lessons) come from execution, pattern recognition, honesty, and the ability to synthesize data and team insights.3.  Owners should treat employees as true owners—make everyone a shareholder, drive open-book management, and prioritize real relationships for long-term wins. Notable Quotes   "I didn't learn anything particularly useful in the classroom. I learned by doing."   "If you wouldn't do the deal on a handshake, don't do the deal—even if contracts look great."   "Podcasting is hands down the single best networking tool ever invented—by galaxies." Connect with David Guttman: https://www.guttmanmedia.com/ ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Q&A episode, Travis and producer Eric break down the true value—and actual dollar ROI—of spending big on conferences, masterminds, and in-person networking events. Travis pulls back the curtain on years of personal investment, revealing why choosing the right room can shortcut years of growth for entrepreneurs and creators. The episode answers tough listener questions about wasted money, picking events, and how to “level up” your network strategically instead of just collecting business cards. On this episode we talk about:   Why Travis has spent six figures annually to get access to high-caliber business rooms   The difference between ROI in cheap conferences vs. elite mastermind groups   How and why real business growth happens outside of structured sessions—often at after-hours meetups   The “ping pong effect”—why you need to challenge yourself by surrounding yourself with people at much higher levels   The most common mistake (and how to avoid wasting your investment by focusing solely on content over relationships) Top 3 Takeaways 1.  Face-to-face conferences and masterminds often provide the best ROI—companies report a 4:1 to 5:1 return according to 2025 industry data, and new business from events still outpaces digital alone.2.  Growth happens fastest when you pay to be uncomfortable and seek out rooms where you’re not the expert—proximity to big thinkers shortcuts years of solo effort.3.  The best value comes when you prioritize genuine relationships over just knowledge—one high-value contact can outweigh years’ worth of conference notes. Notable Quotes   "When you pay, you pay attention. Money is an amazing accountability partner—if you stretch to get in the right room, you make the most of it."   "All the best business happens after hours, in the relationships and informal meetups that develop outside the official event schedule."   "If you can't find a conference that fits, be the host—creating the community gives you leverage and attracts the best connections." Connect with Travis Chappell:   LinkedIn: Travis Chappell on LinkedIn   Twitter/X: @travischappell   Instagram: @travischappell   Website: travischappell.com ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Srividya Jandhyala is a renowned professor of management at ESSEC Business School specializing in global strategy, international business, and geopolitics. The author of "The Great Disruption: How Geopolitics is Changing Companies, Managers, and Work" (Cambridge University Press, 2025), Srividya’s research has garnered multiple awards and appears in top-tier journals. She is recognized for her ability to distill complex geopolitical shifts into clear, actionable insights for executives and entrepreneurs navigating today’s volatile economic landscape. On this episode we talk about:   How global strategy and international business fundamentals are shifting in response to renewed geopolitical volatility   The business risks—and unexpected opportunities—arising from trade wars, sanctions, and national security regulations   Real-world case studies showing how leading companies are adapting to geopolitical shocks in 2025   Why managers and entrepreneurs need to understand geopolitics to make smarter investment, partnership, and growth decisions   How to cultivate resilience and agility amid unpredictable global business trends Top 3 Takeaways 1.  Geopolitical change is now a primary factor in business risk and opportunity—understanding new rules is crucial for survival and growth.2.  Companies must actively adapt strategy, supply chains, and partnerships as nations prioritize security and sovereignty over open markets.3.  Leaders who stay informed and agile—using data, networks, and scenario planning—can turn global disruptions into competitive advantage. Notable Quotes   "A great disruption is underway. Geopolitics is reshaping international business, and managers must navigate a new and changing world."   "There’s no going back to the pre-2020 ‘rules’—today, structural shifts call for new levels of creativity and resilience."   "Firms that understand both market and non-market forces will seize the best opportunities amidst uncertainty." Connect with Srividya Jandhyala:   Personal Website: s-jandhyala.com ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode features Travis and producer Eric tackling one of the biggest, most uncomfortable truths about financial success: most people will never build real wealth—and the core reason isn’t luck or the White House, but mindset. Drawing on decades of interviews with self-made success stories, Travis explains why belief in possibility—coupled with intentional action and environment—unlocks opportunities that most people never realize exist. The episode offers a wake-up call for anyone stuck in the “doom loop” of financial frustration and outlines specific, practical steps to break free and design a new future. On this episode we talk about:   Why most Americans will never build wealth (and what the data says about the top 10% vs. everyone else)   The single biggest mental barrier keeping people stuck in financial ruts—belief in what's possible for themselves   How environment, relationships, and content shape financial results (and how to intentionally re-engineer them)   Actionable frameworks for moving beyond circumstances, including the “inputs and outputs” model Travis uses with top performers   Practical advice for dealing with setbacks, self-doubt, and excuses in the wealth-building journey Top 3 Takeaways 1.  Wealth building starts with changing belief—if you don’t believe it’s possible, you’ll never take the sustained action required to succeed.2.  Intentional shifts in environment, daily influences, and relationships are critical for breaking generational or circumstantial cycles of financial struggle.3.  Personal responsibility, not circumstances or politics, is the lever that brings change—everyone has the power to design an environment that shapes who they become. Notable Quotes   "You are now 100% a result of your choices, not a result of the environment that you grew up in."   "Nobody is going to come save you. You have the agency and responsibility to put things in motion to change your life."   "It’s easier to take the action you need if everyone around you is doing the same thing—your environment is your secret weapon." Connect with Travis Chappell:   LinkedIn: Travis Chappell on LinkedIn   Twitter/X: @travischappell   Instagram: @travischappell   Website: travischappell.com ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Pais, actor and founder of Committed Impulse, has starred in 150+ movies and shows (Ray Donovan, Joker, TMNT) but is just as known for his game-changing work teaching creativity, presence, and resilience. Drawing from the worlds of acting, science, and entrepreneurship, Josh helps professionals harness anxiety and fear—not fight it—unlocking deeper authenticity, energy, and real business results. His new book, Lose Your Mind, reveals the step-by-step process for transforming internal resistance into creative fuel in both art and enterprise. Josh’s unique upbringing: a mother who was a painter-poet, a father who was a physicist who worked with Einstein—blending creativity and science into his philosophy and approach. The Committed Impulse method: Presence-based, body-centric acting technique that has empowered Oscar-winning actors, Navy SEALs, Fortune 100 execs, entrepreneurs, and professionals to break free of “tyranny of overthinking” and use anxiety as a source of power. Core lesson: Emotions like anxiety, nervousness, fear are neither good nor bad—they are energetic phenomena, and feeling them fully (rather than suppressing) creates truth, spontaneity, and engagement. Why authenticity is business’s secret weapon: When professionals (lawyers, doctors, salespeople) connect from genuine experience—rather than perform from a “safe” autopilot—audiences respond, and careers flourish. “Lose Your Mind”: New book offering practical tools and meditations to shift internal energy, supporting creative invincibility for anyone with high-stakes communication needs. Experiencing—not avoiding—fear and anxiety is how world-class creatives, executives, and entrepreneurs achieve breakthrough results. Suppressing emotions is energetically and physically costly; creativity, health, and business engagement all flourish when energy is allowed to flow. The most compelling entrepreneurs, speakers, and leaders show up with their real physical and emotional truth—being present, not perfect, books deals and drives success in today’s market. “What people perceive as nervousness is just creative fuel—once I learned to feel every feeling fully, booking jobs and success became effortless”. “The best presenters and actors allow the charge in their bodies—authenticity is speaking from your truth and letting energy move”. “Committed Impulse gives you access to your creative ‘atomic’ truth—it’s how you build trust, connect, and sell in business as well as art”. Committed Impulse: committedimpulse.com ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Travis and producer Eric dissect the troubling rise of “buy now, pay later” schemes—from renting Jordans for 53 payments to financing Chipotle burritos with