Being Rank Top 10 in the 2006 NFL Draft, Holding World Records, and Hard Money Loans with Loren Howard
Loren Howard, founder and Chief Manager at Prime Plus Mortgages , was raised by a single mother and always had the dream of owning his own business. After many short-lived jobs throughout high school, Loren attended Northwestern University on a football scholarship, where he studied Communications and Sociology. Loren had high ambitions in college when he was projected to go top10 in the 2006 NFL draft, but unfortunately, his football dreams were crushed due to a knee injury his Junior year. He ended up transferring to Arizona State hoping to make a comeback and enter the NFL draft, but couldn’t get the job done. Shortly after graduating in 2007, he was inspired to launch his first venture, Alternative Web Media, which was an Internet design, development, and SEO company. A few years later, he co-founded Alpha Direct Compounding Pharmacy. Loren also happens to hold three world records in the 500-meter, 100-meter, and 1:00 for max distance in indoor rowing. In addition, he currently sits on the board for Valley Guardians, which is a non-profit organization that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to support local underprivileged children.
In this podcast, Loren and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as: playing at Northwestern, being ranked #2 at his position in the NFL draft, traveling to Big Ten stadiums across the country, business lessons he learned playing football, overcoming adversity to start his own business, becoming a serial entrepreneur, owning a 2,000 square foot gym in his house, his workout routine, learning to golf, holding indoor rowing world records, having his first child, hard money loans, where the real estate market is going, and supporting underprivileged kids through his own organization called Valley Guardians.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this workout machine and how he overcame tons of adversity to start many businesses after his football career!
Dirt track racing, passing down the family farm, and blowing up on YouTube
Zach Johnson, founder at Millennial Farmer, has been surrounded by agriculture his whole life growing up in West-Central Minnesota and is a 5th generation familyfarmer. After working on the farm in his early years, Zach attended Northwest Technical College, where he studied High Performance Automative Machining. Shortly after graduating in 2005, he decided to pursue his own dreams working on engines and dirttrack racing. Eventually, he decided to settle down, start a family, and move back to the family farm. Then in 2002, Zach started the YouTube channel many of us know today called the Millennial Farmer. His mission hasn’t changed since he made his first video, which is to become a national voice for agriculture, provide farmer-to-farmer education, and facilitate a collaborative conversation between farmers and the public. Right now, he has 316,000 subscribers over 225 videos, and getting 200,000 – 400,000 views per post. Click HERE to check it out!
In this podcast, Zach and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as: transitioning the farm, working in the family business, daily tasks on the farm, learning lessons from older generations, dirt track racing, some of his favorite tracks, his family, road tripping to Glacier National Park & Yellow Stone, the purpose of Millennial Farmer, creating alternative revenue streams on the farm, and being thankful for everything he has in his life.
Listen to the podcast below to learn more about the Millennial Farmer and how he’s blown up a YouTube channel to create an alternative revenue stream on the farm!
Being on MTV, Giving Back to the Troops, and How to be a Visionary Creator with Stretch from Grinders
Stretch, is the founder and Visionary Creator at Grinders , and has been an open-minded entrepreneur nearly his entire life. Stretch grew up running a few of his own businesses as early as the 3rd grade such as having his own newspaper route and mowing grass. After his early years running several different businesses, Stretch became extremely interested in art and was accepted to the Kansas City Art Institute. Keep in mind, he passed up many soccer scholarships to follow his passion for art. Soon after graduating in Kansas City, he went on to earn a Masters of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Shortly after graduating in 1990, he decided to open his own sculpture studio in the “Crossroads Arts District.” Then, in 2004 he opened his first restaurant called Grinders. Since then, Stretch has appeared on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives; Guys Big Bite; Cutthroat Kitchen; Guy’s Grocery Games; Spike TV’s Bar Rescue; multiple appearances on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition; and many more. In this podcast, Stretch and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as working with Dale Eldred, working since the 3rd grade, working smart, earning soccer scholarships, going to art school, working with a rock band, his theory on failure, making sculptures, how to become more open-minded, making hot sauce, bettering the community, giving back to the troops, making the time to travel, the madness behind running a restaurant, and the unknowns of owning a food truck. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about Stretch and how he’s trying to help make entrepreneurs more open-minded by giving them deeper perspective and vision when it comes to running a business!
