miami
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Fernando G. Mendoza and the work before the applause
A junior world rowing gold medalist before he became the founder of Scrivas, Fernando G. Mendoza has a story of his own. His son’s Heisman speech offers a glimpse of the habits that connect them.
Michael Ciullo and the Trouble With Doing Everything
He learned to win customers in software sales. Building companies taught Michael Ciullo a more awkward skill: knowing which work to hand over, and which relationships still need his attention.
Dan Knox and the things we retire too soon
From telecom repair benches to software that identifies reusable equipment, GSM Systems founder Dan Knox has built a career around a practical question: what can still do the job?
Samson Magid and the Work After the Handshake
He helped start HealthSnap at the University of Miami, then took the CEO seat five years later. Samson Magid’s story turns on what happens after the pitch: building a team, earning a second conversation, and keeping the promises made in the first.
Joseph Ricard and the distance between an idea and a working business
From a Florida campus repair shop to a software team in Kolkata, Joseph Ricard has kept finding new things to connect. CompilerX is one chapter in a career built around turning scattered information into something people can use.
Dakota Green and the hard work of taking it easy
At Vacation, Dakota Green helps turn poolside daydreams into things you can hold. Behind the whipped-cream can and the revived Orange Gelée is a founder occupied with the practical business of pleasure.
Katie Davies and the question of who gets a seat
From a London insurance internship to leading JEM Underwriting Managers, Katie Davies has built a career around difficult property risks - and helped widen the circle of people who get to assess them.
Michael Liebowitz and the price of knowing what people want
Before he took charge of Douglas Elliman, Michael Liebowitz built a career around the details that make a deal work. His next wager joins the arithmetic of risk with the very human business of finding a home.
Anthony Hsieh and the trouble with retiring
He built mortgage companies, sold them, and set out to fish the world. Then loanDepot’s founder came back to the desk, with another turnaround to attempt.
Javi Ortiz and the things a price tag misses
From Morgan Stanley to Miami property deals, Javi Ortiz has worked where value meets negotiation. With SoüK, he is testing what happens when an exchange needs more than two people.
Susan Amat’s unusual lesson: give people room to fail
She started a business at 15. With The Launch Pad and Venture Hive, Susan Amat turned her attention to a different problem: helping other people learn how to build one.
Natalie Boden and the question that outgrew the brief
Before she built BODEN Agency, Natalie Boden wanted to be a librarian. Her career has followed a related instinct: pay attention to the stories people overlook, then give them somewhere to go.
Alex Rodriguez and the education of an owner
Before Alex Rodriguez owned a piece of professional basketball, he wanted to own the building. The story of A-Rod Corp begins with a Miami duplex and a childhood spent watching the rent come due.
Thibault Le Conte and the case of the crowded counter
Before OrderOut could connect a restaurant to its delivery apps, it had to read the emails. For Thibault Le Conte, that awkward beginning became a business built around the gaps between other people’s systems.
Jeffrey Fiorentino and the job between the job titles
Before he became Kipu’s CEO, Jeffrey Fiorentino kept its books and led its sales. His route through the company offers a close look at the work that sits between a software promise and a customer who stays.
Alon Shavit and the art of opening doors
Before he helped founders find mentors and markets, Alon Shavit programmed a robot to open a gate. At Upright Ventures, the engineering problem has become a human one.
Maya Shaposhnik Cadena Wants a Better Argument
She has planned events, raised money and built Vetted through several changes of direction. Along the way, Maya Shaposhnik Cadena has learned to value the people who challenge her next move.
Stuart Miller and the price of staying in motion
He grew up mowing lawns for the family homebuilder. Decades later, Stuart Miller is trying to change what Lennar owns, how it builds and what buyers can afford.
Raul Leal and the art of making people stay
A summer job in Miami gave Raul Leal a modest ambition: run the hotel. Decades later, the Starwood Hotels CEO is still working through what makes a guest want to come back.
Albert Nahmad knows what to leave alone
Albert Nahmad built Watsco by buying businesses and keeping their local character. More than five decades into his tenure, the Miami executive is still testing how far trust, shared ownership and a patient appetite for acquisitions can go.
Rey Acosta Found a Second Career in the Corners
He co-founded AltaReturn, became Allvue’s founding CEO, then won a Ferrari world final. Through it all, Rey Acosta kept a familiar partner beside him.
Julián Torres Gómez and the trouble with a good idea
Before Ontop, there were songs, a restaurant and a container of toilet seats that did not fit. The Colombian founder’s route to global payroll began with a succession of very practical lessons.
Ke Cheng and the business of getting time back
She began by knocking on laboratory doors and doing the work herself. Ke Cheng’s route from researcher to HistoWiz founder is a story about keeping promises, connecting people, and making the next experiment easier to begin.
Andres Blank and the trouble with finding people
Before he built Fetcher, Andres Blank sold lumber in Venezuela and helped turn scattered photographs into Pixable. Hiring for his own companies gave him the problem he would spend the next decade trying to solve.
Dor Eisner and the economics of the underdog
Dor Eisner watched cybercrime become easier to buy. At Guardz, he is trying to make protection easier to deliver - through the IT providers small businesses already trust.
Samuel Ohev-Zion and the price of belonging
Before he put BLU on a phone, Samuel Ohev-Zion knew how to get one onto a shop counter. His career turns on a deceptively simple question: how much should joining the smartphone world cost?
Courtney Ellenbogen and the art of the shared score
Before she co-founded Aesthetic Partners, Courtney Ellenbogen competed on Duke’s golf team. Her next challenge would involve a different kind of teamwork: helping founders grow without losing what they built.
Jean Fallacara and the price of being his own boss
Jean Fallacara spent years building companies in Montreal, then joined the corporation that bought his business. His next chapter at Lifespanning brings him back to the work he prefers: making the decisions.
Geoffrey Karas and the Second Visit
Geoffrey Karas left New York finance to help run four Miami car washes. His wager on memberships, neighborhood convenience and a little pink-and-teal theater has grown into a business with 110 locations.
Harrison Gross and the art of leaving things out
He studied poetry, helped take a smart-eyewear company public, and learned to put an ambitious idea on ice. Harrison Gross is still trying to make the future fit an ordinary pair of glasses.