Mike Milligan breaks down why entrepreneurial excellence in money is not about fancy strategies, it’s about solving real problems and making clear decisions. He explains the “paralysis penalty”, how fear and confusion keep people stuck, and why entrepreneurs need a plan that fits their real life, not a one size fits all template. A big theme is trust, if you can’t trust the person guiding your money, you’ll hesitate, and hesitation quietly becomes the most expensive choice.

Mike is the founder of One Oak Financial, a virtual financial planning firm built around the idea that every person’s financial life is “one of a kind.” After working inside big banks and seeing how the system is designed for profit first, he built a firm that listens deeper, says no when it’s not a fit, and helps clients align taxes, cash flow, and long term goals with how they actually live and build. He also shares the founder mindset behind leaving Wall Street, learning to tell a better story, and building a business that can run without you.

In this episode, Mike unpacks how to choose a financial planner without getting fooled by titles, why you should ask an advisor to show their own finances, and what “aligned incentives” really looks like. He also gets into focus, long term investing, and why people panic when the stock market is “on sale.”

Key Topics:

-Why entrepreneurial excellence is simply solving a real problem

-What the paralysis penalty is and why it keeps people stuck

-How to choose a fiduciary and avoid “fake” trust signals

-Why you should ask your financial advisor to show their own finances

-Why long term investing fails when fear takes over

-How founders should think about retirement, taxes, and building a business that runs without them

Timestamps:

02:08 The simplest definition of excellence most founders forget

11:05 The unfair advantage that beats hustle every time

13:17 The money move you should make way earlier than you think

17:10 The hidden cost of doing it all alone

24:46 The 3 ways advisors get paid, and what that means for you

31:48 The “paralysis penalty” that quietly drains your future

38:03 The long game mindset that keeps you rich while others panic

38:34 The weird reason people miss the best buying moments

40:31 What to do when the market “goes on sale”

50:30 The margin rule that keeps entrepreneurs from going broke

51:14 The one thing every business dies without

59:19 The urgency thesis, why saving now changes everything later

1:07:40 The real freedom test for any business owner

1:08:27 The proud moment every founder wants, and how you earn it

Connect with - Mike Milligan, CFP®:

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/mikemilligancfp

Website - 1oakfinancial.com (Company)

mike%20milligan.com (Company)

jbpgroup.com (Company)

Connect to Entrepreneurial-Excellence Podcast:

LinkedIn - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurial-excellence-podcast⁠

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/@EntrepreneurialExcellencePod

TikTok - ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@eepodcast24⁠Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570329516959

Website - https://www.hirechore.com/resources/podcast

Vladimir Baranov shares why entrepreneurial excellence is not about perfect technology, but about real human connection. He explains how technically brilliant founders fail when they ignore people, how ego and bias distort decisions, and why market reality always beats technical elegance. Business, he argues, runs on psychology, trends, and the ability to truly listen.

A three-time founder turned executive coach and the founder of Human Interfaces, Vladimir exited a wealth management SaaS company and worked across fintech and space tech before focusing on coaching technical founders. Today, he helps leaders overcome misalignment, communication gaps, and hidden cognitive bias that stall growth.

In this episode, he unpacks why ideas are less important than people, how action generates the data founders need, and why open-ended questions unlock better sales and stronger teams. He also shares why delegation signals maturity and why success comes from collecting real experience, not just knowledge.

Key Topics:

-Why great tech fails without human connection

-How ego and bias quietly destroy founder decisions

-Why action beats overthinking in business

-How misalignment kills teams before revenue does

-Why people, not ideas, build winning companies

Timestamps:

07:10 Why Technical Founders Hit an Invisible Ceiling

08:06 The High Risk Skill Nobody Trains, Human Interaction

10:39 Innovation Needs Therapy Level Understanding of People

17:06 Technical Skill in Isolation Is Just an Art Piece

19:55 Your Job as a Founder, Speak the Market’s Language

23:16 The Ego Trap, Thinking Your Model Is The Truth

27:42 The Question Shift That Kills Bias, Open Ended Over Close Ended

29:11 The Brutal Take, Most People Only Want to Talk About Themselves

37:14 Action Generates Data, The Simple Rule Most Founders Ignore

50:26 The Real Driver, People Buy Emotionally Not Logically

53:01 Market Reality Beats Technical Elegance, Every Time

55:09 The CEO Ego Problem, They Won’t Admit It’s a Bet

1:06:55 The Delegation Rule, Recurring and Schedulable Must Go

1:15:46 The Real Belief Shift, Ideas Are Less Important Than People

1:17:40 The Mushroom Line, Why Smart People Struggle at Business

Connect with -Vladimir Baranov:

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/vladimirbaranov

Website: https://humaninterfaces.co/?utm_source=linkedin-contact

Connect to Entrepreneurial-Excellence Podcast:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurial-excellence-podcast

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/@EntrepreneurialExcellencePod

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@eepodcast24

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570329516959

Website - https://www.hirechore.com/resources/podcast

Christene Marie shares why entrepreneurial excellence is not about chasing growth, tactics, or outside validation, but about vertical alignment—living and leading from an ideal you consciously choose, not from everyone else’s opinions. She explains why misalignment is so costly, how leaders lose their way when they constantly chase the next strategy, and why the real work begins when you are willing to face uncomfortable truths, especially when the data, the mirror, or your team is telling you something you do not want to hear.

Christene is the CEO and founder of The Knowing Group and a thought leader in empathy-driven branding, measurement marketing, and audience psychology. Her agency has worked with global brands such as Toyota, Amazon, and Fortune 50 healthcare companies to clarify identity, understand audiences, and build emotional resonance that drives real business results. She is also part of a 100-plus-year family business, giving her a grounded perspective on legacy, long-term relevance, and what sustains brands across generations.

In this episode, Christene breaks down why emotional intelligence is the missing layer behind many leadership and team problems, how brand is really the emotional expectation of an experience, and why the strongest advantage in today’s market is knowing who you are, what you stand for, and how you want people to feel. She also shares practical clarity practices—like writing your eulogy, removing external inputs, and creating daily “no-noise” time—so leaders can stop living horizontally and start leading from their own internal compass.

Key Topics

• Defining entrepreneurial excellence through vertical alignment

• Why misalignment is expensive in leadership, business, and life

• Emotional intelligence as a core leadership skill, not a soft one

• Brand as the emotional expectation of an experience

• Building trust through experience, not just marketing spend

• Why clarity of identity is your true competitive advantage

• Creating daily space for courage, focus, and real creation

03:08 What Entrepreneurial Excellence Really Means

04:41 Horizontal Living vs Vertical Alignment

05:51 Why Misalignment Is So Costly

09:48 The Mirror Moment Leaders Avoid

10:54 Emotional Intelligence as the Missing Skill

15:43 Legacy Is Built Daily, Not Just Financially

16:57 The Eulogy Exercise for Clarity

20:21 Becoming the Author of Your Own Life

31:52 Psychological Safety and High-Performance Teams

36:53 Brand Defined as Emotional Expectation

50:33 The CEO Habit of Creating Space

1:06:18 The Work Is Not Glamorous, But It Is Real

1:16:12 The One Practice Leaders Need Every Day

Connect with Christene Marie

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christenemarie

Website: theknowingagency.com

Personal Site: christenemarie.com

Connect with Entrepreneurial Excellence Podcast

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurial-excellence-podcast

YouTube: youtube.com/@EntrepreneurialExcellencePod

TikTok: tiktok.com/@eepodcast24

Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570329516959

Website: levy.company/entrepreneurial-excellence