Founder's Story

April (“Waepril”) shares how battling teenage acne sparked her obsession with ingredient-led skincare and launched her Instagram career. From zero views in quarantine to brand partnerships and a new website, she reveals the mindset, strategies, and resilience needed to turn personal struggle into a thriving beauty business.Key Discussion Points:Origins of Her Passion:Teenage acne eroded April’s confidence, driving her to decode product labels and hunt active ingredients that truly work.Emphasis on teaching followers how to read ingredients rather than chase marketing claims.Authentic Community Growth:Early quarantine boredom turned into daily posting despite tiny view counts—passion kept her going.Advice for new creators: embrace originality, adapt trends into your own voice, and persist through slow growth.Monetization Pathways:As follower count climbs, brands seek her out for product launches and paid collaborations.Amazon affiliate links and TikTok/IG Shop as accessible entry points before launching a full e-commerce site.Content Differentiation:Stand out by infusing every reel with your personality and story, not just mimicking top trends.Trend hijacking vs. trend transformation: use popular formats as springboards for unique angles.Overcoming Personal Loss:A pause after her father’s passing led to renewed clarity and commitment—turning grief into motivation.Balancing vulnerability and positivity to build deeper audience trust.The Future of Social Commerce:Huge potential in live selling on TikTok, YouTube Commerce, and Amazon Live, especially for beauty demos.The importance of user-friendly affiliate programs for creators without bespoke websites.Key Takeaways:Ingredient Literacy Is Power: Teach your audience to look past branding and focus on actives that actually deliver.Passion Fuels Persistence: When growth stalls, genuine enthusiasm and a personal “why” will carry you forward.Authenticity Wins: Audiences connect with real stories and personalities more than polished, generic content.Accessible Monetization: Start with affiliate links and brand collaborations before scaling to full e-commerce.Closing Thoughts:April’s journey proves that turning personal pain into purpose can create a loyal, engaged community—and a viable business. By prioritizing ingredient expertise, authentic storytelling, and resilience, any creator can transform their passion into influence and income.Our Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sheelam Chadha discusses her bold journey from two decades in corporate real estate to launching her own firm, Dry Capital, symbolically founded on International Women’s Day 2025. Driven by the desire to break the glass ceiling and leverage her extensive experience in the volatile European real estate market, Sheelam shares insights into navigating uncertainty, the importance of trust, and the power of strategic networking.Key Discussion Points:From Corporate to Founder:The motivation behind launching Dry Capital after encountering limitations in the traditional corporate structure.How Sheelam turned professional frustrations into entrepreneurial opportunity by creating a company aligned with her vision and values.Navigating Market Volatility:Insights on how major events—like Brexit, COVID-19, and recent interest rate hikes—have reshaped the European commercial real estate landscape.Why traditional bank financing is increasingly limited, and how Dry Capital provides alternative private capital solutions to help companies navigate prolonged market challenges.Challenges and Advice for Women Entrepreneurs:The barriers faced by women in traditionally male-dominated industries and how Sheelam overcame criticism by cultivating resilience and self-belief.Practical advice on why women should embrace risk, leverage supportive networks, and pursue their entrepreneurial visions without hesitation.Strategic Networking and Building Trust:How critical building and maintaining a professional network has been throughout Sheelam’s career.Advice for young professionals: proactively attend industry events, build genuine relationships, and cultivate trust that can last decades.Valuable Corporate Experience:How experiences during economic downturns and corporate restructuring periods provided Sheelam with invaluable insights and resilience.Why challenging times offer greater learning opportunities compared to periods of easy growth.Key Takeaways:Embracing discomfort and uncertainty can drive significant personal and professional growth.Genuine trust and integrity within professional relationships can be a key differentiator and asset throughout one's career.Courage, belief in oneself, and leveraging past corporate experiences can empower entrepreneurs to launch and scale their own businesses successfully.Our Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Aaron Marcum spent over two decades in the home care industry before founding Breakaway365, a coaching program designed to help agency owners scale their businesses while reclaiming the time, energy, and freedom they’ve lost. In this episode, Aaron shares what inspired him to launch Breakaway365, how positive psychology transformed his approach to leadership, and what he's learned from coaching hundreds of overwhelmed home care entrepreneurs.Drawing on data from his previous venture, Home Care Pulse, Aaron explains how burnout, poor delegation, and always-on leadership are silently eroding the effectiveness of many agency owners. Through Breakaway365, he now empowers leaders to rethink how they build their businesses—with scalable systems, strong culture, and purpose-driven leadership at the core.Key Discussion Points:The Burnout Epidemic in Home Care Leadership:Aaron shares how most agency owners lose sight of their original vision due to constant stress and reactive leadership. Breakaway365 was created to help them "break away" from always being on and return to the freedom they set out to create.Positive Psychology Meets Entrepreneurship:Backed by a master’s degree in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, Aaron explains how mindset shifts—like reframing setbacks as temporary—can radically transform business owners’ resilience and performance.Keeping Culture Framework:A proprietary model developed by Breakaway365 focused on retention and team growth.K.E.E.P. stands for Knowledge, Empowerment, Engagement, and Partnership.Emphasizes autonomy, relationships, and confidence as the “arc of growth” that drives team loyalty and performance.AI-Driven Purpose Matching:Aaron introduces a powerful tool Breakaway members use to help caregivers define their personal purpose, aligning it with the company’s mission—enhancing retention and employee engagement from day one.Three-Day Immersive to Three-Year Commitment:Breakaway365 starts with a transformational three-day event where owners define their Breakaway Blueprint—a roadmap tailored to what they truly want from their business. The program then continues for up to three years, offering tools, coaching, and AI-powered systems to build lasting success.Why This Matters:Home care is a mission-driven industry deeply impacted by leadership burnout and staff turnover.Breakaway365 is not just about growing revenue—it's about restoring joy and purpose to business ownership.Aaron’s approach is adaptable across industries, offering a blueprint for any founder looking to scale with sanity.Our Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Yaroslav Lazor and Sergiy Korolov take us on their fascinating journey from passionate software engineers to innovative entrepreneurs at Railsware. They share how their love for building software evolved from personal passion into a thriving business, influencing multiple industries and countless lives. Railsware’s approach of treating every internal process as a product is central to their ability to innovate, scale, and continuously improve.Key Discussion Points:Origins & Inspiration:How their genuine passion for software as a transformative force inspired the founding of Railsware.Viewing software development as an exciting sport—endlessly challenging and infinitely rewarding.Product Mindset & Business Evolution:The philosophy of approaching every company function (legal, finance, recruitment) as a "product" to enhance efficiency and user experience.Balancing in-house product development with collaborative ventures to constantly engage with fresh ideas and challenges.Building & Scaling Successful Companies:Why early-stage entrepreneurs must juggle multiple roles, from visionary to executor.The critical importance of team-building, sharp decision-making, and scaling thoughtfully as the business grows.Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs:Embracing a "founder mode craziness," coupled with conscious decision-making, intuition, and deep domain knowledge.How luck, timing, persistence ("don't quit"), and managing your own psychology are underestimated yet critical factors in entrepreneurial success.The Impact of AI:AI’s role as a productivity booster rather than a complete replacement for creative roles such as writing, design, and software development.How AI fosters clearer articulation of ideas, better prototyping, and expanded creative possibilities.Key Takeaways:Passion and continuous learning fuel entrepreneurial longevity.Treating business processes as products helps create clarity and efficiency.Understanding timing, persistence, and adaptability is critical for sustained success.Leveraging AI effectively enhances human potential rather than replacing it.Our Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode of Founder's Story, Raza Sheikh, Founder & CEO of Identable, explains how he distilled his own frustration with fragmented SEO, content, and social tools into Identable—“one platform, zero fragmentation.” Designed for businesses of every size, Identable combines AI-powered SEO, content creation, social scheduling, and lead capture into a single dashboard. Raza describes how his technologist roots and Antler VC experience revealed a universal pain point: marketing teams wasted hours wrestling with disconnected systems instead of crafting strategy.Key Discussion Points:Inspiration & Problem: Juggling multiple free AI utilities, legacy SEO tools, and agencies left teams burned out.Founder’s Path: Solving his own go-to-market struggles led to a platform that any entrepreneur can use.Core Features: Unified website optimization, AI-driven content generation, social posting, and real-time lead tracking.SEO Meets GSO: Integrating traditional backlink SEO with generative search optimization for structured, AI-aware content.AI’s Role: Speed and scale—using AI to handle repetitive tasks so humans can focus on strategy and creativity.Takeaways:Fragmented marketing stacks cost time and talent; consolidation boosts both productivity and results.Generative Search Optimization (GSO) is the next evolution of SEO—structure and semantics matter.AI tools amplify human insight but must be steered by clear strategy and intent.Closing Thoughts: Whether you run brick-and-mortar shops or digital agencies, Identable offers a streamlined, AI-powered path from content idea to customer capture—freeing teams to innovate rather than integrate.Our Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Shane Smith is a seasoned med spa entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience and the CEO of Upkeep Ventures—one of America’s fastest-growing aesthetic brands. With multiple Inc. 5000 awards and 1000%+ year-over-year growth, Shane has built a national business by making high-quality med spa services accessible to the customers most companies overlook.His fearless approach to scaling and commitment to affordability are changing the face of the industry.s a seasoned med spa entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience, responsible for building and leading some of the world’s top-performing spa and med spa companies, including multiple Inc. 5000-ranked businesses. As the CEO of Upkeep Ventures, Shane has scaled a national med spa brand focused on affordable, high-quality aesthetic services, driven by rapid growth, fearless strategy, and a commitment to serving customers others overlook.We dive into: – Why being too smart can hold you back as a founder– What Shane learned by shadowing elite CEOs– His no-fluff take on entrepreneurship and risk– Why doing what others won’t is the secret to growth– And how to scale a service business without losing your soul💻 Visit: https://www.upkeepmedspa.com🌐 More: https://www.upkeepventures.comOur Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Divakar Vijayasarathy is the founder of DVS, a global platform revolutionizing the accounting and business services industry with a presence in the USA, India, Singapore, and Dubai. A self-described Thought Capitalist, Divakar is also the author of 16 books on taxation and a globally respected strategist in scaling professional services. His mission? To help CPAs and small firms overcome fragmentation, eliminate fear, and scale toward global impact and freedom.💬 In This Episode:What if scaling your firm wasn’t just about better tools, but about completely rethinking your mindset?In this mind-expanding episode, Divakar breaks down the illusions that hold entrepreneurs back, especially in the professional services industry. From growing up in the slums of India to building a multi-country platform for CPAs, he shares how fear, perception, and discipline shape success.If you're a service-based founder, CPA, or anyone who feels stuck doing everything in your business, this episode is your wake-up call.🧠 Topics We Cover:What “Thought Capitalism” really means—and how it drives modern valueWhy most CPAs and service providers stay small (and how to escape it)The three-part transformation every founder must go through: mindset, vision, actionHow to turn a one-person firm into a $10M+ business through DVS’s growth modelThe truth about exits—and how DVS creates liquidity from day oneWhy scaling is less about hard skills and more about decluttering your roleThe hidden costs of fear in fragmented industriesWhy discipline + direction = inevitable success🔑 Key Quotes:“The accounting world isn’t playing to win—they’re playing not to lose.” “One plus one doesn’t equal two. It equals infinity.” “Success isn’t about effort—it’s about perception and discipline.”📍 Want to connect with Divakar? 🌐 www.onedvs.comOur Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Melody Wilding is a professor of human behavior at Hunter College, a licensed therapist, an executive coach, and the author of Managing Up. She was named one of Insider’s Most Innovative Career Coaches and has been praised by thought leaders like Daniel Pink. Through her research and coaching, Melody has helped thousands of high-achievers navigate the complex relationships and unspoken rules that define career success.💬 In This Episode:Melody Wilding joins Founder's Story to unpack the real reason many talented professionals get stuck in their careers—it’s not about skill, it’s about mastering the psychology of the people around you. From decoding power dynamics to influencing with integrity, Melody explains how to “manage up” to leaders, navigate workplace politics, and take ownership of your career trajectory.Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder or building your own business, this conversation is packed with actionable tools to help you lead, influence, and grow.🧠 Topics We Cover:Why your biggest workplace challenges aren’t technical—they’re psychologicalThe 10 Conversations that unlock influence, visibility, and career growthHow to master both your inner psychology and the psychology of othersThe difference between managing up at junior vs. senior levelsWhy avoiding workplace politics is a dangerous mistakeHow to communicate with different leadership styles and power personalitiesThe “ownership conversation” and how to act like a business owner in your jobHow small, strategic asks (aka “foot in the door” technique) create big changeHow to build internal visibility without being self-promotional💡 Key Quote:“Politics are going to happen whether you like it or not. If you opt out, you do so at your own peril.”📘 Grab the book → ManagingUp.com 🎁 Bonus templates & scripts included with sign-up!Connect with Melody: 🌐 ManagingUp.com 📚 Author of Managing UpOur Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this urgent and eye-opening episode of Founder's Story, Daniel sits down with Ricardo Amper, the CEO and Founder of Incode, the revolutionary identity verification platform trusted by Amazon, Citibank, and even U.S. elections.Ricardo reveals how deepfakes, AI fraud, and impersonation scams are rapidly increasing—and why the future of the internet depends on solving trust. From building a pre-Facebook social app to securing elections with facial biometrics, his journey is filled with unexpected pivots, high-stakes innovation, and global impact.If you've ever wondered how we’ll know who’s real in the AI era, this episode answers it.Topics Covered:Ricardo’s failed first startup and why timing matters more than you thinkThe near fraud that almost cost Incode a major dealWhy AI is breaking the internet—and how Incode is fixing itHow governments and Fortune 500s are using IncodeThe future of digital identity, trust, and agentic AIWhat Ricardo believes is the next frontier after facial recognitionHow identity fraud is impacting everyone from small businesses to democracy itselfGuest Info:Ricardo Amper Founder & CEO, Incode 🌐 https://incode.comOur Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this powerful episode of Founder's Story, we sit down with world-renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Osman Bashir Tahir—also known as Dr. OBT—whose aesthetic clinics span London, Dubai, and Lahore. From cleft surgeries to cutting-edge regenerative treatments, Dr. OBT reveals how he combines art and science to help people not just look better, but feel better, too.We talk about the true purpose of plastic surgery, the myths social media has fueled, and how a well-done procedure can transform more than just appearance—it can change someone’s entire life. Dr. OBT also dives into regenerative medicine, including fat transfer, salmon DNA facials, and exosome therapy, and how he’s pioneering a more natural, undetectable approach to aesthetics.Whether you're curious about the latest in aesthetic medicine or want to understand the emotional side of plastic surgery, this episode is honest, insightful, and inspiring.Topics Covered:How Dr. OBT got into plastic & aesthetic surgeryWhy blending art with surgery mattersThe problem with “overdone” faces and filler trendsThe right reasons people should get aesthetic proceduresWhat’s next in regenerative aestheticsThe truth about fat transfer, stem cells, and salmon sperm facialsHis views on confidence, wellness, and aging wellConnect with Dr. OBT:🌐 Website & Clinic Info📍 Locations: London | Dubai | Lahore📲 Follow on Instagram: @drobtOur Sponsors:* Check out Indeed: https://indeed.com/FOUNDERSSTORY* Check out Northwest Registered Agent and use my code FOUNDERS for a great deal: https://northwestregisteredagent.com* Check out Plus500: https://plus500.com* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy