The Last Bolt

Steve sits down with Andrew Henke, co-founder of Lever, to trace a remarkable journey from Division I basketball at the Air Force Academy to building Sports Academy (a "Four Seasons of sports" training facility that caught Kobe Bryant's attention) to modernizing an old-school plastics manufacturing company from the ground up. Andrew shares what it really takes to transform a dinosaur business, why...

Ron Khormaei left Iran at 15, attended high school across four countries, earned four consecutive degrees in Oregon, and eventually founded Steelport Knife Co., an employee-owned American manufacturer based in Portland. In this episode, Ron shares how navigating uncertainty as a young immigrant shaped his entrepreneurial mindset, why he believes naivety is a startup superpower, and how Steelport i...

Anthony Tokosky grew up behind the register of his parents' Chinese restaurant in San Diego. His dad swam from China to Hong Kong with nothing. His mom worked as a bus girl before buying the same restaurant 20 years later. n this episode of The Last Bolt, Anthony shares how he went from software engineer to real estate investor to business buyer. This is a conversation about grit, patience, and kn...

Ross Gale's family has been in the machinery business for five generations. In this episode of The Last Bolt, Ross shares how IPP Group evolved from scrapping junk cars to buying, relocating, and repopulating entire chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants across the globe. We talk about the power of curiosity in a technical business, what it means to take on environmental risk, why scarci...

Tory Cosich's dad left Xerox at 26 to start a company out of his father's garage. He built it, sold it, and then started over at the dinner table with his four sons. In this episode of The Last Bolt, Tory shares how Proven IT grew from zero customers in 2003 to over $100M in revenue — and what it actually takes to build a family business that lasts. This podcast is produced by Rowan, where we help...

Anthony Manna started his career with multiple failed startups. Chasing ideas that never quite landed. Now he's the President of Hello Sunray, a commercial solar company operating under M7, his family's investment office. In this episode of The Last Bolt, Anthony talks about failing forward, knowing when to pivot, and how family became his ultimate purpose. This podcast is produced by Rowan, where...

John Stencel did not just inherit a family business. He helped reinvent it. In this episode of The Last Bolt , John shares how his family’s company evolved from a traditional machinery dealer into a specialized testing equipment business with customers across manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and energy. We talk about succession, reinvention, talent, and why the future still belongs to people wil...

Tatsuya Nakagawa started his first business at just 10 years old selling pears by the bus stop. Now he's the CEO and founder of eco-friendly roof coating company Castagra. In this episode of The Last Bolt , Tatsuya talks about what makes a great entrepreneur. We talk about focus, resilience, industry relationships, and why the best of the best know exactly what they are building and what not to ch...

Dan Mihelich didn’t start out on a shop floor. He built his career in accounting, investment banking, and private equity-backed M&A. He learned how to value companies, sell them, and buy them. But eventually, advising wasn’t enough. In this episode of The Last Bolt, Dan shares why he left corporate dealmaking to buy a small CNC machining and automation business in the Midwest. We talk about th...

Your classic story: a father builds the business. A son takes it over. But what makes the difference between survival and scale? In this episode, Brett Newman shares how he stepped into a family business and applied lessons from startups to modernize operations, build systems, and create something buyers can trust. We talk about the hidden risk of everything living in your head, how to close the t...

The Last Bolt is a conversation about what it really takes to build something that lasts. Behind every company is a founder who carried the weight. The late nights. The quiet risks. The decisions no one else saw. This trailer is a glimpse into those stories. At Rowan, we believe succession is not just a transaction. It is a turning point. A moment where preparation meets responsibility, and legacy...