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What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur in today's uncertain world? How do you balance risk, decision-making, and curiosity? We're sharing an episode from The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu, the new podcast from Harvard Business School Foundry about what it truly takes to be a founder now. Hosted by Harvard Business School senior lecturer Reza Satchu, the show features intimate conversations with some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, including Reese Witherspoon, Kevin O'Leary, Galen Weston, and more. Satchu himself has built multiple high-profile companies and mentored thousands of students and founders as they start and scale ventures, and he pushes his guests to break down exactly how they commit, decide, and build for impact. In this episode, Tim Ferriss—entrepreneur, investor, bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, and host of one of the world's most influential podcasts—reflects on experimentation, calibrated risk-taking, decision-making under uncertainty, and why curiosity and learning have shaped nearly every chapter of his career. Listen to more episodes of The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu, follow the podcast here: https://play.megaphone.fm/zbmkcqmbqhymul1logpega
Most sales problems start when the seller won't stop talking. Mark Roberge (HubSpot's founding CRO, Harvard Business School lecturer, and co-founder of Stage 2 Capital) joins Matt and Luigi to challenge the loudest myths in sales and startup growth. His take is simple: great selling is not about pressure, slick pitches, or talking someone into a bad deal. It's about asking better questions, finding the real problem, and knowing when to walk away. The conversation also tackles a mistake that kills promising companies: scaling before customers are getting real value. Mark breaks down why rising revenue can fool founders, how to test product-market fit, and what must be true before a business earns the right to grow faster.
Former Marine Corps officer, Harvard Business School graduate, and entrepreneur Mike LeBlanc spent 13 years in the Marine Corps, including back-to-back deployments advising Afghan forces, service with First Recon, a joint special operations task force in Bahrain, and a Pentagon role evaluating emerging military technology. After leaving active service, he founded Cobalt Robotics and later co-founded Foundation Future Industries. In this episode, we dig into his early days advising Afghan forces, including a green-on-blue attack just 30 days into his deployment after an Afghan soldier saw news coverage surrounding the “Innocence of Muslims” film. We then shift into his work building humanoid robots and why he believes they could eventually replace American troops in some of the battlefield's most dangerous roles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Send us Fan MailWe're living through one of the fastest periods of workplace transformation in modern history. AI is reshaping jobs, layoffs have become a recurring reality, and many professionals are quietly asking themselves a question they never expected to ask:Can I keep working like this?In this episode of FUTUREPROOF., Jeremy Goldman sits down with DJ DiDonna, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and author of BIG TIME OFF, to explore why stepping away from work may become one of the most important career strategies of the AI era.Drawing on years of research and hundreds of conversations with professionals who have taken extended breaks, DJ argues that sabbaticals aren't simply about recovering from burnout—they're about creating the space to rethink your work, your priorities, and your future before someone else makes that decision for you.Together, they discuss:How AI and rapid technological change are making career reinvention a continuous process. Why layoffs and unexpected career interruptions can become opportunities for reflection instead of just setbacks. The surprising competitive advantage that comes from intentionally creating time to think. How organizations can build cultures that prioritize long-term resilience instead of perpetual exhaustion. This isn't just a conversation about taking time off. It's about whether we've built a definition of career success that's no longer fit for the future—and what it might look like to replace it with something more sustainable.
The professional world usually prioritizes urgency, but the most important moments of our lives rarely happen at the desk. In his new book Big Time Off, Sabbatical Project founder DJ DiDonna offers up a simple but radical idea: sabbaticals help us avoid sleepwalking through life by giving us time to be present in moments of celebration, difficulty, and transition. Integrating original research and compelling stories of sabbatical-takers from all walks of life—from teachers and nonprofit leaders to startup founders and Fortune 500 employees—DiDonna explores why extended time away from work has such a profound effect on people's identity, relationships, creativity, and direction. DiDonna covers when to take a sabbatical—and how to avoid waiting for a crisis to take off; why sabbaticals—unlike vacations—help you forge a new career path, feel human again, and live a more authentic life; how to navigate your sabbatical using archetypes—the explorer, the seeker, and the achiever—and avoid common pitfalls; and best practices for individuals—no matter the circumstances—and organizations of all sizes to make extended leave possible and sustainable. Whether you dream of making a big change, exploring the world, or simply carving out space to heal, think, and recalibrate, join us to hear DiDonna discuss his guide to creating a richer, more intentional life. About the Speakers DJ DiDonna is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, where he teaches entrepreneurship. In 2019, he founded The Sabbatical Project to define, explore, and research sabbaticals. DiDonna has advised over a dozen organizations on the creation of sabbatical policies, including Zappos, Google, and DaVita, and from nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, both in the United States and around the world. He has appeared on ABC, NPR, CNBC and attended Harvard Business School, later cofounding an international credit-scoring company, EFL Global (the Entrepreneurial Finance Lab), based in Lima, Peru. Aarti Shahani took a sabbatical from college to lead a campaign against her father's deportation. After almost a decade, her advocacy was successful. Her family remained together in the United States. She went on to become a prominent voice for the country as an award-winning NPR correspondent, where millions of listeners have turned to her to explain the significant stories of our time. Her bestselling memoir Here We Are details the history of I.C.E. through her family's experience. She regularly hosts conversations with leaders in business, politics and arts on her podcast “Art of Power” as well as shows like NPR's "Fresh Air" and KQED's "Forum." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What happens when the person telling your success story wasn't actually in the room? That's the moment that pushed John Winsor — Founder and Chairman of Open Assembly, Harvard Business School executive fellow, and author of six books including the bestselling Open Talent — to write a widely discussed piece questioning the entire thought leadership industry. In this conversation with Peter Winick, Winsor traces his path from launching a regional sports magazine (sold to Condé Nast) through decades of building and exiting companies, to his current work at Harvard's AI Institute studying the future of work. Along the way, he unpacks a tension every expert eventually faces: when does an idea deserve a blog post, a keynote, or a book — and when is it just filler dressed up as insight? Winsor and Winick dig into what separates "thought leaders" from "thought doers," using everyone from Malcolm Gladwell to Domino's Patrick Doyle as examples of how firsthand experience — not borrowed theory — is what actually earns an audience's trust. They also tackle a question with real urgency for anyone building a business around ideas: if generative AI can produce a working website, investor deck, and full brand in a single prompt, what's left for humans to do? Winsor's answer centers on relationships, judgment, and the irreplaceable value of live, human-to-human experience — a case he backs with striking data from executive AI workshops at HBS. This is a candid, occasionally pointed conversation about ego, authenticity, and the mechanics of building influence in a market flooded with polished — but often hollow — expertise. Worth a listen for anyone deciding what to write next, whether to take the stage, or how to stay relevant as AI eats the easy parts of the job. Three Key Takeaways: • Experience should come before the platform, not after. Winsor argues that credible thought leadership starts with real, specific experience — "go have a bunch of really killer specific experiences" — rather than reverse-engineering content to match a trending topic or keyword. • AI is pushing execution toward zero cost, which raises the value of judgment and relationships. Winsor points to tools that can generate a full company's assets — website, investment deck, brand — from a single prompt in under two hours. What AI can't replace is the human trust required to sell, evangelize, and validate an idea. • Format should follow curiosity, not ambition. Rather than deciding upfront that an idea "deserves" a book, Winsor tests ideas publicly through Substack, HBR, and Forbes articles first, using audience response to gauge whether something is worth developing further — or whether it was only ever his own curiosity. Before you go — Peter has a new book. The Thought Leadership Handbook: How the Experts Elevate Their Big Ideas—and How You Can Too, co-authored by Bill Sherman, Peter Winick, and Naren Aryal, draws on more than 700 conversations from this very podcast to map out the patterns that separate thought leaders who build lasting impact from those who never scale past their own curiosity. It introduces five thought leadership avatars — Growth-Minded CEOs, Impact and Legacy Executives, Thought Leaders on the Run, In-House Experts, and Hall of Fame Thinkers — and gives readers the frameworks and tools to find their own path. Endorsed by Mel Robbins, Ken Blanchard, Stephen M. R. Covey, Marshall Goldsmith, and 50+ other leading voices, with a foreword by Lisa Bodell. Order now: Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org Amplify Publishing Apple Books Learn more at thoughtleadershiphandbook.com
First, a few numbers. This year Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta will spend more than $700 billion building AI infrastructure. There are 1,500 data centers in development across the country. AI-linked stocks make up at least 40% of the S&P 500. These are the kinds of numbers that make some economists jumpy. If this whole AI thing doesn't pan out, they warn, we're headed for the mother of all crashes. But Azeem Azhar is not one of those economists. He and his team recently spent months turning the AI economy inside out, and they just released a report called The State of the AI Economy. It contains surprising answers to what has become an increasingly pressing question: is this the biggest bubble ever blown, or are we building the durable machinery of a radically more abundant world? In this conversation, Azeem joins Rufus to unpack why AI adoption is growing faster than the internet or mobile, what Wall Street and Silicon Valley may still be getting wrong, and why the most important skill in an AI-powered future may have nothing to do with AI. Along the way, they explore energy, jobs, investing, AI safety, and what exponential change means for the next generation.
DJ DiDonna makes the case for why taking more extended time off helps professionals get further in their careers–and shares tricks for actually snagging that time. — YOU'LL LEARN — 1) How to convince your boss to let you take a sabbatical 2) How sabbaticals act as “regret insurance”3) How to plan a truly fulfilling sabbaticalSubscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep1169 for clickable versions of the links below. — ABOUT DJ — DJ DiDonna is a senior lecturer of business administration at Harvard Business School, where he teaches MBA courses on entrepreneurship and building meaningful professional and personal lives. He has spent his career translating social science research into real-world tools for positive change. In 2019, DiDonna founded The Sabbatical Project to define, explore, and research the role of sabbaticals in modern life. He has helped organizations around the world—from nonprofits to Fortune 50 companies—design and implement sabbatical policies.His work has been featured in The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, Time, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Previously, DiDonna cofounded EFL Global, a fintech company that enabled more than $2 billion in capital to underbanked businesses and individuals across twenty countries before its acquisition in 2018. DiDonna earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. On his sabbatical, DiDonna walked nine hundred miles on pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan, helped lead the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at his undergraduate alma mater, Notre Dame, and unskillfully remodeled his kitchen. Outside work, you can find him plotting how to be in the Big Outdoors.• Book: Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One by DJ DiDonna• LinkedIn: DJ DiDonna• Website: TheSabbaticalProject.org• Website: djdidonna.com— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW — • Tool: Voice Dream Reader• Book: The Three-Body Problem (The Three-Body Problem Series, 1) by Cixin Liu• Book: Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career by Herminia Ibarra— THANK YOU SPONSORS! — • Shopify. Sign up for your free trial at Shopify.com/awesomepod• Monarch. Get 50% off your first year with code AWESOME at Monarch.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What happens when you leave your routine behind to embrace uncertainty? DJ DiDonna, Harvard Business School senior lecturer and founder of the Sabbatical Project, joins Craig Dowden to unpack the real benefits of sabbatical leave, drawn from years of research into hundreds of sabbatical-takers. DiDonna explains why extended leave delivers measurable physical healing, from resolving stress conditions like eczema and ulcers to reducing what he calls functional workaholism. The conversation also covers the confidence and creativity gains people report, the three sabbatical archetypes, and why the benefits of sabbatical leave extend to employers as well as employees.DiDonna draws on interviews with hundreds of sabbatical-takers to show that the benefits of sabbatical leave aren't reserved for the wealthy or the lucky. He argues most people can plan toward a sabbatical five years out by setting aside a percentage of income and identifying a trusted example who has already taken one. The episode also explores why founders and CEOs, despite having more flexibility, often feel trapped by the businesses they built, and how stepping away can reduce key-person risk while creating growth opportunities for junior staff.Throughout, DiDonna distinguishes the benefits of sabbatical leave from those of a simple vacation: vacations swap work tasks for leisure tasks, while sabbaticals create open space for identity change, healing, and experimentation. He closes with micro-moment strategies, like disconnecting for a long weekend, that let listeners borrow some benefits of sabbatical leave without leaving their jobs.Key TakeawaysThe benefits of sabbatical leave include physical healing, with sabbatical-takers reporting resolved eczema, ulcers, and trigger fingers.Sabbatical-takers frequently describe the experience as a peak life event, comparable to a wedding or the birth of a child.Three archetypes shape how people access the benefits of sabbatical leave: the achiever, the explorer, and the seeker.Confidence and creativity gains often outlast the sabbatical itself and carry into everyday work life.Employers benefit too: sabbaticals reveal key-person risk and reduce dependence on any single employee.Emotional recovery from work identity typically takes six to eight weeks before people feel like themselves again.Micro-moments, such as fully disconnected long weekends, offer some benefits of sabbatical leave without quitting a job.Planning a sabbatical five years in advance makes accessing these benefits feel achievable rather than disruptive.Chapters00:57 Introduction and DJ DiDonna's background05:31 Defining what a sabbatical actually is07:55 Why extended time off matters14:32 Reframing sabbaticals as realistic for everyone22:20 Time vs. space: the real difference from a vacation25:19 The emotional journey of a sabbatical28:55 The three archetypes: achiever, explorer, seeker34:02 Financial and logistical planning38:45 Sabbaticals for founders and leaders42:26 Micro-moments: everyday sabbatical practices47:06 Closing thoughts and final adviceGuest ContactWebsite: https://thesabbaticalproject.orgBook page: https://djdidonna.com/big-time-off/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djdidonnaFAQQ. What are the main benefits of sabbatical leave?A. DiDonna's research points to physical healing, increased confidence, renewed creativity, and stronger organizational resilience.Q. How long until the mental health benefits of sabbatical leave kick in?A. Most people need six to eight weeks before feeling like themselves again, separate from their work identity.Q. Do the benefits of sabbatical leave extend to employers?A. Yes. DiDonna argues sabbaticals reduce key-person risk and reveal overly dependent business processes.
Americans are notoriously bad at taking time off from work. Once entering the workforce, we expect to be devoutly productive for decades on end, awarded with an extended break only upon retirement. In his new book, “Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One,” Harvard Business School's DJ DiDonna urges us to step away from our desks to take an extended break from work – something that for many feels culturally, personally or financially impossible. He argues that taking a break from work can lead to powerful self-transformation by making time for the things we often ignore: learning, rest, play, relationships and reflection. Is there a future where we can all step away from our productivity and into the world? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
TYPICAL SKEPTIC PODCAST #2734
Fifteen years ago, Eric Ries handed a generation of founders a playbook. When Eli was in a Palo Alto-based startup accelerator in 2011, The Lean Startup felt like the only book anyone in that ecosystem was talking about. It was in the middle of a wildly optimistic moment for tech. Marc Andreessen declared that “software is eating the world,” social media was blooming, and there was a widespread belief that technology was about to democratize everything and bring us closer together. Concepts like the MVP (“minimum viable product,”), the pivot, and build-measure-learn became the operating language of Silicon Valley. This is a preview of a premium episode. Listen to the full interview on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/eric-ries But a lot of the companies built on those ideas went on to get corrupted by forces Eric hadn't yet named. His new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great, is his reckoning with what happens after you build something great — and how to keep it from falling apart. Buy the book In this conversation, we get into why speed itself wasn't the problem, but treating a rising stock price as proof of health is like assuming more exhaust means a faster car. Eric explains why doing the right thing 100% of the time is actually easier than doing it 98% of the time, and how companies behave like superorganisms with their own emergent character — a point he illustrates with a genuinely mind-bending study about ants solving a puzzle that no single ant ever could. We talk about the “harder is easier” principle through stories from Patagonia and the long-term stock exchange he built as a design challenge, and why the value a company makes comes from the design of its products. And because we couldn't resist, we get into AI slop, LLM psychosis, and Eric's clear, simple antidote: never ask these tools to make you an artifact — ask them to teach you how to make one yourself. Bio Over the last two decades, Eric Ries's ideas about continuous innovation, long-term thinking, governance, and market reform have reshaped company building and management practices. He is the creator of the Lean Startup method, and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup; The Leader's Guide; and The Startup Way. As a founder, he has put his own ideas into practice with The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE); Answer.AI, an AI R&D lab; the Lean Startup Co, which teaches and supports the implementation of Lean Startup; Virgil, a legal services startup; and IMVU, where the ideas that became the Lean Startup method were forged. On his podcast, The Eric Ries Show, he talks to guests including world-class technologists, thought leaders, and executives working to build profitable companies for the long-term benefit of society. Eric has served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School and IDEO. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and three children. *** Premium Episodes on Design Better This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. New premium subscriber benefit: we've launched a private Slack workspace…join now to connect with designers, product leaders & creative practitioners in our community. And get a behind-the-scenes pass to every episode with The Roundup, where each week we bring you insights and actionable tactics from recent episodes. Premium subscribers get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books. You'll also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show. And subscribers at the annual level now get access to the Design Better Toolkit, which gets you major discounts and free access to tools and courses that will help you unlock new skills, make your workflow more efficient, and take your creativity further. Upgrade to paid Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show: Masterclass: MasterClass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200+ of the world's best. People like Steph Curry, Paul Krugman, Malcolm Gladwell, Dianne Von Furstenberg, Margaret Atwood, Lavar Burton and so many more inspiring thinkers share their wisdom in a format that is easy to follow and can be streamed anywhere on a smartphone, computer, smart TV, or even in audio mode. MasterClass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to http://masterclass.com/designbetter for the current offer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Harvard Business School lecturer DJ DiDonna talks about the importance of sabbaticals and why intentionality in time away from work is a win-win for employees and bosses alike. He shares findings from his new book, ‘Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As careers last longer and AI accelerates workplace change, should extended career breaks become part of workforce strategy? Harvard Business School senior lecturer DJ DiDonna on burnout, reskilling, organizational resilience, and why sabbaticals may be a missing institution in modern work—for employees and employers alike.
Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as the private equity's industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.Much of the SuperReturn conference is centered on fundraising. GPs take up every available space — from hotel rooms to Tiny Space cabins that line the parking spots on Budapester Strasse outside of the InterContinental conference venue — to conduct meetings with LPs.With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry's leading alternative asset managers.Our first conversation was with Apax Co-CEOs Andrew Sillitoe and Mitch Truwit.Apax is one of the pioneers in the private equity industry. The firm's rich history dates back to the 1970s, when its founders, Alan Patricof (US), Sir Ronald Cohen (UK), and Maurice Tchénio (France), came together to establish the first US-UK partnership firm in private equity. During that time period, the firm backed Steve Jobs and the first iteration of Apple. The UK and US firms merged in 1981, laying the foundation for Apax.Today, Apax stands at over $80B in aggregate funds raised. The firm underwent its second leadership transition in 2014, when Andrew and Mitch were elected as Co-CEOs, succeeding Martin Halusa, who became Chairman.Apax sits in a unique position. They are a scaled platform that focuses on the middle market. They operate across three sectors, Tech, Services, and Digital / Consumer, infusing a digital DNA and value creation team into everything they do. Their platform spans “a mile wide and a mile deep,” which is what much of the conversation between Andrew, Mitch, and me unpacked.We had a fascinating discussion about the current state of private equity and the middle market, why Apax focuses on “density-driven business models,” why the firm focuses on carveouts in the middle market, what's underappreciated about the middle market, why it's important to “buy in the right neighborhood and fix it up,” and how the firm's core values of “having impact through insight and tenacity” drive every decision they make.BiosAndrew Sillitoe has been Co-CEO of Apax since 2014. He is Chairman of the Apax Global Investment Committee and the Digital Investment Committee, amongst others. He is also a member of the Apax Executive Committee. He has been based in London since joining the Firm in 1998, focusing on Tech & Telco investments.Andrew has been involved in a number of investments including Inmarsat, Intelsat, King, Orange Switzerland, TIVIT, TDC and Unilabs.Prior to joining Apax, Andrew was a consultant at LEK. Andrew holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford and an MBA from INSEAD.BoardsAndrew has previously served on the boards of Inmarsat, King, Intelsat, Orange Switzerland and TDC.Mitch Truwit is Co-CEO of Apax, based in New York.Prior to joining Apax in 2006, Mitch was the President and CEO of Orbitz Worldwide between 2005 and 2006 and was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of priceline.com between 2001 and 2005.Mitch is a graduate of Vassar College where he received a BA in Political Science. He also holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.BoardsMitch serves as a Board member of Openlane and Trade Me. Prior boards include Advantage Sales & Marketing, Assured Partners, Dealer.com, Bankrate, Garda World, Hub International, Trader Canada, Boats Group and Quality Distribution Inc.Mitch serves on the charitable boards of the Apax Foundation, the John McEnroe Tennis Project, Posse and StreetSquash.Thanks, Andrew and Mitch, for a fascinating conversation and for sharing your expertise, wisdom, and passion at the intersection of investing and operating in private equity.Show Notes00:00 Meet Apax co-CEOs, Andrew Sillitoe and Mitch Truwit00:26 Andrew's Origins at Apax00:47 Private Equity Then vs Now01:25 Apax Growth and Values01:45 Curiosity as a Differentiator02:04 Mitch's Operator Background02:56 Why Mitch Joined Apax03:40 Defining the Middle Market04:14 Why Sub-Billion EV Works04:59 Middle Market Talent Gap05:20 Carve Outs as a Strategy05:29 TRADER Corporation - Canada App Turnaround06:12 Scaled Platform Advantage07:14 Digital DNA and AI Wave07:50 Top Line Growth Lever08:36 Add-ons and TAM Expansion09:33 ECI Case Study Roll Up10:07 Integration Over Collection10:28 Exit Options in a Bigger PE World10:59 Building for Multiple Buyers11:45 Fund Size Discipline12:34 Choosing Returns Over AUM13:16 Understanding Firm DNA14:01 Global Micro Investing14:49 Making Global Pods Work15:50 Scale Specialization Flexibility17:08 Where to Invest Now19:23 Buying Complexity for Value20:15 Moats and Investment Committee22:13 Why Middle Market Excites Them23:19 Future of PE and AI at Scale24:50 Impact Insight Tenacity Culture25:54 Obligation to Dissent Story26:55 Aspirational Brand Analogy27:48 Wrap Up and Thanks
The use of AI in the workplace can be a polarizing topic. How inevitable will AI be in our jobs, and what sorts of conversations should corporate leaders be ready to broach? "Marketplace Morning Report" host Kimberly Adams recently dug into that and more with Linda Hill, a Harvard Business School professor, at the Aspen Institute's Business and Society Summit. But first, leading economic indicators aren't as leading as they used to be.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace Morning Report is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.Stories in this episode:How to approach the AI revolution
Most of us approach a long break from work with some anxiety. Whether it's a layoff, parental leave, or a season of caregiving, there's tension around if and when we'll return to work and how we'll explain the gap on our résumé. DJ DiDonna, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and author of the new book Big Time Off, wants to change that. This week, he joins Jessi to make the case that stepping away from routine work — for whatever reason, for however long — is one of the most strategic things you can do for your career and your life. Jessi and DJ discuss: What a sabbatical actually is, and why two-thirds of them happen because of a negative catalyst, not a choice Why immediately job-searching after a layoff is like grocery shopping while hungry The difference between a vacation, a corporate "sabbatical," and the real thing, and why it takes six to eight weeks just to feel like yourself again What DJ calls "fertile emptiness," and why most of us never let ourselves get there How to use a sabbatical to run experiments on possible future versions of yourself The story of a CTO who went to Norway, built a text-to-speech app, and redesigned his entire relationship with work and money Why functional workaholism is the thing most of us are living with What AI has to do with the case for stepping back, and why learning from a place of fear versus curiosity makes all the difference How Jessi's own three-month hiatus from the workplace, during which she wrote a book and raised a newborn, turned out to be a sabbatical she didn't know she was taking How to start planning for a sabbatical five years from now, even if taking one today feels impossible Follow DJ DiDonna and Jessi Hempel on LinkedIn.
