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Discover how these entrepreneurs achieved success in both business and life, hosted by Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA.
Each week, Alan Olsen invites accomplished individuals to share the secrets behind their success stories. Tune in and be inspired by real-world insights, life lessons, and practical tips you can use to pursue your own American Dream.
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Key's to Life's Success
The American Dreams show was the brainchild of Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA. It was originally created to fill a specific need; often inexperienced entrepreneurs lacked basic information about raising capital and how to successfully start a business. Alan sincerely wanted to respond to the many requests from aspiring entrepreneurs asking for the information and introductions they needed. But he had to find a way to help in which his venture capital clients and friends would not mind. The American Dreams show became the solution, first as a radio show and now with YouTube videos as well. Always respectful of interview guests’ time, he’s able to give access to information and inspiration previously inaccessible to first‑time entrepreneurs who need it most. They can listen to venture capitalists and successful business people explain first‑hand how they got to where they are, how to start a company, overcome challenges, envision future opportunities, balance work and life, and so much more.
Topics from guests have included:
- Creating purpose in life
- Building a foundation for their life
- Solving problems
- Finding fulfillment through philanthropy and service
- Becoming self‑reliant
- Enhancing effective leadership
- Balancing family and work
American Dreams discusses many topics from some of the world's most successful individuals about their secrets to life's success.
Recent American Dreams Episodes
Star Valley Wyoming Trout Ranch | Scott Carlisle
About Scott Carlisle In his early years Scott Carlisle visited a small fishery to see where the fish on his father’s ranch was coming from. He fell in love with the place and tried to find employment there. After being denied work there he went home and told his wife that one day he…
Social Entrepreneurship & Why It Matters | Nzinga Blake
Interview Transcript of: Social Entrepreneurship & Why It Matters | Nzinga Blake Alan Olsen: Can you share a little about your background? Nzinga Blake: I was born in Maryland, my family is from West Africa from Sierra Leone and my mom has some roots as well in Nigeria and so I was born here in…
Mark Eaton: The Four Commitments of a Winning Team
Episode Transcript of: Mark Eaton: The Four Commitments of a Winning Team Mark Eaton: I had an opportunity to play team at the highest level in the NBA and I’ve looked at what I learned on the basketball court and figured out a way to transpose that and transfer it to the business realm and…
Digital Green: Transforming Ag Extensions in India | Rikin Ghandi
Interview Transcript of: Digital Green: Transforming Ag Extensions in India | Rikin Ghandi Rikin Ghandi: Growing up I was inspired by astronauts and I wanted to put together my own astronaut playbook by studying computer science, aerospace engineering, getting a pilot license and was about to enlist in the US Air Force when I said college…
The Company That Let’s You Take Back Control of Your Garage | Kris Nielson
Interview Transcript of: The Company That Let’s You Take Back Control of Your Garage | Kris Nielson Kris Nielson: I came to school at BYU-Idaho up in Rexburg Idaho. I set out to go into law but decided to change course when I took some business classes and loved organizational strategy. During college I began…
Fed Up: An Insider’s Take on Why the Federal Reserve Is Bad for America | Danielle DiMartino Booth
Interview transcript of Danielle DiMartino Booth, Federal Reserve, By Alan Olsen, Host of the American Dreams Show. Danielle DiMartino Booth: I’m a good old-fashioned product of the community college system in this country. I worked my way through school. I ended up with an MBA in finance and knocked on every door on Wall Street…
Digital Resilience | Ray Rathrock
About Ray Rothrock Ray Rothrock joined RedSeal as CEO in February 2014. Prior to RedSeal he was a general partner at Venrock, one of RedSeal’s founding investors. At Venrock he invested in 53 companies including over a dozen in cybersecurity including Vontu, PGP, P-Cube, Imperva, Cloudflare, CTERA, and Shape Security. Ray is on the…
Why Smart People Make Dumb Decisions? | Prasad Kaipa
Transcript of: Why Smart People Make Dumb Decisions? | Prasad Kaipa Alan Olsen: And what inspired you to write this book? Prasad Kaipa: The key message was somewhere I had a chance to work with a large number of extraordinarily smart people. I had a chance to work with brilliant engineers, technologists, Nobel laureates and some…
Harry Avila – Reflections On Life
About Harry Avila Harry Avila has spent parts of nine decades living in the Washington Township area. An entrepreneur at heart, Harry has worked in a vast number of industries during his life including farming, ranching, pharmacy, banking and real estate. Harry is an active member of the Niles Rotary club and served on…
