Reinvention

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.

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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

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