The Inspired Stories Podcast

Anthony Codispoti has started, built, and sold a variety of successful businesses, including a 7-figure wholesale business (successful exit), a 7-figure consumer business (exited to private equity), a SaaS business (successful exit), and fiscally advantaged benefits. As an innovator and pioneer, he has been awarded patents, earned best seller badges, and gained scores of battle scars. In this show, we gain inspiration from the successes achieved and challenges overcome by today's business leaders.

The Inspired Stories Podcast is a education podcast hosted by Anthony Codispoti, with 565 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Anthony Codispoti hosts The Inspired Stories Podcast, a education show with 565 episodes published.

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  Episode #578

  Google Was a 150-Person Startup When Josh Levine Brought Them Into Microsoft to Fix Search

  Oct 3, 20261h 3m

  ️ From the White House Press Corps to Building an Amazon Growth Agency: Josh Levine's Journey In this episode, Josh Levine shares a career that spans the White House press corps, Microsoft's early discoverability partnership with a small startup called Google, a mobile social network wiped out by the 2008 financial collapse, and a business partnership derailed by falsified books. Josh opens up about what those setbacks taught him about trust and incentives, and how those lessons shaped the performance-based, full-service model behind the Amazon growth agency he built. ✨ Key Insights You'll Learn: Got an early, formative look at media incentives while observing the White House press corps as a kid Worked at Microsoft during a period when the company quietly partnered with a young startup called Google Co-founded a mobile social network that raised $7.2 million from Sand Hill Road investors Lost the company and years of work when a VC fund collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis Discovered a business partner's books had been falsified during a fundraising round Learned firsthand how quickly trust and reputation collapse once financial numbers are compromised Built an Amazon growth agency around a full-service model instead of single-channel services Prices services on performance-based alignment rather than flat retainer fees Structures client engagements so the agency effectively fires itself if results don't show within 30 days Emphasizes preparation and timing as decisive, often uncontrollable factors in business success Josh's Key Influences: Early White House Press Exposure: Shaped a lasting skepticism about incentives and integrity in institutions Microsoft Colleagues: Introduced him to an early, discoverability-focused partnership with Google Sand Hill Road Investors: Backed his mobile social network and shaped his understanding of venture-backed risk A Business Partner's Failure: The discovery of falsified books became a defining lesson in trust and accountability Hear how a career shaped by media pettiness, Microsoft's Google partnership, a lost venture, and a business betrayal led to a performance-based Amazon growth agency. Connect with Josh Levine: Website: growthavenue.com Transcript Available: Google Was a 150-Person Startup When Josh Levine Brought Them Into Microsoft to Fix Search Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

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  Episode #578

  Integrity at Nimbl Means One Thing to Dave Olsen: Be Your Word

  Oct 2, 20261 hour

  ️ Seven Years of Not Knowing Where Payroll Was Coming From: Dave Olsen's Journey Building Nimbl Staffing In this episode, Dave Olsen, co-founder and CEO of Nimbl Staffing, shares how two full-time CFO roles that shrank into part-time work revealed a business model that would eventually become a 100-plus person outsourced accounting company. Dave opens up about seven grinding years of financial uncertainty during the housing crisis, the executive coach who convinced him he didn't have to sacrifice family for growth, and why he believes AI is creating more work for accountants rather than replacing them. ✨ Key Insights You'll Learn: Switched from accounting to information systems at BYU before Ernst & Young's audit program pulled him back Took his first CFO role at a startup just a week after finishing his CPA requirements Realized full-time CFO work wasn't sustainable at small startups and pivoted to serving multiple clients at once Spent seven years during the housing crisis uncertain where payroll, and his own paycheck, would come from Formed a joint venture called Tanalytics with a regional accounting firm in 2018 Bought out that joint venture in 2019 and rebranded the combined company as Nimbl Staffing Hired an HR-focused leader as his second employee, well before most companies would consider that role Built Nimbl Staffing around referral partnerships rather than digital advertising or cold outreach Grew to over 100 team members split between the US and the Philippines Gives individual team members their own AI tool access rather than building company-wide automated workflows Dave's Key Mentors: The Founder of AquaTherm: Remembered him from a high school job and gave him his first CFO opportunity His Executive Coach of Seven Years: Helped him realize he could grow the business without sacrificing family and health His Wife: Trusted him through years of financial uncertainty rather than pushing him toward a traditional job His Early Accounting Peer Group: Formed in 2019 and still provides some of his closest professional relationships today Hear how two CFO jobs that became too small to justify full-time work led to a 100-person outsourced accounting company built on referrals, systems, and a refusal to sacrifice family for growth. Connect with Dave Olsen: Website: https://trustnimbl.com/staffing/ Transcript Available: Integrity at Nimbl Means One Thing to Dave Olsen: Be Your Word Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

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  Episode #576

  Fair Leadership Without Fear: Robby Younes on the Standard He Wants at Crystal Spring Resort

