The Achieve Podcast - Joseph Van Wyk & Dekota Dangelo (Flow Uncapped Solutions)

Welcome to another episode of the Achieve Podcast, the show where we highlight leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs who are building meaningful businesses, shaping their industries, and having an impact. I'm Taylor Baker Baker, your host, and excited to be joined today by Joe Van Wick and Dakota D'Angelo, the founders of Flow Uncapped Solutions. You can find them at gosellsgenai.com. Now give us the backstory of what you guys are doing, and you're helping different businesses evaluate and grow. How did you guys get into this space?

Yeah, it's a great, great question. Um, you know, it's, it's been a long journey, and thanks for having us, Taylor. Um, it's been a long journey, man. So, you know, just through various sales channels, you know, I'm I'm a veteran. I played football, veteran, got out, started in retail, learned how to sell, learned more importantly what not to do and what, you know, where people fail in those pockets. And then, you know, COVID hit obviously. And so everything was virtual. And then, okay, every time I got hit in the face, you know, I typically smile back. And especially when my, you know, I get— when there's blood, I like to see exactly how I can turn a lesson, you know, into an opportunity. And so I noticed, you know, high-ticket sales and, you know, AI was just kind of rearing its head, I'd say, like, like it was just kind of coming about. And, you know, I, I left Indeed where I helped Indeed launch Indeed Hire. And with that, just networking always, you know, internally making connections, keeping a good database. And, you know, went into the high-ticket, high-ticket sales space. Been on a bunch of offers for the last 10 years. I've been dabbling in M&A. On the mergers, acquisitions, purchasing, buying side. And yeah, I met Joe. So I met Joe about 4 or 5 years ago when we were on a very early stage AI offer and saw once again together collaboratively, like where AI was, where it was going, and really just started to choose our time, build our, you know, kind of build our network of buyers, sellers. And then now we're at the transition of wealth, and there's a massive, you know, massive transition of wealth that needs to happen. And so we built something pretty unique. And, you know, that's a long-winded answer, but, uh, that, that's kind of where we're at. And where I came from. And Joe, if you want to talk about your background and—

yeah, yeah, it's kind of a similar story. I mean, I've been in sales since the beginning of my career, and, you know, throughout that I consistently saw like the same bottlenecks and processes in multiple organizations I was working for. It's like, okay, there's really no set process for sales, like no specific KPIs, like activities, you know. A lot of times in roles like they'd just be like, hey, go at it, figure it out, sell some stuff, right? But like, there was no clear process in place. And so, you know, for me, I've been building out a lot of systems. It started with basic automation, lead generation channels, sales enablement channels. And I think AI has really accelerated that, right? You know, it's gotten to the point where with AI systems, I mean, you can replace like even a small team of business development reps or SDRs with a lot of the tech that's out there. And so that, you know, that's really what we built. It started with having to cobble together those systems myself and then, you know, having a leap there with, you know, now with AI, it's just producing such a boost for teams where, I mean, it's really benefiting salespeople because for a lot of it, it's, you know, they can just focus on what they like doing, closing deals and not have to like worry about like the minutia of like daily activity or admin tasks and things like that. So that's really what we help organizations do is accelerate their growth and handle bottlenecks in the sales process, like speed to lead, more consistent follow-up.

That makes sense. Now, what would you say is driving growth for the organization today?

Yeah, I mean, everybody wants to invest in AI solutions, right? It's a huge emerging market. It really is a blue ocean. And the majority of businesses out there haven't adopted AI. It's so— it's still net new. Everybody is curious. They know they need it. They're just very uncertain of how it works and how it applies. So a large part of, you know, our strategy is really just like an assessment. It's understanding, okay, like, where are you at? Let's kind of do a diagnosis of your business and see like where AI can impact it, if at all. You might not be ready for AI. You might need some basic systems and processes before we even get to that point. You know, AI really is kind of the cherry on top once you have that locked in. But yeah, I mean, just, just huge opportunity all around for the space because it's going to keep growing and grow.

