The Grit to Growth Podcast

In this episode, Levi Te Slaa sits down with Jacob Limmer, founder of Cottonwood Coffee in Brookings, South Dakota, and consultant with The Prosper Group. Jacob shares how a passion for sustainability led to farming, which eventually brewed into a successful coffee business. He opens up about the early struggles with funding, lessons learned from expanding too quickly, and how he evolved from barista to business strategist.
Jacob also shares his philosophy on consulting and how 20 years of entrepreneurial ups and downs have positioned him to help other business owners grow smarter, not harder. They discuss universal business truths, the power of patience, and why the "boring" fundamentals might just be your business’s biggest opportunity.
 
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In this powerful episode, Levi sits down with Nick Yost, the founder and medical director of BodyOpt, to explore her extraordinary path from a small-town South Dakota farm to launching one of the region’s fastest-growing wellness and aesthetics clinics. Nick shares how her early days living on yachts, flipping homes, and running a craft beer bar evolved into a full-blown commitment to functional medicine and regenerative health.
You’ll hear the personal story that pushed her into nursing, her frontline work in Brooklyn during COVID, and how she built her clinic from a single rented room into a booming, multi-location practice. From hormone therapy to stem cells and peptides, Nick explains how she's redefining healthcare with a model rooted in patient empowerment and deep listening.
 
 
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Kelly Ewart grew up in Texas, served as an Army nurse, and later put down roots in western South Dakota. In 2019 she took a leap from ER shifts to business ownership, investing her savings into a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Spearfish so she could build something alongside her kids. She walks us through validating a rural market, leveraging a veteran franchise discount, battling through an SBA loan (and a major injury), insisting on a drive-thru, and opening… four months before COVID hit.
Kelly talks candidly about staffing during a labor crunch, why she hires and mentors teens and adults with special needs, and the community partners and resources that kept her going. Her advice is simple and powerful: ask questions, use your network, and always be honest, work hard, and be kind.
 
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In this uplifting conversation, Tia walks us through her unconventional career path—from selling jeans on commission to landing an entry-level dental assistant role with zero experience, then earning credentials at night and stepping into leadership. She explains how Neighborhood Dental Care scaled to 11 locations while keeping patient-first care and quality at the center. Tia also opens up about sending her oldest to college, why “one day at a time” is her life mantra, and how positivity is a daily choice, not an act of denial.
What You’ll Learn
How Tia navigated young motherhood, school, and work—one day at a time
The decision that traded short-term pay for long-term purpose (and how it paid off)
Building systems, standards, and a culture that truly puts patients first
Scaling with technology: same-day crowns and other investments that respect patients’ time
Leadership in real life: turning the light on for others and building bigger staircases
Practical ways to reduce dental anxiety (hello, comfort menu!)
Why positivity isn’t ignoring reality—it’s choosing what you focus on
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Be A Guest Are you a successful business owner or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://grittogrowthpodcast.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

Host Levi Te Slaa sits down with Barry Sackett, managing partner and long-time advisor to business owners across the Midwest. Barry traces his path from a family of lawyers to roles as in-house counsel, controller, CFO, and now managing partner. He explains why his work is really about building trust in every transaction—often before legal issues turn into lawsuits.
Barry digs into the realities entrepreneurs face: scaling themselves as the business grows, avoiding “inventor’s disease,” and not snapping back to old roles when growth gets hard (the “rubber band effect”). He also unpacks the shift toward fractional general counsel services, what AI can and can’t do for legal work, and why the Midwest’s lawyer shortage is both a challenge and an opportunity for innovative firms.
You’ll hear a favorite client story that went from humble beginnings to a $60M private equity valuation—and then into meaningful community philanthropy. Throughout, Barry returns to one theme: grit as the through-line of every successful founder.
 
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Joel breaks down how Five Star Call Centers supports companies as a true BPO partner—sometimes supplying full-stack customer experience (recruiting, training, tech, QA), other times filling specific gaps like staffing or process design. He explains the five traits they look for in great partners, why seasonality matters, and how their 99% work-from-home team across small-town America delivers world-class care.We dig into practical AI: avatar-based interviews, adaptive training, real-time speech analytics, “Agent Assist,” and when to deploy modern digital agents (not the old, frustrating chatbots). Joel also shares their growth story—from a single site to a remote-first U.S. team with expansion to Guatemala and the Philippines—and what it takes to get data, teams, and systems truly AI-ready.
 
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What happens when a fifth-generation South Dakota farmer and a former Air Force operations leader come together to tackle one of agriculture’s most misunderstood crops? In this episode of The Grit to Growth Podcast, Levi Te Slaa sits down with Johnathan Peterson (CEO) and Karll Lecher (COO) of Dakota Hemp to unpack the true potential of industrial hemp in South Dakota and beyond.
John shares how Dakota Hemp got its start in 2021, the early lessons they learned growing and harvesting hemp, and how the company is about to open a major fiber processing plant. Karll brings insight into how operations and efficiency are driving the business forward — and how military discipline plays a role in their approach.
They also break down the misconceptions around hemp, the plant’s impressive versatility (from clothing to animal bedding), and how small towns across South Dakota can benefit from hemp-based manufacturing.
 
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Levi sits down with counselor and community leader Shane Gerlach to explore the heart behind his work at Carroll Institute and his longtime passion for youth mentorship. Shane shares the moment his wife nudged him back to school, the three traits he believes drive lasting success — honesty, humility, and vulnerability — and how he helps clients take ownership of the only things they can truly control: how they think, feel, and act.They dig into addiction as a brain disease, the language shift from “I’m an addict” to “I’m a person in recovery,” and why that change builds hope.Then the conversation pivots to SuperCon — from a seven-person volunteer crew and maxed-out credit cards to thousands of attendees, dozens of sponsors, and more than a hundred volunteers each year. Shane explains how local partnerships fueled growth, why “nerd culture” went mainstream, and what family-friendly fun to expect at the event weekend.
 
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In this episode of The Grit to Growth Podcast, host Levi Te Slaa sits down with architect and Bush Fellow Patricia Acevedo Fuentes to explore how design can shape more inclusive and connected communities. With over 20 years of experience, Patri shares her journey from Puerto Rico to South Dakota and the lessons learned from working across diverse cultures.
You’ll hear Patri’s perspective on why architecture is not just about the final product, but the process of collaboration and community input that makes design meaningful. She talks about the challenges of bridging vision and reality, the importance of humility in her profession, and how buildings can either welcome or exclude.
Patri also shares insights on current projects and the critical role of community voices in shaping schools, parks, and public spaces that reflect shared values. From her work with Indigenous communities in the Black Hills to her call for public engagement in city planning, this conversation will leave you thinking about how design can strengthen the places we call home.
 
 
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What does it take to build a thriving medical practice in the growing field of aesthetics? In this episode of The Grit to Growth Podcast, host Levi Te Slaa sits down with Dr. Lornell Hansen, founder of Lasaderm and Physicians Vein Clinics, to talk about his journey from family medicine to becoming a leader in aesthetic medicine.
Dr. Hansen shares how he balanced long nights in acute care while building his first clinic, what it takes to grow a multi-state medical business, and why patient confidence—not just appearance—is at the heart of his work. From the challenges of dealing with insurance companies to the importance of hiring the right team, his story is filled with lessons for both business leaders and medical professionals.
You’ll also hear about the latest trends in aesthetics, from Botox and fillers to new biostimulants that reshape the future of cosmetic medicine.
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Be A Guest Are you a successful business owner or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://grittogrowthpodcast.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.