Mike McCabe spent his early teen years up to his 20s around CAD-CAM and tooling work, removing heavy aluminum parts and replacing them with carbon fiber in his first full-time job. Always a hands-on person, he was building homes through his college years while skiing professionally in Freeride Competitions. So he knows a thing or two about hard work...and breaking skis.

Mike McCabe is the co-founder, CEO, and Master Builder of Folsom Custom Skis. Turns out that jumping off cliffs in Freeride Competitions for many years while weighing in at 6'2" and 200lbs results in lots of broken skis. This lead Mike on a journey to create hand-built, innovative, and exceptionally durable customized skis that can work for the hardest skiing pro or the most casual skier. Folsom is now one of only two companies in the US that creates a truly custom ski in which every component is hand made and the raw materials sourced internally.

In this episode, we had an inspiring conversation about Mike's journey into entrepreneurship, his business model, and how it is for a small organization to put its foot through the door in such a competitive industry. We also talked about his company's principles on how they operate and its unique approach to business that lead him through . Finally, Mike shared the incredible story of how his company had to pivot during COVID and how hard it was for him to be on the verge of losing his company. 

Some Questions I Ask:

• We'd love to hear how you got into the ski products business. (1:52)
• When you started making skis, did you know immediately, like, this is what I want to do? (8:02)
• How did the improvements you made in the skis translated to the maybe average or even higher-end ski demographic? (13:17)
• You mentioned running lean. How did you develop the principles for operating that way? (24:10)
• Does the seasonality of your business ever make you want to think about expanding into summer sports? (35:47)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• How Mike decided to focus on the product side of skiing (7:16)
• Quality over quantity approach. Mike's business model and its possibilities (11:15)
• How hard it was for Folsom Skis to get into the market (17:23)
• Reinventing the wheel once a year. Mike's constant effort in rebuilding their system and making it more effective (34:48)
• An emergency pivot. How did Mike's company adjust to the new reality during the pandemic (37:21)

Resources:

• Folsom Custom Skis website
• Folsom Custom Skis Instagram

Connect with Mike:

• LinkedIn
• Email: mike@folsomskis.com 

Let's connect:

• What Didn't Kill You - Instagram
• What Didn't Kill You - LinkedIn
• What Didn't Kill You - Website
• What Didn't Kill You - E-mail 

©️ 2021 Michael Silverman. All rights reserved.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having massive financial success and driving a Bentley a couple of years after graduating from college can be a little confusing without the proper guidance. Douglas Raggio was doing great the first six years after college. Jumping from helicopters to boats every weekend and spending recklessly, he felt he would make that amount of money for a long time. But that is not what happened. Business went wrong. He traveled without scales from living a luxurious life into a humbling experience that led to almost a decade of a painful and self-destructive existence. 

Today, I'm joined by Douglas Raggio - a serial entrepreneur, a Food & Beverage Investor, and Founder. Douglas is the Founder of Pass The Honey and Bias & Blind Spots. He is also a Forbes Contributor, Steering Committee Member at Naturally San Diego, an Advisor at SOS Hydration Inc, and a Member & Advisor at COMMON LLC. 

In this episode, we talk about Douglas' journey from having it all to being in debt, to finding success again. He shared what he felt going through the most challenging times of his life and how the myopic perspective of focusing on making it to the next day made it harder to get out of that place. He also talked about the close call that awoke him from almost ten years of a destructive and hopeless lifestyle. We also talked about his new life as a food company owner, the paralyzing decisions, and his new purpose-driven life. 

Tune in to learn a lot about life and a lot about honey business!

Some Questions I Ask:

• I'd love to start by asking you a bit of your background before becoming an entrepreneur and investor in CPG (1:15)
• You mentioned your childhood. How did your childhood experience play into your professional and adult life later on? (9:41)
• It seems like you've gained a tremendous amount of perspective. What kind of work have you put in to get that perspective, if any? (16:42)
• How have your experiences and your hardships contributed to the entrepreneur and advisor that you are today? (19:04)
• What's that feel like to have this incredible sort of drive with this one goal versus spending a lot of time, as you described, rudderless? (39:28)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Fueling the ego. Living a luxury life (3:09)
• How things from our childhood can stick with us (10:30)
• A close call that changed everything (12:46)
• What kind of financial advisor Douglas became after his experiences (19:10)
• Finding a new purpose in the purest, unadulterated honey (24:01)
• How it feels to come from rock-bottom to general peace (39:47)

Resources:

• Pass The Honey website
• Pass The Honey Instagram
• Pass The Honey Facebook

Connect with Douglas:

• LinkedIn

Let's connect:

• What Didn't Kill You - Instagram
• What Didn't Kill You - LinkedIn
• What Didn't Kill You - Website
• What Didn't Kill You - E-mail 

©️ 2021 Michael Silverman. All rights reserved.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.