Anything But Typical

"Everyone you meet is somebody's hero—even though you don't think they are." – Gerard "Jay" Woelkers Born into a family of 15 children, Jay learned at a young age what it means to serve. At 18, he joined the Navy, starting as an E1—the lowest rank—and rose to O6 over 39 years, commanding thousands of sailors. But his d

“So, this is a story I like to tell. We're in the office. The phone's not ringing. It's just a regular workday. We're just sitting there, & I said, ‘Well, I'm going to go out and find some work.’” – Billy Austin What happens when an engineer from Charlotte, NC buys an engineering firm in 2007, only to face the Great Re

"The essence of an entrepreneur is you can build whatever you want — come up with an idea for goodness' sake & get started!” – Lloyd Reeb At 16, Lloyd did just that – he got started. When he overheard his dad say, "Our kids will never be able to afford a house at the beach," he didn’t accept it. Instead, he asked his d

"We just try to do good work & have that lead to the next introduction." – Justin Cunningham What happens when a former investment banker & food allergy app creator joins forces with a corporate operations expert who left Berlin, Germany, for Disney (yes, Disney!) to bring big ideas & investment strategies to business

"I want to build a platform, and my team wants to build a platform that blesses people—not a business empire, but a platform to bless people." – Charlie Workmon When you picture logistics companies, what do you see? Gruff individuals scrambling around hectic warehouses, driven only by tight deadlines? That's definitely

“I’m not sure I ever really wanted to be an entrepreneur.” – Fabi Preslar Ever turned your biggest fear into your proudest achievement? That’s Fabi’s story. Inspired by her father’s ambitious (but unsuccessful) business ventures—from running a French restaurant in rural South Carolina to raising chinchillas—Fabi saw fi