Season 4, Episode #18: Kathryn Smith
Katherine Smith is the Founder and Principal Consultant at Walton Birch, an Atlanta-based web development and data consulting firm specializing in complex, high-impact websites and online stores. A former corporate marketer turned entrepreneur, she has become a trusted partner for small businesses, nonprofits, and agencies that need serious web infrastructure—not just a quick DIY site. She’s also the co-founder of Black Lady Business School and a Georgia Tech 40 Under 40 honoree, using her skills to make entrepreneurship more accessible and sustainable.
Season 4, Episode #17: Amir Elion
Amir Elion is the founder of Think Big Leaders, a consultancy that helps leaders and organizations navigate their AI journey and build real, repeatable innovation mechanisms. Drawing on a career spanning Amazon Web Services, Motorola, Teva, and multiple startups, Amir brings a rare mix of hands-on product leadership, strategic thinking, and deep curiosity about technology. He matters because he’s not just talking about AI and innovation in theory—he’s out there helping teams apply it responsibly, practically, and at scale.
Season 4, Episode #16: Alan Lazaros
Alan Lazaros is the Founder and CEO of Next Level University, a Global Top 100 podcast and coaching company built around one mission: helping people become the next level of themselves. From a tough childhood marked by loss and abandonment to high-earning success in engineering and industrial automation, Alan’s journey took a dramatic turn after a near-fatal car accident at 26 that forced him to rethink everything. Now, instead of building smarter machines, he’s obsessed with building stronger humans.
Season 4, Episode #15: Michael Elliott
Michael Elliott is a UK-based entrepreneur, PPC veteran, and AI implementation leader who rebuilt his life from rock bottom into a seven-figure Google Ads agency and multiple businesses, including a holiday park and trade company. From depression and heartbreak at 18 to owning six businesses, Michael shows what happens when you refuse to stay down and commit to getting “1% better every day.”
Season 4, Episode #14: Chris Miles
Chris Miles, founder of MoneyRipples.com, joins Clicks & Bricks to break down what financial freedom really looks like—beyond Wall Street, beyond the “save and pray” strategy, and beyond the outdated advice most Americans still follow. Chris retired twice by age 39, escaped the traditional financial system, and now helps high-income earners create real passive income so work becomes optional—not mandatory.
Season 4, Episode #13: David Hrizak
David Hrizak, co-founder and CEO of The Streamline Company, has spent nearly three decades in real estate—buying, building, owning, and managing almost every asset class. From growing up on the South Side of Chicago to navigating the Great Recession and rebuilding from scratch, David’s story is a masterclass in grit, creative financing, and relationship-driven investing. Today, he uses that experience to help entrepreneurs, professionals, and athletes turn capital into long-term, cash-flowing wealth.
Season 4, Episode #12: Renée Puvvada
Renée Puvvada is the founder of Smoking Hot Books, a book-marketing consultancy that helps self-published authors turn manuscripts into momentum. In this episode, Renée shares how she went from four early “flops” to a breakout bestseller—and why authenticity beats shortcuts when you’re building a brand with a book.
Season 4, Episode #11: Justin Kuyper
Justin Kuyper is the co-founder of OpenVest.co, a fiduciary, actively-managed investing platform built to tear down the velvet rope around private-equity and hedge-fund-style strategies. After an MBA at Columbia and years inside New York’s finance world, he set out to democratize access—so everyday investors can start with as little as $300 and benefit from compounding, curation, and low, flat pricing.
Season 4, Episode #10: Steve Frazier
Steve Frazier is the author of Release the Coffee Cuffs and a self-sabotage coach who helps entrepreneurs and everyday high-performers renegotiate their relationship with caffeine. After decades as a restaurant owner and a chronic caffeine user, Steve turned deep research and real-world experience into a practical framework for cutting back (or quitting) without crashing your life or your business.
Season 4, Episode #9: Jason VanDevere
Jason VanDevere walked away from a fourth-generation family car dealership in Akron, Ohio to build Goal Crazy—an e-commerce brand creating paper planners that turn dreams into daily action. He’s also the author of Dream Driven, a #1 new release on Amazon, and a real-estate investor with 34 apartments. Jason matters because he shows what it looks like to trade a “golden ticket” for a purpose-built life—and then systematize that journey so others can do it, too.