Independence by Design™ is a framework to help owner-operators get out of the weeds and lead from the boardroom.
I built it because I lived this trap. In 2009, I joined my dad in our $21M family business. We turned it around and sold it for eight figures in 2014 — enough to pay off debt, cover taxes, let my dad retire, and leave me with a chunk of cash at 27.
But the sale gutted our team, systems, and identity. It looked like a win, but it didn’t feel like freedom. I bawled in the driveway.
After 450+ interviews, thousands of owners, and multiple ventures, I saw the real issue: we didn’t know the difference between being owners and operators. Our goals weren’t aligned. And we had no framework to guide us.
That’s why I built iBD — to help owners avoid regret, reclaim their time, grow real equity value, and build a business that gives them freedom — whether they stay, scale, or sell.
This show is the one I wish I had.
All content for Independence by Design™ is the property of Ryan Tansom and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Independence by Design™ is a framework to help owner-operators get out of the weeds and lead from the boardroom.
I built it because I lived this trap. In 2009, I joined my dad in our $21M family business. We turned it around and sold it for eight figures in 2014 — enough to pay off debt, cover taxes, let my dad retire, and leave me with a chunk of cash at 27.
But the sale gutted our team, systems, and identity. It looked like a win, but it didn’t feel like freedom. I bawled in the driveway.
After 450+ interviews, thousands of owners, and multiple ventures, I saw the real issue: we didn’t know the difference between being owners and operators. Our goals weren’t aligned. And we had no framework to guide us.
That’s why I built iBD — to help owners avoid regret, reclaim their time, grow real equity value, and build a business that gives them freedom — whether they stay, scale, or sell.
This show is the one I wish I had.
#451: Paul Spiegelman | The Origin Story of the Small Giants Community
Independence by Design™
1 hour 12 minutes 9 seconds
3 months ago
#451: Paul Spiegelman | The Origin Story of the Small Giants Community
What if the success you're chasing isn't the final destination, but the beginning of something more? Watch on YouTube This episode is the natural continuation of last week's conversation with Jean Moncrieff, the new leader of the Small Giants Community. But today, we go back to the source to get the full origin story of the Small Giants Community. I sit down with Paul Spiegelman, co-founder of Small Giants Community, to trace the full arc of a founder's journey: from building and selling BerylHealth to scaling a culture-first company within a public firm, to co-creating the Small Giants movement that has helped thousands of values-driven leaders build something that lasts.
What ties all of Paul's chapters together, from Beryl to Small Giants to Kintsugi Village, is a deep commitment to clarity, purpose, and process.
This isn't just a conversation about business, it's about designing a life that means something.
We talk about how values in a company often show up before we have the words for them, how the discipline of reflection creates repeatability, and how purpose, when acted on over time, turns into legacy. Paul Spiegelman is the co-founder of Kintsugi Village and the Small Giants Community, and the former founder and CEO of BerylHealth. He also served as Chief Culture Officer at Stericycle, where he brought his people-first approach to a publicly traded company.
Paul is a New York Times best-selling author, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and a recognized voice on leadership, corporate culture, and values-driven business. His insights have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine. What sets Paul apart is his ability to live out what most leaders only talk about—building companies that align with values, operationalize culture, and last beyond the founder. Today, through Small Giants and Kintsugi Village, he helps steward a new generation of entrepreneurs who want to build with purpose—and chase something more than just growth. Chapters:
(00:00) Paul's path from law to entrepreneurship
(00:06) Building BerylHealth with brothers, bootstrapping without capital or business experience
(00:14) Meeting Bo Burlingham and discovering Small Giants philosophy
(00:26) Chasing purpose and the transition from BerylHealth to community building
(00:33) Selling to Stericycle and becoming Chief Culture Officer
(00:42) Defining culture as discipline, not fuzzy feelings
(00:52) Values-driven decision making and the circle of growth
(01:03) Transitioning leadership and passing the torch to next generation
(01:16) Kintsugi Village nonprofit and early childhood education mission
(01:25) Legacy, impact and what comes next in Detroit
Rate, comment, and share with the owner/operators you know!
Resources: Small Giants Community https://www.smallgiants.org Small Giants by Bo Burlingham
Independence by Design™
Independence by Design™ is a framework to help owner-operators get out of the weeds and lead from the boardroom.
I built it because I lived this trap. In 2009, I joined my dad in our $21M family business. We turned it around and sold it for eight figures in 2014 — enough to pay off debt, cover taxes, let my dad retire, and leave me with a chunk of cash at 27.
But the sale gutted our team, systems, and identity. It looked like a win, but it didn’t feel like freedom. I bawled in the driveway.
After 450+ interviews, thousands of owners, and multiple ventures, I saw the real issue: we didn’t know the difference between being owners and operators. Our goals weren’t aligned. And we had no framework to guide us.
That’s why I built iBD — to help owners avoid regret, reclaim their time, grow real equity value, and build a business that gives them freedom — whether they stay, scale, or sell.
This show is the one I wish I had.