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. And go ahead, Dakota.

Oh, sorry. Yeah, I was just gonna say, you know, the— I think what, what's very unique about what we bring to the table as a— from a solution standpoint is like being a one-stop shop. Because, you know, it's not just the AI. For instance, when Joe says they're not ready for AI, okay, well you need lead gen, you need marketing, you need sales processes, you know, and SOPs. So we can offer that. Let's say that on the flip side, you know, you've owned a business, a roofing business, HVAC business for 30 years. I mean, you're established. The chances are you probably don't have the most efficient systems in place, but you're looking to exit, retire. You've built a reputation, the things that really matter. And so we can come in, you know, we can implement those efficiency systems and then put you on a, you know, a, a, let's say, we'll just say strategy plan, whether it's 12 months or 18 months with data. 'Cause data beats opinions every day of the week. Right. And, and we can implement, and that typically does come down to you know, just efficient efficiency through internal systems. Like when AI can pick up the phone and sound like you, or if you're a business owner and you're the best salesperson and you, you're duplicated, right? You, but you never get tired, you don't get sick, you don't take days off, you pick up the phone, or if you have a database of clients and you call them and you also have efficiency within it. It just gives the opportunity for not only yourself but your entire team to take a deep breath and grow because it's all happening, you know, fast. And that's how we help businesses scale. That's how we help business owners, you know, from the starting line to scale or from the potential finish line to getting them over, you know, the finish line.

That makes sense. And is there a certain ideal client that you guys have found works really well for what you guys are doing?

There's— I mean, we've worked with— we've worked in government contracting. I mean, right now, obviously, like, when it comes from an M&A standpoint, and who really benefits from our full suite of services would definitely be home services or essential services. Sorry. 'Cause that's not just HVAC, plumbing, electrical, manufacturing, but it's really essential services just because they're, you know, they're recession resistant and they're established, they're needed, they're not gonna go away. You know, it's times like COVID when they boom, but we don't stop there, right? We specialize in government contracting, especially with like government contracting with set-asides. And then, you know, SaaS, which is huge because everything is moving that way, right, Taylor? Like health tech, gov tech, ed tech, etc. So everything is moving to this, like we're having this meeting now, you know?

Yeah.

And, and I think, you know, the common misconception is, and what we've seen, right, through our marketing, which is why we are a one-stop shop, so we see For instance, you know, a lot of C-suite or like C-suite level executive people that make $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 a year and they're used to that, they're not necessarily really wanting to entertain getting another job, right? When they have some money to buy a business, but it's very difficult to do so. And so now we have this network of people trying to sell. And scale with people that are interested in buying. And so through the 10 years, you know, of the M&A, we have our network of, you know, SBA lenders. And then, you know, that's why you can come to us no matter if you're a buyer, seller, whoever you are. We can help you get to your, your desired outcome.

That makes a lot of sense. And I can see that, especially with how many baby boomers there are, like, all right, and I wanted to sell my business, or I want to retire but still have an investment that I'm kind of part of. That makes a lot of sense. Now, how big is your guys' organization and now your team?

Yeah, so we have— I mean, as, as we spoke before, um, man, I think we have at least 10, 10 contractors. Joe, please correct. Joe is the systems analytical guy. I'm like the visionary guy. So I know we have at least you know, 10 contractors, obviously for diligence. When we do diligence, we have our own internal team. Uh, Joe is the head of the marketing, the lead gen, um, me sales. So we have sales. So I think we're at 10 or 12 at this point. Joe, am I— am I right?

Yeah, you're at 12. It's 12.

Okay.

And like, you, to your point, it's amazing how much more efficient we're each person can now do 3 to 4 times the amount of work. It's the same as a 30-man team. And so now, as you guys try to grow and expand, what have been some of the biggest bottlenecks or obstacles that have shown up and get in the way?

Yeah, I would say finding the right people. Like, talent is huge if you want to grow, right? So that is something there. I mean, we have some pretty good A-players right now, but it's over expanding, it's finding more people, it's finding people better than you, right? Like, most of the tasks that we're looking to hire for, like, you know, lanes that we don't excel in. So, you know, it's if we don't have expertise there, it's going through like a vetting process and really finding the right people who are going to give us that lift because, you know, obviously we want them to be a lot smarter than us in that system so we can scale. So, and that in my mind, it really is finding the right people.

And to add to that, it's finding the right customers. And not necessarily finding the right customers, but really just, I guess, engage because we're very selective, right? Because we guarantee results in everything we do. So, you know, there's, there's unfortunately, you know, there's a lot of people that get in their own way. There's a lot of people that just don't allow themselves to grow because they don't, they're not comfortable with change. But we all know that we grow out of uncomfortability, right? Like, that's, that's why we go to the gym. That's why you get sore, right? That's— you have to change, and if you adopt or die. And so, you know, it's not, it's not a, I would say, like a problem or issue of like, Joe's a master marketer, we, we can find you, we can reach out to you, but it's really getting the right people that are you know, regardless of whether they're, you know, 30, 60, 80, 90, whatever age they are, of being able to accept the fact that we are in a time right now, probably a time that will never ever happen again, uh, with AI and the transition of wealth with baby boomers, to allow themselves to kind of take a step back. And again, like Joe said, you You know, we'd rather pay for someone who's an expert at doing due diligence and quality of earnings, just like they should probably pay someone or look at the ROI to hire a team to do marketing systems, efficiency, etc. So yeah, it's, it's finding talent. That's always, I think, an issue, right? But also, you know, with, with clients or potential clients, them getting out of their own way, which is why we have a very just different approach than most. We tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. We have data that backs it up and we'll say no probably more than we say yes when we work with clients. I like that.

Tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. And I love that. I love that ethos of data beats opinions. It's like, here's the facts, we can work with this, and— or this isn't a good fit. Now, when it comes to your guys' outreach, your messaging, your marketing systems, what's been working well and where do you guys feel the gaps and frustrations?

Yeah, what's been working well is, uh, we do a lot with like outbound cold outreach, right? So me personally, I mean, those are the majority of the systems I queue up for a lot of our clientele, various outbound systems through AI-driven cold email, AI LinkedIn engagement. I mean, we've built voice agents as well that will do cold calls or respond to leads. So the majority of our efforts really have been through an outbound motion and then just having a strong contact network of relationships we build that refer us business as well. Koda, I don't know if there's anything you want to add there.

Yeah. I mean, what's, what's crazy is when I met Joe, you know, you know, we were working on this, this very preliminary kind of early stage AI system that was for a, you know, inbound. But when he was like, hey, I have a system that I, I build cold emails and it generates like it automates appointments, I'm like, How does that work? Like emails? Really? Because text is proven to be the most effective conversion. However, you know, when it comes to B2B specifically, right, B2B is his proprietary way that he does it, which I don't even know. He has a secret laboratory. I can't even— I don't have the passcode to. But the way he gets like he lands and he's even pulled tricks on me and tried to sell me with things. With, with our clients' emails. It really is effective. And I would say, you know, Joe, we break it down like this. There's really only 3 ways that there is to market, right? There's paid ads, right? There's referrals, which is how most of these clients or most of our clients are used to. And then there's cold outreach, right? So although we love referrals, there's a, there's always a, there's an expiration date to that. And with paid ads, it's very expensive. You know, there's a million marketers out there that guarantee you the world but don't deliver anything. So you waste time and money. Then there's the proven outbound method for B2B, but it obviously is different if you're selling B2B or B2C or both, etc. But with the B2B, Joe's, to his credit, like his cold email outreach is literally, it's quite insane. I mean, that's kind of how we met, Taylor.

Yeah. Now with all the talk around AI and automation, where have you guys found ways to use it internally And really, and then where do you still see opportunity on the table?

