Branden Hudson interviews Shaheen Mazloom, owner of Versa Business Systems, about building a value-first B2B company after leaving sales roles where he felt customers weren’t treated fairly. Shaheen traces his path from early entrepreneurship, managing a Hat World store as a teen, learning B2B through Verizon, moving to DC to learn AT&T, and transitioning into credit card processing before starting Versa nine years ago with little money and no reputation. Versa serves startups through Fortune 500s with funding, credit card processing, AI/bot systems, tax incentives, and employee benefits, aiming to save clients money and help them scale, now with about 1,200 repeat clients. Shaheen shares key lessons on adapting (including pivoting to PPE during COVID), the reality of major losses, perseverance, and using daily gratitude lists to manage depression. He outlines plans to grow from “best to biggest” via acquisitions and discusses Coastal Business Leaders, including Homeless to Homeowner and a local networking event on October 12 at A Shore.00:00 Welcome and Support00:47 Meet Shaheen Mazloom02:05 Versa Origin Story03:18 What Versa Actually Does04:59 Scaling Services Over Time08:30 Taking the Leap09:12 Early Hustle and Roots10:46 First Sales Lessons14:45 AT&T Pivot and Mobile Store17:29 Credit Card Processing Era21:11 Why He Left the Industry22:26 Brother Deal Breaking Point25:30 Starting a Consulting Firm26:05 Starting Versa Leap27:25 Sales Trap Reality29:14 Consultative Solutions31:04 Nine Year Lessons31:58 PPE Pivot Loss35:52 Mental Health Tools40:28 Scaling Through Acquisitions42:09 Coastal Leaders Mission46:30 Value Marketing No Cold Calls48:39 Networking Event Plugs50:07 Final Thanks Wrap

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