The Resiliency Project

"I thought I had to do everything myself." What if asking for help is the thing that changes your life? In this episode of The Resiliency Project, Dylan Smith, founder of D is for Dyslexia, shares how growing up with dyslexia, being adopted twice, and struggling to find his place ultimately shaped the person he is today. For years, Dylan believed success meant figuring everything out on his own. B...

"I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny." — Bart Berkey never expected a heart attack, a global pandemic, and the loss of his 16-year career at Ritz-Carlton to completely change his life. Founder of Most People Don't and keynote speaker Bart Berkey joins Nik Agharkar to share how those setbacks pushed him to build a business centered on purpose, kindness, and resilience. From running out of sa...

"I lost confidence in myself." — What happens when the thing you've always relied on suddenly disappears? Scott Kleckner, owner of Olive Wood Pizza, shares how 18 months of unemployment forced him to confront something he'd never faced before: self-doubt. After decades leading turnarounds and managing restaurants, stadiums, and entertainment venues, he suddenly found himself questioning whether th...

"I committed a federal crime." — What happens when one bad decision changes the course of your life forever?  Tom Hardin, international corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and former Wall Street analyst known as "Tipper X," shares the story of how insider trading led to an FBI investigation, public disgrace, and the loss of the career he spent years building. From secretly wearing a wire for the F...

“You’ll move faster by slowing down.” - How do you stay calm when everything around you is collapsing? Jason Bishara, lead of financial practice at NSI Insurance Group, shares the story of losing control of a venture-backed company during a brutal market shift, the pressure it placed on his family, and how he rebuilt both his career and perspective through one of the hardest periods of his life. F...

"I thought we were buying our future. Instead, we bought a disaster.”  In this episode of The Resiliency Project, Angie Callen shares how buying the wrong business spiraled into lawsuits, bankruptcy, and financial collapse. After losing nearly everything, Angie and her husband moved into a gutted school bus in the mountains of Colorado and rebuilt their lives one coaching client, one networking ev...

“Resiliency to me is getting up every time you get punched in the face.” - What happens when failure hits early, hard, and expensive? Entrepreneur and brand builder Chase Slepak shares the story of losing nearly everything at 18 years old after a failed car wash business nearly buried him financially before his career even started. Instead of walking away from entrepreneurship, Chase doubled down,...

“What a lot of people see as their weakness is not really a weakness. It’s actually a strength.” -  How often do we misunderstand the very things that make us different? Steve Schiff, Development Manager at Nasdaq, shares the mindset that keeps him moving forward when things get hard: creativity, imagination, and the ability to keep building toward a future he can already see in his head.  Steve r...

“I have to learn by getting the shit kicked out of me.” - What happens when failure stops being a setback and starts becoming the strategy?  Executive coach, author, and entrepreneur Rhett Power joins Nik Agharkar to break down the brutal realities of entrepreneurship, from losing millions on failed products to nearly running out of money while trying to keep a business alive. Instead of avoiding...

“I failed spectacularly… and I did it publicly.” - What happens when a bet you believe in completely… fails? Shawn Walchef, restaurant owner of Cali BBQ and founder of Cali BBQ Media, shares what went wrong chasing the ghost kitchen model during the pandemic, where the assumptions broke, and how he knew it was time to walk away. This is not just a bad business story. It is about what happens when...

Real conversations about failure, resilience, and starting again Nik Agharkar, founder of Crowne Point Tax, hosts The Resiliency Project, a long-form interview podcast focused on what happens after failure. Through candid conversations with founders, executives, professionals, and creators, the show explores real setbacks, reinvention, and the mindset shifts that make resilience possible. Each epi...