What does it look like to bet everything on an idea that doesn't have a name yet? In this episode, hosts Roy Richardson and Sean Murphy sit down with Dick Larsen — founder of Nature's Table, one of the longest-running healthy fast-casual restaurant brands in the United States — for a conversation that spans Vietnam, a mall in Florida, four decades of franchising, and a private equity acquisition that closed in January 2025.

Dick's story begins long before the first smoothie was sold. He was a US Army Special Forces soldier who turned down orders to Germany to serve on an A-team in Vietnam in 1968 — one of only five surviving members of his 250-person class. He came home, went to Central Michigan University, and in 1977 opened a health food concept called Vine and Harvest at the Altamonte Mall in Florida. At a time when healthy food in a mall was not a trend but a gamble, Dick bet on it anyway. By 1983 he had rebranded it as Nature's Table. By 1986 he was franchising. At its peak, the brand operated more than 40 locations across malls, airports, office parks, hospital campuses, college campuses, and gyms — pioneering what the industry now calls the non-traditional venue model.

In this conversation, Dick opens up about:

Turning down orders to Germany to go to Vietnam — and what service, sacrifice, and surviving against the odds taught him about resilience before he ever ran a business
Opening Vine and Harvest in 1977 when "health food" wasn't a category anyone was chasing, and the defining moment that sparked the concept
How a single Orlando Sentinel article opened the door to Disney — and how Disney led to MGM, and MGM led to airports
Building a franchise system from scratch — the hard lessons of early mall leases, occupancy costs, and deals he wishes he had negotiated differently
The non-traditional venue strategy — why airports, hospital campuses, office parks, and college gyms were not a fallback but a vision years ahead of the industry
Stepping away in 2017 after 40 years — when he stopped loving the business and why he knew it was time
The 2025 acquisition by Fast Fresh Brands — how the brand he built for decades found its next chapter through private equity
Why he still believes people will always matter more than technology — and what four decades in food service taught him about leadership, trust, and relationships
Faith, family, and 55 years of marriage — the personal foundation that outlasted every business cycle

Whether you are a franchise founder, a food service entrepreneur, or someone building something that the market hasn't fully caught up to yet, this episode is a masterclass in conviction, patience, and the power of showing up year after year.

Learn more about Dick Larsen:

• LinkedIn
• Website: Natures Table
• Email: itsdicklarsen@gmail.com

Connect with the Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast Hosts:

• LinkedIn: Roy Richardson
• LinkedIn: Sean Murphy

If you found this episode of the Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast inspiring, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform. This way, you won't miss out on future episodes featuring other dynamic business leaders.

Check out our website here, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

The Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast is brought to you by Aurora InfoTech, a Cybersecurity Firm that serves the information security needs of small—and medium-sized businesses.

What does it take to emigrate to a new country as a teenager, start with a mop and a tight budget, and build a company that remodels over 100,000 hotel rooms at Walt Disney World? In this episode, hosts Roy Richardson and Sean Murphy sit down with Juan Quiroga — founder, president, and CEO of JCQ Services — for a conversation about grit, culture, legacy, and what it really means to build something that lasts.

Juan arrived in the US from Peru with no network, no degree, and no roadmap. At 18, he started a small cleaning business alongside his mother. By 2000, he formally launched JCQ Services. Twenty-five years later, it is one of the most recognized Hispanic-owned construction, warehousing, and logistics companies in the Southeast — delivering integrated services to the biggest names in hospitality and theme park development.

