The Nathan Barry Show

Brian Canlis, third-generation restaurateur behind Canlis in Seattle, and Will Guidara, hospitality entrepreneur who led Eleven Madison Park, share how to create memorable, human-centered service. They discuss systematizing rituals, mapping every touchpoint, scaling personal moments, and applying hospitality beyond restaurants. Expect stories about playful rituals, pattern recognition, and designing repeatable magic.

Sean Devlin, newsletter founder who scaled Nice News and runs All Healthy with 1.3M subscribers, shares his playbook. He breaks down habit-forming sections, daily digest cadence, and design that builds trust. He also explains sponsor integrations, acquisition tactics like quizzes and lead flows, and ways to scale rates while preserving long-term reader relationships.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits and mastermind co-organizer, shares compact strategies for authors and creators. He discusses Instagram trial reels, tiny paid offers instead of free lead magnets, and the 80-hour prep some creators use for podcast appearances. He also covers unscalable launch tactics, repurposing old viral content, micro podcast tours, and how to scale speaking fees strategically.

Marissa Lavelle, editor and founder-operator of From Boise, builds community through long-form local stories and events. She talks about growing a newsletter to 24,000+ subscribers, creative monetization experiments like a Dinner Club and discount card, and treating projects as hands-on experiments that turn local trust into a six-figure business.

Tintin Smith, YouTube strategist who scaled Ali Abdaal’s channel and trains educational creators. He outlines the exact production system, team roles, and what founders must do versus avoid. Topics include positioning, ideation, packaging (titles/thumbnails), batching production, hiring editors, CTAs and lead magnets, and tracking ROI for turning videos into high-ticket business growth.

Chase Reeves, a musician-turned-designer and coach known for taste-driven design and soulful creator work. He explores how curiosity and practice build taste. He talks about balancing authenticity with audience expectations. He dives into grounding after viral highs, using play and controlled chaos to innovate, and the power of intimacy and small groups for sustainable creative growth.

Simon Alexander Ong, author and leadership coach who focuses on energy and performance across physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. He shares stories from a career shift out of finance. Short, practical habits for consistency, stress tools like stillness and perspective, seasonal energy planning, creative marketing experiments, and using presence and gratitude to lead with more vitality.

Grace Miller, Head of Failure and Experimentation at Flight Story, leads YouTube growth, localization and shorts strategies. She recounts scaling a channel from 100k to 14M subscribers. Short, punchy takes cover experiments that failed, dubbing and localization tests, using chapters and posts, multi-channel tactics, and how a culture that celebrates learning fuels rapid growth.

Mike Brown, former Navy F/A-18 backseater turned entrepreneur who built and sold an eight-figure oil and gas company, recounts selling supercars and redefining wealth. He describes losing $1.5M and finding peace, reframing rich as freedom across health, time, and relationships. Short stories cover process goals, daily habits, clean versus dirty motivation, and spending for happiness and leverage.

What does it take to grow a SaaS business from $1 million to $5 million annual recurring revenue when your revenue has plateaued? Michael Sliwinski, founder of the productivity app Nozbe, joins Nathan Barry to diagnose the core issues his business faces and map out a clear path forward. Michael, who flew all the way from Europe for this conversation, dives into the challenges of competing in a crowded market, the impact of a product rebuild, and the search for a compelling new positioning. This episode is a masterclass in auditing your business, identifying roadblocks, and strategizing for breakthrough growth, especially for founders navigating a competitive landscape and aiming for their next big milestone.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction01:05 Michael's journey to Nozbe02:51 From side hustle to $1 million ARR04:47 The Japan growth explosion06:17 Rebuilding Nozbe from scratch10:14 Competing with industry giants12:58 Breaking down business metrics and building blocks19:07 Understanding max MRR and the S-curve22:42 The flatlining awareness and traffic25:02 Expansion and multi-seat customers29:43 Legacy customers on the old vs. new Nozbe30:52 Strong customer retention and low churn37:25 Key metrics and dashboard visibility39:46 Accountability through weekly revenue meetings42:07 The effectiveness of current content strategies46:27 Partnership success with a productivity consultant51:09 Direct sales for partners53:01 Reframing positioning for growth56:19 The core promise of Nozbe: The tool teams actually use59:43 The "boulder pushing" analogy1:02:18 Strategy for identifying and incentivizing new partners1:11:34 Tapping into true fans for new partner leads1:14:57 Michael's reflections and next stepsIf you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/showFollow Nathan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarryLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarryX: https://twitter.com/nathanbarryYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshowWebsite: https://nathanbarry.comKit: https://kit.com/?utm_campaign=29661554-nathan_barry_show&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=nathanbarryshow&utm_content=youtube_descriptionFollow Michael:X: https://twitter.com/msliwinskiInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelsliwinskiMastodon: https://social.nozbe.com/@michaelNozbe: https://nozbe.comFeatured in this episode:Kit: https://www.kit.comNozbe: https://nozbe.comHighlights:02:17 – ZDNet feature blew up Nozbe05:13 – iPad app success in Japan09:27 – Impact and the $5M goal11:54 – Customer loyalty despite competitors22:15 – Demo meetings and their conversion rates32:27 – Customers prepaid until 204057:33 – Why simpler is better for teams