Hidden Foundations

Kendall Schoenrock
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Entrepreneurship

Hidden Foundations explores how childhood environments shape the leaders, performers, and high achievers we admire today. Each week, I sit down with entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and operators to uncover the early family dynamics, money conversations, sibling roles, and first adversities that forged their resilience and ambition.This show isn’t about polished success stories, it’s about the real scenes at home that built their operating system long before the world noticed. As a father of two daughters, I started this podcast to understand what actually helps kids develop grit, confidence, and long-term success.If you’re a parent, founder, coach, or anyone curious about human performance, these conversations break down the hidden patterns that drive lifelong growth. We dig into emotional environment, childhood influence, and the habits that shaped today’s top performers.New episodes every week. This is where high performance begins, at home.

  1. 11h ago

    Matthew Rehrig on Type 1 Diabetes, Gym Ownership & Fatherhood | Hidden Foundations Ep. 19

    In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall is joined by Matthew Rehrig, a gym owner, father, and Type 1 diabetic, to unpack the pressure behind building a business while managing a relentless health condition. Matt shares how 2015 changed everything: a new baby, a new house, a young marriage, a risky gym investment, and the stress that surrounded his early years as an entrepreneur. Six months after opening the gym, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, forcing him to manage blood sugar, insulin, workouts, family life, and business ownership every day. Kendall and Matt also explore door-to-door sales, fitness coaching, confidence, keeping promises to yourself, raising three sons, his complicated relationship with his father, and how early family patterns shape the way we lead, parent, and survive pressure. Chapters:  00:00 Cold Open: Fitness, Failure, and Diabetes 00:43 Meet Matthew Rehrig 01:57 Gym, Marriage, Risk, and Scrappy Beginnings 10:23 Family Drive, Baseball, and Door-to-Door Sales 14:35 Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis 30:47 Living on the Blood Sugar Tightrope 36:19 Coaching Confidence and Keeping Promises 51:17 Fatherhood, Regret, and Breaking Patterns Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders. Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible. Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter Learn more or connect with Kendall: Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/ SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/ YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229 #HiddenFoundations #Type1Diabetes #FitnessEntrepreneur

  2. Aug 19

    Ari Simmons on Becoming a World Champion and Chasing the Olympics | Hidden Foundations Ep. 18

    In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall is joined by Ari Simmons, a world champion epee fencer, coach, and Olympic hopeful, to explore what elite sports really build inside a person. Ari shares how he went from being kicked out of fencing class for goofing off to becoming first in the U.S. and winning a world championship in the 17-and-under category.  The conversation moves through obsession, discipline, ego, youth sports pressure, parental support, Notre Dame, UPenn Wharton, taking a gap year to chase Rio, and why his parents never made winning the point. Ari also breaks down the mental framework he now teaches athletes: purpose, honesty, consistency, forgiveness, and learning to treat wins and losses as data. This is a conversation about fencing, family, pressure, and becoming the person behind the performance. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: World Champion and Olympic Pressure 00:49 Meet Ari Simmons 01:15 Becoming a World Champion in Epee 06:00 Why Fencing and the Obsession Switch 11:00 Dreaming of Greatness and Winning Worlds 19:23 Parents, Pressure, and Youth Sports 31:50 Gap Year, Rio, UPenn, and Notre Dame 45:42 Coaching, Mindset, and the Olympic Chase Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders. Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible. Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter Learn more or connect with Kendall: Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/ SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/ YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229 #HiddenFoundations #AriSimmons #fencing

  3. Aug 12

    Amjad Pervez on Escaping the Army, Deportation, and $500M Real Estate | Hidden Foundations Ep. 17

    Viewer discretion is advised. This episode includes conversations about sexual violence, forced marriage, honor violence, prostitution, deportation proceedings, depression, war, family trauma, and difficult cultural practices. Amjad Pervez’s path to New York real estate started far from Manhattan. He grew up in a lower-middle-class military family in Pakistan, became a third-generation army man, served in a tank regiment, and eventually resigned as a captain even though leaving the army was far from simple. After moving to New York City, he drove a cab, taught himself web design after a chance meeting with a passenger, fought through immigration uncertainty, and rebuilt his life in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the country. In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall and Amjad trace the family story underneath that ambition, including the sacrifice of Amjad’s mother, the burden of sending money home, the transition from rentals to sales, more than $500 million in real estate transactions, and the question of how to pass grit to kids growing up in a very different world. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: Tank Driver to NYC Real Estate 00:47 Meet Amjad Pervez 01:18 Pakistan, Family Duty, and the Army 04:15 Leaving the Army and Coming to America 05:22 Cab Driver to Web Designer 06:13 Green Card Battle and Deportation Fear 12:13 9/11, NYC Real Estate, and First Deals 19:43 His Mother’s Story, $500M, and Legacy #HiddenFoundations #AmjadPervez #NYCRealEstate

  4. Aug 5

    Jeff Pelaccio on Losing His Mom, Corporate Layoffs, AI & Reinvention | Hidden Foundations Ep. 16

    Viewer discretion is advised. This episode includes conversations about childhood loss, Alzheimer’s, physical discipline, career instability, and difficult family memories. Jeff Pelaccio’s foundation was shaped early by loss, loyalty, and the need to keep moving. His mother died the day before his fifth birthday. His father, a union welder, developed early-onset Alzheimer’s when Jeff was still a kid. And the New York Italian family around him modeled work ethic, loyalty, survival, and showing up when life gets hard. In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall and Jeff trace how those early patterns followed him into corporate America, where nine involuntary career transitions taught him that no job is ever fully safe. Their conversation moves through reinvention, podcasting, leadership, stoicism, meditation, AI, deep work, interviewing, mentorship, and why resilience often begins with learning what you can control and what you have to release. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: Loss, Failure, and Reinvention 00:40 Meet Jeff Pelaccio 02:31 Starting The Corporate Couch 06:51 Career Strategy, Leadership, and Reinvention 13:06 Losing His Mother Before Age Five 17:39 Family, Work Ethic, and Loyalty 20:58 Corporate Instability and Stoicism 28:36 AI, Deep Thought, and Podcasting #HiddenFoundations #JeffPelaccio #Reinvention

  5. Jul 29

    Victor Tabaac on Getting Arrested, Getting Sober, and Building Companies | Hidden Foundations Ep. 15

    Viewer discretion is advised. This episode includes conversations about drug dealing, addiction, recovery, family illness, and difficult life choices. In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall sits down with Victor Raymond-Tabaac, a Philadelphia-based serial entrepreneur, to unpack the early experiences that shaped his risk tolerance, work ethic, and drive to build. Victor shares how his first business started at 13 with a hot dog cart, how selling weed in high school taught him hard lessons about risk, leadership, pricing, and consequences, and how addiction later collided with family responsibility and entrepreneurship. The conversation also explores his father’s influence, building an AWS-focused company from five people to 275, recovery, parenting as a sober father, the Lighthouse in Kensington, youth programming, nonprofit transparency, AI-proof careers, and why staying sober is the foundation that makes everything else possible. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: Business, Recovery, and Kensington 00:46 Meet Victor Raymond-Tabaac 01:03 Entrepreneur Since Age 13 03:08 Selling Weed, Risk, and Getting Caught 11:17 Scaling an AWS Business to 275 People 17:26 Addiction, Family Business, and Recovery 28:11 Giving Back Through the Lighthouse 45:24 Leadership, Sales, AI, and Staying Sober Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders. Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible. Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter Learn more or connect with Kendall: Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/ SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/ YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229 #HiddenFoundations #VictorRaymondTabaac #Entrepreneurship #RecoveryStory

  6. Jul 22

    William Brandmeyer on Youth Sports, Recovery, and Building Resilience | Hidden Foundations Ep. 14

    Viewer discretion is advised. This episode includes conversations about addiction, recovery, suicide, family pressure, and difficult personal patterns. In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall sits down with William “Bill” Brandmeyer, founder of ShareWaves, to explore how youth sports, family business, recovery, faith, and honest parenting shape a person’s capacity for life. Bill shares why he believes kids need safe tension, why an easy life can create softness, and how sports can teach children discipline, teamwork, humility, grit, and resilience. The conversation also covers pay-to-play youth sports, play equity, the mission behind ShareWaves, his recovery journey, the boss who helped save his life, the Brandmeyer family business, generational wealth, family pressure, and why honesty may be the most important hidden foundation a parent can give a child. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: Honesty, Sports, and Resilience 01:12 The Origin of Hidden Foundations 04:04 Load Capacity and Time Under Tension 08:16 Pay-to-Play and the Broken Youth Sports System 14:06 ShareWaves and Removing Barriers to Play 29:05 Why Youth Sports Became His Mission 38:14 Recovery, Honesty, and Family Support 50:22 Family Business, Privilege, and Responsibility Check out ShareWaves here: https://www.youtube.com/@sharewaves/featured https://www.sharewavesfoundation.org/ Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders. Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible. Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter Learn more or connect with Kendall: Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/ SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/ YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229 #HiddenFoundations #YouthSports #ShareWaves

  7. Jul 15

    Shawn Edwards on Black Cinema, Sarah Rector, and Kansas City

    Viewer discretion is advised. This episode includes conversations about racism, slavery, desegregation, death threats, and difficult parts of American history. In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall sits down with Shawn Edwards, Kansas City journalist, film critic, producer, and executive producer of the Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, to explore how childhood warmth, family history, storytelling, and early exposure to movies shaped his life’s work. Shawn shares how growing up in Kansas City during the 1970s, weekend trips to the movies, his mother’s emphasis on critical thinking, and a self-funded Super 8 camera opened the door to journalism, film criticism, Morehouse, and production. The conversation also explores Lincoln College Prep, desegregation, sports, Spike Lee, Sarah Rector’s extraordinary family legacy, the movie Sarah’s Oil, and Shawn’s mission to preserve Black film history through the Black Movie Hall of Fame. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: Sarah Rector and Family Legacy 01:15 Meet Shawn Edwards 02:18 Journalism, Storytelling, and Early Writing 04:20 Kansas City Childhood and 1970s Culture 09:22 Movies, Imagination, and Critical Thinking 15:09 Buying His First Super 8 Camera 20:34 Education, Desegregation, and Leaving Kansas City 41:35 Sarah Rector, Black Cinema, and the Hall of Fame Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders. Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible. Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter Learn more or connect with Kendall: Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/ SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/ YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229 #HiddenFoundations #ShawnEdwards #BlackCinema

  8. Jul 8

    Peter Groverman on Grovara, AI, and 15 Years to Overnight Success | Hidden Foundations Ep. 12

    In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall sits down with Peter Groverman, founder of Grovara, to explore the long entrepreneurial road behind building a global B3B trading platform. Peter shares how early exposure to his father’s box factory, flea market negotiations, family business, Villanova Law, Haiti relief work, and early platform technology shaped the way he sees opportunity, value, and risk. The conversation moves from the early days of Venmo and exporting American brands overseas to Grovara’s evolution through failures, fundraising, leadership lessons, Pokemon logistics, wholesale distribution, AI automation, and the future of global commerce. Peter also explains why it took 15 years to become an overnight success, why business partners matter, how AI is changing company efficiency, and why there may be no shortage of opportunity for entrepreneurs willing to start. Chapters 00:00 Cold Open: 15 Years to Overnight Success  00:41 Meet Peter Groverman  01:12 Early Startups, LTL Prints, and Haiti Relief  06:14 Launching Grovara and the First Venmo Use Case  13:32 Fundraising, Failure, and Building the Platform  17:03 B3B, Wholesale, Pokemon, and Global Logistics  28:01 Law School, Family Business, and Learning to Sell  39:15 AI, Leadership Lessons, and Founder Advice A special thank you to The Franklin on Rittenhouse for graciously allowing us to record these episodes inside their hotel. Their hospitality, atmosphere, and attention to detail gave us the perfect setting to host thoughtful conversations and bring Hidden Foundations to life in Philadelphia. Check out their hotel here: https://www.thefranklinonrittenhouse.com/ https://www.instagram.com/franklinonrittenhouse/ Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders. Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible. Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter Learn more or connect with Kendall: Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/ SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/ YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229 #HiddenFoundations #PeterGroverman #Grovara

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Hidden Foundations explores how childhood environments shape the leaders, performers, and high achievers we admire today. Each week, I sit down with entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and operators to uncover the early family dynamics, money conversations, sibling roles, and first adversities that forged their resilience and ambition.This show isn’t about polished success stories, it’s about the real scenes at home that built their operating system long before the world noticed. As a father of two daughters, I started this podcast to understand what actually helps kids develop grit, confidence, and long-term success.If you’re a parent, founder, coach, or anyone curious about human performance, these conversations break down the hidden patterns that drive lifelong growth. We dig into emotional environment, childhood influence, and the habits that shaped today’s top performers.New episodes every week. This is where high performance begins, at home.

Information

  • Creator
    Kendall Schoenrock
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Hidden Foundations
  • Show Website
    Hidden Foundations