The What It Takes Podcast is your front-row seat to stories of success from high achievers who’ve cracked the code on thriving in both corporate and non-corporate worlds. Hosted by Naftuly Kraus, founder of Blackbird Recruiting, this podcast features exclusive interviews with employees who've made over $300K, revealing the strategies, mindset, and hustle that propelled them to the top. Whether you're looking to level up your career or understand what it really takes to break through, you’ll get actionable insights, real stories, and inspiration from those who’ve done it. Tune in and start lear
What it Takes Podcast
Claim This Podcastby Blackbird Recruiting
30 episodes
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Podcast Overview
The What It Takes Podcast is your front-row seat to stories of success from high achievers who’ve cracked the code on thriving in both corporate and non-corporate worlds. Hosted by Naftuly Kraus, founder of Blackbird Recruiting, this podcast features exclusive interviews with employees who've made over $300K, revealing the strategies, mindset, and hustle that propelled them to the top. Whether you're looking to level up your career or understand what it really takes to break through, you’ll get actionable insights, real stories, and inspiration from those who’ve done it. Tune in and start lear
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3/2/2025
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Recent Episodes
July 7, 2026
Building Billion-Dollar Fundraising Platforms | Moshe Hecht Journey from Charidy to Hatch AI
<p>In this episode of <strong>The What It Takes Podcast</strong>, host <strong>Tuli Kraus</strong> sits down with <strong>Moshe Hecht</strong>, entrepreneur, startup operator, and Founder of <strong>Hatch AI</strong>, who previously helped build <strong>Charidy</strong> into one of the world's leading fundraising platforms that has facilitated nearly <strong>$5 billion</strong> in charitable giving.</p><p>This isn't just a conversation about <strong>AI</strong> or <strong>fundraising</strong>. It's about what it actually takes to build meaningful companies, lead high-performing teams, create products people genuinely need, and navigate the intersection of entrepreneurship, technology, and purpose.</p><p>Moshe shares his journey from helping scale one of the largest nonprofit fundraising platforms to leaving a successful company and starting over with Hatch AI, a platform using artificial intelligence to help nonprofits identify better donors, build smarter fundraising campaigns, and make data-driven decisions.</p><p>Whether you're a startup founder, nonprofit leader, fundraiser, entrepreneur, or simply curious about how AI is reshaping entire industries, this episode is packed with practical insights on leadership, innovation, fundraising strategy, hiring, and building companies that create real impact.</p><ul><li><p>How Moshe Hecht helped scale Charidy into one of the world's largest fundraising platforms</p></li><li><p>Why he left a successful company to build Hatch AI from the ground up</p></li><li><p>How AI is transforming nonprofit fundraising and donor engagement</p></li><li><p>The future of fundraising campaigns powered by artificial intelligence</p></li><li><p>How nonprofits can use donor intelligence instead of relying on guesswork</p></li><li><p>Building startup products that solve real customer problems</p></li><li><p>Leadership lessons from growing fast-moving technology companies</p></li><li><p>Hiring, culture, and building high-performing teams</p></li><li><p>The importance of purpose when building a business</p></li><li><p>Why founders should embrace uncertainty instead of chasing certainty</p></li><li><p>Lessons learned from scaling startups and launching new ventures</p></li><li><p>How AI will reshape the future of nonprofits and philanthropy</p></li></ul><p>Moshe shares years of startup and fundraising experience, including:</p><ul><li><p>Great fundraising starts with understanding people, not just asking for donations</p></li><li><p>AI should enhance human relationships, not replace them</p></li><li><p>The best startups solve painful, real-world problems</p></li><li><p>Hiring the right people is one of a founder's biggest competitive advantages</p></li><li><p>Building systems creates long-term growth instead of chasing short-term wins</p></li><li><p>Purpose-driven companies attract stronger teams and customers</p></li><li><p>Innovation happens when you're willing to leave comfort behind</p></li><li><p>Technology is changing fundraising faster than most organizations realize</p></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>00:00 </strong>Welcome & What Is a Fabrengen</p><p><strong>11:11 </strong>Singer to Shliach — Moishe's Path Through Yeshiva, Ukraine & Smicha</p><p><strong>17:32 </strong>Selling Ads, Joining Charity & the Early Bootstrap Years</p><p><strong>21:25 </strong>Scaling