“I like to solve problems, & I never give up.” – Martin Kenneth Lopez Most founders talk tough. Kenneth grew up in a place that required it. Lima, Peru — beautiful on the surface, unforgiving underneath. Corruption. Precarity. An environment built to break entrepreneurs. There’s no help desk in a place like that. You either solve problems… or you get swallowed. That wiring became his operating system. So, when he launched his first company in his early 20s, he didn’t seek the easy path — he sought a bigger arena. “Forget local,” he said. “I’m building for the U.S.” No connections. No warm introductions. Just hunger, a laptop, & LinkedIn. And his pitch wasn’t polite — it was legendary: “Give me the project nobody wants. The ugly, neglected, impossible one. If I don’t deliver, you don’t pay me.” All the risk on him. All the upside for them. That’s how a kid from Lima ended up solving Perl script nightmares for Bank of America… & earning a reputation as the one-man A-team you call when everyone else slinks away. Today at Equals 11, the stakes are higher — Salesforce chaos, global teams, stalled initiatives — but Kenneth’s ethos hasn’t budged: Run toward the hard. De-risk it for the client. Solve — don’t whine. If you’re the kind of person who gets stronger when the work gets messy, this episode is for you.

Connect with him through Equals 11. Kenneth doesn’t quote Churchill — he proves him right: “Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”

“I think if I’m gonna be remembered some way, it’s for the way I’ve served & helped others.” – Jim Marascio Seven-year-old Jim dreamed big — Notre Dame quarterback, Heisman, NFL Hall of Fame. But he grew up in Augusta, ME, where you chose something steady & respectable. His parents were educators; the path was predictable. So, when it came time for a career, accounting felt “right.” Until he looked around & thought, “I can’t imagine working with these people for the rest of my life!” So, he pivoted — to Computer Science, to late nights, to challenges that made him feel alive. Then came the moment that set his trajectory: the CEO of a global media distributor handed him a mandate & a budget — build the entire digital music platform from scratch. No roadmap. No safety rails. Just overheating servers & a cliff-steep learning curve. Jim didn’t say yes for glory. He said yes because he saw a way to serve — the company, the team, the people who’d never know his name but would rely on his work. That’s still his compass at Equals 11. If stories of leaders who build quietly & serve deeply make you feel alive, connect with him through Equals 11 Jim reminds us of what Albert Schweitzer wrote: “The only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought & found how to serve.”

“Entrepreneurship is scary as well as compelling in a weird way.” – Shay Prosser That’s the quiet admission of someone who’s lived the tension of building something that matters—between fear & purpose, risk & reward—and kept moving anyway. Shay started in chaos: a newborn on the floor, the economy unraveling, & a business idea that couldn’t wait for permission. It wasn’t perfect timing; it was purpose knocking early. When her one-to-one financial coaching couldn’t reach enough people, she rebuilt the model—bringing financial education into workplaces & later onto military bases with the USO. That pivot became her pattern: find the gap, build the bridge. So when business owners began coming to her not just for answers but for direction, she created spaces to think differently—to set bold goals, make smart moves, & scale with clarity, courage, & connection. Today, she helps business owners do what she’s always done—move forward, even when the path isn’t clear. Not with ten-year dreams, but ninety-day wins. Progress, not perfection. Because growth doesn’t come from having it all together—it comes from showing up anyway. To learn more, connect with her through North 12 Partners or Birthing of Giants. Shay reminds us what Amelia Earhart said best: “The most effective way to do it is to do it.”