Ep 119: The No BS Truth About Starting a Business with Tom Swartwood

Ep 119: The No BS Truth About Starting a Business with Tom Swartwood

From French Kissing Life by Shawnna Stiver

May 5, 2026 · 59 min · Episode 119

About this episode

The episode discusses the realities of starting a business, highlighting both the appealing aspects and the challenges faced by entrepreneurs.

Starting a business gets this very shiny reputation: freedom, flexibility, being your own boss. And then there's the version nobody talks about as loudly, the one where you're thinking about your business at 2 am because the to-do list is never actually done. My former professor, Tom Swartwood, has spent decades working with entrepreneurs across industries, countries, and stages of business. He developed the entrepreneurship curriculum at Drake University, founded one of the first startup boo...

People in this episode

Host: Shawnna Stiver

Guest: Tom Swartwood

Topics covered

  • starting a business
  • entrepreneurship
  • business challenges
  • freedom
  • flexibility

Keywords

  • business
  • entrepreneurship
  • freedom
  • flexibility
  • challenges
  • startup

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Drake University

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