In this engaging interview, Matt Zinman shares his journey from entrepreneurship to developing the innovative MindRev app, designed to combat overthinking and burnout. Discover insights on leadership, resilience, and the power of self-kindness, along with practical strategies for mental well-being and scaling impact.

Key Topics

•The story behind MindRev and its mission to tame overthinking

•The importance of resilience and perseverance in entrepreneurship

•Practical strategies for managing burnout and depression

•The role of self-kindness and earned confidence in mental health

•Insights on scaling a tech startup with AI guidance

Resources MindRev App - https://mindrev.app

Website - https://mattzinman.com

What if laughter wasn’t just a reaction to something funny, but an intentional tool for changing your mindset, strengthening culture, and navigating difficult moments?

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Gary and Ben sit down with Kim Coleman, a laughter strategist, laughter yoga instructor, TEDx speaker, keynote speaker, and performer. Kim shares how her background in theater, education, writing, stand-up comedy, and improvisation ultimately led her to recognize the power of intentional laughter.

Kim explains that she wants people to remember her as someone who listens, makes others feel comfortable, and helps them laugh. For her, laughter is something that can be intentionally introduced into everyday life to help shift your mindset and change the atmosphere around you.

• Why laughter can be an intentional part of your daily routine

• How leaders influence the emotional atmosphere of their workplace

• Using humor to create connection and make people feel more comfortable

• How Kim’s theater and improvisation background shaped the way she reads people and communicates

• Kim’s journey through writing, stand-up comedy, and laughter yoga

• Giving yourself permission to experience difficult moments instead of forcing positivity

• Why failure and bombing on stage can become powerful opportunities to learn

• How business owners can become more comfortable experimenting, failing, and trying something new

• Using music, art, meaningful objects, and relationships to intentionally influence your mindset

• Why the people you surround yourself with can have such a major impact on your energy

• Learning to take yourself a little less seriously

Kim also shares an important lesson from her own difficult seasons: sometimes the right response isn’t trying to make someone laugh. It’s listening, being present, and meeting them where they are.

For entrepreneurs and leaders, Kim encourages creating intentional moments throughout the day that help reduce stress and bring more joy into both work and life. She also emphasizes being willing to experiment and recognizing that failure is often where some of the biggest lessons are found.

The conversation ends with a simple challenge: find small things—music, people, art, memories, routines, or even laughter itself—that you can intentionally place into your day to help move your mindset in the direction you want it to go.

LinkedIn: @KimColeman Instagram: @kcolemanlaughs

Christian Klender’s career has taken him from software engineering and professional motorsports to building Watches of Charlotte.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Christian shares how he broke into racing, helped build McLaren’s presence in Charlotte, and eventually made the jump into entrepreneurship.

We also talk about turning a passion for watches into a business, building trust with customers, raising capital, managing risk, and why sustainable growth matters more than simply getting bigger.

In This Episode:

• Breaking into professional motorsports • Working with IndyCar, NASCAR, and McLaren • Leaving the stability of a traditional career • Building Watches of Charlotte • Turning a passion into a profitable business • Building trust in high-value sales • Managing risk, investors, and growth • Staying grounded through career and life transitions

Learn more about Christian: WatchesofCharlotte.com Instagram: @WatchesofCharlotte

William McKee didn’t set out to become an entrepreneur. His path moved through engineering, technology, philosophy, travel, teaching, and eventually into building Knowmad Digital Marketing.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, William McKee joins Gary Frey and Ben to share how curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to keep evolving helped shape both his life and his business.

The conversation explores William’s early exposure to technology, the unconventional journey that led him into entrepreneurship, and what it has taken to keep Knowmad relevant through decades of change. From the early days of the internet to SEO, digital marketing, and now AI, William explains why staying curious has become one of his greatest advantages.

He also opens up about the realities of business growth, including costly pivots, finding the right support system, working alongside another visionary, building stronger processes, and learning when to step back and let the team operate in their strengths.

Resources Mentioned

Knowmad Digital Marketing, EO Accelerator, HubSpot, Marketing AI Institute / SmarterX, Charlotte Business Exchange, and EOS.

Connect With William McKee

Learn more about Knowmad Digital Marketing at www.knowmad.com. You can also find William McKee on LinkedIn by searching for William McKee in Charlotte.

About Anything But Typical

Anything But Typical shares real stories from entrepreneurs—not just the wins. Subscribe and share for more conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, growth, and everything that happens along the way.

**Episode Summary:** Erin Vogel, semi-retired sports car racing driver and founder of AE Victory Racing, shares her journey from growing up in a family of racing pioneers to becoming a team owner on a mission to create opportunities for women in motorsports. She discusses overcoming imposter syndrome, navigating a male-dominated sport, the messy transition from driver to team owner, and the leadership lessons learned along the way — including the importance of delegation, building culture, and embracing failure as fuel for growth.

Where to Find Erin ---

**Connect with Erin:**

- Instagram: @ErinVogelRacing and @AEVictoryRacing

- TikTok: @AEVictoryRacing

- Website: www.aevictoryracing.com

What does it really look like to put people first while building and scaling a business?

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Gary and Ben sit down with David Wurtzbacher, Founder and CEO of Ascend, to talk about leadership, entrepreneurship, culture, and building organizations where people have the opportunity to flourish.

David shares lessons from his journey through JPMorgan, Lightwave Dental, and ultimately founding Ascend — including why character matters in M&A, how Ascend is working to preserve the independence of entrepreneurial CPA firms, and why long-term thinking often requires making decisions that can't immediately be measured on a spreadsheet.

The conversation also explores the importance of stepping out of the day-to-day to work on the business, developing a coachable mindset, investing in future leaders, and intentionally designing a life that goes beyond professional success.

• What it means to lead people toward an inspiring vision

• Why Ascend takes a People First approach to growth

• Preserving independence and culture during acquisitions

• Choosing the right people — not simply the right deal

• Why leaders have to make time to work on the business

• The role of executive coaching and lifelong learning

• Creating opportunities for the next generation of leaders

• David's perspective on faith, purpose, and living an abundant life

David Wurtzbacher is the Founder and CEO of Ascend, a platform built to help entrepreneurial CPA firms grow and transform while preserving their independence, culture, people, and approach to serving clients.

Ascend: ascendtogether.com Ascend on LinkedIn: Search “Ascend” on LinkedIn Connect with David: Find David Wurtzbacher on LinkedIn

Anything But Typical shares the real stories behind entrepreneurship — not just the wins, but the challenges, decisions, lessons, and experiences that shape the journey.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and share it with someone who could benefit from the conversation.

Allen Cates’ entrepreneurial journey has taken him across countries, industries, and some incredibly difficult business lessons. Growing up in Canada, Australia, England, and the United States taught him how to adapt quickly, appreciate different perspectives, and become comfortable entering unfamiliar environments.

In this episode of Anything But Typical, Allen shares how his career in banking prepared him to purchase and operate a small business—and why he eventually knew it was time to move on. He also opens up about investing with a trusted business leader who was later discovered to be forging financial records. That experience forced Allen to confront failure, forgive himself, strengthen his approach to due diligence, and rebuild his confidence.

Allen also explains the mission behind Kilo Reserve and how the company gives investors access to physical industrial metals. The conversation explores copper’s role in electrical infrastructure, electric vehicles, AI data centers, and the power grid, along with the differences between owning physical metal and investing through mining stocks, ETFs, or futures.

• How an international childhood shaped Allen’s adaptability and leadership

• Why every piece of feedback deserves consideration

• The value of learning “on someone else’s dime”

• What Allen learned from buying and selling a small business

• Why entrepreneurs must become comfortable with failure

• Recovering emotionally after betrayal by a trusted business partner

• The importance of understanding the asset behind an investment

• How Kilo Reserve makes physical industrial metals more accessible

• Why following the process matters more than one final result

Failure does not have to become your identity. Allen’s story demonstrates the importance of acknowledging what happened, learning from it, forgiving yourself, and carrying those lessons into the next opportunity.

• Kilo Reserve: Official website

• Allen Cates on LinkedIn

• Kilo Reserve on LinkedIn

• BizBuySell: Explore businesses available for purchase

Subscribe to Anything But Typical for more honest conversations with entrepreneurs about the successes, failures, pivots, and lessons that shaped their journeys.

Brief Summary

Kari Warberg Block joins Gary Frey and Ben McDonald to share her anything-but-typical journey from growing up in an entrepreneurial family to founding EarthKind, a nationally recognized plant-based pest-prevention company.

Kari discusses the near-death experience that changed the direction of her life, the challenges of creating a new product category, and why she temporarily removed her products from major retailers to protect customer trust. She also shares how she learned to release control, build a diverse leadership team, and transition out of the CEO role without selling her company.

• EarthKind
• Kari Warberg Block
• Plant-based pest prevention
• Regenerative and organic agriculture
• Environmental Protection Agency

• Learn more about EarthKind: earthkind.com
• Connect with Kari Warberg Block: kariwarbergblock.com
• Subscribe to Anything But Typical for more real stories from entrepreneurs.
• Like, share, and send this episode to a business owner or founder.