Founders Future

n this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Helena Zelinkova, founder of Helena Coaching. Helena shares her inspiring journey from feeling trapped in a conventional nursing career to building a brand dedicated to empowering ambitious female entrepreneurs. She delves into her mission of helping women unlock their confidence, strengthen their purpose, and close more deals authentically, all rooted in her powerful belief that "strong is feminine."

Helena provides a transparent look into the mechanics of her business, discussing her shift from purely organic marketing to running Meta ads, her strategies for time management as a solopreneur, and her plans for the future. She opens up about her goal of achieving consistent $10k months while maintaining a feminine, flow-based approach to her work and prioritizing her health and personal life.

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 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.

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 sit down with Judy Ryan, the founder and CEO of LifeWork Systems. Judy shares her fascinating journey from parent educator and trainer to leading an award-winning consulting firm dedicated to culture transformation. She delves into the core of her work, which is rooted in Adlerian psychology, and explains her mission to create a world where all people love their lives by fostering authentic community, emotional intelligence, and shared leadership within organizations.

Judy outlines the specific, scalable model her company uses to help businesses shift from a traditional top-down hierarchy to a collaborative, responsibility-based "TEAL" model. She details their unique 14-month implementation process, which includes individual online training, employee-led small group sessions, and a peer-to-peer reverse mentoring system designed to embed new skills and behaviors deeply into a company's culture. Judy also discusses her vision for the future, including global scalability and developing an app to make their powerful culture tools even more accessible.

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 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.

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.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we sit down with brand strategist and personal brand coach Lisa Mutenure. Lisa shares her journey from running a retail store with her sister to discovering the power of authentic storytelling in business. She explains her mission to help female entrepreneurs, particularly in the competitive fashion and beauty spaces, move beyond just selling a product. Her approach focuses on building a magnetic brand by leveraging their unique founder story, voice, and vibe to create a deep, relatable connection with their audience, which ultimately drives confidence and sales.

Lisa delves into the specifics of her work, detailing how she helps clients reframe their messaging from listing product features to sharing the compelling human journey behind their brand. She discusses the structure of her coaching programs, which are designed to build a strong brand foundation and translate it into converting content. The conversation also explores Lisa's ambitions for the future, including her goal to host in-person events across Africa to empower more women entrepreneurs and her personal challenge to build a team that shares her mission of helping women achieve their biggest dreams without waiting for permission.

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.