Entrepreneurship doesn’t look the same for everyone. For some, it’s a solo gig on a beach with a guitar. For others, it’s building a company big enough to ring the bell at Nasdaq. In a recent episode of The Rundown with Ramon, Nicola Corzine, Executive Director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, unpacked what it really takes to build a business, especially if you don’t come from money, connections, or the “right” ZIP code.

She shared her journey as the daughter of an immigrant entrepreneur, a founder whose company was acquired by Microsoft, and now a leader serving more than 125,000 entrepreneurs worldwide—at no cost to them. And she made one thing very clear: entrepreneurship should work for everyone, not just a lucky few.

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Key Takeaways

• Your story and values matter as much as your business model
• Under-resourced founders often lack networks and belief, not talent
• The most successful entrepreneurs focus on strategic milestones, not long to-do lists
• Not everyone should raise venture capital or go public—and that’s okay
• Main Street entrepreneurs and high-growth startups both power the innovation economy

Related – How To Hire Your First Virtual Assistant To Grow Your Business

The Immigrant Entrepreneur’s Daughter Who Never Left the Game

Nicola Corzine grew up watching her father uproot their family from England to California in pursuit of a bigger entrepreneurial dream. He didn’t believe he could build generational wealth in the UK, so he moved his wife and kids to the U.S. and started over.

That experience shaped her. When she couldn’t find a job during university in England, her dad told her, “If you can’t get a job, build something people want.” So she did. She started a company in the UK. Later, back in the U.S., she built another company that was acquired by Microsoft.

But her story isn’t just about wins. She also raised too much money for another company, believed cash could “force” the market open, and learned the hard way that you cannot outspend a bad fit. The real lesson? You win when you obsess over customers, not capital.

That mix of hard-earned wins and painful lessons is what she now brings to the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, a global hub that supports founders at no cost and takes no equity—just a commitment to help them grow.

What “Underserved” Really Means in Entrepreneurship

If you live near New York, San Francisco, or another big tech hub, opportunity can feel like it’s everywhere—incubators, startup meetups, SBA offices, coworking spaces. But that’s not the reality for millions of entrepreneurs across the U.S. and around the world.

Nicola used a simple but powerful phrase: many founders “never thought they had the privilege of calling themselves an entrepreneur.”

Underserved doesn’t just mean “poor” or “far away.” It can be:

• Location (no local incubators, no startup community, no mentors)
• Identity (gender, race, caste, socioeconomic background)
• Lack of networks (no one to introduce you to investors, customers, or advisors)
• Lack of belief (no one ever told you that you could be the entrepreneur)

The Center’s job is to change that. They removed physical barriers by going virtual during COVID. They focused on under-resourced founders who didn’t have networks or capital and built programs around what founders said they needed—fundraising help, customer acquisition, supply chain, hiring, and more.

For small business owners, the message is simple: if you’ve sacrificed, taken risk, and are building something for your family and community—you are an entrepreneur. You deserve the word and the resources that come with it.

Why Likability, Authenticity, and Persistence Still Matter

Nicola highlighted something many founders overlook: people do business with people they like. Especially at the startup and small business stage, there are a thousand reasons not to pick you. Your systems are new, your team is small, your brand is unknown.

So what tips the scale?

• Who you are – your values, how you show up, how you treat people
• Authenticity – not just a polished origin story, but being clear why you keep going when it’s hard
• Persistence – the willingness to keep solving problems even when markets shift or bigger competitors show up

Investors, partners, and customers will often stick with you when everything on paper says they shouldn’t—because they believe in you.

As a small business owner, you don’t need to act like a Silicon Valley founder. But you do need to:

• Be real and consistent
• Follow through on your promises
• Stay visible and in relationship with the people who back you

That credibility is a real asset. Treat it like one.

The Power of Milestones: Stop Drowning in Tasks

Nicola said she sat in board meetings where founders proudly listed long task lists from the quarter. Then someone would ask, “But what did you learn? What did you actually do?”

That’s the gap.

Entrepreneurs don’t fail because they aren’t busy. They fail because they’re busy with the wrong things.

Nicola frames everything around milestones—clear, strategic learning goals that move the business forward. Instead of asking:

• “What can I get done today?”

Ask:

• “What is the most important strategic question I need answered this quarter?”
• “What experiment will help me learn that, with the time and money I have?”

For a small business owner, that might look like:

• Proving whether a new service offer will sell before you build it fully
• Testing if a new customer segment will buy, before you invest in marketing to them
• Checking if a new pricing model will work, before rolling it out everywhere

Tasks are endless. Milestones force you to focus.

Don’t Let Money Decide Your Life Strategy

Nicola is deeply tied to Nasdaq, but she doesn’t romanticize going public or raising venture capital. She’s blunt: taking other people’s money means accepting their expectations, timelines, and control.

She urges founders to ask hard questions before raising:

• Am I okay with not being CEO one day?
• Am I willing to be told who to lay off and where to grow?
• Am I comfortable sharing detailed financials on a regular basis?
• Does this investor’s exit timeline match my life and business goals?

Going public is “just another form of capital,” not a finish line. It magnifies everything—scrutiny, pressure, reporting, and expectations.

For small business owners, this is a helpful reset:

• Bootstrapping is not “less than”
• Revenue-based loans, profit-sharing, franchising, or selling your business quietly can all be valid paths
• Exit planning takes 3–4 years; don’t wait until you’re exhausted to start thinking about it

Your job is to design a capital path that fits your goals, not someone else’s playbook.

Main Street vs High Growth: Both Are Needed

One of the most powerful images Nicola shared is the contrast between Main Street businesses and high-growth startups. During COVID, when small businesses shuttered in San Francisco, the tech community suddenly realized how empty the city felt without its local entrepreneurs—restaurants, barbershops, cafes, shops.

Her point:

• The solo guitarist on the beach running a modest, happy business is just as valid as the founder chasing a billion-dollar valuation
• Our economy needs both Main Street and high-growth entrepreneurship to thrive
• All boats should rise together—or we lose the innovation economy for everyone

As a small business owner, you don’t need to apologize for your ambition—whether it’s “small and steady” or “big and bold.” Own your choice. Build the business that fits your life, your family, and your zone of genius.