Tori Smith is the founder of The Welcome Standard, a concierge service that helps relocated talent feel at home in Tampa Bay. Her mission is simple but powerful: improve retention by making the onboarding experience seamless, personalized, and human. In a recent Idea Citizen Mentorsphere conversation, she shared her journey from recruiter to founder, and how shes turning reputation into revenue. From Football Recruiting to Founder Toris background includes high-stakes recruiting for Ohio...

Makena Finger Zannini is a five-time founder and the creator of The Boutique COO, a business support agency helping small and medium-sized companies scale through backend operations, pricing clarity, and strategic systems. In a recent Idea Citizen Mentorsphere conversation, she shared tactical advice for founders who feel overwhelmed by sales and need a data-driven approach to growth. Sales Is Math, Not Emotion Makena's core philosophy is simple: sales is math. "How many people do I need at...

Starting a business is often fueled by passion and expertisebut turning that into revenue requires a different skill set. In a recent Idea Citizen Mentor Series conversation, Tori Smith, founder of The Welcome Standard, and Makena Finger Zannini, founder of The Boutique COO, unpacked the emotional and strategic challenges of early-stage founders learning to sell. The Expertise Trap Toris story is familiar to many first-time founders: she built a service she knew was valuable, but struggled...