Kerry Simon on Building a Business with Heart

🎙️EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Find Your Leadership Confidence Podcast
Host: Vicki Noethling
Guest: Kerry Simon
Episode Title: Building a Business with Heart

What does it take to build a business rooted not only in strategy, but in heart, grit, and lifelong curiosity? In this inspiring episode, I sit down with serial entrepreneur and creative visionary Kerry Simon, whose journey spans from launching his first business at age 11 to becoming the co-founder of Nowhere Coffee Club, a marketing strategist, retail leader, storyteller, and brand builder.

Kerry’s entrepreneurial spark ignited early with Homeboy’s Lawn Care, and by his mid-twenties, he was running three successful retail stores specializing in vintage fashion, skate culture, and streetwear — along with his own clothing line. After years of building brands from the ground up, he and his wife hit the road for a year-long RV adventure that reshaped his approach to life and leadership.

His career then took an unexpected turn into the corporate world, where he rose from a social media director at a snowboard shop to the Chief Marketing Officer of two international retail clothing chains with more than 200 locations combined. Still driven by creativity and connection, Kerry later founded a marketing agency and partnered with a former customer (and now best friend) to co-create Nowhere Coffee Club, a coffee brand rooted in community, belonging, and the magic of shared stories.

In this conversation, Kerry opens up about risk-taking, resilience, collaboration, and how every chapter of his life — from fashion to coffee to leadership — has shaped the way he helps brands and entrepreneurs grow today.

Some questions explored in this episode include:
• What pivotal moments shaped Kerry’s entrepreneurial path?
• How did launching his first business at 11 influence his leadership as an adult?
• What challenges did he face launching three retail stores by age 26 — and how did he overcome them?
• How did a year-long RV trip change his mindset about life and business?
• What lessons from small business ownership carried over into his role as a CMO?
• How does he bridge experiences across fashion, snowboarding, retail, and coffee?
• What inspired the creation of Nowhere Coffee Club?
• What low-cost, high-impact marketing strategies does he recommend for new entrepreneurs?

If you’re a dreamer, builder, or creator looking for practical wisdom from someone who has lived multiple entrepreneurial lives, this episode will both ground you and inspire you.

Use this link to visit Kerry’s websites.

https://nowherecoffeeclub.com/

If interested in their agency… https://www.kcsstrategy.com/

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Connect With Our Guest

Website: https://nowherecoffeeclub.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrysimon/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowherecoffeeclub

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/nowherecoffeeclub/

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Kerry's entrepreneurial journey began at just 11 years old when he started his first business, Homeboy's Lawn Care. By the age of 26, he had already opened three retail stores, specializing in vintage clothing, skateboards, and streetwear, while also launching his own clothing line, Proletariat. But Kerry's story doesn’t stop there. After hitting the road with his wife in an old Toyota RV to travel around the USA for a year, he settled in Salt Lake City and decided to try his hand at the corporate world. There, he worked his way up from social media Director at a snowboard shop to becoming the CMO of two international retail clothing chains with over 200 locations. Never one to sit still, Kerry later launched a marketing agency and co-founded Nowhere Coffee Club, a coffee company born from a partnership with his best friend and former customer of his Cambridge, MA store. Today, Kerry is here to share his unique insights on entrepreneurship, marketing, and how he’s navigated the twists and turns of his diverse career.