How Casey Mahoney turned a racing background, IT skills, and a niche idea into a business people can actually experience.

In this episode of The Long Game, Mitch Long talks with Casey Mahoney about Victory Sim Experience, the racing sim center he built in Hickory, NC. Casey shares how he got into racing early, worked around NASCAR, and later found a way to combine that background with technology and entrepreneurship.

They also get into the shift from building simulators for other people to creating a space where customers can come race for themselves. It is a conversation about finding a lane, adapting when a market changes, and building a business around experience instead of just equipment.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT

How Victory Sim Experience works
Why sim racing is more realistic than people expect
Casey’s early background in racing
Working around NASCAR and local race teams
How the housing crash pushed him into a career change
Combining racing knowledge with IT skills
Why COVID changed the sim industry
Trade shows, rentals, and building a business around events
What makes a sim center work as an experience
Why Hickory made sense as the home base

CHAPTERS

00:21 – Mitch meets Casey and asks about the business
00:31 – What Victory Sim Experience is and how it works
01:02 – The different types of racing people can do
01:14 – How the company started building simulators in 2012
01:24 – COVID, trade shows, and the shift into events
02:07 – Turning idle equipment into a sim center
02:26 – Racing events, trade shows, and where the business travels
03:09 – Casey’s racing background and working for Bill Elliott’s team
03:39 – The recession, layoffs, and making a career change
04:00 – Learning IT and combining it with a racing background
04:30 – Building sims, growing demand, and new competition
05:29 – The sim center, reservations, and walk-in traffic
06:11 – How long people race and why 30 minutes is usually enough
06:39 – Why sim racing is not a video game
07:32 – Tracks, skill levels, and how beginners get started
08:34 – Growing up in Hickory and being a Bill Elliott fan
08:50 – What Casey actually did around race teams when he was younger
09:26 – Favorite tracks and how racing has changed over time
10:20 – Why sim racing felt new before it became mainstream
11:21 – The hardware, the cost, and why the experience matters
12:16 – Staffing, family, and Casey’s son working in the business
12:47 – Where the trade show work happens
13:24 – Using simulators to pull people into a booth
14:14 – Whether Casey wants more locations in the future
15:19 – Mitch wraps up and connects Casey’s story back to motorsports

Connect with Mitch Long: LinkedIn | KazInsurance | Read: Pagers & Payphones

Connect with Casey Mahoney: LinkedIn | Victory SIM | Facebook

More from The Long Game

• Italian Food, Family, and Community with Tom Cook of Tutti’s
• From Green Beret to Blackhawk Pilot to Financial Planner: Nick O'Kelly on Risk, Family, and Starting Over
• NASCAR, Family, and Starting Over with Chip Goode

About This Podcast and Series

The Long Game is a series under Entrepreneur Perspectives. Produced by QuietLoud Studios — a modern media network and a KazSource brand.

Get in touch with Eric Kasimov:
X | LinkedIn

Credits:
Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud

What growing up around big family meals taught Tom Cook about food, hospitality, and building something local.

In this episode of The Long Game, Mitch Long talks with Tom from Tutti’s Italian Market and Deli in Concord, NC about family, food, teaching, and the path that led him into the restaurant business. Tom shares how growing up in a New York Italian family shaped the way he thinks about meals, community, and what it means to bring people back to the table.

They also get into entrepreneurship, opening a business with his brother (Johnny Cook), learning from mistakes, and why Tutti’s is really about people as much as it is about food. It is a conversation about family traditions, local business, and creating a place where customers feel known.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT

Growing up in a New York Italian family
How food and family meals shaped Tom early
Teaching English before opening Tutti’s
Why Concord felt like the right place to build something local
Opening a deli without a restaurant background
What Tutti’s means and why the table matters
Learning patience, trust, and mistakes as a new owner
How Tom and his brother, Johnny Cook, built the business together
Why community matters more than transactions
Building a team that feels like family

