Leadership - The ripple effect - diminishing returns
CEO Bros - After Hours
Brad runs full throttle intentionally. He knows if he operates at 100%, his leadership captures 70%. Their teams? 50%. Front line? 30%. That's why he inspects what he expects. If you don't verify, your message dies three levels down. Brian sees it differently. Rock hits a pond, ripples weaken. His brand message starts at 100%, hits 50% by sales. This is episode 50. The degradation principle. *YOU'LL DISCOVER* • Brad's degradation theory: running at 70% means your team runs at 30% • How brand messages lose 50% power by the time they reach customers • The "inspect what you expect"...
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Ep 49 Money mistakes entrepreneurs need to avoid
CEO Bros - After Hours
Brian was bringing on new customers when he ran out of money. Brad knows entrepreneurs who bought boats while their businesses were still bleeding cash. One of Brian's investors would ask him the same two questions every time they met: "How's your wife and what are you driving?" One question's about divorce. The other's about expensive cars that kill businesses before they get off the ground. Your baseline shifts without you even noticing. You start buying things and suddenly your expectations are different. Brad calls it lifestyle creep. This is episode 49. What entrepreneurs get wrong about...
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Closing Sales ep 48
CEO Bros - After Hours
Brad asks for exactly 15 minutes. At 14 minutes and 59 seconds, he stands up and leaves. Doesn't matter if they're interested or want him to stay. He asked for 15 minutes, that's what he takes. Most salespeople overstay. Brad walks out while they're still engaged. Next meeting, they already know he respects time. No bracing for a pitch that won't end. This is episode 50. How to actually close deals instead of just talking about closing. *YOU'LL DISCOVER* • Brad's 15-minute rule: leaving on the number gets more second meetings • VHT Studios closed 10,000 units in Jacksonville, Orlando said...
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ep 47 Finding and working with the ideal mentor(s)
CEO Bros - After Hours
Looking for mentorship but keep finding people who don't actually help? Brian never joined a formal program. He asked questions at lunch. David Robin had just sold Chicago's biggest real estate firm and was stuck in a non-compete. He couldn't work but could advise. Brian kept asking. Robin kept answering. Decades later, they still meet. Brad built his company by admitting "I don't know" while other CEOs fake it. His wise man was Brian, who helped him build everything (but won't accept credit.) This is episode 46. How to find your wise man when programs and LinkedIn don't work. *YOU'LL...
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2025 - Highlights
CEO Bros - After Hours
Two CEO brothers. One podcast. Zero filters. 45+ episodes of business stories, lessons, disasters and triumphs you need to hear. Mark Cuban email wars at 2am. Climbing forklifts to reach your girlfriend's window. National hotel chains spending $80K on pool diarrhea warning signs. See some of the more memorable moments when the guys discuss and debate the ups, downs and just plain craziness of business from the perspective only two brothers, each with 35+ years of running different businesses, could share. This is CEO Bros - after hours. The year in review. The moments that made this...
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ep 46 Compensation - The ins and outs of building a successful compensation strategy for your business
CEO Bros - After Hours
Brad's finance team noticed something weird in the 2026 budget and called the payroll company. The payroll company had no idea what they were talking about. Turns out 2026 has 27 pay periods instead of 26 if you're running bi-weekly payroll, and this hasn't happened in over a decade. It won't reverse itself in 2027 either. If you're not budgeting for that extra paycheck right now, you're heading for a cash crisis in December. Then comes the fun part. Brad has to tell 580 employees their paychecks are getting smaller. They think he's cutting their pay. He's not, it's the same annual salary,...
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Building a Sales Funnel: The ins and outs of successful sales
CEO Bros - After Hours
Brian's Monday ritual for years: write 100 letters by hand, stuff 100 envelopes, stick on 100 stamps, drop them at the post office. Every single week. Not emails. Not LinkedIn messages. Physical letters that landed on decision-makers' desks when everything else got filtered by assistants or spam folders. Most founders won't do this. It's tedious. It's analog. It feels outdated. But Brian's pipeline never ran dry because he did the work nobody else wanted to do. Meanwhile Brad's watching restaurants with incredible food go under in six months because they perfected their menu but nobody knows...
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ep 44 Outsourcing: Good or Bad
CEO Bros - After Hours
Brad refuses to outsource billing even when people ask. When healthcare got hacked, competitors with outsourced teams went bankrupt. Brad walked down the hallway, his team solved it. Brian built VHT by outsourcing everything that wasn't core. He could shut down when season ended. Variable costs kept him alive. Then he got acquired by engineers who refused to outsource anything. Speed died. This is episode 44. Two brothers, opposite strategies, both made money. *YOU'LL DISCOVER* • Why Brad will never outsource billing after the healthcare hack • Brian's survival strategy: turn...
