Four companies, four exits, and one $2.3 million failure that taught him more than any win. TK Herman joins Becoming Superhuman to talk about the head trash we carry, the courage it takes to pull the ripcord, and why real business growth starts with looking in the mirror.

About the Guest

TK Herman got his last paycheck at 26 and has spent nearly 30 years since as a founder, building and exiting four companies, including Aptura, a software firm he grew from 2 to 120 employees before its 2021 acquisition. His most recent venture cost him $2.3 million, which led to a full reset: selling the house, the plane, and the helicopter to find what actually mattered. He's a member of Tiger 21, founder of Halkin Forum, and a longtime pilot.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Knowing when to walk away from a failing business, and why that takes more courage than pushing through
• "Head trash": the subconscious stories that cap what founders and companies believe is possible
• The four minute mile and how belief ceilings limit growth
• Why a company never outperforms its CEO's self-image
• What sitting in rooms with far wealthier people taught him about skill vs. intelligence
• Selling the helicopter and plane to escape the mental load of ownership
• Living below your means as a startup advantage
• Investing $400K+ in personal growth as a bet on generational change
• Building culture around people's dreams, not bonuses
• The physical toll of entrepreneurial stress
• What "superhuman" really means: an honest conversation with yourself

Guest Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tkherman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tkherman/

Disclaimer:

The information contained in this podcast, our website, newsletter, and the resources available for download are not intended to be medical or health advice and shall not be understood or construed as such. The information contained on these platforms is not a substitute for medical or health advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation.

Florian Kemmerich is the founder of Vocating.ai, author of On Vocation, and chair at Tiger21 Switzerland. Across a career spanning entrepreneurship, investing, leadership, and human development, he has helped mobilize close to $1 billion in impact capital. After 15 years in the corporate healthcare world and a pivotal personal awakening at 33, Florian pivoted into personal development, entrepreneurship, and impact investing. Today his work centers on a powerful question: as intelligence becomes increasingly abundant through AI, what remains uniquely human, and how do we build lives and careers around that?

• Florian's path from corporate life to entrepreneurship and impact investing
• The therapy session that changed everything for him
• Why school teaches you to make money, not who you are
• Knowing your purpose as an advantage in the age of AI
• The danger of using AI as a crutch instead of a tool
• Why chasing fame and success is really just feeding your ego
• How childhood moments quietly shape our life scripts
• Why purpose-driven people are built for this AI era
• What real, judgment-free conversations look like inside Tiger21
• Redefining "superhuman" as living for others, not above them

• Website: on-vocation.com
• Platform: vocating.ai
• LinkedIn: https://ch.linkedin.com/in/floriankemmerich

Disclaimer

The information contained in this podcast, our website, newsletter, and the resources available for download are not intended to be medical or health advice and shall not be understood or construed as such. The information contained on these platforms is not a substitute for medical or health advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation

Tad Fallows bootstrapped iLab Solutions to 75 employees and a strategic exit, after noticing researchers at Harvard's Cancer Labs were spending more time managing freezers and lab mice than doing actual science. Built with no VC money, iLab ended up serving most of the world's top 100 universities across 17 countries before being acquired by Agilent. Today he's the founder of Long Angle, a private peer community for high net worth entrepreneurs and investors with nearly 9,000 members. Tad is also a Harvard grad, former McKinsey consultant, and a former varsity rower.

• How noticing an everyday problem at Harvard's Cancer Labs turned into a bootstrapped company
• Why he left McKinsey to try operating a business instead of just advising on one
• The advantages of bootstrapping slowly versus growing fast on VC money
• Why 90% of success comes down to execution, not the idea itself
• How knowing he gave his best effort protected him from regret, win or lose
• Whether health and hustle can coexist, and what changed with age
• The story behind founding Long Angle after his company's exit
• What it takes to join Long Angle, and how the community operates
• Why intentionality and being hands-on tend to compound into outsized success
• Redefining "superhuman" as being pretty good across every part of life, not the best at just one

• Website: longangle.com
• Podcast: Navigating Wealth

The information contained in this podcast, our website, newsletter, and the resources available for download are not intended to be medical or health advice and shall not be understood or construed as such. The information contained on these platforms is not a substitute for medical or health advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation