From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller

From a same-day CBD delivery service to manufacturing over a million gummies a month, this is a business story most people never hear about. 
In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Steven Brown, founder and CEO of Nothing But Canna (formerly Nothing But Hemp), one of the first hemp dispensaries in the Midwest. Steven's path to cannabis wasn't a straight line; he served in the Marine Corps, worked in health and nutrition at GNC, climbed the ranks at T-Mobile, and worked in negotiation for aerospace and defense before launching his own marketing company at 28, where a client in the cannabis space opened the door to an entirely new industry.
Steven shares how his now-wife's success using CBD for migraines convinced him hemp products could genuinely help people and how that belief turned into a business that has weathered credit card shutdowns, COVID furloughs, state regulatory attacks, and a looming federal hemp ban. Along the way, he helped pass Minnesota's first low-dose THC bill legislation that unintentionally sparked the nationwide THC beverage boom now found in liquor stores across the country.
What You'll Learn
The real difference between CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids and why "street weed" today is nothing like it was decades ago

How a small hemp business ended up shaping THC beverage laws now used nationwide

Why the hemp industry is facing a federal shutdown and what that means for small operators

The role lobbying, big pharma, alcohol, and marijuana industries play in hemp regulation 

Why product testing and safety standards matter in a largely unregulated space

The costly lesson Steven learned expanding into the beverage industry and why he stepped back from it 

Why bad business partnerships can derail a company, and how to know when to walk away 

Why fear of failure holds most entrepreneurs back, and how embracing it leads to growth

About Steven Brown
Steven Brown is the founder and CEO of Nothing But Canna (formerly Nothing But Hemp), one of the first hemp dispensaries in the Midwest, specializing in compliant cannabinoid formulations and manufacturing over 1.3 million gummies a month. Before entering the cannabis industry, Steven had a varied career path; he served in the Marine Corps, worked in health and nutrition at General Nutrition Centers (GNC), spent six years moving up the ranks at T-Mobile in the wireless industry, and worked with a negotiation firm in aerospace and defense. He got into cannabis after starting his own marketing company at 28 and taking on a client in the industry, which led him to launch a same-day CBD delivery service in Minnesota in 2018. Steven and his team went on to help pass Minnesota's first low-dose THC bill, legislation that helped spark the nationwide THC beverage trend now found in liquor stores across the country. Under his leadership, the company grew from one dispensary to eleven nationwide in a single year. 
Connect with Steven Brown
Website: https://www.nothingbutcanna.net/pages/team
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/socialthis/
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories behind building successful businesses.
Website: https://patmiller.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepatmiller11
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepatmiller11/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatmiller11/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatMiller11/
Subscribe to From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller for weekly conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories, lessons, failures, and successes behind building thriving businesses. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, leadership, business growth, entertainment, and personal development, this podcast is designed to help you build your dream.
New episodes are released regularly.

Not every great career story starts with owning the company. In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller switches things up to spotlight the other side of the journey building a name for yourself while working for someone else. Her guest is Nicholas Verzicco, who runs the construction management staffing division for New Jersey at Actalent (formerly Aerotech), placing hundreds of professionals with general contractors, subcontractors, and AEC firms. A five-time President's Club winner, Nicholas shares how a chance conversation with a former college classmate led him into an industry he never studied for recruiting and how he's built a thriving career in construction staffing just seven years out of college.
Nicholas opens up about his path from Monmouth University, where he studied finance through the Educational Opportunity Fund program, to landing his first staffing role through a simple breakfast conversation and a willingness to take a chance on something unfamiliar. He and Pat dig into networking, mentorship, and what it really takes for young professionals to stand out in a competitive industry like construction.
What You'll Learn
Why networking and relationships can completely redirect your career path 

How AI is being used (and not used) in construction staffing and estimating and why human trust still matters

 Why "blue collar" skills remain valuable and future-proof, even in an AI-driven world 

The importance of mentorship for the next generation entering the workforce

 Why energy, effort, and enthusiasm can set you apart in any role 

How giving back  through mentorship programs and organizations like Professional Women in Construction (PWC) helps open doors for the next generation 

Why staying true to yourself and tuning out critics is essential to long-term success

About Nicholas Verzicco
Nicholas Verzicco runs the construction management staffing division for New Jersey at Actalent, where he places professionals including project managers, superintendents, assistant project managers, and estimators with general contractors, subcontractors, and AEC firms. He has placed hundreds of people in the industry and has won the President's Club for five consecutive years. Nicholas is originally from Mays Landing, New Jersey, and attended Monmouth University through the Educational Opportunity Fund program, earning a degree in finance while serving as president of his Student Government Association, senior class president, and president of the club lacrosse team. He entered the staffing industry through a college connection and has spent close to seven years building his career at Actalent. Outside of work, Nicholas is involved in mentorship, participating in a program for high school students through the Lena Harris Foundation and supporting organizations like Professional Women in Construction (PWC).
Connect with Nicholas Verzicco
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-verzicco-76a404151/
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more entrepreneurial insights, business strategies, and inspiring conversations with successful founders and business leaders.
Website: https://patmiller.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepatmiller11
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepatmiller11/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatmiller11/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatMiller11/
Subscribe to From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller for weekly conversations with entrepreneurs and professionals who share the real stories, lessons, failures, and successes behind building thriving careers and businesses. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, leadership, career growth, and personal development, this podcast is designed to help you build your dream.
New episodes are released regularly.

Cut From the NBA, Built a Million-Dollar Coaching Empire
What does it take to turn 60 rejections into a nine-year pro basketball career and then build an entirely new business from scratch?
In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Dre Baldwin, founder of Work On Your Game, a TEDx speaker, 43-time author, and former professional basketball player who spent nine years playing overseas. Dre shares how he went from a walk-on at a Division III college to building a company that helps entrepreneurs and experts install the mindset, systems, and strategy needed to scale from six to seven figures.
Dre opens up about cold-calling 60 basketball agents and mailing VHS tapes of his footage just to land his first pro contract and how he started posting training videos on YouTube back in 2005, years before "influencer" was even a word. That early audience-building experience taught him lessons about ownership, platforms, and personal branding that still guide his business today.
What You'll Learn
Why being an underdog can actually be an execution advantage 

How relationships and "tap-rooting" knowing someone who knows the right person open doors in business 

The real difference between motivation and discipline, and why only one of them is repeatable 

Why building on rented platforms (social media) means you don't actually own your audience 

How relatability and authenticity build stronger connections than raw talent or fame 

Why slowly transitioning clients to other team members protects a business built around one person 

The importance of structure, self-discipline, and controlling distractions as your own boss

About Dre Baldwin
Dre Baldwin is the founder of Work On Your Game, a company that helps experts and entrepreneurs install the mindset, systems, and strategy needed to scale their businesses from six to seven figures. He's a TEDx speaker and a 43-time author. Before entrepreneurship, Dre spent nine years as a professional basketball player overseas, mostly in Europe, after walking on at the Division III college level. While still playing, he began posting training videos on YouTube back in 2005, building an audience that eventually extended beyond basketball players to professionals and entrepreneurs interested in his lessons on discipline, confidence, and mental toughness. In 2015, he stopped playing basketball to focus full-time on that mindset-driven business, moving through professional speaking before shifting into the consulting and coaching work he does today, centered on execution reliability and building presence and power in business. 
Connect with Dre Baldwin.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dreallday/
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more entrepreneurial insights, business strategies, and inspiring conversations with successful founders and business leaders.
Website: https://patmiller.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepatmiller11
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepatmiller11/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatmiller11/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatMiller11/
Subscribe to From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller for weekly conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories, lessons, failures, and successes behind building thriving businesses. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, leadership, business growth, entertainment, and personal development, this podcast is designed to help you build your dream.
New episodes are released regularly.

Why Diversity Training Fails and What Actually Works
What happens when you've spent 30 years telling CEOs the truth nobody else will?
In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Mauricio Velasquez, president of Diversity Training Group (DTG) and author of the newly released book Tackling Toxicity: A Skills-Based Guide to Addressing Toxicity. Mauricio has trained, consulted, and coached over a million people across every U.S. state but one in a career spanning three decades.
Mauricio opens up about starting his business on a houseboat in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, a $520-a-month setup with no insulation but a "billion-dollar view," and how growing up watching racism directed at his immigrant parents shaped his life's work. From there, he built a career doing the jobs nobody else wants to touch: sexual harassment training, executive coaching, and calling out toxic behavior that most companies would rather ignore.
What You'll Learn
 Why most people are conflict-averse and avoid addressing toxic behavior  and why that silence only makes it worse 

