
Not Like Enron with Paramount's Rachel Wolf
From Empowered Owners by Empowered Owners
February 10, 2026 · 36 min · Episode 59
About this episode
Rachel Wolf shares her journey from a carpet cleaning franchise to a strategic finance role at Paramount Plastics.
Rachel Wolf , Director of Finance and Strategy at Paramount Plastics , joins Empowered Owners to share her remarkable origin story. She started working in her parents' carpet cleaning franchise at age 12, cleaning up to six houses a day, doing pro-bono work for families facing eviction, and learning empathy the hard way. She explains how those eight years taught her work ethic, customer service, and a we-don't-quit attitude—lessons that carried her through paying her own way through college, becoming an accounting assistant at an e-commerce company, and eventually discovering her passion for strategic finance. Rachel reveals why she needs work to feel like family, why every hour she puts into Paramount "benefits 50 other people", why she leads from the factory floor, and her initial skepticism about employee ownership. Plus, hear how Rachel's Mount Rushmore of video games that taught her actual life skills. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski
People in this episode
Host: Empowered Owners
Guest: Rachel Wolf
Topics covered
- finance
- career development
- employee ownership
- work ethic
- customer service
Keywords
- finance
- career
- employee ownership
- work ethic
- customer service
- video games
- strategic finance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Paramount Plastics, e-commerce company
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