A normal scan does not always mean a brain is okay.

Hazem and Mack sit down with Bishoi Attia and Michael Darrow of Brain Injury Blood Test, also known as Head Got Hurt, to explore how blood biomarkers may help identify traumatic brain injury after car accidents, concussions, and other impacts that do not always show up on traditional imaging. Bishoi shares the personal experience that drew him toward brain health, while Michael, a biomedical engineer and neuroscience researcher, explains the science behind biomarkers, recovery, and earlier intervention.

To learn more about Integrity Bank, go to itx.bank.

Subscribe to Banking on Integrity on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Learn more about Head Got Hurt (https://braininjurybloodtest.com/).

Key Takeaways

1. Traditional imaging looks for structural damage, but a concussion or traumatic brain injury may not show an obvious lesion even when a patient has real symptoms.

2. Head Got Hurt uses a blood test and proprietary scoring approach to examine biomarkers, symptoms, timing, and injury factors that may help clarify brain injury risk and recovery needs.

3. The company focuses largely on personal injury cases, helping people and attorneys document potential brain injury after car wrecks and find appropriate rehabilitation resources.

4. Michael explains that biomarkers have always existed in the body. Advances in research and testing now make it possible to identify and interpret them more effectively.

5. Bishoi and Michael see future applications beyond car accidents, including proactive brain-health monitoring, military care, and eventually youth and collegiate sports.

A normal scan does not always mean a brain is okay.
Hazem and Mack sit down with Bishoi Attia and Michael Darrow of Brain Injury Blood Test, also known as Head Got Hurt, to explore how blood biomarkers may help identify traumatic brain injury after car accidents, concussions, and other impacts that do not always show up on traditional imaging. Bishoi shares the personal experience that drew him toward brain health, while Michael, a biomedical engineer and neuroscience researcher, explains the science behind biomarkers, recovery, and earlier intervention.
To learn more about Integrity Bank, go to <a href="https://www.itx.bank/">itx.bank</a>.
Subscribe to Banking on Integrity on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banking-on-integrity/id1809270239">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6hUwt34fVZynVGwtnt2aos">Spotify</a>, or wherever you get <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/banking-on-integrity/playlists/podcast">your podcasts</a>!
Learn more about Head Got Hurt (<a href="https://braininjurybloodtest.com/">https://braininjurybloodtest.com/</a>).
Key Takeaways
1. Traditional imaging looks for structural damage, but a concussion or traumatic brain injury may not show an obvious lesion even when a patient has real symptoms.
2. Head Got Hurt uses a blood test and proprietary scoring approach to examine biomarkers, symptoms, timing, and injury factors that may help clarify brain injury risk and recovery needs.
3. The company focuses largely on personal injury cases, helping people and attorneys document potential brain injury after car wrecks and find appropriate rehabilitation resources.
4. Michael explains that biomarkers have always existed in the body. Advances in research and testing now make it possible to identify and interpret them more effectively.
5. Bishoi and Michael see future applications beyond car accidents, including proactive brain-health monitoring, military care, and eventually youth and collegiate sports.

Explore the heart of Houston's business community with Banking on Integrity, brought to you by Integrity Bank. Join founders Hazem Ahmad and Mack Neff as they interview local entrepreneurs, sharing their journeys of success, overcoming challenges, and driving Houston forward.

Explore the heart of Houston's business community with Banking on Integrity, brought to you by Integrity Bank. Join founders Hazem Ahmad and Mack Neff as they interview local entrepreneurs, sharing their journeys of success, overcoming challenges, and driving Houston forward.

Banking on Integrity

Banking on Integrity is your inside look at Houston's thriving entrepreneurial scene. Hosted by Integrity Bank's Hazem Ahmad and Mack Neff, this podcast features inspiring interviews with local business owners, offering valuable insights and lessons for anyone looking to succeed in business.

Banking on Integrity is your inside look at Houston's thriving entrepreneurial scene. Hosted by Integrity Bank's Hazem Ahmad and Mack Neff, this podcast features inspiring interviews with local business owners, offering valuable insights and lessons for anyone looking to succeed in business.

They’re Building a Business Around the Injury No One Can See

A family business can become your future faster than you ever planned.

Hazem and Mack sit down with Fred Leonard, longtime leader of Val-Tex, to hear how he stepped into his father’s struggling valve lubricant and sealant company, lost his father just a few years later, and spent decades rebuilding the business one customer and one carton at a time. Fred shares what community banking meant when the company needed someone to believe in it, why he chose patience over overreach, and what he learned after selling Val-Tex in 2015.

Key Takeaways

1. Fred joined his father’s company after college, then assumed far greater responsibility when his father’s illness and death left him leading a business with deep operational and financial challenges.

2. Val-Tex survived by becoming smaller before it could grow, shedding unprofitable operations, lowering its payroll, and focusing on its specialty manufacturing business.

3. Fred built Val-Tex through patience, describing the work as growing the company “a carton at a time” without overextending its resources.

4. Community banks gave the company its footing when larger institutions showed little interest, creating a relationship that became a decades-long friendship with Mack.

5. Fred sold Val-Tex in 2015 after more than 47 years with the company. What he missed most was not the work itself, but the people who had built the business alongside him.

A family business can become your future faster than you ever planned.
Hazem and Mack sit down with Fred Leonard, longtime leader of Val-Tex, to hear how he stepped into his father&rsquo;s struggling valve lubricant and sealant company, lost his father just a few years later, and spent decades rebuilding the business one customer and one carton at a time. Fred shares what community banking meant when the company needed someone to believe in it, why he chose patience over overreach, and what he learned after selling Val-Tex in 2015.
Key Takeaways
1. Fred joined his father&rsquo;s company after college, then assumed far greater responsibility when his father&rsquo;s illness and death left him leading a business with deep operational and financial challenges.
2. Val-Tex survived by becoming smaller before it could grow, shedding unprofitable operations, lowering its payroll, and focusing on its specialty manufacturing business.
3. Fred built Val-Tex through patience, describing the work as growing the company &ldquo;a carton at a time&rdquo; without overextending its resources.
4. Community banks gave the company its footing when larger institutions showed little interest, creating a relationship that became a decades-long friendship with Mack.
5. Fred sold Val-Tex in 2015 after more than 47 years with the company. What he missed most was not the work itself, but the people who had built the business alongside him.

He Took Over a Struggling Family Business at 27

Hazem and Mack close out season two by revisiting Houston restaurant families and the bankers who helped build Integrity Bank. From Mama Ninfa’s tortilla and pizza factory to the new Integrity team, they highlight how family, work ethic, and community banking together create gathering places for a growing city.

To learn more about Integrity Bank, go to itx.bank.

Subscribe to Banking on Integrity on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Key Takeaways


Phyllis Mandola’s family turned a tortilla and pizza factory into the original Ninfa’s, shaping Houston’s Tex‑Mex identity.


Her story shows hospitality as “my house is your house,” with guests treated like visitors in the family home.


Domenic Laurenzo recalls Ninfa’s growing alongside “Boomtown”‑era Houston, making tacos al carbón and Tex‑Mex widely popular.


Judy Budnik shares a full‑circle path from special assets and Houston National Bank to Integrity Bank’s relationship‑driven culture.


The recap ties restaurant legacy and community banking together as different expressions of the same values: integrity, service, and neighborhood roots.

Timestamped Overview

00:33 Hazem sets the intention to keep the recap brief while honoring the people and themes that defined the season before heading into season three.

00:52 He begins with Phyllis Mandola, describing how her family turned a tortilla and pizza factory on Navigation into the original Ninfa’s and shaped Houston’s food identity.

02:00 Phyllis shares her “homemade entrepreneur” parents, creative extended family, and grandparents who fled Mexico and rebuilt their lives in Texas.

04:00 She explains the mix of tortillas and pizza, the Italian‑Mexican family roots, and her uncle’s invention of the tortilla machine that helped launch the business.

06:00 Hazem recalls Tony Mandola’s restaurant as a constant celebration space, and Phyllis credits Tony’s hospitality and “mi casa es su casa” philosophy for that atmosphere.

