First To Arrive, Last to Leave

After working for a company where she felt the staff wasn’t pulling their weight, Alane offered to help hire the right team and build the company to the potential she believed it had. What ended up happening was beyond her wildest dream as she ended up becoming a co-owner, building another company, and exiting from both. During her ‘retirement’, Alane started a passion project, wrote several books...

If there's one thing you can see almost immediately after meeting Kelly Kunst, is her passion for helping entrepreneurs make smarter financial decisions and build wealth for not just their immediate family, but for generations. In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Kelly joins Courtney and Erin to share her journey into entrepreneurship, and how her grandfather instilled the desire to...

What would it take for you to use your strengths and expertise to your own business? For Aliah Henry, there was a plan in place, and on the exact date, she set out, she finally branched out to her own company. In this episode, Aliah joins us to talk about her journey from employee to employer, and the steps she took to ensure a successful career as a business owner. She shares some of the lessons...

'You always at least take the call when someone wants to buy your business', it's the advice from Deb Purvin, former banker and business numbers extraordinaire, that rang in Ted's ear when he got an interesting call about his business. In this podcast, Ted Hill, talks about building a business with his dad and the challenges that came with it, in addition to running the business on his own, and ho...

Although many parents try to encourage their kids to limit their time gaming, the right games can have an immense impact on growth and education. 7 Generation Games focuses on combining educational research, advanced game design, and innovative technology into video games that produce results. Maria Burns Ortiz, CEO at 7 Generation Games, has been one of the driving forces behind this unique busin...

When you see something could be done better in an industry, do you have the courage to be the disrupter? Katie McConnell saw an opportunity within the recruiting industry and decided to change her approach to a more collaborative one. Although it meant less money to her bottom line, the long-term trust and relationships she created with her clients ended up paying off in the long run. Katie shares...

Finding and building the right team is more important now than ever, and in a world where talent won't stick around in a job that doesn't match, how do you ensure you're finding the right fit? Jolene Risch joins us to discuss her journey from stay-at-home mom to building Risch Results, a strategic search firm that aligns top-performing talent with a company's culture and values. She shares how her...

Every business owner has been there when they find themselves burned out and overwhelmed from wearing too many hats, wondering if they're cut out for this business ownership thing. Enter Sasha Crabtrey, Founder of Remote COO, a company that helps businesses by managing their daily operations, giving owners the freedom to focus on their core competencies and growth. Sasha shares her journey on this...

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, and after getting re-introduced to it a few years ago, Jill Christiansen decided to take her graphics design expertise and jump in. Jill shares her journey moving from a thriving services-based company that was B2B to creating a product and moving into the B2C sector. She discusses where she began and how she was able to carve out her own niche i...

Do you have what it takes to persevere no matter what comes your way? It may seem easy to think yes. However, when several things don’t go your way, would you still keep going? In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Albert Marquez, Founder and COO of 1 US Construction, visit Courtney and Erin to talk about his journey from a comfortable government job, to franchise owner and now the ow...

Could your business use an influx of $100k in profit? It may seem too good to be true, but it's what Leslie Hassler of Your Biz Rules does on a frequent basis. Leslie joins us on First to Arrive, Last to Leave to talk about some of the biggest mistakes business owners are making when it comes to running their businesses, and why she's able to find so many opportunities for missed profits. She also...

In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by Christy Nelson, owner of MakIt TakIt, a crafting company in Lincoln, Nebraska. Christy shares her journey from a blogger to several years later, building her own crafting store by offering parties, classes, etc to local creatives. She also shares how her love for creating and helping others led her to launch her own...

What happens when you're not quite ready for retirement, but the options offered to you are becoming fewer and further in-between? Well, in the case of Michael Battaglia, you start your own business. In this episode of First to Arrive, Last to Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by InsureYouToo's Founder, Michael Battaglia. Michael shares his story of when it was becoming harder to find a job, he...

When seeking a new business opportunity, Jim Steinmark went to a conference and found a group of people who seemed to be genuinely excited about running their companies. When he wanted to find out more, he discovered that they were all service-based industries in the home sector. They were people like window washers, painters, etc. Jim was then introduced to new technology in the outdoor washing i...

We often say we want to 10X a business, but could your business really handle 10x in sales? It’s common to want the numbers and growth that everyone tells you that you should want, but the truth is, you should really sit down and focus on what is best for you. The answer may surprise you.  This is just one of the things we cover in today’s podcast with Christina Rossini of R Squared Electric....

Some people ramp up for a long time getting ready to say goodbye to their corporate job. Others decide it's time to make the leap while eating lunch in their car. Ashley's story is one of a random moment where she decided enough was enough, and it was time to take control of her future and schedule. Ashley shares her story of growing to multiple employees, and how her hiring tactics have changed f...

When Morgan was working her corporate job, she repeatedly saw a need for large event companies to be able to track how their season tickets were being utilized. Finally, she decided to take on the task herself and launched her first company. She quickly realized, though, that the solution wasn't just about helping companies sell their tickets, but helping them track their usage of them. Not coming...

Starting and building a business is hard enough, but as a woman, sometimes it can feel like the odds are stacked against you. In this episode of First To Arrive, Last To Leave, Courtney and Erin are joined by Ieshea Hollins, of Direnzic. Ieshea is a Cybersecurity expert and started her company as a way to help people who may have the odds stacked against them because of cyber issues. Her main miss...

Deb Purvin never let being a woman hold her back from any of her ventures. After graduating from Harvard, and working in banking, she found herself in real estate. After building up her own portfolio properties in several states, she sold off everything to spend more time with her family while sailing around the world. Eventually, her entrepreneurial spirit got the best of her, and she found herse...

After a change in leadership inspired Dave to finally go out on his own, the path to entrepreneurship wasn't exactly a straight path. Dave shares his story of starting a company that may not have worked out, but lead him to his current companies, D1 Experts and Texas Economic Development Connection.  Dave shares how he found his opportunity to help attract new companies to the great state of...

Welcome to First To Arrive, Last To Leave, the podcast where we talk to Goldman Sach's 10,000 Business Grads to learn more about what it takes to build businesses that become the heart of their community. In this episode, we meet hosts Erin Gregor and Courtney Radloff and learn more about Courtney's business, Purveyors of Fragrance. Courtney talks about her journey from a Skin Therapist to making...