BuildWitt Behind the Scenes: Recent Episodes
alex@buildwitt.com
This week Aaron and Alex continue their convo about the DirtWorld with a newfound perspective after the team meeting. Employing the help of some great questions from Ben Holmgren, they explore the reasoning behind the DirtWorld movement and the purpose we serve as employees and individuals in this amazing industry.
This week, Aaron and Alex sit down to discuss the Dirt World movement. For the past couple of weeks, it has affected our lives in some way and will continue to do so. This internal podcast can hopefully serve as a tool to help clarify why it was done how it was and what you can do to continue to contribute going forward. Let's help build a better Dirt World! Stay dirty!
This week's episode was actually recorded quite a few weeks ago now, right after our team meeting. Aaron was off doing whatever Aaron does so this one just features Alex and Caitlin cutting it up about how she got to Buildwitt and what she does now at the company. enjoy and hmmm... (p.s. Listen to the whole thing and you'll get the last reference)
This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron lays out the trip itinerary to Europe for late October 2022. He and Chase Lyons (Field Producer at BuildWitt) will be spending a few days at bauma 2022 in Munich, Germany, before a 2 day break in Austria. After the Austrian weekend, the guys will head back to Germany for a few days with the folks from Zeppelin Caterpillar.
Stay tuned for the update podcast about bauma (it’s been nuts over there!) as well as a breakdown of the trip in a few weeks.
Listen to Dirt Talk:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2GK5UWkulNJ6tNFXvWngMt?si=2332acb8e2954301 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirt-talk-by-buildwitt/id1494235724 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnV6enNwcm91dC5jb20vNzc5NjAz
Stay Dirty!
This week's topic is a hard one to imagine for our team since we are all perfect angels and never get anything wrong. Right? Nevertheless, Aaron and Alex discuss what it means to fail and what we can do to use that opportunity to strengthen ourselves and those around us. S*** happens and sometimes it's out of our hands. However, you get to decide how you recover. Happy Friday, have fun messing up, and stay dirty!
This week, Aaron and Alex invite Pat on the internal podcast to talk about how Buildwitt's social media presence came to be, and how we are continuing to improve our strategies to reach more and more people in the DirtWorld. Social media is a huge part of the company as a whole, so props to the crew for being honest about our strengths and shortcomings in the ever-changing digital market. Stay Dirty!
Let's face it, sometimes you have to have those hard conversations, and this week is no exception. This week Aaron and Alex tackle the one question on everyone's mind here at Buildwitt, is Mark Zuckerberg a lizard in a human skin suit? Oh yeah, they also talk about lawyers and stuff. Enjoy and stay dirty!
In this episode, Aaron and Alex sit down to do a bit of reflecting. Aaron is understandably a bit pooped, but the internal podcast is more important than sleep, no days off! They dig into how the team meeting went, how Aaron's run went, and what it means to do those two things back to back! Enjoy and stay dirty.
The podcast crew sits down with Nikki to talk about the fast-approaching team meeting. They talk about having fun, being responsible, and maximizing your time here in Nashville. Can't wait to meet everyone and hopefully this will answer at least a few of your questions. Stay dirty!
This week, Aaron and Alex sit down with Ben to discuss creating training content. They dig into what it's like to be in the studio and why It only works when we work as a team. Sorry for the delay this week folks some confusion with the video cut (keep an eye out for it on training) #whoops-a-daisy.
If you know Aaron, you know that most of the time he has very little to stress about in Aaron's voice "trickkk." Although running a business can be a hard time, it can also be extremely rewarding. In this week's episode, Aaron and Alex sit down to discuss aspects of the business we feel like are chugging along in the right direction. They also discuss, being nailed with paintballs in your formative years and learning from mistakes, the upcoming team meeting, the quality of our crew, and they round it off by talking about drunk Santas. This one's a rollercoaster so strap in and stay dirty!
You know the deal, Aaron and Alex are back. They talk about the importance of the services team and its role as one of the starting pillars of BuildWitt. They also speak about the importance of other teams, because everybody matters. That's all I got. Stay dirty folks!
Last Friday, Alex was out by the lake (lucky). But lucky enough for us, we had our fantastic substitute co-host, Nikki, at the office to fill in. She and Aaron talk about the dangers of fruit and our wonderful diverse Dirt World and Non-Dirt world team. Don't miss it. I put in the topic bloop sound just for y'all. Cheers!
Who would have thought? The boys are back in town (for at least a few days.) In this episode, Aaron and Alex sit down with Chase and talk about what the heck they do all day and talk about the importance of media trips, like their most recent one to the great white north, Canada!
