Pattern-Seeking Entrepreneur Podcast

Jonathan Domsky
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship

Welcome to The Pattern-Seeking Entrepreneur Podcast, hosted by Jonathan Domsky.   This show is for entrepreneurs who have always known their brain doesn't run like everyone else's — and built something real because of it, not despite it.   Every episode, I sit down with a founder who thinks differently, and find the pattern in their story, often before they've said it out loud themselves — the cost their wiring has carried, the gift it's actually been, and what's still in the way of designing a life and business that finally fit.   Some guests have already done this work. Others are still figuring it out, right alongside you. Either way, you'll hear that you're not the only one who's ever felt like the odd one out in the room and still built something nobody else could have.   🔔 Subscribe if you're ready to stop managing your wiring and start designing around it.

  1. 5d ago

    The Achilles Edge—Insights from Kristina Proctor

    Kristina Proctor spent years being told her instincts were wrong. Now she teaches others to trust theirs. In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Kristina Proctor, who turned a childhood of being misunderstood into a business helping others reduce shame, build structure, and create environments where they can thrive. Kristina grew up feeling "dumb" or "aloof" — delayed reading, repeating first grade, punished for asking clarifying questions. That mislabeling distorted her relationship to her own intuition, until therapy, coaching, and what she calls a "care team" helped her rebuild self-trust. Her father's death pushed her toward entrepreneurship, where she finally had the freedom to build systems that work with her brain instead of against it. Today she coaches clients on executive functioning — planning, organization, emotional regulation — helping them replace "should" with "what can I do now?" This conversation goes deep on the difference between deficient and different, the real cost of 17 years of masking, and what it took for Kristina to stop performing for others. They get into the everyday places shame hides — mail, hygiene, bills, follow-up — and how hobbies like painting and meditation became her way back to herself. If you've ever built a version of yourself just to feel acceptable at work, this episode is for you.   Topics Early school experiences that led to feeling "dumb" or "aloof"How shame and rejection sensitivity distort a person's relationship with their own intuitionEntrepreneurship as freedom to design systems that work with her brainExecutive functioning support: planning, organization, emotional regulation, follow-throughReplacing "should" with "what can I do now?"The emotional and physical cost of 17 years of masking at work  Timestamps 01:27 – The story she told herself about being "dumb" or "aloof" 03:08 – Learning to trust intuition alongside data 09:18 – Why her father's death pushed her toward entrepreneurship 11:57 – Realizing she had already become an expert in her own struggles 15:04 – Real-world examples: mail, inboxes, and practical support systems 16:50 – The cost of 17 years of masking 20:36 – Painting, writing, and quiet as a path back to self 26:07 – Scheduled unstructured time and letting the "ADHD beebopping" happen 27:56 – Working with clients who resist structure 31:05 – When excitement gets misread as force or aggression 32:41 – Why she uses an always-on out-of-office message   Connect with Kristina Proctor: ·      LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/in/kristinaeproctor ·      Website: www.neurodivergentventures.com   Connect with Jonathan: ·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ ·       Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ ·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

  2. Sep 7

    Girls Don't Fly. She Did—Insights from Sammi Ford

    Sammi Ford spent 30 years proving she could build almost anything — then walked away from her most successful venture the moment it stopped being effortless. In this episode of The Pattern-Seeking Entrepreneur, I sit down with Sammi Ford — serial entrepreneur, mentor, poet, artist, and host of From Start to CEO — to talk about curiosity, tenacity, and what it takes to build a life around how your brain works, not against it. Sammi was the kid who kept asking why until the adults ran out of patience — the one who was called "weird" for struggling with imaginative play and relating more easily to grownups than to other kids. That same wiring carried her through the Air Force and Air Cadets, into translation work in French and German, and eventually into founding SPCB UK Limited, an industrial air filtration and wastewater business she's run for three decades. This conversation goes deep on masking, late diagnosis, alexithymia, and the moment Sammi realized burnout has a shape — one others can often see before she can. We talk about how diagnosis changed the way those closest to her know when she needs rest, needs to say no, or needs to stop pushing. If you've ever been told you were too much, too curious, or too intense — and built your whole life trying to prove that was actually your edge — this one's for you.   Topics covered Being labeled "weird" as a child for asking why and struggling with imaginative playGenerational trauma and the message Sammi wishes she could give her ancestorsJoining the Air Force and Air Cadets, and being excluded from flying gliders as a girlTenacity and curiosity as the throughline across every ventureBurnout, late diagnosis, alexithymia, and asking others to help notice the signsHow diagnosis reshaped Sammi's relationships and the support she gets at homeRunning SBCB with flexible hours, work-from-home, and a non-hierarchical culture  Chapters (03:51) What Sammi wishes adults had understood growing up (04:45) "It wasn't your fault" and generational trauma (04:58) Building SBCB UK through translation, language, and industry (10:19) Refusing to join the Air Cadets when girls could not fly (11:03) Tenacity as the thread across military, language, and business (16:07) Burnout, unpredictability, and late neurodivergent diagnosis (22:13) Building in male-dominated industries and doing the hard thing anyway (31:50) Posting about burnout and the response it triggered (36:21) Learning to accept rest as part of the cycle (41:35) Imposter syndrome and wanting her grandmother's approval (44:55) Defining success as learning to say no and managing energy   Connect with Sammi Ford: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthafordhttps://www.sammiford.com  Connect with Jonathan: ·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ ·       Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ ·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

