Sean Kelly

Founder & Investor. Building companies at the intersection of health, media & founder performance.

Hey there, I’m Sean. I play at the intersection of investing, media and human performance.

I’m a three-time INC 500 founder & entrepreneur with businesses in eCommerce, SaaS, media and B2B services that have collectively generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Right now, I serve as a General Partner at The Family Fund and am the CEO of Significant Publications, a B2B digital media holding company.

I'm particularly passionate about our brand FounderIV in support of today's founder-athletes. We help today's top entrepreneurs achieve breakout performance in their personal and professional lives.

I co-founded and led multiple other companies, including SnackNation, a health-centric foodservice and brand discovery platform that served 20,000 businesses across the US. 

Under my leadership, SnackNation was honored as one of the country’s Best Workplaces by Inc. Magazine, recognized for Top Company Culture by Entrepreneur Magazine, and certified as a Great Workplace by Great Place to Work®.

Forbes listed me as one of the top 30 leaders under 30 and one of America’s most promising CEOs under 35. Comparably also ranked me among the country’s top 50 small-to-medium sized business CEOs multiple years in a row. 

Outside of the business world, I’m a two-time national medalist in freestyle snowboarding, hold an advisory role at the growth capital firm, Meaningful Partners, have a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University and am an avid sports fan of all Michigan sports teams (especially the Wolverines).

I currently live in Venice, CA with my wife and college sweetheart, Shannon, and our goldendoodle, Jameson.

Chairman

We built the first Founderland in 10 weeks.

And almost died.

This past year we gave ourselves 6 months and built an external team to do it and it still wasn’t enough time.

So for next year’s event we decided to make the build a year-round affair…

And are focused on making Founderland a brand that lives throughout the year, not just as once-every-October event.

It’s funny to see how random ideas become full-time jobs lol

Took a quick trip to NYC this week to discuss Founderland ‘26 with one of our top partners J.P. Morgan  

The verdict?

It’s going to be big. 

Perhaps not as big as JPM’s new $3B global HQ at 270 Park Ave (most spectacular office I’ve been in w/ a Warhol or Jasper Johns around every corner)…

But still pretty big and lots of fun with a yuge amount of deals commenced (misspelling intentional)

Thanks for the tour Michael Conte you’re a legend and friend.

And glad to see you’re carrying Ancient Crunch Inc. MASA chips in all of your shops!

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Current health travel stack:

Zoomed off to NYC, Philly and Austin this week.

Back to back meetings all day, late dinners and sports games at night, and planes trains and automobiles like we all know.

Seems like 1/2 of the people I’ve met have a cold.

Here’s what I take on the road to feel good while away…

and do my best to arrive home feeling not-dead to the fam. Works most of the time ;)

 - Sinus rinse bottle filled with filtered water, betadine and salt/baking soda (use after every flight, likely illness prevention tactic #1)

- Zinc acetate lozenges if I’m feeling worn down or fatigued

- KetoneIQ every morning when I wake up to get that cognitive boost

- Momentous whey protein, plant protein, and creatine (10g) + Supergut fiber blended 1-2x per day to supplement diet

- Momentous Sleep pack + medical mouth tape + sleep mask every night

- Metal shaker bottle that doesn’t get gross

- Some type of hydration packets 2x/day minimum (right now using Dry Water)

- WIP 100mg energy pouches for a little boost early in the day usually before workout

- Another ~20 or so supplements in my vitamin case that I pre-fill for each day prior to the week

Sure, sleep/nutrition/exercise are essential and the most  important…but it’s near impossible to not sacrifice them a bit while playing the part of road warrior…so at least for me, travel supplementation is key.

Momentous Ketone-IQ DryWater Supergut

CEO at PRAY.COM

Steve is an American Entrepreneur, NCAA Champion, and the youngest advisor to the President of the United States to be appointed to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. 

Currently, Gatena is the Founder and CEO of PRAY.COM, the world’s #1 app for daily prayer and faith-based mental health content. 

Under his leadership, PRAY.COM has achieved unprecedented heights, becoming the highest-grossing religious app in history and recognized as Los Angeles’ best workplace. The company’s remarkable growth and influence has garnered numerous accolades, including Inc Magazine’s “Best in Business,” Fast Company’s “World Changing Ideas,” and recognition by Inc 5000 as the fastest growing faith-based media company in the US.

Gatena’s entrepreneurial journey began early. At age 22, he founded REP Interactive, which rapidly became America’s fastest-growing video marketing agency. REP Interactive earned over 100 industry awards for its work with global corporations and was recognized as one of America’s best workplaces. Building on this success, Gatena launched VideoFort, Hollywood’s largest stock footage supplier, providing critical content for blockbuster films such as “Transformers” and renowned television series including Discovery Channel’s “Planet Earth.”