Aaron and Alex sit down with Kjell Gerber to complain about the pains of online meetings and trains doing whatever they want. They later talk about what Kjell does at the company and dig into this week's topic, "being in the field."
This week Aaron and Alex invite CFO Aaron Somero to talk about saving money and being intentional with our time and work. They explore what we have done in the past, our goals for the future, and what every team can do to meet our collective goals as a company.
Aaron and Alex sit down to talk about eggs and the topic of the week, non-training-related work, which inevitably triggers many conversations about the inner workings of Buildwitt. Tune in to find out.
Nikki and Aaron sit down to chat about fun company goings-on, everyone's (except Aaron) favorite restaurant chain Chili's, and answer some questions. They talk about how our partners sometimes have to go off on their own and what we do as a company to give them the momentum to do so.
This week our fearless podcasters do things a little different. In an attempt to focus the Internal podcast and make it more beneficial to our team Alex and Aaron decided that a topic of the week may be our best course of action to help you, the listener understand more about the goings-on here at Buildwitt. This week's trial run focuses on a topic prevalent in everyone's mind, the Series A investment (before you ask, yes, we will eventually talk about other things on this podcast.) If you have ideas for a topic you want to learn more about, Email, Slack, or reach out in any manner you see fit to the podcast team, and we will be more than happy to navigate our way through an approximately hour-long conversation for your enjoyment.
Everyone's favorite Podcasters, Aaron and Alex, sit down to shoot the poop in another edition of the internal podcast. They air grievances about YouTubers making entirely too much on T-shirt sales, Starbucks' convoluted sizing standards, and the pitfalls of old office buildings. On a more serious note, they talk about the one thing that will push you to the next level and allow you to outperform all your competition, Oatmeal (now company-wide mandated.) They answer questions: Pat: Have you ever been scared for your safety on a job site? Clay: What values are we doing well in, and where can we grow?
Aaron addresses the team about all things Investment. He highlights the benefit of missing our original mark and our strategy in the future (being disciplined, scrappy, creative, and team players). He touches on the importance of reducing burn and how our teams can achieve this. To finish, he explores what the future of Buildwitt will look like when we achieve our goals and the exciting opportunity that will ensue.
This week, Aaron and Alex start off talking about the logistics of scheduling and morning routines before Aaron talks about travel (big surprise). Hey, at least there are some hot springs involved. Later, Aaron talks about series A fundraising and seeing a project through to the end,
Alex and Aaron sit down for another installment of the internal podcast to air grievances about late-night talk shows, moving, and internet trolls doing what they do best: being wrong. They answer the question "what does a better Dirt World look like?" and reflect on a world without the Dirt World (pretty bleak). They also discuss which airline is the best.
This week, Aaron and Alex chat about managing expectations, how we'll keep working to dial in how and when we hire new folks, and the pressure (and opportunity) of having a lack of room for failure.
Aaron and Alex talk about family and the married with children life. Surprise, the gang talks about travel and legroom tricks (not in that order). Later Alex and Aaron discuss the struggle of meeting people from conference calls in person and the podcast being absorbed by the media team. They round it off by answering the following, do you speak another language? How do we (Buildwitt) keep our family feel as a company? What was your major in college? (Alex)
Alex here with a special edition of the internal podcast. I'm joined today by Nikki, our VP of People here at BuildWitt. We chat about the role of the "People" team at BuildWitt. We also discuss the responsibility of HR to the team AND our responsibility to the HR crew. Thanks to Nikki for the transparent and engaging conversation.
Aaron and Alex chat about astronaut ice cream, seeing how all the pieces of BuildWitt contribute to making the Dirt World a better place and making new goals more achievable. They then discuss questions about lessons learned during the current Series A fundraising round.
This week on the internal podcast, Aaron and Alex catch up about Aaron's upcoming travel and time off, and then they answer questions about what Aaron's focus will be when after Series A fundraising ends and what Aaron's favorite movie is.
Thanks y'all!
Aaron and Alex are back and apparently need a low-key catchup. The touch on rental cars, a bear park in Switzerland, and the difference between first class and business class on a plane. Then Aaron answers questions about his love for "hipster" coffee shops and the reality of how people communicate that they don't believe that he/BuildWitt will reach huge goals.
Aaron goes solo (with support from Harrison) while Alex was out on vacation and reviewed a conversation that he had with the leadership team. He reads excerpts from the book 5 Dysfunctions of a Team and then digs into each.
Head of People Nikki DeLuca sits down with Aaron to talk about our team, and how her previous experience led her to her current role at BuildWitt. Together they field internal questions from the BuildWitt Team about how to communicate who we are to the rest of the Dirt World and what we can take from Jim Collins’ book Great by Choice.