Yeah, I can jump in here. So internally, I mean, we eat our own dog food, right? With like a lot of the outbound systems we set up, right? You know, so we deploy voice agents to call leads and pass on live transfers or book appointments. We set up, you know, outbound email systems that reach out to thousands of contacts a day and then book out inbound appointments. And then when I'm consulting usually with clients, I typically like classify how AI could plug in in two buckets, right? So it really just depends on like where the business is at and like what stage. Now if they're like just starting out, right? And you know, the challenge is like, okay, we don't have enough leads, which usually is the goal. It's more of a growth-focused thing. I was like, goes back to what Dakota is saying, right? There's only three real channels you can do it outside referrals. Referrals, it's content marketing, it's paid ads, or it's outbound. If they're B2B, we typically recommend our outbound engine, right? Like, you know, like an outbound cold email system is really going to be the gift that keeps on giving if the total addressable market is there. Or, and then I would second that with content, right? And you know, that's something we also are working on, right, as well. Like, love what you're doing here with like the podcast and things like that. Like, content is definitely critical. It's just, it's more of like a slow burn, right? It's something you do over time and then it starts to snowball, but it's not like always like an instant ROI indicator. So that's what we recommend if you want a quick win. It's, you know, get a, uh, an outbound system in place. And then on the opposite side, if it's more of an advanced business where there's just a ton of lead flow, usually the bottleneck is within sales processes. And so that's where, again, we're deploying more automations that respond to leads quicker than any person could, follow up better than any person could, and really prioritize the good leads for the sales team so they can effectively close more and just, you know, systematically operate at a higher clip.

That makes sense. And that's a huge value added there.

So having that, you know, piggyback on that, like, AutomC, because a lot of people get confused with automation versus AI. And the bottom line is the higher up the food chain you get, the smarter the people. Well, not always, but, you know, people can understand automation because every CRM, every program has automations and they think that they have AI. But the difference is, like I said earlier, it's a duplication. AI, especially our proprietary AI, is able to duplicate your best salesperson. If you don't have a good salesperson, we have, we have your solution, right? And it's able to— you can't tell the difference because people nowadays with the, with the attention span, right, they don't have— speed to lead is key. So capturing the ability to, like Joe said, if you're at a stage where you need leads, But then when you have the leads and you don't know what to do with them, you're setting your money on fire, literally. So, okay, we have to look at your process and if we can duplicate your best salespeople through, you know, opt-ins, through your marketing, whatever it may be, to just automate the entire sales or vetting process right, to demos, it crushes a lot of time, saves you a ton of time, saves you a ton of money, ton of headaches, and creates more revenue very quickly because it compounds on itself. Because it's also, like Joe said, it's not just inbound. Like, if you're an advanced company and you have 600,000 names, numbers, emails in your database, are you going to pay VAs in the Philippines to call them, or do you want to duplicate yourself and have them call, text, email nonstop until they either go, yes, I'm interested, yes, I'm interested 6 months from now, and nurture, or, you know, go after yourself?

Now, when you guys think about the next stages of the business, what are you most excited about?

Oh, that's, that's most exciting. Like, what we're most excited about is that everything we do and everything we've built is intertwined, right? When it comes to, let's say, an acquisition entrepreneur that wants to buy a business, that's life-changing, right? So if we can help them Also the person that wants to exit the business and we can help them by also internally, you know, using, like I said, being a one-stop shop solution. That's what we've built. That's why we've taken our time in the last 10 years is that, A, you know, if you have a trusted mechanic, you're going to go to that mechanic. If you have a trusted, you know, HVAC company, that's who you're going to use. So when it comes to both ends of the spectrum, we are, you know, we are a one-stop shop. And so you get to see the same ugly face, or at least mine. Joe's is pretty. But, you know, you get to see— you get to deal with the same people, right? Which is why we're very selective in who we work with. So I would say just as we grow and in just the nature of the clientele we deal with. It's just the networking, the connections, the success, the wins is just all around. It's a win-win-win-win for, for everybody. And so the excitement is just, you know, doing what we do and seeing where we go. And also, you know, as we scale, that means we get to benefit people internally as well.

