The First Customer
Ever wondered how to use your experience to start or grow a business?
The First Customer intimately dissects successful entrepreneurs journeys to their first customer. Learn from practical real-life examples of regular people transforming into superheroes by starting their own business.
Buckle up … the rocket is taking off!
Episodes
255 episodes
The First Customer - From Open Source to Enterprise Dominance with Testkube Co-founder Ole Lensmar
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Ole Lensmar, co-founder and CTO of Testkube.Ole shares his unique perspective growing up across Germany, the US, and Sweden, and how those experiences shaped his adaptability and approach ...
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The First Customer - Lessons From a Career Too Big for a Business Card with Founder Det Ansinn
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Det Ansinn, the founder of Brick Simple LLC, serial entrepreneur with four successful exits, and current CEO of MedTech company Neuralert. Det shares his journey from pumping gas at t...
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The First Customer - From Frontline Experience to Enterprise Healthcare Impact with CEO Chris Molaro
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Chris Molaro, CEO and co-founder of NeuroFlow. Chris unpacks the personal and professional journey that takes him from growing up in Queens and Long Island to serving as an Army offic...
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The First Customer - Making Pipeline Problems Afraid to Exist with CEO Jeb Blount
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview the legendary sales expert and bestselling author Jeb Blount. Jeb shares stories from his upbringing in small-town Georgia, where being the smallest kid in school taught him grit, hustle,...
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The First Customer - Turning Chaos Into Testing Clarity with Co-Founder Joel Montvelisky
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Joel Montvelisky, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of PractiTest.Joel shares his unlikely journey from Costa Rica to the world of software testing. He talks about becoming a Cowboys fa...
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The First Customer: How the Red Pill Sparked AI, Cloud, and Co-location with CEO Andy Kochanowski
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Andy Kochanowski, founder and CEO of Alerify, a data center based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Andy shares his journey from a 30-year career in corporate America, including service in the...
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The First Customer - The Art of Turning Pocket Change into Capital Gains with Founder Sean Heberling
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Sean Heberling, founder and CEO of Marion Street Capital.From buying up newspaper routes as a kid in Rochester, New York, to hiring friends and building a mini “paperboy empire,” Sean’s e...
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The First Customer - How Visualization Became the Secret Weapon in Finance with Founder Adam Holt
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Adam Holt, founder and CEO of Asset-Map.Adam talks about how his entrepreneurial drive took shape from his early years in New York to leading one of the most innovative platforms in financ...
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The First Customer - Turning Small-Town Hustle Into Big-Time Software with Founder Joshua Davidson
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Joshua Davidson, CEO and founder of Chop Dawg.Growing up just outside of Atlantic City during the Great Recession, Josh saw firsthand how fragile traditional industries could be. Watching ...
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The First Customer - The Hidden Dynamics That Make Communities Thrive with CEO Rob Wenger
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Rob Wenger, CEO and founder of Higher Logic.Rob shares how Higher Logic evolved from a LinkedIn-style networking idea into a powerful engagement platform serving over 3,000 clients worldw...
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The First Customer - The Practice of Longevity in Digital Product Work with Mile6 Founder Tim Haak
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Tim Haak, founder and Vice President of Innovation at Mile6. Tim shares how growing up in a small-town family business shaped his entrepreneurial mindset, and how his curiosity for te...
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The First Customer - Turning Wearable Noise Into Boardroom Gold with ROOK Founder Marco Benitez
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Marco Benitez, CEO and founder of ROOK, a company revolutionizing how wearable health data is integrated and used. Marco opens up about his entrepreneurial journey, from growing up in Mex...
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The First Customer - Redesigning Work to Break the Hiring Game with CEO and Founder Umair Khan
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Umair Khan, CEO and founder of Techamana.Umair explains that Techamana is a vetted talent marketplace designed to stand apart from traditional freelance platforms. Techamana ensures qualit...
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The First Customer - Building The Business of Invisible Chemistry with Founding CEO Melissa Sherman
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Melissa Sherman, founding CEO of MOBILion Systems, Inc.Melissa shares how her Midwestern upbringing and early career at DuPont shaped her blend of science and business acumen, transformin...
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The First Customer - How a 350-Year-Old Chocolate Brand Still Breaks the Rules with Dan Abel Jr.
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Dan Abel Jr., the Chief Chocolate Officer of Bissinger’s Chocolate.Dan shares how his family grew up immersed in the candy business—starting from a small family-run operation in 1981 to ac...
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The First Customer - Mastering the Zero Harm Baby Formula with President and CEO Adam Dakin
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Adam Dakin, President and CEO of Keriton.Adam’s entrepreneurial journey starts with selling hats and t-shirts in college before building multiple venture-backed startups and leading health...
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The First Customer - Turning Broken Systems into a Thriving Software Business with Paul Byrne
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Paul Byrne, President of Razoyo, a Texas-based custom software development company. Paul shared how growing up in an entrepreneurial family in Wichita, Kansas—where his mom ran a fabr...
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The First Customer - Resilience, Niches, and the Long Game in Fintech with Founder Nicky Senyard
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Nicky Senyard, CEO and founder of Fintel Connect. Nicky shared the journey behind Fintel Connect—a digital acquisition platform that helps financial institutions across North America...
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The First Customer - Matchmaking in the Age of Neural Nets with Co-Founder Eric McHugh
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview serial entrepreneur Eric McHugh once again!Eric dives into his latest venture, dataing.io, an AI-powered matchmaking app built to challenge the typical swipe-based dating model. He shares ...
The First Customer – Bootstrapped, Burned Out, and Building Back Smarter with Keilian & Prags
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Keilian Knudsen and Prags Mugunthan, co-founders of Pangea.ai. Keilian and Prags explored their journey from university roommates in Scotland to building a global tech talent platform...
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The First Customer - Turning a High-Risk Market into a Scalable Business with Aubrey Amatelli
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Aubrey Amatelli, Founder and CEO of PayRio—the first payment provider focused exclusively on alternative medicine.Aubrey shared how her roots in Silicon Valley and a traditional finance c...
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The First Customer - How to Build a QA Army Without Drowning in Bugs with Founder Ben Fellows
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Ben Fellows, CEO and founder of Loop QA.Ben shares how his company addresses the growing need for highly skilled, mid-to-senior QA professionals in a market lacking structured training and...
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The First Customer - Why You Should Bet Big on Starting Over with CEO Bill Douglas
In this episode , I was lucky enough to interview Bill Douglas, CEO of Optic Wise, also known as “The Resilience Guy”.From buying his first car at 15 with money he made running a newspaper hustle, to surviving a coral snake bite and a pa...
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The First Customer – How a Detour Became a Superpower with CEO Steven Webster
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Steven Webster, CEO of asensei.Steven reflects on the importance of learning through iteration. He shares how some of the company's earlier choices—while later adjusted—were necessary ste...
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The First Customer - Built Like a Startup, Written Like a Mission with Founder Gregory Shepard
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview a longtime friend and startup expert Gregory Shepard.Greg shares the story behind his new book, The Startup Lifecycle, which grew out of a four-year research project on ...
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