We had the good fortune of connecting with Francisco Gonzalez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Francisco, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
In my previous roles as a fundraiser for nonprofit organizations that engaged din public policy, I constantly interfaced with donors and prospective donors, many of which were entrepreneurs. As I got to know them personally, their entrepreneurial stories fascinated me and I kept thinking: “I wish more people could hear these stories.” Then, one day, as I had that thought, I turned on a podcast. That gave me the idea to start a podcast. Now that I am nearing 100 episodes of the Agents of Innovation podcast, I decided to bring more people into the conversations and position my previous (and future) podcast guests as role models for aspiring and ascending entrepreneurs to learn from. One of the biggest takeaways I have from the collection of guests and entrepreneurs who I interact with constantly is that entrepreneurs have a particular mindset. My community, Fearless Journeys, focuses on helping others build and entrepreneurial mindset through group coaching sessions and a book club, each led by the nearly 50 Featured Innovators in my community. In addition, we promote travel and bring people together through several group trips each year — trips that are fun but also engage with entrepreneurs across the country and even in some international destinations. Group travel can be formative and when you combine it with role model entrepreneurs, books, and collaboration, it helps people be more courageous on their own journey.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think what sets me apart from most others is my focus on relationships — making them personal. People are not transactions. They are people. In my role as a fundraiser, I always invested in the relationship — and not just how it related to a donation I wanted to get or even the organization I worked for. Today, I am friends with and still in touch with so many people that were supporters of organizations that I worked for but do not necessarily have a business relationship with me today. I am also very gifted at “connecting the dots” and connecting people with others. When I get to know someone, I usually have a little light bulb that goes off in my head to introduce them to a person, an organization, a book, or something that can add value to their life or help enrich something they are already doing. I do this naturally but as I look back, I notice how much it builds my relationships with others when I can add value to their life, even outside of my relationship to them. People want to be around other people who provide them with positive experiences — and they want to help them too.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I currently live in Orlando, but I have spent enough time in Atlanta to know that it’s a city bursting with opportunities. I’d enjoy taking a friend on a walk or bike ride through Piedmont Park; a night out at an Atlanta Braves game; an afternoon exploring the Millennium Gate Museum, and then going for lunch or a drink in nearby Atlantic Station. We’d go check out the College Football Hall of Fame, get some Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, and then go out in the evening in Buckhead. And during our trip we’d hang out at the Red Phone Booth speakeasy where we can enjoy some cigars and cocktails.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
One of the constant refrains I preach to those in my community or those considering joining is that NO ONE TAKES A JOURNEY ALONE. We are all helped by someone along the way. My parents have been the most formative to providing me with the foundations of my faith and education and the values that sustain me through the good times and the challenging ones. Along the way, so many others have been there (too many to thank) at very moments. In Paul Coelho’s book, “The Alchemist,” there is a constant refrain that “and, when you really want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” As I look back at key moments in my life, I notice that many people nudged me along the way. As I embarked on my own entrepreneurial journey to create Fearless Journeys, this seemed to keep happening at many points along the way. People near and far kept coming out of the woodwork to help me or offer me some opportunity. And I am very thankful for my friend Matt Thomas for first recommending “The Alchemist” to me in 2018 — a book I used in my first Fearless Journeys book club and one in which Matt came on to lead us through our very first book club session.

Website: fearlessjourneys.org

Instagram: fearlessjourneysFG

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgonzalez1978/

Twitter: @fgonzalez1978 and @AgentInnovation

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgentsOfInnovationPodcast/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwAHpA_AXxBafhI2jH8_rtg

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.