The Liquid Lunch Project

When was the last time the person approving your business loan picked up their own phone?

In this episode, Matt and Lou sit down with Keith Costello, who built Locality Bank from the ground up, a tech‑forward community bank for real business owners. They dive into his "why," the nuts‑and‑bolts of launching a bank, the future of stable coins, and why the big banks aren't always the best choice for entrepreneurs.

🍸 What you'll hear in this episode:

• How Keith transitioned from military to Merrill Lynch to banking and finally to founding Locality Bank.

• Why he says community banking isn't dead—it just needed a reboot.

• The behind‑the‑scenes of getting a bank charter, FDIC insurance & raising ~$40 million from local business owners.

• Why many banks are failing local businesses and what entrepreneurs should demand instead.

• A primer on stablecoins: what they are, why they matter for small/medium businesses.

• How Locality Bank makes money and why the "spread" matters for business owners.

• The tech‑first, human‑touch model: balancing digital banking + sit‑down cigars with business owners.

• What's next for banking, payments, and local business ecosystems.

💡 Notable Takeaway:

Traditional finance is not going to go away… but stablecoins and crypto are coming very rapidly.

👤 About our Guest:

Keith Costello is the Founder & CEO of Locality Bank, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With prior exits in the banking world, Keith set out to build a new style of community bank designed for small and medium‑sized business owners. He's passionate about preserving local relationships, embracing technology, and enabling entrepreneurs to access the capital they need to grow.

🎧 Why Listen:

If you're building a business, seeking banking that gets you, or curious where finance is headed (yes—stable coins, crypto, and what it means for your next deal), press play now. This one's for builders who want banking that works with them, not against them.

🔗 Links + Stuff

What's the real reason your business growth feels like you're carrying bricks uphill?

On today's episode, Michael Walsh takes us behind the curtain of business growth, from "we're doing fine" to "we're doing great, but I'm drowning anyway." He walks through the hidden growth blockers (structures, people, manager vs. individual contributor), his "Freedom by Design" framework, and how to shift your business from a grind to something that actually frees you.

🍸 What you'll hear in this episode:

• Why the common growth trap isn't revenue; it's the structures you've outgrown and the people you can't manage.

• Why your top salesperson might be the worst person to promote into management.

• The difference between "authority + wisdom" and "connection → wisdom" in leadership.

• Michael's four human‑behavior levers (survive/thrive/connect/adapt) that drive business culture and freedom.

• The idea of "talking‑back‑money (TBM)"—why you should pass on the client who doesn't fit your values.

• How a strong core‑value system doesn't change when you grow. It anchors you even when everything else is different.

💡 Notable Takeaway: Freedom in your business, freedom from your business, and freedom because of your business.

👤 About our Guest:

Michael Walsh is the founder and CEO of the Walsh Business Growth Institute. He's authored multiple books—Business by Design, Thinking Big Is Not Enough, and Freedom by Design. He works with professional services and engineering‑type firms to scale from the 1‑to‑5‑to‑10‑million range and beyond by aligning people, process, and profit.

🎧 Why Listen: Don't just grow bigger; grow better. Hit play, listen with a notebook, and give your business the structure and human backbone it's been missing. You'll thank yourself later.

🔗 Links + Stuff

What happens when a world‑class athlete trades the stage for the boardroom—and discovers the hardest competitor is the one in the mirror?

In this episode, Matt and Luigi sit down with Nathalia Melo, former Ms. Olympia, to talk about her journey from gym floors in Brazil to global stages, and how that athletic mindset maps straight onto entrepreneurship, body image, hustle, and building a life that works when the perfect time never comes.

🍸 What you'll hear in this episode:

• Nathalia's humble start: moving from Brazil to the U.S. with $300, living in a cockroach‑infested apartment, cleaning restaurants, and bartending before the bodybuilding world.

• How competition training (3‑4 hrs of cardio + 1–1.5 hrs lifting daily) pushed her body and mind…and why she now warns that competition is far from "healthy."

• The "fat closet / skinny closet" metaphor: the mental toll of fluctuating between extremes and losing sight of identity outside the stage.

• Why the devices, data, and perfection‑culture around fitness are creating more noise than help, and how busy high‑achievers sabotage themselves by waiting for perfect alignment.

• Practical strategies for busy professionals to stay consistent: build routines that work even when travel, kids, long hours, and chaos hit. Commit to something, not perfection.

• Transitioning from competitor to coach: how Nathalia flipped the script, began working with women in high‑stress professions, and focused on behavior, emotion, and sustainable habits instead of extreme "bro‑culture" fitness.

💡 Notable Takeaway:

"The deadline is literally the coffin."

👤 About our Guest: Nathalia Melo is a Brazilian‑born former Ms. Olympia (one of the most prestigious titles in bodybuilding) who turned her high‑performance athlete mindset into a coaching business. After years in the extreme world of fitness and competition—where she traveled, coached, and lived the spotlight—she shifted gears into helping busy professional women (law, finance, executives) design realistic, high‑impact lifestyles that include health, movement, and mental clarity.

🔊 Why Listen: Hit play, take notes, and let Nathalia's story remind you: you don't need perfect conditions—just a consistent decision to show up. Tune in now.

Connect with Nathalia:

What if we told you the government owes you money…and you didn't even know it?

In this episode, Matt and Luigi sit down with Julio Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Engineered Tax Services, to peel back the curtain on how the tax code can actually become a tool — not a penalty — for entrepreneurs and real‑estate investors.

We talk about the game‑changer "big beautiful bill," why R&D tax credits matter even to non‑tech firms, how cost segregation among real‑estate players is far more than "just depreciation," and why your accountant might be asleep at the wheel.

Julio brings the engineering + tax combo that's usually reserved for the Fortune 500 … but we're showing you how to use it too.

🍸 What you'll hear in this episode:

• Julio explains how the R&D tax credit has been revived…and how business owners can go back three years to claim it.

• What qualifies as "R&D"? Even a honey company changing formulas counts: it's about improving processes and products.

• Cost segregation in real estate: how classifying non‑structural elements (HVAC, lighting, flooring) can allow huge write‑offs up front.

• Comparing an estimate vs. an engineered study for tax purposes, and why the IRS will toss the first and respect the second.

• How cost segregation ties into a 1031 exchange and impacts your basis, and what happens when you pass the property on via inheritance (step‑up basis).

• The future of accounting: AI, talent shortages, and how firms that can't keep up will lose.

• Julio's story: from Miami family‑house chaos to tax reform pioneer, bringing elite tax strategies to "regular" business owners.

💡 Notable Takeaway: The government doesn't have to be a 50% owner of your profit.

👤 About our Guest:

What if your next coworker isn't human? What if it's a robot… and it's already cost‑effective?

In this episode, Matt and Luigi sit down with Dr. Don Capener, a serial entrepreneur whose career jumps from streetwear to startups to scaling robotics companies. From founding a basketball apparel brand bought by Reebok, to leading a tech IPO during the dot-com boom, to now helping small and mid-size manufacturers automate with Chang Robotics, Don proves that business is a contact sport... and he's still dunking.

🍸 What you'll hear in this episode:

• Don's not-so-linear journey from the court to the code

• The real reason most automation doesn't get adopted (spoiler: it's not cost)

• Why small businesses can use robotics — and how it's already happening

• The difference between being a "vendor" and a "strategic partner"

• How Chang Robotics is helping businesses compete with overseas manufacturers

• Why graphene oxide could be the next big thing in sustainable packaging

• How to raise a fund, build IP, and keep it founder-funded

💡 Notable Takeaway: Automation isn't about robots replacing people. It's about making your existing team more productive.

👤 About our Guest: Dr. Don Capener is part professor, part founder, part startup whisperer. He's built brands, scaled tech companies, and now serves as Chief Strategy & Culture Officer at Chang Robotics, helping manufacturers and logistics firms embrace automation through strategy, not just engineering.

🔊 Why Listen: If you think robotics is "someday tech," this episode will slap that timeline right into the present. Press play and find out what the future of work really looks like.

Connect with Dr. Don Capener: