Han Ko (Sacco Group) joins Raj Tut to share his journey from being born in South Korea, immigrating to Southern California, and ultimately building his career in the St. Louis region after studying engineering at Washington University. With a background in computer science, electrical engineering, and signal processing, Han climbed the corporate ladder in the telecom industry before taking the entrepreneurial leap to build and own software products himself. Over the years, he has become an active venture capitalist and advisor, involved in 80+ companies with collective valuations exceeding $1B, while also serving in regional economic development roles and supporting entrepreneurship through mentoring and speaking engagements. The conversation centers on Han’s core investing and leadership philosophy: taking other people’s capital creates a real moral responsibility, which is why he favors full transparency, clear risk disclosure, and investors who do proper diligence upfront. Han breaks down how he identified market needs early, made a high-risk decision to resign to protect IP ownership, and learned that building a product is only half the battle—distribution, validation, and relationships are critical to closing enterprise deals. He also explains how he “accidentally” became a venture capitalist by helping friends through funding gaps, then intentionally built his finance skillset to operate professionally. The episode closes with a practical operating principle that shows up in every chapter of his story: learn aggressively from mistakes, put in your best effort with the information you have, and build a life you can look back on without regret.

Connect with the Host

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠

⁠LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/⁠

Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠
TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Connect with Han Ko

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/han-ko-3b8814185/

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:00 Investor philosophy: responsibility, transparency, and disclosure
01:04 Storyboard Living sponsor message

01:35 Guest introduction and credentials overview

02:41 Han’s background: Korea to California to St. Louis via WashU

05:05 Early career: telecom engineering and moving up the corporate ladder

10:46 Selling enterprise software: production validation and due diligence lessons

11:55 Networking as the unlock for landing the first license deal

13:26 Choosing signal processing and “following the money” in grad school

14:29 After the exit: travel, restlessness, and returning to build again

15:57 Becoming an “accidental” VC by helping friends through funding gaps

17:32 Dot-com bubble context: overheated investing and lack of diligence

20:44 Building finance competence: learning valuation concepts like EBITDA

21:14 Professional growth: learning from mistakes and doing your best

29:13 Getting buyer attention: the “non-sexy” product problem

30:34 Making buyers come to you: the billboard strategy story

33:12 Helping portfolio companies: sharing mistakes and guiding decision-making

34:52 Why he’s an active investor: founder fit, communication, and empathy

39:02 Regional mission: bringing global companies to St. Louis for jobs and growth

46:42 Project phasing: historic building redevelopment and innovation ecosystem

47:34 Workforce gap: training center and trade pipeline focus

51:20 Illinois-side coordination and regional partnership efforts

53:06 Commercial real estate legacy: multi-generation background

57:02 Hole-in-one advice: do your best and live without regret

This podcast is brought to you by Storyboard Living.

If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email deals@storyboardliving.com

Connect with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/

Ricky Shah is the Director of Kumon Chesterfield, a high-performing education franchise known for its strong enrollment and operational discipline. A former Kumon student who completed both the math and reading programs, Ricky’s story comes full circle as he eventually acquired and now leads the same center where he once studied and taught. His background spans teaching, nonprofit work, statewide political campaigns as a field organizer, and entrepreneurship through operating UPS Store franchises with his family before transitioning fully into the Kumon business.

In this conversation with Raj Tut, Ricky breaks down what it takes to scale a people-driven business: redefining delegation as a strategic growth tool, identifying the “1–3 tasks only I can do,” and systematizing everything else through hiring, training, and clear accountability. The episode also explores family business dynamics, the challenge of separating work from home life, and lessons learned from leading through disruption—especially during the COVID transition and operational crises like severe weather. Key themes include building trust through consistent communication, training for real-world scenarios, maintaining standards through culture, and leading calmly when the team looks to you for direction.

Connect with the Host

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠ ⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/

⁠Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Kumon (National Website): https://www.kumon.com/

Email: chesterfield_mo@ikumon.com

Phone: (636) 537-5522

Timestamp:

00:00 Delegation philosophy and focusing on tasks only the owner can do

01:35 Introduction to Ricky Shah and Kumon Chesterfield

02:19 Early journey as a Kumon student and love for math and learning

04:17 Post-college path through nonprofits and burnout from red tape

05:42 Transition into statewide political campaigns

07:50 What campaign work actually looks like and the role of a field organizer

09:32 Extreme work hours, pressure, and leadership lessons from politics

12:42 Shift into entrepreneurship and family business roots

15:06 Operating UPS Store franchises as a family-run business

18:29 Pros and cons of working with family and taking work home

20:46 How a Kumon center operates day-to-day

22:37 Individualized learning, fluency metrics, and student progression

25:32 Director influence vs standardized curriculum across Kumon centers

27:44 Full-circle story of acquiring the same Kumon center he grew up in

30:22 Taking over during COVID and adapting operations

32:40 Leading through disruption and maintaining calm in crises

34:22 Diagnosing learning gaps and adapting to post-COVID students

36:13 Leadership presence and why the team looks to the leader in emergencies

38:44 Hiring, training, and building accountability through systems

40:38 Transitioning from instructor mindset to director mindset

42:36 Working on the business instead of in the business

45:56 Passion, trust, and long-term student success

50:08 Deciding what to delegate and what to keep

54:20 Why Ricky personally handles parent meetings and sales conversations

55:56 “Hole in one” advice on delegation and scaling a business

This podcast is brought to you by Storyboard Living.

If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email deals@storyboardliving.com

Connect with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/ LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/

Connect with the Guest

In this episode, we sit down with Rob Zeitler, President and Co-Founder of FLEX Payment Solutions, a family-owned B2B fintech company specializing in payment processing for niche and highly regulated industries. With over 20 years in the electronic payments space, Rob has helped build FLEX into a direct-payment processor serving sectors like consumer lending, CBD/hemp, tribal and native-owned businesses, and emerging cannabis markets, while earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 list for multiple consecutive years.

Rob walks Raj through his entrepreneurial journey—from funding legal settlements and building custom software without being a programmer, to exiting that first venture, joining his family’s lending business, and eventually launching FLEX to solve real-world payment pain points. He explains how FLEX built a moat around compliance and regulation in “high-risk” markets, why they’ve leaned into hyper-focused niches like tribal lending and cannabis, and how EOS-style systems have allowed him to stay in the visionary seat instead of doing everything himself. Along the way, Rob shares his philosophy on hiring people smarter than you, preparing the next generation of his family to join the business, the future of compliant cannabis payments, and his “hole in one” advice: don’t be afraid to ask for help, give without expecting something in return, and surround yourself with people who make you better.

Connect with the Host

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠ ⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/ ⁠

Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Connect with the Guest

Rob’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-z-9524273/

Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flex-payment-solutions

Email: rob@flexpaymentsolutions.com

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:00 Opening & Introduction to Rob Zeitler

05:10 Rob’s First Business and Early Entrepreneurial Lessons

10:20 Transition to the Family Lending Business

15:30 Discovering Payment Innovations & The Spark for FLEX

20:40 Entering Regulated & Niche Markets (Lending, CBD, Hemp)

25:50 Working With Native American Tribes

1:00 Technical Challenges, Compliance & Operating in High-Risk Industries

36:10 Hiring the Right People & Learning Not to Do Everything

41:20 Implementing EOS and Stepping Into the Visionary Role

46:30 The Future of FLEX & Cannabis Payments

51:40 Rob’s “Hole in One” Advice

56:50 How to Connect With Rob & Episode Closing

This podcast is brought to you by Storyboard Living.

If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email deals@storyboardliving.com

Connect with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/ LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/