How to Succeed Podcast

In this episode, Mike Crandall sits down with Ryan Jacob, President of GRA Services, about succeeding on the road to senior leadership using Sandler's Success Triangle: Attitude, Behavior, and Technique. Ryan describes developing optimism, curiosity, and emotional discipline; practicing consistent follow-through and data-driven processes; and applying Sandler's techniques like Up-Front Contracts and Reversing—first as a sales student and contributor, then as a Leader.
As President, Ryan reframes these tools internally to sell change, align expectations, reduce defensiveness, and build trust, emphasizing that teams feel leadership's emotions and follow consistent actions. He highlights GRA Services' rapid growth supporting utility infrastructure with a pole-setting foam product, and credits the Sandler communities' shared language for accelerating execution and decision-making.
Core takeaways from this episode: Maintain an "Abundance Mindset" with emotional discipline. Model consistent behaviors to shape culture. And use clear Up-Front Contracts to eliminate confusion and resentment.
 
Chapter 1: Opening and Podcast Framework
00:00:02 – 00:00:39 Dave Matson introduces the "How to Succeed" podcast and its focus on the Success Triangle: attitudes, behaviors, and techniques. He sets the expectation to explore how top performers think and act to reach and maintain success.
Chapter 2: Meet the Host and Guest; Topic Setup
00:00:39 – 00:02:06 Host Mike Crandall introduces himself and his guest, Ryan Jacob, president of Gray Services. The episode's theme is succeeding on the road to senior leadership through BAT (Behavior, Attitude, Technique), framed by Ryan's long journey from sales student to company president.
Chapter 3: Ryan's Early Sales Roots and Mentorship
00:02:06 – 00:02:59 Ryan shares his background in professional selling and his connection with Mike through UCO's collegiate sales program. He explains how early mentorship and applying learned concepts at work led to tangible results and an enduring professional relationship.
Chapter 4: Attitude Foundations as a Sales Student
00:02:59 – 00:05:27 Ryan emphasizes embracing struggle, maintaining optimism, and staying calm and curious. He highlights asking strong questions, using disqualification when appropriate, and building momentum through repeated effort as core attitude differentiators.
Chapter 5: Behaviors that Create Opportunity
00:05:27 – 00:07:05 Consistency and follow-through become Ryan's standout behaviors, often winning opportunities others missed. He recounts showing up, honoring commitments, and leveraging initiative to access professional circles despite student constraints.
Chapter 6: Techniques that Accelerate Early Success
00:07:05 – 00:09:19 Key techniques include strong upfront contracts, reversing and negative reversing to deepen discovery, and sorting versus selling. Ryan stresses asking hard questions calmly and iterating relentlessly to internalize and scale effective methods.
Chapter 7: Attitude as a Top Individual Contributor
00:09:19 – 00:11:28 Curiosity lowers defensiveness and fosters honest conversations, contrasted with pushy selling stereotypes. He underscores the importance of "not needing the sale" to avoid "commission breath," particularly when pipeline is thin.
Chapter 8: High-Value Behaviors in Sales Execution
00:11:28 – 00:13:21 Ryan details embracing discomfort, intelligent prospecting, and a repeatable system mindset. He uses data-driven reflection to refine processes, evaluate outcomes, and adapt continuously to improve win rates.
Chapter 9: Techniques for Complex, Long Cycles
00:13:21 – 00:14:51 Professional sorting becomes critical in long enterprise cycles, building relationships far ahead of renewal or change windows. Strategic timing and positioning are essential to influence multi-year opportunities.
Chapter 10: Transition to Senior Leadership and Gray Services Overview
00:14:51 – 00:17:18 Ryan describes Gray Services' two-part foam solution for faster utility pole setting, enabling grid expansion amid rising electricity demand. He outlines the company's 1994 origins, rapid scaling, automation plans, and facility expansion.
Chapter 11: Leadership Attitude Under Pressure
00:17:18 – 00:18:59 Leadership amplifies BAT principles: actions over words, leading by example, and using action to drive emotion. Responsibility for livelihoods raises the stakes for mindset discipline and consistency.
