022 Bruce Piefke of Caffeine & Octane | Growing a brand and executing on your vision, even if you didn't originally start the business

In today's episode we wrap-up Season 1 of The Carpreneur Podcast.  We'll take a look back at some of this season's guests, many of whom have made some big moves since our conversations earlier this year. We'll also dive into analytics and see how this podcast did in its first season. How many of you are out there listening? Which guest had the most downloads? The answer to that one might surprise you! I'll also get into where The Carpreneur Podcast is heading for Season 2 and of course wrap up with the final fast 5 questions, Whitlock edition.  Thank you all for your support and taking the time to listen this year, it mean's the world to me, and I can't wait to talk again next year!

Jarrah Venables is the namesake to the vintage race car brokerage and events firm, Jarrah Venables.  Vintage racing is in Jarrah's blood thanks to his father who works on vintage race cars from the 60's. So when Jarrah left school, all he wanted to do was have a career in the field. Unfortunately, he couldn't wrench and he didn't have a small fortune to turn into a proper racing career. So what's a guy to do? Well, Jarrah landed a dream job at Goodwood where he worked with the events team to produce the Festival of Speed and the Revival. But after 10 years, he was ready for a change, a new challenge, and after a meeting with a headhunter, he took the leap of faith and struck out on his own. In this conversation, Jarrah and I talk about how Goodwood became a client, and how that benefited them both as he made the transition from employee to entrepreneur. We also chat about his remarkable growth from selling $100,000 cars to representing cars well into the millions, and the networking it took to get there.  This is a great conversation and a fascinating look into how some of the greatest vintage events in Europe are put together. Please enjoy my conversation with Jarrah Venables. 

Today's guest is Pete Stout, founder of 000 Magazine, a beautifully crafted quarterly publication about Porsche Now, if you are a Porschephile, you've definitely come across Pete's work at some point even if you're not familiar with his latest project. Prior to 000, Pete spend almost two decades writing about Porsche as the Editor-in-chief at Porsche Panorama, the official magazine of the Porsche Club of America, and prior to that, Excellence Magazine. In this episode we dive into why Pete made the move to leave Panorama after only 3 years into his 10 year plan to start 000; and why the timing was finally right after writing a half dozen business plans for his own magazine over the years. We also chat about how he's grown subscribers for a magazine that costs almost 25 times the average price of your typical automotive rag found on news stands, and the marketing partnerships that have expanded 000's reach around the world and paved the way for a resurgence in high-quality, quarterly print. Please enjoy my conversation with Pete Stout of 000 Magazine.

Today's guest is Dwight Knowlton of Carpe Viam. I first discovered Dwight's work while looking for cool automotive children's books prior to having my son. And that's exactly how Dwight's business got off the ground in 2013. You see, Dwight wanted to share his automotive passion with his soon-to-be born son as well and scoured the internet looking for books that were a little less "kiddie", and more "car guy." When he came up short, he decided to write one himself and "The Little Red Race Car" was born. In this episode, Dwight and I discuss his journey from self publishing his first book, to having Budweisers for breakfast with none other than Sir Stirling Moss. We talk about the struggles of having to learn everything about self publishing on the fly, how Carpe Viam indirectly became a full time endeavor when he found himself without a job, and how you know you've really make it when others start knocking off your apparel brand. Excellent advice in this one with a super cool car guy. Please enjoy my conversation with Dwight Knowlton of Carpe Viam.

Today's guest is Bruce Piefke, CEO of High-Octane Events which produces both Caffeine & Octane and Caffeine & Exotics, two of the largest "cars and coffee" type events in the country.  This is a great conversation about how Bruce went from consultant with Caffeine & Octane to purchasing the show from AutoTrader and then growing the brand in multiple directions. Today, Caffeine & Octane is not just a car show, but a television show on its 5th season, an apparel company, an app, and soon an actual real-life coffee shop. Bruce has a great story to tell and we get into a ton! We talk about his elevator pitch for the TV show to a random stranger, who turned out to be the VP of Programming for NBC Sports; how the first event under his ownership was almost held in a flood; and what it takes to bring your vision to life.  So, without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Bruce Piefke of Caffeine & Octane.

