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Vertical Momentum Podcast with Richard Coffman – Guest Appearance

Todd Hagopian Shares How to Declare War on Stagnation on Vertical Momentum Podcast

Todd Hagopian joined host Richard Coffman, also known as the Comeback Coach, on the Vertical Momentum podcast for an in-depth conversation about resiliency, business transformation, and turning neurodivergence into competitive advantage. The episode explored Hagopian’s 15 years undiagnosed with bipolar disorder, how he went from “Tony Stark to Tony Stagnant” when medication muted his hypomanic edge, and the systematic toolbox he built to recapture that productive power. The conversation delivered practical frameworks including the 80/20 Matrix of Profitability, base-core-custom pricing strategy, and three metrics every business needs to track.

Table of Contents

What Is the Vertical Momentum Podcast?

Vertical Momentum is a teaching podcast hosted by Richard Coffman, known as the Comeback Coach, featuring conversations about resiliency, entrepreneurship, and overcoming personal and professional challenges. The show serves veteran entrepreneurs and those starting their business journey, with 100% of merchandise proceeds supporting veterans struggling with depression and PTSD.

Host Richard Coffman brings personal experience with borderline personality disorder to conversations that explore mental health alongside business strategy. The show’s tagline captures its philosophy: “The only way to go is up.”

The podcast emphasizes that listeners have a choice every morning—to be a victim or a victor of their circumstances.

What Is Todd Hagopian’s Definition of Resiliency?

Todd Hagopian defines resiliency as getting through that period of stagnation that we all hit, then figuring out a way to think differently to get through it. Stagnation is the death nail of a business, manifesting when innovation dries up, best people start leaving, market share stops expanding, and companies struggle to figure out the next thing to change the game.

“We all have our thing that we have to get through. Whether it’s bipolar like me or PTSD or three divorces or whatever, you’ve got your thing that you’ve got to power through.”

Personal resiliency matters equally in business because personal lives constantly try to intrude on what we’re trying to accomplish. Declaring war on stagnation must be proactive, not reactive.

How Did Todd Hagopian Turn Bipolar Disorder Into a Business System?

Todd Hagopian turned bipolar disorder into a business system by building processes that mimic hypomanic productivity after medication removed his natural edge—remembering how he attacked certain things while hypomanic and creating repeatable frameworks that any leader can implement. After 15 years undiagnosed, sleeping only two to three hours a day while becoming a turnaround manager, he finally sought help at age 36.

“I basically went from Tony Stark to Tony Stagnant overnight. Do I really need to choose between success and sanity? That doesn’t seem fair.”

When medication stabilized his life but eliminated his competitive edge, he faced the sanity versus success dilemma. Rather than accepting that tradeoff, he started building ways to mimic hypomanic approaches through documented processes.

After turning around four companies and realizing in the 13th month of his third turnaround that he’d forgotten tools from the first one, he wrote everything down into a real toolbox. The fourth turnaround went amazing—everything turned around a year faster than expected.

The system has about 10 parts, but leaders don’t need to go one through 10 in order or use all 10. Each system is self-sustaining—if you need innovation, you go to the smashing orthodoxy system.

What Is Stagnation and How Do You Declare War on It?

Stagnation is when innovation dries up, best people start leaving, market share stops expanding, and companies can’t figure out the next thing to change the game—and if you haven’t had a transformation in three years, you need one because technology is moving so fast that you must relook at everything. Todd explained that every company needs to transform every three years.

When someone says “this is the way we’ve always done it,” it needs to change. That phrase is the trigger for transformation.

Turnaround management requires alignment up and down the chain. Leadership usually knows what they’re getting, but working with employees who’ve spent 30 years thinking they’re doing fine while the company is in serious trouble requires different approaches. Some people self-select out, while others who were previously lagging get super excited and become completely different employees.

What Business Frameworks Did the Episode Reveal?

The episode revealed multiple business frameworks including the 80/20 Matrix of Profitability for pricing different customers different ways, three essential turnaround metrics (revenue per minute, profit per minute, and flow through), smashing orthodoxies for innovation, and the base-core-custom pricing platform. These frameworks work in small businesses as well as Fortune 500 companies.

The 80/20 Matrix of Profitability

The 80/20 Matrix examines how much money you make from each customer and each product, then looks at combinations. Your best quadrant—highest profitable customers buying highest profitable products—gets protected with good margins. Worst customers buying worst products that no big customers depend on get 40% price increases or elimination.

Often you’ll find a huge set of customers and products making up 3% of revenue while consuming disproportionate work. Eliminating it lets you dive all that work back into good products and good customers to explode your business.

Three Essential Turnaround Metrics

The three metrics needed to turn around any company are revenue per minute, profit per minute, and flow through. Calculate by dividing total revenue or profit by total man-hours (employees times 2,000 hours per year). Flow through equals profit divided by revenue—if you made an extra million in revenue but only $200,000 in profit, that’s 20% flow through.

Smashing Orthodoxies

Smashing orthodoxies means identifying and challenging the 20 biggest industry assumptions. Monster Energy smashed orthodoxies with tall skinny cans and 40oz sizes when everyone used standard 12oz cans. Todd’s team changed the laundry industry by putting gray and chrome washers in circulars instead of only white—$900 million category completely changed with one decision.

Base-Core-Custom Pricing

The base-core-custom platform offers: base model (cheap and fast), core model (everything they probably need at higher price with reasonable lead time), and custom model (requires more work, must get paid for complexity). This works in software, manufacturing, and small businesses.

The Empathy Lesson

At his 90-day review during a major turnaround, Todd received feedback that nobody knew who he was despite great numbers. He did 100 one-on-ones in 30 days with 160 employees, asking: “Tell me what you would change if you were sitting in my seat. Tell me what I don’t understand.”

“Nobody cares about working an extra half hour if they really feel like it’s good. People don’t complain about being productive. They complain about being unproductive.”

What Are Todd Hagopian’s Top Three Pieces of Advice for New Entrepreneurs?

Todd Hagopian’s top three pieces of advice for new entrepreneurs are: it’s always easier to buy a business than start one (banks give up to 90% financing and you can use 401k money without taxes), cash is king because running out of cash is the number one reason businesses fail even when doing fine, and outsource everything you’re not good at because you’ll never become the expert at SEO or marketing.

1. Buy a Business Instead of Starting One

It’s not as hard as people think. Banks usually give up to 90% to buy a business. There are ways to use 401k money without paying taxes or penalties. Todd took his 401k and bought a multi-million dollar business with just a couple hundred thousand, no dollars out of pocket.

2. Cash Is King

You will have times when customers owe you money, you owe other people money, but you have no money in the account. Todd had to sell his business earlier than wanted because he grew too fast—customers owed him $660,000 and he owed other people money. Have enough cash reserve to get through a year.

3. Outsource Everything You’re Not Good At

There are cheap ways to get things done. Even if it’s not cheaper than you think, it’s worth it. You’re not going to become the expert at SEO or marketing materials. Pay somebody and invest those hours into doing something else really good.

Where Can You Listen and Connect?

The Vertical Momentum episode featuring Todd Hagopian is available on major podcast platforms. The conversation covers resiliency, bipolar disorder, business transformation frameworks, and practical advice for entrepreneurs at any stage.

Connect with Todd Hagopian:

  • Website: toddhagopian.com (extensive free writing on frameworks)
  • Book: “The Unfair Advantage” on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
  • Twitter/X and LinkedIn (send connection requests, not follows)

Todd does not do consulting: “I’m not in this for the money. You’re not going to make a bunch of money selling a book. I just want this out there. If you have questions, just hit me up and let’s have a conversation.”

Connect with Richard Coffman at Vertical Momentum. Remember: “The only way to go is up.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Vertical Momentum podcast about?

Vertical Momentum is a teaching podcast hosted by Richard Coffman (the Comeback Coach) covering resiliency, entrepreneurship, and overcoming challenges. The show supports veterans struggling with depression and PTSD through merchandise sales.

What is the 80/20 Matrix of Profitability?

The 80/20 Matrix examines profitability by customer and product combinations to price different customers different ways. You protect your best quadrant with good margins while applying dramatic price increases or elimination to unprofitable combinations.

What are the three metrics to turn around a company?

The three metrics are revenue per minute (total revenue divided by total man-hours), profit per minute (total profit divided by total man-hours), and flow through (profit divided by revenue). These help identify whether you need to cut headcount or can profitably add people.

What is smashing orthodoxies?

Smashing orthodoxies means identifying and challenging industry assumptions everyone accepts as standard. Examples include Monster’s tall skinny cans versus standard 12oz cans, and putting gray washers in circulars when the industry only showed white.

How long was Todd Hagopian undiagnosed with bipolar disorder?

Todd was undiagnosed for 15 years, sleeping only two to three hours a day while building his career as a turnaround manager. He finally sought help at age 36 when he had persistent headaches and chest pains and realized he couldn’t “just disappear” with two kids depending on him.

People Also Ask

How often should companies transform?

According to Todd Hagopian, if you haven’t had a transformation in three years, you need one. Technology is moving so fast that every company needs to completely relook at everything and change their long-term strategy based on what’s happening.

Why is it easier to buy a business than start one?

Banks usually give up to 90% financing to buy a business, and there are ways to use 401k money without paying taxes or penalties. Todd bought a multi-million dollar business with just a couple hundred thousand from his 401k, no dollars out of pocket.

What happens if you lower prices by 10%?

If you lower prices by 10%, you typically need to sell 30% more stuff depending on margin to make the same money. Todd recommends the opposite—raise prices by 12%, lose 20% of sales, and still make the same money while paying fewer people less money.

What is the base-core-custom pricing model?

Base-core-custom offers three tiers: base model (cheap and fast), core model (has everything they need at higher price with reasonable lead time), and custom model (special requirements where you must get paid for complexity). This works across software, manufacturing, and small businesses.