🎙️ Episode Title:
The End That Sparked a Beginning: Curt Roese’s Second-Act Story
We've all thought about it, haven't we? You spend years, perhaps decades, building up to a significant life change. For instance, retirement: you plan for it, dream about it, and then it happens, and maybe it feels a bit. Flat, anti-climactic even. Absolutely. That feeling is surprisingly common, but what if that end is actually a huge beginning waiting to happen?
Exactly, and that's what we're exploring today. We're doing a deep dive into the story of Curt Roese at 61. He didn't just retire. He completely reinvented what that stage of life could look like. Sounds fascinating. Oh, it is. Our sources provide us with this vibrant personal story, as told by Curt himself.
Lots of insights, some real challenges he faced, and those aha moments. Moments that just change everything. So what's our goal with this deep dive? Well, we want to unpack how Curt took that feeling of burnout and this unexpected void that opened up and turned it into something vibrant and purposeful. He did this alongside his wife, Shari, which is a key part of the story too.
Yeah. And crucially. We want to see how his journey might spark something in you. For anyone listening who's thinking about their next chapter, whatever that might be. Okay. Let's start at that moment then. Yeah. June, 2023. Curt Roese Steps down as CFO. He's 61, but you mentioned it was anti-climactic. Yeah, very much so.
Due to the increased remote work that began during the pandemic. There was no big party, no gold watch. He said that one day, he was deep in spreadsheets and virtual meetings, and the next, his access to company systems was gone. Cut off. That was it. Poof, retired. It sounds quite abrupt, doesn't it?
It is almost like hitting a wall. It was a sudden stop to that daily rhythm he'd had for so long. And that immediate emptiness, he said, led to this feeling. He called a familiar void. Familiar. So he'd felt something like it before? Yes. That's the interesting part. Initially, he and Shari kept busy.
They sold their condo and bought a house that needed remodeling, so that took up a lot of their energy for a bit—kept the void at bay, maybe for a while, yes. But underneath that restlessness started creeping back in once the main renovation push was over. And it connected back to an earlier time in his life. Between 1998 and 2008, he'd built a custom home building company in central Florida.
Oh wow. Yeah. Started it from scratch, grew it into an award-winning business. He poured everything into it and found immense satisfaction there. So he knew that feeling of building something his own. Yeah. But 2008. That was a challenging year for builders. Devastating. The recession hit, and he lost everything he'd built.
Just wiped out. O ouch. That must still leave a mark. Absolutely, but it also taught him something powerful. He still had that deep desire to build again, that entrepreneurial itch, but this time he wanted to do it differently. Smarter, maybe. How so? He began dreaming of an online business, one that would avoid the huge financial risks of his first venture.
No physical offices, no employees to manage. None of the things that amplified the crash last time. So learning from the past, but not being trapped by it. Exactly. It's not about forgetting the tough times, but adapting the lessons. He kept the core dream of creating and building, but changed the method to avoid the old pitfalls, allowing the entrepreneurial spirit to return in a new way.
That's insightful. Okay, so retirement sets in. He has a simmering desire to build online. Yeah. What happens next? Our sources mentioned he started facing some old regrets. Yes. And this is where it gets really interesting. One big one was his first go at college, back at the University of Akron.
He felt, you know, kind of disconnected from it at the time. Didn't engage with it. Apparently not. And he joked for literally four years that if he ever hit the lottery, he'd get a master's degree, specifically from Ohio State. That was the running joke, huh? We all have those. If I won the lottery dreams, yeah, but why tackle that specific regret now?
I think it tapped into something more profound, like an unfinished intellectual journey. Maybe a sense of what if that lottery joke wasn't just a joke? It was hiding a real longing for a different kind of learning experience. Then, about seven months into retirement, in January 2024, something clicked. He felt a real surge of energy and momentum, and instead of just talking about someday, he went for it; he applied.
He applied to the University of Florida's Master's program in entrepreneurship, a highly prestigious program. And listen, this wasn't easy. He had to face it. As he put it, his less-than-stellar 40-year-old GPA. Oh, wow. Digging up the old transcripts. Exactly. And get this, he was told he'd be on academic probation before he even started because of that old record.
That's tough. Starting behind the eight ball, essentially. What was it like getting accepted after all that? He said the email arrived in April 2024, and the feeling was immense. Both thrilling and terrifying all at once. It was real validation. Oh yeah. And there's this great little detail. Curt and Shari drove down to the campus together, held hands, walked around, took pictures, and bought a bunch of Gator gear, making it real and sharing the moment.
