In this candid and deeply relatable conversation, Gregory Vetter, co-founder of Tessemae’s and current CEO of Alta Fresh Foods, joins What It Takes to talk about the real cost of entrepreneurship—with a focus on financials. Drawing from his honest and hilarious book Undressed, Greg shares his multi-phase “Money Quest” journey, including investor pitfalls, oil spills, media hype, board takeovers, and ultimately, how bankruptcy led to personal freedom and a renewed vision.

Now with Alta Fresh Foods, Greg has taken those hard-earned lessons and created a profitable, purpose-driven business that prioritizes transparency, efficiency, and solving real problems in food manufacturing. He’s also paying it forward through HomeGrown Brands, helping other founders build smarter.

• Fundraising felt like validation early on—but came with major consequences.
• “Move fast and break things” doesn’t work when you’re shoveling up oil with kitty litter.
• The emotional desire to be seen and validated by investors led to avoidable decisions.
• The Money Quests in his book represent different stages of growth, failure, and learning—essential financial storytelling for entrepreneurs.

• Designed to reduce food waste and labor inefficiencies in retail food assembly.
• Won Sam’s Club Supplier of the Year through radical transparency and over-communication.
• Differentiated by eliminating co-packers and controlling the process in-house.
• No outside investors—complete ownership and freedom in decision-making.

• Despite having the evidence, the board’s control and court battles forced Greg into bankruptcy.
• He describes it as his “freedom moment,” where every fear was exposed, and faith was found.
• The hardest moments led him to his personal transformation—and a deeper connection to God, family, and purpose.

• “What the Inc. Magazine cover didn’t do for us…”
• “The buyer revolving door is real—and it can break your business.”
• “Why I built Alta Fresh without a single investor.”
• “From Chapter 11 to Sam’s Club Supplier of the Year.”

• Storage unit oil spill scene (funny + visual)
• Emotional take on investor love and validation
• Signature question and four things money can’t buy
• The board coup + faith transformation moment

In this episode, Jamie Seeker talks with Matthew Neill Davis, founder of Davis Business Law—a firm that has scaled to nine locations across the Midwest and South, making the rare leap onto the Inc. 5000 list. Matthew shares how he built a multi-office law firm from Enid, Oklahoma, his philosophy behind the "Strong Protected Business System," and real-world lessons in preventing disaster before it strikes.

A heavy metal guitarist and author of The Art of Preventing Stupid, Matt opens up about how he's helping entrepreneurs think ahead, avoid legal pitfalls, and scale with confidence. From emotional client stories to candid advice on financial planning, this episode is packed with insights for business owners who want to protect what they're building.

• Expansion started with opening an office in Oklahoma City and continued organically to 9 offices including Denver.
• Growth was often opportunistic—“We were just too dumb to know we couldn’t do it.”

• Developed in response to seeing clients make preventable mistakes.
• Encourages businesses to identify vulnerabilities before they become liabilities.
• Focuses on three key areas:

1. Catastrophes
2. Ignorance (what you don’t know)
3. Ineptitude (what you know but don’t do)

• Client with a major oil field company upgraded insurance after Matthew intervened.
• A tragic accident involving one of their trucks could have bankrupted the company—but didn’t, because of that decision.

“He asked, ‘What about the company?’ and I said, ‘We’re fine—because we had that conversation.’”

• Many businesses lack adequate insurance coverage.
• Legal risk often underestimated, especially in high-liability sectors like trucking or healthcare.

“Your capabilities are your lid. If you're not constantly improving, you're holding your company back.”

• Middle stages of business (e.g., $5M in revenue) are the toughest: you need leadership infrastructure but haven’t hit high-revenue efficiency.
• Growing too fast without planning can squeeze margins and overwhelm systems.

• Legal and financial planning should scale with the business’s growth stage.
• Davis Business Law offers a free resource outlining legal best practices by revenue/employee count on their website.

• Leading a professional services firm is like running a wolf pack—you must be involved and set the tone.

“If you’re going to abdicate your leadership role, your firm will fall apart.”

• “We're just too dumb to know we can’t do it.” — on fearless scaling
• “It’s heartbreaking to see dreams smashed by preventable mistakes.”
• “Your leadership is your lid. Your firm won’t grow beyond you.”
• “What about the company? — We’re fine, because we had that conversation.”
• “Revenue does not equal profit. The middle stages of growth are the hardest.”

In this mind-expanding episode, Jamie Seeker sits down with Ajay Malik—CEO of StudioX-AI, futurist, inventor, and former tech exec at Google, Cisco, HP, and Motorola. Now based in San Jose, California, Ajay shares how his obsession with innovation led to 100+ patents and the founding of StudioX, an AI platform built to democratize predictive insights for businesses.

Ajay discusses the ethics of AI, financial planning with machine learning, and how to make AI not just a tool—but a co-founder. This episode is a masterclass in what it takes to lead with vision and values in an increasingly AI-driven world.

• Ajay’s Origin Story: Left cushy tech jobs for 120-hour weeks—by choice. “I have to have that freedom to build and create.”
• Patents as Motivation: He calls the recognition of unique innovation “addictive.”
• Why StudioX Exists: To give businesses AI tools once only available at places like Google.
• On AI & Ethics: Warns of “intellectual property pollution” in large language models—like using stolen code unknowingly.
• Financial Planning with AI: “Skill is no longer a differentiator. Everyone has an employee now—it's called AI.”
• Business Advice: Make AI usage mandatory in your company. “Every founder should be prompting together with their team.”