Want to know what it takes to build, scale, and sell your agency?
Retained Trust is a weekly podcast where host Karl Hughes goes deep with digital service business owners to uncover the habits, tactics, and strategies they’ve learned to grow successful companies. Along the way, you’ll hear about Karl’s journey running and acquiring niche digital agencies as he learns from guests with a variety of backgrounds and experience levels.
Recent Episodes
July 29, 2025
EP.40 - How to Exit Your Agency the Smart Way
In this solo episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes walks through the real-world process of selling a digital marketing agency. Drawing on his experience as both a buyer and seller, Karl lays out the key financial concep...
July 22, 2025
EP. 39 - Diving Deep with Lana Rafaela
In this episode of Retained Trust, Karl Hughes speaks with Lana Rafaela, founder at Cherry Red Content, a boutique agency focused on tailored content marketing solutions for early-stage, bootstrapped startups. Lana shares her...
July 15, 2025
EP.38 - Building Agency Value with Manuel Weiss
In this episode of Retained Trust, Karl reunites in person with partner Manny to break down how they’ve scaled their agencies and the lessons they’re carrying forward. They discuss real growth numbers, sales call improvements...
July 8, 2025
EP.37 - JD Graffam on Building, Buying & Balancing Agencies and SaaS
In this episode of Retained Trust , host Karl Hughes talks with JD Graffam, founder of Simple Focus and operator of a portfolio of SaaS companies. JD shares how he grew from a small-town agency owner to running multiple busin...
July 1, 2025
EP.36 - Systems to Space with Louis Shulman
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes sits down with Louis Shulman, co-founder of Orbit, to explore how a content marketing agency evolved into a multi-pronged venture encompassing data analytics, automation tha...
June 24, 2025
EP.35 - The Exit Equation: Len Bruskiewitz on Preparing Your Business to Sell
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Len Bruskiewitz, founder of Greater Heights Coaching, about how small business owners can better prepare for a successful exit. With decades of experience in tec...
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