Empire Flippers Podcast

No one works harder than a founder, but at what point does being the main salesperson for your business stop being a strength and start becoming a liability?
In this episode, remote sales expert Kai Law breaks down why founder-led sales often become a bottleneck and what to do before it hurts your revenue and eventually your valuation.

Drawing on his experience building and leading remote sales teams across multiple industries, Kai explains why you need to improve your own sales skills and processes first before expanding your team.
Kai then explains which roles founders should hire first to remove themselves from sales, how communication directly affects client retention, and how to reduce friction between lead flow and fulfillment. He also explains compensation models that drive real sales performance and the common hiring mistakes that cause sales teams to struggle.
For founders thinking about scale, Kai compares building an in-house sales team versus using a sales agency and explains when each option makes sense. He also shares what to look for when hiring sales reps and how to onboard them so they add momentum instead of slowing deals down.
If you want a business that can grow, operate, and hold value without the founder closing every deal, this episode gives you a clear place to start.
Topics Discussed in this episode:
Boost your own sales skills and process before outsourcing (04:09)
The hidden risks of founder-dependent sales (05:48)
Communication is key to client retention (08:53)
Early warning signs that a founder has become a revenue bottleneck (11:53)
The first hires that help founders step out of sales (15:24)
The best compensation models for your sales team (17:04)
Common mistakes founders make when hiring sales teams (19:44)
In-house sales team vs sales agencies (25:26)
Mistakes people make when trying to get a sales job (31:56)
The biggest habit that will make you a better salesperson (39:49)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to build a sales team that will skyrocket your growth.

Everyone is rushing to "optimize for AI." Most are doing it wrong.
In this episode, Tim Soulo, the Chief Marketing Officer at Ahrefs, cuts through the noise around AEO and GEO and explains why business owners are massively overcomplicating what visibility really means today.

While AI-powered search feels new and unpredictable, Tim argues that the same core SEO principles still apply. Create genuinely useful content for your audience, and the algorithms tend to follow.
We dive into how traditional SEO compares to AEO and GEO, and where AI actually changes the game. Tim breaks down how large language models decide what to surface and answers a question many founders are asking right now: how much should you realistically invest in boosting AI visibility before the returns flatten out?
Tim explains why creating content purely for AI is a mistake, and how updating existing content, improving clarity, and leveraging social media can increase AI visibility without risking long-term trust. He also challenges the idea that SEO has to be slow, showing how AI can help businesses move faster when used correctly.
If you want a practical, hype-free take on AI and SEO, this episode delivers.

Topics Discussed in this episode:
How traditional SEO compares to AEO and GEO (03:44)
Overcoming the pitfalls of AI overviews (06:44)
Understanding LLM algorithms (09:42)
Analysing how well you rank in ChatGPT (12:46)
How much should you invest in boosting your visibility? (19:33)
Creating content for people, not for AI (25:34)
Using social media to improve your AI visibility (27:34)
How to update your existing content to make it more AI-friendly (30:02)
Using AI to help you rank faster (38:47)
Will traditional SEO remain relevant or fade away? (42:51)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to optimize your brand's visibility in the age of AI.

When many entrepreneurs go to sell their business, they're more focused on their business than on the buyer.

Understanding how buyers approach an acquisition, particularly when it comes to funding and deal structure, can help you position your business for the most profitable exit.

In this episode of The Opportunity podcast, Greg breaks down how buyers actually think when evaluating an acquisition and why financing plays such a critical role in deal outcomes. While sellers often fixate on valuation, buyers are just as focused on how they will pay for the business and how much risk they are taking on.
Greg walks us through how SBA loans can allow buyers to bring more cash to the table, and why small mistakes with these loans by sellers often cause deals to fall apart. He also explores alternative funding options like revenue-based financing and how buyers use leverage and other people's money to acquire businesses more efficiently.
The conversation dives into seller financing and earnouts, not as compromises, but as powerful deal-making tools that can expand the buyer pool and unlock higher overall valuations. Greg also shares why setting up a US entity can make your business more attractive to buyers, especially for international sellers.
If you're thinking about selling in the next few years, this episode will help you start positioning your business as a scalable, buyer-friendly machine that buyers can confidently finance and pay a premium for.

Topics Discussed in this episode:
Thinking like a buyer and understanding buyer financing tools (00:52)
SBA loans and how they dramatically increase money upfront (03:21)
The biggest SBA mistake sellers make and how deals fall apart (04:31)
Alternative funding options like revenue-based financing (06:31)
How buyers use leverage and other people's money to acquire businesses (08:19)
Seller financing and earnouts as deal-making tools (09:53)
Why setting up a US entity can dramatically improve exit outcomes (14:34)
Positioning your business as a scalable, buyer-friendly machine (16:03)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to make your business 'funding friendly'.

In this episode, we're joined by Alexander Kelm, an acquisition entrepreneur and founder of a micro private equity firm focused on buying, growing, and scaling digital businesses across Europe.
Alexander shares his unconventional path into acquisitions, including how he sold a business before he had even fully started it. He explains why acquisition entrepreneurship can be such a powerful strategy for digital business owners and how focusing on your strengths, rather than chasing every opportunity, dramatically improves your odds of success.
For first-time buyers, Alexander offers practical, no-fluff guidance on getting started. He breaks down the most common mistakes new acquirers make, how to find quality acquisition opportunities, and what his due diligence process looks like in practice.
The conversation also dives into the European acquisition landscape, where Alexander explains the funding options available to entrepreneurs and the real-world challenges of setting up and operating businesses in the EU.
If acquisitions are on your radar as a growth strategy, learning from someone actively sourcing deals, closing acquisitions, and scaling real businesses can save you years of trial and error.

Topics Discussed in this episode:
Alexander's background and how he sold a business before even launching it (01:42)
Why acquisition entrepreneurship is so powerful for digital businesses (09:35)
Avoid failure by playing to your strengths (12:24)
Alexander's advice for a first-time business buyer (15:58)
Common mistakes first-time buyers make (18:09)
Finding and vetting business acquisitions (21:25)
Alexander's due diligence process (26:50)
European funding options for entrepreneurs (30:23)
Alexander's post-acquisition growth playbook (34:09)
The challenges of setting up a business in the EU (36:44)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn the ins and outs of acquisition entrepreneurship in Europe.

Most online business owners have a complicated relationship with conferences. Some leave feeling energized and full of new ideas. Others leave wondering if they just paid a lot of money for bad coffee and small talk.

In this episode of the Opportunity Podcast, Greg breaks down when conferences are actually worth your time and when they're not.
He starts by outlining the difference between attending as a practitioner versus a vendor. Practitioners tend to gain the most from learning new strategies, seeing how others operate, and uncovering ideas that can indirectly unlock new revenue.

Vendors have a tougher time finding success. Without a clear plan to justify the investment and a proven offer, sponsorship can be expensive and risky. Greg explains why aggressive selling almost always backfires and why trust, education, and long-term relationship building are what actually drive results.
Greg also shares practical advice on how to make conferences work without massive budgets. Most importantly, he reveals where the real value of conferences shows up, not in the talks and workshops, but during dinners, drinks, and informal conversations.
If you want a clear, honest take on how to approach conferences and actually make them work for your business, this episode is worth a listen.
Topics Discussed in this episode:
Assessing the value of conferences for sellers vs vendors (01:25)
The real cost and risk of sponsoring conferences (03:54)
Getting the best ROI as an event sponsor (09:00) 
Where the real business happens at conferences (12:44)
Final verdict: Are conferences actually worth it? (18:36)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to get the most value out of conferences!