Looking for inspiration on juggling multiple business passions? Tim Ozgener might just be your blueprint. He helped take CAO Cigars from a basement startup to a global best-seller and then founded OZ Arts, a cutting-edge contemporary arts hub in Nashville. Now launching Oz Family Cigars, Tim blends art, science, and storytelling into every venture. In this episode, he and Mark Cleveland explore:

• Following Your Heart: Why Tim chose cigars and contemporary art
• Improv & Entrepreneurship: Leveraging “Yes, And” to handle surprises & spark creativity
• Exiting at the Top: Inside the CAO sale, key lessons in valuation & deal structure
• Nonprofit vs. For-Profit: Contrasts in building teams, mission, and sustainability
• Staying Centered: Yoga, mindful scheduling, and choosing environments that fuel innovation

Parallel Entrepreneurs, subscribe now and tell us in the comments which Oz insight struck your fancy—was it engineering meets art, or harnessing improv in daily business?

Show Notes:

• CAO Cigars - https://www.caocigars.com/
• OZ Arts - https://www.ozartsnashville.org/
• Crowned Heads Cigars - https://www.crownedheads.com/
• Oz Family Cigars - https://ozfamilycigars.com/
• The Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell - https://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Tipping-Point-Overstories-Superspreaders/dp/0316575801/
• Headway app - https://headwayapp.co/
• Art Basel - https://www.artbasel.com/
• Ken Cope Consulting, LLC - https://kencopeconsultingllc.com/

Chapters List:

00:00:00 Meet Tim Ozgener: Nashville’s Multi-Passionate Unicorn

00:01:14 Why Follow Your Passions?

00:02:23 The Art & Science of Cigars

00:05:09 Improv Skills in Business

00:07:14 Launching OZ Arts: A Different Kind of Startup

00:09:22 The Power of Authentic Connection

00:12:13 Lessons from Dad: Engineering Meets Entrepreneurship

00:15:18 Time Management & Team Trust

00:19:00 Nonprofit vs. For-Profit: Contrasting Cultures

00:22:00 Building Global Distribution

00:29:08 The CAO Exit Story

00:37:14 Yoga, Flow & Mindful Entrepreneurship

00:42:00 Embracing Failure & Authenticity