Let your voice be heard! Answer a few simple questions at buildwitt.com/feedback and help us find more awesome listeners like you. Together, let’s make the Dirt World a better place! Don't forget that you can watch or listen to Dirt Talk on the BuildWitt app! Learn more at buildwitt.com/buildwitt-app. If you have questions/comments/concerns, reach out to DirtTalk@buildwitt.com. Stay Dirty!
This week on the internal podcast, Alex and Aaron jump around on a handful of topics, including doing work that aligns with your gifts. They also answer questions about what Aaron wanted to be when he was a kid and what's the most fun part about building the company.
This week, Alex chats with Garret Brent, who is an Implementation Manager here at BuildWitt. They discuss Garret's winding career journey (that included a stop in the USAF), why he would leave a job and team that he really cared about, and what really drives him. Thanks y'all!
This week on the internal podcast, Aaron and Alex give a quick update on the newest fundraising round, and then they recap the Open House held at the BuildWitt office. Later, they discuss being well-traveled vs well-read and sharing (or not sharing) unpopular opinions at work. Thanks y'all!
This week on the internal podcast, Aaron and Alex discuss a handful of heavier topics, including why Aaron feels compelled to spend so much time on work, why it made sense for Aaron and Angel to go to Saudi Arabia (even with its complicated reputation globally), and the potential trickiness, as BuildWitt continues to grow, of Aaron continuing to get to know everyone who comes to work at BuildWitt. Thanks to all of the BuildWitt team. Stay Dirty!
Alex chats with Nathan Kirkpatrick, digital marketing intern turned digital marketing specialist! In this episode, the guys chat about the Kirkpatrick Pipeline of Talent, Nathan's family connection with the Briscoes, and then Nathan shares the story of his mom's inspiring health journey.
This week, Aaron and Alex discuss Aaron's challenging weekend in the elements. Later, they chat about why is frustrated by general contractors and how he manages his day-to-day tasks.
This week on the BuildWitt internal podcast, Aaron chats with Dan Briscoe and Randy Blount about the next investment phase we're entering, before answering questions about who (or what) is our biggest competitor and what kinds of projects they're most excited to dig into in the next phase of the business.
This week, Aaron and Alex are joined by BuildWitt President Dan Briscoe. They chat about the importance of feedback, getting out into the (dirt) world together, and why our confidence in our products and services is earned.
This week on the internal pod, Aaron and Alex discuss the FTX going on in Nashville this week, and then Aaron talks a bit about the assumption some folks have about the origins of BuildWitt. They also chat about the $1.9T Infrastructure Bill and why every trip Aaron ever takes is a combo work/pleasure trip.
This week on the BuildWitt Internal podcast, Aaron and Alex detail why the leadership team had a full day meeting with former Navy SEAL Rich Diviney. They also chat about the next fundraising period for BuildWitt and intentional culture-building.
This week on the internal podcast, Aaron and Alex talk about the difficulties of trying to scale business by yourself and why it's important to decentralize yourself from the success of the business. They also discuss a question from Jay Collup about highlighting industry folks who have seen a positive impact in their careers because of BuildWitt.
This week on the BuildWitt Internal Podcast, Aaron Witt and Alex Horton chat with Aaron Somero, BuildWitt Chief Financial Officer about credit card spending and how to wisely consider business expenses. Sometimes, it means buying a used camera instead of a brand new one. Other times, it means paying for the premium version of software because it helps to save you time and makes you more efficient.
This week, Alex chats with Executive Assistant and Aaron Witt Wrangler Jessica Saylor. They chatted about what she was up to before BuildWitt, why she feels well-suited for organizing and supporting business leaders, and which of her hobbies landed her a guest spot on the Kelly Clarkson show!
This is the first episode in the BuildWitt Internal Podcast series on our Core Values. First up is "Develop 3x People".
This week on the BuildWitt internal podcast, Aaron and Alex discuss their 4 podcast episode day and taking this podcast feed public before answering a question about our 401k system and why it requires each employee to put in 10% to get the 5% match from BuildWitt.
This week, Alex chats with Benjamin Holmgren about knowing how you want your career to look without being sure about what you want it to be. Thanks for listening. Stay Dirty!
This week on the BuildWitt internal podcast, Aaron and Alex talk about camping a little bit before discussing the exciting growth and additions to the team. Later, they chat about all the balls in the air/plates spinning that BuildWitt has going these days, and how all the moving pieces mean that no one knows EVERYTHING that's going on. Thanks for keeping up with us, team. We're very grateful to all of you.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about developing each member of our team both for the sake of the team as well as for each individual's sake, and why that charge is a great responsibility for each person. They also kind of discuss the business model of OnlyFans for some reason.
