Episodes

Hathaway shirt ads, the picture makes you read the headline, encouraging you to read the first line of body copy. The first line of copy makes you read the next and so on. The secret that David Olgivy leveraged to make Hathaway rich. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Steven’s sidekic...

What Henry Ford learned from a slaughter house and how it changed the world. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Dave Young: Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Dave Young: Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is… well it’s us, but we’r...

“I wanted a trampoline for my daughter. My wife said they were too dangerous. So I invented my own.” Dr. Keith Alexander, founder of Springfree, dedicated himself to creating the safest trampoline and elevating trampoline safety worldwide. David Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Steven’s s...

Chiclets, how boiling plant sap leads to the discovery of chewing gum. One partner runs away. The other makes millions. How not to be blinded by the pursuit of the wrong objective. David Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get i...

Just because that’s how things are done doesn’t mean it will work for you or your customers. Warren Buffet’s customer-first investment strategy caused him to rethink the entire investment business model. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Yo...

Transforming a business is never easy, but when is the right time to do it? Learn a valuable question to ask yourself when that time comes from Andy Grove. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word...

How to take over the world the same way DeBeers did it, any business can follow this simple rinse and repeat formula. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Steven Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Steven’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is… Well, it’s ...

Beating the competition does not take sharpening your sword for the sword fight. It takes knowing to use a different weapon. Don’t try an beat your competitor at their game. Change the rules. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from Mom and Pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before...

From homebuilder to the largest toy manufacturer in the world, Lego is a family business that has a history of innovating. Learn how they adapted to the challenges to create their success. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before w...

Way before “restaurants near me” and Google reviews, Michelin created their stars system for restaurants to sell more tires. Listen to a tale of very successful content marketing. Dave Young Welcome to the Empire Builder Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into ...

How well do you know your customer? What would you do to get to know them better? Would you become a pizza delivery driver? Four guys build the first food delivery app to solve a big problem for the restaurant industry. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a Marketing Consultant, Story Collector and Storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business ...

How 2 hair stylist make over $20,000,000.00, five bucks at a time. Now that’s supersizing!!! Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is well it’s us, but we’re highlighting...

The birth of Spider-Man. When Stan Lee was asked to create a new super hero he needed to get creative to avoid the cutting room floor. A new kind of hero and a tricky way to get his idea past the editor. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave y...

Dr. Brinkley went to amazing lengths to market his business. It made him a multimillionaire in the 1920s. Today empire builders are doing the same thing. Only now they call it content marketing with lead magnets, tripwires and a funnel. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous business from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sideki...

It was first sold as a surgical antiseptic. Then a floor cleaner. Then a cure for STDs. The real success came when they help us get the girl. Learn how Listerine created the problem of bad breath so they could solve it. And help you get the girl. And grew by over 6,000% in 7 years. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story...

How many people can you fit in a Volkswagen Beetle, the people’s car? The current world record is 20. Designed by Porsche, commissioned by Hitler, marketed by a Jewish agency, and adopted by the Hippies. The crazy story of the success of the VW Beetle and marketing used in the US market. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, ...

They needed to become more professional. So, what does a hippie do? They hired a 14-year-old to manage the books. This was before Clorox bought them for $925 million dollars. Today, there is a Burt’s Bees Lip balm sold every second. This is a story that starts off the grid in Maine. Dave Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from Mom-and-Pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, stor...

You know that big yellow sign. 75% of all Americans live within 5 miles of a Dollar General. That’s right, 13,000 stores. Here is the amazing story of how J.L. Turner created this Empire. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Steven Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we ...

It is not the strongest or most intelligent of companies that become Empires. It is the company that is most willing to adapt. Netflix knows a thing or two about changing and growing and being know as a market leader. David Young: Welcome to The Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not-so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business p...

Coke. Hold on a minute. They are already an empire. This is a lesson on how no matter how big you are, no matter how much you spend, and even if you are the best marketers on the planet; you cannot bend the consumer to your will. If you have ever thought that you can use advertising to change consumer behaviour you need to listen to this podcast. David Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners, the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and ...

Gaggia espresso machines had a problem. What to do with the oily film that formed on the top of their espresso. The result built an empire and even changed how fine espresso is judged. This is a lesson of overcoming resistance to new innovations. David Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m St...

Meet Rick Showers. He does not sell gum. He sells used RVs and he applied the lessons from Wrigley’s and is growing like crazy. New sales record after new sales record. Learn what he is doing to grow and the lessons he has learned along the way. Clockwise from upper left: Rick Showers, David Young, Stephen Semple David Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners, the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Sempl...

Play-doh, seriously, it was not a toy. This is serious stuff. Learn how observing how your customer is using your products can lead to new product ideas and maybe even save your company. You will also learn the mystery of how they created the name. The first idea was doozy. David Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners, the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Steven Simple is a marketing consultant, story collec...

The staff, the critics, and retailers all said it would fail. It lacked all the things people wanted but gave them one thing they had not thought about. And a star is born. David Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into toda...