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Episode 16 • August 5, 2026

Jeff Pelaccio on Losing His Mom, Corporate Layoffs, AI & Reinvention

with Jeff Pelaccio

Viewer discretion is advised. This episode includes conversations about childhood loss, Alzheimer’s, physical discipline, career instability, and difficult family memories.

Jeff Pelaccio’s foundation was shaped early by loss, loyalty, and the need to keep moving. His mother died the day before his fifth birthday. His father, a union welder, developed early-onset Alzheimer’s when Jeff was still a kid. And the New York Italian family around him modeled work ethic, loyalty, survival, and showing up when life gets hard.

In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall and Jeff trace how those early patterns followed him into corporate America, where nine involuntary career transitions taught him that no job is ever fully safe. Their conversation moves through reinvention, podcasting, leadership, stoicism, meditation, AI, deep work, interviewing, mentorship, and why resilience often begins with learning what you can control and what you have to release.

Chapters
00:00 Cold Open: Loss, Failure, and Reinvention
00:40 Meet Jeff Pelaccio
02:31 Starting The Corporate Couch
06:51 Career Strategy, Leadership, and Reinvention
13:06 Losing His Mother Before Age Five
17:39 Family, Work Ethic, and Loyalty
20:58 Corporate Instability and Stoicism
28:36 AI, Deep Thought, and Podcasting

Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders.

Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter

Learn more or connect with Kendall:
Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/
SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/
YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229

#HiddenFoundations #JeffPelaccio #Reinvention

Episode 12 • July 8, 2026

Peter Groverman on Grovara, AI, and 15 Years to Overnight Success

with Peter Groverman

In this episode of Hidden Foundations, Kendall sits down with Peter Groverman, founder of Grovara, to explore the long entrepreneurial road behind building a global B3B trading platform. Peter shares how early exposure to his father’s box factory, flea market negotiations, family business, Villanova Law, Haiti relief work, and early platform technology shaped the way he sees opportunity, value, and risk.

The conversation moves from the early days of Venmo and exporting American brands overseas to Grovara’s evolution through failures, fundraising, leadership lessons, Pokemon logistics, wholesale distribution, AI automation, and the future of global commerce. Peter also explains why it took 15 years to become an overnight success, why business partners matter, how AI is changing company efficiency, and why there may be no shortage of opportunity for entrepreneurs willing to start.

Chapters
00:00 Cold Open: 15 Years to Overnight Success
00:41 Meet Peter Groverman
01:12 Early Startups, LTL Prints, and Haiti Relief
06:14 Launching Grovara and the First Venmo Use Case
13:32 Fundraising, Failure, and Building the Platform
17:03 B3B, Wholesale, Pokemon, and Global Logistics
28:01 Law School, Family Business, and Learning to Sell
39:15 AI, Leadership Lessons, and Founder Advice

A special thank you to The Franklin on Rittenhouse for graciously allowing us to record these episodes inside their hotel. Their hospitality, atmosphere, and attention to detail gave us the perfect setting to host thoughtful conversations and bring Hidden Foundations to life in Philadelphia.
Check out their hotel here: https://www.thefranklinonrittenhouse.com/
https://www.instagram.com/franklinonrittenhouse/

Hidden Foundations is a weekly podcast hosted by entrepreneur and investor Kendall Schoenrock, examining how family systems, early adversity, and childhood dynamics quietly shape high-performing adults. Each conversation uncovers the “invisible wiring” behind resilience, ambition, leadership, and grit — told through candid stories from entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and leaders.

Guided by the thesis that strength is forged early at home, the show uses a consistent framework to explore emotional environments, money narratives, family roles, conflict patterns, and early challenges. Every episode delivers at least one practical, repeatable insight for parents, leaders, and anyone seeking to understand how greatness is built long before it’s visible.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://hiddenfoundations.com/#newsletter

Learn more or connect with Kendall:
Website: https://kendallschoenrock.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schoenrock/
SilverRock Ventures: https://silverrockventures.com/about-us/
YouTube: youtube.com/@HiddenFoundationsPod
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6VKN6BBbuVxNDl4zKh4E3O?si=0c56c9aebfaf402e
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-foundations/id1895154229

#HiddenFoundations #PeterGroverman #Grovara

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