Founder's Story

Daniel Robbins sits down with Brandon Tseng, President and Co-founder of Shield AI, to unpack how a former Navy SEAL turned firsthand combat experience into one of the most important defense technology companies in the world. Brandon shares why ignorance can be an entrepreneur’s superpower, how every investor said no in Shield AI’s early days, and why raising money feels less like celebration and more like signing up for another championship season. The conversation dives into Hell Week, leadership, autonomous warfare, the VBAT’s real-world missions, and why Brandon’s definition of success has nothing to do with becoming a billionaire and everything to do with building something that protects service members and civilians.

Daniel Robbins sits down with private investigator Tyler Maroney and filmmaker Tucker Tooley to unpack their four-year global investigation into one of the greatest financial mysteries of our time: who created Bitcoin? The team behind Finding Satoshi says its investigation points to two people—Hal Finney and Len Sassaman—and explains the evidence, false leads, interviews, and breakthrough that led them there. They also explore why Satoshi’s untouched Bitcoin fortune matters, why anonymity may have helped Bitcoin succeed, and what its creators might think about the trillion-dollar movement their work became.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Leo Pareja, CEO of eXp Realty, for a raw conversation about ambition, identity, failure, and the real meaning of success. Leo reveals why becoming the number one agent at Keller Williams left him feeling empty, how the 2008 financial crisis took him from a reported $5 million net worth to negative $1 million in months, and why those experiences completely changed how he leads, raises his kids, and builds companies. The conversation also dives into AI, the possible death of enterprise SaaS, founder identity, content, representation, and why courage is not the absence of fear—it is moving forward while terrified.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Daniel Schlaepfer, President and CEO of Select Vantage Inc., to unpack the hidden mechanics of modern trading, from “free” trading apps and off-exchange market making to funded trader programs, AI, and why human judgment still matters. Daniel shares how a random subway newspaper ad changed his life, how he rebuilt a trading business from the wreckage of a failed firm, and why his company’s regulation-first culture helped create one of the strongest risk and compliance platforms in the industry.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Steve Salis to unpack the real grind behind building restaurant brands, scaling &pizza to a nine-figure valuation, and surviving the chaos of COVID when his business went from hundreds of millions in revenue to zero. Steve shares how he dropped out of college, moved to New York with no money, opened his first bar during the financial crisis, and later saw an opportunity to reinvent pizza through brand, product, environment, and community. He also breaks down why risk must be quantified, why execution beats ideas, and why endurance may be the most important trait in entrepreneurship.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Adam Hagaman, Kingdom entrepreneur, minister, and content creator, to unpack his transformation from drugs, alcohol, jail, and dropping out of high school to building businesses, reaching millions online, and using content as ministry. Adam shares how meeting his future wife at a party changed the direction of his life, why becoming the father he never had became a breaking point, and how faith reshaped his view of business, sales, success, and family. He also breaks down how he grew from zero to over one million followers across platforms and why attention has become the new currency.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Cylton Collymore, founder of Sirsi, to unpack the AI hype cycle, the risks of handing over your digital life to agents, and why the current cloud-based AI model may become too expensive for everyday businesses. Cylton draws from his experience across the State Department, Federal Reserve, Meta, and cybersecurity to explain why AI should support human intelligence, not replace it. He also shares why getting pushed out of Meta became the catalyst for building Sirsi, and why founders need to be careful about equity, investors, and who they allow to claim their time and future.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Kris Fishman, CEO and President of Wells Pharmacy Network, to break down the confusing world of compounding pharmacies, peptides, GLP-1s, and personalized medicine. Kris explains why compounding exists, why peptides have exploded across social media, and how his company is navigating regulation, safety, speed, and demand. He also opens up about the sacrifices of leadership, missing much of his children’s lives while building, and why helping patients feel better became deeply personal for him.

Daniel Robbins sits down with Brandon Card, CEO and co-founder of Terzo, to expose a massive enterprise blind spot: companies are committing billions through contracts but tracking the truth in SharePoint folders and 95-slide decks. Brandon shares how he lived the pain at Microsoft, managing $100M+ deals while customers couldn’t even find their own contracts, and why legacy CLM tools were built for lawyers, not finance and procurement. They unpack the Terzo origin story launched on March 13, 2020, why humans-in-the-loop is mandatory for financial accuracy, and why Brandon believes AI models aren’t fully under control yet.