It symbolized their joint commitment to this new adventure, and it ties into Curt's mindset at the time he shared his mantra. As you get older, you begin to realize. Time is getting shorter, and my wife and I want to live a full, exciting life with no regrets. Keep exploring life to its fullest until we can't.
Wow, that's powerful, isn't it? It shows that tackling those old regrets —the ones that linger —can seriously fuel your life with new purpose. Acting on those days matters. Living a full, exciting life with no regrets. I like that. And it seems this wasn't just about academics for Curt; he tackled another significant area of regret.
That's right. It became a more holistic thing. He decided to confront a lifelong struggle with his weight and health. This was something deeply personal, something that had gradually eroded his confidence over the years, despite all his professional success. So the academic challenge spurred on a physical one.
Or vice versa. It seemed like they fed each other. The courage he found to apply for the Master's program appeared to unlock the resolve to focus on his health as well, and he made significant progress. He hit his lowest weight since 1980. A major personal milestone. That's incredible. Was Shari involved in this part, too?
Very much so. She was right there with him. They started doing Pilates together several times a week. Mm-hmm. And they love hiking, especially up in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. They'd go hiking together there. That shared activity must have helped. Absolutely. And this physical transformation wasn't just about losing weight.
He talked about how it gave him this massive confidence boost that just spread into everything else he was doing. It permeated every aspect, as he put it. Yeah. That's the phrase he used. It highlights how tackling one significant challenge, especially something physical, can have a ripple effect. That new confidence wasn't just about how he looked or felt physically.
It fueled his studies. It gave him more courage for the entrepreneurial endeavors he was considering. It's like strengthening your foundations helps you take bigger leaps elsewhere. That makes total sense. Okay, so he's got this renewed confidence. He's deep in his Master's program. Mm-hmm. Uh, how did that lead to the actual business idea?
You mentioned he found the modern education landscape quite different. Oh yeah. Completely different. Everything online, including classes, discussions, and group projects, was available. Well, I can imagine he even joked with a professor, saying, 'You know, in the real world, I can just fire the non-performers.'
Probably not the done thing in academia, probably not. However, dealing with those dynamics, including virtual collaboration and accountability, got him thinking about community and support in a new way. Ah, so the challenges sparked ideas. Exactly. And then came the pivotal moment. He was up early one morning, with a cup of coffee on the kitchen counter, just brainstorming.
Three hours later, he's got like 20 bits of paper scattered around the classic creative mess. Totally. And somewhere in that mess was the core concept for what would become his business. The name wasn't there yet, but the essence was. And what was that essence? What need did he see? He realized he wanted to help people like himself, those nearing or in retirement, figure out how to build, as he put it, vibrant, fulfilling, and financially secure futures.
Lies without regrets. Lives with stories worth telling the grandkids. He saw that familiar void wasn't just his problem; it was common, and helping others navigate what he was navigating was precisely what he was doing. Then, in another brainstorming session, the name "Retirepreneur" clicked into place. He thought about terms like solopreneur, but felt that people our age, in his words, wanted community.
They wanted to belong to something. Share the journey. Retirepreneur. I like it. It captures that blend. He thought so too. He ran it past a friend in marketing who loved it. So bang. He bought the domain name, which cost him $500, and by April 2025, he'd secured the trademark, moving quickly. Once the idea solidified quickly, translating it into action, he was clearly all in, just like his philosophy.
So, going back to school wasn't just about personal growth; it became the incubator for his business. Was that planned? Perhaps not explicitly planned from the start, but it developed into a fantastic synergy. His entrepreneurship classes required business plans. Ah, practical application. Exactly. So he wasn't just daydreaming about Retirepreneur, he was actively building its foundation.
Testing the concepts and refining the strategy as part of his coursework. That structure probably pushed him further faster than if he'd just been tinkering on his own. That makes a huge difference. And did this academic setting lead to any early wins for. Retireentrepreneur. It sure did. Pretty quickly, actually, in November 2024, his professor encouraged him to enter the Luby Micro-Grant Pitch Competition.
Okay. Curt pitched retirepreneur and won $5,000 in grants. Wow. That's fantastic validation. Huge validation. And it's funny; Curt kept saying, ' Look, this is a lifestyle business, not some huge, scalable big idea. ' Looking for venture capital, right and managing expectations. But his professors were so impressed.
They insisted he enter the main Big Idea Competition anyway, pushing him further. This process also fostered personal growth in other areas, such as his struggles with formal presentations in one of his communication classes. Oh yeah. Public speaking jitters, that's common.
Totally. His brother saw some practice videos and joked that he looked like a hostage. Oh dear. That's rough, but relatable. Did he talk about how he overcame that fear? He mentioned just intense practice and preparation. Knowing the material wasn't enough; he had to get comfortable delivering it, performing it almost.
It shows that getting comfortable with discomfort is key to growth, right? You push the boundaries, and they expand. Absolutely. Practice, practice, practice. And it all paid off. There was this. An incredible full-circle moment, as he called it. April 16th, 2025. Wow. Exactly. One year after he got that acceptance email to UF, the one that was both thrilling and terrifying.
That's the one on that exact anniversary. Retirepreneur was chosen as one of the 16 semi-finalists for the Big Idea Competition. Incredible timing. What a journey in just one year, isn't it? From academic probation to semi-finalist. Okay, so that leads to the final competition itself. January, 2025. The Big Idea: Gator Business Plan Competition.
A 30-minute live presentation. Curt admitted this, which terrified him. Why is he still terrified? After all he'd been through. He was a CFO. It's interesting, isn't it? Being a CFO means presenting data strategies to people, such as a board. This was different. How so? This was pitching a vision, his personal passion project, to strangers.
In a highly public and competitive setting. It's a different kind of exposure, maybe more vulnerability involved. Selling the dream, not just the numbers. Exactly. And the fantastic part is, while he didn't make it to the final round, he conquered that fear. He delivered the presentation, facing it head-on.
That's the real win. Maybe that's what his friends told him. And I think it's spot on. One said, Congrats. You already won the experience and the contacts you made, which last forever. Another said. You got into the arena and competed. Most people just talk about doing things like this from a powerful perspective. It is.
It reminds you that the value is often in the process, the growth, the courage shown, not just the final prize. And Curt and Shari, showing real class, stayed an extra day just to support the finalists. Nice touch. Yeah, and it seems his spirit didn't go unnoticed. At the awards, they gave him a special entrepreneurial spirit award and another $1,000 grant, acknowledging his journey and passion.
That's wonderful—a fitting recognition. The competition phase is now over, but the entrepreneur's journey continues. Oh, absolutely. It's very much ongoing. He's. Actively building out the entrepreneur platform using Kajabi. That's a popular tool for online courses and memberships. Right? Building the community space.
Exactly. He's creating content and preparing to launch a membership platform. Personally, another milestone is approaching. He's set to graduate with his Master's degree in December 2025 officially. Fantastic closing that loop, and get this: all four of his kids, their spouses, and his nine grandchildren are planning to be there to celebrate with him, making it a real family affair.
That must mean the world to him. You bet. It brings it all together. And he summed up his approach so well, saying, 'I am a very humble man, and I don't want to be seen as bragging ever.' I have the same fears and uncertainties as anyone else, but once I commit. I am all in. Once I commit, I am all in.
That seems to be the thread through this whole story. It is. That commitment turns those fuels and uncertainties into fuel for action. What an incredible story. Curt Roese navigates the familiar void of CFO burnout, that anti-climactic retirement, and emerges as a purpose-driven Retirepreneur.
Mm-hmm. And Shari, his wife, is a vital partner in all of it. Absolutely. Her support seems crucial throughout. It's so much more than just starting a business, isn't it? It's about tackling regrets, embracing learning at any age, and just continuing to grow, living fully. That's the heart of it. That's the message we really hope resonates with you.
Retirement doesn't have to be an endpoint. It can genuinely be a doorway to a whole new chapter filled with possibility, A new beginning. Exactly. So, maybe the question for you listening right now is this: is there a familiar void stirring within you, something waiting to be filled with a new challenge, a new passion, a new chapter?
Mm-hmm. And inspired by Curt's story, maybe facing that old regret or taking that first step towards learning something new. What's one small thing you could do, perhaps even today, to start writing your next chapter to begin living with, as Curt says. No regrets. A powerful thought to leave us with, because, ultimately, as Curt's journey shows us, it's not just about hearing inspiring stories; it's about finding the spark to create your own.
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