Entrepreneur Perspectives

Entrepreneur Perspectives is where founders, operators, and people building interesting things talk about what's actually on their mind — no prep, no rehearsed answers, just the conversation as it happens. Hosted by Eric Kasimov, founder of KazSource and creator of QuietLoud Studios. 300+ episodes since 2017.

Entrepreneur Perspectives is a business podcast hosted by Eric Kasimov, with 271 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Eric Kasimov hosts Entrepreneur Perspectives, a business show with 271 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #197

  How a 21-Year-Old Built a 1,000-Player Soccer Company in College | EP197

  Jun 22, 202658 min

  Brando Babini started a company at 16 because the thing he needed didn't exist. Five years later he's running it from a train seat between Brown and Brooklyn — 1,000 players, a Nike partnership, and 30 million views he shot and edited himself. This one's about how he actually does it. Brando is 21, still finishing his degree, and building Youth 4 Youth FC into one of the largest player-led soccer organizations in the country. He spotted the gap from his own playing career — no mentor, no one who'd walked the path ahead of him — and built the thing he wished he'd had. The 2026 World Cup is on U.S. soil right now and the whole country's suddenly paying attention to soccer. Strip the sport out, though, and you've still got the more interesting story: a Gen Z operator running a real company while most people his age are still picking a major. What We Get Into Spotting a gap from lived experience and building the company you wished existed at 16 Running an eight-state operation while taking the Amtrak back to class twice a week — the "drop-in," not the dropout Turning 30 million organic views into 4,000 player applications — and what to do when that engine slows down Landing a Nike partnership as a young, unproven founder The mission-vs-profit tension: building real access without building a handout Going need-blind by design — so the best kid plays whether his family can pay or not Scaling by "mega sub-regions" instead of chasing franchise growth Teaching 13-year-olds to represent themselves — agency as the actual product Chapters 00:00 — The drop-in: running a company between Providence and New York 01:30 — Starting at 16, and the gap he was trying to close 03:45 — When the pro dream faded and the founder showed up 04:30 — The question that runs everything: "what do I wish existed?" 21:00 — Access without a handout: the mission-vs-profit tension 26:00 — Why profit incentives aren't the enemy, and going need-blind 33:00 — Teaching agency: parents, players, and an internal locus of control 50:00 — 30 million views, 4,000 applications, and rebuilding the funnel 52:00 — The Nike street-soccer project he's directing this week 58:00 — Rapid fire: the GOAT, the Prem, and a 2026 World Cup read This first aired on SportsEpreneur. For the full sports-business take — youth soccer pathways, college recruiting, and pay-to-play — listen to the original conversation there. More Soccer Content from SportsEpreneur Hydration Breaks, Fox Ads, and the Americanization of the World Cup 2026 World Cup: Groups, Schedule, and What to Watch as the Tournament Is Here Top 5 Soccer Leagues in the World (2025 Rankings: Depth, Players & Vibe) Soccer: The World’s Most Popular Sport (3.5 Billion Fans, and Rising in the U.S.) Connect with Brando Instagram: @y4yfc · brandobabini.com · y4yfc.com · LinkedIn: Brando Babini Entrepreneur Perspectives is produced by QuietLoud Studios — a KazSource brand. Connect with Eric: X / LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #201

  College Sports Is Becoming a Data Business | EP201

  May 26, 202654 min

  Why NIL needs data, why athlete brands matter, and how college sports is becoming a marketing business. College sports is moving fast. NIL, revenue sharing, transfer rules, donor fatigue, social media, compliance, brand deals, and athlete value are all colliding at once. Brent Wall, founder and CEO of Student Athlete Score, joins Eric Kasimov to talk through what is actually happening in the NIL market. Student Athlete Score helps schools, brands, and athletes understand social influence, audience quality, brand fit, and the real marketing value behind athlete deals. Eric and Brent get into the chaos around NIL, the rise of athlete personal brands, the growing youth sports market, the role of AI and data, and why local brand deals may be one of the most interesting parts of this whole shift. They also talk about college sports becoming more professional, what that means for Olympic sports and mid-majors, and why athletes now have to think about life beyond sports earlier than ever. Chapters 00:00 – Ann Arbor, Michigan sports, and the business behind athletics 01:50 – The professionalization of sports at every level 03:01 – Why athletes now need to build personal brands 05:51 – What Student Athlete Score does 07:56 – The FICO score idea for athlete social value 08:35 – How universities use Student Athlete Score 10:54 – NIL education, taxes, and athlete responsibility 13:36 – The new era of NIL and NIL Go 15:17 – Compliance, regulation, and the fight over NIL deals 16:22 – Five-and-five, eligibility, and transfer rules 18:53 – Lawsuits, athlete rights, and past NIL usage 19:35 – Tournament expansion, TV money, and sports betting 22:19 – Why media rights drive the sports economy 23:00 – Tennis programs, Olympic sports, and budget pressure 26:17 – Donor fatigue and the need for ROI 28:15 – Data, story, and decision-making in college athletics 29:41 – Transfer portal chaos and recruiting changes 35:15 – Mid-majors as proving grounds 36:00 – International athletes, age gaps, and roster realities 38:49 – Unlocking NIL for Olympic sport athletes 39:53 – Why follower quality matters 41:03 – Instagram, TikTok, X, and athlete visibility 42:31 – Brand fit beyond the sport 43:31 – Life beyond sports and building a platform 44:11 – NIL moving into the youth and high school market 46:21 – NIL as a real-world sales and marketing lesson 47:21 – Micro-influencers, team dinners, and local business deals 50:31 – How Student Athlete Score landed university partners 51:20 – New commercial roles inside athletic departments 52:51 – Where to find Brent Wall and Student Athlete Score Connect Brent Wall: Website | LinkedIn Eric Kasimov — X | LinkedIn Related episodes NIL Made College Athletes Entrepreneurs With No Guardrails | EP194 Gordon Hayward | Life After the NBA & Youth Sports Reform EP143 | Bad Grades in School to Sports Business Founder Dan Soviero Entrepreneur Perspectives is produced by QuietLoud Studios — a media network and a KazSource brand. Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #200

  Why Youth Sports Needs Less Chaos and Better Tools | EP200

  May 19, 202650 min

  Why youth sports are chaotic, why parents carry the load, and how Onsides is trying to make it easier. Youth sports is not just practices, games, and tournaments anymore. It is schedules, apps, travel, training, equipment, group chats, recruiting pressure, and a lot of parents trying to keep up. Dave Yoo, founder and CEO of Onsides, joins Eric Kasimov to talk about the problem his company is trying to solve. Onsides is built for parents of youth athletes who are tired of jumping between platforms and trying to make sense of scattered information. The goal is simple: reduce the cognitive load. Eric and Dave also get into the bigger youth sports ecosystem, including AI, private coaching, NIL, parent behavior, social media, startup life, and what it means to build something useful in a noisy market. Key Takeaways Why youth sports feels broken, but may be better described as underserved How parents became the collateral damage of fragmented sports platforms Why Onsides starts with scheduling but points toward something bigger How AI can help parents without guessing on the details that matter Why every feature should reduce cognitive load The rise of private coaching, travel needs, and sports tech integrations What startup founders need to think about in the AI era Why the youth sports conversation still has to come back to the kids Chapters 00:00 – Youth sports, sports tech, and the size of the market 03:00 – Why Dave Yoo started Onsides 06:06 – Building the all-in-one youth sports app for parents 08:26 – Reducing cognitive load for sports families 10:48 – Training, private coaching, and Athletes Untapped 12:29 – How Onsides uses AI 14:40 – Probabilistic AI vs. deterministic scheduling data 16:41 – AI disruption in software engineering 18:42 – Advice for students entering the workforce 20:09 – College, uncertainty, and keeping up with change 22:29 – Growth, awareness, and reaching overwhelmed parents 24:31 – The commercialization of youth sports 27:07 – Recreational sports, I9 Sports, and getting kids active 30:25 – Too many games, overuse, and youth sports reform 33:02 – Better parent behavior and positive messaging 35:10 – NIL moving downstream 37:52 – How podcasting and media help startups grow 41:38 – AI, content, and the next wave of signal boosting 43:24 – Kids, social media, group chats, and behavior 47:42 – How to find Onsides 48:39 – Connecting with Dave Yoo Connect Dave Yoo: Website | LinkedIn Eric Kasimov — X | LinkedIn Related episodes Gordon Hayward | Life After the NBA & Youth Sports Reform EP143 | Bad Grades in School to Sports Business Founder Dan Soviero EP 181 | AI Content Detection & Digital Ethics with Madeleine Lambert Entrepreneur Perspectives is produced by QuietLoud Studios — a media network and a KazSource brand. Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #198

  NIL Made College Athletes Entrepreneurs With No Guardrails | EP194

  Apr 20, 20261h 10m

  When NIL opened up, everyone rushed to build the marketplace — collectives, payment vehicles, deal flow. Nobody asked who the athlete actually was or what they'd do when the money hit. Stephen Bienko, former Air Force Academy and Villanova athlete and founder of 42U, has been inside college athletics long enough to see what got left behind. This conversation covers the transfer portal, soft skills, brand equity, and why the chaos in college sports is a business lesson that applies well beyond the stadium. Key Takeaways NIL created overnight entrepreneurs with no guardrails — the infrastructure for deals came first; the infrastructure for the human being came last Student athletes have a 5.5% Instagram engagement rate vs. 2.2% for non-athlete influencers — brands figured this out before universities did Chasing NIL deals is like buying followers in 2012 — most of those people are gone; sustainable brand equity is built differently "Soft skills" came from the U.S. military in WWII — AI is making them the most valuable skills in the room again The transfer portal has pluses and minuses — the old way forced hard conversations; the new way offers freedom but skips the growth that came with it Chapters [00:00] The old-school transfer — walking into a Hall of Fame coach's office and asking to leave [07:57] NIL and the gold rush nobody planned for [14:00] Athletes as economic engines — the 5.5% stat [25:47] Where "soft skills" actually came from [29:00] Stop chasing deals — build brand equity instead [57:00] Financial literacy and what college athletics should actually be teaching Originally aired on SportsEpreneur . Connect Stephen Bienko — 42U | LinkedIn Eric Kasimov — X | LinkedIn Related episodes Gordon Hayward | Life After the NBA & Youth Sports Lacrosse Founder on Youth Sports Therapist Shortage + Consuming Bad News Entrepreneur Perspectives is produced by QuietLoud Studios — a media network and a KazSource brand. Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #197

  Essentials | No Compromise: What Military Thinking Taught This Tech Founder About Leadership

  Apr 16, 20264 min

  Zero tolerance for compromise doesn't mean being harsh — it means being clear. Dave Selinger explains how military mentors shaped his leadership philosophy, why "left of bang" became the foundation of Deep Sentinel's approach to crime prevention, and how you can hold absolute standards while still managing people like human beings. Key Takeaways "Left of bang" — the military concept of intervening before the first shot fires — is the core logic behind Deep Sentinel's entire model Zero compromise on safety and performance doesn't require a drill sergeant approach; clear boundaries and human management can coexist Most leaders drift toward leniency because someone "means well" — Selinger argues that's exactly where standards break down You don't have to serve to learn from the military — books, mentors, and borrowed frameworks can still reshape how you lead Chapters [00:00] No compromise — where the idea comes from [01:07] Left of bang: the military concept that changed everything [02:03] Clear boundaries vs. harsh management — the paradox Selly lives by [03:18] How to absorb military thinking without serving Producers Note Pulled from EP192 with Deep Sentinel founder David Selinger . About Entrepreneur Perspectives Real conversations on business, creativity, and life—hosted by Eric Kasimov. Founder of KazSource. More from Entrepreneur Perspectives Is College Still Worth It? From Google to Conifer Author of The Book of Elon Get in touch with Eric Kasimov: X | LinkedIn Credits: Music by Jess & Ricky — SoundCloud

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Entrepreneur Perspectives. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.