Finding Opportunity in Unlikely Places

Kison Patel shares how growing up in a small Nebraska motel shaped his work ethic from an early age. Raised by immigrant parents who ran a roadside motel, Kison learned to handle real estate, operations, and customer service by the time he was a teenager. He opens up about his earliest hustles, like selling cigarettes at school to buy better clothes, and how those scrappy beginnings taught him to think like an entrepreneur long before he ever started a company.

After struggling through high school and ultimately being dismissed from college, Kison describes the intense pressure immigrant children often feel to succeed academically. But without a degree, he found alternative paths to grow—first working low-wage jobs, then moving into real estate and business brokerage. Kison explains how being rejected by traditional paths pushed him toward entrepreneurship, where he could write his own rules and focus on practical skills instead of credentials.

Kison reflects on his early experiments with online businesses and the harsh reality of having 200 websites blacklisted overnight. Despite setbacks, he saw potential in using technology to scale a business that could support mergers and acquisitions. He shares how he bootstrapped his way to founding a fintech company that would eventually grow to 50 employees and nearly $10 million in revenue. Along the way, he learned to lead, sell, and adapt without formal training—just a relentless drive to figure things out.

In the second half of the conversation, Kison explains the insight that sparked the creation of his current business. He realized that most M&A tools were built for sellers, leaving buyers stuck with outdated systems that didn’t support integration. By building a lifecycle management platform for the buy side, Kison helped improve execution and accountability in multi-million dollar acquisitions. He outlines why better planning and collaboration between teams leads to stronger results after deals close.

Throughout the episode, Kison offers practical advice for anyone navigating entrepreneurship without traditional credentials. He emphasizes the importance of learning to endure discomfort, focusing deeply on one area, and being open to unglamorous businesses with strong fundamentals. For those looking to acquire small businesses, he recommends identifying overlooked sectors, learning the industry well, and building credibility with owners before trying to close a deal.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kisonpatel/

https://www.mascience.com/

How Kison Patel Navigated Failure Without a DegreeThe Turning Point in Kison Patel’s JourneyBuilding Software to Fix M&A ExecutionKison Patel’s Advice for Aspiring EntrepreneursMore From Kison Patel

Henning Schwinum’s journey started in Cologne, Germany, and took a pivotal turn when he joined a student exchange program in North Carolina. That early experience shaped his perspective and taught him to reason independently. He discusses how this mindset helped him see the world in nuanced ways and fostered a deep interest in understanding the “why” behind decisions. This outlook has guided his entire career, from chemical sales to entrepreneurship.Henning Schwinum on Embracing Change and Taking RisksAfter completing a unique three-year apprenticeship instead of college, Henning worked at Bayer for 15 years. He shares what it was like working in a legacy corporation, adapting to digital shifts like e-business, and eventually leaving the company to join a startup as employee number seven. Henning talks about the challenges of building a European arm for a US startup in a conservative, slow-moving industry and what it took to survive years of minimal progress before finding success.Navigating Growth and Staying Flexible According to HenningHenning discusses the realities of startup life, highlighting the 0 to 1 and 1 to 5 million dollar revenue phases and what kind of leadership each stage requires. He emphasizes the importance of finding the right people for specific phases and reflects on how he transitioned from sales leader in Europe to global sales and marketing lead. His story illustrates how trust and adaptability play key roles in long-term growth.Schwinum’s Take on Career Longevity and Sales EvolutionHenning dives into modern career paths, contrasting long stints in traditional industries with faster turnover in tech and SaaS. He outlines how motivations like money and remote work impact job changes. He also highlights how valuable networking can be when thoughtfully built over time. Henning gives clear advice on building meaningful professional relationships early and often.Solving Sales Challenges with Fractional LeadershipHenning breaks down what fractional sales leadership looks like and who it’s really for. He explains how vendor experience gaps in small to mid-size businesses can be filled with the right executive support. Henning shares how he matches experienced leaders with specific challenges and offers clear insight into how founder-led sales teams can scale smarter and faster with part-time leadership.The Role of Content and Connection in Henning's StrategyLinkedIn plays a major role in Henning’s growth strategy. He explains how he started networking late in his career and what shifted his mindset. Henning believes valuable content builds credibility over time, especially for professionals who want to demonstrate expertise to decision-makers. He also details the early strategies he used to build a meaningful network and reach the right clients.Looking AheadHenning shares details about the book he’s writing focused on how companies and executives can make fractional roles work. He talks about the power of matching the right skills with the right challenges and why it’s more than just a staffing solution. He closes by reflecting on what he’d do differently and the lessons he’s still learning from every experience.More From Henning Schwinumhttps://useshiny.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hschwinum

