Kendra Stearns Drozd
Kendra Stearns Drozd has always believed that the strongest relationships are built through listening, trust, and showing up for others. Those values have guided every chapter of her life, from…
Interview
More conversations with founders. Different format, same honesty. These interviews dig into the messy middle of building something. The part between the big idea and the press coverage that most people skip over. Spoiler: that’s where all the interesting stuff happens.
The founders here share what actually fills their days. Not the Instagram version. The real one. With the early mornings, the difficult conversations, and the moments of genuine doubt that somehow coexist with genuine excitement. It’s a weird combination. Ask any founder.
What makes these conversations worth reading is the specificity. Not vague advice like “follow your passion” or “think outside the box.” Actual details. How they got their first customer. What they’d do differently. The habits that keep them from losing their minds.
Some of these founders run companies you’ve heard of. Most of them you haven’t. Yet. That’s kind of the point. The best insights often come from people who are still in the trenches, not the ones writing memoirs about trenches they left years ago. Browse through. Find someone in your space. Or don’t. Sometimes the best perspective comes from a completely different industry.
Zachary Grayum
Zachary Grayum has built his career by believing that leadership starts with discipline and grows through service. Based in Fresno, California, he has spent years leading large teams, managing complex…
Christopher Pulichene
Christopher Pulichene has always been drawn to the water. His journey has taken him from the neighborhoods of Seattle to the warm waters of the Florida Keys. Along the way,…
YiFeng Zhang
YiFeng Zhang has always believed that perspective is one of life’s greatest teachers. Long before building an international career, he developed a curiosity about people, cultures, and the different ways…
John Sweetser
Some engineers focus on individual parts. John Sweetser has built his career by understanding how entire systems work together. That perspective has guided him through roles in national security, spacecraft…
Dr. Irfan Atcha
Dr. Irfan Atcha was raised in Chicago in a family with deep roots in medicine and dentistry. Surrounded by healthcare professionals from an early age, he developed an interest in…
Shea Georgetti
Shea Georgetti is the founder and CEO of Voiply, a telecommunications company he built from the ground up starting in 2012. What began as a vision to make reliable, affordable…
Jason James
Dr. Jason James, DC, is the founder and clinic director of James Healthcare & Associates, Inc. in Keokuk, Iowa. A Gonstead chiropractor with a passion for evidence-informed, patient-centered care, Dr….
Nathan Weingarten
Nathan Weingarten has always been interested in understanding how things work. Growing up in New Jersey, he was drawn to systems, patterns, and problem solving from an early age. Instead…
Sean Powers
Sean Powers has built a career by staying open to opportunity and learning from every experience along the way. Raised near Chicago, he did not follow a traditional career path….
Crystal Lundberg
Crystal Lundberg grew up in Rockford, Illinois, where her childhood was shaped by adversity, instability, and years spent in and out of foster care. Despite those challenges, one experience changed…
Victor Daniel Silva
Victor Daniel Silva is a commercial fisherman whose life has been shaped by the water, hard work, and a deep respect for tradition. Based along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, Victor…