Klarna. Together, they break down the dangers of weekly payment plans, the psychological tricks behind small recurring payments, and the growing $82B debt problem fueled by these fintech innovations. The rise of “buy now, pay later” apps like Klarna and Affirm, now offering financing for everything from shoes to lunch—why this is NOT financial freedom Why weekly payment structures psychologically lure customers, obscuring actual costs (“just $19 a week” means more than $1,000 over a year for a pair of shoes) Klarna’s CEO admits most shouldn’t finance small purchases—yet the option is everywhere, and millions fall for it How buy now, pay later debt is now practically invisible to traditional credit monitors, with 90–100M Americans using these services and $82B spent in 2024 alone The discipline myth: Why sustainable wealth and financial self-control depend on removing temptation, building habits, and automating savings over time Weekly or daily payment plans are a predatory marketing tactic—real wealth is built by delaying gratification and refusing to finance wants as needs. Buy now, pay later isn’t a “hack”—it’s the same as a credit card, minus visibility, with consequences just as severe if payments are missed. The solution: erase easy credit temptations, automate real savings, and focus discipline on building income, not propping up short-term purchases with debt. “If anybody is offering you weekly payments for shoes, it’s because it’s a ridiculous idea.” “You haven’t earned the right to convenience purchases until you’re financially free—build habits, not more recurring payments.” “No one will care for your financial health except you. Take accountability—and avoid the Klarna burrito trap.” ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Kotter is CEO and President of both the Hybrid Debt Fund and Integrity Capital, LLC, managing over $2 billion in funding in the commercial finance space. With a background spanning the secondary debt markets and commercial origination, Kotter is known for his innovative “hybrid debt” structure—blending lender security with investor upside—while helping clients bridge funding gaps in today’s challenging CRE market. David’s path from entrepreneurial hustles (medical kits, landscaping) to launching Integrity Capital while still in college, focusing on commercial debt origination and now running a fund that holds and manages private credit paper itself. The difference between primary market (origination/lending directly to developers) and secondary market (buying distressed or performing debt from other lenders); why Kotter migrated his focus to origination for deeper client relationships and resilience across market cycles. How the Hybrid Debt Fund works: funding up to 85–90% of a project, then participating in 30–35% of profits, offering speed and flexibility to developers, while providing “debt with equity-like upside” to investors. Why commercial lending is a field for those with tenacity and resilience; how internships and analytical roles are a strong entry point, and why success is a blend of sales grit, analytical rigor, and networking at the highest levels. Honest discussion of market cycles: post-2022 “fog mode” in CRE, what signals the sector is thawing as of late 2025, and why office, older multifamily, and hospitality have the most distress—but no “tsunami” of deals or crash expected. Breaking into commercial finance requires hands-on exposure, industry mentors, and a willingness to plow through long, complex, often uncertain deals—those who persist can earn $300K+ within several years. The debt+equity hybrid model gives developers flexibility and investors returns otherwise unavailable from traditional lenders—a timely solution as banks retrench and equity gets expensive. Commercial real estate is about to regain momentum after a period of stasis; the best operators are adapting, not waiting for “vulture” moments or a 2008-style crash. “Smart capital structure = survival. In 2008, great projects died because capital disappeared. In 2025, Hybrid Debt Fund is bridging the gap banks left behind.” “We provide operators with fast, flexible capital and offer investors security with upside—solving real market friction.” “Tenacity and relationship-building are essential; CRE brokering success comes to those who can solve complex problems and persist through slow, challenging cycles.” integrity-capital.com ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, Travis Chappell and producer Eric break down a viral “travel hack” spotted on Threads, where someone claims you can rack up $26K in credit card charges and just pay the minimum monthly payment. The crew uses this as a springboard to talk about financial literacy, the psychology of spending, and what happens when you only pay the minimum—plus real strategies to manage credit and avoid debt traps. The viral Threads post (“hack”) and why it’s a dangerous misconception: paying only the minimum isn’t a life cheat