Yeah, for me it's like just how fast AI is moving. It's super exciting because I feel like there's like a new thing out, you know, every week that's like changing lives. Then it's the same time it's like very nerve-wracking because it's like you got to consistently keep up with it. It's like keeping up with the Joneses like times 100. So yeah, yeah, it's an interesting journey and like, you know, that's— I'm just excited to see what comes about of it and how we can enhance our services and business.

I love that. It's like Keeping Up with the Joneses times 100. Now, as you guys look back at your journeys, the wins, the mistakes, what lessons stand out to you, and what do you wish you understood sooner?

Joe, you want to go first?

It's a good one. Um, stand out. Yeah, I mean, I would say it's kind of the right types of processes in place, right? So like focusing on like the specifics of like what actually grows. Like I would say like a large part of growth, I think, stalled personally for me, which is like just trying to perfect everything, right? Like I was overthinking things, like I wasn't executing, right? So for me, it was just like all about like, okay, put things aside, like let's just execute, like let's just throw money at it. Let's not be cautious. We can figure it out. We can always make more money. So, you know, it's making the right investments in yourself as well as in like specifics that will really grow the business. I mean, if you're just like starting out or maybe you've been established for years, but like, you know, like the growth isn't there, I mean, it, it comes down to activity, it comes down to lead gen, it comes down to volume. So, you know, a lot more activity will also generate a lot more results.

Right?

And so, um, I think it was kind of getting over those initial growing pains and just getting a philosophy in place that, you know, we're still utilizing, we're still growing. But, um, kind of that initial bottleneck was a big challenge for me that I overcame.

Kota?

Oh, I mean, dude, I, I made a living off learning on what not to do, but I think, you know, I think it's, it's My mistakes have always been what anyone's mistakes are, right? You know, trusting, believing in things that just, uh, you know, I guess being sold, right, as a salesperson. Um, and then not having the right people around you. Uh, I think really, if I had to boil it down, it's saying yes more than you say no. I think the power of saying no whether it's, you know, no, I will not work with you, whether it's a client, no, I will not hire you, um, is really— it, it eliminates and cuts the fat off of your, your organization, your life, uh, your, your health, your energy, etc. Um, I think, you know, giving people a chance is very important, but with the right systems and the right things in place, you can tell very quickly. And, you know, uh, I think, again, I think the biggest change I've seen from a result standpoint is really just being very direct, you know, and just getting straight to the point. A lot of people don't understand my style of telling people what they, they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Um, kind of switching the whole sales, you know, sales, uh, persona, right? Like if you think of a salesman, people think of a car salesman, et cetera, saying anything that they need to say, lying versus just like being very brutally honest. Um, having a genuine passion to help them and get them results. And knowing if it's a right fit for, you know, both parties. So yeah, I just think learning how teams fail, learning how businesses fail, which most do, has allowed me and granted me the, the opportunity and Joe to take those mistakes or take those kind of infrastructure defaults, right, and build build and scale and continually build and scale and learn.

Awesome. Now, if you guys had to pick one constraint to focus on and solve for the next 90 days, what would it be?

So, focus and constraint. So when you say constraint, can you be like a little bit more specific?

For the business, like if there's one problem or one, one, uh, goal, one task you wanted to focus on for the next 90 days and solve, what would it be?

Oh, that— so that would be, um, growing, getting more clients, saving more people, saving more lives, right? Um, that would be, you know, as, as we— because we can deliver and we're very specific in who we work with what happens is a compounding effect in a sense that if we get another client that we help, you know, then we scale internally and we can help more clients. So I think for most people, it's, it's at this point, it's not necessarily getting more clients, but it's, it's helping more clients, if that, if that makes sense. And then really just, you know, by the end of the year, we have very specific goals, right? You have to, you have to know where you're going. You have to know how to get there. You have to be able to take all the speed bumps on the way and be ready for that. Right. And so as we grow internally, bringing more people on, the right people, Uh, you know, it's just, it's all about helping, uh, anyone we can. And yeah, I mean, just being, doing, doing everything within our wheelhouse, which is, like I said, a lot, to, uh, grow internally but help people externally as well. Jar, don't know if you want to add to that.

