Entrepreneur Stories 4⃣ Inspiration
Entrepreneur Stories 4 Inspiration is a business-focused podcast that shares motivational stories and practical advice for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small business owners. Host Austin Peek interviews founders across product, service, real estate, and technology industries to explore how they built and grew successful businesses. Episodes aim to provide a master class from entrepreneurial thought leaders, offering actionable insights and candid lessons. The show is connected to the Millionaire Interviews community and encourages listeners to connect through its Facebook group and email.
Episodes
276: Scaling Wireless World to Regional Domination | Vince Lubben’s Midwest Empire
Vince Lubben is the Co-Owner of Wireless World. Vince began working in the wireless sector as a sales executive for CommNet Cellular, when the cell phone industry was young. He saw an opportunity to start his own business and opened his first store in Vermillion, South Dakota in 1999. Today, there are 54 Wireless World outlets and the company has 320 employees plus...
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275: From the Battlefield to the CBD Boardroom: Craig Henderson of Extract Labs
Craig Henderson is the CEO of Extract Labs, a Boulder, Colorado-based full-service hemp extraction laboratory offering a proprietary line of boutique CBD-infused products. Craig started the company in his garage in 2016.
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Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consultant is here to help you explore the world of non-food franchising op
274: The Cable Cowboy Who Went from Broke to Broadband 🤠 | Terry Koosed of Bel Air Internet
Terry Koosed is the Founder of Bel Air Internet, a Los Angeles based Internet Service Provider, and a leading authority on successful entrepreneurship. He has founded and successfully run seven companies in the high-tech industry during the past 40 years, sometimes concurrently, and is what some would call, a serial entrepreneur.
Listen to Part II, right now: How Exceptional Customer Service made
273: Publishing to EdTech: The Unlikely Road to Evolution Labs with Founder Peter Kraft
Peter Kraft is the Founder and President of Evolution Labs. Prior to founding Evolution Labs, Kraft was instrumental in forming and re-envisioning two educational software companies that led the industry in recruitment, enrollment and retention of college students. He co-founded GoalQuest in 2000 and served as its CEO until 2007 when he spearheaded the company’s acquisition by EducationDynamics. K
272: From Selling Phones Out of a Van to Leading a 9-Figure Empire | Brett Beveridge of T-ROC
Brett Beveridge is the President of The Revenue Optimization Companies. Brett is an entrepreneurial, results-driven executive with over 20 years of experience and success in the wireless and technology industries. He has hands-on success in start-ups, profit turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and fundraising and is the driving force behind T-ROC’s ambitious growth.
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271: How to Breathe Life into a Business... Dr. Dan Cohen of Breathe Right Strips
Dr. Dan Cohen is the former Chairman of CNS, Incorporated. Dr. Cohen was the driving force behind the meteoric rise of Breathe Right nasal strips, acquiring the rights to manufacture and sell the product for the medical equipment company he founded in 1982. In 2006, GlaxoSmithKline acquired CNS, including its Breathe Right nasal strips and FiberChoice chewable fiber supplement products, for $566 m
270: Once Again, the Return of the Non-Food Franchise King: Jon Ostenson of Franbridge Consulting
Jon Ostenson is the Founder of FranBridge Consulting. Jon is a top 1% Franchise Consultant in the US, and frequent contributor on franchising across a variety of outlets and publications. Jon is a multi-brand franchisee himself, and along with his business partners, he has great operators leading these ventures. As a result, he is able to commit over 90% of his time to helping others achieve their
269: Blowing Minds with Carey Smith: The Big Ass Fans Story! 🫏...
Carey Smith founded Big Ass Fans in 1999 and served as its Chief Big Ass until the company's sale in 2017. Under his guidance, Big Ass Fans grew an average of 30% a year, with offices across the globe. It made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies 11 consecutive years — a feat achieved by only 34 others — and expanded from industrial products to include a line of chic, silent com
268: Manufacturing Shutters & Company Culture | 🪟 Rick Skidmore of Timberlane Inc.
Rick Skidmore is the Founder and CEO at Timberlane, Inc. Having been born an entrepreneur, it should have been clear early on that despite considerable success in the insurance and investment industry, Rick's future was outside the traditional career path. Rick founded his current company, Timberlane Inc., in 1995, based on a passion and a gaping need in the industry.
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267: Powering Innovation: Jim Kalb's Journey with OptiFuse & the Future of Fuses!⚡
Jim Kalb is currently the President of OptiFuse, an innovative high-growth manufacturer of power protection components distributed by high-quality select wholesalers throughout the world. OptiFuse has been listed on the Inc. 5000 for the last 5 years, as well as being named as one of Forbe's magazines "25 Best Small Companies" in 2017.
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Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBri
266: Wheels of Fortune: 🚲 Team USA's Path to Tour de France Victory (Anne Hed of HED Cycling)
Anne Hed is a lifetime resident of Minnesota. Her history as a business owner began back in the 1980’s, when she raced as a professional triathlete. She completed eight Ironman Triathlons in Hawaii, and met her late husband, Steve, through the sport. He became one of her first sponsors...
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Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consult
265: Building a Sparkling Soda Fireworks Store?!? | 🎉 Mark Lazarchic of Serenity Ventures
Mark Lazarchic is the CEO of Serenity Venture Group. He describes himself as a serial entrepreneur with eyes always open. Mark is the owner of multiple successful startup businesses in very competitive markets. Mark has spent the last 10 years being amazed at the level of mediocrity accepted by the public in business. At all levels...
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Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBrid
264: From Clothing Manufacturer, to Franchise Owner, to Starting the Tint World Franchise | Ex-CEO of Meineke, Charles Bonfiglio, shares his Journey 🚗…
Charles J. Bonfiglio is the Franchise Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Tint World. The company is a privately owned franchise chain of independent retail window tinting, mobile electronics, auto accessories and appearance centers. As the lead executive of Tint World, Charles is responsible for all functions related to the development and leadership of the company in growing the family of f
263: Using Real Human Connections to Achieve Exceptional Success... Doug Brown of CEO Sales Strategies
Doug C. Brown is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and a Sales Revenue and Profit Growth Expert. He has led client award-winning and high-performance teams as well as pioneered profitable development programs for companies. He has advised companies such as Intuit, CBS Television, Procter & Gamble, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nationwide, Embassy Suites, Inc. 500 to 5000 companies, and thousands of oth
262: From Single Mom Flipping Burgers to a Powerhouse in Venture Capital | Olga Maslikhova of The J Curve
Olga Maslikhova is the founder and host of The J Curve, the podcast about Latin America tech ecosystem builders. Olga is also a successful tech investor. She aims to share insights and stories from the region's most influential entrepreneurs, investors, and experts. She also leverages her network and knowledge as a member of a global community of women investors, and as a mentor at Techstars, a le
261: Buying a Business at a Great Price! Over 30 Years of Biz Buying & Selling - Richard Parker of Diomo Corporation.
Richard Parker is the founder of Diomo Corporation – The Business Buyer Resource Center and author of the How To Buy A Good Business At A Great Price series. Richard has purchased thirteen of his own businesses and has been an advisor and broker to small business buyers and sellers for over three decades. He has written and been featured in more than 300 articles on the subject of buying businesse
260: From Rabbi School to Supply Chain Innovator. How Izzy Rosenzweig is Saving Customers Time & Money with Portless!
Izzy Rosenzweig is the Founder and CEO of Portless, a company that fulfills e-commerce orders directly from China to their client’s customers' front doors, massively improving lead times, decreasing shipping costs, and lowering import tax fees. Born from a family that has a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Izzy discovered his passion for business at an early age. He was studying to become a rabbi bu
259: How this Innovative Business is Unlocking Minds... 🤯 The Psychedelic Journey of Dylan Beynon & Mindbloom 🌻
Dylan Beynon is the Founder and CEO of Mindbloom. Dylan grew up in a family that was torn apart by mental illness. He lost both his mother and sister to severe mental illnesses, addiction, and eventually overdose. For years he struggled to process the impact these losses had on him. It was not until 2009 that Dylan began the healing process when he discovered psychedelic medicines. Through his exp
258: From a Successful Exit to Closing a Company... & Biking His Way Back on Top | The Story of Mike Peregudov of Whizz
Mike Peregudov is the CEO and Co-Founder of Whizz, an E-bike rental service company for delivery riders. Mike has had diverse work experience, holding several high-level positions in the past. Prior to Whizz, Mike was a General Partner at S16VC starting in 2020. And from 2014 to 2020, he founded and served as the CEO of Yandex Chef, which was later acquired by Yandex. Additionally, he was the CEO
257: Using Science & Tech to Create a Sweet Solution (Ali Wing of Oobli)
Ali Wing is the CEO of Oobli, a food-tech company that is aiming to introduce sweet proteins to everyone. Their mission is to make an impact on the world by introducing sweet proteins as a much healthier alternative. The sweet protein was derived from an Oubli plant found in West Africa and Southeast Asia, which inspired the name Oobli. There is a local story about this plant that produces fruits
256: Solving Sexual Health Issues thru Good Vibrations... Soum Rakshit of MysteryVibe
Soumyadip Rakshit is the CEO and Co-Founder of MysteryVibe, which is an award-winning world leader in medical devices for sexual health. Soum created MysteryVibe to address one of the biggest personal challenges - keeping the ‘mystery’ in the bedroom, especially after major life events like childbirth, menopause, cancer treatment or surgery. To make this happen, Soum and his team have combined the
255: The Future of Skin Care through AI with Estonian Founder - Anastasia Georgievskaya of Haut.AI
Anastasia Georgievskaya is the CEO and co-founder of Haut.AI, an Estonian AI-powered skin analytics SaaS platform delivering uniquely personalized skincare recommendations and diagnostics for retail and skin wellness applications. Haut.AI is a leading European AI company delivering hyper-personalized skincare and beauty experiences. Backed by its best-in-class research, science, and tech teams, Ha
254: How a Ukrainian Waiter in Dubai, Facing Overwhelming Challenges, Evolved to an eCommerce Titan (Anatoliy Labinskiy of GSM Growth Agency)
Anatoliy Labinskiy is the Founder of GSM Growth Agency, an eCommerce growth agency that helps brands grow to 6–7 figures in revenue. He is a self-made entrepreneur, family man, eCommerce expert, and holder of 4-time Two Comma Club awards. His life story exemplifies how everything works against you when it comes to success. Starting as a waiter in a Dubai restaurant, Anatoliy found a way to begin h
253: Surviving a Storm at Sea & Reflecting on Past Startups via Brett Martin of Kumospace (The Innovative Virtual Office Platform)
Brett Martin is President & Co-Founder of Kumospace, the virtual office platform where teams show up, as well as Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Charge Ventures, a pre-seed-focused venture fund based in Brooklyn, NY. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, where he teaches data analytics and technology strategy.
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Light Years Ahead is a wo
252: This Military Spouse takes Training 💪... to a Virtual Level | Molly Rose Speed of Virtual Assistant Management
Molly Rose Speed is the founder of The Virtual Assistant Academy, a certification for the best Virtual Support Staff in the country, and the owner of Virtual Assistant Management, a placement agency for entrepreneurs in need of top virtual assistant talent for organizations. Her expertise is in online business, systems, and outsourcing. Molly is a talented strategic thinker with cultivated skills
251: How an Employee Strived for Ownership in his $20MM Tech Company... Lubo Smid of STRV
Lubo Smid is the Co-Founder and CEO of STRV. Lubo is a tech entrepreneur with a passion for cutting-edge technology and an adventurous lifestyle. He has co-founded STRV, a design and engineering company, that built products for prominent startups like Tinder, The Athletic or Citizen and well-established brands like Microsoft or Barry’s.
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Jon Ostenson, Founder of Fran
250: From Years of Being a W-2 Employee to Becoming A (Non-Food) Franchise King - Jon Ostenson of FranBridge Consulting
Jon Ostenson is the Founder and CEO of FranBridge Consulting, a top 1% Franchise Consultant in the US, and frequent contributor on franchising across a variety of outlets and publications. Jon is a multi-brand franchisee himself, and along with his business partners, he has great operators leading these ventures. As a result, he is able to commit over 90% of his time to helping others achieve thei
249: War Survivor to Construction Industry Innovator... How René Morkos used AI to Build ALICE Technologies...
René Morkos, Ph.D. is an inventor, founder, adjunct professor at Stanford University, and CEO of ALICE Technologies. He is the inventor of the world’s first Generative Construction Simulator and Optimizer and obtained his Ph.D. in artificial intelligence applications for construction as a Charles H. Leavell fellow at Stanford University, where he currently serves as an adjunct professor in the Civ
248: The Secret to Fixing Businesses like Expedia, Rosetta Stone, & PetMeds | Matt Hulett (aka The Startup Whisperer)
Matt Hulett is the CEO and President of PetMeds. Matt is a seasoned technology executive leading world-class public and private companies and working closely with Boards and investors in organizations that include Rosetta Stone, RealNetworks, Expedia and many more. He has had multiple turnaround successes as a public company president as well as a private company CEO. He has a proven track record
247: Content Creator Builds a Successful SaaS Business & Sells it to Adobe - Alex Packham of ContentCal
Alex Packham is the Founder of ContentCal and a serial entrepreneur. During the ContentCal journey, Alex raised over £10m for ContentCal, built the business to 3,000+ customers globally, a team of 50, and consistently grew 150% year on year. ContentCal was acquired by Adobe in 2021. Alex currently serves as Product Director at Adobe and is an investor and advisor to multiple companies.
