Levi King is a self-taught entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience starting, owning, and operating small businesses. He is CEO and co-founder of Nav, a credit health platform for small businesses.

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Guest Resources

Nav – Visit Nav.com for tools to understand and improve your business credit and financial health.

Levi King LinkedIn – Connect with Levi on LinkedIn. His purpose now is serving entrepreneurs and he welcomes connection.

3 Value Bombs

1. Success without happiness isn’t success. Money alone cannot fill the gap.

2. Curiosity and reinvention keep entrepreneurs alive; comfort breeds stagnation.

3. Mental health is not optional; ignore it long enough and it will break.

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.

[1:14] — Levi shares something he believes about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

Success isn’t defined by wealth. If you’re not happy once you “make it,” you’re not successful.
People often assume profit + freedom automatically equals fulfillment.
He emphasizes that happiness and purpose must be part of the equation.

[3:28] — Levi talks about farm roots & the creation of entrepreneurial grit.

Farms never sleep; cows eat whether you feel like feeding them or not.
Growing up as the oldest boy in a household with 10 kids meant responsibility from day one.
Constant setbacks on the farm taught him that failure isn’t an option and problems must be solved.
Early curiosity about money and poverty shaped his drive to become an entrepreneur.

[5:40] — Levi talks about building through adversity.

He is an introvert; early cold calling terrified him.
His first business began with a ladder, tools, and a pickup truck.
Cold calling led to installation, then manufacturing and bootstrapping from the ground up.
He learned quickly that in business, money solves all problems.
Second major lesson: understand humans: motivation, decisions, communication, and psychology.

[8:40] — Levi talks about becoming a serial entrepreneur across industries.

Sold his first business at 25, driven by curiosity and challenge.
Built companies in sign manufacturing, outsourced sales, hotels, restaurant service franchises, and financial services.
Eventually made the leap from small business to tech and raising venture capital for the first time.
Motivation evolved from proving himself to others → proving himself to himself.

[12:33] – A timeout to thank our sponsors.

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HighLevel: The ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies! Learn more at HighLevelFire.com!

[15:55] — Levi shares the birth of Nav (N-A-V).

NAV was born from his painful experiences in trying to understand business credit as a young founder.
Before NAV, he co-founded Lendio, which focused on financing options in the moment.
NAV solves the underlying problem: poor financial health caused by lack of knowledge.
NAV integrates with all major consumer and business credit bureaus + cashflow systems.
Helps entrepreneurs:
- Understand why lenders say no
- Fix personal + business credit issues
- Improve financing options for the future
- Navigate credit, cash flow & financial decisions
NAV = Navigation → a long-term partner for small business financial health.

[21:18] — Levi gives his advice for business owners fighting to stay afloat.

Don’t believe money guarantees happiness or success.
Learn to understand people; communication must be tailored to personalities.
His biggest regret was ignoring his mental health.
After a major funding round in 2018, he suffered severe panic attacks.
Recovered through therapy, habits, meditation, and psilocybin.
His message: Don’t wait until your mental health breaks, take care of yourself now.

[24:14] — Call to action.

Nav – Visit Nav.com for tools to understand and improve your business credit and financial health.
Levi King LinkedIn – Connect with Levi on LinkedIn. His purpose now is serving entrepreneurs and he welcomes connection.

[24:49] – Thank you to our Sponsors!

Cape: Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier, built from the ground up with security as the priority. Visit Cape.co/fire to sign up today!
HighLevel: The ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies! Learn more at HighLevelFire.com!

Killer Resources!

1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!

2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!

3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!