  Sep 30, 20261h 7m

  ️ Robby Younes on COVID, the Board That Tried to Fire Him, and Taking Crystal Springs Resort From $10M to $26M Robby Younes, President of Crystal Springs Resort, grew up in Beirut during the war, came to the United States, got humiliated at a social gathering for not knowing wine well enough, walked into Barnes & Noble the next morning, and never stopped. Twenty years later he runs a resort with a wine cellar worth over $32 million, 438 rooms across two properties, and a EBITDA he tripled from 10 million to 26 million — despite a board that tried to fire him multiple times for keeping the property open, renovating with his own staff, and charging $1,200 a night during COVID while everyone else was closed. ✨ Key Insights You'll Learn: Growing up in Beirut during the war and what a life of survival taught him about risk Being humiliated over wine at a social gathering and the Barnes & Noble morning that followed How founder Gene Mulderhill let him taste millions of dollars of wine that built his palate and his career Building a wine cellar with 135,000 bottles across 9,100 labels and why it was always a marketing vehicle Deciding not to close during COVID while the board prepared his termination paperwork Renovating four properties with his own hotel staff, broken into 12 teams, during 11 weeks of COVID shutdown Opening in June 2020 at $700 a night, closing at $1,200, and running at 100 percent occupancy Reinvesting 60 percent of profits back into the property and growing customer return rate from 28 to 58 percent Taking the company from $10.9 million to $26 million EBITDA over five years and what that made it worth at sale The $54 million investment plan with the new ownership group, South Street Capital Robby's Key Mentors: His Father (Army General): A man who scared everyone in life and had thousands of people at his funeral — including soldiers whose weddings he secretly paid for — who never raised his voice Gene Mulderhill (Crystal Springs Founder): Gave Robby access to wine that money rarely buys and the mandate to build the best cellar in the world The Person Who Humiliated Him Over Wine: The moment that sent him to Barnes & Noble and started everything The Retirees He Calls Weekly: Not in his industry, not in his company — just successful, humble people who tell him when he's wrong Don't miss this conversation about what happens when you refuse to close during the worst crisis in hospitality history, why the dollar chases you if you stop chasing it, and what a general's funeral in Beirut taught a resort president in New Jersey about what leadership actually looks like. Connect with Robby Younes: Website: crystalgolfresort.com Transcript Available: Fair Leadership Without Fear: Robby Younes on the Standard He Wants at Crystal Spring Resort Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

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  Episode #575

  Brotherhood, Trust, and a Father's Belief Anchored Rich Balot's Path to Building Victra

  Sep 29, 20261h 1m

  ️ Started with a Three Thousand Dollar Loan on the Family Car: Rich Balot's Journey Building Victra In this episode, Rich Balot, founder and CEO of Victra, shares how a mobile DJ business in high school and a $3,000 loan against the family car led to building the largest exclusive Verizon authorized retailer in the country. Rich opens up about the sudden death of his COO that pulled him back from retirement, buying his own company back from private equity within weeks of raising the capital, and how he rebuilt a broken culture across 1,800 stores nationwide. ✨ Key Insights You'll Learn: Started a mobile DJ business in high school that grew to seven employees and six-figure profit by age 16 Opened his first cell phone store in 1996 in Wilson, North Carolina, at age 18 Brought his brother on as a business partner specifically to help outvote their father Grew the company from a single storefront to roughly 250 stores before retiring in 2015 Returned as CEO in 2019 after his successor left and company culture had deteriorated Fired three of four area vice presidents and nine of sixteen regional directors within 60 days of returning Learned his COO had died in a car accident weeks after selling the business in 2015 Raised the capital to buy Victra back from private equity in just 24 hours in 2021 Now oversees roughly 1,800 stores across all 50 states generating nearly $3 billion in revenue Serves as president of a Catholic high school that grew from 32 to nearly 300 students Rich's Key Mentors: His Father: Risked the family car to fund his first business loan and gave him early confidence and trust His Brother, Dave: Longtime silent business partner who helped balance family dynamics and later co-led the company buyback His Wife: Founder of Haven at Blue Creek, whose own recovery journey shaped his approach to giving back The Bishop of Raleigh: Entrusted him with leading a Catholic high school despite his own Jewish faith Hear how a teenage DJ business and a risked family car became the largest exclusive Verizon retailer in the country, and what it took to rebuild it after tragedy and a broken culture. Connect with Rich Balot: Website: victra.com Transcript Available: Brotherhood, Trust, and a Father's Belief Anchored Rich Balot's Path to Building Victra Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

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  Episode #574

  Told Not to Pray Too Long Over a Job Offer, Andrew Monk Quit and Started His Own Business Instead

  Sep 28, 202655 min

  ️ Told Not to Pray Too Long Over a Job Offer: Andrew Monk's Journey Building Monk Life and Health Insurance Advising In this episode, Andrew Monk, founder and owner of Monk Life and Health Insurance Advising, shares how a burnout-driven exit from full-time youth ministry led through a string of unrelated jobs before he found his footing in insurance, twice. Andrew opens up about a failed first attempt at the industry, the corporate ultimatum that pushed him to go independent, and how a shift in his own faith changed the way he runs his business. ✨ Key Insights You'll Learn: Spent five years as a full-time youth minister before burnout forced him to step away Lasted only a few months in his first insurance job after minimal training Worked through a pool company, customer service, door-to-door vacuum sales, and furniture delivery Rose from delivery driver to sales manager over four years at Haverty's Furniture Walked away from a promised store after a corporate leader told him not to "pray too long" Returned to insurance in September 2019 with a captive carrier that taught him to run a business Built his client base almost entirely through a referral-based BNI networking group Went fully independent to offer more than one insurance product to his clients Built a niche practice serving full-time RVers who struggle to find coverage on the road Maintains a 100% client recommendation rate built on relationship over cold outreach Andrew's Key Mentors: His US Health Group Manager: First leader to teach him how to run a business rather than just sell a product His BNI Networking Group: Provided the referral relationships that became the foundation of his entire client base A Group of Christian Entrepreneurs: Helped him reframe his business as a partnership with God rather than a provider role His Wife: Supported the family through repeated career transitions and job losses along the way Hear how a burned-out youth minister found his way through five careers before building an independent insurance practice rooted in faith and referrals. Connect with Andrew Monk: Website: monkadvising.net Transcript Available: Told Not to Pray Too Long Over a Job Offer: Andrew Monk's Journey Building Monk Life and Health Insurance Advising Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

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