{"id":184,"date":"2025-06-23T07:53:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T14:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/?p=184"},"modified":"2025-06-23T07:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T14:53:14","slug":"freedom-and-purpose-through-entrepreneurship-with-ray-gillenwater-stronger-is-better-podcast-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/freedom-and-purpose-through-entrepreneurship-with-ray-gillenwater-stronger-is-better-podcast-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom and Purpose through Entrepreneurship with Ray Gillenwater | Stronger Is Better Podcast #6"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Freedom and Purpose through Entrepreneurship with Ray Gillenwater | Stronger Is Better Podcast #6\" style=\"width:640px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe hidef\" id=\"WYL_fKlfxrVEBVk\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FfKlfxrVEBVk%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fKlfxrVEBVk\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT1H7M36S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-06-23T05:15:02Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_fKlfxrVEBVk\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FfKlfxrVEBVk%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Freedom and Purpose through Entrepreneurship with Ray Gillenwater | Stronger Is Better Podcast #6<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/fKlfxrVEBVk\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FfKlfxrVEBVk%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Freedom and Purpose through Entrepreneurship with Ray Gillenwater | Stronger Is Better Podcast #6\" width=\"640\" height=\"340\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this episode of the Stronger Is Better Podcast, Nick Delgadillo sits down with Starting Strength Gyms founder Ray Gillenwater for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, vision, and the founding story of Starting Strength Gyms. Ray shares how his experiences in tech, corporate leadership, and global markets led him to Starting Strength\u2014and why strength training is at the core of building better people, teams, and businesses. They explore the parallels between barbell training and business operations, discuss lessons from launching a franchise, and highlight the power of doing hard things. From his time at BlackBerry to the launch of Starting Strength Gyms, Ray\u2019s story offers valuable insight for entrepreneurs, coaches, and anyone seeking freedom through ownership. 00:00 \u2013 Intro: Ray returns to the podcast 00:44 \u2013 Ray\u2019s background in tech and telecom 02:20 \u2013 First encounter with Starting Strength 04:50 \u2013 Discovering the program, contacting Rip 07:00 \u2013 Attending his first seminar and injuries 08:20 \u2013 Starting Strength retail vision emerges 10:24 \u2013 Franchising vs affiliation 12:42 \u2013 How the response to COVID tested the franchise 14:59 \u2013 Corporate vs mission-driven business 16:35 \u2013 BlackBerry in Southeast Asia 19:30 \u2013 Sales tactics and incentive alignment 23:19 \u2013 Launching BlackBerry Money, ahead of its time 27:30 \u2013 What went wrong at BlackBerry 30:00 \u2013 The draw of Starting Strength 31:35 \u2013 Bullshit in the corporate world 33:00 \u2013 Rip\u2019s influence and brutal honesty 34:15 \u2013 Returning to the franchise\u2014lessons learned 36:04 \u2013 Coaching gym owners like lifters 38:49 \u2013 Business fundamentals mirror training 40:26 \u2013 Product, people, and solving real problems 44:42 \u2013 Technical expertise vs human connection 48:30 \u2013 How to help the runner, the skeptic, anyone 52:46 \u2013 Weekly habits and business levers 54:20 \u2013 Vision, strategy, and scalable simplicity 56:34 \u2013 Why the culture makes it all work 57:37 \u2013 Hard physical effort = quality people 1:01:25 \u2013 Franchising done the right way 1:03:31 \u2013 Humility, hardship, and growth 1:06:35 \u2013 Closing reflections on freedom and purpose \u2e3b \ud83d\udd17 Brought to you by www.startingstrengthgyms.com \ud83c\udfa7 New episodes every other week on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify \ud83d\udce9 Send feedback or questions to: podcast@ssgyms.com *Connect With* #startingstrengthgyms https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/startingstrengthgyms https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/startingstrengthgyms https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/starting-strength-gyms \ud83d\udd17 *Book your free 30-min session:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/free-session.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Own a Gym:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/own-a-gym.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Train at a gym:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/locations.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Coach at a gym:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/become-a-coach.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Shop for apparel:* https:\/\/store.startingstrengthgyms.com?