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Founders Outlook Podcast. Episode 25. Richard Blank Moved to Costa Rica at 27 and Built a 150-Person Company

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What happens when you leave everything familiar behind to build a life and business on your own terms?

In this episode of FoundersOutlook, Juliet Ochu sits down with Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, for a conversation about bold decisions, reinvention, and the courage to follow an unconventional path.

At 27, Richard left Philadelphia for Costa Rica with nothing but a vision. Today, he leads a 150-person company, has trained more than 10,000 telemarketers, and has spent nearly 25 years building a business centered on culture, human connection, and excellence.

But this conversation goes far beyond entrepreneurship

Richard shares the mindset that helped him overcome family expectations, societal pressure, and the fear that comes with choosing a different path. He opens up about building a thriving company in a foreign country, creating a workplace people are proud to be part of, and what founders often misunderstand about leadership, culture, and AI.

We also explore the personal side of his journey, from his passion for restoring American pinball machines and antique jukeboxes, to funding scholarships for language students, to the unforgettable story of producing a rock video with INXS bassist Garry Gary Beers.

https://youtu.be/C7OQ9JnkFZ8
Transcript
00:00Yeah. And talking about living a very full life, it's like you're into music as well, because you hired Gary,
00:06Gary Best to produce a rock music, a rock song and music video filmed right at your call center.
00:16How did the conversation ever happen? What drew your interest? What made you start that?
00:22First, I got to ask you a question. You remember the band in excess, don't you?
00:27Yep.
00:28Songs like Need You Tonight, New Sensation, Never Tears Apart, Suicide Blonde. I mean, I could go through the whole
00:33library. My favorite band. And so a good friend of mine down here, Igney Farroki, wrote a song about my
00:38call center called Shot Like the Sun.
00:40And so you and I, we always follow people's podcasts. And I heard Gary Beers talking about his company in
00:47Los Angeles where he makes bass guitars and went on his website. And one section said, hire Gary. He says,
00:53yo, man, if you've got a song, send it to me.
00:55And if it passes, something I can do, and I'll work with you.
00:59So you and I were like, yo, let's do this. So, you know, you would have been cool about it.
01:03Like, Gary, check it out. Let me know, Juliet. Not me. I did like three pages.
01:07I took the opportunity to write a book on how much I love that band. And the gentleman wrote me
01:15back the following day. I couldn't believe it.
01:17And so through the course of some correspondence, I had to make a video at his location in Los Angeles.
01:25It was a performance video, but it was playing to the music where he laid the bass track, helped us
01:32with some synthesizer, added a little bit of beats to it, and just his touch.
01:36And for anybody that believes in electromagnetic transfer of energy from individuals, that was a blast. And it's a gift
01:46that keeps on giving. And so, yeah, I respected the arts. I produced a project. We filmed a funny call
01:53center video with the locals here and combined it with his performance video. And there you go. Shine like the
02:00sun. Gary, Gary Beers and Nicky Ferrochi. Check it out.
02:03And there you go.
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