#213: From Getting Fired to Building Companies - Nik Hulewsky

This episode"s guest is Nik Hulewsky, the co-founder of multiple 7 figure businesses that he has successfully built and flipped. Nik started on the corporate career path and ultimately got fired from his job.  Rather than going back to the corporate world he used an SMB loan to buy his first business, a medical payments company. After a few years he grew the revenue of that business and exited. Since then he has gone on to co-found multiple companies and is currently partnered with Chris Koerner (a previous guest on the pod).  This episode we discuss the different business pursuits Nik has chased and talk about his successes and failures. We get into some of the specific business challenges that the medical industry faces and how technology is changing that space. Lastly, we talk about what Nik is planning for the future and how his past ventures have shaped the way he views new opportunities.  Hope you enjoy the show!  Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Precap 00:01:17 - Introduction and Background 00:01:37 - Nick"s Early Career and First Firing 00:02:51 - Learning from Failure and Job Loss 00:07:58 - Transitioning into Entrepreneurship 00:10:40 - First Business Acquisition and Growth 00:11:09 - Insights on Control in Business 00:12:14 - First Venture and Learning Experience 00:14:08 - Expansion and Sale of Businesses 00:16:14 - Overview of Healthcare Provider Payment Methods 00:16:42 - Understanding Commercial and Private Insurance 00:17:11 - The Problem with the Healthcare System 00:17:40 - Discrepancies in Medical Billing and Pricing 00:18:22 - The Issue with Patchwork Pricing Models 00:19:09 - Advice on Handling Medical Bills 00:19:57 - Complexity of Medical Billing and Coding 00:20:38 - Data Challenges in Energy and Healthcare 00:21:58 - The Concept of Arbitrage in Healthcare 00:22:22 - Issues with Patient Records and Interoperability 00:23:28 - Opportunities in Solving Interoperability 00:24:47 - The Role of Machine Learning and AI 00:25:16 - Challenges with Data Formats 00:27:45 - Future of AI and Machine Learning in Healthcare 00:28:04 - The Importance of Company Culture in Startups 00:28:43 - Understanding Distribution in Business 00:30:30 - The Power of Content and Audience Building 00:32:02 - Different Strategies for Different Industries 00:35:48 - Maximizing Business Value through Channels 00:36:06 - Exploration of New Business Opportunities 00:36:46 - Theoretical and Practical Approach to Business 00:37:22 - Criteria for Business Interest and Investment 00:39:37 - Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Business 00:41:13 - Reflections on the Framework 00:42:52 - Future Plans and Opportunities 00:43:13 - Perfume Vending Business Case Study 00:46:24 - Conclusion and Contact Information