School for Startups Radio

Jim Beach

On 60 AmFm stations around the US, the show argues that anyone can be a successful entrepreneur when they forget creativity, risk, and passion! Join host Jim Beach, bestselling McGraw-Hill Author for his SBA award winning nationally syndicated radio show. Copy an idea, execute it better, start with less than $5,000 and reserve passion for family & religion.

  1. 5 HRS AGO

    March 16, 2026 – Born Dead Mikael Avatar, Annuity Association Jeremiah Konger and USAging CEO Sandy Markwood

    Mikael Avatar – Coach, Paralympic World Record Holder, Abstract Artist, Composer, Inner Freedom Architect Don’t build the business around what you know. Build it around what you survive. Mikael Avatar is a coach, speaker, Paralympic world record holder, abstract artist, composer, and creator of The Mikael Avatar Method. Born in Sweden and now based in Thailand, he has built a life and body of work centered on resilience, authenticity, and inner transformation. His story begins with extraordinary odds: he was clinically dead at birth and later told he would never walk, yet he went on to become a world record holder in the long jump at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, a record he held for 12 years. That journey of defying limits became the foundation for decades of work helping high performers, entrepreneurs, executives, and leaders reconnect with purpose, energy, and what he calls authentic power. Today, Mikael combines the mindset of an elite athlete, the insight of a seasoned coach, and the soul of an artist. Through his coaching, writing, music, and visual art, he helps people move beyond external success and into deeper personal freedom. His work is rooted in the belief that achievement without inner peace is incomplete, and that real transformation begins when people stop performing a false version of themselves and start living in alignment with who they truly are. Whether he is guiding clients through personal breakthroughs, creating abstract art, or composing music, Mikael’s mission is the same: to help others live with greater truth, joy, and freedom. In addition to his coaching and speaking, Mikael is developing a multidisciplinary abstract performance art project that blends music, video, theater, and live performance. An early collaboration video with German artist and musician Sacha Alexander von Oertzen can be viewed here: The Mask Jeremiah Konger – CEO of Annuity Association & NestEasy Annuities, Annuity Educator, Speaker, Podcaster  An annuity is a financial tool that allows people to either secure a guaranteed income stream in their retirement years or safely grow their nest egg as they enter preservation mode. Jeremiah Konger is founder and CEO of Annuity Association and America’s First Direct to Consumer Annuity Buying platform where my team and I help pre-retirees and retirees make smarter, safer, fully informed decisions about annuities. Our demographic, 50–75yo who want clarity, confidence, and guaranteed income strategies—without the confusion or high-pressure sales tactics that plague the financial industry. We’re 100% independent and product-agnostic, and our mission is simple: educate first, empower always. I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve built one of the fastest-growing annuity education platforms in America – earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 list (#294 overall and #21 in Financial Services)—while staying true to transparency and consumer advocacy. We’re proving you can scale without compromising ethics. Sandy Markwood – CEO of USAging The goal of Area Agencies on Aging is to help older adults be able to live well and age well where they want to, which is at home and in the community. Sandy Markwood is CEO of USAging, the association representing the national network of 600+ Area Agencies on Aging and advocating for the Title VI Native American Aging Programs. USAging and its members help older adults, people with disabilities and family caregivers live with optimal health, well-being, independence and dignity in their homes and communities. They offer supportive services in a range of critical areas, including elder rights, nutrition, caregiver support and health and wellness. Sandy  will talk about the importance of good nutrition for older adults’ health and independence; different meal programs and nutrition services typically available to older adults; and the Eldercare Locator, an information and referral center that helps people find meal and nutrition services in their communities. USAging, the national association representing the network of Area Agencies on Aging, has a new campaign to educate older adults and their families about how vital nutrition is to healthy aging. The campaign provides real and meaningful support to older adults facing inflated prices at grocery stores and lack of access to nutritious food.

    54 min
  2. 3D AGO

    March 13, 2026 – Cannabis Wholesaler Vince Ning and Gov-Tech Entrepreneur Evan Meyer

    Vince C. Ning – Founder & CEO of Nabis, 2x YC Founder, Forbes 30U30, Ex-Microsoft Engineer, Junior Olympian Gold Medalist The process for trying to learn about the industry resulted in the service that was needed itself. Vince C. Ning is the Founder and CEO of Nabis, the leading licensed cannabis wholesale platform connecting brands, manufacturers, and retailers across the United States. A two time Y Combinator founder and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Vince is known for building large scale marketplace infrastructure in highly regulated industries. Before launching Nabis, he began his career as a software engineer at Microsoft and later co founded Scaphold, a developer platform that was ultimately acquired by Amazon Web Services. Vince founded Nabis with the vision of creating the technology and logistics backbone for the legal cannabis industry, enabling brands to efficiently distribute products while giving retailers reliable access to inventory and data driven insights. Since its launch, Nabis has grown into one of the largest cannabis distribution platforms in the country, supplying hundreds of brands and serving the vast majority of dispensaries in major U.S. markets. Vince studied Computer Science and Economics at the University of Virginia and has also pursued studies in public policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Outside of entrepreneurship, he is a Junior Olympic table tennis gold medalist, marathon runner, and lifelong builder who enjoys combining technology, logistics, and policy to create category defining infrastructure. Evan Meyer – Gov-Tech Entrepreneur, Civic Ninja, Podcast Host The fundamental experience you have when you go anywhere is whether it looks like people care about that place or not Evan is a tech entrepreneur passionate about transportation, revitalizing urban spaces through art, civic service, and building purposeful organizations, communities, and cultures. Evan is the founder of several impactful ventures. He founded BeautifyEarth.com, a tech platform and marketplace that accelerates urban beautification through art, with a focus on mass government adoption. He also launched BeautifyEarth.org (501(c)(3)), a public charity dedicated to beautifying schools in underserved communities. Through Beautify, he has facilitated thousands of murals worldwide, collaborating with hundreds of communities, organizations, cities, and national brands. In addition, Evan founded RideAmigos.com, a tech platform that optimizes commuter travel and behavior through intelligent programs and analytics, serving governments, enterprises, universities, and businesses globally. He is also the creator of MyGovTools.org, a platform designed to rebuild trust in government by enhancing efficiency, data transparency, and civic engagement. As a civic leader, he has served in several key roles, including District Director for the California State Senate, where he applied his skills to improve the processes of political teams and ensure that constituents’ voices were heard and their needs better represented. He also served as President of his neighborhood association, empowering residents to engage in the public process, and worked with the City of Santa Monica to develop innovative, actionable strategies for civic engagement. Evan leads seminars on building corporate cultures, the importance of community and civic engagement, and political philosophy. His video podcast, Meyerside Chats, provides a platform for conversations with public officials about fostering civil discourse on challenging issues and bringing humanity to traditionally polarized spaces. He loves the outdoors and fitness, is a master of creative projects, and is an avid muralist and musician. He finds the world fascinating in every way.

    54 min
  3. 4D AGO

    March 12, 2026 - Financial Therapist Dr. Erika Rasure and Franchise Starter Dr. Tom DuFore

    Erika Rasure – Chief Financial Wellness Advisor at Beyond Finance You can make all the money in the world, but if you don’t feel content or right with it from an emotional or mental perspective, you’ll never enjoy it. Dr. Erika Rasure, a former financial advisor and university professor turned financial therapist, has helped thousands of people approach their finances in more intentional, healthy ways. She serves as Chief Financial Wellness Advisor at Beyond Finance, where she meets weekly with hundreds of clients working their way out of debt and toward financial freedom. In addition to her work at Beyond Finance, Dr. Erika serves as Chair of the Research Board for the Financial Therapy Clinical Institute. She is a member of the Financial Review Boards for Investopedia, The Balance, VeryWell Family, and VeryWell Parents. Her insights and interviews have been featured in prestigious national outlets such as Barron’s, CNN, Forbes, Fox Business, MarketWatch, NBC News Now, USA Today, and Yahoo. Dr. Erika holds a doctorate in Personal Financial Planning from Kansas State University and is a Certified Deep Transformational Coach, an accreditation focused on changing patterns in actions and behaviors. She addresses holistic wellness in her work, incorporating the practice of yoga, as she is also a registered yoga teacher, into her comprehensive approach to financial therapy and financial wellness. Dr. Tom DuFore – Founder & CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team Franchising solves really critical problems for expansion, which is it costs money to open more locations and it takes time to hire staff and manage staff. Dr. Tom DuFore is the founder & CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team. He is an author, entreprenuer, franchise expert, and host of the “Multiply Your Success” podcast. Big Sky Franchise Team is an award-winning consulting firm specializing in helping growth-minded entrepreneurs franchise their business. Tom and Big Sky have advised more than 600 clients, including Jamba Juice, Two Men & A Truck, Matco Tools, and many others. Tom values building others up, whether it’s an owner looking to franchise their business or members of his team. His leadership focuses on treating people with respect, encouraging them to be their best, and always learning. He seeks to live out his company’s purpose to “Inspire and Foster Greatness” through its three core values: Win-Win Relationships, Professional Excellence, and Continuous Improvement. Tom has an undergraduate degree in business, an MBA, and a DBA. He is happily married with three wonderful children. In his free time, Tom enjoys coaching youth baseball, writing music, and listening to audio books.

    54 min
  4. 6D AGO

    March 10, 2026 – AI Marketing Vanitha Swaminathan and Four Pillars Gin Matt Jones

    Dr. Vanitha Swaminathan – Associate Dean at University of Pittsburgh School of Business and Author of Hyper-Digital Marketing: Six Pillars of Strategic Brand Marketing in an AI-Powered World I think it’s a huge pivot. If you remember the time when we had to pivot from traditional marketing to digital, this is a pivot that’s just as significant Vanitha Swaminathan, Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Initiatives and Thomas Marshall Professor of Marketing at the University of Pittsburgh School of Business, has released a groundbreaking new book titled Hyper-Digital Marketing: Six Pillars of Strategic Brand Marketing in an AI-Powered World. Rapid advances in technology and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) have ushered in a new era of hyper-digitalization. This shift is reshaping how organizations operate, transforming traditional marketing roles and creating new ones that require deeper integration across marketing, technology, and other business functions. In Hyper-Digital Marketing, Swaminathan offers a practical framework for strategic brand thinking built around six key pillars designed for an AI-powered world. The book equips marketers, business leaders, and technologists with tools to navigate digital disruption, strengthen their brands, and drive sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving marketplace. Matt Jones – Creative Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Brand Coach, Author, Start-Up Mentor and Co-Founder, Four Pillars Gin There is no such thing as a good brand name. Google, Facebook, Apple are not good brand names. Tesla is not a good brand name. Matt Jones is a creative strategist, keynote speaker, brand coach, author, and startup mentor best known as the co founder of the globally celebrated craft distillery Four Pillars Gin. Originally from Wales and now based in Australia, Jones has built a career at the intersection of branding, storytelling, business strategy, and customer experience. With a background spanning economics, politics, and creative strategy, he first gained recognition as Chief Political Adviser to the UK Conservative Party before transitioning into the world of brand experience and marketing. He later served as Chief Creative and Strategy Officer at Jack Morton Worldwide, where he worked with global brands including IBM, Microsoft, Qantas, Sony, Samsung, and Volkswagen to help them navigate the emerging era of experience driven brand building. In 2013, Jones co founded Four Pillars Gin alongside Stuart Gregor and Cameron Mackenzie, helping transform the Australian distillery into one of the most celebrated craft gin brands in the world, earning the title of World’s Best Gin Producer three times. As the brand strategist behind the business, he played a central role in shaping its storytelling, customer experience, and cultural identity while connecting brand purpose with practical business growth. Today, Jones works globally as a sought after keynote speaker and advisor, helping entrepreneurs, corporations, and leadership teams understand how powerful storytelling, creativity, and purposeful brand design can drive long term growth. Through his coaching and strategic work with companies and startups, he focuses on helping organizations clarify their purpose, craft compelling narratives, and create memorable experiences that build lasting customer relationships. He is also the author of Lessons From Gin, a business book that shares insights from building a world class craft brand and applies those lessons to modern leadership, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

