Founders Future

In this episode of Founders Future, host Ammar Elm sits down with Jordan McKittrick, founder of JTM Sourcing—a hyper-personalized supply chain and sourcing firm specializing in custom promotional products for small businesses. Jordan shares his unconventional journey from insurance sales to entrepreneurship, sparked during Covid when he began creating custom merch for friends. What started as a side hustle has grown into a thriving business serving companies with 100 employees or less, with Jordan’s unique "no minimums, no fees" approach filling a gap left by larger competitors. He reveals how hands-on he is with production (literally touching every item himself in his home workshop) and the challenges of balancing this passion project with his full-time sales role in HR tech.

Jordan opens up about the delicate dance of scaling while maintaining quality—whether it’s fulfilling a 150-shirt order for a local bank or engraving one-off golf gifts for corporate clients. He also teases his next venture: a golf-inspired apparel line blending his love for the game with his sourcing expertise. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Jordan’s advice is refreshingly practical: "Don’t wait for perfect—just start," and leverage side hustles to test ideas without financial pressure. His story is a masterclass in turning a creative knack into a profitable business while keeping day-job security.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Jae Encarnacion sits down with Brandon Morphew, founder of Miso Partners, a purpose-driven marketing agency. With over 25 years of experience working with global brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Coca-Cola, Brandon shares his journey from corporate marketing to entrepreneurship, the evolution of Miso Partners, and how his agency helps mission-driven businesses in industries like cannabis, yoga, and sustainable living thrive through SEO, Shopify development, and digital marketing.

Brandon dives deep into the future of marketing, discussing the seismic shifts brought by AI, the importance of staying ahead in a fragmented digital landscape, and why consistency and focus are critical for entrepreneurial success. He also reveals his strategies for client acquisition, scaling a values-driven business, and overcoming founder bottlenecks—providing invaluable insights for fellow entrepreneurs navigating growth in an ever-changing industry.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Ammar Elm sits down with Pete Kleinjan, founder of Tiger29, a Sioux Falls-based SEO agency specializing in helping local service businesses dominate their Google rankings. Pete shares his unconventional journey from working at a digital marketing agency to launching his own firm after becoming a father—a move enabled by his former boss becoming his first client. He reveals why Tiger29 focuses exclusively on small, privately-owned brick-and-mortar businesses (like HVAC companies and law firms) and how they measure success by one key metric: phone calls generated through Google Business Profiles.

Pete pulls back the curtain on Tiger29’s unique "SEO Power Hour"—a paid consultation where they make real-time website improvements to prove their value upfront. He also discusses the challenges of scaling an SEO agency in an AI-driven world, emphasizing that human relationships and reliability (like simply "doing what you say you’ll do") are becoming even more valuable differentiators. For fellow agency owners, Pete offers hard-won advice: treat your clients the way you’d want to be treated as a customer, because in the end, authenticity and consistency trump flashy promises.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Ammar Elm sits down with Charlee Wilson, the dynamic co-founder of Counter—a financial tech startup revolutionizing disability claims through AI and human support. Charlee shares how Counter was born from personal tragedy when co-founder Cameron Brown lost his ability to walk in 2021, exposing the broken bureaucracy of disability systems. With their proprietary algorithm (built in-house by CTO Kaylin Maynor), Counter streamlines claims, avoids the 70% denial rate plaguing applicants, and charges a fraction of traditional attorney fees—all while offering financial wellness tools. Charlee also reveals how Counter partners with insurers like Northwestern Mutual to embed their solution into employer benefits, creating a safety net for gig workers and underserved communities.

Beyond Counter, Charlee wears multiple entrepreneurial hats, from running Thunder Horse Outfitters (featured in Nat Geo) to equestrian recruiting. She opens up about the challenges of scaling a mission-driven startup—broker education, awareness gaps, and maintaining lean operations—while staying true to Counter’s "people over profit" ethos. For aspiring founders, Charlee’s advice is refreshingly human-centric: "Find a team that’s got your back when the dice are down," and don’t quit your day job too soon. With plans to expand into pet insurance and other sectors, Charlee’s vision is clear: use tech to make financial systems fairer, one claim at a time.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Ammar Elm sits down with Blas Giffuni, Co-Founder & CEO of Navigamo, to explore his journey from running a flower shop to building a cutting-edge digital consultancy. Blas shares how his early struggles with online marketing for his own business led him to master SEO and digital transformation, eventually founding Navigamo to help startups and enterprises "navigate the digital waters." He reveals why he focuses on B2B industrial clients—companies excelling in their fields but often lagging in digital presence—and how Navigamo bridges that gap by refining value propositions, optimizing websites (which he calls the "core of communication strategy"), and guiding AI adoption without losing the human touch.

Blas dives into Navigamo's unique approach: blending consultancy with hands-on testing through their innovation lab (like their AI-generated pet portal experiment). He also teases their upcoming SaaS platform, Nemo, designed to help businesses create custom AI agents—a project born from his belief that AI should augment human work, not replace it. Along the way, Blas shares hard-won lessons about referral-based growth, the pitfalls of over-automation, and why he’s betting on "old-school" relationship-building even in an AI-driven world.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Ammar Elm sits down with Joshua Evans, a renowned keynote speaker and author, to explore his journey from a corporate sales role to building a thriving speaking business. Joshua shares the pivotal moment that inspired his career shift—a frustrating encounter with a disengaged coworker—and how it led him to write a bestselling book and eventually step into entrepreneurship. He opens up about the challenges of self-promotion, the importance of authenticity, and the strategies he uses to book high-value speaking engagements, including leveraging LinkedIn and building trust with event planners.

Joshua also reflects on the lessons learned from a difficult consulting experience and his vision for scaling his business, including doubling revenue and expanding his team. He emphasizes the power of staying true to oneself, as his decision to embrace his authentic appearance post-Covid unexpectedly boosted his bookings. For aspiring speakers and entrepreneurs, Joshua’s story is a testament to resilience, self-belief, and the value of doing the hard work to stand out.

n this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, we sit down with Marcus Chan, Founder & CEO of Venli Consulting Group, a sales systems powerhouse that has helped clients close over $950M in revenue. Marcus shares his unexpected journey from nearly getting fired as a rookie sales rep to becoming a top-performing sales leader managing a 110-person team. He reveals how embracing a growth mindset, investing in coaches, and taking radical ownership transformed his career—and ultimately led him to launch his consulting business to help others replicate his success.

Marcus dives deep into the evolution of Venli Consulting, from its early days as a B2C online course to its current focus on diagnosing and fixing revenue leaks for enterprise sales teams. He discusses the pivotal moment when he realized his true impact lay in working with organizations rather than individuals, and why he recently made the bold decision to sunset his profitable B2C arm to go all-in on B2B consulting. Along the way, Marcus shares invaluable lessons on listening to market needs, structuring high-impact offers, and why getting help early is the ultimate cheat code for entrepreneurs.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Jae Encarnacion, we sit down with Sridhar Ravula, founder of Hegemony AI, to explore how his company is bridging the gap between raw manufacturing data and actionable business decisions. Sridhar shares how his background in anthropology, finance, and AI led him to create an "operational co-pilot" for mid-market manufacturers—solving critical pain points like supply chain disruptions and quality control with real-time AI analysis. He reveals why traditional sales approaches fall short in this space and how warm introductions from happy clients are driving their growth.

Sridhar dives into the unique challenges of AI adoption in manufacturing, where the cost of failure is high but the appetite for innovation is growing. He discusses Hegemony’s "information architecture in a box" approach and their research into domain-specific language models that could put them 18 months ahead of competitors. For founders, he offers a golden nugget: "Push AI tools to their limits—but know where they break."

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, we dive into the entrepreneurial journey of Emylee Holdcroft, the co-founder of Vanta Creative, a full-service creative agency specializing in bridging the gap between brands and creators. Emylee shares her transition from a UGC content creator to agency founder, her mission to support startups and smaller brands with high-quality, scalable creative solutions, and the challenges she faces in client acquisition and high-ticket sales.

Emylee also discusses the importance of personal branding, her flexible approach to client packages, and her vision for Vanta Creative—helping brands elevate their presence through strategic design, UGC, and ad optimization. She offers insights into her sales process, lead generation strategies, and her goals for scaling the agency to consistent $20K+ months while maintaining a hands-on, high-touch client experience.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Jae Encarnacion, we sit down with Alexander Pizzani, founder and CEO of Elite Closer University, to unpack his unconventional journey from natural-born salesperson to building a consultancy that transforms companies’ revenue potential. Alex reveals how he grew his business entirely through referrals and networking—with zero social media presence—by delivering undeniable results for clients across industries. He breaks down his "doctor-like" approach: diagnosing sales inefficiencies, implementing AI-driven strategies, and forging powerful partnerships to help businesses scale from 6 to 7 figures and beyond.

Alex shares hard-won lessons on leadership, including why he prioritizes hiring and training a razor-sharp team over rapid expansion. He also drops golden advice on avoiding social media distractions, emphasizing: "Disconnect to reconnect." From speaking at Fortune 50 events to crafting custom AI tools for clients, Alex’s story is a masterclass in authenticity, strategic patience, and leveraging technology without losing the human edge in sales.