Richie Romero opens up about his early life, growing up in Queens, and how television shaped his moral compass more than traditional family dynamics. He shares how pain—physical, emotional, and financial—became his greatest teacher. From enduring chronic health issues to watching his family struggle financially, Richie details how these experiences helped him develop deep empathy, resilience, and a clear sense of purpose. He emphasizes that clarity comes not from comfort but from confronting discomfort head-on and doing deep personal work.Mentorship, Denial, and PurposeThroughout the conversation, Richie dives into his search for mentorship and his journey through self-denial. He shares how years of internal conflict and personal setbacks forced him to reframe his goals and values. His early drive for fame and acceptance led him to nightlife, but it was only through reflection that he recognized the real source of that ambition. His goal today is much more focused—help others discover their own superpowers and support each other to build together, rather than suffer alone.Richie Romero on Rebuilding the Dream Through CollaborationRichie challenges the idea of solo success. He argues that wearing 20 hats no longer works in the modern world. Instead, he advocates for alignment, collaboration, and identifying complementary talents. He shares how he secretly built a 5400 square foot incubator not for ego, but to gather others with aligned values who can build and dream together. He frames entrepreneurship as a team sport, urging people to build real relationships and align on shared visions.Modern Nightlife and DisconnectionReflecting on his decades in nightlife, Richie describes how the scene has shifted from in-person connection to isolation and spectacle. Where clubs once fostered discovery, music, and community, today's landscape is saturated with noise, distraction, and performative social media. He believes the root of many problems is that people are disconnected from themselves and others. His answer is to rebuild environments where people come together authentically to create, live, and support one another.Richie Romero on Practical Entrepreneurship and Collective WisdomRichie also dives into the practical side of entrepreneurship. He discusses the importance of checks and balances, understanding money, and how lack of financial education affects people across generations. His focus now is on reducing the cost of failure by surrounding emerging builders with experienced, values-driven collaborators. Rather than chasing buzzwords or trends, Richie insists that people need to find purpose, embrace failure early, and build businesses rooted in trust and teamwork.More From Richie Romerohttps://www.moldrelief.nethttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rchie-romero-144627244

In this episode of the Founders Journey podcast, we sit down with Jack Krupey to trace the winding path that took him from a small town in New Jersey to building a real estate investment career shaped by resilience, experimentation, and adaptability.We start by learning about Jack’s early years growing up in Jackson, New Jersey. He shares how witnessing his parents’ financial struggles inspired his early drive to succeed and shaped his relationship with money. As a tech-savvy teen who loved computers and the internet, Jack pursued a degree in information technology at Rochester Institute of Technology. But his journey quickly shifted after graduating during the dot-com crash of 2001, leading to early career challenges and a pivotal redirection toward real estate.Jack discusses the first sparks of his entrepreneurial journey, including launching an automated rent payment business with his college roommate. That experience taught him hard lessons about bootstrapping and business modeling. But it was a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas and a timely airport bookstore purchase that ultimately led him to pursue real estate investing seriously. Within a year, Jack had creatively acquired multiple rental properties with little to no money down—kicking off what would become a long-term investment mindset.The conversation then moves into Jack’s real estate journey through the 2008 financial crisis. He reflects on building a property management company, raising capital, and eventually having to wind down the business amid market turmoil. Rather than give up, Jack relocated to New York City, took time off to teach English in Korea, and landed a role with a Wall Street firm handling distressed mortgages—gaining exposure to large-scale investment strategy and note purchasing.Jack explains what non-performing loans are, how hedge funds evaluate them, and how this work connected him with major private equity players. That connection eventually led to co-investing in $100 million+ deals and being partially acquired by a Wall Street fund. While the financial upside was significant, Jack reflects on the cultural mismatch between entrepreneurial flexibility and Wall Street grind culture—ultimately leading him to step away in 2019.He wrapped up that chapter by pursuing an executive MBA from Kellogg, with global exposure that included time in Hong Kong. Today, Jack emphasizes his desire for passive income, control over his time, and meaningful work aligned with his values. He shares how he's adjusted his strategies to avoid burnout, find balance, and approach business with long-term thinking.This episode offers valuable lessons in resilience, recognizing opportunity, knowing when to pivot, and staying true to your goals—whether you're just starting out or deep into your entrepreneurial path.More From Jack Krupey:https://jkrupey.com

In this episode of Founders Journey, we sit down with Aron Myers, who opens up about his unconventional path from a childhood marked by adversity to becoming a leadership coach and entrepreneur. Aron shares how growing up in East New York with parents struggling with addiction and his time in the foster care system shaped his understanding of resilience, focus, and determination. This conversation highlights how his early experiences with ADHD, special education, and lack of academic confidence became foundational to the mindset he brings to coaching and leadership today.We explore Aron's early academic struggles and his breakthrough moments in middle school, when the support of a key mentor helped him see his own potential. He discusses how structure, routines, and self-awareness played critical roles in managing his attention and improving his performance in school, eventually leading to his acceptance into a Catholic high school and later college.During college, Aron pursued law and interned at top firms, but he soon realized that the lifestyle and ethos of the legal profession didn’t align with his purpose. This pivotal realization led him to shift to social sciences, drawn by his personal experiences in the foster care system and his growing desire to help others. His time working with mentally handicapped adults profoundly reshaped his perspective on empathy, humanity, and service.The conversation then moves into Aron's professional trajectory in social services. He details his rise through the ranks, from volunteer to executive director, managing multimillion-dollar budgets and overseeing complex programs supporting vulnerable youth. Despite achieving success in the nonprofit space, Aron recognized he had reached a plateau financially and professionally. This turning point catalyzed his move into entrepreneurship.Aron shares the mindset shift required to move from being an executive to an entrepreneur, and why stepping away from constant crisis management to create something on his own terms was essential. He discusses the importance of knowing your niche, learning from failure, and pricing your value appropriately without letting fear dictate your worth. He also offers practical strategies for early-stage entrepreneurs: start with what brings you joy, figure out how to monetize it, and build slow, deliberate partnerships.The episode closes with advice on influence, leadership, and exit strategies. Aron breaks down the difference between being passionate about your product versus being passionate about entrepreneurship. Whether you want to build one business or several, he makes the case for creating systems that allow your work to scale and eventually run without you.Personal history can inform professional clarity and how emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and service can form the core of a successful business model.More From Aron Myershttps://www.linkedin.com/in/aron-myers-341a5a4

In this episode of the Founders Journey podcast, we sit down with Lane Campbell to explore the role that persistence, hands-on learning, and unconventional thinking have played in his entrepreneurial journey. Lane shares personal stories that highlight the mindset and experiences that helped him evolve from a curious kid dismantling electronics to a founder launching complex software and services companies across different industries.We begin with Lane’s childhood and the influence of his family. Growing up in a household that encouraged curiosity, Lane was exposed to both engineering and entrepreneurship early. His grandfather worked in nuclear power and started an HVAC business, while another grandfather built a successful apparel company. These dual influences sparked Lane’s early interest in taking things apart and understanding how they work.By the age of 11, Lane was already tearing down and reassembling computers with no formal guidance, driven by nothing more than persistence and raw curiosity. He explains how that habit of self-learning extended into his professional life and became a key trait in how he approached business challenges. Lane’s tolerance for risk and ability to stay calm in high-pressure situations turned out to be pivotal assets, especially in environments that lacked structure.He reflects on his school years, where traditional education systems failed to engage him. Structured authority didn't appeal to Lane, who preferred learning by doing and needed to deeply understand things before accepting them. In contrast, his sister thrived in academic environments. That contrast helps frame how Lane carved out his own path by leaning into what worked best for him instead of following expectations.Lane recounts how he started fixing computers and setting up networks in high school, eventually turning that into a tech services business. By college, he was customizing networks, building hardware, and finding ways around university IT limitations. These weren’t just side projects but early signs of a mindset oriented toward solving problems in real time with limited resources.After college, Lane dove fully into entrepreneurship. He moved to Chicago during the Great Recession and co-founded a business in the midst of economic uncertainty. That decision was driven by necessity and instinct, and he learned quickly the importance of choosing partners wisely. Lane shares what he’s learned about building partnerships, dealing with disappointment, and the difference between value creators and value extractors in business.Throughout the conversation, Lane emphasizes transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making. He explains how unmet expectations in partnerships are often the root of conflict and offers clear strategies to avoid those pitfalls. He also gives a candid look at working in challenging environments, including dealing with unethical partners and helping uncover fraud in past ventures.The episode closes with a look at Lane’s current projects, including building software for DMV systems, launching private equity support platforms, and helping small businesses secure government contracts through AI-powered tools. He also shares insights on the skills every entrepreneur should have, from understanding sales and cash flow to solving real problems people are willing to pay to fix.Whether you're early in your entrepreneurial journey or deep into running a business, this episode offers a grounded perspective on what it actually takes to build something sustainable. Lane doesn’t glamorize entrepreneurship. He lays it out plainly: it’s messy, it’s hard, and most people won’t make it. But if you’re the kind of person who thrives when everything is uncertain and the pressure is high, you might be wired for it.For more from Lane Campbell visit www.lanecampbell.com