Sramana Mitra: The State of Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley | Sramana Mitra
About Sramana Mitra Sramana Mitra is the founder and CEO of One-Million-By-One-Million, an organization committed to helping one million entrepreneurs reach one million dollars in revenue. She is also the author of numerous books including: Billion Dollar Unicorns, Bootstrapping With A Paycheck, Carnival In The Cloud and From eCommerce To Web 3.0. In 2015,…
The Success Behind Steiner Sports | Brandon Steiner
About Brandon Steiner Brandon Steiner is grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began working at a young age to help provide enough food for the family. Despite his economic situation in life he went on to create a Steiner Sports, a $50 million sports marketing and memorabilia company. Brandon’s success can be…
Charles Vogl – The Art of Community
About Charles Vogl An author and executive consultant, Charles Vogl helps leaders in technology, finance, media, government, and social good organizations become more effective in creating meaningful change. Using principles drawn from more than 3000 years of community and spiritual tradition, he teaches others how to inspire powerful connections in critical relationships, in order…
IoT and Embedded Systems | Rajesh Subramaniam
About Rajesh Subramaniam As Founder and CEO, Rajesh has led embedUR systems through a decade of profitability and successive growth averaging 35% per year, and has built a loyal customer base among F500 Network and Telecom equipment providers. With a Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and an unrelenting determination, Rajesh rose…
Unlocking The Ivory Tower | Eric Ball
About Eric Ball Eric Ball is a technology finance professional, investor, and board member. He currently serves as General Partner for Impact Venture Capital, which has made several technology investments. He also chairs the Audit Committee at Glu Mobile, a publicly-traded leader in 3D freemium mobile gaming. Until May 2016, Eric was Chief Financial…
Defining A Meaningful Life | Howard Getson
About Howard Getson Howard Getson is the founder and CEO of Capitalogix, an AI trading systems company that essentially provides its users a “hedge-fund-in-a-box.” Prior to forming Capitalogix, Howard had an active corporate legal practice which he worked in from 1987 to 1993. Howard has a passion for helping people define purpose in their…
Economics Today: North Korea, China and South-East Asia | Richard Dasher
About Richard Dasher Richard Dasher has been Director of the US-Asia Technology Management Center since 1994 and, concurrently, Executive Director of the Center for Integrated Systems since 1998. His research and teaching focus on innovation systems and the impact of new technologies on industry structure and dynamics. Dr. Dasher serves on selection and review…
How Important Are Relationships in Business?
How Important Are Relationships in Business? What makes a great leader? There are several answers to this question and it really depends on whom you ask. I meet with many great business leaders and while they often identify many of the same qualities of great leadership no two answers are exactly the same. It usually…
What Happens to the AMT in 2018
What Happens to the AMT in 2018? As the dust is now settled on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one glaring tax has remained standing, with relatively few changes. The alternative minimum tax or AMT. The first “minimum” tax started with the passing of the Tax Reform Act of 1969. With it was announced…
Beyond the Game: How One Coach Helps Provide Better Socioeconomic Opportunities For Her Team.
Rose Shoen is a semi pro soccer player in the Women’s Premier Soccer league. She received all star selection in 2016 and 2017. She also holds a C national USSF coaching license and founded her own men’s soccer franchise, Azteca FC in 2013. She is the only female owner/manager/coach in the San Francisco Soccer Football League’s history. Rose also works coaching high school youth from low income minority groups with the objective to help them receive college scholarships. Many of these players
Muse Me: Making “Old Art” Cool | Heather Gokhman
Heather Gokhman is a member of the International Society of Appraisers, holds a Masters degree in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York City, and a Bachelors degree in Art History from the University of Southern California. Prior to opening State of the Art Appraisals, Heather was a partner at EG Art Brokers, a fine art appraisal and auction brokering company and Assistant Director at contemporary art gallery, Avran Art, in Laguna Beach. Heather has also worked at Montgomery
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“My Path” chronicles Alan Olsen’s personal journey and the transformative insights he’s gained from his acclaimed American Dreams show. Discover inspiring stories, practical advice, and the core values that empower entrepreneurs to achieve their American Dream.
Written by Alan Olsen
Co-Written by Andrew Olsen