In this conversation, Juan opens up about:

• Starting with nothing — what those first years in America actually looked like, and the mindset that carried him through
• Building JCQ from a cleaning contract to a general contracting powerhouse — and what most people miss about the early grind
• 365 prefabricated cabins in 365 days at Fort Wilderness — delivering Disney's biggest modular project through not one but two hurricanes, working in knee-deep water
• The Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative — what being selected by Stanford gave him that 25 years on the job site could not
• Scaling to 100+ employees and 200+ subcontractors — the systems, culture, and leadership shifts that had to happen
• Building proprietary AI-embedded software — why JCQ chose to build its own platform rather than buy off the shelf, and how it is reshaping how they predict risk before problems happen
• COVID and the NBA bubble — how he navigated the shutdown without laying off a single employee
• Working in the business vs. on the business — the mentorship lesson that changed everything
• Sustainable growth over fast growth — why reputation is the most valuable asset JCQ has ever built, and the one word he uses to guard it
• Faith, family, and six kids — how he keeps perspective and what the next chapter looks like for JCQ

Whether you are a first-generation entrepreneur, a construction professional, or a business leader figuring out how to scale without losing what got you there, this episode delivers hard-won wisdom wrapped in one of the most genuine stories you will hear this year.

Learn more about Juan Quiroga:

• LinkedIn
• Website: JCQ Services
• Phone: (407) 889-4944
• Email: juan@jcqservices.com

Connect with the Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast Hosts:

• LinkedIn: Roy Richardson
• LinkedIn: Sean Murphy

If you found this episode of the Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast inspiring, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform. This way, you won't miss out on future episodes featuring other dynamic business leaders.

Check out our website here, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

The Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast is brought to you by Aurora InfoTech, a Cybersecurity Firm that serves the information security needs of small—and medium-sized businesses.

What does it look like to build five careers worth of impact in one lifetime? In this episode, hosts Roy Richardson and Sean Murphy sit down with Mitchel Lasky — co-founder and Managing General Partner of Deep Work Capital, one of Florida's leading early-stage venture capital firms — for a conversation that spans ski slopes, NASDAQ listings, community banking, rock bands, and the founders nobody else would bet on.

Mitchel's path didn't start in boardrooms. He grew up in Roslyn Heights, New York, watched his father's businesses go through Chapter 11, and became the first in his family to earn a college degree — coming out a licensed CPA. From there, he co-founded Dynamic Healthcare Technologies and took it all the way to NASDAQ before merging with Cerner. He then helped build and exit Dynamic Control Corporation, co-founded three Florida community banks — Security National, CNL Bank, and Cogent — and eventually channeled everything he learned into Deep Work Capital, which now manages the Florida Opportunity Fund for the State of Florida, holds 30+ portfolio companies, and was the first investor in Stacks, Florida's first woman-led unicorn.

In this conversation, Mitchel opens up about:

• Growing up with an entrepreneur father — and what watching a Chapter 11 filing teaches a teenager about resilience
• Why his CPA license was a foundation, not a destination — and the Deloitte mentors who shaped him early
• Taking a healthcare tech company to NASDAQ — what the IPO process really demands of a first-time CEO
• Co-founding three community banks — and why Cogent is now one of Florida's fastest-growing financial institutions
• The shift from angel investor to VC — and why writing checks wasn't enough when the founders stopped calling back
• What founders consistently get wrong in a pitch — including the #1 mistake that kills credibility immediately
• CEO vs. board dynamics — the listening skill most leaders have to be taught before it's too late
• Managing by walking the cubes — why he never sat in his corner office and what that did for company culture
• Scheduling balance like a business meeting — his actual weekly routine for protecting what matters most
• Dreaming bigger in retrospect — honest reflections on what more could have looked like, and why wisdom only comes after the miles

Whether you're a founder raising your first round, a leader navigating board dynamics, or someone building toward your first exit, this episode is packed with hard-won perspective from someone who has done it at nearly every level.

Learn more about Mitchel Laskey:

• LinkedIn
• Website: Deep Work Capital
• Phone: (813) 360-4682
• Email: mitchel@deepworkcapital.com

Connect with the Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast Hosts:

• LinkedIn: Roy Richardson
• LinkedIn: Sean Murphy

If you found this episode of the Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast inspiring, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform. This way, you won't miss out on future episodes featuring other dynamic business leaders.

Check out our website here, and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

The Dynamic Business Leaders Podcast is brought to you by Aurora InfoTech, a Cybersecurity Firm that serves the information security needs of small—and medium-sized businesses.