🎙️Host : @jeffhopeck
🚀Guest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bardis

In this episode, entrepreneur and philanthropist John Bardis shares profound insights from his multifaceted career spanning business, government service, athletics, and charitable leadership. Bardis, who founded MedAssets and helped lead its $2.7 billion sale, attributes much of his success to observational learning—studying mentors’ character, decision-making, and compassion rather than formal instruction.

He emphasizes servant leadership and humility, recognizing that many opportunities in his life were “unearned gifts” that he sought to honor through effort and gratitude. His worst advice, he says, stems from the influence of pop culture, which distracts people—especially youth—from values that truly matter. Instead, Bardis praises the selflessness seen in the U.S. military and programs like Hire Heroes USA, calling the armed forces an “elevator of opportunity.”

Discussing his biggest mistake, Bardis recalls investing with people misaligned in values—reminding listeners that moral and cultural compatibility outweigh profit. True leaders, he says, let values lead investments, not the reverse.

He also recounts his time on the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency board, where he participated in stripping Lance Armstrong of his titles and exposing Russia’s state-sponsored doping. These experiences reinforced his commitment to truth and integrity in leadership.

🎙️Host : @jeffhopeck
🚀Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kvankeppel/

Kurt Van Keppel, founder of XIKAR (originally Zykar), shares the entrepreneurial story behind creating the world’s leading cigar accessory brand. In 1995, while balancing a corporate job and a cigar club in Kansas City, Van Keppel grew frustrated with poor-quality cigar cutters. With his friend and partner, Scott Almsberger, he designed a single-handed cutter—what began as a $5,000 garage-built experiment that evolved into an iconic brand. The turning point came when a friend pointed out the need to “hone” the blades, leading Van Keppel to establish XIKAR’s lifetime guarantee—an act of integrity that fueled trust, loyalty, and exponential growth.

Despite early years with no profit and personal sacrifice—including living in his mother-in-law’s basement—Van Keppel emphasized customer satisfaction over short-term gain. His philosophy, influenced by Harvard’s Ted Levitt, reframed business purpose as serving consumer needs, not just generating profit. XIKAR’s dedication to quality and guarantees propelled decade-long 20–25% annual growth.

Van Keppel’s biggest mistake came from misunderstanding his business identity—expanding into cigar manufacturing (the Havana Collection) diluted focus and failed commercially. He learned to stay within his brand lane of accessories. Likewise, he rejected the worst advice he’d received: to prioritize gross margins over brand and service quality, noting that XIKAR’s long-term value lay in its reputation, not spreadsheets.

The company name derives from the indigenous “Sikar,” altered to “XIKAR” to symbolize crossing blades. Van Keppel’s ultimate life lesson: surround yourself with people who share your values, both in business and life.

In this inspiring interview on The 20-Minute MBA Podcast, host Jeff Hopeck speaks with Dennis Smith, the original founder of Party on the Moon Band, a 14-piece entertainment group that rose from widespread skepticism to international acclaim.

Dennis recounts his journey from an 11-year-old discovering live music for the first time to building one of the most sought-after event bands in the world. That childhood moment—watching a local band rehearse—ignited his lifelong fascination with the creative process and the power of collaboration. Despite early rejections and industry doubts, Dennis persisted in forming a large, high-energy ensemble that has since performed alongside artists like Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, and Brooks & Dunn.

His best piece of advice came from reading Robert Fritz’s The Path of Least Resistance, which taught him that creativity is not a mindset but a skill rooted in structure and tension-resolution—principles he now applies across music, business, and life.

Dennis shares a powerful lesson about separating identity from outcomes: what we create does not define who we are. This realization freed him from fear of judgment and allowed him to create boldly.

Finally, he emphasizes personal freedom and authenticity—illustrated through mentoring a high school marching band to perform without fear of others’ opinions. His core philosophy: create for the joy of creating, not for validation or reward.

🎙️Host : @jeffhopeck
🚀Guest: https://www.dennissmithentertainment.com/