Comfortable Isn't The Goal with Rich Staats

What happens when the business isn't on fire anymore? After two years of downsizing, cutting expenses, and rebuilding Secret Stache, Rich is finally coming out of survival mode. Things are stable again — but stability creates its own question: What's next? Rich and I talk about the strange space between crisis and the next chapter, why some entrepreneurs deliberately make themselves uncomfortable when things get too comfortable, and how AI is changing the boundaries that once naturally forced us to stop working. The conversation eventually lands on something even simpler: surviving entrepreneurship isn't always about having the right idea. Sometimes it's about giving yourself enough runway to keep moving until you figure it out. The Strategic Thinkers Podcast is where I sit down with founders, operators, and experts for honest conversations about the frameworks, turning points, and mental models behind real strategic growth. Hosted by Sean Atkinson.