Derek Sorrells shares how he built eight businesses with ten locations in Wichita by observing concepts in bigger cities, learning that hobbies cost money while businesses make money, and discovering that scaling from two to three stores feels exponentially harder without systems.
Chef William Milian shares escaping Cuba 1994 on 20-foot boat with seven others spending year and a half Guantanamo Bay, arriving Miami 1996 Japanese restaurant dishwashing sparked passion, Le Cordon Bleu 15-month sprint wife Isabel 5 AM support becoming summa cum laude, opening Hyatt Centric executive chef creating elevated Cuban restaurant Canya.
Greg Zabikow shares how collegiate swimming taught him to train through losses for championship wins, why asking curious questions transformed a struggling pipe facility, and how Rio Grande Company maintained culture through 132 years including their first layoffs ever in 2008.
Jonathan Ng Sposato shares journey from Apple II game developer to founding JoySauce—first Asian American TV channel on Amazon Prime Video—revealing why $2 trillion spending power needs cultural capital, how childhood in Hong Kong shaped entrepreneurial path, and why celebrating joy beats trauma narratives.
Deanna Harner shares 25-year supply chain journey from Continental Airlines menu design to creating Tariff Navigator at Avanade, revealing why companies need agile data layers before next disruptor, how AI agents work like interns not autonomous workers, and gastric bypass complications doctors don’t discuss.
Jason Acquisto, COO at Bickford Senior Living, shares how crisis communications background prepared him for difficult dementia care conversations, balancing 100% occupancy with resident happiness, and using daily mindfulness in emotionally demanding senior living leadership.
Leticia Snoddy shares fulfilling seven-year-old promise buying mother house by year three, pivoting from staffing into million-square-foot engine inspection when customer asked “can you do it offsite,” and rebuilding in three years after partner split because original seven employees stayed loyal.
Rachael Nemeth, CEO of Opus Training, shares her journey from restaurant operations to building TikTok-style training platform serving 110 million frontline workers, burning desktop-built systems to ground, and tracking shoulder-to-shoulder learning moments across retail, QSR, and universities.
Scott Mayer shares selling collectibles for gas money while barely making payroll from parents’ basement, landing Kraft Foods contract that launched QPS Employment, losing best friend Mark to heart attack, 2020 ESOP transition, and fighting for food-processing immigration reform with Trump administration.
Todd Recknagel shares losing $100K his first year with Blimpy Subs, the mentor who taught him to fix problems whether selling or keeping, building $300-400M investor gains across franchise platforms, and paying full COVID payroll before PPP to protect team loyalty.