Chapter 12: Selling Change Internally
00:18:59 – 00:21:12 Ryan discusses projecting steady, positive energy as teams feel leadership's emotions. He uses upfront contracts and curiosity to lower defensiveness, invite collaboration, and co-create change with long-tenured staff wary of disruption.
Chapter 13: Behavior Consistency Builds Trust
00:21:12 – 00:23:16 Doing what you say you'll do establishes credibility across the organization. Ryan highlights modeling small actions, like picking up trash, to signal standards and align culture amid rapid transformation.
Chapter 14: Leadership Techniques for Clarity and Accountability
00:23:16 – 00:25:58 Upfront contracts shift from sales to internal alignment, clarifying goals, timelines, and expectations to reduce confusion and resentment. Structure makes hard conversations fairer and more consistent, while reversing elicits candid input from those closest to the work.
Chapter 15: Community, Faith, and the Power of a Shared Language
00:25:58 – 00:31:08 Ryan shares how faith, patience, and unforeseen succession accelerated his leadership path. He leveraged the Sandler community for trusted expertise, enabling faster decisions and execution by "cutting through the fluff" with a common framework.
Chapter 16: Final Insights on BAT for Senior Leadership
00:31:08 – 00:37:08 Ryan's closing guidance: cultivate emotional discipline and an abundance mindset (attitude), recognize that culture mirrors leadership habits and consistency (behavior), and use clear upfront contracts to set expectations and reduce confusion (technique). He credits Sandler's systems, community, and common language for sustained growth.
Chapter 17: Close and Credits
00:37:08 – end Mike thanks Ryan and wraps the episode, reinforcing the theme of succeeding on the road to senior leadership. The podcast credits acknowledge Sandler Systems, LLC and direct listeners to local trainers or the website for more information.

Gregory Offner is an award-winning keynote speaker and author who focuses on helping organizations improve performance by redesigning the experience of work.  Greg was a keynote speaker at the 2026 Sandler Summit, and he introduced the concept of the Encore Experience—a powerful shift in how we think about engagement, culture, and sustainable high performance. 
In this conversation, we break down:
The real driver of most employee performance problems —even when numbers look strong
How true ownership (versus compliance) impacts long-term performance.
Why incentives and pressure stop working over time
Who your internal, and external, audience is; and why it matters.
When disengagement starts, and the two questions that can stop it in its tracks.
What leaders can do, right now, to create an "Encore Experience" for their audience.
If you're a business owner, entrepreneur, or sales leader looking to build a high-performing team that's energized, engaged, and sustainable, this episode will give you a new framework to lead by.
To learn more about Greg's work, or to inquire about bringing him in to speak at one of your events:
Website: https://www.gregoryoffner.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregoryoffnerjr 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryoffnerjr  
 
Chapter 1: Opening and Theme: The "Encore Experience"
00:00:02 – 00:02:22 Dave Matson frames the podcast's focus on the Success Triangle—attitude, behavior, and technique—then Jim Marshall introduces guest Greg Offner and the premise: performance problems are often experience problems. Greg is positioned as a keynote expert on engagement, ownership, and results, and Jim asks him to define the "encore experience."
Chapter 2: Defining the Encore Experience
00:02:22 – 00:03:42 Greg explains an encore experience as any interaction that leaves people eager to repeat it, like shouting "one more song" at a concert. He argues workplaces should intentionally create encore experiences daily for customers, colleagues, communities, and oneself.
Chapter 3: Engagement Crisis and Opportunity
00:03:42 – 00:05:12 Greg cites long-standing data showing roughly 70% of workers are disengaged, with a subset actively disengaged. He positions encore experiences as both a remedy for struggling cultures and a multiplier for organizations already doing well.
Chapter 4: Creation, Agency, and Meaning at Work
00:05:12 – 00:07:41 Using a story about his daughter and sidewalk chalk, Greg illustrates the innate human joy of being the cause. He argues work should be reframed from obligation to opportunity—especially in sales, where relationships and experiences can be intentionally designed for "encore" reactions.