  3. Aug 31

    Unrelenting Belief—Insights from Holly Fowler

    Holly Fowler describes building her company the way she describes her own brain: jumping out of a plane and building the parachute on the way down.   In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Holly Fowler, founder of Wable, a social networking app built for the neurodivergent community to find friends, dates, jobs, and support.   Holly grew up realizing school wasn't built for how her brain worked — she could hyperfocus for hours on what interested her, but subjects like math exposed the gap between her attention and her ambition. What got labeled as laziness turned out to be ADHD, and years later that same wiring became the engine behind Wable.   She left a broadcast radio career, moved from Melbourne to New York, and built the company at night while keeping her day job secret — driven to prove she was committed, not distracted. Days before launch, pressure caught up with her: a burst cyst sent her to the ER.   This conversation goes deep on what it costs to build something while your brain works against — and for — you. We get into OCD as both a strength and a strain, and what it took for Holly to grow from solo founder into a leader who could slow down instead of outrun her team.   If you've ever been told your brain is the problem you need to manage instead of the advantage you need to use, this episode is for you.   Topics Realizing in high school that hyperfocus and struggle could live side by sideWhy ADHD got mistaken for laziness — and why that label never fitTurning hyperfocus, storytelling, and multitasking into founder skillsOCD as both a strength and a strain under startup stressBuilding Wable to solve loneliness and unemployment in the neurodivergent community  Timestamps 02:21 – Why ADHD was mistaken for laziness 03:24 – Turning hyperfocus into a strength instead of a flaw 05:04 – Storytelling, multitasking, and the founder skill set 06:55 – OCD, detail, and the daily habit of checking everything 10:09 – The team's role in helping Holly slow down 11:08 – Running as the only time her brain fully switches off 12:34 – What Wable does for the neurodivergent community 16:46 – Leaving radio and choosing the startup leap 19:24 – Building Wable at night while hiding it from her day job 23:01 – The ER visit after a burst cyst right before launch 29:49 – The investor who told Holly to take a CEO course 30:08 – Why founders are hired by belief, not credentials 35:13 – Learning to become a leader as the team grows 38:14 – Building community in New York as an outsider 41:09 – What people misunderstand about Holly's confidence Connect with Holly Fowler: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-fowler-3b36b9163/hellowable.com  Connect with Jonathan: ·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ ·       Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

  4. Aug 24

    Be Your Own Guardian—Insights from Stella Yann

    Stella Yann spent years feeling like the odd one out — studying abroad, writing in ways nobody understood. Now she helps people find clarity in that confusion, using pattern recognition instead of pushing it away. In this episode, I sit down with Stella Yann, who works at the intersection of astrology, brand strategy, and self-awareness to help people find their North Star. Stella's early experiences of feeling different weren't a problem to fix — they were data she hadn't learned to read yet. Once she did, everything shifted: helping clients embrace imperfection and "dance in chaos," using natal charts and pattern recognition to shape brands and decisions around who someone actually is. This conversation goes deep — spiritual awakening during burnout, outgrowing relationships that don't fit anymore, and why guarding your alignment sometimes means leaving people behind. If you've ever sensed there's a version of your life that would feel less like effort and more like alignment, this one's for you.   Topics covered: Finding clarity in confusion by embracing imperfection and pattern recognitionThe North Star: using a natal chart to guide life and careerShaping brands around someone's unique identityLessons from a failed Kickstarter on trust and co-creationGuarding your alignment, even when it costs relationshipsBalancing hyper-independence with real connection  Chapters: 03:12 — Dancing in chaos through pattern recognition05:37 — Shaping brand and impact around identity09:39 — What the failed Kickstarter taught her about trust11:16 — Self-guardianship and grounding through hard times12:36 — Spiritual awakening during burnout16:29 — From silence to speaking her truth23:22 — Forging your own path, even when it means leaving others behind28:38 — Authenticity and presence as what draws real connection45:24 — Authenticity in leadership — influencers, politicians, CEOs  Connect with Stella Yann: ·      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-yann-yanakieva/ ·      YouTube: youtube.com/@STELLA-YANN/ ·      TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@newearthstella ·      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newearthstella/ ·      Website: https://www.stellayann.com/   Connect with Jonathan: ·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ ·       Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ ·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

