Changing Lives Selling Knives

Hosted by Dan Casetta

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Episodes

441

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

This is Changing Lives Selling Knives — a podcast that shares transformational life and business lessons from highly successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. All the guests on this podcast have two things in common. First, they're all changing lives today through their work and their influence. Second, they all got their start in business by selling Cutco knives with Vector Marketing. This podcast was created to share inspiring stories from Cutco's most prominent alumni and current leaders. On this show, you'll meet successful entrepreneurs, best-selling authors, superstar business executives, and transformational leaders from many walks of life. The lessons of the Cutco/Vector experience are numerous, are compelling, and are REAL-WORLD concepts for business and life. Through hearing real-life stories and hands-on experiences, you'll gain insights that can help you in whatever it is that you do in life. Press play to learn how you apply these life-changing lessons.

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60 recent

June 9, 2026Episode 44134 min

441: Gino Leocadi - 60+ Years of Service, Dedication, Integrity & Love

Gino Leocadi has been a legend of the Cutco business dating back to October of 1964. After becoming one of the company's top sales reps, he developed a strong relationship with the leaders and owners of Cutco, enabling him to be at the forefront of innovations that have profoundly impacted the business. Gino helped to develop things like the DD sharpener, Service Call program, white handles, and the Cutco Sales Professional position itself. He was the first sales rep to be inducted into the Cutco/Vector Hall of Fame. Gino is joined in this conversation by his wife of 62 years, Joanne. This episode is guest-hosted by fellow Cutco Hall of Famer, Jeffrey Paul Bobrick. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

April 24, 2024Episode 44050 min

440: Jordan Curtis - Sales Success Fundamentals

Jordan Curtis started selling Cutco on January 28, 2023. In just about 11 months, he sold $215,298 to win the Silver Cup as the #1 new (Rising Star) sales representative in the company, more than doubling his closest competition and setting an all-time Vector Marketing company record. Jordan displays a rare combination of confidence, coachability, discipline, and a relentless work ethic. He's a student at Texas State University, graduating in May 2024, and is looking forward to a role as a Cutco Sales Professional. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

April 19, 2024Episode 43914 min

439: Ben Lee - Flashback Friday

Ben Lee is a young leader with a true passion for excellence. In high school, he was a captain on 2 California State Champion football teams. He started selling Cutco in 2019, and was #1 in sales among over 40,000 others recruited by the company that year. He advanced to the position of District Manager in 2020, and became the company's #1 New District Manager out of over 100 dynamic competitors. He has evolved into a Pillar of the Western Region and has recently been appointed to serve as Assistant Division Manager in the Los Angeles Division. Ben Lee has the will to win and the ability to inspire others to join him in his mission. He's one of the finest young leaders you might ever encounter. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

April 10, 2024Episode 43856 min

438: Will Jenkins - A Blueprint For Entrepreneurial Success

Will Jenkins has spent the past 15 years of his career building businesses and cultivating sales talent. Will leveraged his Cutco/Vector management experience to develop expertise in scaling a customer-facing sales team, including all aspects of attracting, developing, and retaining top talent. He co-founded the freight brokerage MoLo Solutions, which he helped build to over 900 employees and $1 billion in annual revenue and achieved a highly lucrative exit. Will's passion for personal and professional development is the driving force behind his new venture, Journey, a recruiting, consulting, and training company focused on freight brokerages. Will also consults/invests in start-ups, and is an advisor/mentor to various entrepreneurs, sales professionals and founders, and he serves on the Board of 3 local Chicago charities. Will's successful experiences provide a duplicatable blueprint for entrepreneurial success. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

April 5, 2024Episode 4371 hr 3 min

437: Shelby Brandt - Flashback Friday

Creating a great organizational culture is at the forefront of any leader's mind. It's the one key factor that affects everything else, so it's critical to craft and shape and develop. Shelby (Wildgust) Brandt has spent her entire life on an entrepreneurial journey of discovery, learning about herself, others, business, and life. As Cutco/Vector Marketing's Program Development Manager, Shelby has been on a deep dive into the ingredients of culture. In this special episode, Shelby pulls nuggets from eight past CLSK guests that form a recipe for great organizational culture, and adds one ingredient of her own. This episode features snippets from current and former Vector leaders, including Dan Casetta, Isaac Tolpin, Kristin Alli, Trey Harris, Drew Frank, Kate Vasey, Paige Weber, and Kevin Barthe. Use these ideas as a basis for crafting your own amazing team culture. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

February 23, 2024Episode 43611 min

436: Amir Habash - Flashback Friday

Amir Habash is a young leader who has learned to walk his own path in life. He became a Cutco/Vector District Manager at 18 years old, and has achieved consistent growth over the past 9 years, while accumulating over $10.8 million in Cutco sales, and advancing to serve as the Assistant Division Manager in Vector's Carolina Division. Amir has been able to combine talent, work ethic, and the mindset of a champion to become the best version of himself and find his edge. In 2023, he won the Silver Cup in Vector's Elite League manager category, and he continues to grow his results and his influence. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

February 14, 2024Episode 43529 min

435: Jon Gordon - The Wisdom & Insights of Jon Gordon

Jon Gordon is one of the most prolific and best-known business and personal development authors in the world today. The author of 28 books, most notably "The Energy Bus", Jon has inspired readers and audiences all around the world with his message about the power of positive energy and positive leadership. His principles have been put to the test by countless Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals, college and professional sports teams, and non-profits. He has consulted with leaders who have transformed organizations, won national championships, and are currently changing lives all over the world. Today's episode is a mash-up of lessons from several of Jon's books, including a quick opening message from a surprise guest speaker. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

February 9, 2024Episode 43420 min

434: Jon Berghoff- Flashback Friday

Jon Berghoff epitomizes the "changing lives" theme of this podcast as well as anyone we've ever featured. As a Cutco rep, Jon raised the bar of possibility for the entire company through his spectacular and unprecedented achievements, along the way to becoming the youngest ever inductee into the Cutco/Vector Hall of Fame. Now, as a respected business leader with an international following, Jon is teaching leaders how to multiply their influence through use of the "XChange" method of uniting groups of people, facilitating events, and leading others to embrace revolutionary challenges and opportunities. Jon teaches here how to ask the kinds of questions that open up new worlds of possibility, for yourself and for all those who you lead. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

February 1, 2024Episode 4331 hr 6 min

433: Tyler Strauss & Elliot James - Building A Championship Team

Tyler Strauss was Cutco/Vector Marketing's Silver Cup winner in the Branch Manager race in the Summer of 2022. He's now a District Manager in Nebraska, and is leading the company in New Business Sales for 2024. Elliot James was the Branch Silver Cup winner in the Summer of 2023. He's about to graduate from the University of Minnesota and will be a District Manager starting in May of 2024. Both of these young leaders are a part of new wave of superstars in the Central Region of the Vector Marketing organization. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com

January 26, 2024Episode 43214 min

432: Tina-Marie Cooper-Minar - Flashback Friday

Tina-Marie Cooper-Minar has been one of the top-producing District Managers in Cutco/Vector history with over $19 million in career sales. Her early influences in the business include company legends such as Marty Domitrovich, Tim McCreadie, Chris Heigel, Jeff Bry and others. Tina-Marie has overcome numerous personal and professional challenges over the years, and she approaches it all with a tremendous spirit of optimism. Her combination of attitude, work ethic, and skill development has made her into a tremendous role model and major winner in business and in life. She was recently promoted to Division Coordinator of the Mid-Michigan Division, headquartered in East Lansing. For the complete show notes and access to all episodes, visit ChangingLivesPodcast.com