EP824: Eric Koester - Stop Asking For Permission

The Thought Leader Revolution Podcast · Oct 13, 2026 · 53m

"Stop waiting for a mentor — instead, ask them to collaborate on something you're working on. That collaboration proves you're actually pretty great." — Eric Koester

Eric Koester started his first business at 14 — building research reports for environmental consultants in Asia — before he could even drive himself to the library. He wasn't trying to be an entrepreneur. He just didn't know he was supposed to wait for permission. That early instinct, and a later mentor who nearly crushed it, set the course for everything he's built since.

Today Eric is a serial entrepreneur, a professor of…