#entrepreneurship

#entrepreneurship

At the recent Entrepreneur Level Up Conference, entrepreneurs from across the country gathered to gain strategies, inspiration and practical insights from a lineup of well-known successful entrepreneurs. I was honored to host the conference and partner with Entrepreneur. One of the headliners, Robert Herjavec - investor, entrepreneur and star of Shark Tank - delivered a keynote packed with wisdom for founders navigating today's unpredictable business landscape.

Michael's legal career started at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, the oldest law firm in the U.S. He joined their real estate finance group after graduating from Boston College Law School in 2002. The timing was important-he entered the industry just before the real estate boom of the mid-2000s. "Cadwalader was fast-paced and full of very smart people. I had to learn quickly how to manage complex deals," he recalls.

Since starting First Light, former colleagues have reached out with connections to coffee-growing communities, and I'm excited to build on that,

Most entrepreneurs have a business plan. We write it, follow it... and slowly that business grows until it consumes our lives. Suddenly, the company dictates the calendar, family trips are canceled for "urgent" calls and personal decisions take a back seat. I've had countless closed-door conversations with entrepreneurs who, from the outside, seem to have it all, but in private admit that they hate their company and think they are a prisoner.

6:30 a.m. - I don't use an alarm to wake up I plan out my day the night before, so I'm not winging it when I wake up. It's pretty mapped out hour by hour. During the school year, I wake up, get my kids breakfast, get them ready, and take them to school. I'm home around 8 a.m. 8 to 10 a.m. - My workouts start early

In 2005, 2006, it was not the startup economy. All the things we take for granted now were not a thing yet. I still distinctly remember the headline of Zuck turning down that billion-dollar offer [from Yahoo] as being so preposterous. I just thought, my God, if I could have gotten that much money for a few years' worth of work, I would've taken it in a heartbeat.

"He worked all the time, seven days a week," Sims recalls, "so I used to go out with him just to spend time with him. I saw how easy it was for him to repair those appliances, and he was repairing them quickly."

Born in 1950, Gladney came of age during times of family hardship, moving often and working several jobs simultaneously to help make ends meet. He self-funded his college education in night classes at the University of Houston obtaining a degree in Economics, while working full-time with the disadvantaged to support himself. Those experiences gave him a deep empathy for people who simply needed a second chance, or a first chance - something that shaped his career and set the trajectory for the rest of his life.

Gen X founder and CEO of That's It Nutrition walked away from a stable career path in medicine to instead get his MBA and build a $100 million-a-year fruit snack empire. Now, even with three degrees to his name,Lior Lewensztain tells Fortune that he doesn't even look at degrees when hiring. His message to Gen Z: effort and adaptability matter more for success than what you study in school.

For years, living abroad felt like a dream. In my mid-20s, I'd left my home in Canada in 2012 with an EU passport in hand. I moved to Brussels, where I built a marketing career and earned a Ph.D. During a stint living in Rio, I even met my now-husband. Together, around 2020, we landed in Portugal, which we'd thought would be our forever home. It seemed like a great fit as we both spoke fluent Portuguese and wanted to stay in Europe.

Tony Lamb is the founder and CEO of Kona Ice, the mobile shaved ice franchise (ranked #30 on the 2025 Franchise 500) known for its tropical trucks, kid-friendly Flavorwave station and deep community involvement. Lamb started out in sales, then launched Kona Ice in 2007, initially as a side hustle to teach his kids about business. He felt the ice cream truck model was outdated, often associated with poor quality and unreliable operators.

It’s not just noise - it’s acceleration. Thanks to positive feedback loops like Wright's Law, the pace of technological change really is speeding up. Better tools lead to better tools.

Merrilee Kick invented BuzzBallz in 2009 while facing financial struggles as a teacher, creating a successful cocktail product that revolutionized the ready-to-drink market.

Sellful includes instant AI-generated websites, funnels, and landing pages, plus a built-in CRM, marketing automation, e-commerce tools, and mobile app generation.

"The first three years, it was pretty much a 24/7 job... I was definitely there every single day, just making sure that things were being implemented properly."

Building a financial infrastructure for the service-based economy, GlossGenius serves as an all-in-one booking, payment, and business management system for the beauty and wellness space.

I remember we had to be aware of what we were spending money on.

"Many brought all their things in trash bags or plastic Duane Reade bags," says Scot. "One time, when we were catching a train, a girl's bag ripped, so all her things were on the platform. These were kids who lived less than two miles from us in New York."

Embrace National Wellness Month in August to revamp productivity routines. Daily adjustments, even seemingly obvious ones, can significantly improve work-life balance.

"I came up with the idea when my sister was showing me her toys, and I was wondering what made them so soft," said Colton. "I looked it up and I found out that a bunch of stuffed animals are made with toxic chemicals, so I told my dad about it."

Corporate America serves as a de facto training ground for future entrepreneurs. My research has found that wealthy individuals, including many entrepreneurs, consistently engage in habits like continuous learning, goal-setting and disciplined time management.

Colton conducted research into what makes toys soft and was shocked to discover the chemicals involved, prompting their mission to create a non-toxic plush toy.

The Hoopbus was born out of one of Ansom's earliest basketball creations: the Venice Basketball League, a grassroots pro-am tournament launched nearly two decades ago on Venice Beach.