The Journey From Engineer, To Entrepreneur, To Exit

Think Big, Buy Small

Rick and Royce sit down with a former student of theirs, Paige Sopcic, an engineer turned entrepreneur, to discuss her inspiring entrepreneurship through acquisition journey. After leaving a promising career at GE and earning her MBA, Paige launched her search in partnership with an accelerator and acquired a specialty canning company called CanSource. In this episode, she shares how she found the business, scaled it rapidly through COVID-era tailwinds, and eventually sold it in a proprietary deal to a strategic buyer. Along the way, Paige reflects on the mindset shift from corporate employee to owner-operator, the value of structured support during a first-time search, and the challenges and opportunities that come with navigating growth amid operational pressure. This conversation offers a real-world look at risk, strategy, and leadership – and provides a great example of what it truly means to bet on yourself.