The use of AI in the workplace can be a polarizing topic. How inevitable will AI be in our jobs, and what sorts of conversations should corporate leaders be ready to broach? "Marketplace Morning Report" host Kimberly Adams recently dug into that and more with Linda Hill, a Harvard Business School professor, at the Aspen Institute's Business and Society Summit. But first, leading economic indicators aren't as leading as they used to be.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace Morning Report is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.Stories in this episode:How to approach the AI revolution
DJ DiDonna is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, where he teaches entrepreneurship. In 2019, he founded The Sabbatical Project to define, explore, and research sabbaticals, and he has since advised organizations ranging from nonprofits to Fortune 50 companies on how to design sabbatical policies. His work on sabbaticals has been featured in outlets including The Atlantic, Time, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fortune, and NPR. Before his work on sabbaticals, DJ co-founded EFL Global, a fintech social enterprise that helped enable more than $2 billion in capital for underbanked businesses and individuals across more than 20 countries. On his own sabbatical, DJ walked 900 miles on pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan, and ran a poverty research lab at Notre Dame. DJ's is also the author of the book, Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One In this episode we discuss the following: Sometimes we need to zoom out before we can know whether we should keep going. DJ had his dream job, but over time, it stopped being fulfilling. So he took a sabbatical. Sabbaticals are different from vacations. On vacation, the work is often still waiting, and part of our brain is still running in the background. But on a true sabbatical, we step far enough away from normal life to see more clearly and focus on what is important, not just what is urgent. Sabbaticals also give us room to experiment with different versions of ourselves. When we're younger, we have socially acceptable ways to do that — school, internships, missions, study abroad, gap years. But as adults, those opportunities become less common, and we often stop experimenting altogether. We get on a track, stay in the lane, and assume the next thing should look a lot like the last thing. The sabbatical helps us break out. I love DJ's phrase that sabbaticals are “regret insurance.” Maybe we can't take a sabbatical tomorrow. But what are we doing five years from now? What would we regret never having done? And what would it look like to start planning now?
Empowering Industry Podcast - A Production of Empowering Pumps & Equipment
Chris Jackson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Orphic, an AI company helping manufacturers and industrial suppliers automate engineering, warranty, and procurement workflows. Orphic reads engineering specifications, drawings, manuals, supplier quotes, and warranty documentation to help teams find information faster, evaluate opportunities more consistently, and make better decisions across engineering, sourcing, and aftermarket service. Founded while Chris was earning his MBA at Harvard Business School, Orphic is working with leading industrial companies to bring practical AI into engineering and manufacturing environments where critical knowledge is often trapped in documents, spreadsheets, and legacy systems. Before founding Orphic, Chris began his career at J.P. Morgan before becoming a venture capital investor focused on industrial software and advanced manufacturing technologies. Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is passionate about helping industrial organizations leverage AI to preserve engineering knowledge, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate digital transformation.Find us @EmpoweringPumps on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter and using the hashtag #EmpoweringIndustryPodcast or via email podcast@empoweringpumps.com
For this episode, let's revisit a strategy skills classic interview with the author of MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your "Enough", Manisha Thakor. In this book, Manisha shares her candid journey out of the Cult of Never Enough—a painful mindset that tells you the money you earn, accomplishments you achieve, and praise you receive are always insufficient. Manisha Thakor has worked in financial services for more than thirty years, with an emphasis on women's economic empowerment and financial wellbeing. A nationally recognized thought-leader in this space, Thakor has been featured in a wide range of publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, NPR, PBS, CNN, Real Simple, and Women's Health. Prior to writing MoneyZen, Thakor co-authored two personal finance books for women in their twenties and thirties. Today her work focuses on helping people of all ages to balance financial health and emotional wealth. Thakor earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, her BA from Wellesley College and is both a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). She splits her time between Portland, Oregon and rural Maine. Her website is MoneyZen.com. Get Manisha's Book here: https://rb.gy/od9zz MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your "Enough" Claim your free gift: Free gift #1 McKinsey & BCG winning resume www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF Free gift #2 Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts www.FIRMSconsulting.com/decisions Free gift #3 Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody www.FIRMSconsulting.com/owntheroom Free gift #4 Access episode 1 from Build a Consulting Firm, Level 1 www.FIRMSconsulting.com/build Free gift #5 The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies www.FIRMSconsulting.com/OverallApproach Free gift #6 Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Action, a book we co-authored with some of our clients: www.FIRMSconsulting.com/gift
Derek Champagne interview USA Today best selling author Dave Garrison. Dave Garrison is a nationally recognized business strategist and co-founder of Garrison Growth, a leadership development and executive consulting firm. As Chief Navigation Officer of Garrison Growth, Dave helps CEOsand senior leaders generate meaningful buy-in and drive results across their organizations.With more than 30 years of leadership experience — including board roles at companies such as Ameritrade and executive leadership of public and venture-backed firms — Dave brings a rare blend of strategic insight,operational expertise, and on-the-ground leadership to every engagement. A renowned CEO and strategic advisor, Dave is the creator of a groundbreaking framework that addresses the critical ingredients needed for sustainable buy-in. Author of the bestselling book, The Buy-In Advantage: Why Employees Stop Caring ― and How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Give Their All, Dave equips leaders with practical, low-cost tools to build trust, align teams, and unlock performance—especially during times of growth, change, or disruption. Drawing from extensive research and real-world success stories, he reveals howleaders can implement this no-cost methodology to transform their culture and drivemeasurable results.Dave is a sought-after speaker, workshop leader, and trusted advisor to executives across a variety of industries. He has delivered hundreds of high-impact sessions for corporations, nonprofits, and chapters of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) both in the U.S. and abroad. His workshops consistently earn top ratings for their clarity, energy, and immediate usefulness. In addition to his client work, Dave has served as a guest lecturer at leading business schools and as a boardroom coach to CEOs navigating complex growth challenges. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and resides in Tucson, Arizona.In today's workplace, effort isn't the problem ― buy-in is. Teams may be showing up, but they're not fully engaged. They delay decisions, resist change, and underperform quietly. In The Buy-In Advantage: Why Employees Stop Caring ― and How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Give Their All (Matt Holt Books), executive coach and former CEO Dave Garrison delivers a clear, practical roadmap to help leaders earn real commitment—not just compliance—and build teams that execute with energy, ownership, and purpose. Purchase The Buy-in Advantage bookFree assessments and resourcesBusiness Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576
What business school won't teach you about luxury. How do you work in luxury fashion? This is inside LVMH's playbook. This week, I'm joined by Pauline Brown, former Chairwoman of LVMH North America, Harvard Business School professor, and author of Aesthetic Intelligence. Pauline shares the lessons she learned leading some of the world's most iconic luxury brands. We cover a lot, from why climbing the corporate ladder doesn't always bring more freedom, to the mistake most people make when planning their careers, and why she believes taste will become one of the most valuable skills in the future of work. We also dive into what luxury brands understand about consumer psychology, how Dior and Chanel think differently from startups, what it really takes to break into companies like LVMH, and why Pauline convinced Harvard Business School to create a course on The Business of Aesthetics. Whether you're building a brand, growing your career, or simply trying to develop better taste, this episode is packed with frameworks you'll think about long after listening.In this episode, we cover:Navigating a career pivotHow she transitioned from consulting to fashion and beautyThe biggest career mistakes young professionals makeWhy taste matters more in the age of AIHow to stand out when applying to luxury brandsThe psychology behind iconic brands like Dior and ChanelWhy attention doesn't always lead to salesThree questions to ask before starting your own companyFollow Fashion & Founders:Podcast IG: @fashionandfoundersPodcast Substack: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Website: fashionandfounders.comPodcast TikTok: @fashionandfoundersPodcast LinkedIn: Fashion and FoundersPodcast YouTube: Fashion and FoundersPodcast Links: Shop MyFollow Pauline Brown:IG: @paulinegarrisbrownBook HEREBrunello: The Gracious VisionaryWatch the documentary film HEREIG: @brunelloilvisionariogarbatoThank you to this episodes's sponsor Blue Fox Entertainment!Thanks for listening!
Accounts payable has produced multiple billion-dollar companies, yet its mirror image, accounts receivable, remains almost entirely manual at most enterprises despite decades of software spend. In this episode, Caitlin Leksana, co-founder and CEO of Fazeshift, explains why AR has remained unsolved and how her company's AI agents are changing that. A mechanical engineer turned BCG consultant turned founder, Caitlin came to the problem the hard way, doing her own AR by hand at a previous startup, and her outsider's view of a stubborn back-office chore is exactly what makes the conversation worth your time.What We CoveredA million AR analysts doing manual work in the USWhy accounts payable got solved and AR did notThe leverage imbalance between AP and AR departmentsThe swivel chair problem and fragmented data$200 million in unapplied cash on one balance sheetFazeshift as a context layer, not a rip-and-replaceWhy traditional SaaS and if-then logic could never scale ARThe collections, cash application, and AR inbox modulesHuman in the loop and building trust when AI touches moneyTraining agents on historical data and tribal knowledgeFrom Y Combinator to a Series A led by F-PrimeThe vision for the context layer and autonomous financeKey TakeawaysAR is the inverse of AP, and every bill is someone else's invoice, so the market is at least as large and mostly uncaptured.The real unlock is not the AI model but unifying fragmented data across the ERP, bank, CRM, and inbox into a single context layer.Human in the loop with full auditability is what earns risk-averse finance teams' trust, and it is how agents move toward full automation over time.Some of the best unsolved startup problems are the ones furthest removed from an engineer, because no one with the tools to fix them ever felt the pain.About Caitlin LeksanaCaitlin Leksana is the co-founder and CEO of Fazeshift, a San Francisco startup building AI agents for accounts receivable. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, advised Fortune 500 companies at BCG, and earned her MBA at Harvard Business School before founding a crypto marketing startup and then Fazeshift. The company went through Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch, raised a $4M seed led by Gradient Ventures, and announced a Series A led by F-Prime in 2026.Connect with Fintech One-on-One:Tweet me @PeterRentonConnect with me on LinkedInFind previous Fintech One-on-One episodes
This week I'm joined by Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard professor, bestselling author and one of the world's leading experts on the science of human happiness, and someone who has spent his life answering one of the most fundamental questions we all ask and what does it actually mean to live well?We explore happiness, meaning, love and what the science really says about building a life that feels worth living.Arthur Brooks is a professor at Vanderbilt University and senior fellow at Harvard Business School. He is the author of 16 books including three number one New York Times bestsellers. He has spent decades studying happiness not as a feeling but as a skill and teaching people how to practise it.What we explore together:Why happiness is not a destination and what the arrival fallacy is really costing youThe four idols your brain tells you will make you happy and why they never doWhat the neuroscience of love actually looks like and the two things that keep couples bondedHow the failure journal works and why writing down your disappointments makes you happierWhy meaning and happiness are not the same thing and which one actually lastsWhat it means to love and be loved and why Arthur believes that's the whole answerLove, Sarah Ann
Some dreams begin with a destination.Others become a lifelong way of leading.As a young girl growing up in Montville, New Jersey, Lindsey Chrismon set her sights on one place: West Point. It was an ambitious goal, one that would shape nearly every chapter that followed.In this encore presentation of one of HarmonyTALK's favorite conversations, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with Lindsey to explore an extraordinary journey defined not simply by achievement, but by purpose.That purpose carried her from the halls of the United States Military Academy to becoming the first woman to pilot the Army's elite AH-6M Little Bird helicopter. It guided her through leadership roles in one of the world's most demanding organizations, into Harvard Business School, and ultimately toward founding Oply, an AI-powered company transforming how homeowners care for their homes.But this conversation is not about résumés.It is about the moments that shape a life.Lindsey reflects on growing up with a dream that many people thought was too ambitious, discovering confidence through challenge, and learning that leadership is earned one decision at a time. She shares what it felt like to break barriers in military aviation, why service continues to guide her work, and how entrepreneurship became another opportunity to solve meaningful problems for others.Greg and Lindsey also explore the surprisingly human side of innovation. The result is technology that feels less like science fiction and more like thoughtful service.Throughout the conversation, Lindsey returns to one central idea. Leadership is not about titles or recognition. It is about helping people move forward with confidence, whether you're leading soldiers, classmates, colleagues, or customers.
What's the state of American manufacturing? Have tariffs helped bring industry and jobs back? We talk with Willy Shih, a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School.
* Ole Miss says they're considering suing two former players who are now at LSU over contract buyouts. We'll break down what's going on and how these NIL contracts can be structured * What's the state of American manufacturing? Have tariffs helped bring industry and jobs back? We'll talk with Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School.
Would you take four months away from work? Have you ever wondered who you'd be without your job for a while? In this episode, I sit down with Harvard Business School lecturer and The Sabbatical Project founder Dennis “DJ” DiDonna to talk about why many of us keep pushing until burnout forces us to stop, how intentional time away creates space to reflect on what really matters, and why rest isn't about doing nothing. DJ also shares ways to plan a sabbatical, navigate the uncertainty that comes with slowing down, and return with a stronger sense of purpose. Get ready to rethink time off as an investment in the life and career you want to build. Check out our sponsors: Shopify - Sign up for a $1 per month trial, just go to shopify.com/anxiousachiever Chime - Head to chime.com/achiever to sign up Monarch - Use code ACHIEVER at monarch.com to get 50% off your first year Physician's Choice - Use code PCPODCAST10 at physicianschoice.com to get 10% off your entire order Whatnot - Get free shipping on your first order. Just search W-H-A-T-N-O-T in the app store and start scoring amazing deals Pebl - Take advantage of Pebl's limited-time offer before it's gone. Visit hipebl.ai today. In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 A new way to think about time away from work. 05:30 How sabbaticals create space for renewal instead of escape. 07:15 What is a sabbatical? 10:00 How burnout led DJ to rethink the life he was building. 15:00 Why achievement often comes at the expense of the people who matter most. 21:45 What are the benefits of stepping away from work? 26:45 When is the perfect time for a sabbatical? 32:15 What are the 3 types of sabbatical takers? 36:00 Why reconnecting with your craft can restore creativity. 41:00 How do you give yourself permission? 46:00 Are sabbaticals always relaxing? 49:00 How stepping away from work can make you a better leader. 53:00 Why taking time off is an investment, not an escape. 57:30 DJ's advice for planning your first sabbatical. Resources + Links Learn more about DJ DiDonna HERE Pre-order a copy of DJ DiDonna's book Big Time Off HERE Learn more about The Sabbatical Project HERE Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam Follow DJ DiDonna on LinkedIn: @djdidonna
Undiscovered Entrepreneur ..Start-up, online business, podcast
Did you like the episode? Send me a text and let me know!!No Money, No Problem: The Step-by-Step Framework for Finding a Technical Co-Founder Using ValidationEpisode Summary: You have the idea. You have the drive. You have absolutely zero cash for salaries. So how do you find the brilliant technical partner who can actually build the thing — and convince them to join you? In this episode of Business Conversations with Pi and Piette 2.0, PI and Piette tackle one of the most dangerous and high-stakes challenges in entrepreneurship, driven by a real listener question from tuepodcast.net/askpi.Drawing from Harvard Business School research, Y Combinator strategy, Mike Moyer's Slicing Pie model, Dan Martell's co-founder playbook, and startup employment law, this episode delivers the exact blueprint for building a technical team when cash isn't an option — and reveals why that constraint might actually be your greatest advantage.What You'll Learn:Why 65% of startups die because founders hate each other — not because they ran out of moneyWhy you probably don't need a developer yet — and the no-code trap most founders fall intoHow to build leverage before you pitch anyone using no-code validation toolsWhere to find technical co-founders beyond your immediate networkThe 90-day rule that forces a decision and prevents analysis paralysisHow to vet a developer when you don't know a single line of codeDan Martell's "10-hour weekend test" and what friction response revealsWhy a 50/50 equity split on day one is called the "quick handshake penalty" — and how it kills valuationsHow Mike Moyer's Slicing Pie dynamic equity model works with multipliersThe employment law trap that can destroy your company before it startsWhat a four-year vesting schedule and one-year cliff actually mean — and why they protect everyoneTimestamps:[00:00:00] – Introduction & The Listener Question[00:01:00] – The Harvard Study: 65% of Startups Die Because Founders Hate Each Other[00:02:30] – Why Co-Founded Startups See 163% More Valuation Growth[00:03:30] – Do You Actually Need a Developer Right Now?[00:04:00] – No-Code First: Webflow, Airtable, Bubble — Validate Before You Build[00:04:30] – Dan Martell's Filter: Why Top Developers Ignore Idea Guys[00:05:30] – How to Show Up With Leverage, Not a Pitch[00:06:00] – Where to Find Technical Co-Founders: Start Closer Than You Think[00:06:30] – Michael Seibel's Strategy: Make a Real Offer, Not a Favor[00:07:00] – Friends vs. Strangers: The Surprising Data on Who Makes Better Co-Founders[00:08:30] – Co-Founder Matching Platforms: YC Cofounder Match & Start2Pitch Explained[00:09:30] – The 90-Day Rule: Set a Hard Deadline or Fall Into Analysis Paralysis[00:10:30] – How to Pitch Vision When You Have No Cash[00:11:30] – How to Vet a Developer When You Can't Code[00:12:30] – Dan Martell's 10-Hour Weekend Test & the Friction Response Framework[00:13:30] – The Equity Conversation: Why 50/50 Is a Trap[00:14:30] – Noam Wasserman's Quick Handshake Penalty & Investor Red Flags[00:15:30] – Mike Moyer's Slicing Pie: Dynamic Equity With 1X and 2X Multipliers[00:17:30] – The Employment Law Trap: Can You Legally Pay People Only in Equity?[00:19:00] – Contractors vs. Employees: The Classification That Could Destroy Your Company[00:19:30] – Vesting Schedules & the One-Year Cliff Explained[00:21:00] – The Full Playbook Summary[00:22:00] – The Mind-Bending Final Question: Do You Even Need VC Money?[00:23:00] – Submit Your Question & Wrap-UpPlatforms & Resources Mentioned:
Over the last decade, the number of drug candidates entering development has doubled, yet the number of successful drug approvals remains flat at ~50 per year.This week, we sit down with Formation Bio founder and CEO Ben Liu. His company has raised more than $600 million to build what he hopes will become the first new enduring pharmaceutical company in decades, powered by AI. Ben explains why he believes clinical development, not drug discovery, is becoming the industry's biggest bottleneck, and how AI could fundamentally change the economics of bringing new medicines to patients.We cover:Why there hasn't there been a big pharma company created since the 1980sWhich drug categories Ben believes could become the next GLP-1s and reshape healthcareWhy Formation Bio chose to become a pharmaceutical company instead of selling softwareThe real bottleneck in bringing medicines to patientsBen's roadmap for how AI will transform drug development over the next 10 to 20 yearsAbout our guest:Ben Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Formation Bio. He received his DPhil at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, leveraging machine-learning, AI, and big-data to develop diagnostics and therapeutics for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. During his graduate work, he observed the way clinical trials bottlenecked the development of new treatments for patients, compelling him to start Formation Bio.Before Formation Bio, Ben graduated from Yale where he was awarded the college's highest honor at graduation and received his MPhil with distinction in Computational Biology from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge as a Paul Mellon Fellow. Ben also serves as an Advisor to Harvard Business School's MS/MBA Program in Biotechnology.—
The same handbag. Thirty different platforms. Hundreds of dollars between listings. And no way to know what it's actually worth.In this episode of HappyPorch Radio, Barry O'Kane speaks with Chris Lucas, founder and CEO of Secondsense, a platform that aggregates luxury resale listings from over 30 vendors, normalises their attributes, and tells consumers what a product is really trading at. Chris describes it as the Google Flights for luxury resale.Chris's background is unusual for the fashion space. Stanford AI, senior machine learning engineer at Instagram, then Harvard Business School. He built a prototype while still a student, a TikToker put it on her channel, the site crashed overnight, and Chris opened a fundraise the next morning. He didn't wait until the product was ready. He didn't wait until he graduated. He just ran.What's most striking about the conversation is Chris's view on where value sits now. He argues the modelling layer, the application layer, and the hardware layer are all effectively democratised. Someone can duplicate a website in minutes using tools like Lovable or Claude Code. The only thing that can't be replicated is years of clean, structured, proprietary data and the domain expertise to know what to do with it. For Secondsense, that means knowing that a caviar leather Chanel sells differently from lambskin, or that champagne hardware changes the price, details a layperson would never spot.✨ In this episode:Chris explains why the secondhand luxury market is broken: fragmented supply, opaque pricing, and one-of-one SKU processing that leads to chronic supply-demand mismatchWe hear the story of the TikTok video that crashed his prototype and the snap decision to fundraise before graduating HarvardChris shares his framework for thinking about the AI stack (data, models, applications, hardware) and why only one of those layers is defensibleBarry and Chris discuss why domain knowledge matters as much as technical skill, and why hiring people who understand both is a sportChris gives an honest account of Secondsense's sustainability story: it's real, but it's not what's driving his customers' purchasing decisionsWe explore the vision for scaling beyond luxury handbags into any product category that trades inefficiently on the resale market, from liquor and art to wine, electronics, and even equestrian saddlery
"Eva Yazhari, Founder & CEO of Beyond Capital Ventures—a firm investing in high-growth companies across emerging markets, led by conscious leaders balancing profit + purpose. One theme stood out: awareness drives everything. 3 takeaways: Nothing is neutral. Every decision—time, money, energy—creates impact. Think local to find purpose. Connection isn't out there. It's right in front of you. Awareness beats outcomes. Fear-based decisions kill growth. Possibility creates it. --- Eva Yazhari is an experienced investor, author, and advocate for conscious capitalism. As Managing Partner of Beyond Capital Ventures, she leads early-stage investments in East Africa and India, focusing on essential sectors with the potential to impact millions. Her investment portfolio spans over 50 equity and 9 debt deals, reaching more than 100 million customers and championing equitable ownership for all founders. Eva began her career on Wall Street as Vice President at EnTrust Capital, managing over $5 billion in investments. She now brings that institutional expertise to mentoring founders and scaling purpose-driven companies in emerging markets. She serves on the boards of Viebeg Medical, Lal10, and CarePoint, and contributes strategic oversight across the BCV portfolio. She's also a member of the Athena Leadership Council at Barnard College. Eva is the author of The Good Your Money Can Do and co-hosts The Beyond Capital Podcast and The BCV Podcast, where she features global impact leaders. Splitting her time between London and Los Angeles, Eva combines financial rigor with values-driven leadership. She holds a BA in Mathematics from Barnard College, with additional credentials from MIT Sloan and Harvard Business School." Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience/ Website: https://jondwoskin.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin/ Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big! Connect with Eva Yazhari: Website: https://www.evayazhari.com/ X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-yazhari/ Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-yazhari/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-yazhari/ Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-yazhari/ *E - explicit language may be used in this podcast.
Rob Snyder is a serial startup founder, venture partner, and Fellow at Harvard Innovation Labs who has spent years studying why some startups gain traction while others never find product-market fit. A Harvard Business School graduate and former McKinsey consultant, Rob has founded multiple companies, helped early-stage founders scale their businesses, and developed a framework for identifying real market demand. In this episode, he shares why entrepreneurs often waste years solving the wrong problems—and how learning to sell before you build can dramatically increase your chances of success. On this episode we talk about: Rob's unconventional journey from volunteering in Tanzania to McKinsey and Harvard Business School Why startups fail when founders solve problems customers won't actually pay to fix The difference between customer "pain points" and true market demand How selling before building leads to faster product-market fit Why entrepreneurs should focus on what customers already want instead of trying to convince them they need something new Top 3 Takeaways Customers validate products with their wallets—not compliments. Positive feedback means very little until someone is willing to pay. Sell first, build second. The fastest way to discover product-market fit is by learning what customers are already trying to buy and validating demand before investing heavily in development. Don't try to change people's minds. The best businesses solve existing demands instead of convincing customers they should want something different. Notable Quotes "Customers validate products with their wallets." "Figure out what they want to buy—not what you think they need." "Why play an already hard game on hard mode?" Connect with Rob Snyder: Website: https://www.robsnyder.org/ Newsletter & Book: The Power of Pull A Word from Our Sponsors: - Visit DrinkAG1.com/TMM to get a free AG1 Travel Case with 7 free AG1Travel Packs in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order while supplieslast. - Go to Leesa.com for 30% OFF select mattresses (through July 12, 2026) PLUS get an extra $50 off with promo code TMM, exclusive for my listeners - To learn more about Mode Mobile and its investor community, go to https://invest.modemobile.com/travismakesmoney -Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Host Justin Forman sits down with John Cortines, author, generosity advocate, and a leader at the Maclellan Foundation, to unpack the heart transformation at the core of every faith-driven entrepreneur's relationship with money. Recorded at the Kingdom Advisors conference, this conversation begins in a Harvard Business School Bible study and ends with a vision for professionally managed giving funds that could rival the mutual fund industry in scale. John traces his journey from a young oil-and-gas professional whose online banking password was literally "retire@40!" to a husband, father of six, homesteader, and passionate advocate for Kingdom generosity. Drawing from his two books, God and Money and True Riches, John shares both the practical mechanics and the deep heart work required to move from asking "How much do I need to give?" to "How much do I really need to keep?" Key Topics: The wrong question most Christians ask about money, and the reframe that changes everything Why giving felt like a spreadsheet cell working against retirement, until joy broke through Financial finish lines: setting lifestyle and net worth guardrails before wealth arrives The four heart conditions around money (pride, coveting, anxiety, and indifference) and their gospel antidotes Why King Nebuchadnezzar and King David are the ultimate contrast study for entrepreneurs How collaborative, professionally managed giving funds could become as common as index funds Practical first steps for busy entrepreneurs ready to go on the generosity offensive Notable Quotes: “The right question isn't how much do I need to give, it's how much do I really need to keep?” — John Cortines “All things come from you and of your own have we given you.” — John Cortines (quoting King David, 1 Chronicles 29) “By definition, giving is actually a source of joy and freedom and purpose in the Christian walk.” — John Cortines Guest Background: John Cortines is the co-author of God and Money (2016) and True Riches, books exploring biblical stewardship and the heart transformation behind generous living. A Harvard Business School graduate, John began his career in oil and gas at Chevron before pursuing a calling to equip Christian business leaders with a theology and practice of generosity. Today he helps lead generosity and giving strategy at the Maclellan Foundation, which opens its global grant-making engine to families deploying resources worldwide. John and his wife Megan live on 12 acres in East Tennessee with their six children, where they homeschool, homestead, and raise everything from egg-laying hens to Thanksgiving turkeys.