    54 min
  5. MAR 9

    March 9, 2026 - Near Shoring Brian Samson and Lumafield Eduardo Torrealba

    Brian Samson – Founder & Chairman of Plugg Technologies If you pass the baton and your message isn’t crystal clear, you might waste a day or a couple days of having that work output meet the deliverables that you were initially hoping for. Brian Samson is the Founder and Chairman of Plugg Technologies, a technology staffing and nearshoring firm that connects U.S. companies with highly skilled professionals across Latin America. With more than a decade of experience building global teams, Samson has become a recognized voice in the nearshore talent movement and the future of distributed technology workforces. Samson began his international entrepreneurial journey after relocating from San Francisco to Buenos Aires in 2015, where he helped scale a FinTech startup and built a team of dozens of professionals in Argentina. That experience revealed the depth of technical talent available in Latin America and inspired him to launch Plugg Technologies to help U.S. companies access this talent efficiently and responsibly. Under his leadership, Plugg Technologies has grown into a trusted partner for startups and technology companies seeking nearshore engineering and digital operations talent from countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. The company focuses on helping organizations build high performing remote teams while maintaining strong collaboration through shared time zones and cultural alignment. In addition to his work at Plugg, Samson is an entrepreneur and investor who has helped build multiple nearshoring businesses and has held leadership roles in venture backed technology startups. He is also the host of The Nearshore Cafe Podcast, where he interviews founders, engineers, and executives about global hiring, innovation, and the evolving technology ecosystem across the Americas. Samson holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and has spent years living and working throughout Latin America. His career has focused on helping companies scale globally while building strong, collaborative teams across borders. Eduardo Torrealba – Co-Founder and CEO of Lumafield The main way that we will win or fail as a company is how well we execute. Eduardo Torrealba is the Co Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lumafield, a technology company that is transforming how manufacturers inspect and understand the products they build. Lumafield develops industrial X ray CT scanning systems and cloud based analysis software that allow engineers to see inside physical parts without cutting them open, helping companies identify defects, improve quality, and accelerate product development. Eduardo is an engineer, product creator, and entrepreneur with a track record of turning complex hardware technologies into accessible and affordable tools for engineers. At Lumafield, he leads the company’s strategy, product vision, and growth as it works to modernize manufacturing diagnostics for companies around the world. Lumafield serves customers ranging from startups to major global manufacturers, including companies such as Milwaukee, SharkNinja, Unilever, Henkel, and New Balance. Before founding Lumafield, Eduardo led engineering and product development for the Fuse 1 selective laser sintering 3D printer at Formlabs, where he helped bring advanced industrial manufacturing technology to a broader market. Earlier in his career, Eduardo co founded Oso Technologies while in graduate school and created PlantLink, an internet connected soil moisture monitoring platform designed to help gardeners care for their plants. The company was later acquired by Scotts Miracle Gro, providing him early experience in building a company and bringing a connected hardware product to market. Eduardo holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Baylor University and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He splits his time between Lumafield’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the company’s office in San Francisco, California.

    54 min
  6. MAR 6

    March 6, 2026 – The Moralists Glen Dunzweiler and Be More Strategic Charlie Curson

