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Get Vertical with Mike McCalley

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Vertical market strategy and revenue growth for B2B companies.

Get Vertical with Mike McCalley focuses on vertical market strategy for B2B industrial and SaaS companies. McCalley, founder and chief growth officer of The Vertical Solution, interviews executives and growth leaders on sales alignment, demand generation, and market positioning within specific verticals. The show is built for B2B operators who want precise growth strategies, not generic advice.

21 episodes
Channel Brief·Get Vertical with Mike McCalley · 21 episodes
Updated Jul 15, 2026

Build from real problems; lead through relationships and values.

Get Vertical documents founders and leaders who solve specific customer pain points and rebuild struggling teams through culture, not just tactics. Recurring proof: founder origin stories, engagement metrics, and time-cost breakdowns.

Get Vertical argues that sustainable growth flows from solving real, observed problems and maintaining high-trust relationships with teams and investors. The channel validates this through founder origin stories (Luke Sigle's 2 a.m. aid station moment at Grindstone 100 birthing SILO), leadership case studies showing engagement and cash-collection gains (Robby Humble's 20% YoY growth in Q3 at Penn Warranty), and hard startup survival data (only 18% of entrepreneurs successfully launch). Evidence comes as both quantified outcomes and narrative arc.

Drawn from Ultra runner Luke Sigle built SILO after a cha… and 2 more →

“How many people are you willing to hurt to make your product? If the answer isn't zero, we've got a problem.”

Wally Steidley, Safety Sherpa

By the numbers

31%

U.S. employees actively engaged at work, Gallup 2025

20%

YoY Q3 cash-collection growth at Penn Warranty under Robby Humble

61%

B2B buyers preferring rep-free buying experience, Gartner 2025

18%

Entrepreneurs who successfully launch startups

What the channel argues

InsightLuke Sigle turned a chaotic 2 a.m. aid station stop into SILO, a product solving a real runner need.→
DataRobby Humble's leading-with-love philosophy drove 20% YoY growth in Q3 cash collections at Penn Warranty without new products.→
Data61% of B2B buyers prefer rep-free buying experience, forcing sales teams to rethink approach entirely.→
DataOnly 18% of entrepreneurs successfully launch startups; relationship-building with investors and team is the differentiator.→
InsightDrew Flowers narrowed Trailhead Running Supply into trail running niche, reaching top 1% of run specialty stores nationally in under three years.→
InsightWally Steidley built Safety Sherpa as world's first fully mobile-friendly safety training platform, embedding zero-injury culture into organizations.→

What you'll learn

•Founders who observe real pain (not assume it) build defensible products; Luke Sigle's SILO emerged from one frustrating 2 a.m. moment.
•Leaders who create psychological safety and genuinely care for team performance unlock growth without new revenue streams; Robby Humble proved it at Penn Warranty.
•B2B buyers now do research independently; sales teams must excel at proposal accuracy and speed, not just relationship charm.
•Only 18% of entrepreneurs survive; the other 82% fail because they underinvest in relationships with investors and co-founders.
•Niche focus and community-building beat broad retail competition; Trailhead Running Supply's trail-running focus created leverage, not limitation.

What to do about it

→Observe your customers' unmet needs in real conditions before you prototype; document the friction moment that makes the problem undeniable.
→Audit your team's psychological safety: can they surface problems early without fear? Create systems (1-on-1s, retrospectives) that reward honesty.
→If you lead sales, shift from relationship gatekeeping to proposal excellence and speed; buyers now prefer research and self-service over sales calls.

Who and what shows up

Luke Sigle

Founder, SILO

Ultra runner who observed a real aid station problem at Grindstone 100 and built a product around it; exemplifies problem-observation-first founding.

Casey Brown

Founder, pricing and valuation firm

Grew from fear of poverty into engineering and corporate roles, then built a firm helping companies price with confidence; bridges personal origin and business model.

Robby Humble

CEO, Penn Warranty

Drove 20% YoY Q3 cash-collection growth using leading-with-love philosophy, proving culture shifts unlock performance without product or marketing changes.

Wally Steidley

Founder, Indigo Compliance and Safety Sherpa

Built two companies around zero-injury conviction; created first fully mobile-friendly safety training platform, embedding culture change via technology.

Rob Peabody

Co-Founder and President, VOMO; VP Category Growth, Virtuous

Raised VOMO from ideation (2015) to acquisition by Virtuous (2022), spending roughly 50% of time fundraising; exemplifies relationship-building burden and survival path.

Questions this channel answers

Q

How do you build a company from a real customer pain point?

Observe the friction in its actual context and document it; Luke Sigle's SILO came from a specific 2 a.m. aid station moment, not a survey.

Ultra runner Luke Sigle built SILO after a chaotic 2 a.m… →
Q

How do you re-engage a disengaged workforce and drive growth at the same time?

Create psychological safety so teams surface problems early, then lead with genuine care for their development; Robby Humble achieved 20% YoY Q3 cash-collection growth at Penn Warranty using this approach.

A CEO’s Blueprint for Career Success: Leading with Love … →
Q

What percentage of startup founders actually survive the first few years?

Only 18% of entrepreneurs successfully launch their startups; the key differentiator is relationship-building with investors and team members.

The Life of a Start-Up: VOMO →
Q

How should sales teams adapt to buyer independence and research?

61% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free buying experience; sales teams must focus on error-free, fast proposals and customer lifetime value over personal relationships.

Get Vertical! Growing with Sales for Success →
Q

Can niche positioning succeed in crowded retail markets?

Yes; Drew Flowers' Trailhead Running Supply narrowed into trail running, creating market leverage rather than limitation, and reached top 1% of run specialty stores nationally in under three years.

Get Vertical! Going from Idea to the Top 1% in Less Than… →
Topics:Founder origin and market validationLeadership culture and team engagementSales process and buyer behavior shiftPricing, profitability, and psychological safetyGlobal HR and organizational change
Themes:Problem observation over assumptionCulture and trust as growth leverRelationship-building as startup survival metric

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