Finding Peak w/ Ryan Hanley

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Your retention problem isn't product. It's not customer success. It's sales.
Mark Roberge was the 4th employee at HubSpot and took them from $0 to IPO as their founding CRO. Now he's a Harvard Business School professor, co-founder of Stage 2 Capital, and author of The Science of Scaling.
In this conversation, Mark and I break down why most founders get the scaling question wrong, how to build compensation plans that kill coasting, the one interview technique that reveals a salesperson's ceiling, and the brutal math behind knowing when you're actually ready to scale.
I also share the story of selling my own company to the wrong buyer and the single question I wish I'd asked before signing.
📕 Get Mark's book — The Science of Scaling: https://amzn.to/4uS6Z0s
🔗 Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/
🔗 Stage 2 Capital: https://www.stage2.capital
Subscribe to Finding Peak for frameworks that actually work: https://ryanhanley.com/subscribe
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You've been told your whole life that passion and drive are the keys to success.
What if they're actually the biggest risks to your mental health?
In this episode of Finding Peak, I sit down with Dr. Guy Winch — internationally renowned psychologist, 3x TED Talk speaker (35M+ views), and bestselling author of Mind Over Grind: How to Break Free When Work Hijacks Your Life.
We go deep on the uncomfortable truth about overworking, the hidden dangers of being "driven," and why your passion might be slowly amputating parts of your personality — one by one.
If you've ever felt like work is hijacking your life, or if you've experienced that crushing emptiness after achieving a massive goal (like selling a company), this conversation is your wake-up call.
We cover:
→ Why passion and drive are actually psychological risk factors
→ The "scurvy" of the modern entrepreneur (and how to avoid it)
→ Why you feel depressed after a big win — and how to prepare for it
→ How to stop work from invading your personal time
→ The difference between automatic coping and intentional problem-solving
→ Why action creates passion — not the other way around
→ How Gen Z's short-term thinking is creating a mental health crisis
Stop grinding yourself into the ground. It's time to build a life that actually sustains you.
This is the way.
—
Connect with Guy Winch
📘 Get Dr. Guy Winch's book, Mind Over Grind: https://amzn.to/4dfXCBJ
🌐 Learn more about Dr. Winch: https://www.guywinch.com/
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Contrarian takes on power, leverage, and influence in the age of AI: https://ryanhanley.com/subscribe

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You've been using AI wrong. It's not just for writing emails. It's for building your own software.
In this episode, Austin Armstrong (Founder of Syllaby.io, author of Virality) breaks down the "vibe coding" revolution — how anyone, even if you don't know a single line of code, can build custom apps, automate their business, and create new revenue streams using AI agents.
Austin also reveals why he intentionally cannibalized his own successful marketing agency to go all-in on AI, and he breaks down his exact START framework for going viral on purpose.
If you want to stop paying for bloated SaaS tools and start building your own solutions, you need to watch this.
In this episode:
How to "vibe code" your own software for under $200
The START framework for strategic virality (and why most people blow it on the first two steps)
Why doing a "time audit" is the best AI strategy you can implement today
How Austin built a $60K internal tool that now generates 95% profit margins
The build vs. buy decision — and why the math has completely changed

Connect with Austin:
Syllaby: https://syllaby.io/
Book (Virality ): https://amzn.to/4cSHSUR

This show is part of the Unplugged Studios Network — the infrastructure layer for serious creators.
👉 Learn more at https://unpluggedstudios.fm.

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Spartan philosophy, built in the black-ops lab of business: https://linktr.ee/ryan_hanley
You're making money, but you're missing your life.
George Rivera scaled his e-commerce business to $20 million, but he was working 80-hour weeks and missing his son's childhood. He was "cash rich and time poor." Then, he made a radical shift. Two years later, his business hit $50 million, and he never worked more than 30 hours a week.
In this episode of Finding Peak, George breaks down his "Buyback Time Formula." We discuss the exact steps to stop being the bottleneck in your business, why "delegating" is actually ruining your company, and the harsh reality of how we train our families to ignore us.
If you're tired of the grind and want your life back without sacrificing growth, this is the blueprint.
In this episode, we cover:
The wake-up call that changed George's life (and Ryan's vulnerable moment)
Why you are "cash rich but time poor"
The difference between delegating and transferring ownership
How to audit your calendar and eliminate $50/hr tasks
The "Absence Rehearsal Test" to prep your business for your vacation
Why your kids don't care about your money

Connect with George Rivera:

Website: https://buybacktimeformula.com
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Spartan philosophy, built in the black-ops lab of business: https://linktr.ee/ryan_hanley

This show is part of the Unplugged Studios Network — the infrastructure layer for serious creators.
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Spartan philosophy, built in the black-ops lab of business: https://linktr.ee/ryan_hanley
You're building a world-changing product.
You've obsessed over every feature, every line of code, every pixel. Your sailboat is perfect.
So why isn't anyone buying it?
Because you're selling the wrong thing.
Chris Van Dusen is a venture investor who has built and sold multiple 8-figure companies. He's seen thousands of pitches. He knows why most founders fail.
And he's about to give you the one piece of advice that changes the entire game.
It's a secret the best founders know and the rest of the world misses. Stop selling the sailboat. Start selling the wind.
This isn't just a podcast. It's a strategy session that will change how you think about your business forever.
This is the way.
- Hanley

🎙️ Listen to audio version of the podcast: https://linktr.ee/ryan_hanley

GUEST: Chris Van Dusen
Chris is the Managing Partner at Solyco Capital, an "accidental entrepreneur," and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who applies the principles of the mat to the boardroom.
► LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismvandusen/
► Solyco Capital: https://www.solycocapital.com/

This show is part of the Unplugged Studios Network — the infrastructure layer for serious creators.
👉 Learn more at https://unpluggedstudios.fm.

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy