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
April 7, 2026
Hiring Leaders Without a Playbook: Kimley Cox on Talent Strategy
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Kimley Cox, founder of Drive Talent, a retained search firm specializing in precision manufacturing. Kimley shares her journey from decades in recruiting to laun...
March 24, 2026
Never Stop Selling: Agency Growth Lessons from the Trenches
In this special episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes distills lessons from dozens of conversations with agency founders, consultants, and acquirers into a focused breakdown of what drives agency growth. The discussion ...
March 10, 2026
Greg Heilers on Productizing SEO Services and Surviving the AI Shift
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Greg Heilers, co-founder of Jolly SEO, an agency focused on earned link building and media placements. Greg shares his unconventional entrepreneurial journey, fr...
Feb. 24, 2026
From Agency Owner to Fund Investor: Grant Hensel on Buying Enduring Businesses
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Grant Hensel, founder of Nonprofit Megaphone and managing partner at Entrepreneur Capital. Grant shares how he built a highly specialized agency serving nonprofi...
Feb. 10, 2026
Building Barrel Holdings: Peter Kang on Scaling and Exiting Agencies
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Peter Kang, co-founder of Barrel and Barrel Holdings. Peter shares his 18-year journey in building a digital agency from the ground up, navigating the shift from...
Jan. 27, 2026
From Podcast to Portfolio: Will Smith’s ETA Journey
In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes chats with Will Smith, host of Acquiring Minds and partner at Minds Capital. Will shares how his frustration with startup ideas led him to entrepreneurship through acquisiti...
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