This Epis
246: Helping Entrepreneurs Grow the Value of their Business | Ryan Tansom of Arkona: Intentional Growth™
Ryan Tansom is the Co-Founder of Arkona. Ryan helped turn around their family business and then sell it for 8 figures to a local competitor in 2014. The growth and exit process was an unexpectedly difficult undertaking, but the lessons that were learned have proven to be invaluable. He took his experience and co-founded Arkona where he created the Intentional Growth™ 5 Principles and Framework and
245: From Fashion Model to Nutritional Bar Startup! How Lizanne Falsetto Sold her Business & Started a New Brand: betterland foods™.
Lizanne Falsetto is the Founder and CEO of Betterland Foods. Years before she became a world-renowned CEO, Lizanne Falsetto began her entrepreneurial journey at her kitchen table, inspired both by a family recipe and desire to solve a personal problem. On that table, the original thinkThin bar was created: a revolutionary bar that would become one of the most sought-after health foods on the marke
244: How a Canadian College Dropout transferred to a Tech Savvy Entrepreneur (Marc Boscher of Unito)
Marc Boscher is the Co-Founder and CEO of Unito. Marc and Eryk Warren struck gold when they came up with an unconventional solution to the perpetual business problem of cross-team collaboration. SaaS tool use is on the rise, and Gartner predicts the collaboration tool market to double by 2023. But the massive proliferation of online tools is causing nearly as many headaches as it solves. Over the
243: From Busboy & Broke to Building a Taco Restaurant Empire - Joe Kahn of Condado Tacos
Joseph Kahn is the Founder of Condado Tacos, which started as a single restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Today, there are 32 Condado Tacos restaurants with about 3,000 employees nationwide. Since he was a teenager, Joe has been working in the restaurant industry until he was given the chance to transition to the management level. When he turned 38, Joe was able to start his own restaurant business, wh
242: A Merger & Acquisition Expert shares... How to Create a Successful Exit Path | Touraj Parang of Serve Robotics
Touraj Parang is the President & COO of Serve Robotics. He is a veteran Silicon Valley dealmaker, a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, advisor, and M&A expert who has sat in almost every seat around the table structuring and negotiating strategic transactions since the late 1990’s, including as a corporate attorney at legal powerhouses WSGR and O’Melveny & Myers. He earned his JD from Yale Law Schoo
241: How to Land your First Real Estate Deal... & Transform it into a Community. The Story of Seth Williams & REtipster...
Seth Williams is the Founder of REtipster.com, an online community that offers real-world guidance for real estate investors. Seth started as a real estate investor buying and selling parcels of land in Michigan and other states. After a few years of being a real estate investor, he had an idea to share his vast knowledge in real estate with other people, which eventually became REtipster. His rol
240: Italian Soccer Player takes his Digital Marketing Company Stateside (Rocco Baldassarre of Zebra Advertisement)
Rocco Baldassarre is the Founder and CEO of Zebra Advertisement. Rocco is the only marketer and the youngest person globally to have ever been awarded an MVP by Microsoft. He is the youngest Google Partners All-Stars Winner. He is also included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Marketing and Advertising (Class of 2018). Other nominations and awards include the CSM Awards, the European and the US Searc
239: How Eco-Friendly is Your Amazon Shopping Cart? Find out with this Browser Extension... Lizzie Horvitz of Finch
Lizzie Horvitz is the Founder of Finch, a platform that incentivizes and educates consumers to make better decisions based on the climate & sustainability impact of their purchases. Lizzie has a decade of sustainability experience in both the non-profit and corporate sectors. She is also very passionate about finding solutions to complex problems around climate change and plastic pollution. In 201
238: Abandoned as a Child in Nowhere... to Innovating Pay-by-Text... Everywhere | Larry Talley of Everyware
Larry Talley and his co-founder, Scott Orlinsky, launched Everyware in Florida, in 2015. Larry has 20 years of experience developing new businesses, turning around companies, growing revenue, leading sales teams, increasing market share, and growing the bottom line. Being abandoned by his mother at a very young age, Larry learned to live on his own and faced extreme challenges head-on. After high
237: Bringing Fashion to the Healthcare Industry... Chaitenya Razdan of Care+Wear
Chaitenya Razdan is the Founder and CEO of Care+Wear, which aims to bridge function and fashion in order to provide a more human healthcare experience. Chaitenya’s journey in the healthcare business began as a response to creating an alternative for a dear friend who was advised to cover and protect their PICC Line with a tube sock. Since then, Chaitenya and his team at Care+Wear have launched and
236: From Producing Movies to Starting & Selling a Virtual World Gaming Community (Derrick Morton of FlowPlay)
Derrick Morton is CEO of Seattle-based FlowPlay. He's been an entrepreneur, leader and innovator in the digital entertainment industry for more than 20 years. At the helm of FlowPlay for the last decade, he has established the company as the creator of the industry’s most powerful immersive gaming platform, and driven product innovation to build an engaging multiplayer social casino that captures
235: Twin Brothers Establishing Themselves as BiG Players in the Property Management Business | Matthew & Thomas Carcone of Gordon James Realty
Matthew and his twin brother Thomas Carcone are co-owners of Gordon James Real Estate Services, which has been in the residential and commercial property management business for 9 years. Thomas started the Gordon James Realty with a former business partner until Matthew came on board later on. Both of them were very entrepreneurial at a very young age. At 14 years old, they were already mowing law
234: Growing a Golf Caddy Business to Shark Tank Stardom - The Side Hustle Story of Meghan Tarmey
Meghan Tarmey is the Founder of The Caddy Group, which is formerly known as The Caddy Girls. During college, she was bartending when she was invited to become a caddy at the local golf course. This turned into an aha moment for Meghan and she decided to continue and grow this business and make it profitable. Her stint with Shark Tank was also a tremendous help that resulted in the early success of
233: From Belarus to Canada ✈ How this Entrepreneur Grew his HuGE Private... Network | Yegor Sak of WindScribe VPN
Yegor Sak is the Founder of Windscribe, which is a privacy company that offers VPN service for everyone. Yegor was born in Belarus but is currently based in Canada. As he was growing up, Yegor developed a passion for programming and creating websites. As a teenager, he did several projects that earned him some money through online ads. These side projects continued until he decided to start a soft
232: Learning to Build Revenue as a Startup in Cyprus (Panos Siozos of LearnWorlds)
Panos Siozos is the CEO and Co-Founder of LearnWorlds. Panos has a PhD in Educational Technology from the Computer Science Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a BSc from the same department. He has extensive work experience as a computer science educator and as a software engineer and IT manager. He has also taken part as a researcher in many EU-funded research proje
231: Solving World Hunger thru Vertical Farming Tech - Samuel Bertram of OnePointOne
Samuel Bertram is Co-Founder at OnePointOne, which is revolutionizing vertical farming by building the most technologically advanced cultivation platform on the planet through innovations in automation, AI, and plant science. Samuel is an entrepreneur with a background in robotics and a passion for health and human wellness. After coming to the United States to play tennis, both Samuel and his bro
230: How to Get Clients via Online Marketing... A Personal (Injury) Story that Grew from Organic Content | Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers
Jonathan Rosenfeld is the Founder and Owner of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC. As the founder and managing attorney at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, Jonathan’s practice focuses on the representation of the most vulnerable members of society in severe personal injury, medical malpractice, and nursing home negligence matters. Since his days as a clerk in law school, Jonathan has always been involved in di
229: Building a Tech Giant in the Virtual Reality Space | Bart Wilson of VPiX® 360
Bartley Wilson is the Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Virtual Pictures Corporation. He is a serial entrepreneur, sales rainmaker, and UX/UI developer of the world's first 360° SaaS platform for commercial and residential real estate. In the early 90s, Bart had a serious motorcycle accident that took him out of the Air Force but eventually led him to discover his passion for computer and gra
228: From Teacher to Contractor to Manufacturer of Innovative Outdoor Living Products... Scott Selzer of StruXure
Scott Selzer is the CEO of StruXure Outdoor, Inc. formerly Arcadia Building Products. As a school teacher with a part-time remodeling company, Scott specialized in building decks and pergolas, refinishing basements and tackling other home improvements projects for his clients. When his students encouraged him to follow his dream to become a full-time entrepreneur, Scott started Adjustable Patio Co
227: Navy Veteran transforms a struggling Info Tech Business into an Inc. 5000 Superstar - Thomas Douglas of JMARK
Thomas Douglas joined the JMARK team in 1997 upon the completion of enlistment to the U.S. Navy, where he won an achievement medal for his design of a financial reporting database. Starting off as a level one engineer at JMARK, he worked his way up the ranks before purchasing the company in 2001. At the time, JMARK’s business model was structured in a way which had an unpredictable revenue stream,
226: How a Thousand Dollar Business Grew to a Million Dollar Empire (Steven Kinder of Loftwall)
Steven Kinder is the Founder of Loftwall, Co-Founder of GoodWork, and Owner of 1808. He is a design entrepreneur who has always had an infatuation with spaces. He’s focused on the design of new flexible, dynamic environments for people to bring big ideas and be better together.
Not intimidated by the potential of a blank slate, Steve wants to create space where people can shape their own experienc
225: Surviving an Arson Attack to Making it BiG in the Boating Business - Rob Hannah of Chicago Yacht Works ⭐
Rob Hannah is the Managing Partner of Chicago Yacht Works. In 2011, Rob redirected his business experience to the marine industry after assuming control of Chicago Yacht Yard, a full-service marine service and storage facility located on the river in downtown Chicago. In a short time, this business has been transformed into an industry leader with significant gains in both service and storage as w
224: How a 12-Year-Old took his Dad‘s Dreams... to the Cloud | Phil Ogilby of STACK Construction Software
Phil Ogilby is the CEO of STACK Construction Technologies. In 1984, Phil started his first construction contracting company in Dayton, OH doing residential and later commercial work. He witnessed firsthand the challenges of managing people, equipment, materials, and especially an ever-changing bid schedule. In 1995, Phil's 14-year-old son, Justin Ogilby, wrote the code for Buildware Pro estimating
223: Using Science & Technology to invent Plant Based Meat... Paul Shapiro of The Better Meat Co.
Paul Shapiro is the Co-Founder of The Better Meat Co. In addition to being the CEO of the company, Paul is also the author of the national bestseller, Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, and the host of the Business For Good Podcast. He is a four-time TEDx speaker, he has twenty years of experience as a nonprofit executive and has published more th
222: The Secret Power of ‘WE‘ & How this Hidden Force saved Dan Rogers of P2P Transportation
Dan Rogers is the CEO and Founder of Point to Point Transportation. In the 90s, Dan was working in the restaurant industry as a Burrito Roller. Eventually, he decided to work as a Salesperson for a Moving company for 6 years. In 2002, he bought the moving company from its owner and it became Point to Point Transportation. From being an ordinary moving company, Dan shifted Point to Point towards Co
221: Pool Boy builds Tech Company that Employs Thousands Worldwide - John Simpson of Patra
John Simpson is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Patra. An innovator and entrepreneur, John founded Patra in 2005 and has grown the company to more than 3,200 employees worldwide. In 2017, Patra landed in the top third of Inc Magazine’s fastest growing companies. John understands the importance of efficient internal systems to support the complicated needs of a service organization. As an en
220: The Nomadic Adventure of Making Buildings More Smart-er (Felicite Moorman of STRATIS IoT) ⭐
Felicite Moorman is the CoFounder of STRATIS, a RealPage Company, and SaaS Platform for large-scale Internet of Things installations. STRATIS was named a top ten “Best Company in America” by Entrepreneur Magazine and ranked in the top twenty percent of Inc Magazine’s “Fastest Growing Companies” three consecutive years prior to acquisition. Felicite was simultaneous CEO of BuLogics, which designed,
219: From Y2K to Giving Your Way out of Debt w/ Paul Moore of Wellings Capital
Paul Moore is the Founder and Managing Partner of Wellings Capital. After graduating with an engineering degree and then an MBA from Ohio State, Paul entered the management development track at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. After five years, he departed to start a staffing company with a partner. They scaled and sold the company to a publicly traded firm five years later. After a brief “retiremen
218: E-Comm from Ireland? How this Entrepreneur transformed into a Superhero! | Stephen Somers of Marketplace Superheroes ⭐
Stephen Somers runs a company called Marketplace Superheroes. He and his business partner Robert Rickey are on a mission to help ambitious individuals build their own business selling simple branded products globally on Amazon. Stephen started his career by selling products in Amazon for several years, while Robert is also an online entrepreneur collaborating with other companies. They met and sta
217: Predicting Personality before Meeting a Potential Client... A 21st Century Spin on Closing More Sales! | Greg Skloot of Crystal
Greg Skloot is currently the CEO & Co-Founder of Crystal, the app that tells you anyone's personality. Greg is the co-author of Predicting Personality, a book published by Wiley in 2019 about using AI to understand people and win more business. He has also published two e-books: Getting Organized, a manual for growing a student organization at a university, and Startups
216: How Perseverance & a Letter of Honesty Saved this Pizzeria (Nick Sarillo of Nick‘s Pizza & Pub) ⭐
Nick Sarillo has one of the Top 10 busiest independent pizza companies in per-store sales in the U.S. In an industry in which the average annual turnover rate is more than 150 percent, Nick’s Pizza & Pub boasts less than a 25 percent employee turnover rate. He is a leading expert in leadership, organizational culture, employee engagement, and executive development. He also serves as a mentor and c
215: Two Sisters, One Shampoo... The Eco-Friendly Bathroom Story of... Plaine Products
Lindsey McCoy is the CEO and Co-Founder of Plaine Products. She is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the sustainable consumer goods industry. Her skills include Nonprofit Organizations, Sales, Management, Leadership, and Strategic Planning. Coming from a nonprofit background, Lindsey has made a career out of finding solutions. With a dream to have les
214: How 3 Best Friends Quit their Corporate Jobs, Moved to México, & Built a BiG eCommerce Biz - Mike Begg of AMZ Advisers
Mike Begg is the Co-founder, Chief Strategist, and Chief Marketing Officer of AMZ Advisers, which helps manufacturers and brands maximize their sales on Amazon by creating content, developing marketing strategies, and managing advertising. Mike is 31 years old, from Connecticut, and currently resides in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is an Amazon marketing professional with over 7 years of experience sel
213: A Pharmacy for the 21st Century... How Medino is bringing Health, Beauty, & Drugs to the Digital Age...
Christian Jakobsson is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Medino. Before founding Medino, Christian was in IT Sales and Project Management. He began his career working as an intern in an advertising agency in the Philippines. He then worked in an IT-Consultant Company in Stockholm until he transferred to London and started Medino. He works with all sides of the business in Medino and he even
212: Bringing Tech... to the Water Fountain? How FloWater is Cleaning Up the Water Industry w/ Rich Razgaitis
Rich Razgaitis is the CEO and Co-Founder of FloWater. Raz, as most people call him, is passionate about creating a brand new, amazing type of water that’s at the epicenter of the sustainable movement. Their vision is to inspire the world with water, eliminate single use plastic water bottles, and provide everyone access to the world’s best tasting water anywhere they work, rest, and play. Raz and
211: How a Restaurant’s Predicament led to a Tech-Based Solution w/ $12M+ in ARR (Tim McLaughlin of GoTab)
Tim McLaughlin is Co-Founder of GoTab, a leading contactless ordering and payment platform serving full-service food & beverage establishments in almost thirty states and still growing. GoTab launched in 2016 as a code on the receipt for mobile payment of restaurant tabs. In 2018 it became a QR code. The idea started in 2015 when Tim co-opened his first restaurant and brewery, Caboose Brewing Co.,
210: Making $10MM Net Profit in 1977 Semiconductors, to Computer Store Bankruptcy, & Bouncing Back with Bel Air Internet | Terry Koosed ⭐
Terry Koosed is the Founder of Bel Air Internet, a Los Angeles based Internet Service Provider, and a leading authority on successful entrepreneurship. He has founded and successfully run seven companies in the high-tech industry during the past 40 years, sometimes concurrently, and is what some would call, a serial entrepreneur.
Listen to Part II, right now: How Exceptional Customer Service made
209: An Innovative Spin on Smoking Accessories in the Cannabis Industry - Will Breakell of Blazy Susan
Will Breakell is the brainchild and founder of the Blazy Susan brand. Will is a young entrepreneur from Roanoke, Virginia. Although Will graduated from the esteemed Virginia Military Institute, he soon realized that he was meant to take a different path than the majority of his peers. The mountains of Colorado were calling for him, and so was the emerging cannabis industry. Join our 🔥 Facebook Gro
208: Making a BiG Splash in the Backyard Pool Industry... by using Shipping Containers! | Paul Rathnam of ModPools
Diagnosed with a learning disability early in his life, Paul Rathnam persevered through all the challenges and reached success by becoming the business owner of a unique and innovative company called ModPools. His very first company was ModPro, which customizes shipping containers for a variety of client's needs. Containers are custom modified as per clients' requests including but not limited to
207: Taking Your Health to the Next Level (with Josh Clemente of Levels)
Josh Clemente spent the first half of his professional career working at SpaceX and Hyperloop– two companies, one founded by and the other supported by Elon Musk. At SpaceX, Josh spent six years working on rocket and spacecraft systems, while at Hyperloop, Josh worked on infrastructure level engineering and life support systems development. To combat fatigue, Josh applied his characteristic engine
206: How this American Truck Bed Cover withstood 10 Years of Adversity | Ethan Wendle of DiamondBack ⭐
In 2003, Ethan Wendle was attending an Engineering Entrepreneurial class when he met Matt Chverchko. They partnered in a classroom project that grew from a garage operation to a real full-time enterprise. Thus, DiamondBack Truck Covers was born. Ethan attended Penn State University from 2000 to 2003 and took up Civil Engineering.
Listen to Part II, right now: Surviving a Labor Union Takeover to R
205: New Lamp Startup 💡... Battles COVID? How Grant Morgan of R-Zero had a Light Bulb Moment during the Pandemic.
When the Coronavirus pandemic started, Grant Morgan was developing a powerful UV-C disinfection device capable of destroying over 99.99% of pathogens to make commercial space as safe as possible for employees and customers. Grant, along with his co-founders, runs R-Zero Systems, which is a biosafety company dedicated to making safer everyday spaces and common places. Among their top priority is to
204: Revolutionizing the Learning Industry thru Gaming... Stephen Baer of The Game Agency ⭐
Since launching The Game Agency 13 years ago and The Training Arcade 3 years ago, Stephen Baer has developed award-winning games for new-employee on-boarding, sales and product training, leadership development, safety, security, compliance, systems & processes, customer service, and many other training topics.
Listen to Part II, right now: The Creation of a Game Agency (a Continuation of EP 204).
203: Russian Immigrant builds a Digital Business in Los Angeles - Igor Avidon of Avidon Marketing Group
Igor Avidon is a digital marketing expert with a decade of experience in online marketing & advertising. He is also the founder of Avidon Marketing Group, which is a boutique SEO company. His career began with a personal interest in helping his family's business survive the 2008 economic recession. During this period, he autonomously learned paid search advertising using Google's AdWords platform.
202: How this Israeli Entrepreneur is Simplifying the Solar Business ☀ | Aviv Shalgi of Solar Simplified
Aviv Shalgi is a serial entrepreneur, and is the CEO of an energy tech startup Solar Simplified, which is a platform that matches renters and homeowners who care about the environment and want to save money on the electricity bill with local solar farms. For more than 6 years, Aviv has been a Board Member, Mentor, and Advisor to many entrepreneurs, startups, investors, VCs, and non-profit organiza
201: This Awesome Idea ”Fixed” the Alcohol Industry (Ron Alvarado of Ficks Beverage Co.)
Ron Alvarado Co-founded Ficks Beverage Co, the leading manufacturer of better-for-you bar products with its line of pure fruit juice hard seltzers and wellness-focused cocktail mixers. They are based in San Francisco, California, and currently expanding their two main products to national retailers such as Whole Foods, H-E-B, Target, QFC, BevMo, and Safeway. Ron and his co-founder, Mike, have been
200: Bouncing Back from Y Combinator Rejection to Building a Strikingly Good Company... David Chen of Strikingly
In 2012, David Chen dropped out from the University of Chicago to start Strikingly along with his two co founders, Teng Bao and Dafeng Guo. They moved to Silicon Valley with $100 in their pocket and were accepted into Y Combinator after eating ramen noodle in their 1-bedroom apartment for 5 months. Strikingly is a Y Combinator-backed startup that allows anyone to create a gorgeous, mobile optimize
199: Video Strategist Exits his Company to Build a Brand New One | Fritz Brumder of Brandlive & Zipcan
Entrepreneur, video strategist, avid skier, proud dad & husband. In 2010 Fritz Brumder co-founded Brandlive, the leading SaaS live video events platform for brands and retailers. In 2020 he co-founded Zipcan.com - the fastest way to enable video chat inside your website or application. Zipcan's vision is to bring video chat to every corner of the web, by making it easy to embed. Join our 🔥 Faceboo
198: From Team Mascot to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - Jim Wanner of KeyMark ⭐
Jim Wanner is the founder and Chief Expectations Officer at KeyMark, an intelligent automation systems integrator headquartered in Liberty, SC. KeyMark delivers capture (OCR), workflow (ECM), case management, virtual collaboration and robotic process automation (RPA) solutions to businesses and government organizations. KeyMark helps clients leverage technology, such as artificial intelligence and
197: Time to Talk Dirty with Two Maids & A Mop (featuring Georgia Fan 🐶, Ron Holt) ⭐
Ron Holt founded the original Two Maids & A Mop inside a 250 square foot office space on April Fools' Day way back in 2003. In their first year of operations, they cleaned less than one hundred homes and only staffed a few part-time employees. It took the business eighteen months to make its first dollar in profits and took Ron more than two years to earn his first paycheck. It was a humbling star
