👇 SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL - so this show can reach more people 👇 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIprGZAdzn3ZqgLmDuibYcw?sub_confirmation=1 Click the Link Below to Subscribe to my email list to MAXOUT your life (all value, no fluff) https://konect.to/edmylett Apply for up to $500,000 in same day business funding in under 3 minutes at Cardiff.co/ED Customers come and go. Fans will drive 40 hours just to be in the room with you. I've wanted Jesse Cole on this show for a long time, and this conversation went further than I hoped. More than 4 million people are on a waitlist for a ticket to one of his games. He's drawn crowds bigger than the Super Bowl. And he's done it by obsessing over the thing I believe matters most as AI moves into every business: how people feel when they deal with you. This was not an overnight success. Jesse's pro baseball dream ended with a torn shoulder. He spent ten years running a team almost nobody came to see. Then he and his wife, Emily, bet everything on a college summer team in Savannah, and in the first three months, they sold two tickets. What happened next became the Banana Ball Championship League and one of the great American business stories. I asked him the question every entrepreneur in a hard season needs answered: why didn't you quit? I share what it felt like when my own baseball dream ended. I push back on founders who build companies just to sell them, and I explain why most big exits aren't what they look like. And I challenge Jesse on what separates great entrepreneurs: they keep improving even when everything is already working. We finish with what Jesse and Emily are building off the field, and it may be the most powerful part of the whole conversation. Here's what you'll gain from this episode: - Fans vs. Customers: Why one is transactional and the other will defend you when you make a mistake. - The Friction Question: The one question that sparked Banana Ball, and how it applies to a realtor, a dry cleaner, or any business. - Attention Beats Marketing: Why Jesse hasn't spent a dollar on marketing since opening night, and what he does instead. - The Energy List: How Jesse found what fuels him, and why it changed the way he shows up as a leader and a dad. - Lessons from Walt Disney: Two principles Jesse built his company on, including the one that explains why he won't sell. - Learn, Change, Plus: The nightly habit that keeps a sold-out business from ever getting comfortable. Two tickets in three months. That's where this started. Whatever season you're in right now, get to the next day, then the next one. You are much closer to your dreams than you realize. Key Moments: 0:00 Introduction: The Savannah Bananas Phenomenon 2:26 Welcome Jesse Cole 4:20 Origin Story: Starting in Gastonia 5:38 The Walt Disney Inspiration 7:40 Near Bankruptcy in Savannah 10:02 Getting Attention: Naming the Bananas 11:27 Opening Day and the Fans First Experience 14:02 Why Jesse Never Considered Quitting 15:56 What Fans First Really Means 19:32 The $6 Million Mistake 21:07 Customers vs. Fans 22:19 How Any Business Can Create Experience 24:35 Removing Friction from Baseball 28:17 Bringing Energy to Your Business 31:53 Lessons from Walt Disney: Vision and Control 37:39 The Danger of Losing Control 40:16 Competing Against Yourself 45:07 Why Others Haven't Copied the Model 47:08 Learn, Change, Plus: Continuous Improvement 49:09 The Globetrotters' Cautionary Tale 51:03 Bananas Foster: Giving Back 54:28 Closing Thoughts Thank you for watching this video—Please Share it and get the word out! 👇 SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL 👇 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIprGZAdzn3ZqgLmDuibYcw?sub_confirmation=1 ▶ Visit My WEBSITE | https://www.EdMylett.com #EdMylett #JesseCole #SavannahBananas #Entrepreneurship #Motivation