EP. 90 | How One Small-Town Coffee Shop Became a Community Powerhouse

EP. 90 | How One Small-Town Coffee Shop Became a Community Powerhouse

The host of the Realistic CEO Podcast shares how a teacher once said becoming a CEO was unrealistic, inspiring a mission to help kids believe their dreams can come true. He interviews Victor Narvaez, co-owner of Good Works Coffee House in downtown Chicopee, a coffee shop built around community impact, partnerships with nonprofits, and internship opportunities for at-risk youth. Victor describes his 11 years as a social worker with the Department of Children and Families, his passion for representation and mentoring adolescents, and why he chose a coffee shop as a community hub. The host reads his children’s book about becoming a CEO and discusses collaboration to inspire students. Victor explains the five types of work—working hard, smart, right, networking, and teamwork—plus LBW (long, lonely, boring work) like weekly inventory, and shares a fun fact: he’s a singer who performed at the Apollo Theater. 00:00 Dream to Be CEO 00:22 Meet Victor 00:42 Good Works Mission 01:09 Social Work Roots 02:58 Mentoring Youth Vision 04:46 Why a Coffee Shop 05:31 Internship Stories 07:34 Storytime Realistic CEO 11:47 Five Types of Work 16:15 Imposter to Impact 19:49 Long Lonely Boring Work 20:30 Fun Fact and Wrap Up 21:07 Support and Next Steps

EP. 89 | From Wanting a Suit to Becoming a Leader

In this episode of the Realistic CEO Podcast, the host interviews Anne Kandilis, leader of Springfield Works, a citywide collaboration of employers, educators, and residents focused on economic mobility by expanding access, opportunity, and choice. Anne shares her Springfield upbringing, first-generation college path at UMass Amherst while working multiple jobs, early management experience, and career moves from a small accounting firm to the Big Four and beyond, including becoming a tax partner at 38 and later shifting from corporate work to policy and education-focused nonprofit work after consulting with Springfield Public Schools and related initiatives. They discuss helping students understand C-suite roles, the host’s children’s book I Am a CEO, Realistic CEO inspired by being told becoming a CEO was unrealistic, and the “five types of work” (work hard, work smart, work right, networking, teamwork) plus the LBW (“long, lonely, boring work”). 00:00 Proving CEO Dreams Real 00:22 Meet Springfield Works 01:22 From Springfield to Big Four 04:40 Why the Suit Mattered 06:22 Corporate to Community Impact 08:01 The Five Year Career Rule 09:45 Teaching Kids the C Suite 11:25 Making Partner and Lessons 13:29 Reading the Realistic CEO Book 18:37 Why I Wrote This Story 20:32 Teachers and Confidence 22:59 Five Types of Work Explained 29:07 The Long Lonely Boring Work 30:51 Fun Facts and Farewell

EP. 88 Community Foundation

In this episode of the Realistic CEO Podcast, the host interviews Megan Burke, President and CEO of a Community Foundation, about her role doing “a little bit of everything,” from reviewing grants and scholarships to meeting donors, managing budgets, and engaging the board. Megan shares her career path from political science and economics studies to international work preventing the use of landmines and cluster munitions, later leading that organization as executive director, and then moving into community foundation work in Hartford before taking her current CEO position closer to home. They discuss how opportunities shaped her career, why local impact became more fulfilling, and how thriving communities involve those closest to challenges in decision-making. The host introduces his nonprofit Realistic Lemonade, distributing 5,000 books to Springfield students, reads from his book “I Am a CEO,” and asks Megan to define the five types of work and LBW, plus a fun fact about her learning ukulele during COVID. 00:00 Dreaming CEO Big 00:28 Meet Megan Burke 00:38 CEO Role Explained 01:37 Career Path Surprises 03:42 Early Jobs Lessons 05:07 College And Purpose 06:37 Global To Local Impact 09:13 Taking The CEO Leap 10:58 Communities Thrive Differently 13:17 Favorite Foundation Moments 15:03 Realistic Lemonades Mission 18:05 School Outreach Wins 21:06 Partnering And Grants 22:13 Storytime I Am CEO 25:54 Five Types Of Work 28:55 Long Lonely Boring Work 30:13 Imposter Feelings Overcome 32:02 Ukulele Fun Fact 32:40 Thanks And Support Links

Ep 87 | The 3 Phases of Success: Learn, Earn, Return (99% Ignore This)

In this episode of the Realistic CEO Podcast, the host interviews Bob Bolduc, who now runs a foundation serving youth and families in underserved communities and describes his team focused daily routine. Bolduc shares his upbringing in Springfield, his engineering degree from Notre Dame, and a master’s in business from Purdue, emphasizing that education and lifelong learning are essential to success. He discusses his enlisted Vietnam era military experience and what it taught him about leadership, following directions, teamwork, accountability, and respect. On entrepreneurship, he explains starting at his father’s gas station, building and selling multiple businesses, and growing Pride by working extreme hours, setting standards, and creating consistent systems. He also reacts to the host’s children’s book and breaks down “work hard,” “work smart,” ethics, networking, teamwork, and the “LBW” mindset. 00:00 CEO Dream Origin Story 00:22 Meet Bob Bolduc 00:39 Running a Youth Foundation 01:53 Education and Early Path 03:31 Learn Earn Return Framework 05:09 Military Service Lessons 07:27 Leadership Through Teamwork 09:50 Entrepreneurship Reality Check 12:17 Hard Work and Adaptation 12:50 Systems Standards and Flexibility 14:27 Why Education Wins Funding 16:04 College Or Bust 16:18 Selling Starts With Marketing 17:21 Learn Earn Return 18:09 Systems And Expectations 19:39 Why Pride Won 20:34 Scaling By Location 21:09 Storytime Realistic CEO 25:31 Five Types Of Work 26:13 Ethics Networking Teamwork 28:22 LBW And Final Thanks

Ep. 86 | How One Banker Found Greater Impact in Community Lending

In this episode of the Realistic CEO podcast, Mike interviews Raymond , who leads Common Capital, a US Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in Western Massachusetts that provides loans to small businesses that can’t get full financing from banks and pairs capital with free technical assistance, training, and education. Raymond shares his path from dropping out of college and starting in bank management training to commercial lending, then shifting to nonprofit community development finance after feeling big-bank work was too mechanical and profit-driven. He explains what CDFIs are, Common Capital’s origin story, how lending decisions focus on repayment ability, willingness, and a plan B, and why Common Capital prioritizes character, commitment ,and coachability over credit scores. Mike reads from his children’s book “I Am a CEO,” and Raymond discusses the “five types of work” and gives startup advice to write and share a simple plan, especially with skeptics. 00:00 Dream to Be CEO 00:27 Meet Common Capital 00:35 What Common Capital Does 01:41 From Banking to CDFIs 05:58 What Is a CDFI 07:26 Common Capital Origin Story 09:07 Why Leave Big Banking 11:09 Learning Business on the Job 12:14 How Lending Decisions Work 14:31 Beyond Capital Support 15:45 Becoming the CEO 16:52 Choosing the Right Borrowers 18:44 Character and Credit Bias 19:29 Credit Scores vs Character 20:28 Foreclosure Story Deep Dive 22:03 Reading Realistic CEO 25:37 Lemonade Stand Lesson 26:49 Five Types of Work 27:00 Working Hard Focus 28:08 Working Right Balance 29:43 Working Smart Strengths 30:33 Networking Relationships 31:25 Teamwork In Person 32:36 LBW Career Reflections 34:30 Startup Advice Simple Plan 36:21 Fun Fact Sleepy Voice 37:25 Thanks and Support Plug