Being a 5th Generation Farmer, Hiking the Great Pyramid of Giza, and Working for the Best Law Firm in Agriculture with Jay Felton
“Be who you are, be true to yourself, and strive to do the right thing. Don’t worry about the recognition and trying to be remembered. Just do the right thing.” — Jay Felton, Litigation Partner at Lathrop GPM
Jay Felton, Litigation Partner at Lathrop GPM, has been surrounded by agriculture nearly his whole life growing up on a farm in Northwest Missouri. Jay grew up working as a ranch hand at Felton Hereford Ranch, but chose to take his talents elsewhere. Jay started his journey outside of agriculture at the University of Missouri earning a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. After earning his undergraduate, Jay attended the University of Virginia School of Law and graduated in 1989 as a Hardy Cross Dillard Scholar. Soon after law school, Jay went on to work as a law clerk for the Honorable John R. Gibson at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit. He also became an instructor at the University of Missouri for nine years starting in 1999. Now, after serving clients for more than 20 years, Jay is currently a Litigation Partner at Lathrop GPM and been selected to Super Lawyers nine times, which is awarded only to a select number of accomplished attorneys in each state. I should also note, Jay is a fifth-generation farmer and remains actively involved in his family’s row crop operation today.
In this podcast, Jay and I will cover what it was like growing up on a farm in Northwest Missouri herding cattle, what it’s like trying to continue a 5th generation farm, the Missouri-Arkansas State Line Rivalry, attending Missouri and Virginia, what it was like working with John R. Gibson, coronavirus, The Summit at the Summit, feeding the world, the importance of being on time, why his family is so important to him, his love for being outdoors, hiking the great pyramid of Giza, his dream of pheasant hunting in the Dakotas, what he’s reading right now, how he volunteers in the community, how technology is affecting the law space, tips on negotiation, fragmentation in agriculture as well as some opportunities he’s seeing in the future, and a little bit about Lathrop GPM.
The Great Commodity Super Cycle, Energy Vortexes, 4 Secrets to Success, and Becoming a Real Estate Genius
Ben Hudye , Chairman at Hudye Group, has been surrounded by agriculture nearly his whole life growing up on a farm in Canada. After school, Ben ventured off in the rock ‘n’ roll business then eventually made his way back to agriculture on the family farm. After many years on the farm, Ben and his brother started buying farms in the U.S. and Canada when everyone else was selling their ground and all odds were against them. Turns out, the brothers knew a little bit about cycles and came out on the right end of the stick! Ben was also very successful in the ag-retail space for a number of years due to the great customer service he provided to better many farming operations he worked with. He has also led his organization through full business cycles, particularly in Agriculture, and the redeployment of capital into diverse asset classes, one currently being Real Estate.
In this podcast, Ben and I will cover what it was like growing up on a farm in Canada, his early dreams of wanting to be in the music business, the four secretsto success, his transition back into farming, how he took his farming operation to the next level of over 38,000 acres, the great commodity super cycle, how to help farming operations grow to be more successful, the importance of customer service, best places to travel, driving the Alaskan Highway, buying property around energy vortexes, supporting charity, and the real estate market.
Listen below if you’re looking to learn from one of the best real estate gurus in the industry and take your portfolio to the next level learning more about cycles!
Grain Markets in 2020, Building a Successful Culture, and the Importance of Family
David Farley, Executive Chairman at Matrix Commodities , has been around agriculture his whole life. He started off his career in agriculture as a jackaroo, which is a young man working on a sheep or cattle station to gain experience to become an owner one day. Then, David went on to work as a farm manager at Colly Cotton. Seven years later, he worked his way up to managing director then CEO growing the company to over 600 people. Not too long after his tenure being CEO at Colly Cotton, David joined Calcot in 2002 as the president, which was one of America’s largest cotton marketing cooperatives at the time. In 2009, he became the CEO at Australian Agricultural Company, which has been around since 1824, owns 15.8 million acres in Queensland & the Northern Territory, and is a publicly-traded company (ASAGF). Now, David serves as the Executive Chairman at Matrix Commodities, who are specialist investors in the global agricultural commodity food chain including private company equity investments, public company equity investments, traders of agricultural physical commodities, and consultants to agribusiness.
