Your KPIs Are Lying to You: The CEO Metric That Actually Creates Value
The 8-Figure Product CEO
9 figure CEO Lee Benson shares his Most Important Number System that has helped him with 3 exits We dig into the idea of the “Most Important Number”—the single metric that brings focus, alignment, and real execution across the company. Because if your team is tracking 20+ KPIs and still not moving fast enough, the issue usually isn’t effort… it’s clarity. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to identify the one metric that truly drives value in your business How to build the right KPI drivers underneath it (so it’s not just a scoreboard) How strong CEOs create accountability...
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From Scientist to Startup CEO: Dr. Anita Sengupta, Hydroplane, and the Real Path to Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Commercialization
The 8-Figure Product CEO
On this episode of the Apex CEO Podcast, I interview Dr. Anita Sengupta—Founder & CEO of Hydroplane, aerospace engineer, commercial pilot, and USC professor—to unpack what it really takes for a high-level technical professional to make the leap into entrepreneurship. Anita’s career spans the kind of world-class environments most people only dream about—NASA, cutting-edge aerospace programs, and academic research. But building a deep-tech startup is a different game. In this conversation, she breaks down the hard shift from “well-resourced institutions” to starting from zero:...
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Small Business Turnaround Playbook: Inside a Fractional CMO’s Growth System
The 8-Figure Product CEO
Javier Lozano – Founder of Bolder Media Co., fractional CMO designing predictable growth systems for B2B founders. In this episode, we look at small business turnaround through the eyes of a fractional CMO/CRO. I bring Javier into the kind of company I see all the time: doing $5–10M in revenue, good product, but flat growth, weak pipeline, and a marketing “mix” that’s really just random acts of advertising. We talk about: How he spots a real growth story in a stalled business by talking to the team, digging into the numbers, and seeing if the market still cares. Turning random...
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From Zero Revenue to First Plant: How Evrnu Raised $35M in Hard-Tech Capital
The 8-Figure Product CEO
Stacy Flynn, CEO and co-founder of Evrnu, is doing something most founders only talk about: turning cotton garment waste into high-performance, fully recyclable fibers—and building a real business around it. Evrnu has raised about $35M in capital- How? In this episode, we dig into the real story behind that headline number. Stacy walks us through: How she convinced the very first investors to back a textile-to-textile recycling idea long before there was a plant or revenue. Evrnu’s business model—what they actually sell, who pays, and how garment waste turns into a product brand partners...
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Husband and Wife Co-founders Built a 9-Figure Cocktail Brand from Scratch – Carbliss
The 8-Figure Product CEO
On this episode I’m joined by Adam and Amanda Kroener, married co-founders of Carbliss Cocktails—a low-carb, full-flavor RTD cocktail brand that’s grown into a 9-figure business. Adam came out of the cheese industry as a Director of Manufacturing. Amanda stepped in as CFO and now leads the data and IT side of the business. Together, they’ve turned Carbliss into a serious national player in a brutal, crowded category. We cover: The key decisions in the first 24 months that bent the growth curve. How they handled manufacturing issues and tight cash when both inventory and dollars were...
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How to Build a 2026 Budget That Actually Works: Eight Areas Most CEOs Miss
The 8-Figure Product CEO
Most budgets fail before the year even starts. Not because the team didn’t work hard—but because the assumptions were never real. In this episode, I walk through the eight critical areas where mid-market companies blow their budgets, and the exact process I use when coaching CEOs, CFOs, and ownership teams through 2026 planning. This isn’t theory. These are real-world lessons pulled straight from reviewing company budgets this year—where revenue forecasts are overly optimistic, margins are padded, promo calendars are ignored, and SG&A stays untouched while the company continues...