We're back with the team interviews every other Wednesday in 2022! This week, we're with Jamie Jamra (who has been allowing all of you to call him "James" for a year), but he's here to set the record straight. We talk about his background, how he's known Alex Ferrari for way longer than anyone else at BuildWitt, and how he sees the video work at BuildWitt growing and changing into the future. Thanks, Jamie! -Alex, Podcast Producer, BuildWitt
The first episode of 2022! This week, Aaron and Alex talk about bringing new people into the team, how and why we do it the BuildWitt way, and then they talk a little bit about the "milestones" related to our recent investment period. If you have questions you'd like to hear discussed on the pod, please email alex@buildwitt.com.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about all of our approaches to spending in regards to BuildWitt, as well as the importance of building relationships in person.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about the recent Winter Team Meeting and the upcoming plans for BuildWitt as a whole. They touch on what the next 2 months will look like, why BuildWitt Leaders is free, and how we pick Dirt Talk guests. Thanks to you all. Have a great week!
This week, Aaron and Alex talk birthdays, video games, and other small things before discussing the good stuff that is going on in the Dirt World right now. Aaron then gives a little preview of the upcoming team meeting in Nashville. Thanks y'all!
Aaron and Alex talk about social media and why it matters for BuildWitt and how we all can engage in a natural way on the interweb.
Aaron and Alex chat for a sec about the power of TikTok/video for podcasts and the Core Value award winners for this month (super cool people, I'm sure!) before digging in about the continued adjusting of BuildWitt's company structure and how each piece will continue to fit together. As always, thanks for sending in questions, and THANK YOU for listening.
This week on the BWBTS podcast, Aaron and Alex talk about being transparent about failure, training opportunities for team members, and ways our team can impact our community.
This was recorded directly after the team call on Oct 25, 2021, where Aaron laid out the updated company structure and what the roles of the leadership team will be. In this episode, Aaron and Alex discuss what the new structuring means regarding the legal restructuring we've done in the past and why a new simplified version makes more sense for our company, what the holiday season changes for us and our partners (not much), and why we brought on some C-suite level roles so early on in our company life-cycle. Thanks for listening, and as always, feel free to send questions for the podcast to alex@buildwitt.com or slide into his DMs on Slack.
The "every other Wednesday internal pod" is back! If you've not been on the podcast yet, just wait... host Alex Horton is coming for you. In this episode, Alex has an (in person) conversation with Kate Gangel, Project Manager here at BuildWitt. Kate and Alex talk about Kate's love of Nebraska though she lived most of her life in Kansas, what she really loved about managing projects, and what kind of cable tv shows she watches (and why, honestly). Thanks for listening, y'all.
On this internal podcast episode, Aaron and Alex talk blasting, Aaron's hidden talents (or lack thereof), and then dive into where we are headed next, financially.
In this quick episode, Aaron addresses a comment made by a company we work with, and why that attitude is so far from what we're building here at BuildWitt.
This week, Aaron and Alex spend most of the episode talking about the process of finding the right investor(s) for the next phase of what we're doing at BuildWitt. Also, Aaron mocks Alex's attempt to make this episode more serious and focused than the last episode about the Mantis Shrimp.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about mantis shrimp, rolling his skid steer, and parents and their cars, I guess.
After a few comments about it, I've decided to start naming the episodes so the team can more easily differentiate episodes. (Thanks for the tip, Eli!).
This week, Aaron and Alex catch up in the new Dirt Talk Studios and chat about the next evolution of what we're doing here at BuildWitt. Later, Aaron answers questions from Claire and Nerissa about how we'll use the incoming investment(s) and if there are ways to monetize the BW office. Thanks for the questions, pals!
Aaron and Alex (with Matt Briscoe sitting in the corner on his phone) recorded while at 1st Phorm in St. Louis. The guys talk about their offices a little bit before Aaron answers a few questions about the next phase of BuildWitt, how BW Creative will continue to grow, and what his morning routine looks like.
This week, Aaron and Alex discuss college and why that system is built to discourage people from going into our industry as young people. Then they answer a few team questions about boundaries and what it means for BuildWitt to "stop working so hard".
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about mental health, environmental responsibility in our industry, and the DJ horn sound.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about brand equity and not jeopardizing that. Then they answer a few questions from the team.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about what Aaron actually does every day as an employee at BuildWitt, among other things.