07:35 Hazem transitions to Domenic Laurenzo, noting the Laurenzo name many Houstonians grew up with and how it has expanded into concepts like Lorenzo’s Cantina.

08:00 Domenic describes growing up as Ninfa’s expanded from Navigation to Westheimer and Gulf Freeway, and how the restaurant grew alongside booming “Boomtown” Houston.

10:00 He reflects on his grandmother’s practice of greeting guests at the door and the way Tex‑Mex, tacos al carbón, and simple comfort food spread across the city.

12:00 Hazem connects these restaurant stories to Integrity Bank’s own beginnings, emphasizing that both are rooted in family, work ethic, and service.

14:00 The recap turns to Judy Budnik, who started in special assets, learned “what not to do,” and then joined Mack at Houston National Bank.

16:00 Judy shares how mentors like Mike Moser and Mack shaped her path, and how she transitioned from credit analysis to lending and business development.

18:52 She describes joining Integrity Bank as a full‑circle moment, seeing the bank as a family and a chance to fill a niche left by consolidation in the market.

21:00 Hazem and Mack reflect on community banking’s role in supporting multiple generations of business owners and the satisfaction of seeing customers’ children take over.

23:00 They tie together the season’s themes: restaurant families, bankers, and entrepreneurs all building gathering places and businesses rooted in integrity.

25:00 Hazem invites listeners to learn more about Integrity Bank, to nominate entrepreneurs whose integrity and impact deserve a microphone, and notes that season three will start in September.

27:00 Mack and Hazem thank listeners for joining them through season two and reiterate their commitment to sharing more Houston stories in the next season.

Hazem and Mack close out season two by revisiting Houston restaurant families and the bankers who helped build Integrity Bank.&nbsp;From Mama Ninfa&rsquo;s tortilla and pizza factory to the new Integrity team, they highlight how family, work ethic, and community banking together create gathering places for a growing city.
To learn more about Integrity Bank, go to <a href="https://www.itx.bank/">itx.bank</a>.
Subscribe to Banking on Integrity on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banking-on-integrity/id1809270239">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6hUwt34fVZynVGwtnt2aos">Spotify</a>, or wherever you get <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/banking-on-integrity/playlists/podcast">your podcasts</a>!
Key Takeaways
<ol>
<li>
Phyllis Mandola&rsquo;s family turned a tortilla and pizza factory into the original Ninfa&rsquo;s, shaping Houston&rsquo;s Tex‑Mex identity.
</li>
<li>
Her story shows hospitality as &ldquo;my house is your house,&rdquo; with guests treated like visitors in the family home.
</li>
<li>
Domenic Laurenzo recalls Ninfa&rsquo;s growing alongside &ldquo;Boomtown&rdquo;‑era Houston, making tacos al carb&oacute;n and Tex‑Mex widely popular.
</li>
<li>
Judy Budnik shares a full‑circle path from special assets and Houston National Bank to Integrity Bank&rsquo;s relationship‑driven culture.
</li>
<li>
The recap ties restaurant legacy and community banking together as different expressions of the same values: integrity, service, and neighborhood roots.
</li>
</ol>
Timestamped Overview
00:33 Hazem sets the intention to keep the recap brief while honoring the people and themes that defined the season before heading into season three.
00:52 He begins with Phyllis Mandola, describing how her family turned a tortilla and pizza factory on Navigation into the original Ninfa&rsquo;s and shaped Houston&rsquo;s food identity.
02:00 Phyllis shares her &ldquo;homemade entrepreneur&rdquo; parents, creative extended family, and grandparents who fled Mexico and rebuilt their lives in Texas.
04:00 She explains the mix of tortillas and pizza, the Italian‑Mexican family roots, and her uncle&rsquo;s invention of the tortilla machine that helped launch the business.
06:00 Hazem recalls Tony Mandola&rsquo;s restaurant as a constant celebration space, and Phyllis credits Tony&rsquo;s hospitality and &ldquo;mi casa es su casa&rdquo; philosophy for that atmosphere.
07:35 Hazem transitions to Domenic Laurenzo, noting the Laurenzo name many Houstonians grew up with and how it has expanded into concepts like Lorenzo&rsquo;s Cantina.
08:00 Domenic describes growing up as Ninfa&rsquo;s expanded from Navigation to Westheimer and Gulf Freeway, and how the restaurant grew alongside booming &ldquo;Boomtown&rdquo; Houston.
10:00 He reflects on his grandmother&rsquo;s practice of greeting guests at the door and the way Tex‑Mex, tacos al carb&oacute;n, and simple comfort food spread across the city.
12:00 Hazem connects these restaurant stories to Integrity Bank&rsquo;s own beginnings, emphasizing that both are rooted in family, work ethic, and service.
14:00 The recap turns to Judy Budnik, who started in special assets, learned &ldquo;what not to do,&rdquo; and then joined Mack at Houston National Bank.
16:00 Judy shares how mentors like Mike Moser and Mack shaped her path, and how she transitioned from credit analysis to lending and business development.
18:52 She describes joining Integrity Bank as a full‑circle moment, seeing the bank as a family and a chance to fill a niche left by consolidation in the market.
21:00 Hazem and Mack reflect on community banking&rsquo;s role in supporting multiple generations of business owners and the satisfaction of seeing customers&rsquo; children take over.
23:00 They tie together the season&rsquo;s themes: restaurant families, bankers, and entrepreneurs all building gathering places and businesses rooted in integrity.
25:00 Hazem invites listeners to learn more about Integrity Bank, to nominate entrepreneurs whose integrity and impact deserve a microphone, and notes that season three will start in September.
27:00 Mack and Hazem thank listeners for joining them through season two and reiterate their commitment to sharing more Houston stories in the next season.

