The performance industry is largely driven by people with little to no business experience. This is especially true at the shop level. That makes the barrier to entry very small, as most shop owners don’t have a business plan and have very few systems in place. Usually the shop owner IS the system! Jordan Watson has a different approach. Jordan spent the first part of his career gaining an understanding of the performance street car community, and now he’s working to create a systems-based approach to his performance services business. His goal is to create a company-wide system that...

  Scott Kuhner has created Emtron Australia, an ECU manufacturer that focuses on creative engine control functions and close dealer relationships. Having owned multiple businesses over the years Scott discusses in detail some of the hurdles he’s faced in his businesses. Specific hurdles include dealing with outside engineering consulting firms, and as Scott calls it “the money machine” just keeps on rolling when developing new products. He explains how “scope creep” affects the process, and don’t worry we talk about engine control tech too!

Jason Siebels has been a gearhead his whole life and he started his company Pro EFI in the late ‘90’s. Then in 2000 Jason began working at AEM, developing their plug-and-play line of engine management systems. After a falling out, Jason dove head first into making a quality engine controller that functioned the way he thought it should. Now Pro EFI has plug-and-play systems for a handful of applications including the C6 Corvette, and ZL1 Camaro among others. What makes Pro EFI stand out is their fault management and their ability to drive the factory instrumentation via CAN BUS. Jason...

  Martin Musial is the President of AMS and Alpha Performance Products. His company builds hard parts and complete platform installations for Nissan GTR and European vehicles such as BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche among others. But did you know that he started by designing camshafts for a Merkur x4ti? Martin tells his entrepreneurial story from disassembling his family’s thermostat as a kid, to designing camshafts the hard way. Martin shares what makes him tick and his philosophy on life and the performance business.

  Andy Wyatt is an Australian mechatronics engineer and the founder of Adaptronic. Andy was determined for this episode to be 100% technical but I managed to talk business and we brought some great topics to life. Andy talked about all the things that didn’t work for his business including magazine advertising, and hiring a business coach. He’s identified that what does work is to partner with specialty shops who have established networks, and then build a brand by supporting those shops.