Unveiling the Real Stories Behind Breakthrough Success.
Innovators Unveiled is the podcast and TV show where founder and host A.D. Edwards sits down with builders, creators, and leaders who turned bold ideas into real-world impact—without the fluff or fake hype.
Turn Inspiration into Action in the Next 7 Days
Podcasts are great—but transformation happens when you start moving. The 7-Day Breakthrough Workbook is a free companion guide that helps you capture ideas from the show and turn them into specific, measurable moves in your own life and business.
Inside, you'll get:
- ●Daily prompts to clarify your next big move
- ●Space to map out decisions, risks, and opportunities
- ●A simple framework for turning ideas into experiments
Start Your Own Innovation Journey
The companion book to the show, Unveiling the Innovator in You!, breaks down the mindsets, frameworks, and real-world habits that today's innovators use to move from "someday" to "right now."
Inside, you'll find practical tools, reflection prompts, and behind-the-scenes insights drawn from the same kinds of conversations you'll hear on the show.
As an Amazon Associate, Ingleside Reviews LLC may earn from qualifying purchases and other affiliate links on this page at no extra cost to you.
Catch the Latest Conversations
New episodes drop regularly, featuring innovators from tech, media, small business, and beyond. Listen on your favorite platform or right here on the site.
Chris McManus on Scaling a Blue-Collar Business Before 30
INNOVATORS UNVEILED BUSINESS 15 Are you a business that serves other businesses? Attorneys, accountants, marketers, HR pros — become the exclusive partner in your category with the Innovators Unveiled Business 15. Founding spots are limited. Learn more at innovatorsunveiled.com/partners or email sales@innovatorsunveiled.com WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - Why Chris says access to credit and finding reliable help were his first real obstacles, and what changed once his team hit double digits - How delegating without follow-up created problems in the field and later in management, and the written-systems lesson he took from The E-Myth Revisited - Why an hourly rate that made money at two crews was only breaking even at four, and how weekly forecasting and a break-even rate changed his approach - How Chris decides whether a new venture is a true next step or shiny object syndrome, including his move into pool construction - What social media leaves out of entrepreneurship, and why the real story rarely makes the highlight reel EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 02:08 - How a farm kid and motocross racer ended up mowing lawns out of necessity 08:59 - The $600 leaf blower that needed a co-signer, and the struggle to find help 14:44 - What 70 to 80 hour weeks cost him behind the scenes 24:13 - The loneliest moment: wondering how to make payroll at 9:30 at night 27:58 - Why delegating and then forgetting about it kept biting him 34:25 - How landscaping around pools led to acquiring a pool company 40:33 - The hourly rate mistake that turned profit into break-even 42:46 - What social media gets wrong about entrepreneurship MEET THE GUEST Chris McManus is the founder of GC Landscaping Inc., a landscaping and outdoor construction company based in Morganton, North Carolina. He started mowing lawns right out of high school, and he says the company has grown to a team of about 25 and now includes pool installation. TOOLS, FRAMEWORKS, AND STRATEGIES MENTIONED - The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber: Chris's go-to book on why a business needs written systems as it adds people. Get the book: https://amzn.to/4yZUvVS - Backstops for the backstops: follow-up, check-ins, and quality control so delegated work gets done right - Trust but verify: how Chris leads a team of 25 instead of five guys in the field - The 80 percent rule: find someone who can do the job 80 percent as well as you and let them do it, a principle Chris recalls from a book he read years ago - Worst case, best case on paper: his 15-minute method for working through fear - Break-even rate and weekly forecasting: the numbers Chris now tracks to keep pricing ahead of overhead - Employee referral bonus: $500 when a referred hire stays three months CLOSING INSIGHT Chris shares advice someone once gave him that stuck: "Business doesn't really do anything but get harder as you get bigger. You're still having a lot of the same problems. The biggest difference is you're just a lot better at solving those problems." If Chris's story hit home, start your own innovation journey with the 7-Day Breakthrough Workbook linked below. Keep innovating, keep creating, and never stop unveiling the innovator in you. GUEST LINKS GC Landscaping Inc.: https://gclandscapinginc.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gclandscaping1/ Instagram (GC Landscaping): https://www.instagram.com/gclandscapinginc/ Instagram (Chris McManus): https://www.instagram.com/chrismcmanus151/ Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qc1Qp07Xb9g Download the 7-Day Breakthrough Workbook: https://bit.ly/PDIRworkbook Subscribe for more conversations with builders, creators, founders, and leaders: https://bit.ly/PDIRyoutube Get the companion book, Unveiling the Innovator in You!: https://amzn.to/4dmgsVW Subscribe to our newsletter, The Trailblazer's Journal: https://newsletter.innovatorsunveiled.com As an Amazon Associate, Ingleside Reviews LLC earns from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. 🎙️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@InglesideReviewsPodcast 📩 Connect or inquire about interviews: podcast@inglesidereviews.com ✨ Keep innovating. Keep creating. Never stop unveiling the innovator in you!
