Athletes to Entrepreneurs: The Alumni Journey

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Alex Bolowich, former soccer player, coach, and the founder & CEO of Elite Mental Performance. Alex shares about his love of soccer, his thoughts on NIL, and about his own transition out of sports. Alex's advice to student athletes about the importance of networking while they&...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Chris Weedon, former professional soccer player & the founder of Mentally Shredded. Christopher speaks candidly to fellow athletes: "Speaking to you athletes out there: You can wake up and you can go get a paycheck. You can clock in, you can clock out, and you can live the res...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Dr. Jo Shattuck, former elite racquetball player, neuroscientist, founder and CEO of Panther Tec. Dr. Shattuck shares about her instant love of racquetball, the need for programs to help athletes transition out of sports, her thoughts on NIL, and how she learned to network after starti...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Ross Hamilton, professional BMX rider, real estate investor and philanthropist. "Sport is mind, body & soul. Having that physical outlet in life is really important. You can’t just be there staring down at your phone all the time- you have to get your body moving.” Ross talks...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Nick Silverthorn, former college swimmer and sales manager at LearnIt. Nick tells us about growing up playing sports, his dream of becoming a pro athlete, his thoughts about NIL, and his advice to current student athletes. Nick's thoughts on starting the networking process early: &...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Brendan Shaw, former college hockey player, investor and partner in Rival Media. Tell me about playing sports growing up and how it shaped you? "I think sports was a huge part of my upbringing, my background. I have 3 brothers that also played sports. My parents came from a genera...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Carly Lutz, former college distance runner & sales/marketing professional. Carly talks about growing up playing sports, how she discovered her love of running at an early age, and the positive things that sports taught her. Carly's take on the difficulty of transitioning out of...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Ivory Sully, a fellow Blue Hen! Ivory was a football player at the University of Delaware, went on to play 9 years in the NFL, and today he runs his company, Sully Executive Services. Ivory talks about starting sports late in life and developing a love for football. On the importance o...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Jamie Mittelman, former college soccer player, teacher, founder & CEO of Flame Bearers. Talk about playing sports and how it shaped you growing up. "Sports were always my favorite part of the day. Growing up I was a 3-season athlete in high school. I played soccer, I ski-raced...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Terrance Dennis, former football player and Assistant Special Teams Coordinator at The University of Central Missouri. Terrance talks about growing up with a passion for sports, playing football through college, and his transition from player to coach. What is your biggest advice to cu...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Chad McGehee, former college soccer player, Director of Meditation at UW Athletics, and Co-Founder of Inner Edge Meditation. What were some of the lessons you learned through sports? "The first thing that comes to mind is the joy of playing sports, whether it's the joy of tryi...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Chase Minnifield, former NFL player and the founder of EZOS. Chase talks about growing up in the world of football, his journey to the NFL, and his thoughts on NIL, social media, and more. Chase's thoughts on social media: "If you can start to learn to actually create value an...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Kim Brady, former college soccer player and founder of Little Bit Cleaning and Kim Brady Coaching. Kim tells us about her love for soccer that started at an early age, her experience playing with the best of the best, and what motivates her. How did growing up playing sports shape you?...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Steve Ryan, former college athlete, marketing agent, and partner in the National Rugby Football League. Steve's advice to athletes: "To network early and often, I think is a big takeaway, and honestly I wish I would have done that more." "If you're an athlete, wo...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Jeff Byers, former football player at USC and in the NFL and CEO of Momentous. How did playing sports shape your life? "I think sports is a great teaching bed for a lot of really important life lessons. It teaches you how to deal with winning, losing, adversity. And it teaches you...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Don Moxley, former college wrestler, sports scientist, and Director at Longevity Labs. "If you want to be successful, you've got to figure things out. You've got to create an equation." -Don Moxley Don's advice to current athletes: "We all stop sometime. Whet...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Damon Lembi, former baseball player at ASU, author, and the CEO of Learnit. Damon tells us about growing up playing sports, his thoughts on NIL, and the importance of networking and connecting. Talk a little bit about your thoughts on networking and connecting as an athlete. "I th...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Lisa Bonta Sumii, former youth soccer player, founder and CEO of AthMindset, and host of the Athlete's Mindset podcast. "The things I'm doing give me energy. I'm able to use my time more productively and intentionally when I have things that I'm working on that mea...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to David Holmes, former football player at Northern Michigan University, Coach, Teacher, and District Superintendent. David talks about growing up playing sports, the resources missing for student athletes today, and his thoughts about NIL. "Our mission as players was always wanting...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Olivia Atkin, former junior elite swimmer, entrepreneur, author, and host of the Achieving Success podcast. Olivia tells us about her passion for swimming that began early on, the medical issue that caused her transition out of sports, and her advice for moving forward when the time fo...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to James Taylor, former basketball player at Lynn University, multi-passionate entrepreneur, and founder of Taylored Athletes & Fifth Quarter Ventures. James tells us about growing up playing sports, the importance of setting specific goals, his thoughts about NIL, and his advice for...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to John Saintignon, former basketball player at the University of California, world-renowned basketball coach, motivator and author. John tells us about how academics was always and important part of his life, and shares the mantra he lived by: "Basketball is a tool to get an educati...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Sydney Supple, current softball player at Northwestern University. In her spare time, Sydney is a journalist and broadcaster and also hosts her own podcast, From The Players. Sydney tells us about all she has gained from growing up playing sports, her ambitions to go pro, and her persp...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Garett Henson, former college hockey player, advertising agent and events marketing specialist. Tell me about how growing up playing sports shaped you. "Sportsmanship is what gave me my start. You treat everyone like you want to be treated, following the golden rule. But more impo...

On this episode of Alumni Direct's show "ATHLETES TO ENTREPRENEURS: The Alumni Journey," we talk to Orlando Arnold, former baseball player at Alabama State University, Sports Agent, Public Speaker, and President and CEO of Pyramid Sports Group. When you were growing up, did you dream about being a professional athlete? "Oh yeah. Yeah yeah yeah. If you go look in my senior memory...