Founders Future

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Hayley Hurst, founder of Cohen Gray Connections, a boutique matchmaking agency delivering highly personalized dating experiences for discerning clients. Hayley shares her journey from high-end retail and hospitality management into the matchmaking industry, explaining how becoming a new mother during the pandemic sparked a search for flexibility, purpose, and meaningful work—ultimately leading her to certification through the Global Love Institute and the launch of her own firm.

The conversation explores how Hayley built a values-driven matchmaking business in an unregulated industry, emphasizing ethics, client fit, and customized matchmaking over one-size-fits-all solutions. She breaks down the differences between digital and traditional matchmaking, discusses referral-led growth, pricing transparency, and the challenges of scaling while maintaining a boutique experience. Hayley also reflects on overcoming imposter syndrome, building the right team, and her vision for expanding Cohen Gray Connections through thoughtful partnerships, sustainable growth, and a commitment to genuine client care.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Azia Whitted, founder of Pause with Azia Renea, a mindfulness coach, speaker, and community builder helping high-achieving women—especially business owners and mothers—break free from burnout and reclaim presence in their everyday lives. Azia shares her journey from an 18-year career in eye care and dance education to entrepreneurship, explaining how her own experience with burnout, loss, and overwhelm led her to mindfulness as both a personal lifeline and a professional calling.

The conversation explores Azia’s approach to sustainable well-being through small, intentional pauses woven into real life rather than rigid routines. She discusses her community-first model, pop-up experiences, retreats, group programs, and speaking engagements, all designed to support women without adding pressure to already full schedules. Azia also opens up about scaling through partnerships and collaborations, honoring seasons of life, delegating with intention, and building a business that prioritizes alignment, impact, and long-term health—for both her clients and herself.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Erick Codoner, founder of Execution & Protection (E&P) and Liberty Lab Group. Erick shares his entrepreneurial journey starting in his early 20s with brick-and-mortar ventures, followed by a pivotal shift into remote consulting and talent acquisition. Through years of working closely with high-level professionals, Erick noticed a recurring pattern: many had valuable expertise but were paralyzed by fear, complexity, and uncertainty when trying to start their own businesses.

The conversation dives into Erick’s proof-of-concept philosophy—helping service professionals build and validate online businesses alongside their full-time jobs before taking big risks. He explains how simplifying offers, clarifying messaging, and focusing on execution over perfection can dramatically reduce the failure rate for first-time founders. Erick also discusses his transition from one-on-one coaching toward scalable group models, the importance of aligning marketing with a clear offer, and why organic trust-building must come before growth acceleration. It’s a grounded, practical discussion on overcoming fear, building leverage, and creating sustainable online businesses with intention.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Michelle Stevens, a licensed architect, senior project manager, and certified Faster Way to Fat Loss coach. Michelle shares how a demanding professional career, midlife health challenges, and a personal wake-up call during the pandemic led her to prioritize sustainable wellness. After years of trying restrictive diets that no longer worked, she discovered a science-backed approach to nutrition, movement, and mindset that helped her regain energy, improve sleep, and transform her health—without extreme rules or sacrificing the foods she loves.

The conversation explores Michelle’s transition into coaching, her passion for helping busy midlife women build realistic, lasting habits, and how her brand, Michelle Stevens Balanced Living, focuses on longevity, hormone health, and balance. She discusses coaching alongside a full-time career, educating clients through social media and community events, and her belief that caring for yourself enhances every other role you play. Michelle also shares her goals for growing a supportive client community, expanding ambassador partnerships, and continuing to empower women to feel strong, confident, and in control at every stage of life.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we sit down with César Casella, an 18-year-old growth partner helping 6- and 7-figure agencies turn X (Twitter) into a predictable client acquisition engine. César shares his raw journey from growing up in financial hardship in Portugal to experimenting with countless online business models before finally finding traction. After years of making zero income, losing accounts, and facing intense self-doubt, he broke through by building a full-stack Twitter acquisition system that blends positioning, content, inbound and outbound DMs, and scalable infrastructure.

César breaks down how his agency helps founders dominate their niche on X through deep positioning work, high-volume strategic content, DM funnels, appointment setting, and backend systems that convert attention into booked calls and revenue. He also shares hard-earned lessons on pricing models, why free and rev-share-only offers fail, how referrals fueled rapid growth, and why commoditized agencies are disappearing in an AI-driven market. This episode is an unfiltered look at resilience, obsession-level execution, and what it really takes to build leverage and authority early in the agency space.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by AJ Wilcox, founder and CEO of B2Linked, the world’s leading LinkedIn ads agency. AJ shares how his background in SEO and Google Ads led him to unexpectedly discover LinkedIn ads in 2011—an opportunity that would eventually make him one of the platform’s earliest pioneers, managing over $200 million in ad spend and working with five of LinkedIn’s top ten spending accounts.

AJ breaks down why LinkedIn ads are uniquely powerful for B2B marketers, emphasizing precision targeting, lead quality, and long-term ROI over volume. The conversation explores how LinkedIn compares to Meta, where B2C fits into the platform, the evolving balance between organic and paid strategies, and why personal content and podcasts have become AJ’s most effective growth engines. He also reflects on building a deliberately lean agency, staying hands-on with every client, and designing a business that prioritizes mastery, sustainability, and long-term fulfillment.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Anika Mischke, a money mindset coach helping women transform their relationship with money and build confidence around earning, saving, and financial decision-making. Anika shares her personal journey from working in a law firm and human resources to navigating debt, financial anxiety, and late-night stress around money — experiences that ultimately became the foundation of her coaching work. Drawing from psychology, strategy, and identity-level transformation, she explains how her own challenges shaped her mission to help women move from fear and avoidance into clarity and empowerment.

The conversation explores Anika’s highly personalized 12-week one-on-one coaching program, where mindset comes first before strategy. She discusses why many women feel paralyzed around money, how fear often leads to inaction, and why confidence and flexibility are key to long-term financial wellbeing — especially as life stages change. Anika also opens up about building a young coaching business, creating content on Instagram, navigating inconsistent lead flow, and her long-term vision of expanding into group coaching to serve more women while maintaining depth, support, and community.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Allan Fine, founder of Executive Edge and Lead Wizard, also known as The LinkedIn Wizard. Allan shares his decades-long entrepreneurial journey—from launching a fitness business in the 1980s, to business coaching, and ultimately becoming a trusted authority in LinkedIn lead generation for B2B founders. His path highlights how adaptability, long-term learning, and experience shape sustainable success in business.

Allan dives deep into the realities of modern marketing, explaining why trust, credibility, and clarity now matter more than ever in an overcrowded digital space. He breaks down how founders can position themselves authentically on LinkedIn, overcome the “credibility hump,” and shift from selling to genuinely helping their audience. The conversation also explores building a lifestyle-focused business, leveraging AI responsibly, avoiding unnecessary complexity, and designing systems that support both growth and personal freedom—without becoming a prisoner of your own company.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Jennifer Anne Garcia, career coach, author, and founder of Best Resume Coach. Jennifer shares her deeply personal and inspiring journey—from discovering her love for writing at a young age, navigating journalism and freelance work, overcoming substance struggles, and ultimately building a purpose-driven business that helps professionals reinvent their careers. Her story highlights resilience, self-discovery, and the power of turning personal challenges into meaningful impact.

Jennifer breaks down how she helps clients move through career transitions and into true transformation, working closely with military veterans, senior professionals, and women leaders ready to redefine their paths. She explains her collaborative coaching process, the balance between human insight and AI tools, and why trust, clarity, and confidence are essential in today’s job market. The conversation also explores building a sustainable business, scaling thoughtfully, and creating systems that support both professional success and personal well-being.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Jess Parvin, a branding designer, strategist, and holistic business coach with over 12 years of entrepreneurial experience. Jess shares her non-linear journey from graphic design and freelancing into coaching, detailing how burnout, clarity, and intention shaped her transition from service provider to purpose-driven business owner. She reflects on working primarily with midlife women solopreneurs who are launching or pivoting into meaningful, heart-led businesses.

The conversation explores Jess’s hybrid business model combining one-on-one coaching, group masterminds, retreats, and holistic strategy work that blends branding, mindset, and authentic marketing. She breaks down why custom strategy matters, how SEO and AI-driven discovery are reshaping organic growth, and why collaborations often outperform traditional paid advertising for her audience. Jess also opens up about intentional scaling, thoughtful delegation, the role of AI in modern businesses, and building a business that prioritizes alignment, freedom, and long-term sustainability overgrowth for growth’s sake.