In this podcast, David and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as: what it’s like to live in Australia, how he got in the agriculture industry, being a jackaroo, what it’s like to run a company with 29 million acres & 600,000 head of cattle, his transition from being a farm manager to a CEO, his most important lesson for all CEOs, his hiring process, building company culture, scaling Australia’s largest landowner to the next level, what it’s like to run a publicly-traded company, why family is so important, places he has traveled, his enjoyment of art, and where the markets are going into 2020.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this incredibly successful CEO and why he feels building a culture is so important in every business!
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Working for American Pickers, Getting Offered a Job at AirBnb by Joe Gebbia, Collecting Motorcycles, and Creating The Hustle
Sam Parr, Co-Founder and CEO at The Hustle , was raised in St. Louis as an athlete and always loved to compete. After high school, Sam attended Belmont University on a track scholarship, where he ran the 400 meter dash. While in college, Sam gained a wide variety of experiences through many jobs and businesses he started along the way. The first business he started while attending college was Moonshine Online. Soon after realizing all the loops he would have to take to make this a real business, he went on to work for American Pickers for 18 months. After that, he started his first successful business called Southern Sam’s, which was a hot dog stand in Nashville that sold wieners as big as a baby’s arm. Then, he decided to send an email to the co-founder at AirBnb, Joe Gebbia, that eventually led to him getting an interview with the man himself. Flying to San Francisco on a five day notice, he got the job and decided to turn it down. After staying at an AirBnb that night, Sam decided to move to San Francisco and start a company called Bunk SF, a roommate matching website, with the guy he stayed in with that night. After selling BunkSF, Sam started a conference for entrepreneurs called Hustle Con. I’m actually heading out there next month and you can buy your tickets HERE today! Sam is currently the co-founder and CEO at The Hustle as well as the owner at The Anti-MBA.
In this podcast, Sam and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as: getting scholarships to run the 400 meter dash, having dreams to get into the music business, working with American Pickers, starting a business selling moonshine online, learning lessons from Mike Wolfe, learning how to relate to the normal person, starting a hot dog stand in Nashville, starting businesses with people he met on AirBnb, being addicted to competition & adventure, collecting motorcycles, learning to compete with yourself, his love for learning about different cultures in America, starting The Hustle, the cost of acquiring customers, how Facebook advertising has changed over the years, why you should attend Hustle Con, and starting clubs to make your network larger.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this young entrepreneur and some of the lessons he has learned from some of the most successful people in their industry!
Being Rank Top 10 in the 2006 NFL Draft, Holding World Records, and Hard Money Loans with Loren Howard
Loren Howard, founder and Chief Manager at Prime Plus Mortgages , was raised by a single mother and always had the dream of owning his own business. After many short-lived jobs throughout high school, Loren attended Northwestern University on a football scholarship, where he studied Communications and Sociology. Loren had high ambitions in college when he was projected to go top10 in the 2006 NFL draft, but unfortunately, his football dreams were crushed due to a knee injury his Junior year. He ended up transferring to Arizona State hoping to make a comeback and enter the NFL draft, but couldn’t get the job done. Shortly after graduating in 2007, he was inspired to launch his first venture, Alternative Web Media, which was an Internet design, development, and SEO company. A few years later, he co-founded Alpha Direct Compounding Pharmacy. Loren also happens to hold three world records in the 500-meter, 100-meter, and 1:00 for max distance in indoor rowing. In addition, he currently sits on the board for Valley Guardians, which is a non-profit organization that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to support local underprivileged children.
In this podcast, Loren and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as: playing at Northwestern, being ranked #2 at his position in the NFL draft, traveling to Big Ten stadiums across the country, business lessons he learned playing football, overcoming adversity to start his own business, becoming a serial entrepreneur, owning a 2,000 square foot gym in his house, his workout routine, learning to golf, holding indoor rowing world records, having his first child, hard money loans, where the real estate market is going, and supporting underprivileged kids through his own organization called Valley Guardians.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this workout machine and how he overcame tons of adversity to start many businesses after his football career!
