Kurt Nederveld, founder and CEO of Rainstar Capital Group, joins Rick Plasket on Business Unfiltered to talk about 12 years of building one of the most diversified debt advisory platforms in the country. Rainstar sits across $20M+ middle market companies, small businesses, commercial real estate deals, and equipment lending — with 250 registered lenders spanning banks, hedge funds, private equity, and specialty finance. Kurt breaks down how the firm works, why bank financing often falls short during growth phases, and how AI is now changing the way they generate leads and process loans.
Beyond the business model, this episode gets into leadership — the realities of being a Type A CEO, how Kurt structures his day between strategy and client work, and why he still gets personally involved in larger transactions rather than delegating everything away. He also shares what has shaped him as a leader, including experiences most people wouldn't talk about on a podcast.
What you'll take away:

Why businesses that are growing often outgrow their bank debt — and what the B, C, and D lending tiers actually offer
How Rainstar uses CFO-level tools to help clients weigh the cost of alternative capital against the revenue opportunity it unlocks
Kurt's approach to time-blocking: mornings for strategy, afternoons for leading by doing
Why he still works directly with clients as CEO, and where he draws the line on delegation
How Rainstar is using AI for lead generation and loan process automation — and why they're prioritising that over headcount growth
The hiring philosophy: culture fit and right timing over filling seats
"Every great deal dies seven times" — and what it takes to be the advisor who gets it across the line

Connect with Kurt Nederveld:
Website: rainstarcapitalgroup.com
Email: kurt@rainstarcapitalgroup.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtanederveld
If this conversation gave you something useful, like and subscribe — new episodes drop weekly.

I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Rick and the Ohio Business Unfiltered podcast team

Connect with Rick Plasket on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-plasket-4b6a157
Visit the ActionCOACH website here: https://rickplasket.actioncoach.com

Listen to Ohio Business Unfiltered on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033jtpIBICapFc5c0uLDjE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ohio-business-unfiltered/id1896769046
Amazon Podcasts:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/70038bf4-21c4-44ef-91a4-5fdca2d11607/ohio-business-unfiltered

#OhioBusinessUnfiltered #RickPlasket #ActionCOACH #OhioBusiness #BusinessCoaching #SmallBusinessOwner #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #ScaleYourBusiness #OhioEntrepreneur #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessStrategy #WorkLifeBalance #MindsetMatters
Ohio Business Unfiltered is the podcast for Ohio business owners who want straight talk on what it actually takes to build a profitable, sustainable company. Each week, Rick Plasket sits down with entrepreneurs, executives, and business leaders from across the state to get into the real conversations — the obstacles they faced, the decisions that changed everything, and what they wish they had known sooner.
Rick Plasket is a certified ActionCOACH, West Point graduate, and Army veteran with decades of experience spanning corporate leadership and business coaching. He works with business owners across Columbus and Ohio to help them stop working in their business and start working on it — building systems, developing teams, and reclaiming the freedom they got into business for in the first place. On Ohio Business Unfiltered, Rick brings that same direct, accountability-driven approach to every conversation.

Todd Sullivan has built and sold four companies, played professional hockey, and is now on his fifth venture — ExitWise, a marketplace that connects business owners with exited founders who've sold companies to some of the biggest names in the world. In this episode, Todd talks to Rick Plaskett about what most founders get catastrophically wrong when it's time to sell, why your investment banker and attorney are not actually on your side, and how having someone in your corner who's already been through the emotional rollercoaster of M&A can be the difference between a deal dying and a deal closing.
The conversation covers the full arc of what ExitWise does — from working with founders 2-3 years before they're ready to sell, right through to closing — and why personality fit between a seller and their M&A team matters more than the size of previous deals. Todd also shares his thinking on goal-setting, why his superpower is zero to one, and what the goalie mindset from his hockey days taught him about running a business.
What you'll take away:

Why ExitWise clients sell for 30% or more above market — and what role exited founders actually play in getting there
The red flag Todd watches for immediately: if your attorney is taking weeks to turn around an NDA, he'll walk
Why searchers and fundless sponsors have ruined multiple deals — and why Todd advises staying away from them
The difference between what a banker wants, what a lawyer wants, and what you actually need as a founder going into a sale
How exited founders translate emotion into finance and back again — and why bankers say they've saved deals because of it
Todd's advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: treat it as a career, go work inside the industry you want to disrupt, and launch with customers already in hand
Why his magic wand answer is a tighter ICP — and why AI is changing how quickly they can prepare a business to go to market

Connect with Todd Sullivan:
Website: exitwise.com
Email: tod@exitwise.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfsullivan
Like and subscribe for new episodes every week.

