💼 Build the Dream Without Quitting the Day Job
Marshall proves you don’t have to “burn the boats” to build a business. While working in cybersecurity, he runs a real estate portfolio, a mobile detailing company, and now Finstrike—a growing SaaS platform tackling teen financial literacy.

💡 Financial Education for the Next Generation
Finstrike fills the massive gap in teen and parent financial education, teaching real-world skills like savings rates, mindset, and financial agency. No fluff—just practical tools for long-term independence.

⚙️ Automation over Overwhelm
With a laser focus on systems, Marshall has automated his businesses to stay lean and sustainable—allowing him to scale smart, not chaotic. His secret? Bootstrap first, validate fast, and grow with purpose.

🎷 Richmond’s Rising Jazz Hub
Tom Illmensee, founder of Orbital Music Park, is building a world-class jazz venue in Richmond modeled on the intimacy and energy of legendary clubs like Ronnie Scott’s and Blue Note. He’s creating not just shows, but experiences — spaces where musicians and audiences lock into the same moment.

🌱 From Corporate Strategy to Community Sound
After years in UX and product strategy — including roles at Prezi and in Fortune 500 teams — Tom returned to Richmond to blend his startup mindset with his musical roots. He’s applying lean startup methods to physical space, designing a venue around feedback loops, flow states, and human connection.

🎶 A Space Where Music Leads the Way
With Grammy-nominated artists already performing, Orbital is more than a venue — it’s a proving ground for creative community. Tom’s long-term vision includes rehearsal and collaboration spaces, global expansion to solve the “sound-making” space problem, and a new model of listening-based leadership built around silence, presence, and play.

We hope you enjoyed this episode. Like and subscribe to never miss a new episode!

Colin and the But First, Principles team.

Connect with Colin Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-davis-1stprinciples/
Visit the First Principles Coaching website here: http://www.firstprinciplescoaching.com/

Listen to But First, Principles! on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5lfyftqBqzqQOfv9QgrvZa
Apple Podcasts:
Amazon Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/but-first-principles/id1793156303https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6eb3cb0e-000d-4774-a0df-9cdf8b39089b/but-first-principles

#newseries #newpodcast #principles #challenges #industryinsights #customerfirst #foryoupage #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PropertyManagement #StartupLife #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #storytelling #purpose #mediaforchange #valuesdriven #socialimpact #butfirstprinciples
But First, Principles with Colin Davis is a podcast for leaders, entrepreneurs, and curious minds who want to dig deeper into how things really work. Each episode explores a timeless principle or mental model that drives exceptional decision-making, leadership clarity, and strategic thinking. With guests from business, tech, academia, and beyond, Colin helps listeners peel back the noise and return to what really matters: the principles that stand the test of time.

🏗️ Real Estate Media, Rebuilt for the Long Haul

Rob Malan, founder and president of HD Bros, led the company through a tough 2023 — including layoffs and a leadership shift — and came back stronger. In 2024, revenue is already up 20%, with a 25% growth trajectory projected for 2025. The key? Focus, fundamentals, and a single decision-maker model.

🧠 Hard Truths for Business Owners

Rob’s philosophy is simple but sharp: “Cash is king,” and most business bottlenecks start with the owner. He shares the raw lessons behind HD Bros’ turnaround, from dropping consensus paralysis to rebuilding culture around retention and service — not shiny objects.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Build with Friends, Keep the Family

While many warn against mixing business and personal, Rob argues the opposite — with the right groundwork, it can be your superpower. His business and family are deeply intertwined, and he’s playing the long game: not to sell fast, but to build something that outlasts the founders.

We hope you enjoyed this episode. Like and subscribe to never miss a new episode!

Colin and the But First, Principles team.

