Lorand Soares Szasz: Transforming entrepreneurs and businesses through bold decisions and practical methods

Discover the journey of Lorand Soares Szasz, a business acceleration and entrepreneurial education expert, and learn how he transforms businesses and lives of hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs with practical methods and measurable results.

Lorand Soares Szasz is a reference name in entrepreneurial education in Romania, with over 17 years of experience in entrepreneurship, consulting, and SME development. Lorand is an expert in business acceleration, having inspired and educated over 200,000 participants through his in-person courses and hundreds of thousands more online.

Throughout his career, he has transformed numerous lives and businesses, becoming one of the most followed Romanian entrepreneurs on social media. Lorand is known for his practical, results-oriented approach and his bold mission to grow entire nations by developing entrepreneurs.

C&B: How would you describe yourself in a single sentence to pique the curiosity of those who don’t know you yet?

Lorand: I am the person who teaches entrepreneurs how to escape daily chaos, increase sales and profits, and take their company to the next level so that the business can operate without their constant intervention.

C&B: If we were to look at a narrative thread of your career or business, what were the key moments that defined you?

Lorand: My professional life had several turning points. The first was when I left Portugal, where I worked as a gardener. Physical labor was hard, but there I realized I didn’t want to live my whole life on the edge of survival. I was fortunate to be hired by the largest business coaching firm in the world and to see how small businesses grow globally using the same system and methodology. That’s when I feel I was born a second time.

The second moment was the first training I held in Romania. I saw how what I was teaching completely changed the way entrepreneurs worked and helped them achieve results. That’s when I realized I had found my purpose and vocation.

The third moment was more recent, when I created the in-person Immersions for entrepreneurs. That’s when I saw that it wasn’t just about inspiration and education anymore, but about real, measurable transformations in people’s businesses.

That’s where I witnessed the greatest impact of our work on the entrepreneur’s life, their company, and society.

C&B: What were the main challenges in the early stages of developing the company?

Lorand: Like any early-stage entrepreneur, I ran into many obstacles. One of the biggest challenges was the lack of a system. Everything depended on me—from sales to delivery, invoicing, and solving client problems. I was a one-man show. Everything revolved around me, and I was involved in every aspect. Ego-wise, it was great—I felt important and valuable—but in terms of profit, scalability, and health, I was heading for disaster.

Then came the challenges with people. I hired hastily, didn’t fire when I should have, placed people in the wrong positions, and paid the price. I built teams, lost people, promoted the wrong individuals, had to return to operational work, and rebuild everything better.

And, of course, cash flow was an issue—running an entrepreneurial education company in Romania isn’t simple. Less than 1% of the active population in Romania engages in lifelong learning. We’re not a nation that craves education; we prefer entertainment and gossip.

Building a high-performing, profitable company without loans, investors, or debt was a real challenge.

But the hardest lesson was learning that I don’t have to do everything myself. If I want to build something serious, I need a strong team, not just personal “superpowers.”

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?

Lorand: Yes. To create a global educational ecosystem for entrepreneurs—a place where they can learn to become free, to have money, time, and energy. I dream that one day, whether in Romania, Portugal, or Indonesia, entrepreneurs will know there’s a place where they can learn to take their business from survival to excellence.

Every time I faced challenges in business or difficult periods, I reconnected with this vision.

C&B: How did you look at the start of your journey, and how do you feel you’ve transformed up to now?

Lorand: Full of enthusiasm, convinced I would change Romania and eventually the world. Extremely confident in my own abilities. Sometimes even arrogant.

I had no real business experience, and what I had learned in theory sounded good, but when I faced the market, I got a hard slap that woke me up to reality.

After six months of business, I hadn’t signed a single contract, hadn’t convinced any client to work with me, and had lost all the money I had. Not much, but it was all mine. 🙂

Life and business taught me to be more humble, to rely more on the power of my team rather than my own strength, and to learn that alone I can go fast, but together with them, I can go far.

I learned to accept that I’m not perfect and that being vulnerable doesn’t mean I’m unworthy of teaching others. On the contrary, I can offer more valuable lessons from blows, mistakes, and failures than from success.

C&B: If we met your team or collaborators, what do you think they would say about you?

Lorand: It depends on who. 🙂

I know I have people in my team who admire me, and it’s an honor for them to work with me. Most of the time, they are blinded by this admiration.

I have colleagues who see who I am, warts and all. They see my strengths and weaknesses. They accept me as I am and push me to become better.

I also have colleagues who see more negative than positive in me but stay in the company because the negatives aren’t painful enough to make a difference.

I’m not a perfect leader nor an exceptional manager. I try to respect my colleagues, but I admit that my behavior doesn’t always reflect the appreciation I feel for them.

C&B: What is the most important decision you’ve made that changed your trajectory?

Lorand: To do what I want, not what others want for me.

C&B: What are Upriserz’s medium- and long-term development and expansion plans?

Our dream is to become a global platform for entrepreneurs and contribute to the growth of the economies of the countries we enter. We want to see more entrepreneurs running profitable businesses that also give them more freedom.

We don’t want to talk about plans; we prefer to show. 🙂

C&B: What is Upriserz’s mission, and what differentiates the company from other digital projects in Romania and internationally?

Lorand: Our mission is to grow entire nations by developing entrepreneurs. We believe a country’s prosperity depends on the health of its small and medium-sized businesses.

Upriserz stands out through personalized, practical learning that can be immediately applied in the company, a strong community of entrepreneurs, and the credibility of demonstrated results. We don’t sell theory; we provide tools and processes that transform businesses step by step.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you now, and what moments bring you the most satisfaction?

Lorand: I usually wake up at 5:40. Until 6:00, it’s time for love :)—staying in bed with my wife and sometimes just hugging for minutes at a time. It’s a way for me to recharge. 🙂

From 6:00 to 7:00, I read, study scripture, pray, and write a short message to my clients who follow me online.

At 7:00, I wake our daughter, and we have breakfast together. At 7:30, she gets ready for school, and my wife and I get ready to go to the gym.

From 8:00 to 9:00, gym—training the body so it can carry the mind. 🙂

From 9:00 to 10:00, hygiene and preparation for the workday. From 10:00 to 12:30, I’m in the office—meetings, responding to messages and emails, making decisions, involved in operations, and working on business growth.

Later, I have lunch with my wife, and from 14:00 to 18:00, I work again. Often creating free content for courses, other times working with clients and the team. I juggle roles of entrepreneur, salesperson, marketer, educator, and author.

The greatest satisfaction comes from interacting with my audience through social media and courses.

C&B: How did Upriserz come to be, and what inspired you to found this company?

Lorand: Upriserz was born out of a desire and frustration. The desire to help more entrepreneurs and the frustration of not having time for family. I traveled across the country, gave dozens of conferences annually, and spent 160 nights a year in hotels.

I realized that if I wanted to reach even more entrepreneurs, I couldn’t do it with the same system and business model.

That’s how the idea of creating an online platform to serve entrepreneurs worldwide, not just in Romania, was born.

C&B: What advice would you give to young digital entrepreneurs who want to build scalable and innovative companies?

Lorand: First advice: don’t fall in love with your idea, fall in love with the client’s problem. If the problem is real and important, your solution will have a market. Second: build a system, not just a product. A good product can die quickly, but a good system endures and grows. Third: don’t chase shortcuts. Entrepreneurship isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Discipline and consistency beat momentary enthusiasm.

And last but not least, get a mentor! They will help you save time, money, and energy.

Lorand shows us that success in entrepreneurship is not just about big ideas, but about deliberate decisions, discipline, and strong teams. Through Upriserz, his vision of growing entrepreneurs and entire economies takes shape every single day.