Charity: Competitors, Challenges & Finding Your ICP</p><p><strong>34:05 </strong>Growing the Team: Initiative, Listening to Customers & When to Fire</p><p><strong>47:59 </strong>Leaving Charity & Launching<a href="https://hatch.ai"> <u>Hatch.ai</u></a></p><p><strong>1:09:10 </strong>What Makes Hatch Different, Daily Giving & the Hecht Family Legacy</p><p><br></p><p>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/moshe-hecht-109a4514/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/moshe-hecht-109a4514/</a></p><p>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/moshehecht/?hl=en">https://www.instagram.com/moshehecht/?hl=en</a></p><p><br></p><p>Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/blackbird.recruiting/"> <u>https://www.instagram.com/blackbird.recruiting/</u></a></p><p>LinkedIn:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuli-kraus/"> <u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuli-kraus/</u></a></p><p><br></p><p>Hiring the wrong person is expensive—not just financially, but culturally.</p><p><strong>Blackbird Recruiting</strong> helps growing companies hire exceptional talent so founders can spend less time recruiting and more time building world-class businesses.</p><p><strong>💡 In This Episode, We Cover:🧠 Key Business & Fundraising Lessons from Moshe Hecht:⏱️ Chapters</strong><br><strong>🔗 Connect with Moshe Hecht🔗 Connect with the Host — Tuli Kraus About Blackbird Recruiting</strong></p>
June 21, 2026
I Worked With 100+ CEOs and Learned What Separates Winners From Everyone Else
<p>In this episode of The What It Takes Podcast, host Tuli Kraus sits down with <strong>Seth Farbman</strong>, entrepreneur, former securities lawyer, and founder of multiple successful companies including SEC filing services, stock transfer operations, and modern LinkedIn marketing agency Share Media.</p><p>This is not a typical “startup success story.” It’s a raw, behind-the-scenes conversation about building companies from a basement startup to multi-exit businesses, making millions, losing millions on failed ventures, and learning what actually drives long-term success in business: people, persistence, and purpose.</p><p>Seth shares how he went from practicing law in Manhattan to building four companies with his long-time partner, how a chance conversation over Pesach led to a business that scaled to thousands of clients, and how he later transitioned into helping CEOs and public companies grow through LinkedIn marketing and strategic visibility.</p><p>If you're an entrepreneur, founder, salesperson, or anyone trying to grow in your career or business, this episode breaks down real-world lessons you won’t get in business school.</p><p><br></p><ul><li><p>How Seth Farbman transitioned from securities lawyer to serial entrepreneur</p></li><li><p>The Pesach conversation that led to building a multimillion-dollar company from a basement</p></li><li><p>What it takes to scale a business to 5,000+ customers and 100+ employees</p></li><li><p>Why hiring the right people matters more than strategy or product</p></li><li><p>The emotional reality of selling a company (and losing identity after exit)</p></li><li><p>Earnouts, acquisitions, and what really happens after you “sell” your business</p></li><li><p>Lessons from failed ventures like apparel brands and startup experiments</p></li><li><p>Why not every great idea is a profitable business</p></li><li><p>How LinkedIn became a powerful growth engine for CEOs and public companies</p></li><li><p>What separates top-performing employees from average ones</p></li><li><p>Sales mindset: why fear kills deals and relationships build revenue</p></li><li><p>How persistence (like a candidate showing up 4 times) can change your life</p></li></ul><p>Seth breaks down 30+ years of experience in business and shares brutally honest insights:</p><ul><li><p>You don’t build companies to sell them — exits often come unexpectedly</p></li><li><p>The real value of a business is in relationships, not just revenue</p></li><li><p>Employees who take initiative outperform those who just “do their job”</p></li><li><p>Introverts can win in business by leading with value first</p></li><li><p>Most business failures come from building without real market validation</p></li><li><p>Purpose and momentum matter more than comfort or certainty</p></li></ul><p>0:00 The Real Reason Behind Visibility, Clients, and LinkedIn Growth 8:05 From a Basement SEC Filing Company to Two Buyouts 14:24 Purpose, Daymond John, and Finding the Recruiting Niche 20:07 Law School, Marriage, and Becoming a Reluctant Schmoozer 27:08 The Persistence That Got Hired Four Times 33:00 Hat Flops, Weight-Loss Gimmicks, and a Thousand Public Companies </p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethfarbman/"><u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethfarbman/</u></a><strong>Instagram:</strong> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sethfarbmanstock/"><u>https://www.instagram.com/sethfarbmanstock/</u></a></p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/blackbird.recruiting/"> <u>https://www.instagram.com/blackbird.recruiting/</u></a> <strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuli-kraus/"> <u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuli-kraus/</u></a></p><p>Hiring the wrong person is expensive — not just financially, but culturally.</p><p>Blackbird Recruiting helps growing companies hire people who actually perform, so you can spend less time filtering résumés and more time building your business.</p><p><br></p>
June 7, 2026
The Most Valuable Things I Learned From Building and Selling 4 Companies
<p>In this episode of the What It Takes Podcast, host Tuli Kraus sits down with Shai Stern — entrepreneur, investor, and advisor — to talk about building multiple companies from scratch, what separates great employees from mediocre ones, and what 30 years in business actually teaches you about people, sales, and showing up.</p><p>Shai Stern didn't come from money. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, dropped out of YU, got married young, and needed parnassah fast. What followed was four companies built with his partner Seth Farman — starting with a conversation over vintage seltzer on Pesach — that spanned SEC filings, business formations, background checks, and payment processing. He sold them all. And then started again.</p><p>Along the way, Shai learned things no business school teaches: how to close your first client when your father's chavrusa thinks you're a fool, how to handle a valued employee who gets poached, why firing people is one of the hardest things he's never gotten good at, and what makes someone like Michelle — his chief of staff for 13-plus years — genuinely irreplaceable.</p><p>He's also brutally honest about what he got wrong. Waiting too long to let people go. Trusting people who weren't honest. Letting ambition outrun organizational discipline. This episode is one of the most real, wisdom-packed conversations we've had on this podcast — and it applies whether you're a W-2 employee trying to level up or a founder building something from nothing.</p><p>If you're trying to figure out what it actually takes to grow in your career or your business, this one is for you.</p><p>◼️ How Shai went from a W-2 employee to building four companies with one partner and zero partnership agreements◼️ The Pesach conversation over vintage seltzer that launched Vintage Filings◼️ What his father taught him about learning before work — and why it stuck for 30 years◼️ The first client rejection that drove him harder than any yes ever could◼️ How he expanded a business to all 50 states in under 60 days using Chabad◼️ What makes Michelle McClosky the best hire he ever made — and what made his worst hire so painful◼️ How COVID nearly destroyed V-Check Global and what saved it◼️ The right way to ask for a raise, handle rejection, and set yourself up for a yes◼️ What separates salespeople who crush it from those who plateau◼️ Why fear has no place in sales — and how to actually get it out of your system.</p><p>Chapters:</p><p>0:00 Teaneck to Teaneck: Shai's Background, Family & Early Influences7:58 The Pesach Handshake: How Vintage Filings Was Born Over Seltzer15:02 Getting the First Client: Rejection, Persistence & Humble Confidence23:03 Selling Vintage Filings, Building V-Corp & Expanding to All 50 States With Chabad28:30 V-Check Global, COVID & What Happens When Your Business Falls Off a Cliff40:17 Best Hire, Worst Hire & What Loyalty Actually Looks Like in Business55:14 How to Ask for a Raise, Handle Rejection & Make Yourself More Valuable1:09:08 Sales Without Fear: What 30 Years Taught Shai About Relationships & Parnassah</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Shai Stern</strong></p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaistern1"><u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaistern1</u></a> <strong>Phone:</strong> 917-579-3107 <strong>Email:</strong> stern@gotavi.co <strong>Website:</strong> gotavi.co</p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong><a href="https://www.instagram.com/blackbird.recruiting/"> <u>https://www.instagram.com/blackbird.recruiting/</u></a> <strong>LinkedIn:</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuli-kraus/"> <u>https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuli-kraus/</u></a></p><p>Hiring the wrong person is expensive — not just financially, but culturally.</p><p>Blackbird Recruiting helps growing companies hire people who actually perform, so you can spend less time filtering résumés and more time building your business.</p><p><strong>💡 In This Episode, We Cover:⏱️ Chapters🔗 Connect with Shai Stern🔗 Connect with the Host — Tuli KrausBlackbird Recruiting</strong></p>
30 total episodes available
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