In today’s episode I chat with Jakub Wrobel and Yuri Tereshyn, aka The Straight Pipes, aka the #1 reviewers of new cars in North America on YouTube. Now, this title didn’t happen overnight. Jakub started The Straight Pipes channel when saw an empty space for high quality exhaust sounds on YouTube. Uploading occasionally, Jakub saw some initial traction with his videos getting shared by a few media outlets here and there; but it was more of a creative outlet for his love for cars than anything. Then along came Yuri who at the time, was working as a drone pilot for an automotive TV show, and they began to ask themselves, “if these other guys can review cars, why can’t we.” So they stood in front of a couple cars, did weird journalist stuff on camera… and the rest is history. We talk about being embarrassed by your first attempt, their five year path to a million views, and the crossroads of having to make the decision to quit your job and focus on YouTube full time. These guys are hilarious, some of my favorite reviewers for sure.  Enjoy this conversation with Jakub and Yuri, The Straight Pipes.

Today’s guest is Jeremy Porter, founder and CEO of Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville, GA. What started out as just a business plan to give to others in the industry turned into a piece of paper with a lot of promises to keep after the 2008 financial crisis took his conventional real estate investors out of the picture. But instead of folding, Jeremy got creative and took an unconventional approach to financing his dream. And 8 years later, the Atlanta Motorsports Park is a playground for car guys with not only a track, but hundreds of garages, one of the top karting tracks in the nation, and now condo’s and a restaurant in the near future. Jeremy’s is a great story of learning everything on the fly, doing right by the community, and running with the ball against all odds. With that, enjoy my conversation with Jeremy Porter of Atlanta Motorsports Park.

Today’s conversation is with John Temerian of Curated, a dealership in Miami specializing in vintage supercars. John’s journey started at his father’s Lamborghini service business where he grew from sweeping floors & cleaning cars to doing a clutch on a Testarossa at the age of 16. Eventually he would leave the proverbial nest to chase a lifestyle inspired by his father’s big clients who had the money, who had the cars, and who he thought had the life he wanted. He hosted parties, supercar events, and eventually ended up running a successful exotic car rental company, Lou LaVie, but something was missing. He just wasn’t fulfilled. And that’s when serendipity stepped in and he realized that everything he had learned at a young age from his father, how to evaluate a car, what’s correct about a vehicles history, was baked into his DNA and a valuable asset to collectors. Thus Curated was born. This is a great story about building a brand, sticking to your DNA, and focusing on exactly what you know as you run the entrepreneurial  marathon. Please enjoy this chat with John Temerian of Curated.

Don Mettler is the founder of Black Diamond Motorsports, an automotive storage facility located in Atlanta, GA. In today's episode, Don and I discuss the origins of his first "version" of Black Diamond as an exotic car club that grew into a profitable business allowing members the opportunity to get behind a number of exotic cars; and how he came to the realization that his personality just wasn't suited for that particular business. Then we get into how extra capacity at his car club location allowed him to pivot into the much more profitable (and easier to manage) car storage business that he runs today with over 100 cars in storage and 2 more locations opening early next year. Enjoy this conversation with Don Mettler of Black Diamond Motorsports. 

David Jacobson is the founder of PCARMARKET, the fastest growing Porsche marketplace in the world. In today's episode you'll learn a ton from a serial entrepreneur who is driven by creativity and has followed his passion for Porsche cars to fill in the gaps in the market with Porsche specific businesses. We discuss how when doing something you love, there’s always something more to do and the gamble he took buying a famous 911, and then listing that car on his website at no reserve. Incredibly interesting conversation with a very humble and driven guy. Please enjoy my chat with David Jacobson of PCARMARKET.