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral #startingstrengthgyms #startingstrength #strengthtraining #fitness\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:640px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>In this episode of the Stronger Is Better Podcast, Nick Delgadillo sits down with Starting Strength Gyms founder Ray Gillenwater for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, vision, and the founding story of Starting Strength Gyms. Ray shares how his experiences in tech, corporate leadership, and global markets led him to Starting Strength\u2014and why strength training is at the core of building better people, teams, and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They explore the parallels between barbell training and business operations, discuss lessons from launching a franchise, and highlight the power of doing hard things. From his time at BlackBerry to the launch of Starting Strength Gyms, Ray\u2019s story offers valuable insight for entrepreneurs, coaches, and anyone seeking freedom through ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>00:00 \u2013 Intro: Ray returns to the podcast<br>00:44 \u2013 Ray\u2019s background in tech and telecom<br>02:20 \u2013 First encounter with Starting Strength<br>04:50 \u2013 Discovering the program, contacting Rip<br>07:00 \u2013 Attending his first seminar and injuries<br>08:20 \u2013 Starting Strength retail vision emerges<br>10:24 \u2013 Franchising vs affiliation<br>12:42 \u2013 How the response to COVID tested the franchise<br>14:59 \u2013 Corporate vs mission-driven business<br>16:35 \u2013 BlackBerry in Southeast Asia<br>19:30 \u2013 Sales tactics and incentive alignment<br>23:19 \u2013 Launching BlackBerry Money, ahead of its time<br>27:30 \u2013 What went wrong at BlackBerry<br>30:00 \u2013 The draw of Starting Strength<br>31:35 \u2013 Bullshit in the corporate world<br>33:00 \u2013 Rip\u2019s influence and brutal honesty<br>34:15 \u2013 Returning to the franchise\u2014lessons learned<br>36:04 \u2013 Coaching gym owners like lifters<br>38:49 \u2013 Business fundamentals mirror training<br>40:26 \u2013 Product, people, and solving real problems<br>44:42 \u2013 Technical expertise vs human connection<br>48:30 \u2013 How to help the runner, the skeptic, anyone<br>52:46 \u2013 Weekly habits and business levers<br>54:20 \u2013 Vision, strategy, and scalable simplicity<br>56:34 \u2013 Why the culture makes it all work<br>57:37 \u2013 Hard physical effort = quality people<br>1:01:25 \u2013 Franchising done the right way<br>1:03:31 \u2013 Humility, hardship, and growth<br>1:06:35 \u2013 Closing reflections on freedom and purpose<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2e3b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udd17 Brought to you by www.startingstrengthgyms.com<br>\ud83c\udfa7 New episodes every other week on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify<br>\ud83d\udce9 Send feedback or questions to: podcast@ssgyms.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this episode of the Stronger Is Better Podcast, Nick Delgadillo sits down with Starting Strength Gyms founder Ray Gillenwater for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, vision, and the founding story of Starting Strength Gyms. Ray shares how his experiences in tech, corporate leadership, and global markets led him to Starting Strength\u2014and why strength training [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcast","tag-starting-strength-gyms","tag-stronger-is-better"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":249,"url":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/stop-screwing-up-your-novice-linear-progression-stronger-is-better-podcast-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":0},"title":"Stop Screwing up your Novice Linear Progression | Stronger is Better Podcast #12","author":"Bre Acosta","date":"September 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3yI6sMwziK8 In this episode, Nick Delgadillo and Ray Gillenwater revisit one of the most important topics in barbell training: the Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression (NLP). 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James shares how barbell training prepared him physically and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Podcast - Stronger Is Better&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Podcast - Stronger Is Better","link":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/category\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/IvKT0M6dgLg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":127,"url":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/simplifying-advanced-programming-stronger-is-better-podcast-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":184,"position":3},"title":"Simplifying Advanced Programming | Stronger is Better Podcast #1","author":"Bre Acosta","date":"April 16, 2025","format":"video","excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/BGOR6Ho8UXA Welcome to Episode 1 of the Stronger is Better Podcast, brought to you by Starting Strength Gyms and hosted by Nick Delgadillo. 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