The difference between responding and reacting when someone is being toxic or bullying

 Why "soft skills" are actually the hardest skills to master, and why the label undersells them

  How writing a book and speaking at conferences became a lead-generation engine for his consulting business

 Why diversity and inclusion work is tied directly to business growth, market expansion, and staying competitive

 Real, unfiltered stories from Mauricio's career from a car dealership salesman ignoring his wife, to a model home saleswoman questioning whether he could afford a house, to his own mother's initial rejection of his wife

 Why he believes DEI work is set for a resurgence, even amid current industry headwinds

About Mauricio Velasquez
Mauricio Velasquez is the President of Diversity Training Group (DTG), a company he founded that is celebrating 30 years in business this year. Over the course of his career, he has trained, consulted, and coached more than a million people in every U.S. state except North Dakota. His work covers diversity and inclusion training, sexual harassment training, mentoring, and executive coaching, helping organizations and leaders address issues they'd often rather avoid. Mauricio is also the author of the newly released book Tackling Toxicity: A Skills-Based Guide to Addressing Toxicity, which draws on real stories from his three-decade career to teach practical, skills-based approaches for calling out toxic behavior in the workplace and beyond. He got his start in business working out of a houseboat in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, and his motivation for the work traces back to witnessing discrimination directed at his immigrant parents as a child. 
Connect with Mauricio Velasquez 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauricio-velasquez-mba/
Website:  https://www.diversitydtg.com/
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/mauricio.velasquez.9484/reels/
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories behind building successful businesses.
Website: https://patmiller.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepatmiller11
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepatmiller11/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatmiller11/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatMiller11/
Subscribe to From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller for weekly conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories, lessons, failures, and successes behind building thriving businesses. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, leadership, business growth, entertainment, and personal development, this podcast is designed to help you build your dream.
New episodes are released regularly.

From Wall Street to Dog Walking Empire 
What happens when you walk away from a 22-year career on Wall Street to pursue something completely different?
In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller, host Pat Miller sits down with Amanda Anderson, founder of Ring and Run Dog Walkers, to explore her remarkable transition from the fast-paced world of New York's Financial District to building one of Staten Island's premier dog walking businesses.
Amanda shares how she recognized the changing landscape of Wall Street, started building her business while still employed, and eventually turned a side hustle into a thriving company. She explains why entrepreneurship isn't always about chasing millions, but about creating a lifestyle you genuinely enjoy.
Throughout the conversation, Amanda offers honest advice on hiring, setting boundaries, automating operations, building customer trust, and creating systems that allow a business to grow without consuming your entire life. Her story is a powerful reminder that success can look different for everyone.
Whether you're considering leaving a corporate career, building a service business, or looking for inspiration to pursue a more meaningful path, this episode delivers practical lessons from someone who successfully made the leap.
What You'll Learn
Why Amanda left a 22-year Wall Street career to become an entrepreneur

How to build a business while still working a full-time job

The importance of running your side hustle before making the leap

Why relationships and customer trust matter more than marketing

How hiring the right people can transform your business

The systems every growing business should implement early

Why entrepreneurs need clear boundaries with clients

The difference between working in your business and on your business

How to create a business that supports your lifestyle instead of consuming it

Why success isn't always measured by revenue alone

About Amanda Anderson
Amanda Anderson is the founder and owner of Ring and Run Dog Walkers, Staten Island's premier dog walking service. After spending more than two decades working on the trading floor in New York City's Financial District, Amanda made the bold decision to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
Today, she has built a trusted pet care business known for exceptional customer service, strong client relationships, and personalized care. Amanda combines her passion for animals with a people-first approach, proving that businesses built on trust, reputation, and genuine service can thrive through referrals and organic growth.
Connect with Amanda Anderson
Follow Amanda and Ring and Run Dog Walkers on social media to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey, pet care insights, and growing a service-based business with purpose.
Website - https://ringandrundogwalkers.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-anderson-707a4512/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RingandRunDogWalkers/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ringandrundogwalkers/?hl=en
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories behind building successful businesses.
Website: https://patmiller.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepatmiller11
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepatmiller11/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatmiller11/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatMiller11/
Subscribe to From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller for weekly interviews with entrepreneurs, founders, and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges, pivots, and wins that shaped their success.