The Necessary Entrepreneur

Experience Earned. Execution Required. The Necessary Entrepreneur brings together people who are actively creating, not constantly consuming. Hosted by entrepreneur and operator Mark Perkins, the show assembles founders, operators, and investors doing the work. They share direct conversations about execution, leadership, and the realities of creating something that endures. The show rejects theory as a standalone and focuses on the discipline, decisions, and resilience required to stay in the game every day.

The Necessary Entrepreneur is a business podcast hosted by Mark Perkins, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Mark Perkins hosts The Necessary Entrepreneur, a business show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #220

  #220 - Relationships Are the Business: 8 Lessons from "If Jesus Smoked Cigars"

  Sep 28, 20261h 3m

  In this episode of The Necessary Entrepreneur, host Mark Perkins sits down with Joshua Evarts, entrepreneur, business owner, and author of the new book If Jesus Smoked Cigars: The Eight Lessons in Relational Leadership . Joshua has spent 25 years in business, most recently as the owner of the Vault Cigar Lounge in Meridian, Idaho, where he built a thriving community around one simple belief: relationships are not just a nice part of doing business, they are the business. His model of relational leadership comes down to three truths. People do business with people they like. People stay loyal to people they trust. And people evangelize for people who make them feel loved. In this conversation, Joshua and Mark dig into: Why you should build culture, not your business, and how a healthy culture attracts healthy employees, customers, and vendors The cheeky story behind the title If Jesus Smoked Cigars, and what a 2,000 year old model of relational leadership can teach modern entrepreneurs How cigar culture, from Idaho's Snake River to two deployments in Iraq, shaped his philosophy of connection and refuge The $1.4 million embezzlement that shut down his second location, and the two things founders overlook when starting companies: legal structure and an org chart Why likability is a competitive advantage, and the Steve Jobs and Elon Musk exception to the rule John Wooden's pyramid of success, and why industriousness and enthusiasm bookend every winning culture His 2020 battle with primary pancreatic lymphoma during COVID, and how facing mortality rewrote the book he was writing Whether you run a startup, a small business, or a team inside a larger company, this episode is a practical guide to building a business people actually want to be part of. About Joshua Evarts: Joshua Evarts is an entrepreneur with 25 years in business across software, real estate development, and hospitality. For the last decade he has owned the Vault Cigar Lounge in Meridian, Idaho, a premium cigar experience built on the idea that relationship is the primary currency. He is the author of If Jesus Smoked Cigars: The Eight Lessons in Relational Leadership. The Necessary Entrepreneur with Mark Perkins features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders about what it actually takes to build, operate and scale a company. Subscribe to The Necessary Entrepreneur for weekly conversations with founders and operators who have actually built something. Connect With Us: Website: https://www.thenecessaryentrepreneur.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenecessaryentrepreneur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenecessaryentrepreneur/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNecessaryEntrepreneurPod X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/MPerkinsTNE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tnepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tneclips Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xhGUE1yzy2N0AemUOlJPx?si=d1c5c316af404f15 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-necessary-entrepreneur/id1547181167 Find Out More About Joshua Evarts: https://www. linkedin.com/in/joshuaevarts/ https://ifjesus.com/ https://thevault.live/ https://www.instagram.com/ vaultcigarlounge/

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  Episode #219

  #219 - The 3 Questions That Can Change How You Think, Lead and Connect | Eric Saperston

  Sep 21, 20261h 6m

  Eric Saperston took an unconventional path into entrepreneurship. After college, he hit the road in a Volkswagen bus, asking successful and influential people if they would sit down with him for a conversation. Those interviews eventually became The Journey , an award-winning documentary that took a decade to complete and featured conversations with people including Jimmy Carter, Henry Winkler and Maya Angelou. After interviewing hundreds of extraordinary people, Eric began identifying the principles and lessons they had in common. That work eventually became Three Things , a game and methodology designed to capture and share wisdom through meaningful conversations. In this episode of The Necessary Entrepreneur with Mark Perkins , Eric shares what he learned about curiosity, persistence, leadership, relationships and asking better questions, along with how to turn an unconventional journey into something that creates lasting impact. Topics Discussed Eric's journey from a VW bus to interviewing extraordinary people Why curiosity is critical to personal growth and entrepreneurship What successful people have in common How to turn rejection and "no" into forward momentum The role of principles and values in decision-making How Eric created the Three Things game Why asking better questions leads to better conversations Building trust, community and meaningful connections How to capture and transfer wisdom from one person to another Finding purpose when you don't have a clear roadmap The Necessary Entrepreneur with Mark Perkins features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders about what it actually takes to build, operate and scale a company. Subscribe for more conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and innovators who share the real stories behind building successful businesses. Connect With Us: Website: https://www.thenecessaryentrepreneur.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenecessaryentrepreneur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenecessaryentrepreneur/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNecessaryEntrepreneurPod X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/MPerkinsTNE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tnepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tneclips Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xhGUE1yzy2N0AemUOlJPx?si=d1c5c316af404f15 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-necessary-entrepreneur/id1547181167 Find Out More About Eric Saperston & Three Things: https://www.ericsaperston.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ ericsaperston/ https://www.instagram.com/ ericsaperston/ https://www.facebook.com/eric. saperston/ https://www.youtube.com/ericsaperston https://www.ericsaperston.com/ three-things https://www.amazon.com/Three- Things-Strangers-Friends- Family/dp/1582709645

