There’s a common belief that if you’re not technical, you can’t build Technology-driven businesses. That belief quietly stops a lot of people before they ever start. My guest today is proof that assumption is wrong.
My guest today is Colin Hirdman, a serial entrepreneur who has built multiple companies across Growth services, software, and now AI-enabled platforms, without coming from a traditional technical background.
Colin is the co-founder of Rainmaker, where he helps entrepreneurs and businesses use LinkedIn as a genuine growth channel rather than a spam machine. He’s also the founder of Wrappt, a platform designed to help non-technical founders turn ideas and expertise into AI-powered applications without writing code.
In this episode, we talk about Colin’s entrepreneurial journey—how he got started, the mistakes that shaped his thinking, and what it’s really like building companies alongside long-term partners.
We also dig into where AI and automation actually create leverage for founders, where they fall short, and what non-technical entrepreneurs must get right to build sustainable businesses in today’s environment.
If you’ve ever felt drawn to entrepreneurship but questioned whether you were “qualified,” this conversation will resonate.
Colin’s Companies:
Rainmaker
https://www.rainmakergrows.com
Wrappt
https://wrappt.ai
Mike Konrad entered the electronics manufacturing industry in 1985. Four decades later, he continues to dedicate his career to advancing reliability within the industry. In 1992, he founded Aqueous Technologies, an equipment manufacturer serving the electronics sector. Becoming an entrepreneur was never part of his plan, he simply had a passion for a product he designed. When his employer declined to build it, he realized the only way forward was to create it himself.
Mike entered business with strong technical skills but no business acumen. His early assets were ego, passion, arrogance, ignorance, and above all, a poor assessment of risk. Ironically, those traits proved useful in the beginning, ignorance really was bliss. But as his company grew, Mike recognized that those same traits could lead to its downfall. To survive, he had to transform himself, developing business acumen, adopting sustainable strategies, and evolving from reckless enthusiasm into purposeful leadership.
Today, with 40 years of industry experience, Mike shares both his technical expertise and his entrepreneurial journey, offering lessons from personal and professional growth, the near-misses that almost derailed him, and the strategies that carried him forward. He is also a strong advocate of “conscious marketing”, moving beyond traditional chest-thumping advertising toward education-driven authority building. By offering value through knowledge rather than hype, Mike helps organizations connect with a new generation of decision-makers who prefer independent research over bold claims.
