Supporting ’Builders’ in Arizona with Don Fotsch

In this episode, Tim Fergestad welcomes Don Fotsch—innovator, entrepreneur, and community builder—who shares his deep insights into building businesses, bootstrapping startups, and strengthening Arizona’s ecosystem for growth and prosperity.

Don opens up about his career journey across tech giants like Apple, PayPal, and AOL, and how his experiences have shaped his focus on applied AI in food, beverage, and battery inspection startups. They discuss the ups and downs of venture funding, why bootstrapping is often a better path, and how Arizona is quickly becoming a powerful hub for "builders" thanks to its unique mix of industries, values, and non-native population.

Don also dives into his work with the Nerd Network—an organically grown, word-of-mouth community of over 500 entrepreneurs and tech minds coming together to help startups scale. Together, Don and Tim explore what it really means to achieve “prosperity for all” and how private-sector leadership is key to driving the future of the Arizona economy.

Whether you’re a founder, investor, or just curious about Arizona’s rapid growth, you’ll walk away inspired by Don’s optimism, his practical wisdom, and his commitment to creating impact through business.

 

----------------------------------------------- Interested in being part of this? Please visit our guest invitation page where you can learn more and fill out a brief questionnaire to get started: https://phoenixprosperitypodcast.com/guest It’s going to be enlightening and, most importantly, a lot of fun. I’d love for you to be a part of it!