Built For More with Jacob O'Connor

Sydney McKinney is a softball player at Wichita State University where she holds three records, including leading the nation in batting average last season (.522). Last summer Syd played for the Women's National Team (Team USA) in Japan for the All-Star Series. In this episode, we discuss her success in softball, the pressure to perform at a high level, painting, iron lungs, and many other topics....

Evan O'Connor comes to the studio to recap his 50 mile ultramarathon experience. Evan is Jacob's cousin and they ran the Tunnel Hill 50 Miler together. He is  a wildland firefighter (Wyoming Hotshot), farmhand on the family farm, and beginning to dabble in the world of ultramarathons.  If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend. It helps us out a lot. https://podcasts.appl...

In this episode of Real Conversations, Jacob O'Connor recaps his 50 mile ultramarathon experience. About 5 weeks ago, he signed up for an Ultra, and after getting sick was only able to train for about 3 weeks. He went from essentially not running at all, to completing his first 50 miler. Prior to this, the furthest competitive race he had ever done was a 5 mile Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. He recount...

Bryce Lob is the Founder and Owner of Una Vida Tequila and El Trago and one of the hardest workers I know. Bryce shares how he started Una Vida, the effort necessary to make it a success, and a wide range of other topics including ultra running, which has been a common theme lately. If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe, rate, and review it: https://podcasts.apple.com/vg/podcast/real-conver...

Kieran O'Brien is a 23 year old entrepreneur and founder of the newly acquired tech company, Media Kits. Kieran and Jacob discuss entrepreneurship, their shared interest in competing in an Ironman race, thoughts on Facebook and Snapchat, and much more.  If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing, rating, and reviewing it with this link: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/real-con...

This episode is a big milestone-- it's our first video podcast. We're experimenting with some new features, so if you're on Spotify or YouTube, you should be able to watch this episode! In this episode, Jacob and Jon give life updates, discuss ultra marathons, Elon Musk purchasing Twitter, no shave November, and a whole lot more. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it, rate it, and review it...

Jennifer Strong McConachie has been competing in triathlons for as long as she can remember. She eventually ventured into marathons, ultramarathons (any race over 26.2 miles), mountaineering, adventure racing and much more. She has a resume full of feats that most could not fathom even attempting-- from running 100 miles to escaping Alcatraz in the frigid cold San Francisco water. We cover a lot i...

This episode features Grant Johnson, a 19 year old college dropout, self-taught coder, who is Koch Industries youngest employee ever. In this episode, Grant shares his story of learning to code at 17, some of the cool projects he's worked on, being intramural basketball champs with Jacob, and a plethora of other topics. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it, rate it, and review it with this...

This episode features Joseph Holthusen, a division one athlete for Wichita State University and a former All-American hurdler. In this episode, Joe and Jacob discuss the rigger of being a D-I athlete, Joe's journey into entrepreneurship, and a whole lot of other topics (like the Titanic).   If you enjoyed this episode, please share it, rate it, and review it with this link: https://podcasts.a...

Dave Cunningham is an entrepreneur (Founder of Flint Hills Group) and former marathoner. Dave went from a track drop-out to running 33 marathons, an ultra, and a triathlon over a 16 year period. He shares his inspiring story and they discuss the great challenge of running and Dave offers insights and tips.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it, rate it, and review it with this link: h...

In this experimental episode, Rob Gerlach (Executive Director of Tech Transfer & Commercialization at Wichita St.) interviews Jacob and Jon. They spend the majority of the time recounting their recent trip to Dallas, meeting the Feather Weight Champion, and being in a commercial. Keep an eye out for an Interview with Rob Gerlach being released in the upcoming weeks.  If you enjoyed this e...

In this episode we are joined by my good friend Quinn Robertson. Quinn is one of the most well connected and in-tune people in the Wichita entrepreneurship/business scenes. He is a former Koch analyst who now runs an Angel Investment group called Accelerate Venture Partners (AVP). He works with exciting founders and investors every day and is working to make a difference in the Wichita business co...

In this second edition of Keeping up with the Cousins, Jacob and Evan discuss some of the exciting things they've done over the past few months. They discuss Evan losing a pie eating challenge, President Biden visiting our family farm in northern Illinois, their trip to Chicago, and other interesting life updates. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it with this link: https://podca...

