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Santa’s Naughty & Nice List: LLP's Best Episodes of 2025

The Liquid Lunch Project

Release Date: 12/31/2025

Debt, Tariffs, and the Truth About Today’s Global Economy show art Debt, Tariffs, and the Truth About Today’s Global Economy

The Liquid Lunch Project

What happens when a grown-up economist says the quiet part out loud: the U.S. is acting like it can break the rules forever? Andrés Velasco joins Matt and Luigi for a sharp, no-spin talk on debt, tariffs, copper, central banks, globalization, and why countries that treat boom times like a Vegas weekend usually end up crying in the shower. From Chile’s “save it, don’t blow it” playbook to America’s very expensive habit of pretending deficits don’t matter, this episode puts real-world economics back in plain English. 🍸 Episode Highlights: Latin America is doing better than the...

info_outline How Story-Driven Growth Helps Small Businesses Scale show art How Story-Driven Growth Helps Small Businesses Scale

The Liquid Lunch Project

What if the thing you’ve been calling “branding” is actually the backbone of your business? Dan Grech joins Matt and Luigi to make the case that a founder’s story is not decoration, not nice-to-have, and not something you slap on a homepage after the real work is done. It’s the thing that holds the whole machine together. From getting fired out of journalism to building BizHack Academy, Dan breaks down how story drives revenue, hiring, trust, and the ability to keep going when business gets ugly. 🍸 Key Highlights: Getting fired pushed Dan into business. Most founders are...

info_outline IRS Audits: What Business Owners Get Wrong show art IRS Audits: What Business Owners Get Wrong

The Liquid Lunch Project

You think the IRS is scary? Cool. Now imagine TikTok is your tax attorney. Pietro E. Canestrelli (JD, LL.M.) jumps in to kill the “one weird trick” tax myths and explain how people actually get wrecked: audits, missing returns, bad CPA advice, and the quiet fact that you’re the one holding the bag. 🍸 What you'll hear in this episode: TikTok “tax hacks” are basically a DIY fraud starter kit. “Register it in Nevada” is not clever. It’s a trap. “Everyone should be an S-Corp” is lazy advice. Period. If the IRS says they don’t have your return… it’s not filed. ...

info_outline What Actually Wins When Business Gets Hard: March Madness Edition show art What Actually Wins When Business Gets Hard: March Madness Edition

The Liquid Lunch Project

It’s March. Everyone’s arguing about brackets. So we built one for business. But instead of basketball teams, we’re matching up what founders lean on when things get real: Discipline vs. motivation. Vision vs. execution Speed vs. strategy. Branding vs. operations. Because when revenue dips and momentum stalls, you don’t get to rely on everything. You lean somewhere. This episode is a pressure test.  What actually survives when your business hits a slump? 🏀 This one covers: Why motivation fades in long seasons Why discipline carries weight when things get quiet The...

info_outline Why Some Brains Don’t Fit School show art Why Some Brains Don’t Fit School

The Liquid Lunch Project

Some people are not bad at learning. They were just trained inside the wrong system. Russell Van Brocklen joins Matt and Luigi for a conversation that starts with dyslexia but quickly turns into something much bigger: how highly capable people get mislabeled, misunderstood, and boxed into models that do not match how their brains actually work. If you run a business, manage people, or have ever felt like you think differently than the world expects, this episode will feel strangely familiar. Inside this episode: Why dyslexics often function as specialists, not generalists How traditional...

info_outline Why Trades Businesses Are Losing Jobs Online show art Why Trades Businesses Are Losing Jobs Online

The Liquid Lunch Project

Your Website Is Dead. You Just Haven’t Checked the Pulse. Contractors love tools. But hate marketing. And that’s exactly why they’re losing jobs in 2026. If you’re an HVAC company, plumber, electrician, or builder still treating your website like a digital brochure… you’re invisible. Wes Towers, founder of Uplift 360, joins us to talk contractor marketing, local SEO, and why most trades businesses wait until work dries up before they panic. This one isn’t about “branding.” It’s about survival. 🍸 What we hit on: Why contractors avoid marketing when business is good ...

info_outline The Overlooked Real Estate Asset That Investors Misjudge show art The Overlooked Real Estate Asset That Investors Misjudge

The Liquid Lunch Project

What if the investment you’ve been ignoring is ignoring recessions, too? Stocks are floating at all-time highs. Everyone’s calm. That’s usually when things get weird. Matt opens this episode with a blunt take: when the market turns, investors don’t get creative. They panic into real estate. The problem? Most people only know one version of it. So we brought on Matthias Gruenwald, a former German corporate exec who quietly built a real estate business around mobile home parks, the asset class most investors joke about and then completely misunderstand. This isn’t a hype episode....

info_outline Trump Wants to Cap Rates, Florida Wants $50K to Let You In show art Trump Wants to Cap Rates, Florida Wants $50K to Let You In

The Liquid Lunch Project

What happens when politics, credit cards, housing markets, and Florida border tolls all walk into one podcast? 🍸 In this episode, Matthew and Luigi attempt to make sense of: Trump’s credit card rate cap Inflation versus liquidity Housing incentives and “portable mortgages” A bizarre Florida “toll tax” Small business tax realities Tell us: Should the government cap interest or shut the hell up? DM us or scream into the comments. 🔔 Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations on business growth, funding, strategy, and the stuff most people...

info_outline Masterminds, Time Traps, & What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong About Growth show art Masterminds, Time Traps, & What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong About Growth

The Liquid Lunch Project

If your business falls apart when you leave for vacation, congrats. You built a trap, not a company. This episode isn't another cheerleading session for overworked founders. Jake Isaacs joins Matt and Luigi to rip into why most entrepreneurs are exhausted, isolated, and low-key addicted to chaos.  From building real communities to training kids for capitalism early, Jake lays out how Gathering the Kings is more than a buzzword mastermind; it’s a system for staying sane.   🍸 What you'll hear in this episode: Why most entrepreneurs are the misunderstood “weirdos” of their...

info_outline How 40,000 Entrepreneurs Took Back Control of Their Time show art How 40,000 Entrepreneurs Took Back Control of Their Time

The Liquid Lunch Project

Question: What do you want to do with your life? If your planner doesn't have an answer, you're doing it wrong. This week on The Liquid Lunch Project, Matt & Luigi sit down with Jason VanDevere, founder of Goal Crazy Planners and author of Dream Driven, to talk about time, discipline, and why the old-school paper planner might be the ultimate productivity hack for entrepreneurs. Jason went from turning down the family empire (think: 5 car dealerships) to building his own path around purpose, passion, and parenting, all without losing his damn mind. 🍸 What you'll hear in this episode: ...

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More Episodes

Luigi couldn’t make it to the mic this time… but don’t worry, we had a special guest fresh off his sleigh: Santa Claus. That’s right. After delivering toys across the globe, Santa himself dropped by to join Matt and help break down the Top 10 most-listened-to episodes of 2025.

What’s stuffed in the stocking:

  • How to protect your brand from copycats

  • Why profit isn’t just about more revenue

  • The emotional side of being a founder (and why that’s normal)

  • The secret weapon difference between a CPA and a CFO

  • And the tax strategy that legally makes five-figure bills disappear

 

Ready to dive deeper into one of the episodes mentioned? We’ve got you covered:

  1. Ep 221: Navigating E-Commerce’s New Challenges with Eric Youngstrom

  2. Ep 217: Building a Startup Is Ugly. Here's What Happens Behind the Scenes with Sahil Patel

  3. Ep 222: How to Own Your Idea: IP Moves That Actually Work with Austin Bonderer

  4. Ep 206: Bourbon, Branding & The Business of Food with Alex Sadowsky

  5. Ep 223: From Paperwork to Purpose: Launching a Nonprofit the Right Way with Missy Mastel

  6. Ep 205: Plan Like a Navy Commander, Win Like an Entrepreneur with Commander Mary Kelly

  7. Ep 228: Selling Your Business? Don’t Get Screwed (Financially or Existentially) with Eric Brotman

  8. Ep 207: CPA vs CFO: Are You Trusting the Wrong Financial Expert with Teresa Wagonseller

  9. Ep 225: How to Turn What You Know Into What You Sell with Stephene Marinaro

  10. Ep 208: How This CPA Turned Storage Sheds Into Tax-Free Wealth with Sean Graham

 

As Santa said, no one made the naughty list this year, but these guests? 

They brought the 🔥.

From startup resilience to real estate hacks to IP protection and AI wizardry, this is the entrepreneurial highlight reel you need before stepping into 2026.

 

🚨 Like what you hear? Well, you’re in luck! We do a Weekly Recap video of the top news stories each week. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss a drop. youtube.com/@Credit_Banc


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Connect with us on Instagram:
➡️ @matthew.r.meehan
➡️ @luigi_rosabianca,
➡️ https://www.instagram.com/theliquidlunchproject/