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ep 43 When inside issues get out
CEO Bros - After Hours
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ep 42 Building an elite leadership team for your business
CEO Bros - After Hours
You’re One Decision Away From Becoming a Better Leader Every entrepreneur eventually faces one question that defines their entire company: 👉 Do you surround yourself with highly experienced leaders… or do you develop raw talent into the leaders you want? In this episode of CEO Bros After Hours, two seasoned CEOs break down their completely opposite approaches — and the lessons may surprise you. Brian Balduf, co-founder of VHT Studios, believes in hiring proven leaders with deep experience who can move fast, deliver results immediately, and hit the ground running. Brad Balduf, CEO of...
info_outlineRemote work introduced problems offices never had. Dogs barking. Contractors arriving. Kids at the door. Cameras off or multitasking? Working in PJs or logging extra hours? Brad thinks remote work kills his 550-employee culture. Brian cleaned out VHT's fridge in March 2020 and never came back for two years. COVID forced the experiment. Some companies stayed remote. Others are dragging people back. AT&T doesn't have enough parking spaces. Microsoft's thriving. Brad can't imagine meetings with cameras off. This is episode 39. Remote versus in-office, and why nobody's figured it out. You'll discover:
• Why Brad forces therapists into offices but can't justify leaders working from home • Brian's refrigerator story that explains VHT's accidental two-year remote experiment
• The logistical nightmare: marketing spread across 5 states, now sitting with IT guys
• Why cameras-off meetings signal you're not actually engaged
• Brad's equity problem when some groups get remote work and others don't Brian hired people from Idaho, Nebraska, Canada, Japan. Brad runs 550 employees across 11 therapy centers where hands-on work requires showing up. Different businesses, different answers. WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS:
• Prove productivity remotely before earning the privilege
• Cameras on shows you're present
• Don't force marketing to sit with IT because they're in the same city
• Hybrid works when rules are clear
*WHO THESE GUYS ARE* Brian Balduf co-founded and sold VHT Studios. Brad Balduf runs By Your Side Autism Therapy with 550 employees. Matt Croke keeps it real.
*THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH* "If you're going to have people in that meeting, there should be nothing else going on. No multitasking. If you're not engaged, why are you there?"
Where do you stand? Cameras on or off? Drop a comment. SUBSCRIBE for new episodes every Friday. Real stories, real disasters, no LinkedIn energy. ————————————
*TIMESTAMPS* 0:46 - COVID Hit: The Fridge Cleanup Story
4:06 - Blizzard Forced VHT Remote (Before COVID)
5:04 - Brad's Philosophy: Productivity Loss is Real
9:25 - Brian's Pro-Remote Argument: Hire Anywhere
12:00 - Matt's Experience: Remote Killed Connection
16:17 - The Post-COVID Hiring Problem: 5 States, One Office
18:08 - We're Literally on Zoom in the Same Bar
20:37 - Jamie Dimon vs Elon Musk Approaches
23:24 - Brad: Cameras On, No Multitasking
25:31 - Brian's Brown M&M's Segment
26:27 - Book Rec: Apple in China (Supply Chain)
28:07 - YouTube's New AI Tools (Dancing Parakeet) ————————————
*ABOUT CEO BROS AFTER HOURS* Three entrepreneurs share real business failures and successes over drinks every Friday. Brian Balduf (VHT Studios), Brad Balduf (By Your Side Autism Therapy), and Matt Croke (host). Real stories, real disasters, no LinkedIn energy. ————————————
🍸 *WIND DOWN WITH THE BROS: THIS WEEK'S COCKTAILS* Three drinks for three work setups. Pick yours.
🍸 *THE FRIDGE CLEANUP* Brian Balduf - Left the office March 2020, never came back Recipe: • 2 oz bourbon • 0.75 oz lemon juice • 0.5 oz honey syrup • 2 dashes Angostura bitters • Lemon twist • Shake with ice, strain into rocks glass The Vibe: Clean out that fridge, you'll be gone two years. This drink is what you make on that last Friday thinking it's just two weeks. Smooth, practical, gone before you know it.
🍸 *THE ZOOM CUBICLE* Brad Balduf - 550 employees, cameras better be on Recipe: • 2 oz rye whiskey • 1 oz sweet vermouth • 0.25 oz Benedictine • 2 dashes orange bitters • Orange peel • Stir with ice, strain into coupe The Vibe: You're in a meeting. Camera's on. No multitasking. If you're not engaged, why are you even here? This drink demands your full attention. Complex layers you miss if you're distracted.
🍸 *THE IDAHO HIRE* Matt Croke - Hired from anywhere, worked with no one Recipe: • 2 oz gin • 1 oz elderflower liqueur • 0.75 oz lime juice • Club soda • Build in highball, top with soda The Vibe: Brian hired people from Idaho, Nebraska, Canada, Japan. Never would've worked if they had to be in Chicago. This drink's light, flexible, works from anywhere. Just like that perfect remote hire. Make all three. Figure out where you stand. Still going to the office? Fully remote? Sitting with IT guys you don't work with? Tag us with your drink choice.
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Music: "Back to Black" by Rockin' For Decades (licensed through Epidemic Sound)