🎬 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 74 🎬

What happens after a successful exit?

For many founders, it’s not retirement—it’s reinvention.

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Jason Kiesel, Co-founder & CEO of Packed House Pictures, to explore what comes after building, scaling, and exiting a company—twice.

Jason shares how he went from GovTech entrepreneur to media founder, why he’s betting on vertical storytelling, and how new content formats are reshaping the economics of entertainment.

This is a conversation about second acts, emerging markets, and what it really means to build again from scratch.

🔍 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why founders struggle more with idle time than failure
• The rise of vertical micro-content and its billion-dollar potential
• How indie creators are being underserved by traditional distribution
• Why platform models scale faster than project-based businesses
• How AI is transforming production, hiring, and creative workflows

🌐 Connect with Jason: Website: https://linktr.ee/jasonkiesel Email: jason@packed-house.com

🚀 Whether you're a founder post-exit, an investor tracking new markets, or an operator thinking about your next move—this episode delivers real insight.

👉 Watch now, subscribe, and drop a comment: What would your “second act” look like?

🏠 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 73 🏠

What if the future of property management isn’t better software, but software that actually runs your business?

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Shahar Goldboim, Co-Founder & CEO of Boom, to unpack how short-term rental businesses are evolving from fragmented, manual operations into fully integrated, AI-driven systems.

Drawing from his experience building and scaling a $150M+ short-term rental platform, Shahar shares why the traditional tech stack is broken and what replaces it.

🔍 What you’ll learn:

• Why short-term rentals are one of the most operationally complex asset classes
• The shift from “tools that help” to systems that actually run your business
• How fragmented software stacks are limiting growth
• Where AI creates the most leverage inside operations
• Why private equity is moving toward operators—not just assets

🚀 Whether you’re a private equity investor, operator, or founder scaling a portfolio, this episode offers a clear look at where the market is heading and how to stay ahead of it.

📩 Connect with Shahar Goldboim on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahar-goldboim-80820b95/ 🌐 Learn more about Boom: ​​https://www.boomnow.com/

👉 Subscribe for more conversations with top operators and investors 👍 Like the video and share your biggest takeaway in the comments

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Joseph Dalton, Founder & Managing Partner of Arsenal Enterprise Capital, to unpack one of the most misunderstood dynamics in private equity: investing in relationship-driven businesses.

From navigating founder transitions to sourcing proprietary deal flow, Joseph shares how his operator-first mindset shapes better investment decisions—especially in industries where relationships drive revenue.

🔍 What you’ll learn:

• Why founder-led businesses require different diligence frameworks
• How to manage key man risk without losing enterprise value
• The advantage of sourcing deals directly from founders
• Why financials don’t tell the full story of a business
• How to create value through operations, not just capital

🚀 Whether you’re a PE investor, founder preparing for exit, or operator scaling a company, this episode offers practical insights you won’t hear in a pitch deck.

📩 Connect with Joseph Dalton on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-w-dalton/

🏢 Learn more about Arsenal Enterprise Capital - https://www.arsenalenterprisecapital.com/

👉 Watch now, subscribe, and drop a comment: What’s the biggest risk you’ve seen in founder-led businesses?

🧠 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 71 🧠

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Erica Olsen, Co-founder & CEO of Madison AI, to unpack what it really takes to reinvent a business from consulting to SaaS at exactly the right moment.

Erica shares how a simple shift, listening to what customers actually wanted, led to a completely new company, a $1M ARR milestone, and a fast-growing GovTech platform serving cities and counties across the U.S.

This isn’t theory. It’s a real-time case study in adapting to AI, finding product-market fit, and building with focus in a market most founders avoid.

🔍 What you’ll learn: • Why customers should define your product • The realities of selling AI into government (and why most fail) • How to transition from services to scalable SaaS • Why niche focus beats broad ambition in early-stage growth • How AI is changing how executives work, not just what they do

🚀 Whether you're a PE-backed operator, startup founder, or investor, this episode offers a practical look at building and scaling in the age of AI. 🔗 Connect with Erica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericajolsen/ 🌐 Learn more: https://madisonai.com/

👉 Subscribe for more insights from founders, investors, and operators 👍 Like the video and share your thoughts in the comments: What would you rebuild differently in an AI-first world?

⚠️ Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 70 ⚠️

What does it really take to scale a service business—without outside capital, without a “breakout moment,” and without shortcuts?

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, Justin Dixon sits down with Cameron Magee, Founder & Owner of avad3 Event Production, to unpack the realities of building a national business from a college dorm room.

From surviving COVID when revenue dropped to zero overnight, to scaling through word-of-mouth and operational discipline, Cameron shares a refreshingly honest look at what actually drives long-term growth.

🔍 What you’ll learn:

• Why consistency beats “breakthrough moments” in scaling
• How word-of-mouth can outperform traditional sales strategies
• The operational fundamentals most service businesses get wrong
• What it takes to survive a full revenue collapse—and rebuild
• How to think about pricing, capacity, and saying “no” to the wrong work
• Why in-person experiences are making a strong comeback

🚀 Whether you’re a founder, operator, or investor, this episode is a masterclass in building a resilient, high-performing service business.

