What happens when you spend more than 50 years fixing appliances? Eventually, people start calling you the Appliance Whisperer.

In Episode 76 of the KillerGrowth Podcast, Samuel sits down with Charley Green, the original founder of Charlie’s Appliance Service and a longtime El Dorado fixture whose career in the appliance industry stretches all the way back to the 1970s.

Charley’s story started after high school with a summer job at Yellowstone National Park before he returned home, enrolled at Butler, and landed a job working for Charlie Young at Young’s Appliance. What followed was a career that gave him a front-row seat to more than five decades of change in the appliance business.

He shares stories from the days when El Dorado had more than half a dozen places selling appliances, customers would call a local store and buy something over the phone based purely on trust, and a repair technician could diagnose most problems without needing to understand computer boards, sensors, and software.

And yes — they get into why so many appliance brands that appear to be competitors are actually made by the same handful of manufacturers.

Charley also talks about going out on his own around 2000 with nothing more than a van and decades of experience, building an incredibly loyal customer base, and eventually joining Samuel and the team as they expanded Charlie’s Appliance into appliance sales, mattresses, furniture, and a much larger service operation.

They dig into how dramatically appliance repair has changed, why today’s technicians need to understand electronics and computers, the challenges of finding and training great service technicians, and the relationships that made Charlie’s Appliance such an important local business.

But this episode goes well beyond appliances.

Charley talks about retirement, mission trips to Alaska and Tanzania, working near Old Faithful at Yellowstone in the 1970s, his lifelong obsession with birding, the wild turkey that decided to move into his yard, and why his family now has another nickname for him: the Bird Whisperer.

In this episode:

• How Charley got into appliance repair in the 1970s

• Working for the legendary Young’s Appliance in El Dorado

• What the appliance business looked like 50 years ago

• Why many competing appliance brands are actually made by the same manufacturers

• How Maytag, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Amana and other brands have changed over the years

• Leaving an established company to start Charlie’s Appliance Service

• Building a loyal customer base from one service van

• Why trust and reputation mattered more than advertising

• How Samuel and Charley eventually partnered to expand Charlie’s Appliance

• Growing from appliance repair into retail, mattresses and furniture

• Why modern appliance repair requires computer and electronics knowledge

• The challenge of finding and training great appliance technicians

• Charley’s experience with factory service training

• Retirement and mission trips to Alaska and Tanzania

• Working a summer at Yellowstone National Park in 1974

• The grizzly bear encounter he narrowly missed

• How Charley became obsessed with birding

• The wild turkey that took over his yard

• Why he’s known as both the Appliance Whisperer and the Bird Whisperer

If you’ve ever wondered why appliances aren’t built the way they used to be, what actually goes into repairing them, or how someone builds a reputation strong enough that generations of customers refuse to call anyone else, you’ll enjoy this conversation.

Learn more at killergrowth.com

What if you could build an entire building digitally, find the problems, fix them, and coordinate every system — before construction ever begins?

In Episode 75 of the KillerGrowth Podcast, Samuel sits down with Roy Aniruddha, founder of TechnoStruct, to talk about the technology quietly transforming one of the world’s oldest industries: construction.

Roy has spent decades working at the intersection of architecture, engineering, construction, and technology. He explains how Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Virtual Design & Construction allow teams to essentially construct a project digitally before breaking ground — identifying conflicts between structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and other systems before those problems become expensive mistakes in the field.

And TechnoStruct has worked on some incredible projects.

Roy shares how his company earned opportunities to work on projects including Apple Park and Google Bay View, what makes projects at that scale so challenging, and why relationships, reputation, and consistently delivering good work have been far more important to TechnoStruct’s growth than building an aggressive sales organization.

They also dig into Roy’s entrepreneurial journey: leaving the corporate world, recognizing where he could create more value on his own, building a global company, and learning when instinct matters more than having every answer figured out in advance.

And, of course, they talk about AI.

Roy explains how artificial intelligence is beginning to change BIM, architecture, engineering, construction, training, and client communication — while also making the case that technology won’t simply eliminate the need for talented people.

The conversation eventually turns to TechnoStruct Academy, which Roy created to address the enormous skills gap he saw in the industry. What began as a way to train BIM professionals evolved through COVID into a much larger educational platform and another piece of Roy’s mission to build something that creates value beyond simply making money.

In this episode:

• What BIM and Virtual Design & Construction actually are

• Digitally constructing a building before construction begins

• Why Roy left corporate life to start TechnoStruct

• What aspiring entrepreneurs should consider before making the leap

• How TechnoStruct landed work on Apple Park and Google Bay View

• Why major construction projects become incredibly complex

• Building a global company through reputation and relationships

• Why TechnoStruct doesn’t rely on an aggressive sales organization

• How AI is changing architecture, engineering, and construction

• Whether AI will actually eliminate jobs in the construction industry

• The skills gap that led Roy to create TechnoStruct Academy

• How COVID transformed the education side of the business

• Using AI to improve training and client communication

• Finding purpose beyond simply making money

• Roy’s approach to building long-term business relationships

• Why trying too hard to sell can actually hurt the sale

• Honesty, trust, and knowing when to walk away from a project

If you’re an entrepreneur, work in construction or technology, or are interested in how AI is changing industries that have operated the same way for decades, this conversation offers a fascinating look at what happens when technology, experience, and entrepreneurship come together.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

What if upgrading your business’s lighting could pay for itself — and an energy company covered roughly half the upfront cost?

In Episode 74 of the KillerGrowth Podcast, Samuel sits down with Brandon McLey, founder of Titan Lighting, to talk about the surprisingly complex business behind something most of us barely think about: light.

After nearly two decades in the electrical distribution industry, Brandon left the corporate world in 2023 to build Titan Lighting. He shares what pushed him to make the jump, the inefficiencies he saw in the traditional construction and lighting industry, and how Titan helps contractors, developers, architects, and business owners find better lighting solutions without overpaying.

They also dig into Evergy’s commercial lighting rebate program, which can cover roughly 50% of qualifying LED retrofit projects, why billions of fluorescent bulbs are still in use, and how dramatically LEDs can reduce energy and maintenance costs.

And then things get nerdy.

Brandon explains why some streetlights suddenly turn purple, how LED color temperature actually works, why lighting affects your circadian rhythm, how the wrong light can completely change the appearance of a room, and why some people can actually see fluorescent lights flickering.

They also talk about the realities of entrepreneurship: cash flow, competitors, hiring, building relationships, and Brandon’s vision for growing Titan Lighting into a $10M+ regional business.

In this episode:

• Leaving a billion-dollar company to start Titan Lighting

• Why commercial lighting projects are often over-designed

• How value engineering can save building owners money

• How Evergy’s LED rebate program works

• The real ROI of replacing fluorescent and metal-halide lighting

• Why some LED streetlights turn purple

• Color temperature and the science behind LED lighting

• How lighting affects sleep and circadian rhythm

• The challenges Brandon didn’t expect when starting a business

• Building a company around relationships instead of transactions

• Brandon’s plan to grow Titan Lighting to $10M+ and multiple locations

If you own a business, work in construction, or have ever wondered why the lighting around you looks the way it does, this conversation will make you look at light completely differently.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

In Episode 73, Samuel sits down with John Banks — El Dorado native, longtime entrepreneur, and one of the quieter forces behind more businesses in that town than most people realize. John doesn't particularly want to be here. He said so himself. That's exactly why this conversation is worth listening to.John's story starts the way a lot of good ones do: with a father who had a contract. In 1955, Banks' dad was the dirt contractor at the El Dorado refinery when someone asked if he'd be interested in handling the petroleum coke coming out of a new coker unit. He said yes. What followed was 45 years of one family showing up at that refinery - John eventually bought the business from his dad, grew it from 2 employees to 160, expanded into 6 refineries across California, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and built a trucking operation to go with it. When a larger company decided they wanted into the coke handling business, the fastest way in was to buy Banks Companies Inc. John sold in 2000.After the sale, John tried his hand at consumer lending - loaning his own money to people who needed it - and discovered that the banking commission has opinions about that, even when it's your money. He pivoted to business loans only, where the regulations are considerably more relaxed, and has been doing that ever since. The people who came to him were often the ones the bank turned away: too new, no tax returns, not enough time in business. John's version of underwriting was simpler. If someone showed up with a real plan, he'd find a way to get them the rest.There's a neighborhood in El Dorado because of John Banks. There's a restored 1886 building on the corner of Central and Main. There's an appliance store. There are businesses run by people Samuel has known for years, where John's name came up later, quietly, as the one who made the first bet. He doesn't need his name on any of it. His version of legacy is pretty simple: be fair, don't take advantage of anyone, and treat people the way you want to be treated.Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

