It’s hard enough to build one business. What kind of crazy leaves a successful and growing business to start a new one from scratch?  A crazy smart guy like Michael Beach who decided to follow his passion for product. That doesn't mean it was easy. It had its tough moments. Beach is one of the smartest guys I know in politics. He helped build my biggest competitor and then left to start a company that focuses on data, media consumption and the convergence of television and digital. His company, Cross Screen, has an amazing product my company uses daily. _______________________________________Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.

There’s this thing many entrepreneurs do. We see opportunities and start chasing them, sometimes even neglecting our core businesses and what makes us money. We stop making the main thing the main thing.  It happens for many reasons. Maybe we’re bored. Maybe we see the opportunity to make a lot of money. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. We call it “shiny object syndrome.” Luckily for Brad, he kept his focus on his core business while he made some shiny object mistakes.In this episode I talk to my close friend and baller entrepreneur Brad Ball about this topic. Brad has become one of my closest business confidants in the last few years. He is the owner of the growing Poogan’s Restaurant Group in Charleston, as well as a short term rental company in South Carolina, Georgia, Costa Rica and maybe other places I’m forgetting. Recently he’s gone hard into early stage investment. I hope you learn a lot from this chat.

I’m joined by serial entrepreneur and investor Patrick Bryant. He’s one of the leading business figures in the Charleston area and someone I rely on for advice in my daily business struggles.  He’s the founder of a software development firm, a video production company, a human resource software company and much more.  The guy is a true baller who has seen all the pitfalls in business. He experienced business loss early in life and that motivated him to win big. 

There’s this image entrepreneurs like to share on social media. It’s a picture of an iceberg. Above the surface is the word success. Below the surface are words a bit murkier. Words like stress, failure, persistence, sacrifice, hard work and disappointment.There are plenty of podcasts that talk about success. Very few like to talk about what’s beneath the surface. That’s what we are going to do on this podcast. We’re going to talk about the hard stuff.First up is my dear friend Christina Locke. Christina is CEO of Catch Talent in Charleston, delivering technical recruiting services to technology, creative, and government contracting companies.  She’s a real powerhouse as a female entrepreneur.I think you’ll learn a lot from her on what it takes to win in business.