Connect with Colin Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-davis-1stprinciples/
Visit the First Principles Coaching website here: http://www.firstprinciplescoaching.com/

Listen to But First, Principles! on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5lfyftqBqzqQOfv9QgrvZa
Apple Podcasts:
Amazon Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/but-first-principles/id1793156303https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6eb3cb0e-000d-4774-a0df-9cdf8b39089b/but-first-principles

#newseries #newpodcast #principles #challenges #industryinsights #customerfirst #foryoupage #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PropertyManagement #StartupLife #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #storytelling #purpose #mediaforchange #valuesdriven #socialimpact #butfirstprinciples
But First, Principles with Colin Davis is a podcast for leaders, entrepreneurs, and curious minds who want to dig deeper into how things really work. Each episode explores a timeless principle or mental model that drives exceptional decision-making, leadership clarity, and strategic thinking. With guests from business, tech, academia, and beyond, Colin helps listeners peel back the noise and return to what really matters: the principles that stand the test of time.

🌱 Richmond Roots, Global Vision
Though originally from Northern Ireland, Ryan McCarroll launched answerthis.io while at the University of Richmond, taking it from a dorm-room idea to $50,000/month in recurring revenue.

🧠 Sell First, Study Later
Ryan doesn’t believe in focus groups or marketing theory. His philosophy? If no one buys it, it doesn’t work. He built Answer This IO by testing in the real world—selling before scaling.

📖 Curing Research Fatigue
Answer This IO speeds up academic research with real citations, tailored tools, and clarity ChatGPT can’t deliver—empowering researchers to focus on breakthrough thinking, not busywork.

We hope you enjoyed this episode. Like and subscribe to never miss a new episode!

Colin and the But First, Principles team.

Connect with Colin Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-davis-1stprinciples/
Visit the First Principles Coaching website here: http://www.firstprinciplescoaching.com/

Listen to But First, Principles! on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5lfyftqBqzqQOfv9QgrvZa
Apple Podcasts:
Amazon Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/but-first-principles/id1793156303https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6eb3cb0e-000d-4774-a0df-9cdf8b39089b/but-first-principles

#newseries #newpodcast #principles #challenges #industryinsights #customerfirst #foryoupage #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PropertyManagement #StartupLife #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #storytelling #purpose #mediaforchange #valuesdriven #socialimpact #butfirstprinciples
But First, Principles with Colin Davis is a podcast for leaders, entrepreneurs, and curious minds who want to dig deeper into how things really work. Each episode explores a timeless principle or mental model that drives exceptional decision-making, leadership clarity, and strategic thinking. With guests from business, tech, academia, and beyond, Colin helps listeners peel back the noise and return to what really matters: the principles that stand the test of time.

Cozy Home Community is building what no one else is: affordable, community-driven housing for middle-income seniors. Think 1200 sq ft homes, a shared community house, and purpose-driven living—all without the price tag of traditional senior communities.

🔍 Ignored Market = Biggest Opportunity
Matt helped brands like Walmart and Google see the $8 trillion power of the 50+ market. Now, he’s solving their housing crisis—proving again that serving the overlooked is the smartest play in business.

💡 Vision over Obstacles
A serial entrepreneur with 25+ years of lessons (and failures), Matt knows success isn’t about perfection—it’s about resilience and relentless clarity. If you want to change the system, build your vision and find partners who believe in it.

We hope you enjoyed this episode. Like and subscribe to never miss a new episode!

Colin and the But First, Principles team.

Connect with Colin Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-davis-1stprinciples/
Visit the First Principles Coaching website here: http://www.firstprinciplescoaching.com/

Listen to But First, Principles! on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5lfyftqBqzqQOfv9QgrvZa
Apple Podcasts:
Amazon Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/but-first-principles/id1793156303https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6eb3cb0e-000d-4774-a0df-9cdf8b39089b/but-first-principles

#newseries #newpodcast #principles #challenges #industryinsights #customerfirst #foryoupage #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PropertyManagement #StartupLife #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #storytelling #purpose #mediaforchange #valuesdriven #socialimpact #butfirstprinciples
But First, Principles with Colin Davis is a podcast for leaders, entrepreneurs, and curious minds who want to dig deeper into how things really work. Each episode explores a timeless principle or mental model that drives exceptional decision-making, leadership clarity, and strategic thinking. With guests from business, tech, academia, and beyond, Colin helps listeners peel back the noise and return to what really matters: the principles that stand the test of time.

🎮 Own the Game—Literally.

