Meet Kellen Kacal | Entrepreneur

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

Hi Kellen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I LOVE sports, and I’m passionate about giving back and using any platform or influence I may have to share the life lessons sports provide kids. I believe that sports teach discipline, fortitude, consistency, teamwork, hard work, how to deal with failure and fight through adversity, as well as conversational skills that not many other things can match. My hope is that the next generation is impacted by these foundational life skills through participating in a league hosted by K5. I also love the idea of working for myself, it gives me the time flexibility needed to help give back to my community in other capacities. I enjoy my day to day being different everyday, and I LOVE the idea that when I wake up I have an opportunity to lead and to create something new each day.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At the core, what separates K5 from other companies like us is our organization, responsiveness, the experience we provide, and the standard held to maintaining these levels of service. At the moment, I’m incredibly excited about a unique way we’ve found to scale our business, I’m looking forward to these next 9-12 months of growth opportunity. We’ve also introduced programs such as Summer Camps, both on our own and in partnership with USA Football. We’ve launched our Corporate Event program, and Corporate Sponsorship/Branding Program, which gives limited access to our customers by sharing they’re branding through our newsletters, social media, and our website. However, I’m most excited to announce that we’ll be in 5 new locations beginning in the Fall.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I wouldn’t necessarily say “easy,” but business has come natural to me for the most part throughout my life. I’ve had some great successes, and some monumental failures, but I believe how we handle adversity is ultimately what leads to success or failure in both business and personally. At 21 I was diagnosed with stage 2 Testicular Cancer. I had just started my first business and was excited of the potential of it. Unfortunately, that ended quickly with my diagnosis and it threw my life into a whirlwind. I started Chemo on my 22nd birthday, ultimately going through 2 surgeries and 4 rounds of chemo. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I had left college to get treatment and my business had failed. The Lord is good though, and he had me right where he wanted me. He lead me to an office position with a Home Health company, where I learned the ends and outs of business. I was involved in every part of the business, from sales to chargeback collection from insurance. It was there that I grew my love for business. I left to work with my mentor, Fred Gallucci. Being under Fred in a position of management, it taught me more about the finer points of business. I felt like I was in the business school of hard knocks. Daily, I was learning foundational business strategy, sales strategy, marketing strategy, SEO/SEM, growth strategy, onboarding, inventory management, finance, things like burn rate and forecasting and other analytical markers for success. There was no part of the business I was asked to stay out of, I was invited in meetings with C suites, other owners, and other people in management to sometimes just sit and observe and to ask questions. I learned how much I love business analytics, and business growth thanks to these opportunities Fred gave me. I left with ambitions to grow sales with a couple other companies and didn’t have any success. It was the first time I really failed in business, not just once but a couple times, and not just a little… they were pretty big failures. Again, however, The Lord had me right where he wanted me. I was battling depression and anxiety, and it wasn’t until this stage in my life that it really showed up in my professional career and I had to do something about it. After taking time off for counseling and growing in my relationship with The Lord, I started K5 Sports and Kacal Consulting. I’ve been incredibly thankful for the role each job played in my growth as well as each person and opportunity. I hope my story of perseverance and frequent adversity is relatable and tangible for other people to use to provide them with hope not just in their business ventures but in life. I’ve learned to put my faith in Christ that things will work out the way he’s planned them, and to work hard and fight for what I’m passionate about.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My relationship with Jesus Christ first and foremost. I’ve been in some pretty dark spots throughout my life, but The Lord has seemingly always made a way. It’s not by own work but The Lords that I’ve had any amount of success in any area of my life. My parents deserve a ton of recognition, they’ve done a tremendous job of being supportive in my business ventures while also providing hard truths, all the while raising me to pursue what I’m passionate about. My mom inspires me with her hard work daily, and my dads’ creativeness and ability to be so intentionally relational has rubbed off on me and ultimately has had an unimaginable impact on my success in business. I’m incredibly thankful not just for my parents support and counsel, but to be their son.

Website: k5sports.com

Instagram: instagram.com/kellenk38

Image Credits
Blake Kotrla