    Glen Dunzweiler – Filmmaker/producer, Public Speaker and Homelessness Advocate and Author of The Moralists The answer is what can I do? And you don’t have to do everything, but what can I do to make the people around me better? Glen Dunzweiler is a filmmaker/producer, public speaker, and video coach. His documentary yHomeless? is available on Amazon Prime and his new book, A Degree In Homelessness? Entrepreneurial Skills For Students can be found on Amazon Books! glendunzweiler.com  Glen wrote the book for students who only know how to be successful in school. He currently lives in Los Angeles and works to make his creative projects sustainable. In 2015, he moved from a professorship at CSU San Bernardino to Los Angeles to focus on the business side of entertainment. He found distribution for yHomeless? and began work on his second film, a biopic titled Deuce -about a former student getting himself out of The South Side of Chicago. In addition to filmmaking and book authoring, Dunzweiler speaks publicly about insights gained from working with the homeless and with community leaders; strategies for navigating the differences between academic and business success for students; and tips for smoother presentations for corporate audiences. Charlie Curson – CEO and Founder of Mandarin Associates & Author of Be More Strategic: 12 essential practices to build the life and career Planning is sequencing actions. It feels safe. Strategy is about choices. Charlie Curson is the Founder and CEO of Mandarin Associates, a strategic advisor, investor, facilitator, and accredited leadership coach with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations think and act more strategically. He has worked with more than 250 organizations across over 30 industries, partnering with global companies such as Visa, McDonald’s, Unilever, Experian, Volkswagen Group, L’Oréal, and Barclays, as well as ambitious start ups. Through this work he has helped design and deliver bold growth strategies, innovation programs, and leadership development initiatives that enable organizations and leaders to perform at a higher level in complex and rapidly changing environments. Curson has spent much of his career helping leaders build stronger strategic capability. After early experience in engineering and top tier consulting, he found his calling working with a world class strategy team in London that helped organizations design and implement ambitious strategic direction. Over time, clients increasingly asked not only for strategic guidance but also for help building the capability within their own teams. For more than fifteen years he has coached leaders around the world to develop stronger strategic thinking and decision making skills, emphasizing that strategy should not be confined to boardrooms or MBA programs but should be a practical skill available to anyone seeking to lead more effectively. Known for blending research based frameworks with real world application, Curson integrates cutting edge thinking with practical tools that help leaders and teams navigate uncertainty, clarify direction, and create momentum. His work focuses on helping people become more conscious, creative, and decisive in their leadership and professional lives. Curson is also the author of the forthcoming book Be More Strategic: 12 Essential Practices to Build the Life and Career You Want, which explores how individuals can develop the mindset and habits required to think strategically and succeed in today’s complex world.

    54 min
  7. MAR 5

    March 5, 2026 – Highly Defective Bosses Joel Hilchey and High-Altitude Entrepreneur Chris Clearfield

    Joel Hilchey – Keynote Speaker, Author, “Fun-at-Work” Expert and Author of The 6-and-a-half Habits of Highly Defective Bosses: Serious Lessons for Accidental Managers  When you need a creative solution, separate the idea generation process from your decision process. Joel Hilchey is an ideas guy. His gift seems to stem from a strange combination of observation, insight, and blatant disregard for conventional thinking. He’s also a juggler (literally and figuratively). In addition to leading the Beanstalk Creative team, he maintains a busy schedule as a keynote speaker on workplace culture, creating unforgettable spectacles on stage. He’s the father of 3 kids, 2 of whom co-habitated a uterus, and he attempts to be a good husband. Joel has authored 4 books – most recently The 6-and-a-half Habits of Highly Defective Bosses – Serious Lessons for Accidental Managers, and he taught engineering for over a decade at McMaster University, where he was named one of the Top 150 Alumni. He’s a seasoned barbershop quartet singer, he formerly chaired the board of the world-renowned Hamilton Children’s Choir, and he’s a semi-competitive joggler (that’s right… juggling whilst jogging). Chris Clearfield – Leadership Strategist & Author of The High-Altitude Entrepreneur: A Framework for Scaling Smarter, Leading Better, and Living Freer The stuff that helped your business grow at the beginning, at some point, that really starts to hold you and your company back. Chris Clearfield is a leadership strategist, author, and Harvard-trained scientist who works with high-performing entrepreneurs to help them scale without becoming the bottleneck in their own business. He has coached founders and executives at SMEs and large companies, including Netflix, Microsoft, Etsy, and ExxonMobil, helping leaders navigate complexity, redesign how decisions get made, and build teams that operate with clarity, ease and ownership. He is the co-author of Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It, winner of the National Business Book Award and the Thinkers50 Strategy Award. His new book is The High-Altitude Entrepreneur. Learn more at highaltitudebook.com.

    54 min
  8. MAR 4

    March 4, 2026 – RIP Olympian Jeff Galloway and WSJ #1 Author Faisel Hoque (and a Quick Ten!)

    Jeff Galloway – U.S. Olympian, Best-Selling Author, Race Director, President at Jeff Galloway Productions and Fitness Expert If you find something that you can do that will help others improve the quality of their lives, then it will take on a life of its own. Jeff Galloway was a U.S. Olympian, best selling author, race director, and internationally respected fitness expert whose influence on the running community spanned more than five decades. A member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team in the 10,000 meters, Galloway competed among the top distance runners of his era before dedicating his life to helping others discover the benefits of running and lifelong fitness. Through his company, Jeff Galloway Productions, he created training programs, seminars, and events that guided runners of all ages and abilities, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to pursue healthier and more active lives. Jeff Galloway passed away on February 25, 2026, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the world of running and personal fitness. Galloway was widely known as the inventor of the Run Walk Run training method, a revolutionary approach that allows runners to alternate running and walking intervals to improve endurance, reduce fatigue, and lower the risk of injury. The method opened the door for countless people who once believed running was beyond their reach. He was also the author of 19 books about running, walking, and fat burning exercise, including The Run Walk Run Method, the title book behind his widely adopted training philosophy. Through his books, coaching, and encouragement, Jeff Galloway helped transform the sport of running into a welcoming community where anyone could participate, and his impact will continue to motivate runners for generations to come. Faisal Hoque – #1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best Selling Author, Founder and Chair at NextChapter, Founder and Managing Director at Shadoka, Author of Globee Awards winning 2022 Publication of the Year for Best Business Book called Lift: Fostering the Leader in You Amid Revolutionary Global Change Unless you know and connect with yourself and connect with other people, you cannot certainly connect with your creation and the creation that actually creates value. Faisal Hoque is an accomplished entrepreneur, noted thought leader, technology innovator, advisor to CEOs, BODs, and the US federal government, and an author with more than 25 years of cross-industry success. He is the founder of SHADOKA, NextChapter, and other companies. They focus on enabling sustainable and transformational changes. He also serves as a strategic partner and a thought leader for CACI, and works extensively with US Federal Agencies. CACI is a $6 billion public company who plays a vital role in US national security. He is a 3 times winning Founder and CEO of Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ awards. At the age of only 14, he began what would be the first of many businesses; cobbling together stereo components to sell from his father’s home in Dhaka, Bangladesh in order to save the money he would need to support his plan to study in the United States. He built his first commercial software product at the age of 19 while studying at the University of Minnesota, and went on to hold management positions in Pitney Bowes and then Dun and Bradstreet. In 1991, Pitney Bowes recruited him to join one of their R&D groups before he finished his undergraduate degree. As a serial entrepreneur, he has raised venture capital from angels, strategic partners, and institutional investors to fund his innovative business-to-business startups. Over the decades, his companies innovated products and solutions that: provided middleware software for complex, secure transaction processing; created industry’s first set of re-usable software components for integrated B2B e-commerce; and pioneered comprehensive business value management frameworks and platforms. As a thought leader, he has authored a number of award winning books on leadership, innovation, mindfulness, resilience, organizational transformation, and entrepreneurship, including the #1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller Lift – Fostering the Leader in You Amid Revolutionary Global Change (Fast Company), and the #2 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller Everything Connects – Cultivating Mindfulness, Creativity, and Innovation for Long-Term Value (Fast Company). His work has appeared in Fast Company, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Fox, CBS, Financial Times, Mergers & Acquisitions, Forbes, Leadership Excellence, and Huffington Post among other publications. He holds a strong belief that it is through knowledge sharing that we may provide the greatest clarity on how to improve our collective future. As a globetrotter, he is passionate about nature, people, culture, music, and design, and he loves to cook.

    54 min

About

On 60 AmFm stations around the US, the show argues that anyone can be a successful entrepreneur when they forget creativity, risk, and passion! Join host Jim Beach, bestselling McGraw-Hill Author for his SBA award winning nationally syndicated radio show. Copy an idea, execute it better, start with less than $5,000 and reserve passion for family & religion.