In Episode 72, Samuel sits down with Jacob Schlittenhardt - co-founder and CEO of Planetary Talent, a hiring accelerator built on the idea that the resume is a fundamentally broken tool and that finding the right person for a job is, at its core, a storytelling problem. Jacob brings a background in branding and design, a failed blockchain gaming startup, and a deeply personal experience on both sides of a brutal job market to a conversation about what it would take to actually fix hiring.

Jacob's path is anything but straight. He nearly missed his entrepreneurship scholarship at Wichita State because his rejection letter kept going to spam - and his persistence in continuing to email the department anyway is what got him back in the running and eventually won him the funding. He'd originally planned to study advertising, but ended up double majoring, and somewhere in the process of helping scrappy startup founders with logos, pitch decks, and websites, he started liking their side of the table more than his own. That itch eventually pulled him into co-founding Duo, a blockchain-based video game built on Cardano, which ran hard for nearly two years before collapsing. When it did, Jacob was left with no income, a new house, and over a thousand job applications that went nowhere. That experience - being ghosted, dehumanized, reduced to an AI-generated resume in a pile of 800 identical ones - is what planted the seed for Planetary Talent.

The epiphany came at Seattle Tech Startup Week, sitting in the front row of an HR and AI panel and realizing that nobody in the room was actually rethinking the system. They were all just bolting AI onto existing infrastructure - AI reads the AI-written resume, AI scores the AI-optimized job description. Jacob walked out thinking about first principles: what does it actually mean to find the right person for a job, and does it require a resume at all? Planetary Talent's answer is no. Their technology builds digital replicas - data models of founders, companies, and candidates - that can interface with each other to assess fit at scale. Instead of posting a job and sorting resumes, they build an ideal candidate profile and run targeted digital ads to find people who are actually interested. The questions they ask candidates are the ones ChatGPT can't answer - what are you most proud of, what team did you actually love working with, and why. Those answers, Jacob argues, are the real signal.

The business model is pay-per-match, with an option to also employ the person if the company wants to skip the paperwork. The long game is bigger - the company has a business plan that runs to 2125, inspired in part by Blue Origin's 100-year plan, built around the idea that if humans ever collaborate across planets, they'll need infrastructure to find and work with each other that has nothing to do with an 8.5 by 11 piece of paper. Right now, Jacob and his team are focused on growth: the platform works, the technology is finding real matches, and the next problem is finding more founders who are ready to hire.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

In Episode 71, Samuel sits down with Emma Schlittenhardt — luxury interior designer, architecture degree holder, and founder of Hardt Studio Interior Design in Wichita. She launched her company during COVID at 21 with a handful of moonlighting clients and a husband studying entrepreneurship. Four years later, she runs a two-designer firm out of the Commerce Club, has designed everything from high-end residential remodels to commercial spaces, and is actively expanding her footprint beyond Wichita. This one's worth a listen if you've ever wondered what it actually takes to go out on your own before you're "ready."

Emma's path into design started the way a lot of the best ones do — sideways. At 17, she walked into an architecture firm for an informational conversation and walked out with a job offer. She didn't ask for it. She was just genuinely curious. That accidental start led to years of drafting work, moonlighting on interior design projects for the architect's clients, and a growing realization that she was essentially running a side business without calling it one. When COVID hit and she got sent home, she and Jacob ran the numbers. Nine months later, she left her 9-to-5 for good. In her first full year, she made in three months what she'd have made in a year at her prior job.

What sets Emma apart in a crowded market is the architecture background she brings into interior design work. She can read a space the way most designers can't — site verifying, checking structural reality against aesthetic vision, and speaking contractor fluently. That last part matters more than people realize. A lot of the tension between designers and GCs comes down to credibility, and Emma's technical knowledge earns her respect on job sites in a way that saves entire projects. Her design philosophy is equally grounded: if it's not both functional and beautiful five years from now, it wasn't good design. She doesn't care about getting the perfect photo and leaving. She cares about whether the kitchen still works for you when your life looks different than it did at install.

