Dan Simons: One Childhood Hardship Away From Empathy and Impact
Release Date: 08/23/2024
One Crisis Away From Finding Out What You're Made Of
The One Away Show
In February 2020, Willie Litvack had his biggest month ever. Squadup — the self-service ticketing platform he'd spent six years building brick by brick — had just crossed $400K in monthly revenue. The business was profitable. The momentum was real. Then the phone rang. Within nine days, revenue went from $400K to zero. Willie had to furlough 17 people on a call with a lawyer billing $700 an hour — a lawyer he couldn't afford. And he had to figure out how to keep the lights on with almost nothing in the bank. What he did next is a masterclass in leading through chaos. In this episode,...
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One Meditation Away From the Biggest Bet of His Life
The One Away Show
Shiv Gettu didn't find his big idea in a boardroom. He found it in a basement, 45 minutes deep in meditation. That moment of stillness sparked a decision that would define the next decade of his life — convincing his co-founder Kendrick to quit his job, become a leasing agent for free, and spend nine months learning the real estate industry from the ground up. The hustle earned them their first $500K check. And then COVID wiped it all out. From burning $100K a month with no travelers and a mountain of leases, Shiv and his team did what most founders can't — they pivoted fast, built an AI...
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One Field Trip Away From Building the Future
The One Away Show
Justin Gelinas hated school. Not because he wasn't smart, because the box was too small. Then a teacher named Laurie took him on a field trip to a design studio in Burlington, Vermont. Tribe Called Quest was playing. There was a half pipe in the basement. Twenty-somethings were designing brand strategy for Burton Snowboards on an open floor plan. And Justin walked out knowing exactly what he wanted to build. That one field trip set off a lifelong pursuit of the unconventional, from DJing at 13, to building creative technology companies, to now founding TAHO: middleware that's making AI...
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One Realization Away From Thinking at Scale
The One Away Show
Rajat Suri was supposed to be a doctor. That was the plan. The Indian dream, as he puts it. And he was on track. Then he walked into a three-hour lecture by a professor named Larry Smith at the University of Waterloo — and everything changed. One idea cracked him open: that a single individual could change the sweep of history. Not just help one person at a time, but reshape how millions of people live their daily lives. That realization sent him down a path that led to co-founding Zimride (which became Lyft), building Presto — the AI-powered drive-thru technology used in major restaurant...
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One Expectation Away From Becoming Who You're Meant to Be
The One Away Show
What happens when the world sees a version of you that you haven't fully become yet? In 2016, Jason Feifer became Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine. He thought it was just another media job. Then the podcast invitations started coming in — and with them, a realization that would change everything. People expected him to be an authority. And he didn't feel like one. Instead of shrinking from that gap, he decided to close it. In this episode, Jason shares the one moment that shifted him from media guy to one of the most recognized voices in entrepreneurship — and the decade-long...
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One Village Away From Connecting the World
The One Away Show
What do a small village in Donegal and a train car in the middle of Siberia have in common? According to Ciara, Executive Producer at Web Summit — everything. In this episode, Ciara shares her One Away moment: the realization that her love for global community was just a bigger version of what she learned growing up in rural Ireland. From summers crossing Europe in a campervan with her mom, to studying Russian in Moscow, to programming stages for 70,000 people in Lisbon — her life has been one long exercise in finding the common thread between people who seem worlds apart. We get into: ...
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One Hard Lesson Away From Serving at the Highest Level
The One Away Show
On this episode of The One Away Show, we sit down with Andrew Sherman — attorney, educator, and author of 26 books — who has spent nearly four decades advising entrepreneurs with rare empathy, strategic clarity, and calm. Andrew shares the early hardships that shaped him, the first venture that taught him what founders carry, and the inflection point that changed his path: choosing to support entrepreneurs rather than become one. We talk about the long-game mindset, why purpose is something you owe to yourself and the people you love, and how “mutuality” is the foundation of every...
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One Knock on the Door Away From Rethinking Everything
The One Away Show
Sometimes a knock on the door isn’t literal – it’s the moment you realize the life you’ve built needs to be rethought. In this episode, Andy Klump shares how nearly two decades in China – from selling Dell computers under intense pressure to helping scale one of the world’s largest solar manufacturers – shaped his career, identity, and leadership. He reflects on the moments that tested his resolve, including navigating cultural barriers, building trust across borders, and confronting unexpected scrutiny that signaled the end of a defining chapter. Andy also walks through founding...
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One Choice Away From Breaking Every Inherited Pattern
The One Away Show
Some patterns shape us. Others ask to be broken. In this episode, Angela Wimmer shares the defining moments that helped her understand the difference. Growing up in a home marked by instability, she learned early on how to think for herself – even when it meant standing alone. With the steady influence of her grandparents, she found curiosity, confidence, and the belief that her voice mattered, long before she had the words for it. Angela opens up about how those early experiences shaped the life she chose to build as an adult: a grounded marriage, intentional parenting, and a career spent...
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One Moment Away From Turning Discipline Into Power
The One Away Show
When Ryan Lewis moved across the country for graduate school, he arrived with curiosity – but no roadmap. Then one quiet introduction changed everything. That meeting pulled him into the world of national security, defense acquisition, and high-stakes problem-solving – an arena where details save lives and focus under pressure isn’t optional. From studying MRAP deployments during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to becoming the CEO of Rancher Government Solutions, Ryan’s career is rooted in a simple truth: discipline compounds. In this conversation, Ryan reflects on how early mentors...
info_outlineDan is the co-creator and co-owner of Farmers Restaurant Group, which includes seven Founding Farmers restaurants in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, along with a distillery, Founding Spirits. The company supports over 1,500 employees and continues to grow, adding a catering company, percolating on their new direct-to-consumer platform, and the environmental non-profit Our Last Straw. Dan is a teacher at The George Washington University, and aims his mentoring and direct funding support to female and minority entrepreneurs, creating and delivering a time management & personal productivity curriculum for his students and team. Dan is a lifelong learner, always looking to be taught something new or schooled about something he’s misunderstood.
A difficult period in Dan’s childhood allowed him to show up in the world with more empathy for others and changed his trajectory in life. Hear his experience on today’s One Away Show.
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