Aaron was feeling more than a little nervous as he drove to the USM campus in Portland. As
someone with a history of anxiety and imposter syndrome, it wasn’t sitting well that he was going
to be in a large room with a lot of really accomplished people. Participating in the Top Gun program
was something he knew he needed to do to continue learning and growing his business,
Unbreakable Health and Fitness. The thought made him a bit sick, but he was committed to the
process.

Listening to the Top Gun participants introduce their businesses was interesting. Aaron felt a mix of
pride in the work he had already accomplished and apprehension that he was in a room with so
many intelligent entrepreneurs and mentors. Honestly…some of the participants had really
successful businesses already and all of the mentors were highly experienced.

For a guy who had punched a clock his whole life, he knew he had plenty to learn and had already
identified glaringly obvious problems with his business. But typical of Aaron, he just dove in and did
his best. When it was his turn to introduce Unbreakable, he stood up, packed away his fear, and did
the best he could to convey a clear message.

The mentor matching sessions (akin to speed dating) were next up and Aaron got paired with
another entrepreneur who was far ahead of him in her business development. She had investors,
really cool innovation, and clear passion. He felt kind of outclassed. But Aaron had equal passion
and pride for the work he was doing for people, so when the opportunity came to present his
business to the mentors he did it with all the sincerity he could muster. When it was time to move
tables Aaron stood up and to his surprise, Karla, one of the mentors did too.

“Do you have a business card? I want to hire you,” she said without hesitation. She proceeded to
explain her dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail, and the struggles she was currently facing given
her limiting injuries. Aaron was a bit taken aback by this, as it was completely unexpected. But in
hearing her struggles and her goals a plan immediately began to form in his mind. “Yes, here you
go,” he said, handing her a business card. “I’d be thrilled to help you meet your goal!”
It was clear from the start that Karla was really concerned about her fitness and nutrition. But Aaron
knew that in order to hike the trail, Karla’s primary focus needed to be adequate recovery from her
post-concussive syndrome, which impacted her quite significantly, and injury-proofing. Nutrition
and conditioning would be important as well, but Aaron was concerned about her brain injury and
how much it was going to impact her training. Could it be done? Could she be ready to hike the AT
next March? Aaron had never done this specific kind of training but being part of TopGun gave him that extra inspiration to take on the challenge.

Karla was uneasy when she approached the Wishcamper Center at USM. The nearly two-hour drive
had exacerbated her post-concussion vestibular symptoms and she knew the crowded room and
fluorescent lighting would challenge her vision processing system. It would be a long morning.

However, as a veteran MCE mentor, she felt invested in Top Gun and knew the talent of the
entrepreneurs and the open flow of ideas would be energizing.
As expected, many entrepreneurs were a little shaky during their (mostly) one-minute, informal
pitches. It’s difficult to condense into one minute something into which you have poured your heart
and soul over the past months or years. Thankfully the matching conversations (speed dating)
would soon give the entrepreneurs time to shine in a longer, more relaxed roundtable format.
The concept underlying Unbreakable Health and Fitness was intriguing, but a little vague in the one-
minute pitch. With her background in B2B chemical manufacturing, Karla knew she was not the
ideal match to be Unbreakable’s assigned mentor, but she had an idea. When Aaron sat down at her
table, she dug deep into his unique qualifications and company mission.
After the speed-dating session, Karla approached Aaron with a challenge. She wanted to fulfill a 20-
year bucket list goal to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, however she was deconditioned and still
struggling with recovery from a cycling accident that had left her with a vestibular/ocular
concussion and a broken collar bone. Over 60 years old and a voracious eater, she also needed a
nutrition plan that would enable her to carry the tremendous amount of food she would need to complete the trail strong and healthy. Could Aaron get her ready to thru-hike the following year?

Aaron and Karla’s meeting turned the typical mentor/mentee relationship on his head! Their roles
reversed immediately, yet they shared a common understanding of the entrepreneurial journey.
After all, building a successful business is similar to training for and completing an endurance event.
They formed an immediate bond as entrepreneurs and fitness enthusiasts, and were able to
communicate openly and honestly. Karla’s training sessions became a vehicle to meet her goals and
also informal explorations of the struggles Aaron experienced as his business evolved. This was both
an immediate and ongoing help to Aaron while he actively studied and learned from the expansive
Top Gun curriculum and expert mentorship opportunities.
Aaron had experience as an ultra-endurance runner and had done some backpacking, so he knew
many of the pitfalls that awaited Karla on trail and how problems might arise. Karla understood that
Aaron had overcome his own physical and mental challenges, so he could relate to her struggles.
Mindset coaching became a foundational part of their training sessions. Karla was really frustrated
by lack of progress related to her brain injury, so reframing work was really important to keep her
mind clear and thinking positively.

After a year of coaching, they both knew Karla was as ready as she could be to start the AT. Aaron
was incredibly proud and excited for her. She had earned a high level of preparedness during their
time together and Aaron felt she was more than capable of tackling the challenge. He was honestly
pretty bummed when Karla headed to Springer Mountain, GA in March 2024, experiencing that
typical feeling of loss when a long-term, close client heads out on their own. Karla knew Aaron had
her back throughout the journey, receiving texts for reassurance, Instagram follows, and phone calls
to manage injuries so she could stay on trail.

The success of this unusual mentoring journey was meaningful to both Aaron and Karla. Aaron knew
Karla was really serious about achieving her goal, doing everything to the best of her ability even
when she was skeptical. Karla knew Aaron was invested in her training and completing the entire
thru-hike, while impressing on her the importance of celebrating incremental accomplishments.
Their year together empowered Karla to know (intellectually at least) that she was as prepared as
possible to achieve her goal. Top Gun gave Aaron the confidence to think outside the box and
explore the boundaries of what is possible for his business. The experience reinforced in Aaron the
joy he feels when a client changes, grows, and succeeds while providing the additional benefit of
having Karla as an experienced sounding board for his business evolution.
Aaron was one of the first people who received Karla’s text of the iconic finisher’s photo at the
summit of Mt. Katahdin, ME. He understood the complexity of the journey on many more levels
than the typical friend or family member. When the text alert sounded on Aaron’s phone on
September 6th and he saw a pic of Karla on Mount Katahdin in Maine, he whooped out loud. He
was as proud as any mentor could be of their mentee! To see that finisher’s photo meant the world to him. Their collaborations continue today.

The connections we make within the broad Top Gun network are deep and durable for both
mentors and entrepreneurs. We contemplate probing questions that make us and our businesses
stronger, knowing there is no judgment. We share our vulnerabilities and successes. We broaden
our horizons to achieve goals that sometimes we didn’t even know we could set for ourselves. In
this case, Top Gun provided a mentee with an extra business advisor, who along with his primary
advisors, helped him to grow as an entrepreneur, expand his business and service offerings, and
find clarity to speak in his authentic voice; while enabling a mentor to successfully complete her
bucket-list goal. Top Gun entrepreneurs and mentors, regardless of your roles, imagine where this
journey will take you!