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. This Episode is Sponsored By: Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consultant is here to...

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. This Episode is Sponsored By: Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consultant is here to help you explore the world of...

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 Consultant is here to help you explore the world of non-food franchising opportunities today. Jon and...

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 FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consultant is here to help you explore the world of...

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. Listen to Part II, right now: The Secrets to Creating a Successful Franchise......

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 an independent division head, Doug created, trained, and...

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. Additionally, she holds an M.S. in Management degree from Stanford...

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, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Street.com. He is also a weekly contributor...

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 selling Sukkah to the local Jewish community. With his early...

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 was able to build a healthier relationship with himself and...

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 November 2022. Pivot was the second company he created before Whizz...

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 it will make you forget your mother’s milk. As their CEO, Ali...

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 expertise with leading doctors to create devices that address...

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 on 3 million data points to evaluate more than 150 unique...

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 his entrepreneurial journey and, in 5 years, turned it into a seven-figure eCommerce business. His...

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.   This Episode is Sponsored By: Light Years Ahead is a woman-owned national PR firm focusing on emerging brands, exports, and services in the...

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 in online tech solutions, systems, and processes that improve company efficiencies.   This...

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.   This Episode is Sponsored By: Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consultant is here to help you explore the world of...

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 their own dreams of freedom and wealth generation through business ownership.   This Episode is...

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 Civil and Environmental Engineering department. He is a second-generation civil engineer with over...

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 raising venture capital from blue chip firms (Sequoia Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Allen and...

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 Episode is Sponsored By: First impressions are everything, so if you’re looking to make an impact...

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 hosts the popular Intentional Growth™podcast (260+ episodes and 360k+ downloads).   This Episode...

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 market. Lizanne is a prescient food pioneer and protein expert who understood the benefits of a...