  5. Aug 17

    Fired from "Supposed To"—Insights from John Barrows

    John Barrows got fired — and instead of spiraling, he treated it as a redirect. That's the thread running through everything he's built since: sell a company, hit a wall, and come out the other side closer to the career he actually wanted.   In this episode, I sit down with John Barrows, a sales trainer and entrepreneur who's built his career on authenticity, resilience, and figuring things out as he goes.   John's path wasn't a straight line — selling a company, navigating a leadership shakeup, getting fired — but each turn pushed him closer to a career genuinely built on his own values instead of borrowed ones. What he's landed on is a recalibration: values over culture, honesty over branding, and real confidence that his instincts — intuitive, direct, occasionally unconventional — have been an asset the whole time, not a liability to manage around.   This conversation goes deep — from what it actually costs to be authentic in business, to leaning on community and mentorship instead of white-knuckling it alone, to how he's thinking about AI's role in a field that runs on human connection.   If you've ever wondered whether being fully yourself is compatible with being taken seriously, this one's for you.   Topics covered: Recognizing his own thinking style and intuition as a strength, not a workaroundAligning core values with both career and personal lifeHow AI augments human connection in sales rather than replacing itGetting fired — and using it as a redirect toward real purposeLeaning on community and mentorship instead of going it aloneStorytelling and self-awareness as tools for growth and influence  Chapters: 03:47 — Lessons from selling a company and a leadership shakeup06:11 — The mindset shift after being fired19:37 — Teaching resilience and independence to kids23:26 — Aligning core values with career decisions33:49 — When authenticity costs you opportunities40:16 — Human connection alongside AI's evolving role63:15 — The human touch in sales and leadership  Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/Website: jbarrows.com  Connect with Jonathan: ·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ ·       Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ ·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

  6. Aug 10

    Alive in the Problem—Insights from Jonathan Meier

    Jonathan Meier looks at systems most people never question and asks: does this actually make sense? That question took him from hacking onto a TEDx stage to rebuilding how education should work. In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Meier, a young entrepreneur reshaping how we think about learning, dopamine, and disruption. Jonathan sees the world through a rational, systems-first lens — one that lets him spot loopholes in education, networking, and event-building. He's founded businesses on overlooked inefficiencies and pulled off a TEDx event on strategic, low-effort outreach. This conversation goes deep — the low-dopamine trap of classrooms, why critique feels more respectful than praise, and the uneasy truce between his rational detachment and the parts of life — fatherhood, faith, connection — that don't run on logic. If you've ever felt the systems around you were built for someone else's brain, and started building your own workaround, this one's for you.   Topics covered: Why traditional education produces a low-dopamine, passive learning experienceUsing AI, gamification, and brain science to redesign how people learnEngineering a TEDx event through strategic, high-leverage outreachExtreme sports and risk-taking as a way to stay energized and sharpPreferring critique over praise as a marker of real respectFatherhood, human connection, and the limits of pure logicFaith, purpose, and staying disciplined without a fixed timeline  Chapters: 01:40 — How autism shaped his learning and passions03:09 — Where traditional education falls short04:47 — Low dopamine in school vs. video games08:15 — Building curiosity-driven teaching09:46 — AI, gamification, and brain science in learning12:02 — Founding early businesses through loopholes12:35 — Navigating legal and systemic barriers as an entrepreneur16:33 — Hacking together a TEDx event18:25 — How to pitch influential people with low-effort asks23:49 — The thrill of solving meaningful problems24:03 — Extreme sports as a source of vitality29:50 — Unconventional habits that serve focus32:47 — Where analytical thinking meets emotional appreciation35:05 — Finding fun through work and problem-solving38:36 — The joy of fatherhood despite logical skepticism42:24 — Why he prefers critique over praise48:43 — Pursuing goals aligned with a higher purpose50:14 — Faith and purpose through life's challenges  Connect with Jonathan Meier: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmeier-me/Website: jmeier.me  Connect with Jonathan: ·       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ ·       Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ ·       YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

  7. Aug 3

    Be More Good—Insights from Jay Wilkinson

    His grandma Esther gave him the one thing that couldn't burn. Everything else was lost in the fire. In this episode of The Pattern-Seeking Entrepreneur, I sit down with Jay Wilkinson — founder of Do More Good — for a conversation about purpose, presence, and what it actually means to build a business that serves more than shareholders. Jay's story starts with his grandmother Esther, whose confidence shaped how he moves through the world long before he had language for it. It runs through the quiet difference between motivating people and manipulating them, the outsider's habit of reading a room before speaking in it, and a shift — hard-won — from performing success to actually being present for it. Then the house fire. Then the grief. Then the rebuild, not just of a home, but of what capitalism owes the people inside it. This conversation goes deep — into breathwork, ownership as an ethic, and legacy as the only metric that survives you. If you've ever built something impressive and still felt like the people closest to you were paying for it — this one's for you.   In this episode Motivation vs. manipulation — and where the line actually sitsCuriosity, social skills, and growing up feeling like an outsiderLosing everything in a house fire — and learning to hold griefWhy Jay believes capitalism needs to changeA purpose-led ownership model that protects employees and communitiesThe personal cost of ambition — and being present in marriageBeing misunderstood as distant while actually deeply observingDefining legacy — what all the work is really for  Chapters 01:14 — Seeing yourself as "different" — and learning to value other people's gifts02:49 — Grandma Esther's influence and the confidence she instilled06:03 — The difference between manipulation and motivation07:42 — Curiosity, social skills, and feeling like an outsider11:22 — The shift from performance to presence15:51 — Losing everything in a house fire and learning to hold grief23:49 — Building a purpose-led ownership model for businesses27:46 — Sharing profits with employees, communities, and future growth32:17 — Reclaiming capitalism through stakeholder value39:43 — The personal cost of ambition and learning to be present in marriage42:38 — Being misunderstood as distant while deeply observing and caring50:30 — Defining legacy: what all the work is really for  Connect with Jay Wilkinson: LinkedIn:    https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaywilkinson/ Websites:     www.firespring.com www.jaywilkinson.com   Connect with Jonathan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

  8. Jul 27

    The Credential of Love—Insights from April Ratchford

    Most people said there was nothing out there to help her son. So April Ratchford built it herself. In this episode of The Pattern-Seeking Entrepreneur, host Jonathan Domsky sits down with April Ratchford — occupational therapist and host of Adulting with Autism — to explore what happens when a mother's love becomes a business and a lifeline for families with nowhere else to turn. April never fit the mold of a tidy, organized student — her backpack was, in her words, "a big sea of paper." That same wiring gave her an uncanny ability to read social patterns, even as reading a room stayed out of reach. When her son failed out of college at 19, April went looking for resources built for young adults like him. She found nothing. So from a spare room, no team, no budget, no plan — she built Adulting with Autism into 2.7 million downloads and an Apple Top 200 show. This conversation goes deep — into the letters she wrote to senators and a governor (the one reply came from Buckingham Palace), emotional vs. physical risk, and her vision for a foundation that catches young adults when the system lets go. If you've ever built something out of love before you ever called it a business — this one's for you.   In this episode: Why April's brain does social pattern recognition effortlessly — and reading a room, not at allThe spare-room origin story behind 2.7 million downloads and an Apple Top 200 rankingWriting to senators and a governor — and the one reply that actually came backThe pivot point where a hobby became a business, and what changed operationallyMarketing agencies, funnels, and letting go of the parts of the business she hatesBurnout, boundaries, and what she does when she needs to do absolutely nothing  Timestamps: 01:00 – Childhood chaos and the plea to just trust her01:19 – Social pattern recognition vs. reading the room04:24 – The illusion of vulnerability behind hosting a podcast05:24 – Why Adulting with Autism exists: her son's story10:39 – From hobby to business: the operational turning point12:54 – Handing off marketing to focus on what she does best16:04 – The master's degree she earned out of love, not ambition18:23 – Writing to senators, a governor, and Buckingham Palace's reply20:17 – What her son's maturity taught her about letting go26:28 – The conditions April needs to do her best work28:54 – What still doesn't come naturally: sales and market affiliations29:38 – Burnout, yoga, and rebuilding the roots  Connect with April Ratchford: Website: www.adultingwithautism.com LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-ratchford-780283273/   Connect with Jonathan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach/ Website: https://untangled-coaching.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePattern-SeekingEntrepreneur

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Welcome to The Pattern-Seeking Entrepreneur Podcast, hosted by Jonathan Domsky.   This show is for entrepreneurs who have always known their brain doesn't run like everyone else's — and built something real because of it, not despite it.   Every episode, I sit down with a founder who thinks differently, and find the pattern in their story, often before they've said it out loud themselves — the cost their wiring has carried, the gift it's actually been, and what's still in the way of designing a life and business that finally fit.   Some guests have already done this work. Others are still figuring it out, right alongside you. Either way, you'll hear that you're not the only one who's ever felt like the odd one out in the room and still built something nobody else could have.   🔔 Subscribe if you're ready to stop managing your wiring and start designing around it.

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