Forget renting pixels. Two Robots is a blockchain-based strategy game where your digital items are authentically yours—trackable, tradable, and infused with real-world bragging rights (yes, even if Elon Musk owned the sword before you).

🌍 From Airbnb to Istanbul: Funding the Future of Gaming

Omar built his indie gaming dream from engineering grit and Airbnb cash flow, ditching the 9–5 to travel the world and reinvent what digital ownership means—for both gamers and global citizens.

🔗 Blockchain over AI? Omar Thinks So.

While everyone’s chasing artificial intelligence, Omar’s betting on blockchain as the next cultural revolution—restoring trust, authenticity, and true ownership in a world drowning in synthetic content.

Find Omar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hafezoa/

We hope you enjoyed this episode. Like and subscribe to never miss a new episode!

Colin and the But First, Principles team.

Connect with Colin Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-davis-1stprinciples/
Visit the First Principles Coaching website here: http://www.firstprinciplescoaching.com/

Listen to But First, Principles! on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5lfyftqBqzqQOfv9QgrvZa
Apple Podcasts:
Amazon Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/but-first-principles/id1793156303https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6eb3cb0e-000d-4774-a0df-9cdf8b39089b/but-first-principles

#newseries #newpodcast #principles #challenges #industryinsights #customerfirst #foryoupage #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PropertyManagement #StartupLife #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #storytelling #purpose #mediaforchange #valuesdriven #socialimpact #butfirstprinciples
But First, Principles with Colin Davis is a podcast for leaders, entrepreneurs, and curious minds who want to dig deeper into how things really work. Each episode explores a timeless principle or mental model that drives exceptional decision-making, leadership clarity, and strategic thinking. With guests from business, tech, academia, and beyond, Colin helps listeners peel back the noise and return to what really matters: the principles that stand the test of time.

🚀 From Struggle to Strategy: Building a Sellable Business, Not Just Revenue
Will Melton turned a childhood of financial hardship into a CEO mindset focused on enterprise value, not just income. With a clear 10x growth vision, he’s designing Exponent 21 to become a scalable, sellable asset, not just a hustle.

🤖 Dominate AI Search Before It Dominates You
With 60% of Google searches ending in zero clicks and AI summaries now stealing visibility, Will’s team at Exponent 21 is leading the charge in AI SEO — getting clients to the top of search and keeping them there with cutting-edge optimization strategies.

💡 Dream-Making Meets Delegation: The CEO’s 4-Part Focus
Forget micromanaging. Will coaches growth-minded CEOs to delegate everything outside of sales, vision, team development, and recruitment — the four levers that move the business forward. Less busywork, more breakthroughs.

We hope you enjoy.

Colin and the But First, Principles team.

#newseries #newpodcast #principles #challenges #industryinsights #customerfirst #foryoupage #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PropertyManagement #StartupLife #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #storytelling #purpose #mediaforchange #valuesdriven #socialimpact #butfirstprinciples

🔬 Wellness, Rewired: The Lab That Personalizes Your Health Plan
Metafit RX isn’t a gym — it’s Richmond’s only evidence-based performance lab. Using DEXA scans, metabolic testing, and VO2 max data, they help people 40+ design health plans that actually work, based on your body, not industry fads.

💡 From Rock Bottom to Referrals: The Comeback Fueled by Purpose
After nearly shutting down in 2023 under six-figure debt, Metafit RX roared back thanks to physician partnerships and word-of-mouth momentum. Now, 70% of their business comes from referrals — because real results create real advocates.

🧬 Next-Gen Health Starts Here: Meet Metafit MD
Launching soon: Metafit MD — a game-changing service offering blood testing, hormone optimization, and GLP-1 weight loss. Combined with their science-backed fitness and nutrition model, it’s a full-circle approach to longevity and vitality.
We hope you enjoy.

Colin and the But First, Principles team.

#newseries #newpodcast #principles #challenges #industryinsights #customerfirst #foryoupage #Entrepreneurship #BusinessSuccess #PropertyManagement #StartupLife #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #storytelling #purpose #mediaforchange #valuesdriven #socialimpact #butfirstprinciples