Why Listen:
Today's interview is a different story than I've heard before. Because Justin didn't found a company, he was working at a company called Intuit, getting a lot of experience in product innovation. He was contacted by a company right when he was starting his entrepreneurial journey about having the possibility of him taking over as CEO. It's a path that I haven't heard of a lot. He's done well at tripling the size of this company in those two years. Even though at that time the pandemic started and he lost a third of his revenue overnight. I love this conversation. Keep an ear out for when he talks about it. He took action while on active duty, earning his MBA and volunteering so that when he got out of the military, his resume had mostly non-military items, which was an impressive idea. I learned a lot from Justin; he seems like a natural coach, and I'm personally looking forward to keeping in contact with him and continuing to learn from his example of leadership.
About Justin:
Justin Wells is the CEO at Interlaced.io. It's a 50-person IT services company in San Diego. They provide premium IT managed services, essentially enterprise-grade IT programs and fractional IT departments with Apple Cloud and networking expertise. Justin started at the Naval Academy, after which he served in the Navy for ten years as a Naval Aviator. He earned his MBA from UC San Diego, focusing on innovation strategy, business development, and growth partnership. Interlaced.io was founded in 2009. Justin took over as CEO two years ago, tripling the company's size over that time through organic growth and a recent acquisition.
Why Listen:
I had intended to spend the bulk of my conversation with Devin talking about growth and marketing because he has some great ideas. But we ended up going down a different path. Devin runs a company called StraightHemp, where they sell different hemp-related products. In this interview, we talked about CBD and other things. And he also is an advocate for psychedelics. Devin is a rare breed of person. He's building a company and making money, but that's not what's driving him. Devin is very community-driven. He's very much about making the world a better place. I know that sounds trite. But it just really I found our interview touching in that sense. As an entrepreneur, it was helpful to see an example of someone who is so purpose-driven.
About Devin:
Devin Alvarez is the Founder and CEO of StraightHemp. Using a proprietary extraction method to power their leading Straight Hemp family of products, they are positioned to become a top seller in the natural products channel. He started at the Air Force Academy before switching over to Florida State University. He holds a Master's of Science from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Environmental Science.
Why Listen:
Today's conversation is dense in terms of the amount of wisdom per square second. I've known Ken for a while now, and it was great hearing more about his story. I respect his vulnerability and authenticity in sharing how he navigated multiple times in his career in life. Things didn't work out the way that he thought they would. One example is his work in the ICU in Afghanistan and Iraq that changed his view about medicine and realizing that that path wasn't what he wanted to do. And he goes from there to consulting and then becomes a senior at a rapidly growing startup. It just shows that you can adapt and overcome. He talks about hiring, managing a remote workforce, and so many great things.
About Kit:
Kit Kieling is the President, COO, and Co-Founder of Orderly Health. Orderly Health is on a mission to make sure patients have access to the most up-to-date information about healthcare providers. Through proprietary algorithms of machine learning, Orderly Health improves the accuracy of provider directories and the overall interoperability of data for payers and providers. Kitt started at the Air Force Academy and earned his MD from the Oregon Health and Science University. He served as the Pediatric ICU Director in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also worked as a Consultant at McKinsey & Company in addition to multiple medical positions before his time at Orderly Health.