Oct 27, 202653 min
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with John Ghiorso, founder of VantaFive, a venture studio and accelerator focused on niche marketing agencies. John shares his journey from bootstrapping Orca...
About this Podcast:
Want to know what it takes to build, scale, and sell your agency? Retained Trust is a weekly podcast where host Karl Hughes goes deep with digital service business owners to uncover the habits, tactics, and strategies they’ve learned to grow successful companies. Along the way, you’ll hear about Karl’s journey running and acquiring niche digital agencies as he learns from guests with a variety of backgrounds and experience levels.
Pitch Analysis
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Contact path
Public web form
Booking probability
32%
Guest openness
Selective
80/100
Required Score
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Signup to Generate a PitchQuestions about Retained Trust
What is Retained Trust about?
Want to know what it takes to build, scale, and sell your agency? Retained Trust is a weekly podcast where host Karl Hughes goes deep with digital service business owners to uncover the habits, tactics, and strategies they’ve learned to grow successful companies.
What has Retained Trust covered recently?
Recent episodes include "Building Eight-Figure Agencies: John Ghiorso on Venture Studios, Market Timing, and AI" (27 October 2026, 53 minutes), "Beyond the Sales Playbook: Christina Brady on AI, Sales Training, and Leadership" (20 October 2026, 52 minutes), and "Building a Million-Dollar Agency: The Systems Behind Seven-Figure Growth" (13 October 2026, 23 minutes).
How often does Retained Trust publish?
Retained Trust publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 44 minutes across 69 episodes.
How hard is it to get booked on Retained Trust?
Booking probability for Retained Trust is 32%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Retained Trust requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Retained Trust's contact route on record: public web form.
Who should pitch Retained Trust?
The strongest fits for Retained Trust are Business & Management Consulting and Marketing, Advertising & PR. Retained Trust has a business audience.
About the host
Retained Trust is a business podcast with 69 episodes published.
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Recent episodes
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Oct 20, 202652 minIn this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Christina Brady, CEO and Co-Founder of Luster.ai, about her journey from sales representative to startup founder. Christina shares lessons from her time at...
Oct 13, 202623 minIn this solo episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes breaks down how service businesses can grow to $1 million in annual revenue. Drawing from his experience building and acquiring seven-figure agencies, Karl...
Oct 6, 202657 minIn this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Robert Tuchman of Amaze Media Labs and Audience Lift, and Adam Hendricks of The Podcast Consultant, about what it takes to grow a podcast. They discuss who...
Episode #64
Building a Podcast Agency That Lasts: Rachael King on Pod People, Creative Growth, and Trust
Sep 29, 202649 minIn this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Rachael King, founder and CEO of Pod People, about building a podcast production company over nearly a decade. Rachael shares how her background in social...
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Sep 22, 202653 minIn this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Jeff Large, founder of Come Alive Creative, about his path from teaching middle school to building a podcast-focused agency. Jeff explains how his company...
Episode #62
Building Relationships That Drive Business: Dr. Jeremy Weisz on Podcasting and Networking
Sep 15, 202649 minIn this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Dr. Jeremy Weisz about using podcasting to build relationships, strengthen trust, and create business opportunities. Jeremy shares how his path from...
Episode #61
Building a Podcast Portfolio: Karl Hughes and Manuel Weiss on Acquisitions, Integration, and Growth
Sep 8, 202651 minIn this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes welcomes back his business partner, Manuel Weiss, for a personal and business update. Manuel shares his move from Vienna back to the U.S., while he and Karl explain...
Episode #61
The Real Story of Entrepreneurship | Trailer
Sep 1, 20263 minBuilding a company is rarely the clean success story you hear after the fact. On Retained Trust , Karl Hughes sits down with founders and entrepreneurs to unpack what actually happens behind the scenes — the...
Apr 7, 202648 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Kimley Cox, founder of Drive Talent, a retained search firm specializing in precision manufacturing. Kimley shares her journey from decades in...
- Mar 24, 202622 minS0
<p>In this special episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes distills lessons from dozens of conversations with agency founders, consultants, and acquirers into a focused breakdown of what drives agency growth. The...
Mar 10, 202653 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Greg Heilers, co-founder of Jolly SEO, an agency focused on earned link building and media placements. Greg shares his unconventional entrepreneurial...
Feb 24, 202646 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Grant Hensel, founder of Nonprofit Megaphone and managing partner at Entrepreneur Capital. Grant shares how he built a highly specialized agency serving...
Feb 10, 202655 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Peter Kang, co-founder of Barrel and Barrel Holdings. Peter shares his 18-year journey in building a digital agency from the ground up, navigating the...
Jan 27, 202657 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes chats with Will Smith, host of Acquiring Minds and partner at Minds Capital. Will shares how his frustration with startup ideas led him to entrepreneurship through...
Jan 13, 202647 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes talks with Mushfiq Sarker, an experienced entrepreneur and founder of webacquisition.com. Mushfiq shares how he transitioned from flipping content websites to...
Dec 16, 202554 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes talks with Mark Bealin, founder of SearchLab, a Chicago-based digital marketing agency specializing in local SEO and PPC. Mark recounts his journey from side-hustle...
Dec 2, 202549 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Dan Andrews—entrepreneur, podcaster, and co-creator of the Tropical MBA and Dynamite Circle. Dan recounts his entrepreneurial journey from corporate...
Nov 18, 202545 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes sits down with his co-founder Manuel Weiss for their quarterly update. They open up about recent challenges and wins across their portfolio, especially the...
Nov 4, 202521 minS0<p>In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes reconnects with Kurt Schnakenberg, founder of adbm.agency, to reflect on the agency’s growth, challenges, and pivotal lessons from its first 1.4 years. Kurt...
Recent guests
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Best industries to pitch Retained Trust for
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