I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Rick and the Ohio Business Unfiltered podcast team

Connect with Rick Plasket on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-plasket-4b6a157
Visit the ActionCOACH website here: https://rickplasket.actioncoach.com

Listen to Ohio Business Unfiltered on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033jtpIBICapFc5c0uLDjE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ohio-business-unfiltered/id1896769046
Amazon Podcasts:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/70038bf4-21c4-44ef-91a4-5fdca2d11607/ohio-business-unfiltered

#OhioBusinessUnfiltered #RickPlasket #ActionCOACH #OhioBusiness #BusinessCoaching #SmallBusinessOwner #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #ScaleYourBusiness #OhioEntrepreneur #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessStrategy #WorkLifeBalance #MindsetMatters
Ohio Business Unfiltered is the podcast for Ohio business owners who want straight talk on what it actually takes to build a profitable, sustainable company. Each week, Rick Plasket sits down with entrepreneurs, executives, and business leaders from across the state to get into the real conversations — the obstacles they faced, the decisions that changed everything, and what they wish they had known sooner.
Rick Plasket is a certified ActionCOACH, West Point graduate, and Army veteran with decades of experience spanning corporate leadership and business coaching. He works with business owners across Columbus and Ohio to help them stop working in their business and start working on it — building systems, developing teams, and reclaiming the freedom they got into business for in the first place. On Ohio Business Unfiltered, Rick brings that same direct, accountability-driven approach to every conversation.

Joseph Badger didn't plan on ending up in insurance. His career wound through economics academia, telecoms marketing, custom home design, HR leadership, and teaching business seminars across the US before a temporary role with Colonial Life became the foundation for Upper Room Solutions. In this episode, Joseph talks to Rick Plaskett about what it actually looks like to build a business with the intention of one day not being needed in it — and why that's harder emotionally than most founders expect.
The conversation covers Joseph's leadership philosophy, which centres on self-awareness, the difference between being nice and being kind, and what he calls "leading with a limp" — the idea that acknowledging your own flaws makes you a better leader, not a weaker one. He also shares a story from the night before recording that captures exactly the kind of successor relationship most business owners spend years hoping for.
What you'll take away:

Why Joseph structures his role around making himself unnecessary — and how that's changed where he spends his time
The distinction between being nice (doing things so people like you) and being kind (doing the right thing for someone, regardless of whether they want it)
How personality profiling tools like DISC aren't just for sales — and why he teaches them as life skills
What "leading with a limp" means in practice, and why leaders who haven't worked through their own wounds can cause serious damage to the people around them
His magic wand answer: sales discipline — and why even great hunters on a sales team need structure to stay focused
The custom-forged sword from Nepal, and what it meant about the successor relationship he's built over years

Connect with Joseph Badger:
Website: upper-room-solutions.com
Phone: 440-915-8442
LinkedIn: Upper Room Solutions — linkedin.com/company/upper-room-solutions
If this resonated, give it a like and subscribe — new episodes weekly.

I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.

– Rick and the Ohio Business Unfiltered podcast team

Connect with Rick Plasket on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-plasket-4b6a157
Visit the ActionCOACH website here: https://rickplasket.actioncoach.com

Listen to Ohio Business Unfiltered on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033jtpIBICapFc5c0uLDjE
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ohio-business-unfiltered/id1896769046
Amazon Podcasts:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/70038bf4-21c4-44ef-91a4-5fdca2d11607/ohio-business-unfiltered

#OhioBusinessUnfiltered #RickPlasket #ActionCOACH #OhioBusiness #BusinessCoaching #SmallBusinessOwner #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #ScaleYourBusiness #OhioEntrepreneur #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessStrategy #WorkLifeBalance #MindsetMatters

Ohio Business Unfiltered is the podcast for Ohio business owners who want straight talk on what it actually takes to build a profitable, sustainable company. Each week, Rick Plasket sits down with entrepreneurs, executives, and business leaders from across the state to get into the real conversations — the obstacles they faced, the decisions that changed everything, and what they wish they had known sooner.

Rick Plasket is a certified ActionCOACH, West Point graduate, and Army veteran with decades of experience spanning corporate leadership and business coaching. He works with business owners across Columbus and Ohio to help them stop working in their business and start working on it — building systems, developing teams, and reclaiming the freedom they got into business for in the first place. On Ohio Business Unfiltered, Rick brings that same direct, accountability-driven approach to every conversation.