Send us a text

What if kids could launch their first business before high school? In this episode of Cut The Tie, Thomas Helfrich sits down with Krystal Popov, entrepreneur, real estate investor, and founder of FuturePreneur, a company that helps kids and teens ages six to sixteen build and launch their first business.

From corporate engineer to network marketing to commercial real estate and now youth entrepreneurship, Krystal’s story is about breaking cycles of fear, redefining success, and teaching freedom through ownership. She shares the ties she had to cut—control, fear of judgment, and the illusion of “safety” in corporate life—to build a business and a family that thrive on choice and impact.

About Krystal Popov
Krystal Popov is the founder and CEO of FuturePreneur, a hands-on program that teaches kids how to start real businesses from home. Based in Tucson, Arizona, Krystal is also a commercial real estate entrepreneur who operates over 20,000 square feet of coworking and retail office space. A former engineer turned business owner, she’s passionate about empowering the next generation to build confidence, creativity, and financial independence through entrepreneurship.

In this episode, Thomas and Krystal discuss:

• Teaching kids how to own their future
  How FuturePreneur helps kids and teens launch real businesses with guided video modules, business plans, and peer-led lessons.
• Why corporate “success” left her unfulfilled
  Krystal recalls sitting in a quarterly review meeting and realizing, “I’m climbing this ladder and I don’t even like the top.”
• How network marketing built her confidence
  Despite early failures and judgment, it taught her the most valuable lesson: You can’t sell if you don’t talk—and you can’t care what people think.
• Building real estate that buys her time
  Krystal explains how her coworking business gives her the freedom to start new ventures, travel, and raise her family without losing control of her time.

Key Takeaways

• Entrepreneurship breeds happiness
  Studies and real life both show it: business owners report more fulfillment and autonomy than employees.
• Failure is feedback, not final
  Every failed venture, from MLM to downtown coworking, became the data behind her success.
• Debt can be a tool, not a trap
  Smart, asset-backed debt fuels growth—don’t fear leverage, understand it.
• If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no
  The advice that reshaped how Krystal manages time, business decisions, and priorities.

Connect with Krystal Popov

🌐 Website: https://www.futurepreneur.com
🎁 Free Resource: Teach Your Kids to Dream (Check the website)
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystalpopov
📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystalpopov

Connect with Thomas Helfrich

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelfrich
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutthetie
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomashelfich
🌐 Website: https://www.cutthetie.com
📧 Email: t@instantlyrelevant.com
🚀

Support the show

Serious about LinkedIn Lead Generation? Stop Guessing what to do on LinkedIn and ignite revenue from relevance with Instantly Relevant Lead System