NickFriends Websites

Trevor McCandless is the CEO at Fusion CPA. He helps businesses grow with confidence and clarity. With over 20 years of experience in accounting, tax, and consulting, Trevor has dedicated his career to helping businesses grow. His journey has taken him through diverse industries including law, healthcare, marketing, multi-location retail, private equity, family office, real estate, and tech. Trevor earned his B.A. in Accounting from the University of Florida and his Master’s in Taxation from Georgia State University. At Fusion CPA, he helps leaders streamline operations, strengthen their finance functions, and achieve sustainable growth.

TJ Larkin is a local media operator and builder based in Austin, TX. He builds modern, creator-led local media brands, launching newsletters and media companies. He has launched 15+ newsletters and grown them to over 130,000 subscribers. After spending nearly twenty years in insurance, he transitioned to building media. Now he shares what works, helps other operators get off the ground, and partners on projects in local media. He is the founder of Local Media HQ, a podcast, newsletter, and consulting brand. He also created LightBreak, an operating system for launching and running a profitable newsletter. He is also involved with Hometown Legend and Insure Metrics. Family is a priority.

Skylar Romines is the Founder and Owner of ATW Advisors. With years of experience in the insurance industry, she started ATW Advisors to empower businesses with better insurance terms and greater control over their programs. She works as a dedicated advocate, using her industry expertise to secure better terms while keeping the bottom line in mind. Skylar is also the author of ‘So She Did: Stories, Stats, and Strategies to Help Women Win’ and Co-chair for CREW Orange County. She dedicates time to local charitable causes and shares insurance insights and motivational content on social media. She lives in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.

Ryan Bednar is a founder, programmer, and investor at Orange Collective, where he is currently a General Partner. He is an entrepreneur who became an SEO expert and has used his expertise to help grow companies like Calm, Zapier, Rippling, and Shutterstock. Previously, he was the CEO of RankScience (W17) and Co-founder of Tutorspree (W11). He was also the first employee at SeatGeek, a company valued at over $1 billion.

Ron Darbouze is a strategic finance advisor who helps business owners gain financial clarity and scale with confidence through his company, Rock Finance. With nearly 20 years of experience in corporate finance and real estate, he focuses on investing in real estate projects and businesses that strengthen communities. He is passionate about faith, family, and fitness. Ron lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Charrisse, and their three children. He enjoys spending time in the gym, attending church, and playing games with his kids. He delivers keynotes that empower mid-career professionals.

Randall Ettinger is a real estate investor, coach, and TIGER 21 Chair. He helps entrepreneurs build wealth and purpose, drawing on two decades of experience building businesses, investing in real estate, and guiding leaders. He founded and sold development firms in Montreal and now chairs TIGER 21 and coaches CEOs. Earlier in his career, Randall worked as a broker and later joined SmartCentres REIT’s Emerging Leadership Program. He co-founded Perspective Real Estate Group and Capstone Developments. In 2024, he dedicated himself to coaching and community leadership while continuing to invest privately. He is also a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and serves on the boards of Kehilla and Friendship Circle.

Michael de la Maza is a Professor of Business Analytics and Machine Learning at Hult International Business School. His research focuses on understanding why high-potential corporate management teams underperform and developing data-driven interventions to optimize their effectiveness. He holds a PhD in Machine Learning from MIT and is an Amazon bestselling author. Michael is also an angel investor and founder of Immaculate Conception Ventures, with a portfolio that includes four unicorn investments from seed stage. He co-founded companies acquired by Oracle and Microsoft. He is a Scrum Alliance Certified Enterprise Coach and has guided digital transformations at industry leaders. Outside of his professional pursuits, Michael competes as a master’s long jumper, ranked in the top 25 in the USA for his age group.

Meghan Raftery creates new systems, sparks change, and connects ideas. Her work spans education design, thought leadership, and community building. She enjoys connecting people through innovative frameworks and deep conversations. Meghan has founded initiatives like Edjacent, designed learning frameworks at Education Design Lab, and explored new approaches at Defined Learning. She thrives in thought leadership roles, sharing concepts that spark transformation. Meghan loves bridging boundaries and bringing together people, organizations, and ideas. Books are at the heart of who she is; she volunteers at a local independent bookstore and shares recommendations on Storygraph. Meghan believes in meaningful discourse, autonomy, and building environments where excellence is recognized. Her career path is about designing systems for impact while staying true to curiosity and joy.

Matt Gronberg is the Co-Founder and COO of Storage Scholars. Based in Austin, TX, he has spent nine years building the service business, which helps colleges move and store students’ belongings. Storage Scholars serves over 200 campuses nationwide and appeared on Shark Tank in 2022, securing a deal with Mark Cuban. Matt documents his entrepreneurial journey and personal interests on his blog, writing about building a business in his 20s, golf, gym training, and routines. Originally from Boston, Matt now lives in Austin, Texas. He co-founded Storage Scholars after deciding against pursuing a career in medicine. Outside of work, he enjoys playing golf.

Burns is a software engineer who enjoys building things. He is currently interested in Rust, distributed systems, and databases. Previously, he worked at Fly.io and before that, he studied Computer Science at university. He likes to spend his free time reading, hiking, and playing video games.

Kaycie Robinson Sendero is the Founder of Bluetail Real Estate. Bluetail Real Estate buys houses that need some love, improves them with high-quality renovations, and either rents them or resells them to happy new homeowners. Her goal is to create beautiful, functional homes and strong financial returns backed by real property. She loves building relationships and helping others grow wealth through real estate.

Jordan Ferney is a Creative Entrepreneur with a passion for bringing bold ideas to life and empowering talented people to make them real. She is the former Founder of Oh Happy Day and Color Factory. From humble beginnings as a blogger during naptimes, she built two multi-million dollar companies without outside funding. Jordan thrives on creative risk-taking, constant evolution, and chasing new challenges that push the boundaries of what’s possible. She has a natural talent for recognizing others’ strengths and taking calculated risks. Her business journey has been a series of evolutionary steps, each born from the need to stay relevant in a rapidly changing digital landscape and the desire to challenge ourselves creatively.

Jennifer Kaehms is an angel investor and advisor. She is passionate about supporting groundbreaking tech startups and businesses. Currently, she serves as an angel investor and advisor to Tennr, Lambda, and Omneky. From 2021 to 2023, she was a Partner at Foundation Capital. Before that, she spent nearly two years at Forethought, first in operations and then as Head of Revenue Operations in 2020. Earlier in her career, she was an Investment Associate at Canvas Ventures from 2016 to 2018. She had internships at NASA Ames Research Center in 2009 and 2010. She was named an Ann Craig Scholar and served as the Bioengineering Class Speaker at UC San Diego in 2014. She was actively involved in track, cross-country, and triathlon at UC San Diego. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Hannah Van Overbeek is the founder of Jelly Wax. Her entrepreneurial journey started early, selling sodas at six years old. By middle school, she launched Hannah Must Haves, selling handmade jewelry and accessories. Homeschooled until high school, she had the flexibility to pursue her business interests. After exploring various paths, she founded Jelly Wax at 18 years old. After experiencing burnout, she paused the business and launched Project Pollywog, a jewelry brand supporting frog conservation. She returned to rebuild Jelly Wax with more sustainable practices. Today, she is passionate about providing quality waxing products while challenging societal beauty standards. Through her TikTok content, she shares perspectives on body hair, self-acceptance, and entrepreneurship.

Gene Seidman is an art dealer, live charity auctioneer, and NYC Cultural Ambassador. He is a passionate seller of fine art, connecting collectors, investors, family offices, and advisors with blue-chip, investment-grade art at favorable prices. Drawing on his experience as a live auctioneer and angel investor, he brings market insights and a proven ability to identify exceptional opportunities. He offers private sessions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, curated to sharpen appreciation of masterpieces. Gene owns a gallery in NYC. He works at the intersection of technology, connoisseurship & forensics looking at artificial intelligence, image recognition, auction records & sales analysis – to validate current market value.

David Kirkpatrick is the Founder of Reading 4 Results. He lives in Austin, Texas. He has assisted over 100 entrepreneurs in enhancing their reading speed and comprehension through personalized techniques. He tailors the methods to each student and bases them on the most recent cognitive science research. Seeing his friends get dream jobs with the same degree he had, forced him to accept that he had no one else to blame but himself for his situation. After receiving two life-changing books from a friend, he finally had the courage to ask for help. His mission is to give back lost time through knowledge by reading and retaining faster.

