How Alex Ikonn Went from Fired Banker to Shopify Mogul to 2M+ Sales of The Five Minute Journal

Alex Ikonn is the Co-Founder and CEO of Intelligent Change, the company behind globally renowned tools like The Five Minute Journal and the Productivity Planner, designed to inspire intentional and fulfilling lives. Before that, Alex co-founded Luxy Hair, one of Shopify’s early success stories, which he scaled and successfully exited in 2018. From humble immigrant beginnings in Canada to building global brands, Alex’s journey reflects resilience, purpose, and the transformative power of self-reflection. In this episode, he shares the pivotal moments that shaped his success, including his approach to scaling Luxy Hair with a lifestyle-first mindset and creating purpose-driven products through Intelligent Change. 00:00:00 – Introduction: Meet Alex Ikonn, Co-Founder and CEO of Intelligent Change 00:04:17 – Born in Russia: Alex's childhood in Russia and Canada – The "Dark Ages" 00:09:50 – Pivotal Moment: Getting arrested and deciding to turn his life around 00:12:30 – Becoming an Entrepreneur: From banking to starting a social media consulting business (which was seen as "snake oil" at the time) 00:14:40 – Now What? Reaching financial success but feeling unfulfilled 00:18:34 – One Thing to Do Every Day: The power of gratitude – "What are you grateful for?" 00:24:10 – A New Version of Yourself: Reassessing purpose and identity after success 00:35:40 – Biggest Mistake: Realizing that not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur 00:40:04 – Finding Your Ikigai: Doing what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for 00:50:03 – Stepping in as CEO: Taking charge of Intelligent Change for the first time 01:01:22 – The Five Minute Journal: The simple, daily practice that transformed his life --- Learn more about Intelligent Change: https://www.intelligentchange.com/ Learn more about Turning Pro Podcast: https://www.turningpropod.com/ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for entrepreneurs: https://turningpropodcast.beehiiv.com... Follow Ben Sharf: https://hoo.be/bensharf Follow Adrian Alfieri: Instagram:   / adrian.alfieri   Twitter:   / adrianalfieri   Linkedin:   / adrian-alfieri   #EntrepreneurPodcast, #FounderAdvice, #BusinessGrowthTips, #Selfimprovement #Entrepreneurs #BusinessStrategies #PersonalDevelopment #Advice #TurningProPodcast #BenSharf #AdrianAlfieri #Podcast #Founder #Growth #AlexIkonn #IntelligentChange