What happens when you've already built a successful company, sold it for $20 million—and decide to start all over again?

For Nellie Akalp, the second time was much harder than the first.

In this episode of Simply Business, John Jennings sits down with Nellie, CEO of CorpNet, to talk about entrepreneurship, resilience, purpose, and what it really takes to build a business that lasts.

Nellie and her husband started their first company with just $100 from their Southern California apartment and eventually sold it to Intuit for $20 million. But retirement wasn't for her. She needed purpose, so they returned to entrepreneurship and built CorpNet.

This time, success didn't come easily.

Nellie shares what she learned from nearly a decade of struggle, why entrepreneurs have to become comfortable hearing "no," and why failure is very different from giving up. She also explains how CorpNet turned changing market conditions into opportunity, how the company is embracing AI without eliminating the human touch, and why great talent and culture remain critical as a business grows.

Perhaps the biggest lesson is also the simplest: you may not know what you're capable of until you're actually in it.

If you're building a business, struggling through a difficult season, or sitting on an idea you've been afraid to launch, this conversation is a reminder to keep testing, keep adapting, and keep knocking on doors.

Listen to the full episode, subscribe to Simply Business, and share it with an entrepreneur who needs to hear this message.