Chapter 5: Turning Events into Culture
00:07:41 – 00:10:56 Greg outlines a simple, repeatable playbook: meet the audience where they are, add something uniquely yours (or invite their unique contribution), then reflect and refine. He emphasizes consistent application over one-off events and highlights post-call reviews as a natural reflection mechanism.
Chapter 6: Performance Is Interaction: Audience, Not Monologue
00:10:56 – 00:13:58 Greg reframes daily work as performance and every counterpart as an audience member, noting sales should be a dialogue. He introduces the three audience archetypes—keepers, leapers, and sleepers—explaining their motivations in both business and his dueling piano bar experience.
Chapter 7: Sleepers as Trapped Value
00:13:58 – 00:15:14 Sleepers arrived with expectations but disengaged when they felt the experience wouldn't deliver. Greg argues they represent the greatest hidden opportunity and that organizations should provoke strong opinions—positive or negative—rather than indifference.
Chapter 8: High Performers, Voice, and Retention Risk
00:15:14 – 00:19:31 Greg cautions that voicing improvement ideas is a sign of engagement, not insubordination. Ignoring such input drives talent away. He distinguishes leapers and keepers as likely high performers and warns that overreliance on money fails to address root motivations.
Chapter 9: Rock Stars vs. Rock Solids
00:19:31 – 00:21:18 Within keepers, Greg differentiates recognition-seeking rock stars from steady, lifestyle-focused rock solids. Pushing rock solids into rock star trajectories can trigger disengagement; leaders must align motivators to individual preferences.
Chapter 10: Recognition That's Relevant and Unique
00:21:18 – 00:26:58 Greg stresses making recognition meaningful and individualized rather than generic swag. He shares examples: lunches with the boss feeling special to staff, and a server's unique tactic to transform a family meal—illustrating how small, personal touches create loyalty.
Chapter 11: Where Encore Breaks Down in Sales
00:26:58 – 00:29:18 Under pressure, teams default to transactions over experiences. Greg argues that the path to the second sale begins at the first signature, and short-term quota focus erodes value. Designing the sales journey as an enjoyable experience sustains renewals and referrals.
Chapter 12: Small Acts, Big Impact
00:29:18 – 00:36:13 Greg urges leaders to spotlight everyday actions that become meaningful moments, sharing stories of a CEO personally covering an employee's life-saving prescription and a pet food company sending flowers and refunds when a customer's pet dies. Simple, empathetic policies create encore loyalty.
Chapter 13: A Simple Framework to Start Tomorrow
00:36:13 – 00:43:38 Greg advises cataloging everyday interactions and prioritizing low-lift, high-ROI moments internally and externally. He introduces the "request slip" concept from piano bars—ideas need skin in the game—and describes an internal "Shark Tank" process that turns suggestions into actionable requests with executive sponsorship.
Chapter 14: Stop Using Title as Trophy; Start Removing Obstacles
00:43:38 – 00:46:41 Leaders should stop treating titles as rewards and start using them to clear roadblocks. Greg shares his early missteps as a sales manager and emphasizes enabling employees, welcoming ideas from newcomers, and converting suggestions into co-owned requests.
Chapter 15: Results Through Experience, Not Just Accountability
00:46:41 – 00:50:34 Jim summarizes the challenge to traditional performance thinking. Greg clarifies he values results but insists sustainable success depends on how and why results are achieved—shifting from transactions to transformational experiences that drive long-term loyalty.
Chapter 16: Calibrating Ownership to Archetypes
00:50:34 – 00:51:54 Greg cautions against forcing ownership on rock solids who don't want it and reframes sleepers as undecided keepers or leapers. Leaders should help sleepers decide—either by enabling a leap or creating conditions to thrive in place.
Chapter 17: Resources and Close
00:51:54 – end Greg offers an archetype "playlist" resource summarizing keepers, leapers, and sleepers with practical do's and don'ts, and invites contact via his website and social media. The episode closes with acknowledgments and copyright information.