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  Episode #218

  #218 - AI Won't Replace Great Lawyers. But It Will Change How Law Firms Win | Seth Bader

  Sep 14, 202644 min

  How do you take a law firm from a one-bedroom apartment to a 150+ employee organization without losing the standards that made it successful in the first place? On this episode of The Necessary Entrepreneur, Mark Perkins sits down with Seth Bader, founder and CEO of Bader Law, one of Georgia's leading personal injury and workers' compensation firms. Seth started the firm in 2008 out of a one-bedroom apartment and grew it into a business serving tens of thousands of clients. Seth shares what he learned about entrepreneurship, leadership, hiring, company culture, accountability and scaling a professional services business. He explains why having a clear vision and high standards becomes increasingly difficult as a company grows, and why alignment across leadership and teams is critical to maintaining quality. The conversation also dives into the growing role of artificial intelligence in the legal industry. Seth explains how Bader Law is using AI to automate administrative work, accelerate processes and help lawyers handle more information while keeping humans in the loop for judgment, advocacy and empathy. Seth and Mark also discuss the value of relationships and referral networks, why being a great lawyer isn't enough to build a great law firm, and how Seth's experience working on both sides of the legal system gave him a unique perspective on serving clients. Whether you're building a law firm, real estate business, agency or any other professional services company, Seth's lessons on scaling, leadership, standards, hiring and adapting to change apply far beyond the legal industry. In this episode, you'll learn: How Seth grew Bader Law from a one-bedroom apartment into a 150+ employee organization Why high standards become harder to maintain as a business scales How vision, leadership and accountability keep a growing team aligned Why hiring for alignment can matter as much as hiring for talent How AI is changing legal work and improving business efficiency Why AI can support employees without replacing human judgment and empathy How relationships and referral networks can drive sustainable business growth What working on both sides of the legal industry taught Seth about business and negotiation Why being a great professional doesn't automatically mean you know how to build a great business How entrepreneurs can adapt their playbook as markets, technology and customers change The Necessary Entrepreneur with Mark Perkins features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders about what it actually takes to build, operate and scale a company. Subscribe for more conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and innovators who share the real stories behind building successful businesses. Connect With Us: Website: https://www.thenecessaryentrepreneur.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenecessaryentrepreneur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenecessaryentrepreneur/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNecessaryEntrepreneurPod X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/MPerkinsTNE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tnepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tneclips Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xhGUE1yzy2N0AemUOlJPx?si=d1c5c316af404f15 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-necessary-entrepreneur/id1547181167 Find Out More About Seth Bader & Bader Law: https://baderlaw.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ sethbaderesq/ https://www.instagram.com/ sethbaderesq

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  Episode #217

  #217 - AI Marketing, SEO & AEO: How to Scale a Business in the Age of AI | Gilad Bechar

  Sep 7, 20261h 2m

  How do you scale a business when technology is moving faster than your ability to plan for it? On this episode of The Necessary Entrepreneur , Mark Perkins sits down with Gilad Bechar, Founder & CEO of Moburst , a global digital growth company that has worked with brands including Google, Uber, Samsung, and Reddit. Gilad built Moburst from a highly specialized mobile marketing company into a much broader digital growth business, expanding through technology, AI, and strategic acquisitions. Along the way, he learned firsthand that rapid growth can expose weaknesses in infrastructure, hiring, quality control, and client delivery. Gilad and Mark dig into what it actually takes to scale a business in the age of AI , including how companies should adapt when technology dramatically reduces the time required to produce work, how entrepreneurs should think about pricing when hours no longer determine value, and why businesses increasingly need to sell outcomes rather than deliverables. They also get into the rapidly changing world of SEO and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and how businesses can become more visible in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and other AI-powered search platforms. Gilad explains why traditional SEO tactics are no longer enough and why brand reputation, PR, podcasts, Reddit discussions, LinkedIn content, YouTube, reviews, and other online trust signals increasingly influence how AI systems recommend businesses. The conversation also covers AI automation, marketing technology, business acquisitions, company culture, due diligence, incentive structures, and Moburst's vision for a connected "growth operating system" that uses AI and automation to continuously improve marketing performance. Most importantly, Gilad talks openly about the mistakes that come with scaling quickly—and why successful companies shouldn't simply try to prevent mistakes, but should build systems that make sure they don't happen twice. In this episode, you'll learn: How to manage growth when your infrastructure can't keep up How AI is changing digital marketing and business operations Why AI is forcing companies to rethink traditional pricing models The difference between selling hours, deliverables, and outcomes What AEO means and how AI search is changing SEO How businesses can build trust and visibility across AI platforms How to evaluate companies before acquiring them Why culture and existing teams matter in an acquisition How to structure incentives after an acquisition How AI and automation can transform agency operations Why rapid innovation requires shorter planning cycles How to build systems that learn from mistakes instead of repeating them Why entrepreneurs need to know when NOT to sell a particular service How to build a scalable growth ecosystem around technology and human expertise If you're an entrepreneur, founder, agency owner, marketer, or business leader trying to understand AI, digital marketing, SEO, AEO, business scaling, automation, acquisitions, and the future of growth , this conversation with Gilad Bechar is worth listening to. The Necessary Entrepreneur with Mark Perkins features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders about what it actually takes to build, operate and scale a company. Subscribe for more conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and innovators who share the real stories behind building successful businesses. Connect With Us: Website: https://www.thenecessaryentrepreneur.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenecessaryentrepreneur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenecessaryentrepreneur/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNecessaryEntrepreneurPod X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/MPerkinsTNE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tnepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tneclips Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xhGUE1yzy2N0AemUOlJPx?si=d1c5c316af404f15 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-necessary-entrepreneur/id1547181167 Find Out More About Gilad Bechar & Moburst: https://www.linkedin.com/in/begilad/ https://www.moburst.com/ https://www.instagram.com/moburst.agency/ https://www.facebook.com/moburstmobilemarketing/ https://www.youtube.com/c/MoburstMarketing/videos https://x.com/Moburst https://www.linkedin.com/company/moburst/

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  Episode #216

  #216 - The Dark Side of Going All In on Your Business | Dr. Thomas J. Powell

  Aug 31, 20261h 18m

  What does it really take to build a successful business and a life that still works when the business gets complicated? On this episode of The Necessary Entrepreneur , Mark Perkins sits down with Dr. Thomas J. Powell, founder of The Founder's Office, to explore the mindset, resilience, risk management, and decision-making that separate successful entrepreneurs from everyone else. Tom has spent decades working with founders and says his experience helping more than 500 founders and deploying more than $3 billion in capital has given him a front-row seat to both the successes and failures of entrepreneurship. The conversation begins with one of Tom's biggest passions: skiing. He explains how falling, getting back up, purposeful practice, coaching, and recovery have shaped his philosophy on resilience, and why those same principles apply directly to building companies. From there, Mark and Tom dig into the Founder's Isolation Paradox , the idea that even when a founder is surrounded by attorneys, accountants, employees, advisors, and investors, virtually everyone is still operating around the founder rather than truly solving problems with them. Tom explains why founders can become isolated at virtually every stage of success and why building the right relationships and advisory structure matters. They also explore the difference between taking entrepreneurial risk and simply putting everything you own at risk. Tom discusses his Capital Alignment Method , why founders sometimes take unnecessary personal financial risk, and how entrepreneurs can think more strategically about capital without losing the commitment required to build something meaningful. Other topics include the rise of self-made wealth, what successful entrepreneurs have in common, learning from failure and experience, seeing around corners, the importance of curiosity and continuous learning, family offices, relationships and reputation, and how founders should think about their businesses not just five years from now but decades into the future. Tom also shares his perspective on AI and technology, arguing that the conversation should not only be about what AI can do, but also about how society and institutions will govern increasingly powerful technology. Ultimately, this is a conversation about much more than building a company. It's about resilience, judgment, relationships, risk, curiosity, wealth, family, and creating a life that remains valuable long after the next business milestone. In this episode: The Founder's Isolation Paradox and why successful founders can become isolated How resilience and tenacity shape entrepreneurial success Why falling down and getting back up is part of becoming exceptional How founders can avoid unnecessary personal financial risk The Capital Alignment Method and strategic capital planning What self-made millionaires and billionaires can teach entrepreneurs Why experience helps leaders see around corners The importance of curiosity and continuous learning Why leaders need to read, learn, and synthesize information beyond their industry How relationships, reputation, and character influence long-term success Building a business with your family and future, not just the next exit, in mind The changing role of AI, technology, and governance Why recovery and longevity matter for entrepreneurs How to build a business and life designed to last If you're a founder, entrepreneur, business owner, or leader trying to build something that can withstand uncertainty and create wealth without sacrificing everything else, this episode offers plenty to think about. The Necessary Entrepreneur with Mark Perkins features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders about what it actually takes to build, operate and scale a company. Subscribe for more conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and innovators who share the real stories behind building successful businesses. Connect With Us: Website: https://www.thenecessaryentrepreneur.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenecessaryentrepreneur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenecessaryentrepreneur/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNecessaryEntrepreneurPod X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/MPerkinsTNE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tnepod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tneclips Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xhGUE1yzy2N0AemUOlJPx?si=d1c5c316af404f15 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/the-necessary-entrepreneur/id1547181167 Find Out More About Dr. Thomas J. Powell & The Founder's Office: https://thomasjpowell.com/ https://www. linkedin.com/in/thomasjpowell/ https://www. youtube.com/@ ThePowellPerspectivePodcast https://foundersoffice. com/

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