In this episode of Business Owners Tell All: What It Takes, Jamie Seeker sits down with Juan Cruz, founder and managing attorney of JCA Law, PLLC, a Texas-based education law firm with offices in Laredo, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi. With nearly 30 years of legal experience and a track record that includes a win before the Texas Supreme Court, Juan shares the grit, strategy, and heart it took to build a respected firm from scratch.

Juan opens up about:

• Walking away from big law to follow his own vision
• Building a niche firm in education law
• Balancing courtroom advocacy with smart business planning
• Expanding across Texas without taking on debt
• The power of kindness and trust in leadership
• Why it’s vital to know your lane — and stay in it

Whether you're a legal professional, business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, Juan’s journey is packed with real talk, hard-won lessons, and pragmatic wisdom for anyone navigating leadership under pressure.

Welcome back to What It Takes, the podcast where we dig into the real stories behind successful businesses — and the bold people who built them.

Today, we head into the high-stakes world of education law with someone who’s been in the legal trenches for nearly 30 years: Juan Cruz, founder of JCA Law, PLLC. From winning before the Texas Supreme Court to advising school districts across the state, Juan’s journey is one of courage, clarity, and calculated risk.

With offices across Laredo, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi, Juan shares how he built a thriving firm without debt, how he earns trust in a politically charged landscape, and why true leadership shows up in the storm — not just the sunshine.

Juan, thank you for sharing so much with us — not just the wins, but the values that guide how you lead. Your story is a reminder that what it takes to run a business isn’t just strategy or ambition — it’s trust, clarity, and yes, a whole lot of hard work.

To learn more about Juan and his firm, visit jca-law.com and follow @jcalaw on Instagram and Facebook — we’ll link everything in the show notes.

And hey, if today’s episode got you thinking differently about leadership, business planning, or staying true to your values — send it to a friend. Share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Thanks for listening — and we’ll catch you next time on What It Takes.

In this insightful and candid episode, Joseph Nagle, Head of Strategy at Pando Electric, shares how his team is disrupting the EV charging space by simplifying the tech, targeting underserved communities, and building a resilient, mission-aligned company culture.

From securing a $5.4 million state grant to pioneering smart outlet charging that cuts costs and maintenance, Joseph walks us through what it takes to build a scalable and meaningful solution in an emerging industry—while also opening up about leadership, hiring, and the importance of persistence.

• Pando Electric’s innovation: A smart outlet solution for EV charging in multifamily buildings—cheaper, easier to install, and far less prone to vandalism than traditional chargers.
• Why outlets over chargers? “It’s a more simplistic product. People already know how to use an outlet.”
• Impact of the California Energy Commission Grant: $5.4M to install 1,600+ outlets across California, primarily in disadvantaged and underserved communities.

• Hiring Philosophy: Look for people who are hungry, creative problem-solvers, not just technically proficient.
• Interview Tactics: Open-ended questions and unexpected prompts to assess thinking, creativity, and how candidates handle uncertainty.
• Onboarding Strategy: New hires start with hands-on learning and eventually take on a “capstone project” to identify and address a real gap in the business.
• Retention Approach: Equity-based incentives and alignment with the company mission over prestige or big-name offers.

• Joseph’s biggest takeaway from years in EV startups?
• “Patience and persistence. Every project will have something go absolutely horribly wrong.”
• He stresses the importance of seeking help and building community around your venture:
• “Even if you’re the smartest person on the planet, you can’t do it all by yourself.”

In this episode, Jamie sits down with Jake Malott, the founder of Whitestone DCI, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm that specializes in preconstruction project management and land use consulting. From giving Segway tours and dressing as a pineapple to breaking through LA’s regulatory red tape, Jake’s journey into business ownership is anything but conventional.

He shares how persistence, creativity, and valuing his own work were key to launching and sustaining his company — all while building a team, learning on the fly, and reinventing his pricing model in an ultra-competitive, bureaucratic environment.

Whether you’re in real estate or just trying to figure out how to charge what you’re worth, Jake’s story is packed with insight and hard-won wisdom.

• Jake moved to LA without a job and followed a trail of seven connections to land his first role in the preconstruction space.
• He literally said, “I’ll dig a ditch, just get me into this industry,” to show how badly he wanted the opportunity.

• He entered an obscure, specialized field (land use consulting) most people haven’t heard of unless they’re already deep in development.
• Recognized a gap and built Whitestone to serve clients big firms passed over.

• Initially nervous to send even a $500 invoice.
• Over time, he realized:

• Used creative compensation strategies (like profit-sharing with consultants) because he couldn’t afford to pay salaries.
• Created a pricing model around “blocks of work” instead of traditional hourly rates to improve clarity and client buy-in.

• Focuses on hiring people with emotional intelligence and curiosity — not just technical skill.
• Built a culture that reflects his creative, liberal arts background, with a workspace that feels inspiring and community-driven.
• “You never have to be selling what you do. Just be passionate and build communities.”

• Shared how he's constantly evolving processes, services, and pricing based on customer feedback and internal capabilities.
• Learned the hard way that “There’s no rulebook — you get to decide how your business runs.”

• “You jump off a cliff and sew your parachute while you’re falling.”
• “No one should ever second guess whether they’re going to get paid on time.”
• “People mirror the value you place on yourself — so price accordingly.”
• “There’s no handbook — you can make up the rules of your business as you go.”
• “Leadership isn’t about being someone else. It’s about owning who you are and building around that.”
• “Find your people. They’re a reflection of you — and you of them.”