Summary On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Victoria Dickerson sit down with Skylar Wallace, founder of Level Up Lenders, a company on a mission to create a positive impact through home ownership in rural America. Skylar earned his MBA from the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and has founded multiple businesses, ultimately gaining traction through the help of EOS in his current venture. Throughout the podcast, Skylar shares about his background and his passion for using home ownership to help rural communities improve their quality of life. Show Notes (0:50) Introducing Skylar and His Origin Story (6:13) Utilizing EOS (8:31) Taking Action While Learning (11:44) Leveraging Impact Vehicles (20:10) Focusing On What You Can Control and Looking Toward the Future (25:50) The Challenges of Scaling (29:14) How Skylar Chooses Markets (35:14) The Visionary and Integrator Relationship (39:34) Skylar’s Thoughts on Traction and Other EOS Tools (41:51) Advice to the Young Self (47:16) Closing Thoughts Links Jeff Amerine Caleb Talley Victoria Dickerson Skylar Wallace The Level Up Lenders Quotes “Now we know anytime we bring on a new [loan officer], we’re not going to sit around and talk about this. Day one, you go out and start taking massive action. And so our sales methods have changed, but that activity remains the same.” - Skylar Wallace, (11:28) “In the investment world, there’s these things called investment vehicles, which are different vehicles that you can invest in. There’s venture capital, there’s the stock market, and all those things. So I’ve been thinking about this concept of impact vehicles. A lot of [entrepreneurs say], ‘I want to create a positive impact in the world. I want to make a difference.’ But there’s actually a lot of different vehicles you can leverage to do that.” - Skylar Wallace, (12:40) “Our commitment is that it’s never a ‘no.’ It’s always a ‘how,’ because every file is a family. So if somebody comes in to our office, they’re not going to get turned down. They’re going to be shown—look, you can’t buy today, but here’s the steps that we need to do to fix your credit, to get you on the path.” - Skylar Wallace, (15:54) “I believe the number one skillset an entrepreneur should have is the ability to sell. If you can sell—that’s the thing because that’s how you create revenue.” - Skylar Wallace, (42:20)

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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