CHAPTERS

00:20 – Mitch introduces Tutti’s and asks Tom about his background
00:56 – Growing up in a second- and third-generation Italian-American family
02:00 – Tom on education, teaching, and staying connected to UNC Charlotte
03:36 – How family ended up in the Charlotte area
05:00 – A family full of teachers, writers, and creatives
06:21 – Why entrepreneurship and family history shaped the business
08:35 – Why Concord became the right place to open Tutti’s
10:14 – The market, wine, and creating a local place people remember
11:08 – What Tutti’s means and the idea of bringing people back to the table
13:13 – The Godfather, lasagna, and favorite dishes on the menu
15:07 – Making food from scratch and why that still matters
15:19 – Early business challenges, patience, and learning to trust people
16:00 – Building the deli with Johnny and opening later than planned
17:00 – Why getting open in time for his grandfather mattered so much
19:00 – Imposter syndrome and starting a food business with English degrees
20:00 – Why Tutti’s is in the people business
21:36 – Repeat customers, community, and knowing people by name
22:07 – How catering became a bigger part of the business
24:20 – Staffing, culture, and building a strong team
26:10 – Family meal with the staff on Tuesdays
27:08 – Mitch on family dinners and why they mattered so much
28:17 – Why this building felt right from the start
29:00 – Creating the kind of local place people come back to

Connect with Mitch Long: LinkedIn | KazInsurance | Read: Pagers & Payphones

Connect with Tom Cook: Tutti's Italian Market & Deli

More from QuietLoud Studios

One Post Is Content, A Body of Work Is Authority — KazCM

From Green Beret to Blackhawk Pilot to Financial Planner: Nick O’Kelly on Risk, Family, and Starting Over — The Long Game

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About This Podcast and Series

The Long Game is a series under Entrepreneur Perspectives. Produced by QuietLoud Studios — a modern media network and a KazSource brand.

Credits:
Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud

What a Green Beret turned Blackhawk pilot turned financial planner learned about risk, family, and starting over.

In this episode of The Long Game, Mitch Long talks with Nick O’Kelly about military life, aviation, family, and the road that led him into financial planning. Nick shares how he went from struggling in college to becoming a Green Beret, then a Blackhawk pilot, before eventually starting over in a new career after leaving the military.

They also get into the mindset shift of moving from service into sales, how Nick built his practice, and why his approach to financial planning starts with the end state in mind. It is a grounded conversation about discipline, family, long-term thinking, and helping people make better financial decisions.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT

Nick O’Kelly’s path from college to Special Forces
Serving as a Green Beret in Okinawa
Becoming a Blackhawk pilot and flying in special operations
Why he left the military and started over
The challenge of moving from service into sales
How Cadence Wealth Partners approaches financial planning
Why Nick starts with the end state in mind
Helping clients stay steady when markets get shaky
Family, coaching, and being intentional with time
Why trust and referrals matter in a growing practice

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Mitch and Nick connect over their military family background
00:11 – Nick on high school, college, and joining the military
01:00 – Special Forces training and becoming a Green Beret
01:30 – Serving in Okinawa and starting a family
01:50 – Aviation, flight school, and becoming a Blackhawk pilot
02:10 – Flying with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
02:26 – Mitch on growing up in a military family
02:47 – Why Nick left the military
03:24 – Building a plan before leaving service
03:40 – Becoming a finance nerd and earning the CFP designation
04:06 – The hardest part of starting in the business
04:30 – The mindset shift from quiet professional to finding clients
05:15 – Mitch on sales, listening, and helping people solve problems
06:18 – Nick explains Cadence Wealth Partners and how they plan backward
07:00 – How they review plans and keep clients focused long term
07:37 – Market swings, fear, and staying the course
09:06 – Nick on family, kids, and youth sports
10:27 – Coaching baseball and protecting time with family
11:35 – The joke behind “undefeated dad”
12:13 – Military culture, parenting, and adjusting expectations at home
13:24 – Nick on building value and growing through referrals
14:18 – Mitch on relationships that have lasted decades
14:58 – Why trust matters more than transactions
15:00 – Nick on growth, hiring, and expanding the practice

Connect with Mitch Long: LinkedIn | KazInsurance | Read: Pagers & Payphones

Connect with Nick O'Kelly: LinkedIn | X | Cadence Wealth Partners

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The Real Value of Podcasting in 2026 — KazCM

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How a 21-Year-Old Built a 1,000-Player Soccer Company in College | EP197 — Entrepreneur Perspectives

About This Podcast and Series

The Long Game is a series under Entrepreneur Perspectives. Produced by QuietLoud Studios — a modern media network and a KazSource brand.

Credits:
Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud