In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we sit down with Ajiri Alibo, the founder of Velmora Financial Group Inc.. Ajiri shares his unique journey from a decade-long career in HR and project management, including work with the United Nations, to launching a financial services firm in Canada. Driven by his own experience as an immigrant, he identified a significant gap in the market: new arrivals were often underinsured, overpaying, and lacked the tools to build generational wealth. This led him to create Velmora with the mission to empower immigrant families, doctors, and entrepreneurs by providing personalized financial planning, insurance, and investment strategies to help them navigate the Canadian financial system with confidence.

Ajiri details the long-term vision and patient strategy behind Velmora, which involves building a massive pre-arrival community for future immigrants to guide them even before they land in Canada. He also discusses his newer venture, Wealth Mastery Inc., which addresses the visibility and marketing challenges faced by immigrant-owned businesses. Throughout the conversation, Ajiri emphasizes the importance of understanding a new system, playing the "long game," and building a business that creates genuine value and ownership for both clients and the team of financial advisors he mentors and supports.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we meet Maurizio Grassi, the founder of Zero2Stars. Maurizio shares his incredible journey from a programmer in the 1980s to a C-level executive and international entrepreneur, and now a dedicated coach for SaaS and AI founders. He reveals his unique, non-directive coaching philosophy that empowers founders to find their own solutions, arguing that the key to success lies not in following generic playbooks, but in nurturing the unique capabilities and vision already within them. The conversation delves into the challenges of founder burnout, the pitfalls of crowded marketing strategies, and the critical importance of originality in a world saturated with AI and automation.

Maurizio also details his exciting new venture: a recently published book on AI orchestration and defensibility. He explains his strategic shift from broad lead generation to building a brand through deep, original content designed to help both investors and founders navigate the emerging "protocol economy." Looking ahead, Maurizio outlines his plans to become ICF certified for the Italian market and to launch a targeted outreach campaign to share his innovative framework for assessing AI companies, all while staying true to his core mission of helping young founders achieve extraordinary growth without sacrificing their well-being.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Collin Henderson, founder of Master Your Mindset. Collin shares his powerful journey from being a stressed-out college athlete and high-pressure sales professional, crippled by anxiety, to discovering the transformative power of mental skills training. He reveals how shifting from a life of "grinding" to one of "grooving" led to record-breaking success and a profound sense of purpose, ultimately inspiring him to build a business around teaching others to do the same.

Collin delves into the core of his work, explaining that everyone needs to train their mind just as they would their body or craft. He outlines his "ASA" system—Awareness, Systems, and Application—for breaking unproductive patterns and performing under pressure. He also shares his unique philosophy on business growth, emphasizing that the best marketing is simply to "lead with value" and be of genuine service, a principle that allows him to work with organizations like Nike and UCLA without any traditional outreach or selling.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we sit down with Marcel Petitpas, CEO and co-founder of Parakeeto. Marcel delves into the common pitfalls and profitability challenges that digital and creative agencies face, drawing from his own experience running an agency. He provides a masterclass on the critical metrics and financial ratios, like the crucial 70% margin target, that agency owners must understand to transition from a founder-dependent hustle to a scalable, valuable business. Marcel also shares his insightful perspective on how AI is currently impacting agency margins and what it will take to build a defensible, non-commoditized service in the future.

Marcel then unveils the ambitious vision for Parakeeto, which is evolving into the world's first "profit management firm." His goal is to create over a billion dollars of wealth for service-based business owners by vertically integrating every aspect of their financial journey. This means Parakeeto will not only help agencies optimize their profitability but also handle their bookkeeping, tax strategy, exit planning, and wealth investment, all through the specialized lens of a professional services business model.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we are joined by Dr. Aurora Dawn Benton, the founder and chief changemaker of Astrapto. Dr. Benton shares her journey from a software professional to a sustainability pioneer, driven by the belief that business can be a powerful force for good. She delves into how Astrapto makes sustainability practical and approachable for the hospitality, travel, and events industries, focusing on operational shifts in food waste reduction, material management, and strategic planning to align social and environmental impact with core business goals.

Dr. Benton opens up about the evolution of corporate sustainability over the past decade and the global forces driving change. She also discusses her personal entrepreneurial journey, including the "feast or famine" cycle of consulting, her philosophy on building a flexible team, and her exciting new chapter as a published author. Looking ahead, she shares her goal to expand her influence onto larger stages as a speaker on leadership and change management, moving beyond her industry niche to inspire a broader audience.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we meet Anna Osherov, the founder and CEO of launchamarketing. Anna shares her entrepreneurial journey, detailing how her initial venture, a physical event venue called the Holistic Business Hub, provided the crucial insight that led to her current business. She realized that while many entrepreneurs and leaders have valuable expertise, they often lack the skills to plan, promote, and present successful events that build their reputation and revenue. This discovery became the foundation for launchamarketing, which helps coaches, consultants, and wellness practitioners transform from unknown to industry influencers through strategic event marketing.

Anna delves into the current operations of launchamarketing, explaining their core offer of setting up and launching event marketing strategies for clients on a project-by-project basis. She outlines their unique two-pronged approach to lead generation, which involves partnering with training organizations and hosting their own educational masterclasses. Looking ahead, Anna discusses her ambitious goals for scaling the business by leveraging AI to automate processes, expanding her team, and diversifying their service offerings to include launching podcasts, books, and online courses, all with the mission of helping global community leaders make a meaningful impact.

this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we sit down with Kristen Martinez, a creative strategist and UGC specialist. Kristen shares her fascinating journey from being a cosmetic tattoo artist to discovering her true passion for content creation and building a business around it. She opens up about the pivotal moment of recognizing burnout and having the courage to pivot into the dynamic world of user-generated content and creative strategy.

Kristen delves into the core of her current business, explaining how she helps brands forge authentic connections through impactful storytelling and data-driven creative strategies. She breaks down her "creative strategy flywheel" process, discusses the importance of creating platform-native content, and shares her goals for the future, including scaling into an agency and embracing travel UGC. Kristen also offers a heartfelt piece of advice for her younger self, emphasizing the importance of avoiding comparison and focusing on your own unique journey.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we dive into the entrepreneurial journey of David Snyder. David shares his origins in the telecommunications industry, starting with selling cell phones in the 1990s and discovering his passion for the startup culture by helping to launch a national brand. This experience laid the foundation for his mission to revolutionize professional training by moving away from academic, one-size-fits-all models towards more authentic and effective methods.

David details his current venture, a holistic partnership between his company and Bravad, designed as a one-stop shop for SMBs. He explains their unique 360-degree approach to diagnosing business challenges, ensuring that marketing and sales efforts are perfectly aligned. Emphasizing that "complexity is the enemy of execution," David outlines their customizable service packages and his ambitious goal to establish his group as the gold standard for business services across Canada.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we sit down with Kate Hanson, a wellness and success coach on a mission to help ambitious individuals break free from burnout and autopilot living. Kate shares her incredible journey from studying corporate culture to a pivotal moment of ethical conflict that pushed her into entrepreneurship. She opens up about her initial steps, including a year-long social media challenge that unexpectedly revealed her path forward, and how she built a business dedicated to helping high-achievers reclaim their mental well-being and find joy in their success.

Kate delves into the core of her current business, explaining how she works with entrepreneurs, business owners, and sales professionals through one-on-one intensives, keynote speaking, and her book, "You're Strong Enough for This." She discusses her unique approach to client acquisition, which heavily relies on authentic connection and word-of-mouth, and her exciting future plans to launch a community, digital products, and retreats. Throughout the conversation, Kate’s energizing philosophy and the powerful advice to always ask "What if it was easy?" shine through, offering invaluable insights for any founder feeling the weight of their ambitions.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we dive into the journey of Mia Mirzayan, a successful UGC (User-Generated Content) creator from New York City. Mia shares her unconventional path from a political science major to a full-time entrepreneur, revealing how she discovered UGC in her senior year of college and made the bold decision to move to New York to pursue it. She discusses the initial grind of cold pitching and building a personal brand, which has now evolved into a sustainable business with long-term retainer clients, allowing her the stability to focus on new ventures.

Mia opens up about her core business strategies, including why she advises against niching down as a UGC creator and the importance of developing a unique content style to stand out in a saturated market. The conversation also explores her new entrepreneurial venture, an app called Creator Vault, designed to bring transparency and community to the content creation economy by allowing creators to vet brands and share collaboration details. She concludes with powerful advice for her younger self and fellow entrepreneurs: consistency is everything, and treating your business like a living thing by showing up every day is the key to long-term success.