Discover how to navigate generational handoffs, resolve leadership friction, and protect your family relationships while scaling your company. In this episode, three family business owners reveal the practical frameworks they used to transition authority, manage through shared values, and set clear boundaries between the boardroom and the dinner table.

On this episode of Out of the Hourglass, they share actionable strategies to create succession plans and decision-making clarity long before a crisis forces the conversation.

Some people wait their entire careers for permission to pursue the thing they actually want. Kosta Kritikos, CEO & President of Aieres Group, waited fifteen years until he finally decided to take the leap, and it’s changed everything.

On this episode of Out of the Hourglass, Kosta shares how First Nick Companies became Aieres Group, a transformation a year and a half in the planning and fifteen years in the making.

This is a story of the name, the people, the brand, the culture… it’s all connected.

Andrew Coelho walked into Lancaster Painting for a sales job interview and walked out with an HR career he never saw coming.

In this episode, he shares how curiosity, ownership, and the freedom to fail forward turned an entry-level role into a seat on the management team and how that same mindset now has him exploring AI, automation, and marketing.

“It’s a conversation about what’s possible when leadership bets on someone, and that someone bets on themselves.”

This is the 2nd episode of our Work Series, a three-part look at how painting companies are rethinking their organizational models.

What if the right model for your painting business wasn’t W2 or subs, but both? That’s been the answer for ACP Painting in Maricopa, Arizona for over twenty years. Co-owner Russ Byers and Inside Operations Manager Shell Abbott walk us through how they deploy two different kinds of teams under one roof.  They share the decision-making framework, the financial tradeoffs, and the cultural dynamics that make it all work.

What does it look like to spend 30 years growing inside an organization and ultimately step into the top seat?

In this episode, Jon Meyer, President and CEO of Nolan Painting, shares the story of his path from the company’s very first estimator to leading an $18.5M business through its next chapter.

Jon opens up about:

• • The deliberate, years-long succession process built by founder Kevin Nolan

• • What it truly means to inherit a company in peak operational shape

• • How Nolan Painting is formalizing long-term stability through its newly formed Board of Directors

Whether you’re thinking about your own exit strategy, building your leadership pipeline, or standardizing long-term growth, this conversation is worth a listen.