This episode of the How to Succeed Podcast features long-time Sandler Trainer, Sean Coyle interviewing retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph "Doc" Morgan about aligning Sandler's attitudes, behaviors, and techniques with the military's ends, ways, and means. Morgan emphasizes prioritizing will over skill, arguing that attitude and disciplined behaviors enable techniques to be learned through deliberate practice, "reps and sets", and realistic simulations. Joe shares a recruiting command case where a clear, emotionally resonant mission and targeted "bird-dog" prospecting transformed his Air Force Recruiting Squadron from near-bottom to top-ranked nationally.
The discussion stresses planning, readiness, and having resources prepped ("go bag" mindset), plus the importance of emotional commitment to goals, accountability partners, and consistent execution. Morgan closes with the "challenge coin" and a "wolf-pack" ethos to illustrate trust, shared standards, and long-term professional bonds that drive performance.
Chapter 1: Framing Success: Sandler's Triangle and Military Parallels
00:00:02 – 00:04:20 Sandler's Executive Chairman, David Mattson sets the stage with Sandler's success triangle—attitudes, behaviors, and techniques—before host Sean introduces Lt. Col. (Ret.) Joseph "Doc" Morgan. They tee up a discussion connecting Sandler's framework with the military's ends, ways, and means, hinting at friendly debate and practical crossover.
Chapter 2: Will vs. Skill: Hiring, Leading, and Learning
00:04:20 – 00:07:43 Joe equates attitudes/behaviors to will and techniques to skill, emphasizing that will is far harder to teach than skill. He shares leadership lessons from deployments and the private sector: consistent reps, realistic practice, and feedback-driven improvement are the true foundations of adaptability.
Chapter 3: Ends, Ways, Means: A Strategic Lens
00:07:43 – 00:11:34 They map Sandler to strategy: ends as objectives, ways as methods, and means as resources—including people. Joe stresses feasibility and alignment, mentoring others to balance ambition with effort, and spotting risk when high goals aren't matched by planned behaviors and resources.
Chapter 4: Mission Clarity Drives Performance
00:11:34 – 00:16:57 Joe recounts transforming a low-ranked Air Force recruiting squadron by setting a compelling end state: "be bird dogs," not farmers, and source the talent the nation needed. With a clear, higher-purpose mission and tailored incentives, the squadron rose to top rankings nationally.
Chapter 5: Ideal Profiles and Emotional Buy-In
00:16:57 – 00:20:29 Sean links mission clarity to sales by defining ideal client profiles and focusing effort where success likelihood is higher. Joe explains adapting targets by territory demographics, aligning incentives, and reinforcing that emotional connection to purpose sustains consistent, high-value prospecting.
Chapter 6: Reps and Sets: Practice Like It's Real
00:20:29 – 00:23:59 Drawing on weapons school and special operations, Joe explains that realism and repetition build reflexes and excellence. The same principle applies to sales and life: role-plays, simulations, and deliberate practice—done often and with rigor—raise performance under pressure.
Chapter 7: Preparedness: Plan, Stage Resources, Execute
00:23:59 – 00:28:27 They distill readiness into practical habits: plan tomorrow today, stage a "go bag," and know top targets and call objectives. Joe reinforces that plans are thinking tools to prepare for deviations; commitment matters because meaningful objectives require sacrifice and risk.
Chapter 8: Commitment, Accountability, and Consistency
00:28:27 – 00:30:33 The conversation turns to conviction versus aspiration, noting how quickly resolutions fail without behavior change. Joe recommends accountability partners or "wingmen" to bolster consistency, while reminding that the deepest commitment must ultimately be to oneself.
Chapter 9: The Wolf Pack: Tradition, Trust, and Team
00:30:33 – 00:33:19 Sean triggers a challenge coin moment, and Joe explains the tradition as a symbol of mutual commitment and readiness. The squadron motto—strength of the pack and the wolf—underscores lasting professional bonds, instant trust, and collective performance.
Chapter 10: Close and Credits
00:33:19 – end Sean thanks Joe and the audience, noting how the coin forged new connections. The episode closes with credits and a pointer to Sandler services and resources.

Podcast Summary
Unlock the secrets of AI and redefine your business strategy with insights from Seth Marrs, Sandler's Chief Strategy Officer. We promise you'll gain a clear understanding of how to wield AI's transformative power effectively without succumbing to the hype. Together, we'll navigate the tumultuous terrain of AI adoption, cutting through vendor-driven noise to focus on enhancing business efficiency. Learn how precision-targeted AI processes and smart technology investments can elevate your sales strategies while safeguarding data accuracy.
Step into the future of sales training as technology and data investment revolutionize traditional methods. We explore how companies that embrace advanced data structures and generative AI are setting a new standard in sales enablement and leadership. From boosting conversation intelligence to redefining KPIs, discover how these advancements allow sales leaders to coach with precision and free teams from the shackles of outdated forecasting. This episode promises a remarkable journey into the next era of sales excellence, where strategic foresight and data-driven decision-making take center stage.
Chapter 1: Introduction and Guest Setup
00:00:02 – 00:01:16 Dave Mattson introduces the How to Succeed podcast and frames the focus on attitudes, behaviors, and techniques. He welcomes guest Seth Marrs, Sandler's Chief Strategy Officer, and teases a discussion on where "the puck is going" in tech and AI for sales and leadership.
Chapter 2: The Innovative Revenue Leader Podcast Overview
00:01:16 – 00:02:11 Seth explains his podcast format: deep-dives on a single topic across multiple episodes, featuring varied expert perspectives and a research-driven synthesis. The goal is to provide practical tools and insights leaders can apply to grow revenue.
Chapter 3: Actionable Depth vs. High-Level Concepts
00:02:11 – 00:02:59 Dave highlights the gap between conceptual podcasts and actionable takeaways. Seth confirms they publish companion reports, citing one on five AI-driven capacity levers to ensure listeners leave with concrete steps.
Chapter 4: The AI Hype Cycle and Vendor-Driven Chaos
00:02:59 – 00:04:56 They discuss the rapid acceleration of technology and AI since 2020 and a vendor-fueled market pushing "AI" everywhere. Executive pressure to "do AI" leads to misaligned investments, often neglecting foundational needs like data hygiene.
Chapter 5: Why AI Initiatives Fail and What Works
00:04:56 – 00:06:08 Referencing studies with high AI failure rates, Seth argues success comes from mapping and improving specific processes with AI, not buying tools to fix problems. Proven change still follows process-first, tool-second discipline.
Chapter 6: Pressure, Waste, and Upcoming Market Correction
00:06:08 – 00:08:41 Dave notes external pressure to adopt AI creates fear of being left behind. Both anticipate a near-term shift toward smarter, ROI-focused adoption, driven by CFO scrutiny and repeatable success stories clarifying where AI truly adds value.
Chapter 7: Overlapping Tools and the "Can It Do It vs. Is It Good?" Test
00:08:41 – 00:10:24 They unpack redundancy in tech stacks (e.g., multiple tools that "write emails"). The real question is output quality and contextual relevance, echoing prior dynamics like using LinkedIn for accuracy and ZoomInfo for phone numbers.
Chapter 8: Education Gap and Overpromising Vendors
00:10:24 – 00:11:18 Most practitioners don't understand nuanced tool differences, exacerbated by vendors claiming universal AI capability. This fuels confusion and misaligned purchasing.
Chapter 9: Where the Puck Is Going: Data, Infrastructure, and Enablement
00:11:18 – 00:12:49 AI performance will only improve; organizations investing in data and infrastructure will compound gains. Seth predicts a transformation in enablement and training through conversation intelligence and role-play powered by GenAI.
Chapter 10: From Training Events to Continuous, Visible Reinforcement
00:12:49 – 00:14:24 Enablement evolves from one-off training to ongoing assessment across calls and emails, with clear visibility into who applies the methodology and the outcomes. Leaders gain unprecedented insight to reinforce and optimize.