Jimmy Rex is a real estate entrepreneur from Utah. Over the past 15 years, he has personally sold around 2,500 houses including the most expensive home in Utah ($35M). In this episode, Jacob and Jimmy discuss the beauty of the American Dream, Jimmy sinking his house boat (the title will make more sense when you listen), and wide range of other topics. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it w...

Back for round 4, Jon Peterson joins Jacob to discuss their 2,000 challenge that they completed in late April. Jon did 2,000 push ups and Jacob did 2,000 pull ups. In this episode they do an in depth debrief of the challenge, what it was like, their takeaways, etc.  Follow Jon on Instagram: www.instagram.com/thejonpete Follow Real Conversations on Instagram: www.instagram.com/real.conversatio...

Curt Gridley started Amber Waves Systems Inc. in 1994 which was acquired by U.S. Robotics only two years later. More recently, he is the Co Founder of the Wichita based co working space, Groover Labs. In this episode we discuss Curt's upbringing, the role it played in his life, and what it was like running Amber Wave Systems.  Check Out Groover Labs: https://www.grooverlabs.org Subscribe, Rat...

Carter Nelson (aka "Gills") is a Division I swimmer at Texas A&M. Jacob and Carter have been friends for years starting with the StartUp program, random challenges, and even a dodgeball tournament. In this episode, Carter shares the story of getting his Olympic Qualifier time, what it's like to be a D1 athlete, and the story of the time Jacob almost joined the swim team.  If you enjoyed t...

Bryce Lob is the Founder and Owner of Una Vida Tequila and El Trago. Bryce shares insights into what it's like running a tequila company, his thoughts on celebrity tequila brands, and much more. Jacob has an interesting realization regarding the world's greatest runners: The Tarahumara.  If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe, rate, and review it: https://podcasts.apple.com/vg/podcast/r...

In this episode Jacob joins Alex Quinn in his STL office to catch up on a wide variety of topics (listen to our first interview in 2020 here ). Their conversation primarily revolves around Alex's company, Disruptel. Alex started Disruptel in High School and in 4 short years has raised over $2M, developed revolutionary contextual AI software, and partnered with TCL to bring their products to market...

In this episode, Jacob is joined by Jake DeCicco. Jake is the Founder and CRO of Super Coffee. In this episode Jake talks about founding Super Coffee and then tells an incredible story about hiking the elevation of Mount Everest and flying to watch an NBA game courtside with the owner of the team in the middle of the hiking challenge. To date Super Coffee has raised $150M and removed 4 million pou...

In this episode, Jacob is joined by Eric Hinman. Eric is a successful entrepreneur, restauranteur, and athlete. Eric discusses how he got his start in the business world, and how he occupies his time now-- everything from Ironman's to CrossFit to jumping in cold streams.  Connect with Eric: https://www.instagram.com/erichinman/ Check out Venture Mentality: www.instagram.com/venture.mentality...

In this episode, Jon shares what it's like doing 1,452 push ups in 6 hours. Jon and Jacob discuss doing 1,452 push ups/pull ups, what their experience was like, and why it's important to challenge yourself. If you enjoyed the episode, please share it with a friend: https://podcasts.apple.com/cz/podcast/real-conversations/id1594231832 Jon: https://www.instagram.com/thejonpete/ Jacob: https://www.in...

In this episode, Jacob is joined by Sae Alcorn. Sae is a D1 track athlete at the University of Kansas and the Co Founder of The Vintage Hawks (an online & pop-up shop for Vintage KC and KU gear). Sae discusses starting a Vine account with 1M followers, selling 20,000 units of apparel, and starting The Vintage Hawks. Connect with Sae: https://www.instagram.com/saevheon/?hl=en Check out The Vint...

Luke Moberly is the Founder and CEO of Bumper -- an investing app built specifically for teenagers. Luke shares what it's like being a first time Founder, raising money to fund his vision, and what it's like to do all this while in college. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend & leave a review. Bumper: https://www.joinbumper.com Luke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukemober...

Bryce Lob is the Founder and Owner of Una Vida Tequila and El Trago. Bryce recounts starting his business and shares the epic story of Andy Frisella angel investing into his company. Jacob and Bryce also hit on physical challenges and the importance of being disciplined and facing adversity.  If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe, rate, and review it: https://podcasts.apple.com/vg/podc...