Brad Hannon, 35

Brad Hannon’s mother and mentor, Kelly Graus, once told him everything he touches “turns to gold.” 

She’s not wrong. The insurance agency he founded just three years ago, Signature Medicare Solutions, already has more than 115 employees, most of whom are agents, and Hannon expects that number to rise to 150 next year as it continues to expand its already sizable presence in a downtown Sarasota office tower.

Photo by Mark Wemple

Unlike King Midas, however, Hannon’s success in business can be attributed to qualities such as resilience, relentless optimism and a positive mindset, not greed.

“What my mom portrayed is … not letting the circumstances define your outlook,” he says, “and being able to take a step back and strategically process things.” 

If Hannon’s name rings a bell with readers, though, it might be because of his popular podcast, “Sarasota SpeaX,” a hyper-local platform for interviews with Sarasota-area luminaries. He co-hosts the program with Trey Martell, owner of Sarasota-based Strong Roofing and Homes. 

Recent podcast guests have ranged from Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown and Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche to Mark Sobolewski, a former Sarasota High School baseball standout who played six seasons in the minor leagues and earlier this year was named head coach of the Riverview High School baseball team. 

“We’ve focused on everything from the arts community to the nonprofit community,” Hannon says, adding that the focus on local movers and shakers across all industries, not insurance, is by design. “People don’t want to hear about roofing and insurance. They want to hear about Sarasota and the entrepreneurs who make it up. We’re not marketing ourselves or our businesses, necessarily, but the community that makes us who we are.”

Hannon’s other extracurricular activity is the old-school hunt club he founded with some friends and cousins who have sons around the same age as his, so the boys can learn outdoor survival skills. The group pooled their resources and acquired land and a house in Alabama they use for hunting trips.

“There are so many great values and principles that can be learned through hunting, and great bonds that are formed,” Hannon says.