She also tried retail. Opened a showroom at The Waterfront in 2023 with a contractor partner, stocked it with the materials she was already procuring for clients, learned a lot about staffing and margins she hadn't expected, bought out her partner when he hit financial trouble, ran it solo for a year, and then shut it down when she realized it was pulling her attention away from the thing that was actually thriving. No drama, no regret. Just a clear-eyed decision that it wasn't the right use of her time. That kind of self-awareness is rare at 27.

Hardt Studio is now on expansion mode. Emma has her eye on a second location — Kansas City or Oklahoma City — within the next seven years, a growing base of referral partners in both the contractor and direct-client world, and a social media presence that's already turning multi-year followers into paying clients. The work is good, the reputation is building, and the trajectory is exactly what you'd expect from someone who landed her first job without even trying.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

In Episode 70, Samuel sits down with J.D. Zluticky — founder of Essential IT Services in Wichita — for a conversation that starts with Navy machinist mates and ends up somewhere most IT conversations never reach: what it actually means to run technology like a business decision, not a checklist.

J.D.'s path into IT wasn't a straight line. After nearly 13 years in the Navy, he came back to Wichita with an international business degree, a plan to sell doilies imported from overseas, and a side hustle fixing computers out of a black satchel he used to call The PC Doctor. The side hustle won. He incorporated Essential IT in 1999, and has spent the 25 years since working with small and mid-size businesses across Wichita, helping them figure out what their technology should actually be doing for them.

The conversation digs into cybersecurity in a way that's more useful than most. J.D. is honest about the three-strike problem with selling security: it's complicated, it's hard to implement, and it's expensive. So his firm leads with business continuity instead - how long can you actually be down, and do you have a tested plan for when it happens? He walks through a real-time assessment of Sam's book business, Reliant, poking at access policies, platform credentials, and the fact that a Facebook account got hijacked without anyone knowing how. It's a good illustration of how quickly gaps show up when someone asks the right questions.

The back half of the episode turns to AI, and J.D. takes a long view on it. He's not spooked. He compares it to the internet - a shift that took decades to integrate - except AI is compressing that timeline into months. His take: AI won't take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI to do your job probably will. He points to his EITS method - inform, let the business owner decide, then cheerfully implement their choice - as the philosophy that holds through any technology shift. The goal was never to be the smartest person in the room. It was to make sure business owners had what they needed to make good calls.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com

In Episode 69, Samuel sits down with Keith Coast — comedy magician, musician, book reseller, and one-man entertainment circuit who has performed in 18 countries and 48 states. Keith rolled into El Dorado straight from a library show in Greensburg, Kansas (yes, that Greensburg), and somehow ended up doing balloon art and book auctions on Whatnot until midnight. This one's a ride.

Keith's path into magic started at 20 years old at a tiny boardwalk kiosk in Kemah, Texas, where a guy doing the little red ball trick told him, "The secret's told when this trick is sold." He bought a book, learned the tricks on a cruise, became the magic guy in every room he entered, and never really stopped. What followed was 25 years of building an act that mixes comedy, prop magic, and music in a way that works for a 9-year-old who drives a Kubota tractor and also for the adults in the back who get all the jokes the kids miss.

The conversation covers a lot of ground: how Keith built his signature bit — getting inside a giant balloon and doing the Chicken Dance — after a close call fire eating that singed the back of his neck while his 8-months-pregnant wife watched from the back of the crowd; his 5 days in Manhattan taping Showtime at the Apollo with Steve Harvey, including getting booed offstage and bouncing out of the theater in a balloon; and how that same week ended with him singing Gangsta's Paradise at a karaoke bar with a George Michael tribute artist and a Whitney Houston impersonator.

Keith also talks about his band, The Rockin' Roly Polys — a kids rock band he started with his 19-year-old son that's on Spotify and sounds a lot better than kids music has any right to sound. The dream is to open for The Wiggles. He's not joking.

Learn more at https://killergrowth.com