The Pilot, the Alcohol Breath Test, and the Founder Who Didn’t Flinch
On the Think Business with Tyler podcast, Jared Rosenthal (founder of Health Street) tells a story that's part procedural, part human drama, and completely unforgettable.
This blog post goes from a routine alcohol test to founder tips, advice, and business growth strategies.
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Table of Contents
The 15-Minute Rule and Why It Matters
If someone fails a breath alcohol test, there will be a 15-minute wait before the second, confirmatory test. The idea is to rule out contamination from substances like mouthwash, gum, and even breath mints. During that waiting period, no one else is allowed in the room. Just the technician and the person who tested positive.
That 15-minute pause can feel like forever. In this case, Jared was testing a pilot who was suspected of drinking and scheduled to fly.
As Jared tells it, the man went from confusion to confession in real time. The first few minutes were denial. Then came the barbecue story. Then, near the end, the pilot asked, "What are we gonna do to make this go away?"
It was one of those moments that could've gone in a bunch of directions. The guy was spiraling. He was nervous, panicking, trying to talk his way out of it. At one point, he even offered Jared a hundred bucks to forget it ever happened, but Jared didn't miss a beat.
"Bro, you think I'm gonna let you get on a plane to take $100?" - Jared Rosenthal
But he didn't just shut him down. He leveled with him. Jared told him he was actually lucky because getting caught like this, before getting in the air, might've prevented a horrible tragedy and saved lives.
Leaders make a lot of split-second decisions. Not all of them are life-or-death, but they can still shape culture, define values, and protect people.
This was one of those moments.
If You Want to Grow, You Have to Do the Grunt Work
Before Health Street was a tech platform, it was Jared alone in a spray-painted RV. He answered every call, handled every client, and even physically mailed specimens to labs. He didn't delegate. He couldn't.
He puts it this way: if you think other people are going to do the dirty work when you're just starting out, "you're gonna run into problems real quick."
The early-stage version of leadership looks a lot like manual labor. But as Jared says, you can't stay there forever. Let go of tasks one at a time as the business grows, or risk becoming your own bottleneck. But, in the beginning:
"If you gotta mop the floors, you gotta mop the floors." - Jared Rosenthal
Discipline Over Talent: A Startup Mindset
Jared didn't have formal training in technology, where he focuses much of his efforts now. However, he did have martial arts.
He explains that learning a kick he couldn't initially perform gave him a framework: work at something long enough, and progress becomes inevitable. That mindset translated directly to entrepreneurship.
This kind of persistence isn't glamorous. Spending eight hours solving a small tech issue isn't flashy. But it's the kind of work ethic that separates real operators from dabblers. If you're building something, you'll probably have to become someone who figures things out that you weren't trained to do.
Bootstrapping? Structure Is Strategy: Growing Without Investors
A big chunk of Jared's story hinges on the fact that he didn't raise outside capital. Every investment, every mistake, came from retained earnings. That means slower business growth, more pressure, and the need to think three steps ahead financially.
He says, "Your structure is your destiny." If you're self-funded, you're playing a different game than venture capital-backed competitors. You're building a business from scratch.
There's power in owning your business outright, but there's also risk. You don't get to chase every shiny idea. You have to live with your decisions longer. And your biggest asset becomes your patience.
The SEO Strategy and the AI Curveball
One of the most compelling parts of this leadership podcast episode is the discussion of inbound strategy. Jared focused heavily on SEO to grow the company and avoided outbound sales altogether. But he also shares the dangers of putting too much weight on search engine stability.
There was a time when Google changed its algorithm, and overnight, the phones stopped ringing. That gut-punch forced him to diversify. Now, he's watching how AI could change everything again.
This section of the interview is especially relevant to founders and marketers. The way customers find you is shifting fast. If you're not already thinking about how AI tools replace traditional search behavior, you're behind.
Leading from the Ground, Scaling a Business with Intention
Even now, with tens of thousands of companies using his software, Jared still talks like someone who remembers what it was like to do everything himself. There's a humility that runs through the episode. But there's also a clear message: persistence beats perfection. Progress compounds. And sometimes the right path isn't the fastest. Instead, it's the one you're willing to walk for years.
Want the full conversation?
Listen to Jared on the Think Business with Tyler business podcast. You'll walk away with practical takeaways, and maybe even a few stories you won't forget.
