The Braving Business Blog

Hello brave souls and business enthusiasts,

Throughout my journey, from a young entrepreneur at 19 to the board rooms of Goldman Sachs-financed ventures, I’ve realized one fundamental truth: it’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves. I’ve been the CEO, the founder, the shareholder, and the consultant. Behind every title and every venture, be it iControl Data, Our Love Company, or the burgeoning fields of AI, there has been a story of resilience.

We often see the glory but don’t understand the story of resilience behind it, and that is because most entrepreneurs aren’t comfortable telling it.  It’s more common to bluster, to fake it until we make it, to plaster on a smile even when, on the inside, we’re full of fear and apprehension, not sure if we can make payroll, not sure if we are on to something great, or heading for a cliff.

I’ve faced hurdles as an entrepreneur, as a low-income, undocumented immigrant, and as a dad to a gay service member championing for LGBTQ rights and military families. I’ve learned lessons from the baseball fields and have sought continuous self-improvement both on the personal and professional fronts. And yet, for much of my career, I failed to appreciate that my failures were often also my greatest triumphs.

This is why the Braving Business Podcast was born. Here, we don’t just discuss the victories; we delve into the struggles, the mistakes, the lessons, and the comebacks that make more courageous leadership. Each episode aims to bring you stories that resonate, inspire, and empower you to find the courage to lead from your wisest and best self. We shed light on the heart and soul behind every entrepreneurial journey, diving deep into authentic conversations.

My diverse experiences have taught me that setbacks are not a detour, they are the surest path to innovation and growth.  It’s not the wall you run into when you experience a setback that you should pay attention to, it’s the chisel that you can pick up from it, to shape your success.  Failure is not a stop sign, it is a road sign. My goal with this podcast, is to invite vulnerability and honesty about the grittier, lonelier, scarier sides of entrepreneurship, business and leadership for anyone who is an entrepreneur or an aspiring entrepreneur, anyone in leadership or aspiring to lead, and anyone who simply wants to know the truth about what it’s like to start and run a business.

Whether you’re navigating the startup realm, tackling challenges as an established business owner or a leader, seeking that spark of motivation in your personal voyage, or looking to empower others, our podcast is for you. I invite you to join our community as we brave the world of business and life, hand in hand.

From Tampa, Florida, with grit and gratitude, I call on you to Stay Brave, and tune-in.

About Tal Zlotnitsky

Serial Entrepreneur Tal Zlotnitsky was the co-founder & CEO of iControl Mobile, now part of ParkMobile, as well as co-founder & CEO of iControl Data, one of the leading B2B payments company in the world, where he raised $20 million from Goldman Sachs and built a company that still processes billions of dollars in annual payments for tens of thousands of retailers.  He has also founded, co-founded, invested in and sat on the boards of Our.Love, JetComfy, Ugo, Magi Foods, NewsOne, sold in 2009 to NNA, and Current Companies, sold in 2008 to Hudson News.  A proud dad and granddad, Tal believes that awareness, compassion (including self-compassion) and respect are the keys to joy and success.  For more, www.talzlotnitsky.com