The Inspired Stories Podcast

🎙️ How Tim Evankovich Built Two Successful Franchises Through Heart-Centered Leadership In this inspiring episode, Tim Evankovich, CEO of Oasis Senior Advisors, shares his remarkable 35-year journey in franchising from co-founding The Cleaning Authority to revolutionizing senior care guidance. Starting with the realization that managers without ownership stakes couldn't match franchisee dedica...

🎙️ From Apple Finance to Restaurant Empire Builder: Taylor DeHart's Journey in Food & Beverage Investment In this compelling episode, Taylor DeHart, Principal at Savory Fund, shares his remarkable journey from turning down a full-time offer at Apple to building one of the most successful restaurant investment firms in the country. Through the fascinating story of transforming Swig from a 1...

🎙️ How James Walker Transformed Restaurant Technology Through Strategic Innovation In this inspiring episode, James Walker, CEO and Board Member at Lunchbox, shares his remarkable 30-year journey from pastry chef to restaurant technology leader. Starting his career managing restaurants on Martha's Vineyard, James reveals how early discoveries about profit levers sparked a passion that would dr...

🎙️ From Business School Professor to Venture Capital CFO: Steve Glover's Leadership Journey In this compelling episode, Steve Glover, Chief Financial Officer and Administrative Partner at Pelion Venture Partners, shares his remarkable transition from decades as a respected business school professor and auditing expert to becoming a key leader at one of Utah's most established venture capit...

🎙️ From Medical Device Executive to Healthcare AI Revolution: Shane Brown's Journey Building NurseIO In this inspiring episode, Shane Brown, CEO of NurseIO, shares his remarkable transition from medical device commercialization leader to healthcare technology revolutionary. Through candid stories of walking away from venture capital toxicity, prioritizing personal values over compensation, and...

🎙️ From Gaming Addiction to Laser Innovation: Dan Shapiro's Journey Building Glowforge In this inspiring episode, Dan Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of Glowforge, shares his remarkable journey from early entrepreneurship failures to creating one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in history. Through candid stories of personal struggles, including a devastating gaming addiction that nea...

🎙️ From Discovering Siri to Revolutionizing Industrial Biotechnology: Veronica Breckenridge's Vision for a Sustainable Future In this fascinating episode, Veronica Breckenridge, founder and managing partner of First Bight Ventures, shares her remarkable journey from identifying transformative technologies at companies like Apple and Motorola to leading the charge in industrial biotechnology in...

🎙️ Improvise, Adapt, Overcome: Hunter Sebresos's Journey from Marine to Gig Economy Innovator In this inspiring episode, Hunter Sebresos, CEO and Founder of BaconWork, shares his remarkable journey from eight years in the Marine Corps to revolutionizing the staffing industry through technology. Through powerful stories of rapid pivots during COVID-19, creative problem-solving learned in the mi...

🎙️ Building Courage, Confidence & Character: Jessica McLean's Journey from Public Accounting to Nonprofit Leadership In this inspiring episode, Jessica McLean, Chief Financial Officer at Girl Scouts Nation's Capital, shares her remarkable journey from KPMG and IBM to leading financial operations for the largest Girl Scout council in the country, serving 40,000 youth members. Through po...

🎙️ Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: Nikoa Milton Gulstone's Mission to Close the Racial Wealth Gap In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Nikoa Milton Gulstone, founder of Level, shares her extraordinary journey of creating an angel investing community focused on closing the racial wealth gap. Through vulnerable stories about launching her business during COVID while her father w...

🎙️ Leading Through Crisis: Zak Hancock's Noble Purpose Leadership at FST Logistics In this inspiring episode, Zak Hancock, Chief Operating Officer at FST Logistics, shares his remarkable journey from psychology student to operations leader, revealing how he transformed a struggling company during one of the most challenging periods in business history. Through personal stories of crisis manage...

🎙️ From Factory Floor to Private Equity: Rob Carskadden's Journey in Transforming Small Businesses In this inspiring episode, Rob Carskadden, co-founder and managing partner of Three Rivers Capital, shares his remarkable journey from working the factory floor at Ford Motor Company to building a successful private equity firm focused on small business transformation. With over 20 years of exper...

🎙️ Andy Tang: From Intel's Pentium Processor to Building 15 Unicorns at Draper Associates In this fascinating episode, Andy Tang, Partner at Draper Associates, shares his remarkable journey from engineering the first-generation Pentium processor at Intel to becoming a leading venture capitalist with over 15 unicorn investments. Andy reveals why investors consistently underestimate both the ado...

