🎙️ From Corporate IT to Eight Businesses: Derek Sorrells' Journey Building Wichita's Most Unexpected Entertainment and Food Concepts

Derek Sorrells turned a basement full of 48 arcade games into eight thriving businesses across Wichita, Kansas. As founder and managing partner of Scion Capital Partners, Derek shares his transformation from Fortune 500 IT trainer traveling 190 days a year to creating multiple entertainment and food concepts that fill gaps in an underserved mid-sized market.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:

• Career evolution from 20 years in corporate IT to launching eight businesses with ten locations

• Wichita's unique positioning as a "teenager city" under 750,000 creates entrepreneurial opportunities

• Turning 48 basement arcade machines into a business by focusing on what customers want, not collector nostalgia

• Scaling challenge: going from two to three stores feels exponentially harder without proper systems

• Opening two soda shop locations within 45 days taught painful lessons about premature scaling

• Reducing turnover and building profitability through strategic marketing to female-focused customer base (80%+ of soda shop customers)

• Creating "extreme shakes" with full slices of cake, cheesecake, and cookies using mason jar innovation

• On-site catering and event services expanded revenue streams beyond brick-and-mortar locations

• Researching 22 ice cream stores across seven states before opening to understand customer behavior patterns

• COVID pivot strategy: private arcade parties kept revenue flowing during lockdowns

• Operating largest COVID-only testing lab in Kansas processing 18,000-20,000 tests daily

• Investment philosophy: seeking unsexy, cash-flowing businesses like storage units and vending machines over tech startups

🌟 Derek's Key Mentors & Influences:

• Michael Jensen (Arcade Co-Owner)

• Andrew Smith (Savory Fund/Swig)

• Female Marketing Team

• Wichita State University VP

• His Mother (Former Western Airlines Flight Attendant)

• Restaurant Operators Across Multiple States

👉 Don't miss this powerful conversation about researching before launching, building systems that scale, and why the best entrepreneurial opportunities exist in overlooked mid-sized markets where national franchises haven't yet arrived.

🔗 Connect with Derek Sorrells:

LinkedIn: Derek Sorrells 

📄 Transcript Available: Why Mid-Sized Markets Create Better Opportunities: Derek Sorrells' Multi-Concept Strategy

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📄 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com

Keywords: multi-unit operations, entertainment businesses, food service innovation, soda shops, arcade operations, ice cream concepts, Wichita Kansas entrepreneurship, mid-market opportunities, franchise alternatives, business scaling challenges, extreme shakes, event catering, private equity investments, cash-flowing businesses, COVID business pivots, operational systems, customer experience design, unsexy businesses, storage unit investments, vending machine businesses

Meta Description: Derek Sorrells shares how he built eight businesses with ten locations in Wichita by observing concepts in bigger cities, learning that hobbies cost money while businesses make money, and discovering that scaling from two to three stores feels exponentially harder without systems.

#MultiUnitOperations #EntrepreneurialJourney #ArcadeGaming #FoodServiceInnovation #PrivatEquityInvesting #BusinessScaling #CustomerExperience #MidMarketOpportunities #InspiredStoriesPodcast