What if the thing holding your business back isn't a lack of opportunities but too many of them? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Yarin Gaon, managing partner of Fractional Partners, a growth advisory firm for post-product-market-fit companies that aren't scaling cleanly. Yarin built his first company at 14, had two more by 22, and sold his last venture, Israel's largest e-commerce platform for military goods, in 2019.

Yarin shares how he spotted a gap at 14, taught himself to code from a book, and built a platform that helped small websites charge visitors by text message when carriers wouldn't work with them. He also explains how his time as a combat sergeant in the Israeli military led him to launch a hyper-specialized military gear store online. Today, drawing on work with more than 400 founders, he helps companies in the $5 to $25 million range get unstuck and grow profitably.

Chapters

0:00 Intro – Welcome Yarin of Fractional Partners
1:15 Starting a Business at 14
3:20 Building "SMS for Cash"
5:00 Why Not All Mentor Advice Should Be Followed
8:08 How to Mentor Without Pushing Too Hard
11:04 Building Israel's Largest Military Gear E-Commerce Store
17:04 Why Companies Stall Between $5M and $25M
19:13 Growth by Subtraction vs. Growth by Addition
20:22 Pat's Story: Scaling Back and Making More Money
22:07 Why Your P&L Doesn't Tell the Whole Story
24:27 Finding Profit by Revenue Stream
27:58 Why Your Accountant Won't Analyze Your Business
29:07 How Fractional Partners Helps Companies
33:27 The Growth Decisions Canvas
35:15 Free Profit Map Spreadsheet
38:45 Shifting From Operator to Resource Allocator
41:44 The Power of Saying No
46:45 Why Your Leadership Team Needs One Vision
48:36 Where to Find Yarin

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available now.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Get your copy now at: www.patmiller.net

Connect with Yarin Gaon.

Profit Map Spreadsheet

Discover opportunities to improve profitability by breaking down your business's revenue streams and understanding where your profits are coming from. Access the Profit Map Spreadsheet

Growth Decisions Canvas

Use the Growth Decisions Canvas to evaluate business opportunities, prioritize what matters most and make smarter decisions about where to invest your time, energy, and resources. Access the Growth Decisions Canvas

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaringaon

What do you do when the only job you can get after graduation is nannying, and it ends up launching a 10-year career? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Melissa Farley, an entrepreneur, media host, producer, and founder of her own communications business who has turned storytelling, marketing, and community connection into thriving ventures. Melissa built a marketing company and a daily morning show from the ground up, and she's now working on a book and podcast about mortality.

Melissa shares her "accidental career" path: graduating in 2008 during the recession, taking a nanny job for the editor-in-chief of the Arizona Republic, and rising through the ranks over nearly a decade to manage a team of 20 producers and 38 properties. After being told she was "unmanageable" for standing up for her young team, she decided to bet on herself. She left in 2019, took a deliberate pause, and went on to launch her marketing company, Stronger Today, which passed the six-figure mark quickly. When the work started to feel like a content churn machine, an Instagram video led to her own morning show, giving small businesses a free platform to tell their stories.

Chapters

0:01 Intro – Welcome Melissa Farley
1:11 From Nanny to Newsroom Career
3:23 How Her Morning Show Started by Accident
5:02 Why She Left Corporate Media
6:52 Building a Six-Figure Marketing Business
10:14 Being Underestimated as a Woman
12:41 You Don't Have to Burn Out to Succeed
14:30 Her "Year of the Hermit"
17:27 The Day She Said No to a Promotion
20:05 Journaling and Taking Thoughts Captive
24:41 Advice She Ignored: Scaling Up
31:21 Action Is the Antidote to Fear
33:51 Women, Confidence, and Failing Forward
39:22 Choosing Clients and Business Partners
44:14 New Book and Podcast About Death
50:47 Advice: Schedule Quarterly Check-Ins
54:52 Where to Find Melissa Farley

📖 Underdog to Empire —Available Now

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available now.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Get your copy now at: www.patmiller.net

Connect with Melissa Farley.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-farley-b8097531

What does it take to walk away from a six-figure salary, a Miami lifestyle, and a 20-year career in luxury fashion? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Melissa Hidrobo, creator of The Stellar Soul, who helps high-achieving professionals design strategic exits from corporate America through a blend of personal clarity and practical strategy. Melissa spent two decades climbing the ladder at luxury brands, including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co. before leaving to build something of her own on her own terms.

Melissa shares how growing up around her aunts' luxury boutique in Ecuador sparked a lifelong passion for fashion, which led her to an MBA in international luxury brand management in Paris and a career with Louis Vuitton, her dream brand. She opens up about the night in the summer of 2019 when, sinking into her couch after closing the boutique, she heard a clear thought: "I don't want to do this anymore." Rather than quitting overnight, she built a bridge, earning a master's degree in transpersonal psychology while working full-time, hiring a financial advisor, and forming what she calls her "personal board of directors."

Chapters

0:00 Intro – Welcome Melissa Idrobo
1:52 Growing Up Around a Luxury Boutique
3:12 Landing a Job at Louis Vuitton
5:43 The Night She Decided to Leave Corporate
6:12 Questions to Ask Before Changing Careers
8:29 Building a Quiet Exit Plan
8:57 Studying Transpersonal Psychology
11:18 The Hardest Part of Leaving a Six- Figure Career
12:33 How Her Network Grew After Leaving
15:42 Defining Success on Your Own Terms
19:26 Why a Financial Advisor Was Key
23:11 From Golden Handcuffs to Freedom
24:42 Turning Fear Into Fuel
32:44 Building a Personal Board of Directors
37:04 Letting Go of Perfectionism
43:21 Why Working for Yourself Feels Different
46:13 Advice for Women Who Feel Stuck
51:46 Where to Find Melissa

📖 Underdog to Empire —Available Now

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere on September 22, 2026.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Get your copy now at: www.patmiller.net

Connect with Melissa Hidrobo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissahidrobo/

From splicing underground cable in Manhattan to co-founding a $10 billion global media empire, this episode is packed with one of the wildest entrepreneurial journeys the show has ever featured. In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Larry Namer, CEO of LJN Media and co-founder of E! Entertainment Television, a cable network now valued at over $10 billion and broadcast in 142 countries. Larry's career spans more than 50 years, including launching media companies in Russia and China, and he's the author of the book Off Script: Never Followed the Crowd.

Larry shares how he started as an assistant underground cable splicer making $90 a week in New York, rose through the ranks at Manhattan Cable, and eventually landed in Los Angeles to build the country's first fully underground cable system. From there, an idea sparked over movie trailers, a scrappy business plan, and just $2.5 million led to the creation of E! Entertainment, a network that grew from 11 employees to over 1,100 in three years and helped launch the careers of Howard Stern, Ryan Seacrest, Greg Kinnear, and the Kardashians.

Chapters

0:01 Intro – Welcome Larry Namer

1:38 From Coney Island to Cable Splicer

2:52 Rising Through the Cable TV Union Ranks

4:19 Building the First Underground Cable System in LA

5:46 Moving to LA and Chasing Hollywood

6:13 The Idea That Became "The Trailer Channel"

7:35 The Idea That Became E! Entertainment Television

9:03 Raising Money with 31 College Interns

11:39 E!'s Explosive Growth to 1,100 Employees

12:42 Launching Howard Stern, Kardashians, and Talk Soup

14:07 Producing Music Festivals in Russia

15:40 Starting a Concert Company with David Bowie, Bowie & More

17:14 "Influence Is Temporary, Impact Is Timeless"

20:00 Why He Finally Wrote His Book

21:45 Blending Memoir and Cookbook in "Offscript"

22:45 Using AI to Hit the Bestseller List in 4 Days

24:50 Backstage Stories: Kardashians, Stern, and O.J. Simpson

26:23 Expanding East: New Jersey Film & Media Growth

28:37 Embracing AI in Business

39:56 Defining Legacy Beyond Money

41:26 Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Larry

📖 Underdog to Empire —Available Now

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere on September 22, 2026.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Get your copy now at: www.patmiller.net

Connect with Larry Namer.

Larry Namer is the co-founder of E! Entertainment Television and CEO of LJN Media. He is available for board, advisory, and consulting roles focused on architecting global strategies.

📖 New Book: Two Minute Television

Larry's latest book, Two Minute Television, is now available on Amazon in Kindle, softcover, and hardcover editions.

📖 Also Available: Offscript… Never Follow the Crowd

Get your copy of Offscript… Never Follow the Crowd on Amazon in Kindle, softcover, and hardcover editions.

Contact Larry:
ljn@ljnmedia.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/larrynamertv/?hl=en

Why do so many ambitious women hit the same wall, no matter what industry they're in? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Stefanie O'Connell, an award-winning journalist and author of the new book The Ambition Penalty: How Corporate Culture Tells Women to Step Up and Then Pushes Them Down. Stefanie's reporting spans industries from Silicon Valley to the military to the trades, and what she found was strikingly consistent: women who speak up, ask for more, and assert their ambition are met with backlash regardless of the field they're in.

Stefanie shares how her career evolved from writing about personal finance in the early 2010s to uncovering a much bigger story: that when the same effort produces different outcomes depending on someone's identity, that's not an individual problem; it's a systemic one. That realization led to years of reporting, data analysis, and interviews that became the foundation for her book.

Chapters

0:01 Intro – Welcome Stephanie O'Connell
3:52 Staying Silent to Avoid Being Labeled
8:38 Why This Book Starts a Bigger Conversation
15:34 The Gender Pay Gap Hasn't Moved Since 2005
16:56 How DEI Became a Cover, Not a Fix
20:34 Why Women Drop Off at the Partner Level
22:59 The Backlash Against Ambitious Women
27:04 Burnout Isn't Personal; It's Environmental
30:53 Pat's Story: Starting a Company With $100
34:26 The Shocking Leisure-Time Gender Gap
39:09 Why "Doing It All" Is Unsustainable
44:13 Turning "Underdog" Status Into a Strength
47:31 Why Equality Benefits Everyone, Not Just Women
48:35 Pat's Fight for Her WBE Certification
51:51 Where to Find Stephanie's Book

📖 Underdog to Empire — Pre-order the eBook Now

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere on September 22, 2026.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Pre-order your copy now: www.patmiller.net

📩 Join the Underdog Community — Free Weekly Newsletter

Every Tuesday, Pat sends a free weekly newsletter with:

* Episode recaps and key takeaways

* Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else

* Pat's personal thoughts on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building something real

* The Subscriber Exclusive — a personal question from Pat that doesn't appear anywhere else

👉 Subscribe free: www.patmiller.net/newsletter

What if the thing holding your business back isn't a strategy problem but baggage you've been carrying since childhood? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Curtis McCullom, creator of Legit Mindset, who helps CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs eliminate the blind spots that have silently held them back, often since childhood. Curtis draws on nearly 40 years of practicing self-hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming, combined with mental and emotional release (MER), to help high-achieving entrepreneurs break through invisible ceilings.

Curtis walks through the four pillars behind Legit Mindset: Learning, Growing, Expanding, and Transforming and explains why so many successful entrepreneurs hit a wall even after achieving real financial success. He shares the science behind why change is so hard (our behavior is roughly 5% conscious and 95% subconscious) and why simply talking to the conscious mind rarely creates lasting transformation. Curtis also opens up about a deeply personal story: uncovering a belief he'd unknowingly carried since he was two years old that "success is hard and difficult" and how identifying and releasing it changed the way he shows up in his own business.

Chapters

0:00 Intro – Welcome Curtis McCullom
2:19 What Is "Legit Mindset"?
4:37 The Universal Capacity Principle
7:39 Why Your Success Doesn't Limit Mine
8:47 Uncovering Your True Identity
10:34 The 11 Million Bits vs. 50 Bits Theory
11:45 The 5% Conscious vs. 95% Subconscious Mind
13:04 How Bespoke Mental Audio Supplements Work
15:11 Discovering the "Legit Mindset" Framework
17:14 Why Curtis Sees Clients as Already Whole
17:39 Understanding Hypnosis and Trance States
19:59 How Media Normalizes Negative Programming
22:14 The Power of Daily Mental Conditioning
23:37 Processing Grief Through Loss
25:25 Why Outside Perspective Matters for Healing
28:06 Resetting Yourself When Out of Alignment
29:43 Why Boundaries Matter in Business and Life
30:47 Pat's Story: Losing Her Husband and Staying Professional
39:19 Why Successful Clients Still Feel Stuck
40:38 What It Feels Like to Release the "Baggage"
42:44 Turning Adversity Into Power
44:01 Doing the Hard Stuff First
45:20 Holding Grief and Gratitude at the Same Time
46:38 Curtis's Own Breakthrough: "Success Is Hard and Difficult"
51:20 Why It's Okay Not to Be Okay
53:09 Pat's Story: Surviving Birth Against the Odds
55:44 Where to Find Curtis McCullom

📖 Underdog to Empire —Available Now

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere on September 22, 2026.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Get your copy now at: www.patmiller.net

📩 Join the Underdog Community — Free Weekly Newsletter

Every Tuesday, Pat sends a free weekly newsletter with:

* Episode recaps and key takeaways

* Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else

* Pat's personal thoughts on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building something real

* The Subscriber Exclusive — a personal question from Pat that doesn't appear anywhere else

👉 Subscribe free: www.patmiller.net/newsletter

This week, From Underdog to Entrepreneur flips the script. Instead of hosting, Pat Miller sits in the guest chair as fellow podcaster and friend Sarah Walton takes over the mic to interview Pat about her brand-new book, Underdog to Empire. It's a rare, personal look behind the scenes of the show and behind the woman who's spent every week asking other entrepreneurs to share their stories.

Pat opens up about the difference between her first book, a memoir written from a dark, rebuilding chapter of her life, and this second book, which captures her shift from surviving to thriving. She shares the real, unfiltered story of nearly shelving the project entirely, juggling schedules, doubting herself, and wondering if it was even worth finishing, and the moment that changed her mind.

Chapters

0:01 Intro – Sarah Walton Takes Over as Host
1:05 Why Pat Did a Role Reversal Interview
4:34 Pat's First Book: "Kicking Karma's Ass"
6:06 Why She Wrote Book Two: Underdog to Empire
8:28 Standing Out Instead of Fitting In
9:51 The Story of "Nobody Listens to the Blonde"
11:18 Confronting a Client Who Crossed the Line
17:02 Almost Not Finishing the Book
18:56 Feeling Disheartened After Losing Bids
19:38 The Phone Call That Changed Everything
20:50 "Rejection Is God's Protection and Redirection"
21:27 The Moment She Decided Not to Quit
24:34 Why She Keeps Writing and Sharing Her Story
26:43 The Importance of In-Person Connection
28:10 Advice for Anyone in an "Underdog Moment"
30:58 Surviving vs. Thriving
31:34 Her Favorite Chapter to Write
32:59 Where to Get Underdog to Empire & Launch Party Details

📖 Underdog to Empire — Pre-order the eBook Now

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere on September 22, 2026.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Pre-order your copy now: www.patmiller.net

📩 Join the Underdog Community — Free Weekly Newsletter

Every Tuesday, Pat sends a free weekly newsletter with:

* Episode recaps and key takeaways

* Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else

* Pat's personal thoughts on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building something real

* The Subscriber Exclusive — a personal question from Pat that doesn't appear anywhere else

👉 Subscribe free: www.patmiller.net/newsletter

What do you do when everything you built gets taken from you in 22 minutes? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Summer Dey, an award-winning TV host and executive producer, six-time best-selling author, and two-time Comma Club Award recipient who equips leaders to communicate with bold faith and lead from their God-given identity. Summer has built and scaled multiple seven-figure businesses and is also a fierce advocate for victims of sex trafficking, having helped raise over six figures to support survivors.

Summer opens up about the day her board of directors voted to strip away everything she'd built just weeks after a miscarriage and months before COVID would shut down another business she was building. She shares how that devastating betrayal, and the depression and PTSD that followed, ultimately became the turning point for an entirely new chapter: launching a coaching business in April 2020 that hit six figures in its first six months, publishing six best-selling books, and building a media and speaking brand from the ground up.

• How forgiveness of others and of yourself became the tool that ended Summer's seizures and PTSD, and why she now offers a free course on it

• How an "accidental" Facebook Live to read the Bible together grew to over 6,700 women in a matter of weeks

• Why authenticity, even when it feels risky, is one of the most powerful tools in business and public speaking

• The difference between a "talker" and a true transformational speaker, and why nonverbal communication matters so much on stage

• Why Summer believes live events and real human connection will become even more valuable as AI reshapes media and content

• How she and her family sold nearly everything and spent three years traveling in an RV to 31 states after feeling called into ministry

• Why setting aside intentional time to rest and unplug is essential to avoid burnout, no matter how busy business gets

• How a single moment of loss and betrayal can redirect your entire path toward something greater

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesummerdey/?hl=e
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/FearIntoFaith/

Connect with Pat Miller

Follow Pat Miller for more conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories behind building successful businesses.

📖 Underdog to Empire — Pre-Order the eBook Now

Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere September 22, 2026.

The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.

👉 Pre-order your copy now: www.patmiller.net

📩 Join the Underdog Community — Free Weekly Newsletter

Every Tuesday, Pat sends a free weekly newsletter with:

• Episode recaps and key takeaways

• Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else

• Pat's personal thoughts on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building something real

• The Subscriber Exclusive — a personal question from Pat that doesn't appear anywhere else

👉 Subscribe free: www.patmiller.net/newsletter