Problem Solvers

Flowers for Dreams gives away 25% of its profits. In the flower business, where margins are already brutal. Co-founder Steve Dyme sketched that number on a bar napkin 15 years ago, and he’s kept it through investor pushback and on-air skepticism from Megyn Kelly. The result is more than $1.8 million donated, and a spot on Entrepreneur’s America’s Favorite Mom and Pop Shops list. But there’s a twist. When he surveys customers, the giving doesn’t even rank in their top three reasons for buying. This episode is brought to you by CLA. With you on every step of your financial journey. To learn more, visit CLAConnect.com.Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:48 Can a business give back and still make money? 2:48 Selling leftover flowers on street corners 5:58 The solopreneur trap 9:05 Scaling on customer revenue alone 10:27 Why customers don’t buy for the mission 13:10 The mistake of overgiving 14:48 Where the 25% came from 15:54 Megyn Kelly’s tough question 16:54 Why investors pushed back 19:23 Why start a nonprofit too 23:21 Are there tax benefits? 24:24 Giving back only works if it’s real 25:10 Where to find Flowers for Dreams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthony Pompliano built an AI financial assistant people loved. Then his most engaged users started costing him too much money. That’s a good problem to have. But it’s still a problem. His solution came from an unlikely place. Olive Garden’s breadsticks. Here’s how Silvia cut costs without cutting what users love, and got 25% of monthly active users to pay. Find Anthony's book here! This episode of Problem Solvers is presented by AT&T Business. To learn more about how the right connectivity can help support your business as it grows, visit att.com/smallbusiness. Jason wants to help solve your impossible problem! Click the link below to sign up: https://entm.ag/levelup2026 Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:38 The idea of a “better problem” 2:05 Anthony’s book, How to Live an Extraordinary Life Volume Two 5:00 Silvia’s power-user problem 6:50 The Olive Garden breadstick lesson 9:15 Weighing every possible fix 11:07 Building a model router 12:55 Bracketing: a military trick for making decisions 16:50 Experiments vs. archaeology 18:15 Training their own model (97% cheaper) 19:10 Rolling out the paywall 20:40 Why people pay 21:45 How to spot this problem in your own business 24:16 Where to find Anthony and Silvia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GoFundMe had a strange problem. About a quarter of people created fundraisers and then never shared them. Better share buttons didn't fix it. That's because the problem wasn't the product. It was human. Asking for help is really, really hard. CEO Tim Cadogan explains how GoFundMe rebuilt around that truth, and why the fix generated more than double the help they expected. This episode of Problem Solvers is presented by AT&T Business. To learn more about how the right connectivity can help support your business as it grows, visit att.com/smallbusiness. Jason wants to help solve your impossible problem! Click the link below to sign up: https://entm.ag/levelup2026 Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 00:35 – GoFundMe's strange problem 02:10 – A quarter of fundraisers never get shared 03:10 – How GoFundMe spotted the gap 04:30 – Why better share buttons didn't work 05:15 – The four reasons people weren't sharing 07:00 – When the product isn't enough 08:30 – Fixing the sticking points, starting with titles 10:55 – Building the AI coach 12:45 – How the coach works day to day 14:00 – Is this just AI for AI's sake? 16:45 – A father's story 18:15 – Jason's book launch lesson: Asking is generous 19:50 – The paradox of help 20:15 – The best way to ask for help 21:30 – The results: More than double what they expected 22:15 – What's next for the coach Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 SimpliSafe was built for renters. Renters didn't buy it. Homeowners did. Jason has told that story for years, because it's a perfect lesson in how founders get their customer wrong. But he never asked the obvious follow-up: once you finally find the right customer, then what? Now, 20 years in, SimpliSafe founder Chad Laurans and CEO Hilary Schneider reveal what comes after product-market fit, and why customers asking for "more cameras" didn't actually want more cameras. This episode of Problem Solvers is presented by AT&T Business. To learn more about how the right connectivity can help support your business as it grows, visit att.com/smallbusiness. Jason wants to help solve your impossible problem! Click the link below to sign up: https://entm.ag/levelup2026 0:00 The "faster horses" myth 0:29 Welcome to Problem Solvers 0:46 The SimpliSafe origin story: renters vs. homeowners 2:21 What happens after product-market fit? 2:55 Meet the guests 3:47 What product-market fit actually feels like 5:11 Should you build everything customers ask for? 6:11 Why you have to keep asking "why" 7:14 From "more cameras" to crime prevention 8:17 Fact check: Henry Ford never said it 9:22 What customers really want: peace of mind 10:02 Making a costly service profitable with AI 11:44 Launching a product that doesn't scale yet 13:48 Why big companies forget to prototype 16:51 Build things you're willing to throw away 18:26 What's next for SimpliSafe 19:48 The innovator's dilemma of a cheaper product 20:31 Mining customer support calls for insight 21:52 Go back to what made you great 23:22 The mission: every home secure 23:57 Long-term value comes from creating value 26:33 Wrap-up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Taffer, host of the hit TV show "Bar Rescue", has sat on both sides of the franchising table. He's been a franchisee, including one franchise you'd never guess. Now, as founder of Taffer's Tavern, he runs his own franchise system. And even with 40-plus years in business, he's shopping for his next franchise right now. That perspective means he knows exactly what to ask before buying in. The question he says matters most is one most would-be franchisees never think to ask. Timestamps: 00:00 Jon Taffer's surprising next business move 00:30 Why franchising made Jason nervous 03:10 Jon's franchise résumé: from Hooters franchisee to Taffer's Tavern 04:22 Turnkey vs. brand: what you're really buying 07:02 Why so many corporate pros are jumping into franchising 08:08 The biggest perk: you can sit in it before you buy it 09:53 Beyond burgers: franchises in every industry 11:12 Jon's doggy daycare hunt and Jason's franchise near-miss 14:39 The FDD: the document you can't skim 16:58 The #1 red flag Jon won't touch with a 10-foot pole 20:49 The questions that reveal a franchisor's sales muscle 22:57 Jon's six-step vetting process 25:18 What the franchisor does vs. what's on you 28:13 Who Jon wants running a Taffer's Tavern 30:31 Cutting through the noise: Doritos Locos Tacos and the five-word mission 35:52 Local store marketing: own four or five blocks 39:05 What's new in franchising: smaller footprints, fewer days 40:37 The marketing opportunity hiding in every box 43:42 What World Cup fans revealed about franchise brands 44:49 How to take your first step Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices