Ep. 003: Andy Westmaas and the Ultimate Leverage

Feb 13, 2026

One month before Jake died, Andy got him on the phone. Jake was on the street, not himself, somewhere in the dark.

Andy called the police anyway.

Jake walked home just ahead of them. That was one of the harder nights. Andy Westmaas will tell you there were 15 years worth of those.

Andy Westmaas co-owns and operates a multi-million dollar Amazon and Walmart e-commerce business with his wife Michelle, built on the back of 27 years in nonprofit executive leadership and fundraising. He has navigated hard pivots, outsourced his entire prep-and-ship operation to free up capacity, acquired a Shark Tank-featured toy company through a boat conversation, and built a business with the woman he loves that runs on complementary skill sets and three shared core values. By most measures, Andy looks like someone who figured it out.

But the philosophy underneath every decision, every negotiation, every moment Andy chooses to hold loosely and walk away, came from somewhere no business school teaches. He lost his son Jake after a 15-year battle with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Jake earned a degree, got married, hunted alongside Andy and his grandfather, and still slipped away. What Andy found on the other side of that loss is what this episode is actually about.

What You'll Learn:

Walk away power in negotiations: how perspective forged through real loss changes what you're willing to accept in any deal, and why Andy says it's the most valuable thing he carries into a room.
Jake's story: a 15-year battle with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, told through hunting blind memories, a wedding day, and one phone call a month before the end.
The Shark Tank connection: how a conversation on a boat led to acquiring an award-winning toy company that once received an offer from Kevin O'Leary.
Visionary meets integrator: why Andy doesn't touch payroll, back-end accounts, or structural systems, and how that division actually works inside a real marriage-based business partnership.
Losing expectations: Andy's case for why releasing what you demand from your kids, your partners, and your deals is the actual path to freedom.

About Andy Westmaas:

Andy Westmaas is co-owner of Westm Products Group, an Amazon and Walmart e-commerce business he operates with his wife Michelle. He spent 27 years in nonprofit executive leadership and fundraising before joining Michelle's e-commerce operation full-time in 2021. Andy holds a Master's in Fishery and Wildlife from Michigan State University and spent the early part of his career as a consultant biologist before his path shifted entirely.

Andy's story has a name in The Reforged framework. It's called Ownership. Not the kind that means controlling more outcomes, but the kind that means being ruthlessly honest about what's actually yours to carry and what never was.

Maybe you've been treating your business outcomes like a referendum on your value. A deal falls through and somewhere in the back of your mind, it means something about you specifically. You've been holding all of it so tight that when one thing slips, everything shakes.

The grip isn't strength. It's the thing that's been slowing you down.

The 5-Day Reforge Challenge was built for the moment Andy describes: when you're ready to stop negotiating with outcomes you can't control and start owning what you actually can. Five days, free, and it starts exactly where you are.

Join the LIVE Reforge Challenge →

Listen Now:

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