From Basement Startup to Global Brand: Tim Ozgener’s Parallel Journey

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?

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

Show Notes:

• Share and engage with this interview on LinkedIn: Click here
• 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/