Dirt track racing, passing down the family farm, and blowing up on YouTube
Zach Johnson, founder at Millennial Farmer, has been surrounded by agriculture his whole life growing up in West-Central Minnesota and is a 5th generation familyfarmer. After working on the farm in his early years, Zach attended Northwest Technical College, where he studied High Performance Automative Machining. Shortly after graduating in 2005, he decided to pursue his own dreams working on engines and dirttrack racing. Eventually, he decided to settle down, start a family, and move back to the family farm. Then in 2002, Zach started the YouTube channel many of us know today called the Millennial Farmer. His mission hasn’t changed since he made his first video, which is to become a national voice for agriculture, provide farmer-to-farmer education, and facilitate a collaborative conversation between farmers and the public. Right now, he has 316,000 subscribers over 225 videos, and getting 200,000 – 400,000 views per post. Click HERE to check it out!
In this podcast, Zach and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as: transitioning the farm, working in the family business, daily tasks on the farm, learning lessons from older generations, dirt track racing, some of his favorite tracks, his family, road tripping to Glacier National Park & Yellow Stone, the purpose of Millennial Farmer, creating alternative revenue streams on the farm, and being thankful for everything he has in his life.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more about the Millennial Farmer and how he’s blown up a YouTube channel to create an alternative revenue stream on the farm!
Being on MTV, Giving Back to the Troops, and How to be a Visionary Creator with Stretch from Grinders
Stretch, is the founder and Visionary Creator at Grinders , and has been an open-minded entrepreneur nearly his entire life. Stretch grew up running a few of his own businesses as early as the 3rd grade such as having his own newspaper route and mowing grass. After his early years running several different businesses, Stretch became extremely interested in art and was accepted to the Kansas City Art Institute. Keep in mind, he passed up many soccer scholarships to follow his passion for art. Soon after graduating in Kansas City, he went on to earn a Masters of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Shortly after graduating in 1990, he decided to open his own sculpture studio in the “Crossroads Arts District.” Then, in 2004 he opened his first restaurant called Grinders. Since then, Stretch has appeared on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives; Guys Big Bite; Cutthroat Kitchen; Guy’s Grocery Games; Spike TV’s Bar Rescue; multiple appearances on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition; and many more. In this podcast, Stretch and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as working with Dale Eldred, working since the 3rd grade, working smart, earning soccer scholarships, going to art school, working with a rock band, his theory on failure, making sculptures, how to become more open-minded, making hot sauce, bettering the community, giving back to the troops, making the time to travel, the madness behind running a restaurant, and the unknowns of owning a food truck. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about Stretch and how he’s trying to help make entrepreneurs more open-minded by giving them deeper perspective and vision when it comes to running a business!
Playing with Peyton Manning, the Importance of Family, and Scoring a Deal on Shark Tank
Chris Gronkowski, Owner and Inventor at Ice Shaker , has been around sports his entire life and seems to be the ultimate entrepreneur. Chris grew up in Buffalo, NY with his three brothers working for his dad for a number of years at G&G Fitness Equipment. After his early years in Buffalo, Chris got accepted to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, but decided to attend the University of Maryland on a full-ride football scholarship. He eventually transferred to the University of Arizona to take a starting fullback position and graduated with a bachelors degree in Marketing. After college, Chris went on to play in the NFL for teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers. Keep in mind, he played with many amazing players along the way like Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Tony Romo, and DeMarcus Ware. After several injuries in 2016, Chris decided to end his football career and help his wife start a company called Everything Decorated, which is today a multi-million dollar business. In addition, Chris has also started other companies along the way since his NFL retirement like Gronk Fitness, The Offical Gronk Bus, Herd Crew, GronkNation, and Gronk Bros Show. At the end of the day, Chris found his true passion when he started a company called Ice Shaker, which was started because of issues he was seeing with traditional protein shakers. I should also note, Chris appeared on “Shark Tank” in 2017 with Ice Shaker and scored a deal with Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez. In this podcast, Chris and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as growing up with three amazing brothers, why he didn’t attend an Ivy League school, his transition from college into the NFL, some of the best advice he’s taken away from world famous coaches, working with his wife, his daily workout routine, the importance of family, going to the Super Bowl, and items still on his bucket list. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about Chris Gronkowski and how he’s trying to change the protein shaker industry!