Rising Tide Startups

What happens when you follow your gut, not a roadmap? For Heintze Malack—known to her friends and followers as Heinz—entrepreneurship didn’t start with a business degree or a polished pitch deck. It started with paper boats and a big imagination. Now the founder of the fashion brand The Twentieth, Heinz has built a business from scratch by turning scrolls into sales and ideas into brands. Through...

What if you could grow a business without ads or cold calls? That’s exactly what Mike Faraci set out to prove and did. Now the Founder & CEO of Red Button Media, Mike helps brands rise above the noise with authentic, story-driven video content. But his path didn’t start with a marketing budget or a polished campaign. It started with one camera, a clear message, and a commitment to post on LinkedIn...

Ken Mack doesn’t follow the traditional path of entrepreneurship—he skips the startup phase entirely. Instead of building from scratch, he focuses on acquiring and scaling existing businesses, often using little to none of his own capital. In this episode of the Rising Tide Startups podcast, we chat with Ken Mack, an investor, also known as “The Eccentric Entrepreneur” due to his unconventional ap...

This Episode - Turning an Unlikely Business into a Multi-Million Dollar Success Meet Will Milliken, president of a fast-growing dog waste removal company and founder of the President of Swoop Scoop® and founder of Poop Scoop Millionaire™. What started as a small side hustle has become a booming business with multiple locations and a thriving online community for aspiring entrepreneurs. Will shares...

How Failing Forward can become a blueprint for entrepreneurial success! Mohamed "Mo"Ahmed, founder of the Boundless Founder community and author of The Inside Out Entrepreneur, shares his journey from a corporate career at Microsoft and AWS to navigating the unpredictable world of startups. After starting his first company in 2017, Mohamed faced tough challenges—including a failed acquisition—that...

In this episode of the Rising Tide Startups Podcast, Tekla Tskhvediani shares how she went from Georgia’s corporate hospitality industry to creating a location-independent career in Bali. She talks about what led her to take that leap, the challenges she faced, and how she built a career that gives her both freedom and fulfillment. Tekla explains why the traditional job-hunting approach, like send...

Today, the final day of 2024, we turn the mic around and close out a banner year by hearing from our host.  Kevin Prewett is the founder and CEO of Rising Tide Startups Podcast and Podbrandmedia.com. With a passion for empowering entrepreneurs and brands, Kevin has built a platform dedicated to helping startup founders grow and scale their businesses through the power of podcasting and media. As a...

In this episode of Rising Tide Startups Podcast, Hailey Brooke Weiss, founder and CEO of Power Move Marketing, shares how her journey from collegiate volleyball captain to marketing agency leader has shaped her approach to business and leadership. With a passion for adaptability and innovation, Hailey has built a remote-first agency that offers tailored, integrated solutions to startups, acting as...

How does a flight instructor turn financial struggles into a groundbreaking fintech? Jason Schappert, founder of Moola, shares his journey from teaching aviation to empowering financial literacy through innovative fintech solutions. From being a college dropout to building a multi-million-dollar online flight school, Jason turned challenges into opportunities and now helps others navigate their ow...

In this episode of the Rising Tide Startups Podcast, Bradley Hamner, founder of Blueprint OS and host of “Above The Business”, shares how small business owners can scale sustainably by designing systems that drive growth and efficiency, and free up their time. Having experienced firsthand the shift from burnout to balance, Bradley introduces his SCALE framework—Sustainable Revenue, Consistent Grow...

Building a niche website is one thing, but turning it into a thriving SEO agency? That’s a whole different game. On this episode of the Rising Tide Startups podcast, Kevin Prewett sits down with Nile Frater, founder of Masse SEO and former owner of NoCode. Tech. Nile shares his journey from creating a no-code tech site to selling it and launching his next big venture in SEO. He dives into the high...

Can a single tool grow into a thriving business with thousands of loyal customers?  In this episode of the Rising Tide Startups podcast, host Kevin Prewett sits down with Bilal Ararou, the visionary founder of Nuelink, to unpack his journey from a freelance web designer to the creator of an innovative social media automation platform. Bilal reveals how Nuelink, originally built to streamline his a...