In 2014, Gatena was honored at the United Nations as an “Entrepreneur of the Year.” Following this, he took the helm at Helinet in 2015, steering the global aerial surveillance and film production leader through challenging times, including the tragic loss of his mentor and business partner, Alan Purwin. This pivotal moment led Gatena to establish PRAY.COM, the digital destination for faith.

Recognized for his leadership, Steve has been awarded Los Angeles Times Executive of the Year, EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and featured in CSQ Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Visionaries. The Healthcare Technology Report also honored him as one of the top 25 Consumer Health Tech Executives for his groundbreaking collaboration with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, bridging faith and mental health.

At just 34, Gatena was appointed by the 45th President of the United States to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, providing bipartisan guidance on critical economic and cybersecurity issues under both President Trump and President Biden.

Today, Gatena extends his influence through philanthropy, serving as a Board Member for Beyond the Brotherhood, a nonprofit committed to assisting Navy SEALs in their transition to meaningful civilian careers.

Steve Gatena

There was a 12-year-old boy whose temper ran hotter than he could control.

Trying to teach him, his father handed him a bag of nails and said, “Every time you lose your temper, hammer one nail into the fence.”

The boy shrugged… until a few days later when he had hammered 37 nails.

Each strike echoed his anger through the backyard.

But as days passed, something shifted.

The number dropped… twenty… ten… three…

And finally, a day came when he didn’t lose his temper at all.

Proud of himself, he ran to tell his father.

His father smiled and said, “Good. Now, for every day you hold your temper, pull out one nail.”

It took time, but eventually the boy returned and said, “Dad, they’re all gone.”

His father walked him to the fence, pointed, and said:

“You did well. But look at the holes.
These scars will never fully disappear.
That’s what angry words do.
You can say sorry, you can try to fix it but the mark remains.”

The boy stared at the fence.

And in that moment, he understood:
Harsh words don’t just hurt, they scar.

We’ve all heard,
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

But that’s not true.
Broken bones heal.
Words can linger, fester, and keep wounding long after they were spoken.

Scripture reminds us,
“The tongue has the power of life and death.” Proverbs 18:21

Every sentence you speak is a seed.
It grows something, either healing or hurt.

Let your words be grace, not nails.

Today, someone needs encouragement.

Someone needs gentleness.
Someone needs patience.
Someone needs to know you care.

And you have the power to give it.

So before you speak, pause and ask:

“Am I about to leave a scar…
or plant something that heals?”

You can’t remove every nail you’ve hammered in the past.

But you can choose that from this day forward, your words will build, not break.

Choose gentleness.
Choose patience.
Choose words that bless.

God sees what you don’t.

There was a painting in the Louvre that most visitors walked right past.

Not as famous as the Mona Lisa. Not as grand as The Wedding Feast at Cana. But it carried one of the most powerful lessons you will ever hear.

The painting was called Checkmate.

One man sits at a chessboard, face pale, defeated, trapped.

Across from him sits the devil, smiling in victory.

The message seems clear:
The game is over.
Checkmate.

Or so it looks.

Years ago, a chess grandmaster visited the Louvre while the painting was still on display.

He stopped and studied the board.

Everyone else moved on, but he didn’t.

He kept analyzing every piece, every angle.

Finally, he called out to the guide and said,
“Either modify the painting, or change the title.”

“Why?” the guide asked.

The grandmaster pointed to the board.
“Because the King has one more move.”

Maybe you know that feeling.

Trapped.
Out of options.
Convinced your story has reached the end.

You’ve done everything you know how to do. And defeat feels inevitable.

But just because it looks like the game is over doesn’t mean that it is.

God still has a move left, even when you cannot see it.

Think about Joseph, betrayed by his brothers and forgotten in prison.

Think about Daniel, lowered into a den of lions with no way out.

Think about Lazarus, four days in the tomb while everyone else had already started mourning.

Every one of their stories looked like checkmate.

But the King wasn’t finished.

God was still moving the pieces.

Maybe that’s where you are right now… standing in front of a scene that feels like defeat, convinced your story has ended.

You might not see the move yet.

You might not understand the strategy.

But you can trust the King who is still at the table.

So don’t walk away.
Don’t give up.
Don’t close the story before He’s done writing it.

Because no matter how hopeless the board looks, one truth remains:

The King always has one more move.

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The Battle

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taplio

The Battle

Sean Kelly

Steve Gatena

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sean Kelly's LinkedIn Performance

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