Mike Konrad: The Rejected Idea That Became a 30-Year Manufacturing Company
The Innovators Unveiled BUSINESS 15 Are you a business that serves other businesses? Attorneys, accountants, marketers, HR pros — become the exclusive partner in your category with the Innovators Unveiled Business 15. Founding spots are limited. Learn more at innovatorsunveiled.com/partners or email sales@innovatorsunveiled.com. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - How a three-day flight delay in London led Mike into an industry he knew nothing about - What it felt like the moment his boss rejected his idea and said one word: "fine" - How a global ozone-layer regulation created the market opportunity Aqueous Technologies was built on - Why a competitor's shift to "no clean flux" almost wiped out Konrad's company less than two years in - The difference between working IN a business and working ON it, and why Konrad eventually stepped back from daily operations entirely EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS CHAPTERS 00:00 – Intro 3:05 – The missed flight in London that led to a career in electronics 12:36 – How the CFC/ozone ban created an opening in the market 14:25 – Building the first machine (and the closed-loop system that followed) 26:52 – The idea, the rejection, and the one word that started the company 30:14 – The lawsuit that followed three months after founding the company 32:17 – The "no clean flux" shift that nearly ended the company at year two 1:02:38 – The mentor's advice that flipped the marketing (specs to education) 1:22:31 – Learning to let go: stepping back and building a team he trusts 1:41:58 – Where to find Mike Konrad and his two podcasts Running length: 1:44:23 MEET THE GUEST Mike Konrad founded Aqueous Technologies in 1992, an electronics assembly equipment manufacturer serving the industry for over three decades. He's also the host of two podcasts: Reliability Matters, a technical show for the electronics assembly industry with roughly 210 episodes and 86,000+ downloads, and The Reluctant Entrepreneur, where he interviews founders about the highs and lows of building a business. He's also the author of the book The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Anatomy of a Business Startup From Uncertainty to Unstoppable. TOOLS, FRAMEWORKS & STRATEGIES MENTIONED - Closed-loop cleaning systems (zero-drain, fully recycled filtration) - Class 1 / Class 2 / Class 3 reliability standards used in electronics manufacturing - The "first gear to overdrive" framework for scaling a founder's skill set as a business grows - Hiring for culture over pure technical skill CLOSING INSIGHT "Don't let go of the core idea. Make pivots, two inches to the left, two inches to the right, take input, but don't let the naysayers win." Mike Konrad's story is a reminder that innovation does not always start with hype or applause. Sometimes it starts with a problem, a rejected idea, and the decision to build anyway. 7-Day Breakthrough Workbook: https://bit.ly/IRYTworkbook Subscribe for more conversations with builders, creators, founders, and leaders: https://bit.ly/IRYTsubscribe Get the companion book, Unveiling the Innovator in You!: https://amzn.to/4wvXpl4 Subscribe to our newsletter, The Trailblazer's Journal: newsletter.innovatorsunveiled.com GUEST LINKS Mike Konrad: https://www.mikekonrad.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mtkonrad/ Aqueous Technologies: https://www.aqueoustech.com/ Book — The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Anatomy of a Business Startup From Uncertainty to Unstoppable: https://amzn.to/3VjwYAB The Reluctant Entrepreneur Podcast — YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thereluctantentrepreneur | Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-reluctant-entrepreneur-podcast/id1773575702 | Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5D2dzB43gI8s7ddVl4qeJ1 Reliability Matters Podcast — Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reliability-matters/id1441903531 | Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3QiHEDJV5Kn6N6bZonriMq Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UFEYjHXRLg8 As an Amazon Associate, Ingleside Reviews LLC earns from qualifying purchases. Download the 7-Day Breakthrough Workbook: https://bit.ly/PDIRworkbook Subscribe for more conversations with builders, creators, founders, and leaders: https://bit.ly/PDIRyoutube Get the companion book, Unveiling the Innovator in You!: https://amzn.to/4dmgsVW Subscribe to our newsletter, The Trailblazer's Journal: https://newsletter.innovatorsunveiled.com As an Amazon Associate, Ingleside Reviews LLC earns from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. 🎙️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@InglesideReviewsPodcast 📩 Connect or inquire about interviews: podcast@inglesidereviews.com ✨ Keep innovating. Keep creating. Never stop unveiling the innovator in you!
