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The RTO Show: "Let's talk Rent to Own"
The RTO Show Podcast is the podcast for the rent-to-own industry, hosted by Pete Shau, an industry insider with more than 20 years of experience in RTO operations, sales, leadership, marketing, and store growth.
Each episode brings candid conversations, practical insights, and real stories from the people shaping the RTO community, including operators, vendors, association leaders, store teams, industry veterans, and innovators helping move rent-to-own forward.
Pete’s conversations are built for seasoned veterans, newcomers, owners, managers, vendors, and anyone who wants to learn from the shared experiences, hard-earned lessons, and fresh perspectives inside the rent-to-own industry.
From lead generation, lead management, customer behavior, store traffic, door swings, sales process, collections, training, recruitment, and leadership development to technology, CRM integration, mobile-first shopping, Google ranking, Facebook ads, video marketing, advocacy, APRO, TRIB Group, RTO World, LegCon, and the future of the rent-to-own business model, The RTO Show helps listeners understand what is really happening in RTO.
If you work in RTO, serve the RTO industry, or want to better understand the people, challenges, trends, and opportunities behind rent-to-own, The RTO Show Podcast is your insider’s guide to the industry’s pulse.
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Episodes
141 episodes
Should AI be your next new hire?!
Your store’s phones are either making you money or quietly leaking it. We sit down with Viraj from Atlog to get past the buzzwords and talk about what AI actually does inside rent-to-own operations when the goal is simple: reach more customers,...
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Building Beyond RTO: Mark Connelly on Expansion Done Right
A “short-term job” after the Marine Corps turned into a career that put Mark Connolly in charge of hundreds of rent-to-own stores, and the path there is anything but clean. We talk through the real story: job fairs, brutal hours, constant reloc...
The Future of RTO Buying, AI, and Omnichannel Retail with AMPTAB
What does the future of rent to own technology actually look like, and how can dealers stay competitive as AI, automation, and real time inventory systems reshape retail buying?In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, host Pete Shau sits...
How Lauren Talicska and APRO’s LedgeCon 2026 Are Shaping the Future of Rent to Own
What happens when a first time LedgeCon attendee walks into Capitol Hill and discovers the true power of advocacy in the rent to own industry?In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Lauren Talicska shares her experience attending APRO’s...
Inside LegCon 2026: How APRO Is Protecting the Future of Rent to Own
What happens when the rent to own industry stops reacting and starts leading the conversation in Washington, D.C.?In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau sits down with Charles Smitherman and Amberlee Maya to break down why AP...
How RNR Tire Express Builds Better Shops Through Training, Service, and Leadership
What separates a good tire shop from a high performing customer focused operation?In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau sits down with Jason Chui of RNR Tire Express to explore how leadership, hands on training, customer ser...
RTO Legend: Honoring Ernie Lewallen’s Legacy in the Rent To Own Industry
What does it mean to leave a legacy in the rent to own industry?In this special tribute episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau honors the life, leadership, and lasting impact of Ernie Lewallen, a respected RTO operator, APRO leader, ...
David David’s Leadership Lessons for Rent To Own Operators and Entrepreneurs
What does it take to build a lasting legacy in the rent to own industry?In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Pete Shau sits down with David P. David of American Rental and Full-O-Pep to explore more than four decades of entrepreneurs...
Family, Advocacy, and Leadership in Rent to Own with John Cleek Jr.
What does it take to build a multi generation business legacy in the rent to own industry while shaping the future of advocacy, community leadership, and customer service?In this special RTO Legends episode, Pete Shau sits down with John...
How Kevin Silvers Built Relationships Across the Rent to Own Industry
What keeps someone successful in the rent to own industry for more than three decades?According to Kevin Silvers, it comes down to relationships, reinvention, consistency, and showing up for people every single day.In this episode...
Darrell Tissot’s Rent to Own Legacy and the Future of Customer First Leadership
What does it take to build a rent to own business that lasts for 40 years and impacts generations of customers, employees, and industry leaders?In this special Legends Series episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with Mike Tissot ...
How Mike Strong Built a 44 Year Rent to Own Legacy in Small Town America
What does it take to build a rent to own company that lasts more than four decades and still feels like a family business?In this special Legends Series episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with Mike Strong, along with Michael St...
Gary Ferriman on Building Trust, Customer Loyalty, and Long Term Growth in Rent to Own
What does it take to survive every major shift in the rent to own industry and still come out stronger more than 40 years later? In this Legends Series episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with Gary Ferriman of Showplace Ren...
Trooper Earle on RTO Franchising, Leadership, and Building a Successful Rent to Own Business
What does it take to survive four decades in the rent to own industry and still keep growing?In this episode of The RTO Show Legends Series, Pete Shau sits down with Trooper Earle of Premier Rental Purchase to unpack the real story behin...
Clover’s Certified Refurbished Strategy for Rent to Own Dealers and Consumers
What if certified refurbished inventory could help rent to own dealers increase margins, reduce inventory risk, and offer premium products customers actually want?In this episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with Paul Adamson of ...
Michael Bennett on Leadership, Rent to Own Growth, and the Future of the RTO Industry
What does it take to build a decades long leadership career in the rent to own industry while navigating economic downturns, company transitions, and industry evolution?In this special Legends episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down...
How AI Search, Advocacy, and Industry Leadership Are Changing Rent to Own Forever
What happens when an entire industry realizes its story is being written by outdated information, misinformation, and AI systems trained on incomplete narratives?In this special episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau sits down with APRO CEO ...
How APRO Built the Modern Rent to Own Industry with Ed Winn
How did the rent to own industry survive legal uncertainty, public criticism, and decades of political battles to become a nationwide business model with laws in 47 states?In this special RTO Legends episode, Pete Shau sits down with ret...
RTO Legend: Bill Keese of APRO
A budget shortfall, a hostile hearing, and a tax threat big enough to sink an industry—this conversation with APRO legend Bill Keese reveals how Rent-To-Own survived and matured. We open with Bill’s unlikely path from state legislator to execut...
RTO Legend: Bill French of O'Rourke
A chance glance at a rent-to-own storefront changed everything. We sit down with industry legend Bill French to unpack five decades of progress: from selling RCA TVs to shaping vendor programs, joining APRO’s earliest meetings, and helping O’Ro...
Leading Multi-Unit Teams Through Change with Sean Knupp
Strong teams don’t happen by accident—they’re built by leaders who put people first and still demand performance. We sit down with regional leader Sean Knupp to unpack the playbook behind consistent growth in rent-to-own: GMs who operate like o...
RTO Legend: Chris Korst from Rent A Center
A small, scrappy industry took on courts, Congress, and headlines—and won. Chris Korst, longtime Rent-A-Center executive and counsel, joins us to unpack how rent-to-own went from “wild west” storefronts to a regulated, transparent option for mi...
RTO Legend: Brad Denison of Benefit Marketing Solutions (BMS)
Law can feel abstract until it touches a living room. We sit down with Brad, former general counsel turned vendor advocate, to unpack how rent-to-own won its legal identity as a lease—not credit—and why that nuance still shapes access to applia...
Wake for Warriors: Healing Veterans Through Water and Brotherhood
In this special episode of The RTO Show, Pete Shau welcomes Ray Muncy of Buddies Home Furnishings and Dave Deep, founder of Wake for Warriors. Together, they explore how a shared love of water and community turned into a nationwide mov...
RTO Legend: Kevin Quinn of Quality Rentals
A 24-year-old franchisee walks into a brand-new industry and ends up helping to save it. That’s the arc of Kevin Quinn, who went from learning how to rent a $499 VCR to leading APRO through a political and tax storm that could have erased rent-...