James Pietruszynsk, CEO of SoulSight, brings a unique perspective to branding. He believes that effective brands are built on genuine emotional connections and a deep understanding of human behavior. James recognizes the challenge of balancing innovation with brand consistency, emphasizing the importance of meaningful changes that enhance consumer experiences rather than superficial alterations. A...

From the bustling streets of Vietnam to the competitive business landscape of Australia, Linh Podetti's entrepreneurial journey is one of grit and innovation. As the founder of Outsourcing Angel, Linh transformed her experiences as a single mother into a business model that champions flexibility and remote work. Her story challenges conventional notions of success, showing how personal challenges...

From working in his family's Michigan restaurant to running his own tech company, Dexter Zhuang's story shows that hard work and smart planning can take you where you want to go. Dexter is the founder of Money Abroad, an online education platform that helps high-performers design their independent money paths. He started his career in San Francisco but has lived and worked across Southeast Asia an...

Alex Chompff's career trajectory spans from military service to the epicenter of Silicon Valley's internet boom, culminating in his current role as a venture capital expert. Drawing from his experience as both a seasoned investor and a father of five, he emphasizes the critical nature of business partnerships. Alex asserts that selecting the right business partner is as consequential as choosing a...

Lizzy Brooks is the visionary behind Virtually Brooks, a thriving virtual assistant agency that creates flexible job opportunities for American women. After transitioning from a corporate logistics career to entrepreneurship in 2018, Lizzy has grown her team to over 50 assistants, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her agency is known for its professionalism, seamless communication, and comm...

What if you could enjoy the freedom to work from anywhere in the world with just a laptop and Wi-Fi? Jennifer Scholz's journey from a conventional office job to becoming an accomplished virtual assistant exemplifies this possibility. In this episode of the Rising Tide Start-Up Podcast, we explore how Jennifer turned her side project into a successful full-time business. Her experience highlights t...

Can you build your dream home with virtual assistance? In this episode of Rising Tide Startups, Michael Tidwell joins us to share his journey.   Join host Kevin Prewett as he explores how Michael Tidwell built his dream home, grew his family, and expanded his business empire—all with the help of virtual assistants. Michael's story and his decade-long partnership with a VA show how trust and clear...

Imagine the freedom of detaching from the day-to-day grind of your business. Many small business owners fantasize about the freedom to explore the world while their business flourishes—Scott Cox has made this dream his reality.   In this episode, Scott shares his journey from being hands-on in his business to become a global digital nomad. He reveals how small changes in routine and environment ca...

Ever wondered what it takes to pivot from the dream of a sports career to making a global impact as an entrepreneur? Let us introduce you to International Business Consultant Steve Collins, who's transcended borders and boundaries to revolutionize startups and leadership training. Explore Steve's journey from corporate newcomer to international leader, along the way emphasizing passion and strateg...

Reclaim your time with Jaime Jay, the pioneering mind behind Bottleneck Virtual Assistants, as he shares his journey from U.S. Army paratrooper to entrepreneur extraordinaire, navigating the transition from the rigid structures of corporate America to the creative realm of virtual assistance. We're excited to welcome Jaime Jay back for his third appearance on Rising Tide Startups, and is labelled...

In this episode of The Rising Tide Startups, we chat with Taylor Black, a dynamic entrepreneur whose roots trace back to high school ventures and now extend into the innovative ecosystem of Microsoft's venture studio. Taylor's narrative is woven from his formative years launching a B2B SaaS enterprise during his legal studies, to his strategic role in shepherding early-stage companies towards mark...

Ever feel caught in a race against time as work consumes every precious moment? Mike Abramowitz, a seasoned expert in time management for high-earners, joins our host, Kevin Prewett in this episode of The Rising Tide Startups to address this struggle, unveiling strategies honed through personal experiences. From humble beginnings at Cutco to enduring financial setbacks post-college, Mike's narrati...

Join us on Rising Tide Startups as we welcome Brittany Brewer, Senior Account Executive at FreeUp Marketplace, for a candid discussion about her transition from a freelancer to a pivotal role in a freelancer hiring platform. Brittany shares her unique perspective on navigating the complexities of matching clients with top-tier freelancers to ensure businesses overcome their challenges through stra...