Phil Martelli Jr. just finished his first year as head men's basketball coach at VCU. The team won the Atlantic 10, made the NCAA tournament, and beat North Carolina along the way. His kids cut down two championship nets in two seasons, once at Bryant in the America East and once at VCU. He sat down to talk through what it actually takes to build a program at that pace.

The conversation runs through the anchors of his coaching philosophy. One mistake can hurt you. The second mistake kills you. He carries that into how he hires staff, recruits players, manages a season, and shows up in his own family.

Phil talks about the day at the start of his career when he turned down a grad-assistant job at Clemson to stay at Central Connecticut. Six weeks later, his future wife walked into his camp. He talks about being the best teammate even when he was never the best player. He talks about Lincoln, twenty-nine failed businesses behind one success, and a phone full of notes on people the world calls winners and the wreckage that sits right behind them.

This is a conversation about how a coach builds the kind of program that wins early without burning the people inside it.

• 02:30 - Peaks and valleys. Knowing when to ramp up and when to bring it back down.
• 03:15 - Year one to year two. Building the right team at the staff level first.
• 04:40 - Talent and character, not either or.
• 05:40 - Consistency through the rough patches. No magic wand, no secret.
• 07:10 - Where the values came from. His dad, and being around good people.
• 08:30 - Always the best teammate, even when he was never the best player.
• 09:40 - Twenty-four years of fingerprints. Every coach he ever worked for shows up somewhere.
• 11:00 - Turning down Clemson. The decision that did not look right to anyone else.
• 17:00 - Blending family and program. Why the kids are in the office and on the road.
• 21:30 - Setting the example. You cannot ask for consistency you do not give.
• 24:30 - The first mistake hurts you. The second mistake kills you.
• 26:00 - Fascinated with failure. Lincoln, twenty-nine failed businesses, and the phone full of notes.
• 28:30 - Easy to care about number five when he drops twenty and ten. Caring about the person is the work.
• 30:30 - What he wants his players to remember at thirty-five and forty.

Phil Martelli Jr. is the head men's basketball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University. He played for his father, the longtime Saint Joseph's head coach, and built his coaching career across stops at Central Connecticut, Manhattan, Niagara, Delaware, the Delaware 87ers (NBA G League), Saint Joseph's, and Bryant. He took over at Bryant in 2022, won the America East regular-season title, and was named America East Coach of the Year. He arrived at VCU ahead of the 2024 to 2025 season and led the Rams to the Atlantic 10 championship and an NCAA tournament appearance in his first year on the job.

• VCU Men's Basketball: vcuathletics.com
• Phil Martelli Jr. @pmjr10 on X (Twitter)
• Atlantic 10 Conference: atlantic10.com

Will didn't set out to become Richmond's leading voice on artificial intelligence. A chance encounter during a Chamber RVA trip to DC, a conversation with Senator Mark Warner fresh off a meeting with Sam Altman, and a community ready for a catalyst moment changed everything. Will shares the origin story of AI Ready RVA and why he believes Richmond is at a turning point.

From raking leaves as a kid in a cash-strapped household to buying into a business at age 20, Will has always been wired to build. He opens up about the tension between founding and operating, why great teams matter more than great founders, and what it actually takes to move a status quo business into a growth business.

Will's honest take on AI adoption, learning by doing, and finding a buddy to grow alongside makes this a practical, grounding episode for any leader navigating change right now.

Resources & Links

• Exponent 21: exponent21.com
• AI Ready RVA: [aireadyrva.com]
• Will on LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/willharris]
• Leadership Metro Richmond: [leadershipmetrorichmond.org]

Episode Timestamps

• 00:21 - How Will became Richmond's AI voice
• 01:30 - The Chamber RVA DC trip that started it all
• 02:45 - Why Richmond's poverty rate fueled Will's mission
• 04:00 - AI Ready RVA: what it is and how it runs
• 04:41 - How other cities and regions are funding AI hubs
• 07:35 - Will's entrepreneurial roots and a cash-strapped childhood
• 09:10 - Why he has always preferred starting over managing
• 11:20 - Founders who stay too long and the status quo trap
• 12:21 - Why great teams are the real answer for founders
• 14:27 - The Tim Ferriss myth and appreciating operational discipline
• 17:51 - What Will would tell his 20-year-old self
• 19:54 - Why fear of the unknown only shrinks by doing
• 21:38 - How the brain shortchanges us from starting
• 23:34 - Will's one piece of advice for the AI-skeptical: find a buddy
• 25:36 - On giving yourself permission to quit and try something new

Mack Garrison didn't plan to become an entrepreneur. He decided the day before launching Dash Studio.

What started as a single CNN project with his co-worker turned into a nearly 10-year journey building one of the leading animation and motion design agencies in the Southeast.

Mack shares how Dash Studio has thrived on a foundation of creativity and community. With 84% of their work coming through referrals, he breaks down why relationships matter more than sales tactics. From throwing the annual Dash Bash animation festival in Raleigh to building intentional remote team culture, Mack reveals the systems that keep distributed creative teams connected and productive.

The conversation tackles AI's impact on creative work, why supporting your competition pays off, and the research showing givers outperform takers in the long run. Mack offers practical frameworks for leaders navigating change, building networks, and fostering collaboration across departments.

Resources Mentioned

• Dash Studio: https://dashstudio.net
• Dash Bash Festival (Raleigh, NC): DashBash.net
• "The Art of Gathering" by Priya Parker
• Mack on LinkedIn: Mack Garrison
• Instagram: @dash_nc

Key Moments

00:00 - The accidental entrepreneur: deciding to start a business overnight

02:30 - Winning the Riot Games project with impossible deadlines

04:15 - Building on creativity and community as core pillars

08:30 - Remote team rhythms: Monday photos, Tuesday inspiration, monthly recaps

11:20 - Getting the whole team together twice a year

16:00 - How 84% of projects come from referrals and relationships

20:45 - Trial and error in building company culture

24:30 - Where meetings actually begin: the power of intentionality

28:00 - Balancing visionary thinking with operational structure

31:15 - AI won't replace creativity—it will evolve it

35:45 - Leaders should experiment first, then empower teams

40:20 - The future is collaborative: boutique agencies working together

43:30 - Givers vs. takers: the long-term business strategy that wins