Thinking about starting a brand? This episode will give you the reality most people skip.

What if the skills that made you successful as an athlete are exactly what make you valuable in business?

In this episode of What’s Next!, Bryan sits down with former professional soccer player and Pioneer Sports leader Brian Enge to talk about his own transition out of the game and why, looking back, he believes he may have walked away too soon. Brian shares the fear he felt about falling behind his peers, the pressure to start a traditional career, and what he now tells athletes facing that same decision.

The conversation also explores why Brian estimates that 90% of the people he has hired throughout his career have been athletes. From discipline and resilience to teamwork, accountability, and understanding the connection between hard work and results, he explains why athletes already possess many of the characteristics organizations are looking for, even when they don't have traditional industry experience.

Bryan and Brian also take on the larger conversation happening around youth sports, including pay-to-play, access, scholarships, and the role organizations like Pioneer Sports can play in developing not only better athletes, but better people and future leaders.

If you're wondering what's next after your playing career, this conversation is a reminder that you aren't starting from zero. You're bringing years of experience with you that can translate far beyond the field.

Chapters

00:00 – From Harvard to Professional Soccer
03:45 – Did Brian Leave the Game Too Soon?
05:30 – The Fear of Falling Behind After Sports
08:15 – Why Brian Hires Athletes
10:45 – Inside Pioneer Sports
15:30 – The Truth About Pay-to-Play Youth Sports
21:00 – Making Sports More Accessible
24:45 – What Youth Sports Really Teach Us
27:30 – The Future of Pioneer Sports
33:15 – Experience Over Opinion

Connect with Brian Enge

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianenge
• Website: https://pioneersports.com/

Connect with Bryan:

Check out the website: www.whatsnextpodcast.com
Connect with Bryan on Instagram: @bryanfinnerty22
Connect with Bryan on LinkedIn: @bryanfinnerty

PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will continue to help us support athletes as they transition to what's next.

Don't forget to FOLLOW the podcast so you don't miss a single episode.

Thinking about starting a brand? This episode will give you the reality most people skip.

In this episode of What’s Next!, Bryan sits down with Rachel Erickson, founder of Unmarked Street and apparel expert who has helped scale brands from startup to $50M+ . She breaks down what actually goes into building a successful brand—and why so many founders get it wrong from the very beginning.

From the importance of fit and truly understanding your customer, to budgeting before you ever design a product, Rachel shares the behind-the-scenes truths that can make or break a business. They also dive into why launching too many products too soon can kill your brand, how to properly test your product in the real world, and what it takes to build systems that actually scale.

If you’re an entrepreneur, former athlete, or high performer thinking about building something of your own, this conversation will challenge your assumptions—and help you avoid costly mistakes.

Chapters

00:00 – The biggest mistake founders make
03:00 – Why fit matters more than anything
06:00 – Defining your ideal customer
09:00 – How long it actually takes to build a product
13:00 – Working backwards from your launch timeline
17:00 – The cost of bad timing
20:00 – Why most brands launch too many products
23:00 – Budget before you design
26:00 – Building your first product the right way
28:00 – The importance of real-world testing
31:00 – Creating systems that scale
34:00 – What separates brands that grow vs stall
37:00 – Building a brand that lasts
39:00 – Profitability vs revenue

Connect with Rachel Erickson

• Website: https://www.unmarkedstreet.com

Connect with Bryan:

Check out the website: www.whatsnextpodcast.com
Connect with Bryan on Instagram: @bryanfinnerty22
Connect with Bryan on LinkedIn: @bryanfinnerty

PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will continue to help us support athletes as they transition to what's next.

Don't forget to FOLLOW the podcast so you don't miss a single episode.

What happens when you hit your financial goals… and still feel like something is missing?

In this episode, Bryan sits down with entrepreneur Landen Goodnight, who built a million-dollar insurance business from the ground up after starting with nothing—living in a low-income apartment, newly married, with a baby on the way and no money for diapers .

Landen shares the real story behind his success, from grinding through the early years to leading a team of 40+ agents and creating a business that generates income without requiring his constant presence. But what makes this conversation powerful isn’t just the growth, it’s the shift. After achieving financial success, Landen found himself asking a deeper question: Now what?

They dive into leadership, hiring the right people, building systems that scale, and the importance of aligning your business with your purpose. Landen also opens up about faith, identity, and why chasing money alone will eventually leave you stuck.

If you’re a high performer, entrepreneur, or someone thinking about starting over, this episode will challenge how you define success, and what it actually takes to build a life you don’t want to escape from.

Chapters

00:00 – From Broke to Business Owner

02:00 – Early Entrepreneurship & Challenges

05:00 – Hiring, Leadership & Building a Team

09:00 – Vision vs Execution: Finding the Right People

13:00 – Faith, Identity & Showing Up Authentically

16:00 – The Hidden Opportunity in “Boring” Industries

19:00 – Advice for Starting Over

22:00 – Building a Business That Runs Without You

25:00 – When Money Isn’t Enough

28:00 – Finding Purpose Beyond Success

31:00 – The Reality of Entrepreneurship & Relationships

33:00 – Final Thoughts & How to Connect

28:30 – Keeping Detroit’s top talent from leaving the market

Connect with Landen Goodnight

• Website: http://www.landengoodnight.com
• Link for Kolbe Test www.kolbe.com

Connect with Bryan:

Check out the website: www.whatsnextpodcast.com
Connect with Bryan on Instagram: @bryanfinnerty22
Connect with Bryan on LinkedIn: @bryanfinnerty

PS- Do you love this podcast? We would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review for the show. This will continue to help us support athletes as they transition to what's next.

Don't forget to FOLLOW the podcast so you don't miss a single episode.