"If you don't plan for where your customers are moving, you're not going to have a business." – Melinda Powelson
In this week's episode, Carol sits down with Melinda Powelson, CEO of Match Engine, to explore what brand survival really looks like when the industry you built your business on starts disappearing beneath your feet. From a Denver recycling company founded just after the first Earth Day to one of the earliest lead generation platforms on the internet, Match Engine's story is a masterclass in knowing when to pivot — and having the courage to actually do it.
Melinda breaks down why so many businesses get left behind when industries shift, why watching trends and data is non-negotiable for long-term survival, and how her company is already preparing for the decline of paper shredding by moving into medical waste, electronic recycling, and AI-powered sales tools. Carol and Melinda also dig into the tension between embracing AI and protecting the human touch in customer relationships, why office paper shipments have dropped 36% since COVID, and what the Yellow Pages and Kodak teach us about ignoring the writing on the wall.
The conversation also covers family business succession, founder syndrome, why 70–80% of family-run businesses fail between the first and second generation, the real difference between wanting something and committing to it, and why hiring people with a tolerance for change may be the single most important thing a leader can do right now.
Takeaways
Businesses that fail to track industry trends risk becoming the next Kodak or Yellow Pages.
Office paper shipments in the U.S. have dropped 36% since COVID — document-heavy industries must adapt.
Medical waste and electronic recycling are growth verticals as paper shredding declines.
AI search is reshaping lead generation, and businesses that ignore it will fall behind.
Using AI to enhance your team's performance is fundamentally different from using it to replace people.
Customers in certain demographics still strongly prefer speaking to a human over a bot.
Family business succession fails 70–80% of the time between the first and second generation.
The baton handoff only works when the original founder is willing to fully let go.
Commitment — not just wanting — is what separates entrepreneurs who make it from those who don't.
Hiring for change tolerance is as important as hiring for skill.
Women leaders may have a natural advantage in delegation and trust-based team building.
A subscription revenue model offers stability that a pure lead-generation model cannot.
Chapters
00:00 Intro: Office paper is down 36% — is your business paying attention?
01:09 Introducing Melinda Powelson and Match Engine
01:58 How it all started: Tri Our Recycling and the first Earth Day
02:34 Building a website in 1995 before Google existed
03:38 The birth of Shred Nations and early lead generation
04:09 Why the internet business was losing $20K a month — and how they fixed it
04:46 The fundamentals of pivoting: platform economics and customer value
06:19 Advice for leaders who know they're falling behind
07:09 "Fish where the fish are" — and the fish have moved
07:32 Why AI search is the next frontier for lead generation
09:37 Defining risk: changing what works today for an uncertain tomorrow
10:26 Match Engine's AI philosophy: enhance people, don't replace them
11:31 Why boomers won't talk to bots — and why that matters
12:28 Salesforce's AI hiring reversal as a cautionary tale
13:12 The value of people and hiring for change tolerance
13:57 How Melinda entered the family business (she was an English major)
15:09 The gradual baton handoff from father to daughter
16:16 Why family business succession fails 70–80% of the time
17:16 The personal commitment that made the difference
18:48 Eight years as CEO — and the three and a half that changed everything
19:23 Why CEOs need peer groups — and how hard they are to find
22:11 Founder syndrome and why women may be better at letting go
24:24 Planning your own exit from day one
26:19 Building a new team and saying hard goodbyes
27:27 Vision first, then team, then adapt
28:26 Industry shift: paper down, medical waste and e-recycling up
30:04 The Yellow Pages and Kodak lesson
30:56 Revenue targets and the move toward a subscription model