📩 Connect with Cameron Magee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/c-magee/

👉 If you found value in this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and drop a comment—what’s been the hardest part of scaling your business?

🍽️ Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 69 🍽️

What happens when a personal health challenge exposes a massive market opportunity?

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Dylan McDonnell, Founder & CEO of Foodini, a dietary intelligence platform helping restaurants communicate clearly with customers who have food allergies or dietary restrictions.

After living with celiac disease for most of his life, Dylan experienced firsthand how difficult it was to navigate restaurant menus safely. What began as a personal frustration evolved into a startup tackling one of the restaurant industry's most overlooked infrastructure problems: accurate dietary and allergen data.

Today, Foodini works with restaurants to ingest menu, recipe, and supplier data to create personalized menus that tell customers exactly what they can — and cannot — eat.

With new allergen disclosure regulations emerging across the U.S., Dylan explains why this problem is becoming not just a customer experience issue, but a compliance and operational necessity.

🔍 In this episode, they cover:

• Why nearly half the U.S. population has a dietary restriction or allergy • How new regulations are forcing restaurants to rethink menu transparency • Why restaurants lose entire groups of customers when dietary needs aren't addressed • The hidden data problem inside restaurant operations • How AI is helping scale allergen and dietary intelligence • Lessons from building a startup around a personal problem

🚀 Whether you're a founder, investor, or operator, this conversation reveals how regulation, data infrastructure, and consumer demand are converging to create a new category in restaurant technology.

Connect with Dylan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-mcdonnell-a5787574/ Website: https://foodini.co/ Email: dylan@getfoodini.com

🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch here on YouTube.

👉 Subscribe, like, and comment: Would you trust a restaurant more if its menu clearly showed what you can safely eat?

🚗 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 68 🚗

What happens when cars no longer sit idle in driveways, but instead operate like a software platform?

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Ezra Goldman, Co-Founder & CEO of Upshift, to explore how autonomous vehicles, AI-powered dispatch systems, and subscription-based access could reshape the entire mobility economy.

Instead of owning a car that sits unused most of the time, Ezra believes the future will look more like “Netflix for cars”—where a vehicle shows up when you need it and disappears when you don’t.

From fleet logistics and utilization economics to the role AI will play in orchestrating thousands of vehicles in real time, this conversation dives into what the next mobility stack actually looks like and why the biggest opportunity may not be the car itself, but the software layer managing it.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why most cars sit idle nearly all the time, and the massive inefficiency it creates
• The shift from car ownership to “mobility as a service”
• How AI-powered dispatch systems could unlock profitable fleet economics
• Why autonomous vehicles will likely start in luxury markets before scaling to mass adoption
• The operational challenges behind running large autonomous fleets
• How founders can use AI as a strategic thinking partner

Whether you’re a founder building mobility tech, an investor tracking autonomous vehicles, or an operator thinking about logistics and fleet optimization, this episode offers a fascinating look at how transportation may evolve over the next decade.

Connect with Ezra & Upshift: 🌐 Website: https://www.upshiftcars.com/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezrajgoldman/ 📱 Social: Facebook, Instagram, and X

👍 If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and comment with your thoughts on the future of mobility.

🤖 Growth Capital Podcast — Episode 67 🤖

AI is moving fast. Most companies are moving faster — without governance.

In this episode of the Growth Capital Podcast, host Justin Dixon sits down with Allen Martinez, Founder & Chief AI Architect of Noble Digital, to unpack what most operators are getting wrong about AI implementation.

While everyone is racing to add new AI tools, Allen makes a compelling case that the real competitive advantage isn’t more AI — it’s better control.

Drawing from his background in film production and enterprise marketing strategy, Allen explains why AI systems need a “director,” how tool sprawl creates exponential risk, and why companies must move from soft policy documents to hard, machine-executable governance.

🔍 In this episode, they cover:

• Why AI is probabilistic — and why that changes everything
• The exponential collision risk of adding multiple AI tools
• The hidden “reconciliation tax” companies are already paying
• How to govern one workflow in 30 days and prove ROI
• Why AI alignment will define category leaders in the next 18 months

Allen Martinez is the creator of BXAIOS, the governance system that stops AI from freelancing in your brand's name and creates a competitive advantage as you scale.

📍 Connect with Allen Personal Site: allenmartinez.net Noble Digital: https://nobledigital.com Primary Site: https://bxaios.com/

He is also the author of The Brand Experience AI Operating System. Get the first chapter for FREE — https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/1780848/170432170750379532/share

If you’re a founder, operator, or investor thinking about AI beyond the hype — this episode is essential.

👉 Subscribe for more conversations with private equity leaders and high-growth executives. 👍 Like the episode and share your thoughts in the comments: Are you adding AI tools or governing them?