Up Arrow Podcast

This is Up Arrow Podcast where we feature successful people in the venture capital, B2B, and e-commerce industries as they discuss how entrepreneurs can improve their business and drive their profits to the next level.

Up Arrow Podcast is a business podcast hosted by William Harris, with 152 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 83. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

William Harris hosts Up Arrow Podcast, a business show with 152 episodes published.

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  Up Arrow Podcast

  Country Music, Alligators, and Multimillion-Dollar Businesses With Dave McElroy

  Aug 18, 20261h 24m

  Dave McElroy is the bandleader of the Dave McElroy Band, a country music act centered on his songwriting and live performances. Named 2016 Breakout Artist of the Year at CMA Fest, he is also an entrepreneur, television host, and seasoned business operator with expertise in sales, customer service, team building, and controlled growth. Dave hosts Hang Time with Dave McElroy and has developed branded products, including a sunglasses collection. His work spans music, entertainment, business, and charitable initiatives. In this episode… Building a successful business, creating meaningful work, and reinventing your career all require more than ambition. The strongest leaders know how to protect quality, understand people, and recognize when it's time to pursue a new direction. What does it take to keep growing without losing the values that made you successful? Entrepreneur and country music artist Dave McElroy has built his career around reinvention, leadership, customer service, and a relentless focus on quality. His approach to business growth centers on scaling at a sustainable pace, developing employees instead of simply managing them, and creating experiences that keep customers coming back. Dave also explains how songwriting, marketing, and product development all depend on understanding human emotion and refining an idea until it truly connects. Across business and music, his advice is simple: take care of people, keep improving the work, and don't let ego get in the way of long-term success. In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast , William Harris chats with Dave McElroy, country music artist and bandleader of the Dave McElroy Band, about business growth, leadership, reinvention, and connecting with customers. Dave shares why controlled growth protects quality, how to build high-performing teams, and what songwriting can teach marketers. He also discusses dyslexia, faith, Nashville, and the lessons he learned from his family.

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  Up Arrow Podcast

  Why Your Customers Are Lying to You (Without Even Knowing It) With Malinda Sanna

  Jul 14, 20261h 10m

  Malinda Sanna is the Founder and CEO of LookLook, a consumer insights platform that helps brands uncover customer insights through curated communities and intimate, one-on-one digital research. She leads the company's methodology, recruitment, and client work, translating human behavior, culture, and customer journeys into actionable insights for global brands across luxury, beauty, CPG, tech, and e-commerce. Malinda moves beyond surveys and focus groups to reveal the motivations that drive buying decisions. In this episode… Customers rarely make decisions in the neat, logical way brands expect. They may say an ad, review, or recommendation influenced them, but the real motivation often starts earlier and runs deeper. So how can brands uncover what people actually think, feel, and do before they buy? The answer is to get closer to the customer's real life, and Malinda Sanna, a consumer insights expert, explains how deeper research can reveal what surveys and focus groups often miss. Instead of relying on surface-level answers, brands need to understand the full path to purchase, the emotional context behind decisions, and the moments when customers feel seen or unheard. One-on-one conversations, thoughtful recruitment, and in-the-moment observation can uncover more useful insights than traditional research methods. For e-commerce brands, better creative, stronger messaging, and smarter growth all start with more human understanding. In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast , William Harris talks with Malinda Sanna, Founder and CEO of LookLook, about why brands need to move beyond shallow customer research. Malinda explains how to uncover buying motivations, why focus groups fall short, and what e-commerce brands should learn from the full customer journey. She also touches on luxury psychology, community, and analog connections.

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  Up Arrow Podcast

  Why Your Customers Are Lying to You (Without Even Knowing It) With Malinda Sanna

  Jul 14, 20261h 10mS0

  <p>Malinda Sanna is the Founder and CEO of LookLook, a consumer insights platform that helps brands uncover customer insights through curated communities and intimate, one-on-one digital research. She leads the company's methodology, recruitment, and client work, translating human behavior, culture, and customer journeys into actionable insights for global brands across luxury, beauty, CPG, tech, and e-commerce. Malinda moves beyond surveys and focus groups to reveal the motivations that drive buying decisions.</p> <h3>In this episode…</h3> <p>Customers rarely make decisions in the neat, logical way brands expect. They may say an ad, review, or recommendation influenced them, bu...

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  Up Arrow Podcast

  Your P&L Is Trying To Tell You Something (But You're Looking at Meta Ads Instead) With Ross Beyeler

  Jun 30, 20261h 10m

  Ross Beyeler is the VP of Business Intelligence at Zaelab, a B2B digital consultancy that helps manufacturers and enterprise organizations modernize the customer experience. In his role, Ross leads data, analytics, and business intelligence strategy, helping organizations translate complex operational and financial data into actionable insights that improve profitability and decision-making. With experience in e-commerce, agency operations, and data-driven growth, he also founded and led multiple companies. In this episode… Most companies assume growth is just a matter of getting more customers, but the real story is often buried inside their numbers. Revenue can look strong while profitability quietly erodes through hidden costs, misaligned incentives, and decisions that don't show up on a surface-level dashboard. If your business is growing but margins aren't improving, what are you missing? According to profitability expert Ross Beyeler, the key is learning to read a business through its contribution margin rather than top-line revenue alone. He emphasizes separating new customer acquisition from retention-driven growth, since each carries very different cost structures and long-term impact. Ross also advises leaders to scrutinize return rates, software spend, and fixed-versus-variable cost decisions, because these often determine whether scaling improves profit. Leaders should remain close to the organization through skip-level conversations and direct visibility into teams, so they don't lose touch with operations. The companies that win are the ones that understand what drives profit, not just what drives activity. In this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast , William Harris chats with Ross Beyeler, VP of Business Intelligence at Zaelab, about how to uncover hidden profit drivers in growing businesses. Ross discusses P&L analysis beyond revenue, customer acquisition versus retention economics, and why over-optimization can distort decision-making. He also breaks down post-acquisition integration challenges and how founders can stay connected to the operations.

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  Up Arrow Podcast

  Your P&L Is Trying To Tell You Something (But You're Looking at Meta Ads Instead) With Ross Beyeler

  Jun 30, 20261h 10mS0

  <p>Ross Beyeler is the VP of Business Intelligence at Zaelab, a B2B digital consultancy that helps manufacturers and enterprise organizations modernize the customer experience. In his role, Ross leads data, analytics, and business intelligence strategy, helping organizations translate complex operational and financial data into actionable insights that improve profitability and decision-making. With experience in e-commerce, agency operations, and data-driven growth, he also founded and led multiple companies. </p> <h3>In this episode…</h3> <p>Most companies assume growth is just a matter of getting more customers, but the real story is often buried inside their numbers. Revenue can loo...

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