Dean Wegner didn't set out to revolutionize American manufacturing. He set out to solve a problem most people don't even know exists: only 3% of apparel sold in America is actually made here. As a West Point graduate, Army Ranger, helicopter pilot, and former Fortune 500 executive at Procter & Gamble and Mars, Dean launched Authentically American in 2017 with a mission that seemed impossible - build a profitable apparel brand using only American manufacturing while staying price competitive with overseas production.

This conversation digs into the real cost of betting on principles over profit margins. Dean shares the brutal lesson of losing 60% of revenue overnight during a government contract freeze, the cashflow crisis that taught him what Fortune 500 life never could, and why the hardest part wasn't building the business - it was accepting that most people simply don't care where their clothes are made.

You'll hear how Dean navigated the transition from institutional comfort to entrepreneurial chaos, why Ranger School turned out to be better preparation than his MBA, and the strategic pivot that changed everything: narrowing focus to serve veteran-owned businesses and veteran-focused charities instead of trying to convert the mass market. Dean also reveals why national TV appearances don't automatically translate to B2B sales, the decision to build a sales team after years of earned media, and how implementing EOS helped him stay true to his strengths as a visionary while building execution capability around him.
This is about what it takes to stay aligned when growth pressures test your values, why passion alone isn't enough without the right business model, and how manufacturing 100% in America across 11 states isn't just possible - it's profitable when you stop trying to be everything to everyone.
Key insights on leading through cashflow crunches, the power of investing in relationships before you need them, why your ranger buddy matters just as much in business as it does in combat, and what most people get wrong about building a brand from scratch.

Dean Wegner
Founder & CEO, Authentically American
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanwegner93/
Website: https://www.authenticallyamerican.us/

When Dan Swiniarski got a Saturday morning text from the owner of Wright Creative Branding and Labels, the company was bleeding cash. The 63-year-old family business had gone from a healthy 3-to-1 revenue-to-debt ratio to being over a million dollars in the red just halfway through the fiscal year. The offer was simple: become president and COO. Dan's response was equally direct: get rid of your brother, and tell me what you really want.

In this raw and honest conversation, Dan breaks down the tough decisions that transformed Wright from financial crisis to cash-flow positive in just 14 months. As a US Marine Corps veteran and entrepreneur who previously built a business from zero to 100 million in sales, Dan didn't shy away from the hard calls: consolidating facilities, letting go of embedded employees, and investing in sales talent while cutting costs. But the real story isn't just about the numbers. It's about building trust before the crisis hits, creating a culture where people know exactly where they stand, and understanding that in manufacturing, sales and operations aren't enemies - they're one team fighting the same battle.

Dan shares the moment the former CEO called him back 20 minutes after being asked to step aside, the counterintuitive decision to hire aggressively during a cash crunch, and why he brought his manufacturing team into sales training. He also opens up about his work with Fairways for Warriors, a top-rated charity using golf to help combat veterans struggling with the invisible wounds of war. This is leadership without the theory - just the real decisions that kept Dan up at night and the principles that got Wright back on track.

What hiring someone from within a family business really means for their ability to make bold decisions
Why Dan shuts down facilities that have been losing money for years on day one and doesn't look back
The two non-negotiables Dan gave the owner before accepting the president role
How bringing operations leaders into sales training eliminated the toxic us-versus-them culture
Why Dan tells new sales hires exactly how much they'll cost him in six months and what he expects in return
The difference between sales training that fixes today and sales development that builds tomorrow
What it means to have empathy as a closer and why rejection is just part of the job
How a 63-year-old family legacy can be your greatest asset and your biggest Achilles heel
Why Dan would rather hire someone he trusts than someone who's individually great at their discipline
What 22 veterans a day deciding to end their lives has to do with getting people off the couch and onto the golf course

Dan Swiniarski is President & COO of Wright Creative Branding & Labels, where he drives transformational growth, strategic innovation, and AI-enabled sales and operations across the brand’s labeling and packaging solutions. With a career built on expanding market footprint, optimizing performance, and elevating customer experience, Dan blends deep industry expertise with a forward-thinking approach that helps brands stand out in competitive markets. A Marine Corps veteran and avid golfer based in Arizona, he champions leadership, disciplined execution, and the smart use of technology to unlock business value and long-term results. Fairways for warriors:https://www.fairwaysforwarriors.org/ Dan's linked in:https://www.linkedin.com/in/danswiniarski/. website: https://www.wrightlabels.com/

Learn more about Fairways for Warriors and how you can support combat veterans at https://www.fairwaysforwarriors.org/

Connect with Dan Swiniarski on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danswiniarski/

I hope you enjoyed this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Kyle and The Refit Podcast team

Listen to The Refit Podcast on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7rLQ7Qaj1lvLq5kjjkDgmF
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-refit-podcast/id1870231828
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f884c7b1-1ea6-4b18-ab2c-0e880dd08c02/the-refit-podcast

#TheRefitPodcast #KyleKillian #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #BusinessLeadership #VeteranLeadership #HardThingAboutHardThings #LeadershipDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #CEOInsights #FounderStories #OperationalLeadership The Refit Podcast is where real leadership happens—no platitudes, no polished corporate speak, just honest conversations about the hard decisions that keep leaders up at night. Hosted by Kyle Killian, former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer with nearly 30 years of military, corporate, and entrepreneurial leadership experience, this podcast dives into the moments when the playbook stopped working and leaders had to figure it out anyway.

Jeremy Barker made his first $20 million by age 21 supplying Home Depot with storage buildings. Then he lost it all, went bankrupt, and spent a year living in his car. Most people would call that failure. Jeremy calls it his competitive advantage. Today he's the founder and CEO of Murphy Door, the number one hidden door brand in America, an eight-figure manufacturing business with triple-digit growth and over a billion social views in the past year.
This conversation goes deep on the decisions that separate businesses that scale from businesses that collapse. Jeremy breaks down why he stayed at the firehouse making $15.62 an hour even when Murphy Door was trending toward $5 million, why taking money out too early is like stealing milk from your own baby, and how the discipline of the fire service taught him everything Fortune 500 companies couldn't about span of control, chain of command, and knowing when to let go.
You'll hear about the UPS freight crisis in 2016 that nearly killed the business, how Jeremy found a warehouse in Lexington Kentucky sitting at a steakhouse after every other option fell through, and why asking for help is one of the most powerful words in business even though pride makes it the hardest to say. Jeremy also unpacks the September 2024 algorithm change and cyberattacks that wiped out 90 days of momentum, dropping growth from 67 percent to flat in a single month, and what the forensic audit revealed about taking your eye off the ball.
This is about the real constraints at scale, why vanity metrics like social views don't pay bills unless they convert, and how Jeremy keeps revenue per employee tight while managing over 100 people across multiple manufacturing facilities. He shares the hard call he had to make when his production manager told him either trust me with bigger decisions or you don't need me, why being liked as a leader will limit your impact, and what he'd tell his 21-year-old self about burning bridges with people who could have saved him in 13 seconds.
No fluff, no highlight reel. Just the unfiltered truth about what it takes to hold the line when the money's gone, the pressure's real, and failure was the most likely outcome.

Ready to build your Batcave or just see what's possible when you refuse to quit? Check out Murphy Door and follow Jeremy's journey.

Jeremy Barker, Founder & CEO, Murphy Door
Instagram: @jbarker482
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-barker-02007648/
Podcast: 90 Proof Wisdom
Website: https://murphydoor.com/

I hope you enjoyed this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Kyle and The Refit Podcast team

Listen to The Refit Podcast on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7rLQ7Qaj1lvLq5kjjkDgmF
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-refit-podcast/id1870231828
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f884c7b1-1ea6-4b18-ab2c-0e880dd08c02/the-refit-podcast

#TheRefitPodcast #KyleKillian #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #BusinessLeadership #VeteranLeadership #HardThingAboutHardThings #LeadershipDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #CEOInsights #FounderStories #OperationalLeadership The Refit Podcast is where real leadership happens—no platitudes, no polished corporate speak, just honest conversations about the hard decisions that keep leaders up at night. Hosted by Kyle Killian, former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer with nearly 30 years of military, corporate, and entrepreneurial leadership experience, this podcast dives into the moments when the playbook stopped working and leaders had to figure it out anyway.

When Michael Giaramita founded Group PMX in 2010, he made two unconventional bets. First, the company would be entirely virtual from day one, years before remote work became mainstream. Second, he would compete not by undercutting competitors but by partnering with them. At pre-bid construction meetings, he'd tell contractors, "We don't want to compete with you, we want to partner with you." They looked at him like he had two heads. Today, Group PMX has been named by Engineering News-Record as one of New York's top contractors for six consecutive years, managing over a thousand projects across buildings, infrastructure, and energy markets.

In this conversation, Michael breaks down the pivotal moments that shaped his leadership philosophy over 50 years in the construction industry. From realizing that chasing too much sub work was diluting his talent pool, to the project that taught him workers in the field are the first indicator of success, to why he plans to replace himself outside of New York to drive geographic expansion. He shares why he hates reporting, why counting workers daily matters more than monthly reports, and how one incentive got four contractors to shift traffic on the same day, saving a million dollars and eliminating dangerous S-curves on a 12-mile highway project.

Key Takeaways:
Why being 50 percent prime and 50 percent subcontractor work is the talent threshold that makes or breaks your competitive edge
The ceiling every growing company hits and how Michael has broken through it 5 to 10 times in his career
What happened when Michael told a client they needed to start counting workers in the field instead of waiting for monthly reports
How Group PMX stayed entirely virtual for 16 years and built culture through quarterly events and strict hiring standards
Why Michael plans to replace himself outside of New York rather than in his home market
The moment Michael walked into the International Monetary Fund project and realized the toxic culture could be turned around in two years
What it means to take data and turn it into something actionable instead of just reporting what happened
Why strategic thinking is the weakest core skill across the industry and how to get people thinking outside the box
The project in Houston where contractors started doing each other's work because the incentives aligned around one shared milestone
Why going to the high road takes longer but earns trust that sustains you through crisis

Connect with Michael Giaramita on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgiaramita/
Learn more about Group PMX: https://www.grouppmx.com/
Get Michael's book, It's All About Your Team: https://www.amazon.com/Its-All-About-Your-Team/dp/1637352670

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

– Kyle and The Refit Podcast team

Visit the Kohora website here: https://www.kohorainc.com/

Listen to The Refit Podcast on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7rLQ7Qaj1lvLq5kjjkDgmF
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-refit-podcast/id1870231828
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f884c7b1-1ea6-4b18-ab2c-0e880dd08c02/the-refit-podcast

#TheRefitPodcast #KyleKillian #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #BusinessLeadership #VeteranLeadership #HardThingAboutHardThings #LeadershipDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #CEOInsights #FounderStories #OperationalLeadership The Refit Podcast is where real leadership happens—no platitudes, no polished corporate speak, just honest conversations about the hard decisions that keep leaders up at night. Hosted by Kyle Killian, founder of Kohora and former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer with nearly 30 years of military, corporate, and entrepreneurial leadership experience, this podcast dives into the moments when the playbook stopped working and leaders had to figure it out anyway.

In the first episode of The Refit Podcast, host Kyle Killian sits down with Don Whetro, Chief Executive Officer of AR Homes and AR Franchising, Inc., for an unfiltered conversation about what leadership really looks like when the playbook stops working.

With more than two decades in homebuilding and franchising, Don shares his unexpected journey from operations to the CEO seat and the realities of leading a 70+ year legacy organization through modernization, market disruption, and organizational change. From identifying leadership atrophy to making difficult people decisions, Don breaks down what it takes to move a business forward without losing its core identity.

This episode dives deep into the impact of COVID-19 on the homebuilding industry, the operational bottlenecks that stalled growth, and the controversial but necessary decision to outsource critical functions to keep the business moving. Don also opens up about the loneliness of leadership, the importance of trust and credibility, and why empathy and communication are essential when leading people through uncertainty.

If you are a CEO, founder, executive, or leader navigating growth, change, or legacy systems, this conversation offers real-world insight into leadership under pressure.

Topics covered in this episode include leadership transition, organizational change, homebuilding operations, COVID-19 disruption, outsourcing strategy, trust and credibility, executive decision making, communication, empathy, and modernizing legacy businesses.

Guest bio
Don Whetro is the Chief Executive Officer of AR Homes and AR Franchising, Inc., the company behind the AR Homes brand. Appointed CEO in December 2023 after serving as Chief Operating Officer, Don leads a national leadership team focused on modernizing the custom homebuilding experience while preserving a legacy of craftsmanship, design leadership, innovation, and customer focus. He brings over 20 years of experience across executive leadership, operations, sales, marketing, and strategic innovation within the homebuilding industry.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-whetro/

Website: https://www.arfranchising.com/

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

– Kyle and The Refit Podcast team

Visit the Kohora website here: https://www.kohorainc.com/

Listen to The Refit Podcast on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7rLQ7Qaj1lvLq5kjjkDgmF
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-refit-podcast/id1870231828
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f884c7b1-1ea6-4b18-ab2c-0e880dd08c02/the-refit-podcast

#TheRefitPodcast #KyleKillian #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #BusinessLeadership #VeteranLeadership #HardThingAboutHardThings #LeadershipDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #CEOInsights #FounderStories #OperationalLeadership The Refit Podcast is where real leadership happens—no platitudes, no polished corporate speak, just honest conversations about the hard decisions that keep leaders up at night. Hosted by Kyle Killian, founder of Kohora and former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer with nearly 30 years of military, corporate, and entrepreneurial leadership experience, this podcast dives into the moments when the playbook stopped working and leaders had to figure it out anyway.
Each episode features candid discussions with CEOs, founders, operators, and veteran business leaders who've been in the arena—making tough calls with incomplete information, navigating organisational challenges, and coming out the other side with hard-won lessons. Kyle brings his unique perspective from leading intelligence missions in Iraq to driving growth at Fanatics, Nike, and Converse, creating conversations that go beyond theory into what actually happened when things didn't work.
Whether you're a business leader facing growth challenges, an executive navigating organisational transitions, a founder making high-stakes decisions, or a veteran moving into business leadership, The Refit Podcast offers practical insights from people who've been where you are. This is leadership stripped down to its essentials: the decisions, the consequences, and the lessons learned when you're in over your head.