In The Thick of It

About this episode:

In this episode of In the Thick of It, Scott interviews his old college friend Erik Korem, founder and CEO of the health and fitness app AIM7. Erik has had an interesting career journey from college football player turned pioneer in sports science and wearables, eventually leading him to start his own company applying those learnings to consumer fitness. 

Building a startup from scratch amidst a global pandemic, he's learned critical lessons about the importance of finding the right technical co-founder, constantly adapting, and maintaining relentless persistence. Since then, AimSeven has hit product-market fit and found strong traction helping users optimize exercise, sleep, and mental fitness through personalized AI recommendations. 

About Erik:

Dr. Erik Korem is a High-Performance thought leader who introduced sports science and athlete-tracking technologies to collegiate and professional (NFL) football. He has worked with the National Football League, Power-5 NCAA programs, gold-medal Olympians, Nike, and the United States Department of Defense. Erik is an expert in sleep and stress resilience and holds a doctorate in Exercise Science.

Erik is also the Founder and CEO of AIM7. AIM7 is an AI health and fitness app that unlocks the power of wearables by providing you with daily personalized recommendations for your mind, body, and recovery to help you look, feel, and perform your best.

About  AIM7:

AIM7 sets busy people free by turning wearable tech and health data into personalized recommendations that improve health and well-being. To learn more about AIM7, visit aim7.com.

Learn from Erik's health and wellness content:

• Instagram: @erikkorem
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikkorem/
• Twitter/X: @ErikKorem
• Listen to The BluePrint with Dr. Erik Korem wherever you get your podcasts 
• Neuroscience Shows That Nightly Scents Could Boost Memory and Help Your Productivity (Inc.com, Erik Korem)

About this episode:

On this episode of In the Thick of It, Scott interviews Ashish Patel, CEO and founder of Simpat Tech, a software development company. They discuss Ashish's background as an immigrant growing up in Maryland and how that shaped his entrepreneurial drive. Ashish talks about his career journey, including working for a large tech company and then a consulting firm before deciding to start his own business. He shares the story of how he started Simpat Tech with just one client and has grown it to over 60 employees today, including a team of nearshore developers. They also cover one of Scott's favorite topics: building high-performing teams in a purpose-driven culture.

About Ashish:

Delivering successful custom software isn't easy. Having the best software technology or the best engineers isn't enough to guarantee a good outcome. Instead, solving today's challenges requires both technical know-how and strategic insight to identify and leverage the right technology, for the right project, at the right time.

Throughout his career, Ashish Patel has seen that quality software isn't developed by accident. Instead, it results from the intelligent effort driven by teams that balance start-to-finish technical excellence with the ability to align project outcomes with business priorities to drive real ROI.

Ashish Patel has honed his technical expertise through past engineering and product management roles. As the CEO and Founder of Simpat Tech, he puts his experience to work, leading a team of nearshore software development engineers that empower Simpat Tech's clients to utilize technology in ways that make sense for their businesses.

About Simpat Tech:

Simpat Tech is a custom software development consultancy that started in 2015 to transform industries, organizations, and lives with world-class quality software that facilitates innovation and improves collaboration.

Our company is integrated by a team of innovative IT Consultants who solve our clients’ most complex challenges and mission-critical goals. To learn more, visit simpat.tech.

About this episode:

On this episode of In the Thick of It, Scott interviews Justin Smith, founder and CEO of RedAway Medical Waste Solutions. Justin shares his journey from flipping houses in Kentucky to launching RedAway in 2013 to serve smaller medical waste customers with better care.

Justin talks about navigating regulations, finding good partners, and scaling through subcontractors while maintaining exceptional service. He also discusses the importance of hiring for character, providing opportunities for employee growth, and staying focused on customers rather than comparisons. Justin reflects on learnings from mistakes along the way and how he overcame the fear of not trying by surrounding himself with the right people. His advice to prospective entrepreneurs - take the risk and bet on yourself.

About Justin:

Justin Smith, loves and serves Jesus. He is a devoted husband and father to five children. Justin co-founded Original Texas Group, a holding company specializing in the start-up, operations, and strategic scaling of service businesses. To date, Original Texas Group has funded and started four businesses including RedAway, a national medical waste solutions business, that grew to 28 employees, offering hundreds of services across 38 states. RedAway successfully exited to a Private Equity backed roll-up in Q1of 2023 with a 4.5x return. Justin assumed the role of M&A lead for this, and all buy and sell side transactions.

Prior to starting Original Texas Group and RedAway, Justin was the Market Chief Executive Officer over the Dallas market for all post-acute services with Kindred Healthcare. Justin is an experienced board member and loves to mentor other entrepreneurs and serve through his church. He is the co-founder and president emeritus for the Myhre Syndrome Foundation, a worldwide Patient Advocacy Organization for families suffering with a rare genetic disorder.  This is a journey his family is blessed to experience alongside one of their children living with the disease.

About RedAway Medical Waste Solutions:

RedAway provides an essential regulated service of properly collecting, transporting, and disposing of medical and hazardous waste for healthcare facilities while aiming to treat all customers with excellent service.To learn more, visit redaway.com.

About this episode:
Get ready to be inspired! Join us for a chat with Brian Terrell, the cool founder of BTerrell Group. We dive into his incredible journey from farm life in Texas to becoming a tech maverick in the accounting industry. During this episode, Brian and I explore the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, the risks he took, and the thrilling world of DOS-based accounting systems (remember those?).

About Brian:

Born in Plainview, Texas, Brian grew up on a family farm where he learned to create value through hard work. From there, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University before starting a career with Arthur Andersen & Co. In February 1991, Brian and his wife Nancy began practicing public accounting with Terrell & Terrell, CPAs. Within a year, the firm refocused all professional services exclusively on business software automation and eventually rebranded as BTerrell Group in 2008.

Brian enjoys cycling and leads group rides for the Plano Bicycle Association. He and his wife Nancy live in Dallas and enjoy spending time with their five grandchildren.

About BTerrell Group:
Brian Terrell founded BTerrell Group in 1991 and oversees management and strategy for this Dallas-based provider of Sage Intacct financial management software, which is the only accounting application ever to be designated by the AICPA as their Preferred Provider of Financial Applications. In addition, BTerrell’s experienced developers tailor the application’s business functionality to exact customer requirements, when necessary. To learn more visit www.bterrell.com. 

What's covered in this episode:
In this episode, Scott interviews Chelsea Curtis, former LPGA developmental tour golfer turned founder of Seaport Consulting, a successful Salesforce consulting firm headquartered in Boston, MA. Chelsea shares her path to entrepreneurship, discussing the challenges and triumphs she encountered along the way. She highlights the importance of taking risks, building strong client relationships, and sticking to her values. Chelsea also provides valuable insights into the hiring process and the significance of investing in technology for business growth. Whether you're a founder or aspiring entrepreneur, this episode offers valuable lessons and inspiration for building a thriving company.

About Chelsea:
Chelsea is a four-time certified Salesforce professional with over 10 years of experience consulting, implementing, and supporting the Salesforce platform. As Managing Partner, Chelsea oversees all aspects of the business and directly manages the consulting team. Prior to founding Seaport Consulting, Chelsea worked as a technical project manager who successfully led a company-wide Salesforce implementation, and played golf professionally on the LPGA Futures Tour. In addition to leading Seaport, Chelsea sits on the board of Mass Golf, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts, and serves as the chair for their diversity, equity, and inclusion committee.

About Seaport Consulting:
Seaport Consulting is a Boston-based consulting firm who helps companies implement, integrate, and enhance Salesforce. Seaport's approach marries your goals, your people, and your processes with a customized Salesforce solution that's right for you. To learn more, visit seaportconsulting.com.