Chris Gibson: From Cystic Acne to a Top Skincare Line and a Million Subscribers
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - How Chris Gibson turned a broadcasting agent's rejection into a decades-long study of holistic skin health - Why he calls his approach to business "redundant" after losing nearly everything in the Great Recession - The real story behind self-publishing a bestselling book before Amazon even existed - How he grew Chris Gibson Live from around 20 views to over a million subscribers without one viral breakout video - What it takes to build trust with an audience in an industry full of big promises EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 01:09 – Meet Chris Gibson, skincare expert and the voice behind Chris Gibson Live 03:15 – The agent who told him his skin would end his TV career 11:26 – Discovering fasting, probiotics, and gut health 21:06 – How Acne Free in 3 Days became a self-published bestseller 27:50 – A viral TV break reaches millions across Canada, the UK, and Australia 31:56 – The death threat that followed 39:00 – Restarting a YouTube channel from zero in 2018 43:28 – From 50,000 to over a million subscribers 51:20 – What "redundancy" means after the Great Recession MEET THE GUEST Chris Gibson is a licensed esthetician, skincare formulator, holistic health coach, and bestselling author behind the YouTube channel Chris Gibson Live, where he has built an audience of over a million subscribers teaching skincare, anti-aging, and wellness rooted in his own 39-year journey with skin health. TOOLS, FRAMEWORKS, OR STRATEGIES MENTIONED - Fasting and elimination protocols to identify food sensitivities - Probiotics and gut health as a foundation for skin health - Clear Revolution Skincare, his formulated skincare line - Replenish Mode, his supplement brand - Building "redundancy" into a business (backup suppliers, lenders, lawyers, and banks) after the Great Recession CLOSING INSIGHT Chris's biggest lesson from thirty-nine years in this business: if something feels wrong at the start of a deal, a job, or a relationship, it does not get better with time. Learn to trust that read early and cut your losses before it costs you more. GUEST LINKS Chris Gibson Live (YouTube): https://youtube.com/chrisgibsonlive Website: https://www.chrisgibsonlive.com Community: https://chrisgibsonlive.com/community Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/chrisgibsonfriends Instagram (Skin So Fabulous): https://www.instagram.com/skin_so_fabulous Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisGibsonFriends TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJ7MWRAq Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/thechrisgibson1 Shop Chris Gibson's Skincare Books: https://amzn.to/3VbUn77 Clear Revolution Skincare: https://clearrevolutionskincare.com Replenish Mode: https://replenishmode.com Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rE7r6SpTgWQ Download the 7-Day Breakthrough Workbook: https://bit.ly/PDIRworkbook Subscribe for more conversations with builders, creators, founders, and leaders: https://bit.ly/PDIRyoutube Get the companion book, Unveiling the Innovator in You!: https://amzn.to/4dmgsVW Subscribe to our newsletter, The Trailblazer's Journal: https://newsletter.innovatorsunveiled.com As an Amazon Associate, Ingleside Reviews LLC earns from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. 🎙️ Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@InglesideReviewsPodcast 📩 Connect or inquire about interviews: podcast@inglesidereviews.com ✨ Keep innovating. Keep creating. Never stop unveiling the innovator in you!
A Show for Builders, Doers, and Everyday Innovators
Innovators Unveiled was created for founders, creators, and professionals who know they're meant to build something bigger—but want the real story, not the highlight reel.
Each episode, A.D. Edwards goes beyond the polished bios to ask the questions most people are afraid to ask:
- ●What actually broke before things worked?
- ●What sacrifices were made behind the scenes?
- ●How do you keep going when the dream feels heavy?
If you're serious about growth, legacy, and impact, this is where you'll feel seen, challenged, and equipped.
Meet the Guests
Featured on BraveHeartsTV Network
Music for People Turning Ideas into Reality
The Ideas in Motion: The Ingleside Reviews – Innovators Unveiled Soundtrack was created for people building something before the world notices. It follows the journey from the first spark of an idea, through doubt and long days at a regular job, to the discipline of the side hustle and the confidence that comes from staying the course. It's the official soundtrack for the Innovators Unveiled community and a musical reflection of the stories told on the show.
Listen to the Album
From Podcast to Screen
Innovators Unveiled is expanding from audio into visual storytelling. Watch select episodes and highlights on YouTube, and catch the TV adaptation on BraveheartsTV.
Part of the Ingleside Reviews Network
Innovators Unveiled is part of the Ingleside Reviews network of brands