ENTREPRENEURISM

Ritesh Patel shares an entrepreneurial journey that started with coding as a child, building software as a teenager, and hacking together DIY livestreams for club nights long before that was mainstream. In this episode, he explains how those early instincts grew into Ticket Fairy, a company that began by applying ad-tech and gamification to event growth and is now expanding into working capital, A...

Morgan O’Hara didn’t found The Hutong, but over 16 years he helped shape it, scale it, and ultimately become its largest shareholder. In this episode, he talks candidly about joining the company in its earliest days, bringing structure to a highly creative business, and helping steer its evolution from a Beijing cultural space into a leading educational travel company working with schools across G...

Roberta Lipson (李碧菁) walks us through a rare founder story: spotting a gap in China’s healthcare market, persuading stakeholders that a foreign-invested hospital could work, and then financing the first facility through an early-stage IPO that many would have advised against. We explore the practical realities of building trust—first with top doctors, then with patients—how a mission-driven cul...

In this episode of ENTREPRENEURISM , Scott interviews Minesh Pore , Co-Founder & CEO of BuyHive and Founder & CEO of SourcingGPT.ai , exploring how he's leveraging AI throughout his business. Minesh shares how he went from Yellow Pages ad sales to leading global sourcing teams, then bootstrapping BuyHive through the chaos of COVID by focusing relentlessly on revenue. He then reveals how So...

Vanessa Hendriadi, CEO and Co-Founder of GoWork, has done what many founders only talk about: she deliberately stepped back from running the day-to-day and handed operational control to a GM—while staying firmly in the CEO seat. In this conversation, she shares how her engineering mindset, love of systems, and experience merging companies and surviving COVID laid the groundwork for a more scalable...

In this dynamic episode, Jaeson Ma—serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and cultural bridge builder—unpacks his unlikely path from street-smart hustler to spiritual missionary to serial founder shaping the intersection of media, tech, and faith. Named to Variety’s 500 Most Influential Leaders and part of the Milken Institute’s Young Leaders Circle, Jaeson reflects on what drives him: purpose,...

From bootstrapping during the 2008 financial crisis to building a global clean energy business with associates in 15 countries, Andy Klump’s 17-year journey with Clean Energy Associates is a case study in resilience and intentional leadership. In this episode, Andy shares how he turned early chaos into structure with the help of an executive coach, built a culture that transcended borders, and led...

David Steele embodies the spirit of the parallel entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of OneWealth Advisors, an independent registered investment advisory firm managing well over $1B in assets. In parallel, he is Executive Chairman of a restaurant group with 300 employees and also owns multiple yoga studios. In this conversation with Scott Pollack, David reflects on the grit it took to cold-cal...

Rich Robinson—globetrotting entrepreneur, educator, comedian, and ecosystem builder—shares how travel shaped his entrepreneurial mindset and why being a "curious connector" has been his lifelong superpower. To date, Rich has been a co-founder and/or senior exec in eight startups (three of which exited to public companies), and he has served as an investor, board member, advisor, or mentor to dozen...

Michele Ferrario didn’t set out to become an entrepreneur. From McKinsey to private equity, Rocket Internet, and Zalora, his path built confidence until the right problem—and the right partners—pushed him to co-found StashAway in 2016. In this episode, Michele reflects on serendipity, culture, leadership style, and the delicate balance between empowerment and control. A consistent theme in his jou...

Lin Lin Jacobs, CEO and Co-Chair of the China International Beauty Expo, shares her unconventional journey from creative agency co-founder to leading Asia’s largest beauty industry trade show organizer. She opens up about joining her family business, navigating cultural clashes with her mother, and transforming massive trade shows into curated, experiential events. Lin Lin also reflects on leaders...

David San Roman, co-founder and CEO of Anken Group, recounts how he transformed from architect to accidental entrepreneur in Shanghai’s early 2000s boom. What started as subleasing extra office space grew into one of Shanghai’s leading urban renewal platforms responsible for over 138,000 square meters of distinctive office developments. He explains how persistence, customer focus, and fluency in t...

Sophie Chen has moved more than 10,000 families—but her toughest move was lifting SAE Relocation from obscurity to China’s first-tier relocation league. In this episode she unpacks a 20-year entrepreneurial journey: battling global giants, winning expat trust, and navigating the delicate dance of co-leading a company with her husband. Sophie explains how joining EO introduced strategy frameworks t...

In this insightful and wide-ranging episode, which highlights Alvin's key takeaways on the rise of AI-fueled bootstrapping, the concept of Abundanism, and the future of one-person unicorns, Alvin Wang Graylin — serial entrepreneur, tech leader, and co-author of Our Next Reality — shares his unique perspective on how AI is reshaping the world of startups. Alvin reflects on his personal journey, fro...

When Scott Empringham lost his marriage, his clients, and his company all in the same week, he found himself drowning in debt with no clear way forward. But instead of giving up, Scott chose to get up—one tiny step at a time. In this raw and revealing conversation, Scott shares how he rebuilt from the ground up by focusing first on himself, then on serving a highly specific niche. Along the way, h...

Arthur Hayes, co-founder and original CEO of BitMEX, joins Scott to discuss how he transformed a belief in crypto into the world’s first crypto derivatives unicorn. He didn't set out to disrupt financial systems—he just wanted to build the trading platform he wished existed. In this candid conversation, Arthur opens up about his early crypto convictions, why product-market fit was non-negotiable,...

In this episode, Fred Crosetto traces his journey from a scrappy American kid in Asia to chairman of the AMMEX Group, a growing $300M conglomerate. Fred explains how early pivoting during the AIDS crisis, relentless direct-sales hustle, and spin-outs in China and the Philippines unlocked tremendous growth. You’ll learn why ruthless prioritization beats “shiny object syndrome,” and how to empower n...

Host Scott Pollack interviews David Holvoet, a Belgian entrepreneur who has spent nearly three decades building a unique constellation of businesses across the wood products and construction industries. With $50M in annual revenue and operations across Europe and Asia, David has mastered the art of scaling by keeping things small—each business is run by a focused, autonomous team of just 10 to 15...

Scott Pollack hosts serial entrepreneur Gabrielle Chou , who has successfully built and sold three businesses—each one within a five-year window. Gabrielle explains the power of aligning your company’s strategy with the interests of three key stakeholders: customers, investors, and potential acquirers. She discusses lessons learned from scaling too fast, the importance of generating revenue early...

In this episode, Scott Pollack interviews Jacob Rothman, co-founder and co-CEO of Velong Enterprises, who has spent two decades building Velong into a 5,000-employee global operation that manufactures consumer goods for top retailers worldwide. Jacob shares how he and his partner Iven Chen have expanded manufacturing operations from a single town in China to include several facilities in Cambodia...

Host Scott Pollack interviews Yoan Rigart-Lenisa , a “parallel entrepreneur” who owns multiple businesses, from a digital transformation agency to trading companies to Thai restaurants. Yoan details how he and his brother identify new opportunities, empower specialist teams, and adapt to market changes—whether it’s shifting consumer habits or external pressures like COVID. A dedicated early riser,...

Host Scott Pollack interviews Xavier Naville , who recounts his journey from finance expert to unintentional CEO of a Chinese food-supply venture. From wrestling with imposter syndrome to forging trusted relationships with local team members, Xavier details his struggles scaling a business to $150 million in revenue. He shares lessons about staying resilient under pressure, asking for help when yo...

What makes a successful entrepreneur? It’s certainly not just about spotting opportunities. The entrepreneurial journey is full of tensions that must be managed. The most successful master the balance between vision and execution, short-term demands and long-term goals, opportunities and distractions. ENTREPRENEURISM unpacks what separates great entrepreneurs from the rest, mining the entrepreneur...