In this episode of the PHX FWD Founder Podcast, Gregg Scoresby sits down with Jeff Kukowski (ORY) to talk about the journey from early hustle to building infrastructure for the next generation of the internet.
Jeff shares how growing up in a working-class family in Chicago shaped his entrepreneurial mindset. From mowing lawns and shoveling snow to knocking on doors for sales, those early experiences taught him persistence, independence, and the importance of creating opportunities instead of waiting for them.
The conversation also explores Jeff’s path into technology and the founding of ORY, an identity and access management platform used by companies building modern applications. As software evolves and AI agents begin interacting with systems the same way humans do, identity infrastructure is becoming one of the most important layers of the internet.
Jeff explains why founders must obsess over the problem they’re solving, how trust is built in enterprise software, and why understanding the details of your business and your customer’s industry is critical when building a company.
What You’ll Learn
- How Jeff’s early hustle shaped his founder mindset
- Why great founders obsess over the problem, not the solution
- What ORY does and why identity infrastructure matters
- How identity systems will evolve as AI agents interact with software
- Why understanding your customer’s language and industry is critical
- The importance of being fact-driven when making decisions
The PHX FWD Founder Podcast highlights founders, operators, and investors building companies and sharing lessons from the startup journey.
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