🎙️ Do the Right Thing Every Day: Jay Prock's Safety Revolution in Shipbuilding Staffing In this inspiring episode, Jay Prock, President and Owner of Tidewater Staffing, shares his extraordinary journey from temp worker to company leader, transforming a family business founded in 1992 into the safety standard for the shipbuilding industry. Through powerful stories of workplace accidents that ch...

🎙️ From Softball Pitcher to Healthcare CFO: Denise Dettingmeijer's Leadership Journey In this inspiring episode, Denise Dettingmeijer, Chief Financial Officer of Medical Solutions, shares her remarkable journey from Division I softball pitcher to finance executive leading one of healthcare's most impactful workforce partners. Through candid stories of career pivots, injury-driven resilienc...

🎙️ Global Startup Investment: Jonathan Wallace's Expert Dojo Success Story In this fascinating episode, Jonathan Wallace, Partner at Expert Dojo, shares his remarkable journey from living in his car for three months while building his startup to becoming a key player in one of Southern California's most active international early-stage accelerators. Through candid stories of resilience and...

🎙️ From Receptionist to Business Owner: Ana Munoz's Inspiring Journey at Pride Staff Chicagoland In this inspiring episode, Ana Munoz, co-owner and strategic partner at Pride Staff Chicagoland, shares her remarkable 15-year journey from a part-time receptionist to business owner. Through candid stories of near-business closure during COVID, the power of mentorship, and breaking down overwhelmi...

🎙️ From Design to Big Rigs: Kris Rzepkowski's Journey in Transportation Innovation In this inspiring episode, Kris Rzepkowski, Vice President of Corporate Business Development at the Bennett Family of Companies, shares his remarkable journey from user interface designer to logistics leader. With over 25 years of experience and a passion for solving complex problems, Kris reveals how his creati...

🎙️ David Bloom: From Addiction to Executive Success - How Sobriety Became His Greatest Leadership Asset at Lazer Logistics In this powerful episode, David Bloom, Vice President of National Accounts at Lazer Logistics, shares his incredible journey from the depths of addiction to becoming a key executive at North America's largest yard management company. Through raw honesty and vulnerability,...

🎙️ Transforming Restaurant Infrastructure: Rishi Nigam's Franklin Junction Revolution In this fascinating episode, Rishi Nigam, CEO and co-founder of Franklin Junction, shares how he's revolutionizing the restaurant industry through the world's first and largest host kitchen marketplace. From his impressive career at NASCAR and Aramark to building a bootstrapped company that's help...

🎙️ Eric Madison: From Blue-Collar Roots to Leading Safety Innovation at North America's Largest Car Hauler In this compelling episode, Eric Madison, Senior Vice President of People and Safety at United Road Services, shares his remarkable 30-year journey through the transportation industry and how personal adversity shaped his leadership philosophy. From working the docks as a recent college g...

🎙️ How Eric Frost Created the Creative Capital Model Revolutionizing Startup Success at Demos In this fascinating episode, Eric Frost, Managing Partner at Demos and Partner at Zeus Jones, shares his remarkable journey from the early days of commercial internet to pioneering a revolutionary investment model. Through personal stories of professional challenges and breakthrough innovations, Eric reve...

🎙️ How Ryan Pudenz Built a $100M Construction Empire Through Strategic Acquisitions In this insightful episode, Ryan Pudenz, founder and managing partner of Merit Management Group, shares his remarkable journey from 18 years in the funeral home industry to building a construction and home services acquisition powerhouse. Through candid stories of early career setbacks, learning to embrace failure...

🎙️ How K.C. Kanaan Built a Transportation Empire by Treating Seniors Like Family In this deeply personal episode, K.C. Kanaan, co-founder and CEO of Envoy America, shares his remarkable journey from tech executive at Intel, Seagate, and Bose to revolutionizing transportation for seniors and disabled patients. What started as a desperate attempt to help his aging parents get to medical appointments...

🎙️ How Vincent Hsieh Revolutionized Growth Capital with Cypress's Non-Dilutive Royalty Model In this comprehensive episode, Vincent Hsieh, partner at Cypress Growth Capital, shares his remarkable journey from turnaround management consultant to serial entrepreneur to innovative investor. With 16 years as an entrepreneur co-founding Atlas RFID and GeoForce (both exited to private equity), Vincent r...