Yeah, so I, I would just say kind of what you harped on a little bit earlier in the conversation, it's getting more quality clients, right? Like, we can always sign clients, but like the LTV and like having, you know, part of it is like, okay, is like the business at a point where like, you know, they can sustain marketing costs, like they're, they're willing to invest more. So it's having, I guess, higher LTV clients that we can really work in on like the full spectrum of what we offer, right? So, you know, it's usually growth focused with a lot of things from a marketing and AI engine standpoint. And then, you know, they're also going to have the potential based on that business to help them exit down the road, right? So you can kind of get the full package and extension of the offer.

That makes sense. That makes sense. And guys, thank you for coming on and sharing your insight, your story. And the value you guys bring to so many different diverse clients and just helping them matchmaking the right people. Any final words for our listeners, suggestions for other leaders and entrepreneurs on a similar journey?

I mean, I, I would just say, you know, being self-aware, um, being self-aware, taking care of your people, right, the right people, then they'll always take care of you. You know, this is what I've learned, military and football and sports, right? It's like as a team, with a solid team, right? There's, there's 11 people on the field, right? So it's, it's, it's, it takes everyone to win that football game. It's not just one person. So taking care of your people and delivering to your clients will grant you legacy clients, will grant you referrals, and you can plant your, your, your flag right in the sand, and it will hold true and ring true. So being able to deliver and actually do what you say, uh, not only will help you sleep at night, but your entire sleep— entire team sleep at night, your clients sleep at night, probably better as well. Um, so I would just say do the right thing, every day that you can and really focus on underpromising and overdelivering.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, if you haven't gotten into AI, start taking a look, right? Really start to check it out and understand exactly how your business can benefit. Because I mean, a large, large part of everything coming down the pipe is going to be very predicated on that, right? So you should definitely have a solid AI adoption strategy. Figure out how you can utilize it best.

Love that, I love that. Such good advice, both of those points. Take care of your people well and have a solid AI adoption strategy. Well, again, for those who want to reach out and learn more, they can go to LinkedIn, obviously, uh, gosellsgenai.com. Anywhere else they can find you or you want to send them?

I think that's the best source. Yeah.

You can find me at Dakota D'Angelo, uh, Dakota spelled D-E-K-O-T-A, um, on LinkedIn. You know, you have Joe Van Wick.

Yeah, I think I am on LinkedIn. I want to connect.

He is John Wick's brother, by the way. Um, but no, LinkedIn, um, you know, I'm not, I'm not a big Instagram Facebook guy, but LinkedIn, uh, GoSalesGenAI. We also have salesvalor.com as well, uh, but, uh, yeah, and I'm always, you know, if you reach out to me directly, you will speak with me, not my AI, um, you know, and we, we can see at that point if we can help you. But anyone listening watching. We'd love to help you in any way we can. And, um, yeah, Taylor, I really appreciate you having us here. And I know, I know that you also bring something to the table when it comes to, you know, having fractional, right, like fractional CIOs, CEOs, etc. So appreciate you. Absolutely.

Anything else, Joe, you wanted to add to that?

No, I think he was pretty succinct. But yeah, I really appreciate you having us on, man. That was awesome. So thank you. Appreciate your time.

Oh, thank you guys. Thank you so much. And thank you to our sponsors of today's episode, Achieve Fractional, which does provide fractional executive leadership for growing businesses. If you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend, with somebody who's looking to exit a company or looking to purchase one. Reach out to Kota and Joe and the team and they will help you out. They'll do evaluation, see what your options are, and then you can make an educated decision because Data beats opinions. And we'll see you on the next episode of the Achieve Podcast.