Bigger. Stronger. Faster.

In this episode, I talk with Owen Miller, CEO of 360Pack, a food and beverage packaging distribution business headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Owen joined 360Pack in its first year of operations through the Shore Capital CXO Fellows Program and, in less than five years, moved from CXO to VP of Supply Chain and Operations to COO and now to the CEO seat. He shares what it took to grow into each of those roles, including learning alongside founders with decades of industry experience and what the CEO seat has taught him that he couldn't have learned anywhere else. Owen also explains why the ambiguity of the CXO role is exactly the point: it demands intellectual curiosity, humility, and a willingness to run toward the messiest parts of the business while building influence without formal authority. Finally, he offers some straight talk for anyone considering the program: if you're looking for a cushy, kick-your-feet-up kind of role, this is not for you; if you're looking to be pushed and to grow like never before, there is no better place to be. Key Takeaways: Run toward the messiest parts of the business, because intellectual curiosity and a bias for the hardest problems are what turn an ambiguous role into an indispensable one Own your lane as the least experienced person in the room by speaking as the expert on what only you know, whether that's the data, the systems, or what the market is telling you, and cover the rest with preparation and hard work Build credibility stakeholder by stakeholder: for the board, know your numbers and deliver what you said you would; for your team, show them you care about their future and convert what they tell you into action Set the plan and get people behind it without formal authority, then own the results, because leading through influence is the skill the CEO seat demands most Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 02:20 – From CXO to CEO in Five Years 06:15 – Why the CXO Program 11:50 – The Least Experienced in the Room 13:55 – What Makes a Good CXO 18:15 – Do You Hate Losing or Love Winning More? 21:25 – Advice for Future CXOs Listen to our podcasts at: https://www.shorecp.university/podcasts You’ll also find other Bigger. Stronger. Faster. episodes, alongside our Microcap Moments and Everyday Heroes series—highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique. Other ways to connect: Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blog Shore University: https://www.shorecp.university/ Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shore-university This podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, or a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.

In this episode, I talk with Nick Sherrard, Chief of Staff at Thermal Shipping Solutions and a member of the CXO Fellows Program. Nick shares how an internship at a Shore portfolio company showed him just how quickly he could make a measurable difference in a microcap business, and what it means to be Chief of Staff in a fast-growing, family-founded company. An engineer by training, he reflects on thinking in inputs, outputs, and bottlenecks, finding the root causes behind recurring fire drills, and driving change without authority by making every solution a win-win-win. Nick also describes the role of the CXO cohort, part joint therapy and part best practice sharing, and shares the best advice he's ever gotten: don't confuse urgency with importance. Key Takeaways: In a microcap business, you can make a measurable difference fast, and the impact is clearly yours. Nobody else in your company is living the same highs and lows as the CXO. The cohort is part joint therapy and part best practice sharing. Thinking in inputs, outputs, and bottlenecks turns recurring fire drills into root causes you can actually fix. When you can't mandate anything, change happens by making every solution a win-win-win. If you can't make that case, you're probably solving the wrong problem. Don't confuse urgency with importance. This job is a marathon, not a sprint. Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 05:41 – The Cohort and the Operator Path 17:00 – An Engineer's Mindset 22:20 – Playing the Libero 30:02 – Urgency vs. Importance Listen to our podcasts at: https://www.shorecp.university/podcasts You’ll also find other Bigger. Stronger. Faster. episodes, alongside our Microcap Moments and Everyday Heroes series—highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique. Other ways to connect: Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blog Shore University: https://www.shorecp.university/ Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shore-university This podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, or a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.

In this episode, Anderson talks with Ryan Resch, Principal of Operations at Shore Capital Partners. Ryan spent over a decade in basketball, from student manager at Baylor to Chief of Staff with the Phoenix Suns, before joining Shore nine months ago. He shares how first-principle problem-solving became the common thread across every career he has built, why the shift from the zero-sum world of professional sports to private equity changes how teams operate, and how that same builder mindset now drives Shore's internal AI enablement efforts. Ryan also discusses why AI is a platform-level shift, not just an operational initiative, and what it takes to build something transformational from the ground up. Key Takeaways: First-principle problem-solving makes skills transferable across industries. Break any challenge into its parts, and the path forward becomes clear. AI is not a tool. It is a platform-level shift, and the organizations building AI capability now are building a durable advantage. Talent wins games. Coordination wins championships. The real challenge is aligning people, roles, and resources toward a shared mission. Focus is a discipline, not a default. In an unbounded environment, saying no to good ideas is what protects your ability to execute on the right ones. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 02:09 - From Baylor to the NBA 06:22 - What Brought Ryan to Shore 10:47 - Building AI Enablement at Shore 18:01 - Operating Systems, Scouting, and Focus 25:17 - What's Ahead Listen to our podcasts at: https://www.shorecp.university/podcasts You’ll also find other Bigger. Stronger. Faster. episodes, alongside our Microcap Moments and Everyday Heroes series—highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique. Other ways to connect: Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blog Shore University: https://www.shorecp.university/ Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shore-university This podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, or a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.

In this episode, Anderson Williams talks with Cynthia Hiskes, Head of the Human Capital Center of Excellence at Shore Capital Partners. Cynthia brings deep experience building and scaling HR functions across companies of every size, and she shares why aligning your HR investment to the stage and scale of your business is one of the most important decisions a founder or CEO can make. They discuss what human capital looks like in microcap and highly acquisitive companies, why HR belongs at the strategy table from day one, and how the Center of Excellence facilitates learning across the portfolio so leaders don't have to figure it out alone. Cynthia also walks through how to think about talent assessment, organizational design, and culture during rapid growth and acquisition integration, and why the metrics that matter at exit need to be built into the planting phase. Key Takeaways: Match your HR investment to your stage because over-engineered systems early on waste resources, while under-investing later puts growth at risk Bring HR in early as a strategic partner, not a downstream handoff, because the best integration and growth decisions happen when human capital is part of the original conversation Treat human capital as a value multiplier, not a cost center, especially in microcap businesses where every key role disproportionately drives the outcome Build the metrics that tell your exit story (turnover, engagement, time to fill, wage sustainability) during the planting and growing phases, not at the end Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 01:31 – Stage-Relevant HR 06:36 – Org Design and Acquisitions 11:37 – HR as a Strategic Partner 18:14 – Talent and the Exit Story 26:02 – HR Misconceptions Listen to our podcasts at: https://www.shorecp.university/podcasts You’ll also find other Bigger. Stronger. Faster. episodes, alongside our Microcap Moments and Everyday Heroes series—highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique. Other ways to connect: Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blog Shore University: https://www.shorecp.university/ Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shore-university This podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, or a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.

In this episode, I follow up with Ross Koenig, Chief Data Officer at Shore Capital Partners and one of our earliest podcast guests. Ross reflects on how his role has evolved over the past three years, from leading the Data Center of Excellence supporting portfolio companies to focusing on Shore's own investment process data and cross-portfolio insights. He shares why Shore's longstanding commitment to process and documentation has become a powerful foundation in the age of AI, and how nearly 1,000 codified executive hires now enable pattern recognition that few firms can match. Ross also discusses why "garbage in, garbage out" matters more than ever, how AI is breaking down walls between executives and data, and why business owners who ignore AI risk being left behind. Key Takeaways: Build the data foundation first because AI only works as well as the process, documentation, and discipline behind it Codify what you know across people, processes, and decisions so you can spot patterns, learn from past outcomes, and make smarter choices going forward Recognize that AI's biggest unlock is accessibility, putting information and analysis directly in the hands of executives who used to be blocked by technical walls Engage with AI now regardless of size or industry because the cost barriers have fallen and the businesses that ignore it will quickly fall behind Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 01:36 – Building the Data Foundation 06:36 – Codifying Knowledge at Scale 12:15 – Accessibility and the Power of AI 15:31 – Why Every Business Owner Should Engage with AI Now Listen to our podcasts at: https://www.shorecp.university/podcasts You’ll also find other Bigger. Stronger. Faster. episodes, alongside our Microcap Moments and Everyday Heroes series—highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique. Other ways to connect: Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blog Shore University: https://www.shorecp.university/ Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shore-university This podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, or a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.