ISSUE NO. 16 JULY 2026 A NEW CONVERSATION EVERY THREE WEEKS
An entrepreneurship podcast, hosted by Jack Pitts

Real stories from the builders
we don't always think about.

Service industries, generational family businesses, the operators most people walk past. Each conversation digs into what actually compounded into a real company. The false starts, the unsexy middle, the years no one writes about.

Play the latest Come on the show
The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts
Jack Pitts

Listen anywhere you stream.

Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube LinkedIn
Inside the archive
No. 13

A Goldman Sachs banker turned third-generation Vegas casino CEO on advising Disney's Pixar deal and running billion-dollar gaming floors.

Alex Dixon  /  Resorts World Las Vegas
No. 09

From poverty in Flint and seventeen years of corporate work to a laundromat empire built on aggressive saving and ninety-hour weeks.

Dave Menz  /  Laundromat Millionaire
No. 01

How a Macon kid turned a side-hustle car wash into more than thirty acquisitions and one of the country's largest express wash platforms.

Gary Dennis  /  Mammoth Holdings
13 conversations on the shelf so far. A new one every three weeks.
Featured In

Press & recognition

Riverside-Brookfield LandmarkJanuary 13, 2026 · by Stella Brown

"Brookfield businessman featured on podcast"

A local feature on the show, the format, and the kinds of builders Jack interviews.

Read article

From the Catalog

Curated picks & show history

Recent Episodes

The full feed updates automatically
For Prospective Guests

Considering coming on The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts?

The show is built for founders, operators, and family-business builders with a real story to tell. Not a launch announcement. Not a fundraising lap. A real conversation about what actually compounded into a company.

Sixty to seventy-five minutes, recorded remotely. No script. No homework binder. No prep deck. We dig into the unsexy middle, the false starts, and the years no one writes about. Episodes go up on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, then we push them on LinkedIn so your story keeps reaching the right people.

Light lift on your end. Show up and talk. One session is the whole ask.

How it works
  1. i.A quick hello. Optional. A short call if you want to talk before we record. Most guests skip it.
  2. ii.One session. Sixty to seventy-five minutes, remote, unedited.
  3. iii.It goes live. Up on every platform, with a LinkedIn push so the story keeps moving.
Before you book

Who is a good fit

Founders, operators, and family-business owners who have actually built something over years and can talk about it honestly. If you have run the thing, made payroll, and lived the boring middle, you will feel at home here.

Who is probably not a fit

If you are after a launch announcement, a fundraising lap, or a scripted promo, this is not the show. I am here for the real story, not a press release. Pure pitch decks and thought-leadership monologues usually land better somewhere else.

What we usually talk about

The origin, the false starts, the unsexy middle, and the decisions that compounded. Money, mistakes, the years no one writes about, and what you would tell someone standing where you started.

How to prepare

Almost nothing. No deck, no homework binder, no script. Bring a few stories you actually remember and are willing to tell straight. We can trade a couple of notes on angle beforehand if you want, but most guests skip it.

What happens after recording

I edit lightly and publish to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. You get the links and a share card for your own channels, and I push the episode on LinkedIn so your story keeps reaching the right people.

Past guests include

Dave Menz Lou Mongello Niilo Pirttijarvi Kris Carlson Ian Hicks

Ready to get on the calendar?

Pick a time that works. We will hop on a quick intro call and figure out the right angle for your episode together.

Book a Guest Call Or DM on LinkedIn Replies within 1 to 2 business days. As featured in the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark.

About the Host

"I work in finance, private equity, so I deal with business owners all the time. I was like, hey, why not do a podcast where I get to tell their stories?"

Jack Pitts, in the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark

Jack Pitts is the founder of Salt Creek Advisory, an AI-native deal sourcing and investment banking practice. Chicago-raised and Vanderbilt-educated, Jack is based in the Chicago area and spends his days around founders, operators, and investors. He started The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts to capture the stories he's always wanted to hear.

The show takes its inspiration from NPR's How I Built This, with a sharper focus on the operators and family-business builders behind companies most people walk past every day. Each episode unpacks what it actually takes to build something. The false starts, the unsexy middle, and the moments that compound into a real company.

Book a Call Connect on LinkedIn

Articles

Plain-English guides for founders

Short, honest guides on going on a podcast as a founder. How to decide if it is worth your time, how to choose the right show, and how to be a guest people actually remember. No filler.

Evaluation guide

Best Entrepreneurship Podcasts for Founders in 2026: What to Look For

How to judge a founder podcast on its merits instead of a ranking, and the signals that separate a real conversation from a promo reel.

Read the guide
Timing

When Should a Founder Go on a Podcast?

The moments when a podcast actually helps, the moments it does not, and how to tell the difference before you say yes.

Read the guide
Choosing a show

How to Choose the Right Podcast to Tell Your Founder Story

A simple way to match your story to the right format, host, and audience so the episode does something for you.

Read the guide
Being a guest

How to Be a Great Podcast Guest as a Founder

What great guests do differently, from the stories they bring to the way they answer, and how to prepare without over-preparing.

Read the guide

See all articles

Press Kit

Everything a booker or writer needs
The show, in one line

The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts is an interview show about founders, operators, and family-business builders behind companies most people walk past. A new conversation goes up roughly every three weeks on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

About the host

Jack Pitts is the founder of Salt Creek Advisory, an AI-native deal sourcing and investment banking practice. Chicago-raised and Vanderbilt-educated, he spends his days around founders, operators, and investors, and started the show to capture the stories he always wanted to hear. The show takes its inspiration from NPR's How I Built This, with a sharper focus on overlooked builders.

Featured in

Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, "Brookfield businessman featured on podcast", January 13, 2026, by Stella Brown.

Now Playing
Latest episode on Spotify