The Curious Builder

Latest Episodes:

#171 | Taylor Hall O'Brien | Architectural Photographer | Taylor Hall O'Brien Makes AI Nervous and Homes Look Incredible Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

Forget renderings, Taylor Hall O'Brien is making the case for real light, real rooms, and real collaboration in an industry that AI is circling like a hawk. He and Mark talk through the art of consistent storytelling across a photo gallery, how Taylor built relationships with top editors one Instagram follow at a time, and why being easy to work with matters more than being the most talented person in the room. It's part photography lesson, part business strategy session, and part really lovely conversation over Diet Coke at sunrise.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

The host of the Curious Builder Podcast is Mark D. Williams, the founder of Mark D. Williams Custom Homes Inc. They are an award-winning Twin Cities-based home builder, creating quality custom homes and remodels — one-of-a-kind dream homes of all styles and scopes. Whether you're looking to reimagine your current space or start fresh with a new construction, we build homes that reflect how you live your everyday life.

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/

Where to find the Guest: Website: http://taylorhallobrien.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/taylorhallobrien

Where to find the Host: Website - https://www.mdwilliamshomes.com/ Podcast Website - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markdwilliams_customhomes/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MarkDWilliamsCustomHomesInc/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-williams-968a3420/ Houzz - https://www.houzz.com/pro/markdwilliamscustomhomes/mark-d-williams-custom-homes-inc

Losers are Winners | Anthony Janckila on 20 Years of Floors, Fires, & Friendship Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

Twenty years, 30 employees, and one very real fire that nearly took out a parquet floor a month before a major photo shoot. Anthony Janckila and Mark trade stories about clients going dark, why the GC ends up responsible for literally everything whether they get paid for it or not, and the kind of loyalty that shows up at a funeral instead of just sending flowers. This one's got heart, a little chaos, and a genuinely great pitch for a Curious Builder retirement home.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Where to find the Guest: Website: https://www.alpinehardwoodmn.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alpinehardwoodmn/

#170 | Mark D. Williams | Enough Is Enough: What Two Books Taught Mark About Time and Money Jun 15, 2026

Show notes

Six months into the Smile Tour, Mark parks himself inside Mysa Hus with a heavily highlighted copies of Buy Back Your Time and Psychology of Money, and he has a lot of thoughts about money, time, and why your inbox should not be your boss. He hits the big ideas from both Dan Martell and Morgan Housel, connects them to real moments from his career, and reminds everyone that a $10 million company was not built on $10 tasks. Consider this your permission slip to hire help, go to bed at 8:30, and stop letting your calendar run your life.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/

Losers are Winners | Hans Frees Lost the Spec Home, the Savings, and His Dignity. Then Rebuilt. Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

Hans Frees of Outdoor Escapes has been in business 25 years, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, lost money on a spec home during the 2008 crash, and came out the other side with better relationships, a better location, and a much healthier respect for staying in his lane. He and Mark swap war stories about building spec homes they probably shouldn't have, losing sleep over unpaid subcontractors, and why the small-town bank that bet on them at rock bottom is still their bank today. It's 32 minutes of hard-won wisdom from someone who learned most of it the expensive way.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Where to find the Guest: Website: https://www.outdoorexcapes.com/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/outdoorexcapes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/outdoorexcapes/

#169 | Mark D. Williams & Mysa Hus | Mark Built His Soul Into a House: The Story Behind Mysa Hus Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

Documentary filmmaker Jude Charles came to Minnesota to flip the script and road map the emotional soul of Mysa Hus, and what started as a brand conversation turned into the deepest dive yet into why Mark built the thing in the first place. Jude's "but why does that matter to you" energy draws out stories about childhood cabins, slow mornings, and what it actually means to build a home as a personal thesis. Buckle up, this one earns every one of its 90 minutes.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/

Where to find the Guest: Website: https://www.mysahus.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mysahus/

Inside the Big Wins | Paul Cramer on Why Surviving Something Shapes Everything Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Paul Cramer sold his business, hit rock bottom, and discovered that being sober for decades doesn't automatically mean you have your stuff together, which is a humbling plot twist for anyone keeping score at home. Round two gets into the real work: two weeks of intensive therapy, rebuilding from scratch, and why the way you survive something becomes the way you live everything. Buckle up, this one hits different.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/

Where to find the Guest: Website: https://www.pauljcramer.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauljcramer/

#168 | Melissa Oholendt | Oho Interiors | The Finish Line to Mysa Hus Jun 01, 2026

Show notes

Five days before the Artisan Home Tour, Mark and Melissa Oholendt of Oho Interiors snuck away from a live photo shoot to talk about what the final stretch of Mysa Hus actually looks like — wrong-sized sectionals, a Hail Mary pass to a UK lighting CEOs, and a third-generation plumber who showed up unannounced and left with chocolate-covered strawberries. They walk through the 60-day countdown, three photo shoots with three different photographers, and what it means to build something hard with people you genuinely trust. It's raw, real, and recorded while the house is literally still being shot.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/

Where to find the Guest: Website: http://ohointeriors.com/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/oho_interiors

Losers are Winners | Paul Cramer Built the Dream… Then It Fell Apart May 28, 2026

Show notes

What happens when the entrepreneur dream becomes the thing quietly eating you alive? In this episode of Losers Are Winners, Mark sits down with author and recovering entrepreneur Paul Cramer to unpack startup highs, brutal lows, identity loss, therapy, and the emotional cost of building something from nothing. It's equal parts business therapy session, cautionary tale, and "oh crap… that sounds familiar" moment for every business owner who's ever brought work stress to the dinner table.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Where to find the Guest: Website: https://www.pauljcramer.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauljcramer/

#167 | Tyler Webster | Old Mill Building Products | Tyler Webster on Risk, Relationships, & Why Enough Is a Moving Target May 25, 2026

Show notes

Most people don't think about what happens to their business when their one critical supplier goes down — Tyler Webster of Old Mill Building Products lived that nightmare firsthand and spent the last three years making sure it never happens again. Mark and Tyler get into the nuts and bolts of supplier diversification, why just-in-time manufacturing sounds great until a robot breaks in a brick kiln, and how the lessons from a fifth-generation Idaho potato farm shaped Tyler's entire philosophy on risk, resilience, and what it means to save for the rainy day. The bonus? Tyler's personal definition of "enough" might be the most quietly powerful answer this season.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/

Where to find the Guest: Website: https://oldmillbuildingproducts.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldmillbp/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldmilltyler/

Inside the Big Wins | Kyle Schlesser's 3 Daily Non-Negotiables That Keep It All Together May 21, 2026

Show notes

Kyle Schlesser is back in studio, and this time the conversation goes somewhere most business podcasts are too afraid to go — marriage, guardrails, and what it actually looks like to run a company with your spouse without turning into glorified roommates. Kyle shares the three daily non-negotiables that keep him grounded, why he journals notes for each of his kids and his wife on his phone, and what his wife Katie meant when she looked him in the eye and said "we deserve your best, and we're not getting it." It's equal parts raw, practical, and the kind of conversation that makes you want to put your phone down and go bounce on the trampoline with your five-year-old.

Support the show - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/shop

See our upcoming live events - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com/events

Sponsors for the Episode:

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/

Where to find the Guest: Website: https://solidgroundconstructionco.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solidgroundconstructionco/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solidgroundconstructionco

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