Chapter 11: Science Over Art in Sales Performance
00:14:24 – 00:16:28 Dave likens the shift to medicine and pro sports: from art to data-driven science with MRIs and video review. Sales can now diagnose reality over self-reported optimism, though increased transparency may feel threatening to some.
Chapter 12: Tools Elevate but Don't Replace Excellence
00:16:28 – 00:19:30 Seth asserts technology equips practitioners but doesn't eliminate the performance spectrum. Blindly following AI produces average results; top performers synthesize AI with judgment, adapting to context shifts like those during COVID.
Chapter 13: Empowering High Performers and Institutionalizing Wins
00:19:30 – 00:21:28 AI can surface winning patterns from "rogue" top sellers and scale them across teams. Digital playbooks can capture best moments across individuals, but most organizations still fail to build and maintain them.
Chapter 14: Culture, Curiosity, and Leveling the Field
00:21:28 – 00:22:55 Resistance stems from human nature and legacy structures that reward tenure over curiosity. The new environment favors sellers committed to craft, learning, and experimentation, expanding their opportunities.
Chapter 15: Manager Adoption and the Coaching Opportunity
00:22:55 – 00:24:36 Historically, reps learned from call libraries more than managers used them. Pressure is mounting on managers to leverage these tools, shifting from generic call quotas to event-driven, targeted coaching triggers.
Chapter 16: Span of Control and Precision Coaching
00:24:36 – 00:25:59 AI-driven diagnostics will increase managers' span of control by automating detection of coachable moments. Time shifts from ride-alongs and full-call reviews to focused intervention on specific gaps tied to deal impact.
Chapter 17: Practical Playbook for Sales Leaders
00:25:59 – 00:27:39 Leaders should adopt tech for pinpoint coaching, grounded in recorded calls and captured emails. This enables loss mitigation via timely intervention, delivering more performance with less wasted managerial time.
Chapter 18: Rethinking CRO Metrics and Forecasting
00:27:39 – 00:29:47 For CROs and owners, the mandate is a new set of leading indicators sourced from conversation and engagement data. Forecasts should become byproducts of actual selling activity rather than self-reported, error-prone rollups.
Chapter 19: From Guesswork to Evidence-Based Operations
00:29:47 – 00:32:20 Leaders gain the ability to make forward-looking decisions from real interactions, not hedged numbers. Reclaiming time spent on forecasting and discovering bespoke conversational indicators creates durable competitive advantages.
Chapter 20: Closing Guidance: Start Small, Solve One Problem
00:32:20 – end Seth advises choosing a single, well-defined problem, mapping it to a solvable action with a tool, and executing. Mastery and confidence build through iterative wins, avoiding the trap of broad, unfocused AI implementations. Dave closes by recapping takeaways and promoting Seth's podcast.

Podcast Summary
This episode of the How To Succeed Podcast features watch entrepreneur Alan Tsao of the Tsao Baltimore Watch Company, tracing his journey from childhood fascination to launching a successful watch brand. After an initial manufacturing failure and losing early partners, Alan persisted, refined designs, leveraged mentorship, and achieved a breakout 2017 Kickstarter that far surpassed its goal via low-cost, gamified marketing.
Tsao built trust with global manufacturers through in-person visits, grew through proactive behaviors and strategic partnerships (National Bohemian, McCormick Old Bay Seasoning, the Baltimore Ravens, the Baltimore Orioles, and the University of Maryland Athletic Dept.), and is developing notable projects like a Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge watch - using actual bridge steel - with profits donated to victims' families after the fatal bridge disaster in March, 2024.
Join us, as Alan emphasizes attitude, learning from failure, community-building, and advises aspiring entrepreneurs to take action and, "Just Do It".
 
Chapter 1: Introduction to the How to Succeed Podcast
00:00:02 – 00:00:40 Dave Mattson frames the show's focus on the "success triangle" of attitudes, behaviors, and techniques. He sets expectations for peeling back how top performers think and act.
