The Flywheel Effect

60 Episodes

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Profit Math for Custom Integrators: How to Double Net Profit Without Doubling Revenue

2026-09-2801:00:45

In this episode of The Flywheel Effect, host Brent Sonnek-Schmelz and VITAL President Matt Bernath sit down with Ben Hansen — better known as The Profit Doctor — to unpack why so many construction and custom integration businesses find themselves working harder, growing faster, and making less money. Ben brings a rare combination of Fortune 500 pedigree (Dell, Microsoft) and hard-earned battle scars from scaling his own consulting firm from $4M to $13M in revenue, only to watch profitability ...

Joe Whitaker on the Changing Face of CI

2026-09-1453:58

In this episode of The Flywheel Effect, host Brent Sonnek-Schmelz sits down with longtime industry insider Joe Whitaker — 20-year integrator, 10-year CEDIA board member, and current EVP of Product and Technology at Origin Acoustics — for a wide-ranging conversation about where the custom integration industry is right now, and where it's headed. From the shakeup created by InfoComm's acquisition of Lightapalooza to the growing complexity of residential projects, Joe unpacks why integrators can...

The CPR Method: How to Get 5X ROI from Every Industry Event You Attend

2026-08-3157:26

In this pre-CEDIA episode of The Flywheel Effect, host Brent Sonnek-Schmelz and VITAL President Matt Bernath tackle one of the most persistent frustrations in the custom integration industry: why so many integrators walk away from major trade shows feeling like the experience wasn't worth their time. Their answer isn't about the shows themselves — it's about the mindset and preparation attendees bring with them. The conversation opens with a story of a VITAL member whose bookkeeper was "conce...

Building a Business That Runs Without You

2026-08-1744:13

In this episode of The Flywheel Effect, host Brent Sonnek-Schmelz sits down with Trenton Hughes — co-founder of Helpware, founder of Station Entertainment, and creator of the entrepreneur peer network TribeHQ — for a candid conversation on parenting, resilience, and the specific frameworks that took his BPO business from stuck at $3M to over $40M in less than two years. The two open with an unexpectedly personal exchange on raising children, discussing how entrepreneurs who came up through ha...

RESIDE 2027: What Custom Integrators Need to Know with Jenn Heinold

2026-08-0340:44

In this episode of The Flywheel Effect, hosts Brent Sonnek-Schmelz and Matt Bernath sit down with Jenn Heinold, Senior Vice President of Expositions, Americas at AVIXA, to unpack one of the most talked-about announcements in the custom integration industry: AVIXA's acquisition of Lightapalooza and the launch of Reside — a brand-new residential-focused trade show that will run alongside InfoComm and Lightapalooza in Orlando in 2027, all under one badge. Jenn walks through the remarkably fast d...

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