Playing with Peyton Manning, the Importance of Family, and Scoring a Deal on Shark Tank
Chris Gronkowski, Owner and Inventor at Ice Shaker , has been around sports his entire life and seems to be the ultimate entrepreneur. Chris grew up in Buffalo, NY with his three brothers working for his dad for a number of years at G&G Fitness Equipment. After his early years in Buffalo, Chris got accepted to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, but decided to attend the University of Maryland on a full-ride football scholarship. He eventually transferred to the University of Arizona to take a starting fullback position and graduated with a bachelors degree in Marketing. After college, Chris went on to play in the NFL for teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers. Keep in mind, he played with many amazing players along the way like Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Tony Romo, and DeMarcus Ware. After several injuries in 2016, Chris decided to end his football career and help his wife start a company called Everything Decorated, which is today a multi-million dollar business. In addition, Chris has also started other companies along the way since his NFL retirement like Gronk Fitness, The Offical Gronk Bus, Herd Crew, GronkNation, and Gronk Bros Show. At the end of the day, Chris found his true passion when he started a company called Ice Shaker, which was started because of issues he was seeing with traditional protein shakers. I should also note, Chris appeared on “Shark Tank” in 2017 with Ice Shaker and scored a deal with Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez. In this podcast, Chris and I talk about a wide variety of life interests such as growing up with three amazing brothers, why he didn’t attend an Ivy League school, his transition from college into the NFL, some of the best advice he’s taken away from world famous coaches, working with his wife, his daily workout routine, the importance of family, going to the Super Bowl, and items still on his bucket list. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about Chris Gronkowski and how he’s trying to change the protein shaker industry!
Experiencing Eric Clapton, Duck Hunting, and Investing in Farm Ground with Carter Malloy
Learning to Sell, Building Better Relationships, and Record Breaking Soybean Yields with Chris Masters
Surfing, Learning to Innovate, Leading Billion Dollar Businesses, and Changing Agriculture
David Perry, President, CEO, and Director at Indigo, has spent nearly his entire career working in the health and wellness industry. Althoug
Women in Ag, Millennials Affecting Agriculture, and Director of Agribusiness at Harvard with Mary Shelman
Mary Shelman , Founder at the Mary Shelman Group and Advisory Board Member at Village Capital, has spent nearly her entire career working in the agriculture industry. Mary grew up on a farm in Kentucky, which she still owns today. Later in life, she ventured off to Elizabethtown Community College and the University of Kentucky to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering. After a series of tough decisions, she decided to get a masters degree in general management from Harvard Business School, which is when she knew for sure she wanted to work in agriculture. After working under Ray Goldberg for many years, Mary became the Director of the Harvard Agribusiness Program. Along the way, Mary has served as a Board of Director at Stiftung Furst Liechtenstein, Chairman of the Board at RiceTec Inc, Chairman of the Board at Fractual Antenna Systems, President of the Board at English at Large, President of International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, and an Advisory Board member at Crop Enhancement Inc. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in her life such as what it’s like going to school at Harvard, becoming Director of their Agribusiness Program, where some of her best ideas come from, where grocery stores are heading in the future, buying groceries online, working with Ray Goldberg, living in Boston, traveling the World, and horseback riding. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this rising leader and how she is striving to get women more involved in agriculture!
Horseback Riding, $27 Soybean Premiums, and Becoming an Organic Farmer with Kellee James
The Future of Gaming, Secrets Behind Raising Money, Fly Fishing, and Making Better Decisions on the Farm with Mark Young
Mark Young , the Chief Technology Officer at The Climate Corporation, has spent nearly his entire life working in the technology sector. Mark grew up on a farm in southern New Jersey growing hay and raising cattle. Later, Mark ventured off to Purdue University to earn a degree in Computer Sciences. Mark started his own company in college called netKnowledge Inc. and not long after college, he went on to start another company called HipLogic, which was a mobile technology company. Mark soon went on to sell HipLogic to travel out to Silicon Valley for nearly 18 years to work for companies like Yahoo and Zynga. Now, Mark is back in the Midwest working in his homegrown roots serving as the Chief Technology Officer at The Climate Corporation. We also talk about a wide variety of interests in his life such as his following your passion, learning to become an entrepreneur, the future of gaming, mastering bow hunting, fly fishing, off-roading in Wranglers in Moab, and traveling the world. Listen to the podcast below to learn more about this farm boy who became a Silicon Valley tech guru.