Chapter 2: Meet the Guest and Topic
00:00:40 – 00:01:15 Host Chris McDonell welcomes guest Alan Tsao of Tsao Baltimore Watch Company and outlines the plan to explore Alan's entrepreneurial journey. Alan acknowledges the journey's challenges and rewards.
Chapter 3: From Childhood Fascination to Passion Project
00:01:15 – 00:03:35 Alan traces his love of watches to a gift at age ten and explains his obsession with mechanical movements. As his career advanced, he built a 35–40 watch collection before deciding, with a nudge from his wife, to start designing his own watches.
Chapter 4: Early Missteps and Losing Initial Partners
00:03:35 – 00:07:03 While working in property management, Alan looped in executives as early partners and sourced a manufacturer via a quick Google search. The first prototypes were low quality, scaring off his partners; he refunded them and bootstrapped forward, seeking advice from other microbrands to refine designs and supply chain.
Chapter 5: Attitude—Learning From Failure and Pushing Forward
00:07:03 – 00:11:23 Prompted by Sandler's "attitude" lens, Alan reframes failure as learning rather than stopping. He emphasizes determination, confidence, and never giving up, aligning with the concept of "failing forward" to refine processes.
Chapter 6: Breakthrough Kickstarter and Lean Marketing
00:11:23 – 00:14:58 After vastly improved prototypes, Alan launched a 2017 Kickstarter with a $45,000 goal, surpassing it in three hours and finishing at ~$115,000. He attributes traction to a $500–$800 gamified referral campaign that generated ~2,000 emails and ~25% conversion.
Chapter 7: Global Sourcing and Trust-Building
00:15:13 – 00:17:57 Between 2017 and 2022, Alan traveled to Hong Kong and Switzerland to meet manufacturers. In-person relationships built trust, improved terms, and elevated product quality, strengthening credibility and operational know-how.
Chapter 8: Going Full-Time, Investor Catalyst, and Hypergrowth
00:18:38 – 00:23:03 Weighing life choices post-Covid, Alan met an investor through a retail event who first commissioned 250 custom watches, then offered capital. After due diligence and valuation work, Alan accepted the deal, resigned, and the company grew 150–200% the following year.
Chapter 9: Behavior—Showing Up Leads to Opportunity
00:23:03 – 00:23:53 Chris highlights the behavioral discipline of attending events and hustling while employed. Proactive behaviors, not chance, drove encounter-based breakthroughs and subsequent growth.
Chapter 10: Strategic Partnerships—Natty Boh, Old Bay, Orioles, Ravens
00:23:53 – 00:27:47 Alan details collaborations beginning with National Bohemian via Instagram outreach and a fortuitous family contact leading to McCormick/Old Bay. Successive momentum earned projects with the Ravens and an official licensing partnership with the Orioles to cement local brand identity.
Chapter 11: The Key Bridge Watch—Local Manufacturing and Giving Back
00:27:47 – 00:30:33 Tsao Baltimore is producing a watch using actual steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, with 85% of components made in Maryland. All profits support victims' families, while the project advances local manufacturing R&D.
Chapter 12: Expanding into Education and Sports Memorabilia
00:30:21 – 00:34:27 As official timepiece of University of Maryland Athletics, Alan plans "class watch" programs for schools as an alternative to rings. He previews an Orioles initiative using player-worn jerseys as mystery watch dials with signed player cards, enabling community trading events.
Chapter 13: Proudest Moments—First Sale and Family Validation
00:34:27 – 00:36:48 Alan recalls the emotional impact of the first full-price online sale. A second defining moment came when his young son said, "I'm proud of you, daddy," affirming the deeper family purpose behind the business.
Chapter 14: Capabilities and Services at the New Workshop
00:36:48 – 00:37:24 The new facility houses certified watchmakers capable of servicing luxury brands, acting as a U.S. repair hub for jewelers and independent watch companies.
Chapter 15: Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs
00:37:24 – end Drawing on his teaching at the University of Baltimore, Alan urges aspiring founders to start, learn by doing, and iterate through trial and error. He stresses overcoming comfort zones, accepting risk, and avoiding regret by taking the first step.