Founders Journey Podcast
by Jimmy Douloumbakas
Welcome to Founders Journey, a podcast that explores the lives that shape remarkable builders. Each episode features a personal conversation with an entrepreneur who shares early dreams, first jobs, key turning points, lessons from setbacks, and the steady wins that shaped their path. If you want real stories about what forms a founder and what fuels a relentless drive to build, this podcast offers it each week.
Episodes
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Rachel Glass Shares Lessons on Starting and Scaling a Business With Purpose
Rachel Glass on Following Her Instincts What changes when you leave finance to build your own company? We explore that choice with Rachel Glass, who founded Gloss Lab after ten years in finance. She shares how entrepreneurship brought greater control over her work, alongside longer hours and…
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Joseph Rhodes on Building Strong Leadership Teams and Business Growth
Why Joseph Rhodes Believes Leadership Starts With Clarity What happens when a business has a clear vision, but its people struggle to execute it? In this episode of The Founders Journey, Jimmy Backus sits down with Joseph Rhodes, founder of Rhodes Works. They explore how leadership teams can…
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Matt Duboise Shares the Hard Lessons of Starting and Growing a Business
Matt Duboise and a Business Born From Necessity Matt Duboise always expected to start a company, yet the chicken coop industry surprised him. During the 2008 recession, his family faced serious financial pressure after moving to North Carolina. So he salvaged materials from dumpsters, built his...
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How Stuart Faught Builds and Sells Profitable Software Businesses
Why Stuart Faught Believes Small Businesses Create Big Opportunities What if building a successful business didn't require hundreds of employees or years of complicated operations? In this episode, we sit down with Stuart Faught to explore the opportunities behind small, profitable software...
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Andre Alexander on Business Growth Without Sacrificing Your Personal Life
What if your business gave you more time instead of demanding more of it? In this episode, we sit down with Andre Alexander to explore a different approach to entrepreneurship. We discuss why financial success doesn't always create personal freedom and how business owners can rethink their...
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Reid Robinson on Medical Innovation, Recovery, and Starting Over
Reid Robinson’s story connects recovery, invention, consulting, and entrepreneurial resilience through several major changes in his life. He grew up in Nova Scotia before moving west to Calgary for work. Although his parents taught at universities, Reid initially chose labor jobs instead of…
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Steve Mack on AI Entrepreneurship Resilience and Building a Life That Fits
Steve Mack on AI and Better Decisions We start with Steve’s path from enterprise technology into AI-focused entrepreneurship. He outlines Blue Sky AI’s work across products, placements, projects, and AI-enabled systems. He also explains PHIT, which combines wearable data with coaching for health...
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Angus Nelson on Founder Resilience Fear and Leading Through Growth at Scale
When Angus Nelson Says Growth Changes the Founder As companies grow, founders often face more decisions, people, uncertainty, and responsibility. However, the real strain can come from how they respond internally. Angus explains why founder resilience becomes essential when the company changes...
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How Zech Thomas Built a Business With Hockey, Discipline, and Speed
Zech Thomas Finds Direction Through HockeyHis path started with hockey, not business. He began at ten, which he describes as extremely late for the sport. Still, he climbed through competitive levels and eventually played junior, professional, and national team hockey. Along the way, hockey…
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Founder Mindset Lessons on Focus Failure Sales Customers and Better Growth
Confidence Starts With Action We open with David Wagstaff, who explains how a childhood lemonade stand changed his confidence. First, the lesson isn't that entrepreneurship starts with perfect skill. Instead, action creates experience, and experience can reshape how you see yourself. That founder...
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Cory Blumenfeld on Delegation Resilience and Building Stronger Businesses
Delegation Beyond the Task List We start with a practical question many founders face. What should you keep, and what should you hand off? He argues that nearly every role can become delegable without making the founder irrelevant. Instead, leaders should build systems that keep moving when they...
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Haren Bhakta Explains Founder Ownership Investing and Skin in the Game
Why Haren Looks at Who Owns the Company We open with a simple investing question. Who actually owns the companies that investors trust with their money? Haren explains why founder ownership shapes how he evaluates public companies. Specifically, he looks for leaders with meaningful personal…
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Boris Wexler on Entrepreneurship Career Reinvention and Building a Team
Boris Wexler grew up in Paris with a strong academic focus and a clear path toward science. However, his interests stretched far beyond engineering. He loved movies, art, and creative work, but he didn’t initially see them as realistic careers. That tension shaped his view of entrepreneurship and...
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Greg Roe on Building Freestyle Trampoline Through Resilience
Greg Roe explains how freestyle trampoline grew from his frustration with traditional sport systems. He saw young athletes seeking creativity, freedom, and personal style. Therefore, he chose to build an alternative instead of waiting for established leaders. Freestyle trampoline became his…
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Derik Krauss on Failure Focus and Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Derik Krauss explains how early experiences shaped his interest in business ownership. His father’s career changes showed him persistence during uncertainty. Later, a business framework helped him separate personal effort from scalable value. That idea sparked his commitment to entrepreneurship....