Dan Lerman is a Columbia professor and Human Intelligence expert. He is a teacher and private tutor, considered one of the best in the world at connecting with adolescents, igniting academic passions, and inspiring students to achieve higher test scores and grades through meaningful personal growth. He began his career as a Colet Fellow at St. Paul’s School in London and further developed his approach at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn. He has also worked at Kaplan, Manhattan GMAT, and Latitude Tutors. He specializes in creative problem solving and holds a PhD in Cognitive Science in Education. He founded the League of Exceptional Tutors in 2023. He created the world’s first tutoring course at the University level. He is a content creator for YouTube (Scalar Learning) and has a digital Skool Community of global learners (J.E.D.I. Training for the SAT).

Chris Sparling is the co-founder of Tiny. He has spent years in the entrepreneurial world, working through various tech ventures. He served as the CFO at MetaLab and has a passion for building companies. Chris has co-founded several tech startups, ranging from SaaS platforms to digital goods and services businesses. In 2013, he teamed up with Andrew Wilkinson to start Tiny Capital, which focuses on buying software businesses. In 2019, Chris took WeCommerce, one of Tiny’s companies, public on the TSX:V. In early 2023, Tiny and WeCommerce merged, and Chris now serves as Chairman of the combined company. Tiny owns over 40 companies, including Dribbble and We Work Remotely.

Cathryn Lavery is an entrepreneur and creator, currently residing in Austin, Texas. She is the CEO of BestSelf Co., which she grew from zero to 8-figures in less than two years. Cathryn graduated from Glasgow School of Art with a Masters in Architecture in 2011 and moved to NYC to start her architecture career. In 2013, she left the architecture industry entirely. She launched the Self Journal on Kickstarter in 2015, raising $322,696 in 34 days. Cathryn won Shopify’s Build a Business Competition in 2016 and the Build a BIGGER Business competition in 2017. In 2022, BestSelf was acquired. Cathryn was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30, and her work has been featured in Fast Company’s 2017 Innovation by Design Awards, Entrepreneur, MTV, Huffington Post, Forbes, and Inc.

Carolina Baffigo is an architect, engineer, and builder focused on bringing purpose, performance, and profit together. She has almost thirty years of experience building things, starting as a mechanical engineer designing products and systems, and then moving into leadership roles building teams and commercial organizations. Her work focuses on helping organizations tighten how they sell and refine what they bring to market through Project Fluent™ and Profit Arc™ methodologies. Carolina helps leaders and teams who want their businesses to run better with clearer priorities, stronger execution, and healthier profit. She believes meaning and purpose show up through how we work, lead, and build.

Braelinn Frank is the founder and CEO of Rave Nailz. Her creative journey began in the music industry, where she designed logos and brand identities for EDM acts. Her passion for artistic expression led her to launch Rave Nailz, which quickly grew in 2020. Braelinn identified a gap in the beauty market and created expressive press-on nails without the high cost and time commitment of salon visits. She started by painting blank press-on nails and listing them on Etsy, making Rave Nailz the first press-on nail brand on the platform. Rave Nailz has grown from a hand-painted Etsy shop to a manufactured beauty brand with collaborations including retailers like Urban Outfitters, Hot Topic, and Spencer’s.

Ayman Al-Abdullah is a CEO coach who helps 7-figure founders become 9-figure CEOs. He was previously the CEO at AppSumo, where he worked from 2015 to 2021 and scaled the company's annual revenue from $3 million to $80 million. His strategy at AppSumo centered around people development. Now, Ayman focuses on mentoring other CEOs, sharing his lessons about business scaling, leadership, and delegation. He encourages CEOs to step back from the day-to-day grind to work on the business rather than in the business.

Ari Sohn is a 3x founder, event MC, and community builder. He is passionate about creating meaningful impact through technology and human connection. Ari co-founded PreservUs, and is the Head of Community and Ecosystem at TxtCart. He hosts the Heartfelt Event Show, a live podcast on LinkedIn, and has hosted Cart Basel and various industry events. In 2021, Ari became a stem cell donor.

Anne Palermo is a writer and content strategist. She helps brands connect with their audiences through storytelling. She has over a decade of experience in digital media and marketing. Anne has worked with a variety of clients, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. She is passionate about creating content that is both informative and engaging. Anne is based in New York City.