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Fixing a Losing Business: The First 90 Days of a Real Consumer Brand Turnaround
The 8-Figure Product CEO
Your company’s been losing money for two or three years. Forecasts keep promising a rebound that never comes. Sales are flat or down, SG&A is bloated, and leadership is too close to the problem to see the real issues. In this episode, I walk through the exact turnaround framework I use when stepping into a struggling mid-market company. These aren’t theories. These are real wins pulled straight from the trenches—where outside eyes can find 5% in SG&A savings on day one and unlock a path back to break-even. We’ll break down the practical work: renegotiating everything from...
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When Payroll Eats the Business: Inside a Mid-Market Consumer Products Turnaround
The 8-Figure Product CEO
Most turnarounds don’t start with marketing fixes or strategy sessions. They start with a calculator. A few months ago, I stepped into a mid-market consumer products brand doing under $10M a year. From the outside, it looked healthy -- loyal customers, strong reviews, recognizable product. Under the hood, it was bleeding $70,000 every month. The core issue wasn’t mysterious. Payroll alone was sitting at roughly 25% of revenue. At their gross margins, breakeven wasn’t possible. SG&A had quietly swallowed the P&L. This episode breaks down the real math behind why product companies...
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How to Grow Past $10 Million in Sales with a Fractional VP of Sales
The 8-Figure Product CEO
What if you could hire a VP of Sales—without the full-time salary? In this episode, I sat down with Richard Few, Founder of Sales Geek, to talk about how founders scale past $10M using fractional sales leadership. Richard launched Sales Geek in 2017 and built a global sales consultancy—bootstrapped, with $6M in revenue, 15 core staff, and 70+ franchisees worldwide. We unpack how fractional VPs help early-stage businesses fix what’s really blocking growth: no sales systems, unclear messaging, and poor hiring. If you’re a CEO still doing sales yourself—or you’ve hired reps without a...
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How to Turn a Hobby into a Million-Dollar Business
The 8-Figure Product CEO
What would it take to turn your craft into a real business? In this unique episode, Luke coaches Kevin, the founder of Summit Effects, live on how to transform his woodworking passion into a scalable product brand. Kevin’s been running his custom woodshop since 2001, with deep craftsmanship and a strong social media presence—but it hasn’t translated into growth. Luke guides Kevin through a strategic pivot: building a product line that’s shippable, high-margin, and tells a story. Together, they explore new hero products (like custom sushi boards and accessories), walk through...
info_outlinePaul Hletko — Founder, FEW Spirits (est. 2011, Evanston, IL). Grain-to-glass craft whiskey brand known for Chicago-style bourbon, distinctive flavor, and creative collabs. FEW became part of Samson & Surrey, now under Heaven Hill.
Key Takeaways (quick hits)
- Position before production: FEW chose Chicago bourbon—distinct taste by design, not “safe.”
- Price = signal: Set as an affordable luxury (~$45–$50) to telegraph quality without scaring off trial.
- Give fans a story to repeat:
- Place: Evanston—birthplace of Prohibition—baked into the brand.
- Personal: Family roots in Czech brewing, disrupted by the Nazis—heritage and grit with purpose.
- Find your customer where they already gather: Niche blogs/communities beat broad ads early on.
- Innovation portfolio: Run levels 1–4 (from small tweaks to patent-backed “new-to-world”) and balance the mix so safe work doesn’t crowd out bold bets.
- Hard lesson: Cash flow is the boss—brand strength shortens the payback clock.
8 Practical CEO Questions We Covered
- Who exactly is your customer—and what story do they already tell their friends?
- What deliberate product difference will they notice on first sip/use?
- Where do they already hang out (blogs, forums, on-premise, niche media)?
- How do you set good/better/best pricing without cannibalizing the hero SKU?
- What’s your 90-day proof a new SKU earns shelf (rate of sale, repeat, gross-to-net)?
- How do you split innovation L1–L4 this year—and who owns the mix?
- What’s your cash clock (spend → sell-through), and how does brand reduce it?
- What’s your one-line retailer pitch that makes them choose you over the next similar bottle?