How Kison Patel turned setbacks into strategy and built a business

Founders Journey Podcast · Dec 18, 2025 · 1h 13m

Finding Opportunity in Unlikely Places

Kison Patel shares how growing up in a small Nebraska motel shaped his work ethic from an early age. Raised by immigrant parents who ran a roadside motel, Kison learned to handle real estate, operations, and customer service by the time he was a teenager. He opens up about his earliest hustles, like selling cigarettes at school to buy better clothes, and how those scrappy beginnings taught him to think like an entrepreneur long before he ever started a company.

After struggling through high school and ultimately being dismissed from college, Kison…