This week's episode gets a little deeper than a typical episode of the BuildWitt BTS podcast. We talk about floor-raisers/ceiling-raisers, what we're looking forward to in the next 6 months of BuildWitt, and what specific word we're finding ourselves spending a lot of time thinking about. Thanks for listening, friends.
This week, Aaron and Alex reminisce about the BuildWitt team meeting, and then discuss what BuildWitt People is and what the process looks like when booking guests for Dirt Talk.
This week, Alex lets Clay Thompson (Sr. Brand Strategist at BuildWitt) swap roles and now Alex is the interviewee. Alex talks about his journey to BuildWitt, how he ended up moving into a completely different role than the one he initially accepted with BuildWitt after a year, and what he thinks he should be doing when asking Aaron questions on Dirt Talk. Thanks for listening, you're all just incredibly good eggs.
Aaron and Alex catch up about the upcoming team meeting, launch of BuildWitt Leaders/new BuildWitt site, and talk about what piece of equipment Aaron would marry.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk "Developing 3x People", hiring in Nashville, and current events, I guess.
This week, Aaron and Alex talk hunting (from a VERY unqualified perspective) before diving in to discuss what the initial concept of BuildWitt was imagined to be, among other things.
This week, Alex has a conversation with our very own Sr. UX/UI Designer Matt Burt! They talk about bikes, creeks, the internet, and moving states!
Aaron and Alex talk Santa ( I guess, I don't know, I kinda zoned out - Alex), the BuildWitt store, and what we're gonna do at the company meeting next month.
Aaron and Alex talk BuildWitt Leaders and why it's important for our team. They also answer submitted questions about the rest of the calendar year and CONEXPO!
This week, Aaron and Alex talk about Onboarding Week, developing 3X people, and if Aaron is going to commit to a vegan lifestyle.
Alex and Jack Briscoe chat about Jack's background, how HE was actually the first contact with Aaron in the Briscoe fam, and what in the hell PPC actually is.
Alex and Aaron talk discuss how the new office space will affect our team, how Aaron manages all of his social media accts, and why we've approached the BW Leaders projects with such urgency.
Welcome backkkkkk! Aaron and Alex talk about the important stuff like skid steers and wearing sunglasses indoors.
Each week, Aaron and Alex will sit down to answer YOUR questions! Just for the BuildWitt crew.
This week's friday episode is a conversation with Kjell Gerber. Alex and Kjell talk about Kjell's upbringing, his background in construction before BW, and why he felt good to spend $300 on boots (and why they only ended up being half that price).
Aaron and Alex sat down to discuss how to act, dress, and be on our Partner's job sites.
In this episode, Aaron chats with Matt Briscoe of the Briscoe clan from the Houston area. Matt and Aaron touch on how Matt has technically been with BuildWitt the longest and how he's touched almost everything that Aaron has put on the internet the last few years. Matt's the youngest team member, but don't doubt his value for a second!
In this episode, Aaron goes more in-depth into why and how we should and shouldn't spend money on our business.
In this episode, Aaron explains that the previous podcast about time tracking only makes sense for the conventional agency, and that BuildWitt is anything BUT.
In this episode, I explain our thoughts behind time tracking and why it's so important to our business. Track your time!!
In this episode, I break down why keeping confidential information confidential is so important to our business!
In this episode, I discuss the realities of growing our team, going into 2021 and beyond. The two central concepts I go over are replacing yourself and experience versus seniority. Both ideas are HUGE as we add and develop people!
In this episode, I start with the Spanish conquest and end by explaining our company's mission and why it's so important. It's a wild ride!
In this episode, I read an interesting email Dan and I received and discuss my thoughts about it.
In this episode, I try something new and summarize our recent travels to Capstone Pinto Valley mine and Bulk Equipment. Hopefully, everyone enjoys it!
In this episode, I break down our nine company values. I explain each one, cite recent examples of how they've played out in our business, and discuss the quotes associated with each. Values are everything to our business!
On this episode I talk about Trump's border wall, my experience seeing it in person, and why disagreement / experiencing things for yourself are great things.
In this episode, I review BuildWitt's credit card standards and how to view spending / versus saving. Fun stuff! Yay money!
This episode covers why I was so fired up about a recent Rummel Construction promo video online and how I use the frustration to fuel me.
On this episode, I talk about how to invest money in an intelligent manner to maximize your time.
In the first episode of the internal podcast, I talk about how to approach failure since we've had some larger recent failures. As much as failure sucks, it's all part of the process.
Inspired by my first podcast on failure, I dive into two painful and transformational failures we had in our first year of business. They're enjoyable stories and filled with lessons that we live by to this day.