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Domingo Guerra on Building Startups and Securing the AI Powered Future Now
We explore how an entrepreneurial mindset began with ownership, preparation, and a clear view of future choices. In high school, he worked backward from ambitious goals and identified the building blocks he needed. Therefore, math, physics, and engineering became practical steps rather than...
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Brian McLean on Building a Jewelry Business Through Change and Trust
Brian McLean didn’t enter the jewelry industry through a detailed career plan. Instead, an early job introduced him to sales and customer relationships. He soon discovered that he could understand what people wanted and connect them with meaningful pieces. However, his personal life remained...
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Alex Jekowsky on Building Cents and Leading Through Startup Pain
Starting where the friction lives Alex Jekowsky joins us to talk about the kind of founder mindset that starts with real friction. He didn’t chase startup status. Instead, he paid attention to broken systems and asked better questions. First, that showed up on college campuses. Later, it led him...
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Sugira Rubasha on Identity Football and Building a Creative Career
Sugira Rubasha traces his story from Nairobi to Sydney, and he explains how that move shaped his early world. He grew up around many cultures, yet he kept searching for a clearer sense of self. Because of that, identity and legacy becomes one of the strongest threads in this episode. He talks…
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Peter Shankman on ADHD entrepreneurship and building a life that fits
Peter Shankman on building around a different brain We sat down with Peter Shankman to explore how he built his life around an ADHD brain, not against it. Early on, he shares what it felt like to grow up in New York City without language for neurodiversity. Because of that, school often felt…
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John Hsu on Opioid Recovery Startups and Purpose Driven Leadership
We sit down with John Hsu to trace the pressure, discipline, and responsibility that shaped his early life. He grew up in California in a Taiwanese immigrant family that pushed hard for grades, stability, and work. At the same time, sports helped him find belonging and build confidence. That mix…
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Maddy Niebauer on Peace Corps Lessons and Building vChiefs
We sit down with Maddy Niebauer to trace the experiences that shaped her early mindset. She reflects on growing up in the Bay Area, moving often, and changing schools year after year. As a result, she learned to adapt fast, make friends quickly, and keep going through disruption. She also…
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Randy Johnston on Building Technology Leadership That Actually Helps People
We talk with Randy Johnston about the kind of childhood that builds real problem solvers. He grew up in Hutchinson, Kansas, and learned by asking questions. He learned from mechanics, carpenters, electricians, and architects in his own neighborhood. As a result, he built a practical mindset…
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Kobi Simmat on Wealth Creation Delegation and Business Ownership
Kobi grew up in Sydney around national parks, beaches, boats, and building sites. So, work never sat in a separate box from life. His father ran an architecture and construction business, and the family often joined site visits on weekends and holidays. That early exposure shaped how he saw...
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Jonathan Aberman on Resilience Creativity and Building Through Change
We sat down with Jonathan Aberman to trace the roots of his entrepreneurial mindset. He shares how an unstructured childhood in Philadelphia shaped the way he thinks, creates, and adapts. That early freedom became the foundation for entrepreneurial resilience. He also reflects on growing up in a...
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Allen Kopelman on transparent pricing sales and building through hard work
We sat down with Allen Kopelman to trace a path shaped by family business, restaurant kitchens, and long-term entrepreneurship. Early on, he grew up around clothing stores, factory work, and old-school retail. As a result, he learned cash handling, customer service, and negotiation before...
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Darren Tompkins on military service business growth and better balance
We sit down with Darren Tompkins to trace the path from Salem, Virginia, to military service, college, and business ownership. He talks about growing up with financial strain, a painful divorce, and the pressure that shaped his early years. Yet he also explains how sports, movies, comics, and…
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Shuvam Bhaumik on Immigrant Roots Career Risk and Real World Skills
We sat down with Shuvam Bhaumik to trace the early forces that shaped his career path. He grew up in Brooklyn between Borough Park and Bay Ridge. So, he learned to adapt early. At first, he lived inside a largely Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. Later, he moved into a more mixed part of Brooklyn....
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Howard Lim on Dyslexia Design and Building Businesses That Last
Howard Lim takes us back to Santa Barbara, where he grew up with eight siblings after being born in Manitoba. He describes a loud, active home, yet he also explains how shy he felt as a kid. School often bored him. However, art gave him focus early. At five, finger painting showed him a path.…
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Michelle Marks on Building a Creative Business With Sales and Staying Power
We sit down with Michelle Marks to trace the path from Los Angeles to New York. She shares a childhood shaped by freedom, creativity, and strong working parents. That early independence mattered. It taught her to solve problems, trust herself, and keep moving. You’ll hear how art school gave her...
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Kevin Siskar on Founder Support Work Ethic and Building Through Loss
We sat down with Kevin Siskar to trace the experiences that shaped how he leads. He grew up in Buffalo, started working young, and learned through real jobs. He mowed lawns, washed dishes, scrubbed toilets, and bartended. Those roles showed him different sides of society early. They also built…
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How Ravi Vinayak Built a Global Distribution Career After Science
We sat down with Ravi Vinayak to trace a career that changed shape many times. He grew up in Mumbai, studied chemistry, and moved to Canada for a PhD. Along the way, he learned how discipline, education, and persistence could create options. Yet he also saw that career growth rarely follows a...
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Andy Cwik on Self Education Risk and the Real Founder Journey
Andy Cwik starts with a small town upbringing and a constant pull toward independence. His parents wanted stability and benefits, yet he felt boxed in by large companies. That tension shaped his choices early and stayed with him for years. As a result, this founder journey begins with confusion,...
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How John Bucher Turned Storytelling Into a Career in Film
John Bucher grew up in East Texas with limited resources and a narrow view of success. Every Friday, his family rented ten movies for ten dollars. As a result, he unknowingly trained for a future in storytelling. However, he never imagined that film or television could become a career. At first,...
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Redefining Success and Finding Passion in Business with Skip Cohen
We sit down with Skip Cohen to unpack his journey from Ohio to leadership in photography. He grew up in Painesville, Ohio, just east of Cleveland. His childhood centered on independence, responsibility, and strong family values. Kids stayed outside until the streetlights came on. Doors stayed...
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How Ralph Marucci Turned Sales Grit Into Leadership Growth
Ralph Marucci grew up in Brooklyn in a disciplined household. His grandfather survived the Great Depression and fought in World War II . That resilience shaped his family values. His father worked as a New York City police officer . Structure and accountability defined Ralph’s early years.…
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Building Resilient Growth Strategy with Paula Skaper
Paula Skaper begins with her early years in Northern Ireland during the Troubles . However, her parents chose Canada for greater stability and opportunity . That decision shaped her outlook on risk and resilience. She describes growing up in multiple provinces as mines opened and closed . As a...
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Turning Adversity Into Discipline and Legacy with Paul Melella Jr
Paul Melella Jr grew up in a tight Italian family in New York. He faced bullying at a young age. That experience pushed him into martial arts. He trained in secret and gained confidence. One moment changed everything. He stood up to his bully and shifted his identity. That challenge became a...
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Park Howell on using storytelling to lead with clarity and build trust
In this episode, we sit down with Park Howell to explore how storytelling became his framework for leading teams, growing businesses, and navigating personal change. Through stories from his early life and career, Park shares how he moved from advertising executive to storytelling educator,...
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How David Kidder Helps Founders Build Ideas That Actually Work
David Kidder on How Founders Think Differently David Kidder explains what separates successful founders from the rest. It’s not polish or presentation. It’s the way they think. They focus on deep customer problems. They challenge assumptions early. They care more about traction than applause.…
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How Peter Hopwood Helps Leaders Speak With More Clarity and Confidence
Peter Hopwood on the Power of First Impressions Peter Hopwood explains why first impressions matter more than most people realize. Whether you're pitching an idea or leading a team, how you come across in the first few seconds sets the tone. He breaks down how confidence, posture, and vocal…
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How Cam Roberts grew a thriving pavement business
Cam Roberts on learning without a blueprint Cam Roberts grew up in a quiet town in northern British Columbia with no real exposure to entrepreneurship. His early years were filled with snow forts, basic jobs, and the kind of hands-on learning you only get from being thrown into unfamiliar tasks.…
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How David Decker Built Wealth Over 40 Years in Real Estate
A Young David Decker Finds His Path David Decker shares how growing up in northwest Indiana shaped his values. From delivering newspapers at age nine to painting houses and mowing lawns, he learned self-reliance early. His parents led by example—both hardworking and ambitious, with his mom…
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Why Scott Miller Believes Success Comes Down to Consistency & Action
Scott Miller on Growing Up and Grit Scott Miller shares how growing up with three older brothers in a small Midwest town shaped his outlook. With limited resources and a father who worked constantly, Scott learned early that no one was coming to help. That mindset followed him into adulthood.…
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Finding clarity through discipline with Anthony Espo
Growing Up Hustling in Brooklyn Anthony Espo shares how growing up in Bay Ridge shaped his early mindset around work, independence, and hustle. He talks about his mother’s example as a relentless businesswoman, running a bike shop while raising three kids on her own. From delivering newspapers at...
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How Kison Patel turned setbacks into strategy and built a business
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...
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How Henning Schwinum Thinks About Sales Leadership Growth and Career Building
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...
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Self Awareness and Team Building Unlocks Entrepreneurial Growth
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...
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How Jack Krupey Turned Real Estate Failures into Lifelong Investment Skills
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...
About this show
Welcome to Founders Journey, a podcast that explores the lives that shape remarkable builders. Each episode features a personal conversation with an entrepreneur who shares early dreams, first jobs, key turning points, lessons from setbacks, and the steady wins that shaped their path. If you want real stories about what forms a founder and what fuels a relentless drive to build, this podcast offers it each week.
Hosted by
Jimmy Douloumbakas
Categories