Do you know anything about James Couzens or Roy Disney? Probably not. But you know their partners: Henry Ford and Walt Disney.

Walt Disney dreamed up the characters; Roy made the numbers work. Henry Ford revolutionized the car industry; James Couzens implemented the systems to scale it.

This is the core concept of Rocket Fuel: The relationship between a Visionary (the dreamer) and an Integrator (the executor). When this duo works, it is rocket fuel for a business. When it doesn’t, it’s chaos.

Joining me to unpack this is Jodie Imam, Co-founder and CEO of Tractor Ventures. Jodie explains how reading this book saved her working relationship with her co-founder, why they changed their job titles because of it, and how implementing the "Level 10 Meeting" completely transformed their team's culture and performance.

00:00 – Introducing Rocket Fuel and the concept of the Visionary/Integrator duo.

02:28 – Know Your Strengths: Why Jodie and her co-founder were stepping on each other's toes until they realized one was a Visionary and one was an Integrator.

04:44 – The Visionary/Integrator Test: How taking the official assessment brought clarity to their roles.

05:59 – Changing Titles: Why Jodie became "CEO" and her co-founder became "Head of Capital" to reflect their actual zones of genius—and why the team applauded the move.

07:43 – Structure Creates Flexibility (The 90-Day Scorecard): How giving every employee a single key metric enabled a 4-day workweek and flexible hours without sacrificing performance.

13:14 – The Level 10 Meeting: The 90-minute weekly meeting agenda that builds trust and solves problems before they hit the P&L.

16:12 – Rating the Meeting: Why every meeting must end with a rating out of 10 (and why you aren't allowed to choose "7").

22:16 – Tractor Ventures: Jodie explains their unique "non-dilutive" funding model for founders who want to build "tractors," not just "rockets."

📚 Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman & Mark C. Winters

1. Tractor Ventures: Jodie’s alternative funding firm for founders.
2. Visionary/Integrator Assessment: The official test mentioned in the book.
3. EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System): The broader system Rocket Fuel is part of.

Jodie Imam, Co-Founder & CEO of Tractor Ventures

Follow Sam on LinkedIn

Want to get in touch? Whether you want to suggest a guest, sponsor the show, leave some feedback or just get in touch to tell me what you're working on, here's the link for you:

Unlike most business books, How to Get Rich doesn't sugarcoat the sacrifices, the ego, or the sheer obsession required to build wealth.

The late Felix Dennis—founder of Maxim magazine was one of Britain's richest self-made men. As he wrote How to Get Rich, he sat on a goldmine of hard-won lessons. He explains how wealth is really made and why most people will never do what it takes.

Joining me to unpack this unfiltered playbook is Alex Bodini, CEO and co-founder of Spin Group. Alex has built a global social media agency of 80+ people while launching multiple ventures like Acid Running and Janji Europe. For Alex, it’s never been about perfection but about momentum, learning, and loving the ride.

00:00 – Introducing How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis.

02:40 – Don't Listen to Jeremiahs: Why "wantrepreneurs" project their fears onto you.

06:40 – The Information Diet

09:23 – "Overhead Walks on Two Legs”: The dangerous trap of hiring too fast and buying fancy offices.

12:28 – Rules of Thumb: The "7% Rule”.

13:56 – Diversify Your Baskets (After Success):

15:21 – The Regret Minimization Framework: How to make decisions today that your 80-year-old self will thank you for.

📚How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis

1. Spin Group: Alex’s Social Media Agency
2. Acid Running: One of Alex’s side ventures
3. Janji Europe: Another venture in Alex’s portfolio

Alex Bodini, Co-Founder of Spin Group

Follow Sam on LinkedIn

Want to get in touch? Whether you want to suggest a guest, sponsor the show, leave some feedback or just get in touch to tell me what you're working on, here's the link for you: https://forms.gle/NHGL9ftFRhu4cKFLA

If there is a Bible for Silicon Valley CEOs, it is High Output Management by Andy Grove.

Though this isn't just a book—it is the operating system that helped Intel scale to become the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer. It is the framework used by leaders at Apple, Facebook, and Google. But does a book written about a chip manufacturer in the 80s actually apply to modern creative businesses?

To find out, I’m sitting down with my co-founder at Fascinate Productions, Rich Willan. Rich is obsessive about systems. He turned our creative workflows into a well-oiled machine, and he credits this book with changing how he leads.

1. 00:00 – Introducing High Output Management by Andy Grove.
2. 01:48 – The Breakfast Factory: Why everything—even creative work—is a process.
3. 05:39 – The "Podcast OS": Rich reveals the system he built to produce the Zoe Science & Nutrition show
4. 10:05 – Systemizing Personal Life: How Rich uses SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to book holidays and avoid "desert madness."
5. 11:32 – Task Relevant Maturity (TRM): The definitive guide on when to micromanage vs. when to delegate.
6. 16:56 – Leverage: How to distinguish between $10 tasks and $10,000 tasks.
7. 18:19 – Negative Leverage: Why being late to a meeting destroys more value than you think.
8. 19:37 – The Calendar Audit: Andy Grove’s method for color-coding your schedule to maximize output.

📚 High Output Management by Andy Grove

1. Tim Ferriss & Tobias Lütke Podcast: The episode where Rich first discovered the book.
2. Zoe Science & Nutrition: The podcast Rich produces using his "Podcast OS."

Rich Willan, Co-Founder of Fascinate Productions

Follow Sam on LinkedIn

Want to get in touch? Whether you want to suggest a guest, sponsor the show, leave some feedback or just get in touch to tell me what you're working on, here's the link for you: