About Tim
Lessons from the trenches.
Tim Koltek isn't a career speaker. He's a founder and active CEO who has built several nationwide companies, survived major failures, and turned them into successful exits and turnarounds — earning the right to talk about real performance, mindset, and execution.
Founder
Koltek Energy
Acquired 2022
CEO
Applied Physics
Current
Author
Luck, How to Let it Find You
2027
Based in
SF Bay Area
Available worldwide
From the trenches to the stage.
Tim Koltek spent over a decade building Koltek Energy Services from the ground up — navigating the brutal realities of entrepreneurship, scaling a team, and ultimately engineering a successful acquisition in 2022. He didn't learn leadership from a textbook. He learned it by making hard decisions under pressure, losing sleep over payroll, and watching his team rise to challenges most people never face.
Today, as CEO of Applied Physics, Tim continues to operate at the highest level — which is exactly what makes his message different. When Tim talks about mindset, execution, and results, he's drawing from a live playbook, not a highlight reel.
His upcoming book, Luck, How to Let it Find You (2027), distills the counterintuitive truth he's discovered: luck isn't random. It's the residue of relentless preparation, clear thinking, and the courage to act when others hesitate.
What sets Tim apart
Why Tim is different.
Most speakers have a message. Tim has a track record.
He's still in the arena.
Tim isn't retired. He runs a company, manages teams, and faces the same pressures your leaders do — right now. His insights are current, not nostalgic.
No fluff. No filler.
Every talk is built around actionable frameworks your team can apply the same week. Tim has zero patience for inspiration that doesn't translate to behavior change.
He's been on both sides.
As a founder and CEO, Tim has hired, fired, motivated, and lost people. He understands what it takes to build a culture where people actually want to perform.
Tailored to your organization.
Tim doesn't deliver the same talk twice. Every engagement is customized to your industry, your challenges, and the specific outcomes you need.
Coming 2027
Luck, How to Let It Find You
A book about the one thing everyone wants and almost no one understands.
Luck is real. But it isn't random, and it certainly isn't something you capture by running faster or wanting it harder. Tim built and sold companies, raised four kids, and spent twenty years discovering a truth that changed everything: luck is something you invite. Something you prepare a place for. Something you allow to find you when your eyes, your mind, and your hands are finally open.
"The worst thing is very often the best thing. You just don't know it at the time."
Part 1
Preparation
Rewiring the inner voice — turning down the noise of scarcity and self-doubt, and teaching a new song to play in its place.
Part 2
Opportunity
Becoming a person luck wants to visit — turning curiosity into a superpower and action into surface area for good things to land.
Part 3
Receiving
The moment it all clicks — practicing radical vulnerability, fierce patience, and daily celebration until inviting good things feels as natural as breathing.