but a fast track to lifelong debt. Why financial education about credit cards, interest, revolving credit, and the psychology of spending is more important than ever—especially for younger adults who aren’t taught these essentials in school. How credit cards encourage overspending: research shows people spend 12–18% more using credit than cash due to less “pain at purchase,” and the harmful habit of building life expenses around “payments” instead of principal. Real-life examples: the car dealership “payment mentality” upselling add-ons, the risk of going “payment-poor” with homes and vehicles, and what happens when the unexpected hits. The case for using automated transfers, apps like Rocket Money, and “out of sight, out of mind” saving tactics to build real wealth (instead of racking up more debt). Paying only the minimum on credit cards turns small debts into multi-year obligations costing 2-3x the original purchase—there are no shortcuts, just expensive traps. Most people overspend on credit, underestimate interest, and get in trouble by confusing “affordability” with “payment size” rather than the real cost. Use simple tech (automatic savings, sub-accounts, goal-driven transfers) to separate spending and saving, build a buffer, and keep “future you” protected from impulse spending and debt. “Spending $26K and only paying $80/month is not a life hack, it's a life trap.” “If you don’t know your APR, or how minimums work, plug your numbers into a calculator—seeing the real cost will change your behavior fast.” “The industry profits when people think in payments, not in price.” Threads continues to grow as a real-time text-based community tied to Instagram, now featuring DMs, spoiler tags, and profile scheduling tools, but questionable viral “hacks” mean financial literacy is more crucial than ever. ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brixton Albert, a former Division I golfer and serial entrepreneur, turned his love of golf and digital business skills into Performance Golf, an education and product platform on track to surpass $125 million in revenue in 2025—all without outside funding. His journey combines relentless action, digital marketing expertise, and a deep commitment to both teaching and innovation, making Performance Golf one of the fastest-rising brands in the golf industry today. How Brixton went from lemonade stands and caddying as a teen to building a global golf business, leveraging both his experience as a competitive golfer and his knowledge of digital sales and marketing. The origins of Performance Golf: first digital courses, then clubs, training aids (like the Straight Stick and One Wedge), an innovative AI-powered app, and now immersive coaching events—all supported by partnerships with top instructors and rapid product expansion. The value of aggressive testing, delayed gratification, and reinvesting profits—Brixton kept his job and lived lean until Performance Golf hit $30 million+ in annual sales. The transformative impact of masterminds and mentors, including how a single paid brainstorming day led to immediate and explosive revenue growth. Vivd examples of relentless action and adaptability—Brixton routinely diversified product lines, built strong teams, and learned to delegate in order to scale past eight and nine figures. Relentless volume of action and rapid iteration are key: success is inevitable if you keep adjusting and learning from the market. Get comfortable with rejection and failure—those who move forward without the fear of loss see outsized results over time. Invest in mentorship, masterminds, and team building to expand vision and delegate; bigger impact requires stepping away from “doing it all yourself”. “Under Brixton’s leadership, Performance Golf went from a single digital course to a $100M+ brand in 7 years, by always providing the highest-quality coaching and products.” “After years in digital marketing, Brixton bet on himself, staying lean and reinvesting every dollar until his passion and vision met the market—a model for any founder scaling fast.” “Performance Golf’s greatest breakthroughs came when Brixton invested in mentors and tested products relentlessly; rapid growth followed when he learned to delegate and scale.” Connect with Brixton Albert performancegolf.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brixtonalbert ✖️✖️✖️✖️ 🚀 Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neel Dhingra shares how he leveraged social media to connect with industry leaders like Gary Vee—and the game-changing advice that helped him build his brand. He breaks down the key to creating engaging financial content, proving competence, and attracting the right audience while repelling the wrong one. ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ 🚀 This podcast is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. 🚀 Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. 🎁 Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices