1585: The Starving Artist is a Myth: This Viola Virtuoso Has Built an Empire in Tech & Music w/ Drew Alexander Forde

In this episode, Brian sits down with Drew Alexander Forde, the world-renowned musician known as "That Viola Kid" who has masterfully blended artistic excellence with sharp entrepreneurial instincts. Drew shares his incredible journey from playing viola in NYC subways to performing with legends like Adele and Kanye West, and how those experiences forged his business mindset. This isn't just a story about music; it's a masterclass in turning a passion into a multi-faceted career, building a personal brand, and creating a tech solution (DTLA) to solve the biggest pain points in your industry. For any wantrepreneur or entrepreneur, especially those in creative fields, this episode is a powerful lesson in valuing your work, building systems, and dropping the "starving artist" mentality for good.💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR BusinessHow to build a powerful personal brand by sharing your process and journey, even before you have a product to sell.The subway busking mindset: how to find the audience with a problem you can solve and focus entirely on serving them.Why creative labor must be quantified and valued, and how to shift your mindset from "artist" to "business owner."The strategy of scratching your own itch: how Drew identified the administrative pains of freelance musicians and built a tech company (DTLA) to solve them.How to use "loading screen" moments (like commutes) for intentional strategic thinking to grow your business and diversify your income.Why developing a non-negotiable work ethic in your core skill allows you to handle the unpredictable challenges of business with ease.The "compound interest" effect of consistent practice and how it applies to building both skills and business expertise over time.📝 About Drew Alexander FordeDrew Alexander Forde, known online as "That Viola Kid," is a Juilliard-trained violist who has transformed his classical music career into a modern entrepreneurial empire. He has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in music, including Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys, and Kanye West. Refusing to be just a performer, Drew embraced social media to build a massive personal brand and co-founded two businesses: Whole Soul, a hip-hop and R&B string quartet, and DTLA, a software company designed to eliminate administrative and financial headaches for freelance musicians. Drew is a shining example of how to merge world-class talent with a savvy business mind.🎯 Drew’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs"Don't be afraid of pain... It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop."📢 Memorable Quotes"The role as an entrepreneur is to find the people who have the problems that you can solve and then quickly and deeply try to solve those problems." – Drew Alexander Forde"Creative labor is real. It must be measured, it must be quantified because at the end of the day you only have 24 hours on the planet." – Drew Alexander Forde"If I get sick and I can't move my arms anymore... I lose all of my income. And to me, that scenario was unacceptable. So when I would sit in the subways or I would sit in the car and I would think about that possibility, it would drive me to read more books." – Drew Alexander Forde💡 Actionable TakeawaysIdentify your industry's biggest "painful administrative problem" and brainstorm a simple tool or system to solve it, just as Drew did for musicians with DTLA.Start building your personal brand today by documenting your process. You don't need a finished product to start providing value and owning your audience's attention.Audit your "loading screen" time (commutes, waiting in line) and dedicate it to intentional thinking about your business goals and strategy.Stop accepting the "starving artist" narrative. Start tracking your time and quantifying the value of your skills to confidently charge what you're worth.Reframe a past rejection or failure. Instead of a verdict on your ability, view it as a necessary step that pushed you toward a more authentic and successful path.🔗 Links & ResourcesDTLA website: https://getdtla.com/Whole Soul Music website: https://www.wholesoulmusic.comThat Viola Kid website: https://thatviolakid.comConnect with Drew on LinkedInFollow DTLA on LinkedInFollow Whole Soul on Instagram

We spend countless hours perfecting our "welcome mat" — our onboarding sequences, sales calls, and initial client experience. But what happens when a client is on their way out? In this Solo Sunday episode, Brian pulls back the curtain on a strategy he’s never heard anyone else discuss in nearly 20 years of entrepreneurship: the offboarding plan. He argues that the way you handle the end of a client relationship is the ultimate test of your integrity and the most powerful, overlooked opportunity to build a legendary reputation. Brian shares his exact framework for ensuring clients feel cared for and set up for success long after they’ve stopped paying, proving that genuine care extends far beyond the transaction.✨ Why This Matters for YouMastering the offboarding process is a game-changer for your business:It’s how you turn a client who is leaving into a lifelong advocate for your brand.It’s the ultimate proof that your promise to "care about their success" isn't just sales-speak.It differentiates you from 99% of businesses who disappear the moment an engagement ends.It protects the hard work you've already done and ensures the client can continue to build on the results you delivered.It often leads to unexpected referrals and glowing reviews, not because you asked, but because you earned them.📝 Key TakeawaysCare Beyond the Check. True care is shown not when a client is paying you, but when they’re on their way out. Your actions at the end of the relationship define your character.Serve, Don't Sell. An effective offboarding plan is 100% about serving the departing client and 0% self-serving. Don't do it for the review; do it because it's the right thing to do.Document and Deliver a Roadmap. Don't let your hard work go to waste. Provide a final report that outlines the value delivered, identifies open loops, and gives a clear path forward for their continued success.Fill the Gaps You're Leaving. Proactively advise your former client on how to replace your services, whether through tools, technology, or new hires. This shows you're committed to their success, with or without you.Be the Exception. In a world where most businesses forget a client the minute they leave, you have a massive opportunity to be unforgettable by showing care far beyond the end of an engagement.🚀 Put It Into ActionThis week, sit down and create your V1 offboarding plan. Ask yourself:If my best client left tomorrow, what would I do to ensure they succeed without me?What information would they need to continue the momentum we built together?How can I create a final "success package" that includes a summary of our work, a roadmap for what’s next, and recommendations for filling the gaps?Start drafting a template for this process so you’re prepared to deliver exceptional value, even at the end of a relationship.🔗 Stay ConnectedSubscribe to the show so you never miss an episodeConnect with me on Instagram @imetbrianShare this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who wants to build a business that people remember for all the right reasons

In this special Collab Week episode of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur, eight founders come together to answer one deeply personal question:Have you ever been afraid to give something up, only for it to turn out to be a great decision?You'll hear from Sheri Roder, Nicholas Cook, Brandon Pankey, David Beltran, John Lunsford, Raamon Newman, Drew Mehta, and Zeyno Dodd, as they each open up about the identity, title, plan, or old way of doing things they were scared to release — and what it gave them in return.✨ What You'll Take AwayIn this episode, you'll learn how to:Separate your identity from your job title before a big leapUse fear-setting to make a scary decision calculated, not recklessLet go of "I can do it all" to make room for your teamHold onto a long-term goal through years of doubtChoose between two good ideas by asking which excites you mostTrust that letting an identity end opens the door to what's nextEase into change gradually instead of waiting for the perfect leapDrop the "perfect" plan and let your team step up when it counts🎙️ Meet the Collab Week ContributorsSheri Roder — Get UnStuck HQSheri is the founder of Get UnStuck HQ, a career and leadership coaching practice built around her Stuck Spectrum framework, helping people navigate tough career decisions and creative ruts after her own 20-plus year corporate career. Websitei: https://getunstuckhq.com/Nicholas Cook — Money 101 AcademyNicholas is the founder of Money 101 Academy and owner of Prime Land Properties, helping people buy land for a homesite, camping, or investment. He also writes at The Place Blog, and recently made the leap from a W-2 job into running his own business full-time. Website: https://money101academy.com/Brandon Pankey — Blue Pine WorksBrandon is the founder and owner of Blue Pine Works, an arboriculture and land stewardship company in East Central Minnesota. He and his wife Kay lead the company. He's learned to let go of doing everything himself so his team and clients can share the load. Website: https://bluepineworks.com/David Beltran — Accord IntelligenceDavid is founder and CEO of Accord Intelligence. Ten years into his IT career, he refused to give up on becoming an architect despite being told repeatedly he wasn't a fit — a pursuit that opened the door to IBM and, later, to building Accord's AI decision-governance layer. Website: https://www.accordintelligence.ai/John Lunsford — TethralJohn is the founder and CEO of Tethral, an engineer and anthropologist with a PhD studying how technology gets adopted. He formerly led AI and personal safety at Uber before letting go of a second viable business idea to focus fully on Tethral. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-lunsford/Raamon Newman — New MavericksRaamon is co-founder of New Mavericks, a CEO leadership development partnership he started 25 years ago as a full-time meditating monk. His path ran from competitive running to monastic life to leadership consulting, letting go of each identity to make room for the next. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raamonnewman/Drew Mehta — ThinkFractionDrew is the founder of ThinkFraction, helping owner-operators fix leaks in their back-end workflows. After 20 years in corporate, he was terrified to give up its safety — so instead of a leap, he took a "leisurely stroll" into entrepreneurship, still finding out if it pays off. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhroovmehta/Zeyno Dodd — AlgiSenseZeyno is co-founder of AlgiSense, developing AI-driven EEG digital biomarkers to objectively measure pain. Across 25-plus years in healthcare, cybersecurity, and applied AI, she's learned to let go of her own "perfect" blueprint and trust her team to solve problems together in real time. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeynoaygendodd/

In this powerhouse episode, we sit down with Jaime Pesquera, the CEO and co-founder of the Madrid-based startup accelerator, Jupiter Base. Jaime breaks down the new rules for building a successful business in the age of AI, revealing how founders can create a protective "moat" around their ideas to thrive against fast-moving competition. This conversation is a masterclass for any entrepreneur feeling overwhelmed by the pace of technology. You'll learn how to leverage AI as a growth accelerator, cultivate the founder traits that truly matter to investors, and build the resilience needed to turn inevitable obstacles into massive opportunities.💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR BusinessHow to Build an Unbeatable Business "Moat": Learn what a business moat is in today's tech landscape and how to build one to protect your startup from giant competitors like OpenAI.The Three Founder Traits That Guarantee Growth: Discover the essential qualities investors look for—willpower, diligence, and risk-taking—and how to cultivate them in your own entrepreneurial journey.AI-Native Acceleration: Understand how to strategically integrate AI not to replace human thinking, but to complement it, keep your team focused, and accelerate your path to market.The Power of a Niche: Hear Jaime's take on why conquering a specific, unexplored niche is the most effective strategy for building a foothold and scaling your business.Leveraging Behavioral Science for Peak Performance: Get a glimpse into how top accelerators use behavioral science to help founders manage stress, stay resilient, and perform at their absolute best.Why Your "Failures" Are Your Biggest Wins: Learn to reframe failure as a critical part of the journey that builds character and often leads to even better outcomes than you originally planned.📝 About Jaime PesqueraJaime Pesquera is the CEO and co-founder of Jupiter Base, a pre-seed startup accelerator in Madrid focused on building the next generation of global companies. With a unique background that blends psychology, law (JD), and business (MBA), Jaime brings a multi-disciplinary approach to company building. He has helped raise over $30 million in startup capital, managed $100+ million in transactions, and possesses a deep technical knowledge, having coded since he was nine years old. This diverse expertise gives him a rare ability to see the market from every angle—legal, financial, technical, and human.🎯 Jaime’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs"Do not be afraid of putting in a lot of hours into a specific project and then it becoming a failure... the journey is sometimes much more important than where you arrive."📢 Memorable Quotes“If you don't have that willpower, it's going to be very tough to build anything long-term. A startup is many times a 10+ year commitment.” – Jaime Pesquera"Diligence is the mother of good fortune. You generate your own luck, you create your own luck." – Jaime Pesquera“The journey is sometimes much more important than where you arrive. Because sometimes where you arrive isn't where you planned, and it could be even much better than what you ever imagined.” – Jaime Pesquera💡 Actionable TakeawaysDefine Your Moat: Take 30 minutes this week to clearly define your business's primary competitive advantage (your "moat"). Is it distribution, IP, data, or something else?Use a Sounding Board: Ask a trusted friend, mentor, or your partner to help you identify your "zone of genius." As Jaime shared, it's often hard to see our own greatest strengths.Identify One AI Enhancement: Find one area of your business where AI can complement your team's thinking to accelerate growth—whether it's customer insight analysis, content creation, or product development.Reframe a Past "Failure": Look back at a project or idea that didn't work out. Write down three valuable lessons or skills you gained from the experience.🔗 Links & ResourcesWebsite: https://jupiterbase.co/Connect with Jaime on LinkedInFollow Jupiter Base on LinkedIn

Tired of feeling like success has to be a constant, grinding hustle? This episode is your antidote to entrepreneurial burnout. Kelly Csiszar, a former top-performing enterprise sales rep turned executive mindset coach, reveals why more strategies and tactics often fail to produce the results we want. She explains that the real breakthroughs happen when we look inward to understand and rewire the subconscious patterns that drive our behavior. For entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs, this conversation is a masterclass in building a business that feels as good as it looks, achieving massive goals with ease, and transforming self-sabotage into sustainable success.💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business🧠 Why "more strategy" is often the wrong answer for breaking through plateaus and how to focus on your internal operating system instead.🚀 How to make personal transformation feel fun and easy, rather than like a painful, dramatic overhaul of your life.🧘 The secret to making peace and ambition coexist, allowing you to build your empire without sacrificing your well-being.🔍 How to use pattern recognition as your entrepreneurial superpower to overcome procrastination, perfectionism, and people-pleasing.💰 A framework for building the internal safety and security required to handle sales rejection and fearlessly put yourself and your business out there.🔑 The single most powerful question you can ask yourself to uncover the root cause of any problem holding you back in your business.📝 About Kelly CsiszarKelly Csiszar is an executive mindset coach and the founder of SoulShyft, a private coaching practice for high achievers. After a decade in the trenches of enterprise sales, she experienced firsthand how ambition can lead to incredible results but also burnout, anxiety, and perfectionism. Kelly transitioned into coaching to help others break free from these limiting patterns. Her work combines deep pattern recognition with neuroscience-based modalities to help entrepreneurs build unshakable self-trust, make bolder decisions, and create success that is both meaningful and sustainable.🎯 Kelly’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and EntrepreneursWhen you feel stuck, ask yourself one simple but profound question: "What is the secondary gain I'm getting from having this problem in my life?"📢 Memorable Quotes “We think that success has to be hard and that's a societal program that was built into us. Now it takes a lot of work, I'm not gonna lie, but it doesn't have to be hard work. It can be fun.” – Kelly Csiszar“Being an entrepreneur is a total soul-led, self-led journey that allows you to become the best version of yourself. You start to get excited about all the triggers and all of the problems that arise because you start to look at them differently.” – Kelly Csiszar“You have to have a slingshot. You kind of have to take a step back in order to go forward.” – Kelly Csiszar💡 Actionable Takeaways✅ The next time you feel stuck on a problem, ask yourself, "What am I gaining from this problem still being here?" and write down whatever comes to mind without judgment.✅ Instead of just consuming another business book or podcast, schedule 15 minutes this week for intentional reflection. Look for a recurring story or emotional trigger in your professional life.✅ Reframe your approach to a difficult task on your to-do list. Instead of thinking "This is going to be hard," ask yourself, "How can I make this fun or approach it with ease?"✅ Identify one area where you feel fear in your business (e.g., sales, visibility). Instead of forcing action, get curious about the underlying pattern (e.g., perfectionism, fear of rejection) that's causing the fear.🔗 Links & ResourcesWebsite: https://www.soulshyft.com/Substack: https://substack.com/@soulshyftConnect with Kelly on LinkedInFollow SoulShfyt on LinkedInFollow SoulShfyt on Instagram

In an era where AI can make or break a business decision, how can you be sure you're getting the truth? Vanja Todorovic, a 25-year financial services veteran, faced this exact problem when AI gave him disastrous advice for his new venture. This experience led him to create MelMat, a patent-pending AI research platform designed to sift through AI "hallucinations" and deliver factually-grounded answers. This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur who relies on AI for market research, content creation, or critical decision-making. Vanja breaks down how his background in high-stakes mortgage compliance, where being wrong had severe consequences, shaped his unique approach to building a tool that prioritizes accuracy over a single, potentially flawed answer.💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR BusinessHow to turn a costly mistake (like getting bad pricing advice from AI) into a game-changing, patent-pending business.The powerful strategy of cross-referencing multiple AI models to uncover factual blind spots and find the real truth.Why your "non-tech" background is actually your greatest asset in building a unique and defensible technology company.The "multidimensional founder" mindset for successfully running multiple businesses by finding surprising intersection points between them.How to leverage the immigrant entrepreneur’s superpower of adaptability to pivot and thrive in a rapidly changing market.A framework for building a business where accuracy and trust are the core value proposition, not just features.📝 About Vanja TodorovicVanja Todorovic is the founder of MelMat, a multi-engine AI research platform built to solve the problem of AI misinformation. With a 25-year career in financial services, including as a VP of Mortgage Compliance at Wells Fargo, Vanja understands the real-world consequences of relying on incorrect information. He combines this deep industry experience with executive leadership training and advanced AI education from MIT and Johns Hopkins. As an immigrant, multi-founder, and parent to twins, Vanja brings a uniquely resilient and multidimensional perspective to entrepreneurship, proving that a diverse background is a powerful advantage in building innovative solutions.🎯 Vanja’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs"Try to be a sponge, try to absorb as much information as possible while still staying true to yourself... The only people that are the biggest obstacle in your way is usually yourself. So try to remove yourself from that, try to be your own biggest fan and supporter."📢 Memorable Quotes“When an AI doesn't have the answer, it's going to sound, it's going to look like, it's going to smell like, it's going to taste like the right answer. But it's not going to be one.” – Vanja Todorovic“The constraints I placed on myself throughout my life were self-imposed and that I'm able to do so much more.” – Vanja Todorovic"You nurture that business from the ground up and you're there to see it go through these different stages in life as your kids are, right? So you see that growth and you know you contributed to it.” – Vanja Todorovic💡 Actionable TakeawaysBefore making a key business decision based on AI research, run your query through multiple different LLMs to spot inconsistencies.Audit your own skill set and identify how your unique experiences—even those outside your industry—can become a competitive advantage.Instead of putting all your passions on the back burner, look for ways they can intersect and inform your primary business.When you receive advice (from a mentor, a podcast, or AI), always ask, "How does this fit me?" before blindly implementing it.Practice being your own biggest fan this week. When you face a setback, consciously reframe your internal monologue from criticism to encouragement.🔗 Links & ResourcesWebsite: https://melmat.ai/Connect with Vanja on LinkedInFollow MelMat on LinkedIn

Alexander Torrenegra is an entrepreneur who doesn't just build businesses; he reinvents entire industries. In this episode, he shares the incredible journey of co-founding Voice123 with his wife, bootstrapping it into the world's first major voiceover marketplace, and how that experience laid the groundwork for his current venture, Torre.ai—an AI-powered platform set to automate and humanize recruitment globally. This episode is a masterclass for entrepreneurs on how to spot broken systems, ask the right questions to innovate, and strategically choose between bootstrapping and fundraising. Alexander, also a shark on Shark Tank Colombia and Mexico, offers a raw, unfiltered look at the persistence required to build something meaningful and why your 'why' is the ultimate competitive advantage.💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business🚀 How to identify a broken, non-meritocratic industry and build a digital solution from the ground up.🧠 The powerful innovation framework: Ask yourself, "If this industry were invented today, how would it look?"💰 Why you should focus on creating immense value for users before perfecting your monetization strategy.🤝 The unfiltered truth about fundraising vs. bootstrapping from a founder who has successfully done both (and invests as a Shark).🤖 How AI is shifting the job market and creating a "human touch economy" where skills like sales and entertainment are more valuable than ever.🌱 The critical difference between entrepreneurship as a goal versus a catalyst for solving a problem you're passionate about.📈 Practical advice on leveraging crowdfunding and a strong investor network to accelerate growth for ambitious, network-based businesses.📝 About Alexander TorrenegraAlexander Torrenegra is a Colombian-American serial entrepreneur, investor, and the founder and CEO of Torre.ai. Alongside his wife Tania, he co-founded Voice123, the first and largest global voiceover marketplace which they bootstrapped to massive success before selling it in 2021. Known for his unique ability to identify and solve systemic industry problems, Alexander has been named an MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35 and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. His experience as both a scrappy bootstrapper and a venture-backed founder, combined with his role as a shark on Shark Tank Colombia and Mexico, gives him a uniquely insightful perspective on the entire entrepreneurial journey.🎯 Alexander’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs"Do not try to pursue entrepreneurship for the sake of entrepreneurship. Think that entrepreneurship is a catalyst. Is not a goal."📢 Memorable Quotes“If for any problem, for any challenge, for any product, for any solution, ask the question, if X were invented today, how would it look?” – Alexander Torrenegra“The best source of capital is always going to be your clients paying for your product. There is no better money than actually getting money from having created value to your users.” – Alexander Torrenegra“Persistence comes easier, much, much easier when you are pursuing a deep why, when you are trying to solve a problem that you're really passionate about.” – Alexander Torrenegra“Getting a VC on the cap table is more difficult to get rid of... than it is to get a divorce from your significant other.” – Alexander Torrenegra💡 Actionable Takeaways✅ Apply the "If X were invented today" framework to a process or system in your own business or industry this week. What would you build from scratch?✅ Before you chase funding, evaluate your business model. Can you make your customers your primary source of capital by delivering undeniable value?✅ Define your personal "why." Write down the core problem you are passionate about solving and keep it visible to stay motivated during tough times.✅ Audit your current tasks. Identify which activities require a "human touch" (like sales or client relationships) and which can be streamlined with AI and automation.✅ Stop romanticizing fundraising. Be brutally honest about whether raising capital will truly accelerate your mission or just add unnecessary pressure and complexity.🔗 Links & ResourcesWebsite: http://torre.ai/Personal website: https://www.torrenegra.com/enConnect with Alexander on LinkedInFollow Alexander on XFollow Alexander on InstagramFollow Torre.ai on LinkedIn

Ever see someone crushing it with a specific marketing strategy—like Facebook ads, a Shopify store, or podcast interviews—and immediately think, "I need to do that too!"? If so, this Solo Sunday episode is a must-listen. Brian breaks down one of the most common and dangerous mental traps for entrepreneurs: assuming other people's results can predict your own.Using a powerful behind-the-scenes story from the podcast—where one guest made over $100,000 from their appearance while others made $0—Brian reveals why asking "what results have others gotten?" is the wrong question entirely. Instead, he shares a much smarter approach that trains you to look for patterns, learn from contrast, and make strategic decisions that dramatically increase your own chances of success, no matter what channel you choose.✨ Why This Matters for YouThis mindset shift is critical for building a sustainable business:It stops you from wasting time and money chasing shiny object strategies that worked for someone else.It protects you from the false sense of security that comes from cherry-picked success stories.You’ll learn to deconstruct what actually makes a strategy work, instead of just copying surface-level tactics.It empowers you to make smarter, more intentional decisions based on patterns, not just possibilities.You’ll learn to identify what’s required for success and honestly assess if you’re willing and able to do the work.📝 Key TakeawaysResults Aren't Transferable. Just because someone else generated $100k from a strategy doesn’t mean you will. Their results are a product of their unique approach, messaging, and follow-through.The Wrong Question. Stop asking, "What results did others get?" This question is flawed because success and failure exist for every single business strategy.The Right Question. Start asking, "What are the common patterns, strategies, and mindsets of those who succeeded versus those who failed?"Learn from the Contrast. The most valuable insights come from understanding the difference between what works and what doesn't. Actively study both successes and failures to find the real lessons.Strategy Over Channel. The marketing channel itself isn't the magic bullet. Success comes from the intentionality, value, and strategic plan you bring to that channel.🚀 Put It Into ActionThis week, pick one strategy you're considering for your business (e.g., starting a YouTube channel, running Google Ads, guesting on podcasts).Instead of just looking for success stories, actively search for examples of people for whom it didn't work.Identify the patterns. What did the successful people do consistently? (e.g., clear call to action, consistent promotion, high-value content).What were the common themes among those who failed? (e.g., inconsistency, poor messaging, no plan).Based on these patterns, what do you need to commit to in order to put yourself in the "success" category?🔗 Stay ConnectedSubscribe to the show so you never miss an episodeConnect with me on Instagram @imetbrianShare this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who needs to stop comparing and start strategizing

In this special Collab Week episode of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur, seven founders come together to answer one deceptively powerful question:What's something you started or learned long ago that's finally paying off?You'll hear from Shawn Sundsvold of GoldBear Media, Nate Hebbert of SelfWare Consulting, Raamon Newman of New Mavericks, Rami Akeela of Nera Systems, David Beltran of Accord Intelligence, Brandon Pankey of Blue Pine Works, Zeyno Dodd of AlgiSense, and Drew Mehta of ThinkFraction, as they each trace a skill, habit, or hard lesson from years ago straight into the business they're running today.✨ What You'll Take AwayIn this episode, you'll learn how to:Spot when an old passion is quietly becoming a business assetPrioritize real recovery, not just harder trainingStay in a "niche" you love, even when nobody else sees the value yetTrust hands-on problem-solving even when it doesn't match the manualBuild a go-getter mindset early that compounds over yearsUse pattern recognition across industries when you're stuckSay yes more often in the early stages of entrepreneurship🎙️ Meet the Collab Week ContributorsShawn Sundsvold — GoldBear MediaShawn is Co-Founder and COO of GoldBear Media, a marketing agency in Westminster, Maryland. After sitting in nearly every seat in business and recovering from a serious 2019 spinal surgery, he helped his wife Kelly grow GoldBear Media into a full-time business by 2022, focused on marketing, branding, and online presence for small and medium businesses. Website: https://goldbear.media/Nate Hebbert — SelfWare ConsultingNate Hebbert is an entrepreneur and software engineer who previously worked for 3M, KPMG, and Domo—where he developed custom Java code for Fortune 500 clients. When burnout threatened to ruin his career, he became obsessed with solving one problem: how to escape the cycle of burnout. Now, Nate is the founder of SelfWare Consulting—an organization that empowers tech companies to beat burnout without pressing pause.Website: https://selfwareconsulting.com/Raamon Newman — New MavericksRaamon is co-founder of New Mavericks, a CEO leadership development partnership he started 25 years ago as a full-time meditating monk. He works with founder-CEOs worldwide to raise their leadership consciousness for clear, healthy decision-making, and is co-author of "The Science of Protection." LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raamonnewman/Rami Akeela — Nera SystemsRami is the founder of Nera Systems, a confidential AI company helping enterprises use AI on their most sensitive data. With 20+ years across hardware, software, and cryptography and PhDs in electrical and computer engineering, he previously founded DZK, the first zero-knowledge proof systems company. Website: https://nera.systems/David Beltran — Accord IntelligenceDavid is founder and CEO of Accord Intelligence. After nearly three decades in enterprise IT, including 14 years at IBM in cybersecurity and governance, he built Accord's decision layer, helping organizations trust, govern, and stay accountable for AI-driven decisions. Website: https://www.accordintelligence.ai/Brandon Pankey — Blue Pine WorksBrandon is the founder and owner of Blue Pine Works, an arboriculture and land stewardship company in East Central Minnesota. He and his wife Kay lead the company. Website: https://bluepineworks.com/Zeyno Dodd — AlgiSenseZeyno is co-founder of AlgiSense, developing AI-driven EEG digital biomarkers to objectively measure pain. With 25+ years across healthcare, cybersecurity, and applied AI, her work spans government modernization and privacy-focused health platforms, rooted in a passion for ethical AI. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeynoaygendodd/Drew Mehta — ThinkFractionDrew is the founder of ThinkFraction, helping owner-operators grow revenue by fixing leaks in their back-end workflows and teaching them how AI fits into their business — all while learning to be an entrepreneur himself after 20+ years in corporate. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhroovmehta/

Everyone is talking about adopting AI, but how do you do it without losing control, breaking the bank, or compromising your company’s data? In this episode, Brian sits down with Jake Tao, a seasoned entrepreneur and former engineering leader at giants like Amazon and Shopify. Jake breaks down the complex world of enterprise AI into simple, actionable strategies. He reveals why being locked into a single AI model is a mistake and how to create a secure, cost-effective AI environment tailored to your business needs. This episode is a masterclass for any entrepreneur who wants to move beyond the AI hype and start implementing it intelligently to gain a real competitive advantage.💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR BusinessHow to create a secure AI “control plane” for your business, ensuring compliance, privacy, and control over your data.The vendor-neutral strategy: Why you shouldn't get locked into one AI provider (like ChatGPT or Claude) and how to choose the best model for any given task.The "start small" roadmap for AI adoption that proves value quickly and gets your whole team excited.How to translate abstract AI concepts like "tokens" into tangible cost controls and budget management for your business.Why building a visual dashboard is key to understanding and managing your team's AI usage and expenses in real-time.How to turn a lifelong passion for technology into multiple successful entrepreneurial ventures.📝 About Jake TaoJake Tao is the founder and CEO of Syrovex, the company behind OwlVigil, an enterprise AI control plane. With over 15 years of engineering and leadership experience from tech giants like Amazon, Shopify, Capital One, and Oracle, Jake has deep expertise in large-scale infrastructure and AI. He’s a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first business in middle school, sold it to pay for college, and has since launched multiple successful ventures, including an online community for international students that is still active with over 270,000 users. Jake brings a unique blend of high-level enterprise knowledge and a scrappy founder’s mindset to the world of AI.🎯 Jake’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs"You need to find a real problem that you can help to resolve and start with small and test early and you can improve based on the real feedback."📢 Memorable Quotes"You don't have to have the whole business figured out in the beginning. So you need to be a real person, you need to solve the real problem." – Jake Tao"The problem for the enterprise is like, hey, okay, this is something I use personally, but how can I leverage the whole AI system... for my business?" – Jake Tao"I see the next decade of my life is like building something and helping people and growing." – Jake Tao💡 Actionable TakeawaysAudit your current workflows for a small, repetitive task that could be improved with AI. Use that as your pilot project to see the benefits firsthand.Instead of defaulting to a single AI platform, challenge your team to consider which model is best suited for a specific business task (e.g., creative writing vs. data analysis).Implement a data privacy pre-check. Before your team inputs sensitive information into any AI tool, establish a clear process for filtering out private company or customer data.If you're building an AI-powered tool, consider how you can provide a dashboard or reporting system to help your users understand its usage, cost, and ROI.Take Jake’s advice: identify a real problem you personally understand, define the smallest possible first step to solve it, and get feedback immediately.🔗 Links & ResourcesWebsite: https://syrovex.com/Personal website: https://jaketao.comConnect with Jake on LinkedInFollow Syrovex on LinkedIn