No Trade Secrets
Everyone sees the most visible part of a founder’s journey: the outcome. But the truth is that few understand the mindset, pressure, and discipline behind it.
This podcast explores the deeper system behind business and life. The beliefs, habits, and decisions that shape growth long before the numbers appear.
Through thoughtful conversations, Jarome McKenzie sits down with founders, operators, and thinkers who have built meaningful things. Together they explore the moments that shaped them, the pressure that forged their discipline, and the mindset behind their success.
Jarome approaches each episode as both a builder and a student. He learns alongside the audience while weaving each guest’s insights into the frameworks he uses with founders and leaders.
The result is an honest exploration of business, leadership, and intentional living. A look at how great builders think, make decisions, and design lives that matter.
Episodes
53 episodes
The Immigrant's Drive, Starting with a Single Blender, and Leading Yourself First w/ Carlos Lopez (Part 1) - Ep. 50
Carlos Lopez, co-founder of Tropical Juice Bar, arrived in the US from the Dominican Republic at age 12, trading his familiar bubble for the "bright lights" of the unknown. That foundational experience forged a fearlessness that he and his brot...
The 2-Hour School Day & Building an AI-Powered Sports Academy w/ Malekai Mischke (Part 1) - Ep. 49
What if students could achieve twice the learning in just two hours a day, freeing them up to pursue their athletic passions at an elite level? That’s not a hypothetical—it’s the reality Malekai Mischke is building as the co-founder of Texas Sp...
How World-Class Hardware Gets Built & Why Your Word is Your Bond w/ Michael De Santis (Part 2) - Ep. 48
Welcome back to No Trade Secrets! We're jumping back in with product visionary Michael De Santis. In PART ONE, Michael unpacked the current state of product development and the mindset required to build what’s next.In PART TWO, we're tur...
Why Generalists Win, Deconstructing Great Ideas, and Building Hardware in the Age of AI w/ Michael De Santis (Part 1) - Ep. 47
What does it take to go from Chief of Staff to CEO in just a few years? And in a world being eaten by AI, where is the real, defensible opportunity for builders? We’re joined by Michael De Santis, CEO of the product development and incubation s...
What Season Are You In? - Ep. 46
So much of a founder's frustration stems from a fundamental misalignment: expecting a harvest when you're in a planting season. In this debrief, Jarome unpacks the critical system of "seasons" in business and life, revealing that every period h...
Why Your Best Ideas Happen Outside of Work w/ Michael Casciello (Part 2) - Ep. 46
Welcome back to No Trade Secrets! We're thrilled to have entrepreneur Michael C. back in the studio. In PART ONE, Michael laid the foundation of his private chef empire, detailing the "why" behind his vision. In PART TWO, we shift from the 'why...
From Produce Stand to Tech Platform: Scaling a Hospitality Revolution w/ Michael Casciello (Part 1) - Ep. 45
From a rinky-dink produce stand at age 14 to building a nationwide chef platform, Michael Casciello’s journey was fueled by a simple desire: to create a better way. After experiencing the brutal hours and physical toll of the traditional restau...
From House Flips to a 7-Figure Agency: The Power of Action and Asymmetrical Bets w/ Bill Hynes (Part 3) - Ep. 44
Welcome back to the finale with Bill Hynes, the visionary CEO of Think Loud Studios. In PART THREE, we pivot from the foundational mindset shifts of the past to the hard-hitting mechanics of execution. While the first two parts laid the groundw...
A Hand Up, Not a Handout: Building Multi-Generational Success and a Bulletproof Team w/ Bill Hynes (Part 2) - Ep. 43
Welcome back to another installment with the unstoppable force, Bill Hynes. While PART ONE laid the foundation of the mindset that fuels his relentless drive, PART TWO shifts from principles to practice. We're getting into the mechanics of buil...
Letting Your Vision Unfold: Why "Just Get to Tomorrow" Beats Any 5-Year Plan w/ Bill Hynes (Part 1) - Ep. 42
Bill Hynes is a professional race car driver, entrepreneur, investor, and Army veteran who lives life at full throttle. But his journey didn’t start in the fast lane—it began in poverty, fueled by a relentless drive to simply make it to the nex...
My Journey: A Special Episode - Ep. 42
Most founders' stories focus on the business, but what about the internal system that shapes the founder? In this special solo episode, Jarome McKenzie pulls back the curtain on his own unconventional path, from a spontaneous move from New Zeal...
The Founder's Two Minds: Balancing Irrational Fuel and Rational Decisions w/ Oscar Rachmansky (Part 3) - Ep. 41
Welcome back to the finale of our series with Oscar Rachmansky, the 24-year-old founder of a $60M wholesale empire. In PART THREE, we pivot from the tactical foundation of building a massive business to the deep, internal work required to lead ...
The Shopify + Amazon for Wholesale: Vision, Execution, and Bootstrapped Growth w/ Oscar Rachmansky (Part 2) - Ep. 40
Welcome back to the "No Trade Secrets" playbook for PART TWO with Oscar Rachmansky, founder of a nearly $60 million bootstrapped powerhouse. In PART ONE, we unpacked the mindset needed to survive the early days. In PART TWO, we shift from the f...
From Sneaker Flips to a $60M Empire: The Bootstrapper's Playbook w/ Oscar Rachmansky (Part 1) - Ep. 39
What starts as a teenage side hustle flipping sneakers on Instagram rarely turns into a $60 million, bootstrapped enterprise. But for Oscar Rachmansky, founder of OS Group, that's exactly what happened. He saw the chaotic, under-the-hood B2B wo...
Intentionality Beats Convenience - Ep. 38
The easiest decision is rarely the right one, yet countless founders allow convenience to become their default strategy. Inspired by a conversation on the misaligned incentives of food delivery platforms, this debrief explores the dangerous tra...
Your Why is Your Freedom: Building a Business Around Your Life, Not the Other Way Around w/ Andrew Martino (Part 3) - Ep. 37
Welcome back to the powerful conclusion of our deep dive with Andrew Martino. In PART THREE, we shift from the tactical frameworks of building a new-wave hospitality business to the deep, personal "why" that fuels the entire entrepreneurial eng...
Service vs. Hospitality: Why How You Make People Feel is the Ultimate Differentiator w/ Andrew Martino (Part 2) - Ep. 36
Welcome back to the playbook with hospitality innovator Andrew Martino! In PART ONE, we explored the foundations of Andrew's disruptive vision for a new kind of restaurant experience. In PART TWO, we shift from vision to execution, diving headf...
The Future of Food, Why Third-Party Delivery Apps Fail, and Building a Brand Without a Storefront w/ Andrew Martino (Part 1) - Ep. 35
The world of food delivery is broken. For most restaurants, platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash are a "sugar high"—inflated sales that never actually hit the bottom line. Hospitality entrepreneur Andrew Martino is here to show a better way. H...
The Self-Funded Founder, Mastering Distribution, and Building What You Love w/ Kamil Mansuri (Part 3) - Ep. 34
Welcome back to the finale of our deep dive with Kamil Mansuri, the self-funded founder of Bad Command AI! In PART THREE, we pivot from the foundational stories and lessons to the brass tacks of execution. How do you turn a corporate divestment...
Why Your AI Tool Fails, The Future of On-Device Models, and a $20 Security Win w/ Kamil Mansuri (Part 2) - Ep. 33
Welcome back to the playbook! We're diving back in with Kamil Mansuri, a privacy-first founder and software engineer. In PART ONE, we laid the groundwork for building with AI agents. In PART TWO, we’re getting brutally honest about why most AI ...
Beyond the Prompt: The Founder-Engineer's Guide to AI-Assisted Development w/ Kamil Mansuri (Part 1) - Ep. 32
In the AI gold rush, the barrier to building and shipping software is lower than ever. But is faster always better? Kamil Mansuri, founder of Bad Command AI, argues that the very tools accelerating development can introduce massive security, fi...
Play the Swing You Brought - Ep. 31
Every founder chases their "A-game," but the truth is that your peak state is a variable, not a constant. In this debrief, Jarome uses a powerful metaphor from golf - playing the swing you brought to the course today - to dismantl...
From Competitors to Collaborators: A New Playbook for the Hospitality Industry w/ Anton Kinloch (Part 3) - Ep. 30
Welcome back to the powerful conclusion with Anton Kinloch, the visionary force behind Lone Wolf Kingston. In PART THREE, we move from the foundational 'whys' of building a values-driven business to the gritty, in-the-trenches reality of sustai...
Why Your Favorite Restaurant is Struggling, the Truth About Michelin, and the 1% Transparency Rule w/ Anton Kinloch (Part 2) - Ep. 29
Welcome back to another raw and unfiltered conversation with Anton Kinloch, a 25-year veteran of the food and beverage industry. In PART ONE, we laid the groundwork for Anton's philosophy on building authentic community. In PART TWO, we’re pull...
From Kitchen Dreams to Bar Realities, The Art of Researching Your Guests, and Why Hospitality Starts With Your Staff w/ Anton Kinloch (Part 1) - Ep. 28
Anton Kinloch set out to be a chef, graduating from the Culinary Institute of America with a business degree in hand. But his first job behind a bar triggered a massive pivot. He discovered the power of instant gratification - seeing a guest's ...
