Business owners who play it safe are just employees with more stress. Most entrepreneurs stay stuck not because they lack skill, they lack the guts to match the size of the opportunity to the size of the work they’re already doing. If you’re grinding every day but the payoff never feels worth it, if you’re scared to go bigger, or if you’ve lost sight of why you even started, this one will hit. In this episode of Built to Exit, Jason Sisneros sits down with Kyle Auffray, former NFL player, venture capital operator, and private equity dealmaker, who scaled a company from $600K to $28M in revenue, closed a multi-seven-figure government PPE contract during COVID, and now builds billion-dollar sports development projects. Kyle breaks down exactly how the same skills that got him from undrafted free agent to four NFL teams translate directly into closing deals and building businesses worth owning. Together, we break down: -Why the same skillset produces wildly different income depending on what you attach it to -How Kyle sold himself into the NFL with no agent, no draft pick, and no guarantees -The COVID deal that paid more in three months than the previous four years combined -Why business owners take all the risk but refuse to chase the real reward -How to stop being an employee of your own company -What Kyle’s father taught him about living with urgency and zero regret -Why The Forge exists and what the male suicide crisis means for entrepreneurs This episode is for business owners who: -Know they’re capable of more but keep playing small -Haven’t defined their endgame and can’t explain why they’re still grinding -Need a reality check on whether the juice is worth the squeeze You don’t have to figure this out alone. You don’t have to keep selling used cars when you could be selling Lamborghinis. Kyle and Jason lay out the mindset, the moves, and the community that make the difference. Chapters 00:00 – Why playing it safe as a business owner is the biggest risk 00:30 – Kyle Auffray’s journey: New York kid to NFL to dealmaker 02:00 – The transition most athletes and business owners get wrong 03:00 – Everything is sales, how Kyle sold his way into the NFL 05:00 – Scaling a company from $600K to $28M in four years 05:50 – The COVID PPE deal: multi-seven-figure matchmaking 08:00 – Why the same work earns 10x more with the right product 09:00 – The fearlessness factor: billion-dollar deals and Lake Como meetings 10:00 – Why comfort kills business owners 11:30 – The moment Kyle got the call from the Arizona Cardinals 13:00 – One life, one shot: why your endgame matters more than your hustle 15:00 – Know your endgame or you’re just an employee of your own company 17:30 – The Forge: why male suicide and fatherlessness are an entrepreneur crisis 22:30 – Two books you need in your life, the Bible and your passport 25:00 – What three days with B2X actually does to your business and your life 🔗 Connect The Forge → betheforge.com Dare to Exit Event (Nov 5-6, Atlanta) → daretoexit.com Built to Exit → builtexit.biz #BuiltToExit #BusinessExit #EntrepreneurMindset