Season Two Recap: Food, Family, and Integrity

Hazem sits down with Integrity Bank CFO Betsy Reese to unpack what makes a bank financially strong and how small business owners can read the signals. Betsy shares her journey from first‑generation immigrant and deposit ops clerk to lender, CPA‑track accountant, and Rice MBA graduate leading the bank’s financial health and safety.

To learn more about Integrity Bank, go to itx.bank.

Subscribe to Banking on Integrity on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Key Takeaways

1. Betsy’s banking career began in high school in deposit operations, where she learned payments and reconciliations from the ground up.

2. Moving into lending pushed her from introvert to people‑focused banker, giving her a view of customers and credit.

3. Merger uncertainty led her to pursue an MBA at Rice while working and parenting full time.

4. She gained hard‑earned experience guiding a troubled bank back to “safe and sound” under regulatory scrutiny during COVID.

5. Betsy stresses that becoming a CFO requires understanding accounting, operations, lending, and regulation, not just classroom knowledge.

Timestamped Overview

02:00 Betsy shares her background as a first‑generation Chinese immigrant in Houston and her first job in deposit operations reconciling accounts and learning the payments system.

04:00 She describes leaving deposit ops for lending to avoid repetitive work, joining the chief lending officer’s team, and confronting her introversion as she started dealing with people.

06:00 Betsy talks about how lending work changed her personality, gave her customer exposure, and set the stage for later roles in accounting and finance.

08:00 She explains why bank mergers often eliminate roles like CFO, her dislike of uncertainty, and her long‑standing question about whether to sit for the CPA exam.

10:00 Betsy recounts choosing instead to pursue a full‑time MBA at Rice University while working full time and raising children, highlighting the support of her husband and classmates.

12:00 She describes navigating five different CEOs in one institution over five years, the bank’s COVID‑era troubles, and regulators pausing operations with a “speeding ticket.”

14:00 Betsy explains what “safe and sound” means in practice and how that experience taught her to run a bank more conservatively and with stronger discipline.

16:00 Hazem asks about the path to becoming a CFO, and Betsy walks through the need to understand accounting, operations, lending, and regulation before leading the bank’s finances.

18:00 She talks about measuring the bank’s health day to day—looking at capital, liquidity, asset quality, and profitability—and how those numbers fit together.

20:00 The conversation turns to how small and medium‑sized business owners can interpret basic bank performance indicators and why they should care about their bank’s strength.

22:00 Betsy reflects on Houston’s role in her career, the opportunities the city provided, and why she chose to stay in community banking rather than move to a Big Four track.

24:00 Hazem and Betsy discuss balancing growth with prudence, what “too much growth” can look like in banking, and how Integrity Bank aims to avoid those pitfalls.

26:00 She shares what a “good day” looks like for her as CFO and how she thinks about protecting both depositors and shareholders while supporting customers.

28:00 Hazem closes by tying Betsy’s story back to Integrity Bank’s mission and the importance of disciplined, relationship‑driven community banking.

Hazem sits down with Integrity Bank CFO Betsy Reese to unpack what makes a bank financially strong and how small business owners can read the signals.&nbsp;Betsy shares her journey from first‑generation immigrant and deposit ops clerk to lender, CPA‑track accountant, and Rice MBA graduate leading the bank&rsquo;s financial health and safety.
To learn more about Integrity Bank, go to <a href="https://www.itx.bank/">itx.bank</a>.
Subscribe to Banking on Integrity on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banking-on-integrity/id1809270239">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6hUwt34fVZynVGwtnt2aos">Spotify</a>, or wherever you get <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/banking-on-integrity/playlists/podcast">your podcasts</a>!
Key Takeaways
1. Betsy&rsquo;s banking career began in high school in deposit operations, where she learned payments and reconciliations from the ground up.
2. Moving into lending pushed her from introvert to people‑focused banker, giving her a view of customers and credit.
3. Merger uncertainty led her to pursue an MBA at Rice while working and parenting full time.
4. She gained hard‑earned experience guiding a troubled bank back to &ldquo;safe and sound&rdquo; under regulatory scrutiny during COVID.
5. Betsy stresses that becoming a CFO requires understanding accounting, operations, lending, and regulation, not just classroom knowledge.
Timestamped Overview
02:00 Betsy shares her background as a first‑generation Chinese immigrant in Houston and her first job in deposit operations reconciling accounts and learning the payments system.
04:00 She describes leaving deposit ops for lending to avoid repetitive work, joining the chief lending officer&rsquo;s team, and confronting her introversion as she started dealing with people.
06:00 Betsy talks about how lending work changed her personality, gave her customer exposure, and set the stage for later roles in accounting and finance.
08:00 She explains why bank mergers often eliminate roles like CFO, her dislike of uncertainty, and her long‑standing question about whether to sit for the CPA exam.
10:00 Betsy recounts choosing instead to pursue a full‑time MBA at Rice University while working full time and raising children, highlighting the support of her husband and classmates.
12:00 She describes navigating five different CEOs in one institution over five years, the bank&rsquo;s COVID‑era troubles, and regulators pausing operations with a &ldquo;speeding ticket.&rdquo;
14:00 Betsy explains what &ldquo;safe and sound&rdquo; means in practice and how that experience taught her to run a bank more conservatively and with stronger discipline.
16:00 Hazem asks about the path to becoming a CFO, and Betsy walks through the need to understand accounting, operations, lending, and regulation before leading the bank&rsquo;s finances.
18:00 She talks about measuring the bank&rsquo;s health day to day&mdash;looking at capital, liquidity, asset quality, and profitability&mdash;and how those numbers fit together.
20:00 The conversation turns to how small and medium‑sized business owners can interpret basic bank performance indicators and why they should care about their bank&rsquo;s strength.
22:00 Betsy reflects on Houston&rsquo;s role in her career, the opportunities the city provided, and why she chose to stay in community banking rather than move to a Big Four track.
24:00 Hazem and Betsy discuss balancing growth with prudence, what &ldquo;too much growth&rdquo; can look like in banking, and how Integrity Bank aims to avoid those pitfalls.
26:00 She shares what a &ldquo;good day&rdquo; looks like for her as CFO and how she thinks about protecting both depositors and shareholders while supporting customers.
28:00 Hazem closes by tying Betsy&rsquo;s story back to Integrity Bank&rsquo;s mission and the importance of disciplined, relationship‑driven community banking.

They’re Building a Business Around the Injury No One Can See

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