Entrepreneur Stories 4⃣ Inspiration

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. Kraft served as President of the enr...

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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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 million. Dr. Cohen's training is in ...

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 own dreams of freedom and wealth g...

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 commercial fans. In less than two deca...

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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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 Fran...

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...

This Episode is Sponsored By:

• Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Cons...

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...

This Episode is Sponsored By:

• Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranB...

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 franchise stores.

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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 other businesses and entrepreneurs.

As...

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 leading accelerator program. Addition...

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 businesses in The New York Times, Entreprene...

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 but he also had a side business selli...

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 experiences with these medicines, he w...

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 of Pivot from April 2021 to Novembe...

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 and berries that are so sweet that ...

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 their deep research & engineering ...

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, Haut.AI’s SaaS platform was trained o...