In this episode of The Nickolas Natali Show, Nickolas Natali sits down with Austin Schneider, a former real estate agent turned agency founder who built a multi-seven-figure creative business from the ground up. Austin shares his deeply personal journey, from growing up in a financially unstable home with a brother battling addiction and a mother burdened with debt, to dropping out of college, mopping lead floors under a bridge, and walking away from a $160K sales job to pursue entrepreneurship.
Austin pulls back the curtain on the early chaos of his agency, the burnout that nearly broke him, and the systems he had to build to evolve from operator to orchestrator. He also shares the pivotal role mentorship, faith, and personal relationships played in shaping his journey. Whether you're feeling stuck in your business or trying to scale without losing your sanity, Austin’s insights into productizing skills, structuring teams, and removing ego from the equation are invaluable.
This is a raw, insightful, and motivational conversation that proves you can turn pain into power, and that systems, not hustle, are what scale.
Takeaways
Austin grew up in a financially unstable household and experienced credit fraud, addiction, and eviction at a young age.
His early adult years were marked by addiction to weed, partying, and directionless living.
Austin left a $160K+ job at NBC to pursue entrepreneurship, starting with freelance creative work in real estate.
Burnout from over-identifying with his business caused a breakup and forced a reassessment of his priorities.
The early agency days were messy, but relationships (e.g., Mark, his CEO) and mentorship provided the structure he lacked.
He emphasizes productizing your skillset to build a scalable and delegatable business.
His first hire recommendation for early-stage agencies is a video editor to reduce time on low-leverage tasks.
Money, to him now, is simply a tool — something to deploy strategically, not obsess over.
His biggest motivator is making sure no future generation of his family has to endure the instability he experienced growing up.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and chaotic teenage years
01:30 Eviction, family instability, and addiction
05:45 Austin’s low point: partying, addiction, and no direction
11:30 Meeting mentor Gary Rubens and his influence
13:45 Transitioning to NBC and sales success
15:30 Quitting six-figure job to pursue entrepreneurship
19:00 Burnout and building an agency through COVID
24:30 Systems vs hustle: moving from operator to orchestrator
26:00 Ego and the trap of being the face of the business
28:30 Advice for stuck entrepreneurs: productize your offer
30:45 Changing perspective on money and investing in growth
33:30 Long-term goals: acquisition and building software
34:30 Pain as fuel: protecting future generations
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