Podcast

Beyond the Meeting

Conversations with builders, leaders, and operators about the milestones that have shaped the work they’ve done, and the people they’ve led.

Explore Season 2
Nathan Barry and Aaron Klein recording a podcast conversation in the studio.
Get caught up

Latest Episodes

Jason Wenk wearing a green Los Angeles Dodgers cap during a remote podcast conversation.Season 2, Episode 1

Jason Wenk

Altruist founder and CEO Jason Wenk traces the path from a $3 billion advisory business to a custody platform serving roughly 6,600 advisors—and the follow-through discipline required to turn a bold plan into a company Vanguard agreed to acquire.

J.D. Mullin speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.Season 1, Episode 10

J.D. Mullin

TextExpander CEO J.D. Mullin traces the failure of meetings with missing pre-reads and outlines a practical standard: send context early so the room can do its real work.

Sheena Jester speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.Season 1, Episode 9

Sheena Jester

PetIQ talent-acquisition leader Sheena Jester revisits a vendor meeting that ran without direction and uses it to make the case for preparation and a defined purpose.

The full archive

Season 2

Season 1

S1 E10
J.D. Mullin speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Dec 2025

The Land of the Lost Pre-Read: J.D. Mullin on Why Meetings Fall Apart (and How to Fix Them)

TextExpander CEO J.D. Mullin traces the failure of meetings with missing pre-reads and outlines a practical standard: send context early so the room can do its real work.

S1 E9
Sheena Jester speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Nov 2025

How a Routine Vendor Meeting Became Sheena Jester’s Never Ending Story

PetIQ talent-acquisition leader Sheena Jester revisits a vendor meeting that ran without direction and uses it to make the case for preparation and a defined purpose.

S1 E8
Todd Cranney speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Oct 2025

From Potatoes to Presidential Campaigns: Why Even Todd Cranney Couldn’t Escape Bad Meetings

Strategist Todd Cranney moves from Southern Idaho farm stories to political war rooms, extracting practical lessons from pressure, misfires, and fast-changing situations.

S1 E7
Morgan Housel speaking into a broadcast microphone during a podcast conversation.
Oct 2025

Why Morgan Housel Thinks Every Word (and Minute of a Meeting) Should Cost $100

Author Morgan Housel connects his standard for economical writing with the hidden cultural cost of meetings that consume time without doing enough with it.

S1 E6
Donna White speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Sep 2025

How Donna White’s Interview Was Going Great… Until the Candidate Flipped the Script

Recruiting entrepreneur Donna White tells the story of a candidate who turned an executive interview into an unexpected pitch of her own.

S1 E5
Travis Hawkes speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Sep 2025

When Two of Travis Hawkes’ Meetings Bombed at the Box Office

Capital Eleven founder Travis Hawkes recounts two especially unproductive meetings and offers an investor’s perspective on the signals a meeting sends.

S1 E4
Mike McDaniel speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Aug 2025

Even Mike McDaniel Couldn’t Stop this Board Meeting from Going Up in Flames

Founder, advisor, and investor Mike McDaniel takes listeners inside a high-stakes board meeting that was carefully prepared and still broke down.

S1 E3
Brian Deely speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Aug 2025

When Brian Deely’s Meeting Went from “Managing Money” to “Saving a Life”

Clear Creek Financial Management co-founder Brian Deely shares a client-meeting story, the lesson it delivered, and a moment in which helping someone became part of the work.

S1 E2
Stef Aragon speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Jul 2025

How Stef Aragon Wields her Chief of Staff Title to Slay the Underwriting Dragon

Capital Eleven Chief of Staff Stef Aragon explains how she is taking on a painful underwriting meeting rather than accepting it as an unavoidable drain on the team.

S1 E1
Andy Swan speaking into a studio microphone during a conversation with Aaron Klein.
Jul 2025

How Andy Swan Witnessed a Post-it Note Massacre, but Got 20,000 Splenda Packets in the Deal

Likefolio founder Andy Swan revisits a financial-services acquisition meeting remembered for a Post-it-note debacle and an unexpected cache of Splenda packets.