Watch the show on television by downloading the SuperCrowd.tv Channel app to your Roku or Amazon Fire TV and e360tv channel app to your Roku, LG or Amazon Fire TV. You can also see it on YouTube.Devin: What is your superpower?Daniel: Combination of curiosity and humility.What if a single treatment could extend the length and quality of your life—or the lives of your beloved pets? Daniel Oliver, Co-Founder and CEO of Rejuvenate Bio, believes it's possible and is already making it a reality. Rejuvenate Bio has developed a breakthrough approach, beginning with pets, to address multiple chronic diseases with one therapy.“We actually have taken the wealth of aging science that's out there,” Daniel explained, “and have been able to turn them into one-time therapies. Effectively, we're able to inject a patient—whether it's a dog, a cat, or a human—and the data suggests we can treat multiple different diseases.”Daniel shared his excitement about testing these therapies on animals, highlighting initial successes with several high-profile pharmaceutical companies, including Merck's animal health division, which has also invested in the company. Early results show these treatments not only improve health outcomes but also have the potential to be safe, accessible, and affordable.Unlike traditional gene therapies for humans, which can cost millions, Rejuvenate Bio's approach for animals carries a dramatically lower price tag. “We've reduced the manufacturing costs to the point where we can treat chronic, lifetime diseases at around $100 per dose,” Daniel said. This affordability has broad implications for human treatments too, ensuring accessibility beyond just the wealthy elite.Beyond the practical applications, the mission of Rejuvenate Bio is deeply human. Chronic diseases, Daniel noted, account for enormous healthcare costs and significant suffering. He envisions a future where people and pets alike can experience more healthy years together. “What if,” he posed, “instead of a laundry list of side effects, new treatments came with a list of novel benefits?”Rejuvenate Bio is currently hosting an equity crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder, inviting anyone to invest and be part of their journey. This move aligns with Daniel's vision of building a community of supporters who share the mission. “We want folks to come in, become evangelists for our technology, and grow with us,” he said.tl;dr:Daniel Oliver discusses Rejuvenate Bio's one-time treatments for pets to extend healthy lives.The therapies have shown promise for treating chronic diseases in animals and potentially humans.Daniel shares Rejuvenate Bio's affordability strategy: manufacturing doses for as low as $100.Rejuvenate Bio's recent partnerships with Merck and a live Wefunder campaign expand their impact.Daniel explains how curiosity and humility fuel his leadership at Rejuvenate Bio, emphasizing collaboration.Daniel's company offers exciting hope—not just for the families whose pets will lead healthier lives, but for society as it considers how this innovation could reshape human healthcare.How to Develop Curiosity and Humility As a SuperpowerDaniel attributes his success to a combination of curiosity and humility. “When you're doing these types of startup companies, you're never going to come to the table with all the skills and experiences you need,” Daniel said. His curiosity drives him to seek knowledge and advice, while his humility allows him to admit there is always more to learn. By embracing these values, Daniel has built an adaptable, reflective leadership style that encourages innovation and resilience.Daniel's humility and curiosity were tested during his time at Caltech, where the demanding academics overwhelmed him. He learned to collaborate with peers and seek help from teaching assistants to overcome challenges. “The homework problems were not something I could accomplish alone,” he admitted, emphasizing how teamwork and the willingness to learn built his resilience. This experience taught him to embrace failure as a learning opportunity—something he carries into his leadership at Rejuvenate Bio.Tips for Developing This SuperpowerDiscipline Yourself to Listen: Focus on understanding the full message rather than preparing an immediate response.Be Open to Feedback: Acknowledge that there's always a better way and commit to continuous improvement.Embrace Collaboration: Recognize that achieving great things often requires the strengths of a team.Seek Expertise: Learn from others with specialized knowledge, even when you succeed.Live and Learn: Foster a culture where risk-taking is encouraged and failures become growth opportunities.By following Daniel's example and advice, you can make curiosity and humility a skill. With practice and effort, you could make it a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.Remember, however, that research into success suggests that building on your own superpowers is more important than creating new ones or overcoming weaknesses. You do you!Guest ProfileDaniel Oliver (he/him):Co-Founder & CEO, Rejuvenate BioAbout Rejuvenate Bio: Rejuvenate Bio is targeting the core drivers of chronic age-related diseases by unlocking the power of gene expression and epigenetic reprogramming to reverse pre-existing heart disease, metabolic disease, and kidney failure in humans.Website: rejuvenatebio.comCompany Facebook Page: facebook.com/RejuvenatebioCompany Twitter/X Handle: @rejuvenatebioLinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/company/rejuvenate-bioOther URL: wefunder.com/rejuvenatebioBiographical Information: Daniel Oliver is a biotechnology entrepreneur and gene therapy innovator dedicated to transforming breakthrough aging science into life-changing therapies for animals and people. As Co-Founder and CEO of Rejuvenate Bio, a company spun out of Harvard Medical School and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, he is leading the development of one-shot gene therapies that target the root causes of age-related cardiac and metabolic diseases. Under his leadership, Rejuvenate Bio has secured significant equity and non-dilutive funding, advanced novel gene therapy platforms toward clinical development, and established strategic partnerships with leading animal health companies to accelerate innovation in both veterinary and human medicine.Before founding Rejuvenate Bio, Daniel co-founded Voxel8, a pioneering 3D printing company that raised more than $14 million, launched groundbreaking products, and was ultimately acquired by Kornit Digital. Voxel8 earned widespread recognition, including being named one of MIT Technology Review's “50 Smartest Companies” and a Top 9 Innovation at CES. Daniel also serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at University of California, San Diego, where he mentors researchers and founders in commercializing breakthrough technologies. A graduate of Harvard Business School and California Institute of Technology, he combines deep scientific expertise with entrepreneurial leadership to bring cutting-edge biotechnology from the laboratory to the marketplace.LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/danielcoliverSupport Our SponsorsOur generous sponsors make our work possible, serving impact investors, social entrepreneurs, community builders and diverse founders. Today's advertisers include Cineblock Films and Climatize. Learn more about advertising with us here.Max-Impact Members(We're grateful for every one of these community champions who make this work possible.)Brian Christie, Brainsy | Cameron Neil, Lend For Good | Carol Fineagan, Independent Consultant | Hiten Sonpal, RISE Robotics | John Berlet, CORE Tax Deeds, LLC. | Justin Starbird, The Aebli Group | Lory Moore, Lory Moore Law | Marcia Brinton, High Desert Gear | Mark Grimes, Networked Enterprise Development | Matthew Mead, Hempitecture | Michael Pratt, Qnetic | Mike Babbit | Coledger Solutions | Mike Green, Envirosult | Nick Degnan, Unlimit Ventures | Dr. Nicole Paulk, Siren Biotechnology | Paul Lovejoy, Stakeholder Enterprise | Pearl Wright, Global Changemaker | Scott Thorpe, Philanthropist | Sharon Samjitsingh, Health Care Originals | Add Your Name HereUpcoming SuperCrowd Event CalendarIf a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.Join the SuperCrowd Impact League! You can be recognized for making impact investments via Reg CF. See how your activity compares to your peers. It's free. Win valuable prizes. Start now!SuperCrowd Impact Member Networking Session: Impact (and, of course, Max-Impact) Members of the SuperCrowd are invited to a private networking session on July 14th at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT. Mark your calendar. We'll send private emails to Impact Members with registration details. Upgrade to Impact Membership today!SuperCrowdHour, July 15, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. Devin Thorpe, CEO and Founder of The Super Crowd, Inc., will lead a session on “How to Make a Splash With Your Campaign Launch.” Drawing on his extensive experience helping entrepreneurs and impact-driven founders succeed in investment crowdfunding, Devin will share proven strategies for creating momentum and attracting attention when launching a crowdfunding campaign. In this session, he'll explore how founders can prepare for a successful launch, build excitement before going live, engage their networks effectively, and generate the early traction that often determines long-term campaign success. Attendees will learn practical tactics for storytelling, outreach, media engagement, and community building, along with common mistakes that can limit visibility and investor interest. Whether you're preparing for your first crowdfunding raise or looking to improve the performance of a future campaign, this SuperCrowdHour will provide actionable insights to help you launch with confidence and maximize your campaign's impact from day one. Register now!SuperCrowd26 featuring PurposeBuilt100™: This August 25–27, founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders will gather for a three-day, broadcast-quality global experience focused on disciplined capital formation, regulated investment crowdfunding, and purpose-driven growth. We're bringing together leading voices in impact investing, compliance, digital marketing, and circular economy innovation to deliver practical frameworks, real-world case studies, and actionable strategies. The event culminates in the PurposeBuilt100™ Showcase, recognizing 100 of the fastest-growing purpose-driven companies in the U.S. Register now to secure your seat and get all the details. August 25–27, streaming worldwide.Community Event CalendarSuccessful Funding with Karl Dakin, Tuesdays at 10:00 AM ET - Click on Events.Register Now! October 20th and 21st will be the Crowdfunding Professional Association Regulated Investment Crowdfunding Summit for 2026. This is the event of the year for everyone in the crowdfunding ecosystem.If you would like to submit an event for us to share with the 10,000+ changemakers, investors and entrepreneurs who are members of the SuperCrowd, click here.Manage the volume of emails you receive from us by clicking here.We share educational information—not investment advice. Some links may generate compensation. See our full disclosure.We use AI to help us write compelling recaps of each episode. Get full access to Superpowers for Good at www.superpowers4good.com/subscribe
In "Private Fleets Rescue Freight Brokers in 2026", Joe Lynch and Russell Jones, CEO & Co-founder of Private Fleet Net Zero, discuss how unlocking empty private backhauls provides brokers with discounted, high-quality capacity to combat fraud and skyrocketing liability. About Russ Jones Russell Jones co-founded Private Fleet Net Zero to help the 45% of trucks that are in Private Fleets with usually empty backhauls find loads from $50B+ of 3PL freight spend, leveraging his leadership of Cargo Chief, which enables 1,200+ 3PL buyers with $8B+ of spend to buy transportation capacity more profitably. Previously, Mr. Jones co-founded and led two cloud-based physical security firms. He was also the founding CEO of Clearvox Communications, which pioneered the market for cellular phone headsets, which he sold to Plantronics. Beforehand at Adaptec, Mr. Jones doubled a $50M channel products business to $100M. Mr. Jones has been awarded 10 patents, and holds a BSBA with highest honors from Boston University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. About Private Fleet Net Zero Private Fleet Net Zero, PFNZ, is uniquely aggregating 10,000s of trucks with 1,000s of lanes of underutilized, underpriced, theft-free and superior private and dedicated fleet trucking capacity and matching via multi patent-pending technologies and artificial intelligence to $10Bs of freight spend registered on our cloud-based platform, while generating a compelling client ROI. Our network is quickly and efficiently growing both fleets and 3PLs on PFNZ, which is on a path to save 30M+ tree equivalents. Key Takeaways: Private Fleets Rescue Freight Brokers in 2026 In "Private Fleets Rescue Freight Brokers in 2026", Joe Lynch and Russell Jones, CEO & Co-founder of Private Fleet Net Zero, discuss how unlocking empty private backhauls provides brokers with discounted, high-quality capacity to combat fraud and skyrocketing liability. Massive Fleet Scale: Private Fleet Net Zero (PFNZ) has rapidly aggregated 80,000 trucks and 40,000 lanes of coverage, using patent-pending AI to match this massive pool of underutilized capacity with tens of billions of dollars in registered freight spend. The $150B Backhaul Waste: Private fleets (where the cargo owner owns the asset, like Walmart or Sherwin-Williams) make up 45% of all trucks on the highway, yet they run empty 80% of the time on their backhauls, leaving a $150 billion pool of premium capacity sitting idle. Pure Profit for Fleets: Because the primary "front haul" already covers the driver's salary, equipment, insurance, and core fuel costs, any backhaul revenue captured through PFNZ represents a 95% pure profit margin for the fleet owner. Quadrupled Broker Margins: Brokers can secure this premium capacity at a 25% discount to the market rate. In a tight market where a typical gross profit might only be $150 on an $1,150 load, cutting carrier costs from $1,000 to $750 can effectively triple or quadruple a broker's net margins. Eliminating Fraud and Liability: Shifting to private fleets bypasses the modern plague of cargo theft, cyber fraud, and "chameleon carriers" who hide bad histories under new DOT numbers. Furthermore, because private fleets have newer equipment and a third less accidents, they shield brokers from catastrophic multi-million dollar "nuclear verdicts" tied to carrier safety under the recent Montgomery ruling. Combating the 2026 Capacity Crunch: Massive federal enforcement of English language proficiency rules is projected to strip 25% of for-hire drivers (400,000 to 600,000 drivers) off the road. PFNZ rescues brokers by giving them an automated "outsourced recruiting team" to tap into stable private capacity that was previously heavily monopolized by the top 10 mega-brokerages. Seamless Integration & Sustainability: PFNZ connects to a broker's TMS within weeks via APIs, reports, or an AI bot to automatically map buying patterns. By eliminating empty miles, the platform is on track to save over 45 million tree equivalents in CO2, giving public companies and shippers a verifiable decarbonization story for SEC and board reporting. Learn More About Private Fleets Rescue Freight Brokers in 2026 Russ Jones | Linkedin Private Fleet Net Zero | Linkedin Private Fleet Net Zero Private Fleet Net Zero: The Deadhead is Dead with Russ Jones The Broken Safety System Threatening Shippers and Brokers with Chris Burroughs What is Blue Ocean Strategy | About Blue Ocean Strategy The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube
From Season 3 – Looking for time management strategies as an executive assistant or administrative professional? Learn from Harvard Business School professor Ashley Whillans to more effectively find, fund, and reframe your time. Recorded at EA Ignite Spring 2024 and produced by the American Society of Administrative Professionals - ASAP. Learn more and submit a listener question at asaporg.com/podcast.
Only 3 out of 10 women in Reese Witherspoon's book club were using AI regularly when she posted about it. That stat is staggering.This week's episode is a little different. I sat down with my friend Stephanie Mitton on her podcast, Women Don't Do That, to talk about the AI adoption gap between women and men, and the conversation went further than I expected. So instead of letting it live on her feed alone, I'm bringing our full chat to you here.What you'll hear:Why the gap in AI adoption between women and men isn't about skill, it's about guilt and identityThe "it's not cheating, it's choosing ease" mindset shift that changed how I think about using these toolsThe real wage premium and job disruption numbers tied to AI skills right now, and what they mean if you sit this one outHow I built a "Family Command Center" with AI to run my household through back to back softball, pool parties and general summer chaosWhy the environmental concerns people raise about AI deserve more nuance than a knee-jerk reaction (a real example from a Canadian data centre)The two actual skills that make you good at AI, and neither one is codingTake the next step: Introductory AI Course for Women: https://www.beaconmentorshipacademy.com/event-list>>MEET STEPHANIE
#986: Join Michael & Lauryn Bosstick as they sit down to unpack the biggest lessons from the recent class they took at Harvard Business School and Adweek House during Cannes Lions. Fresh off Harvard Business School's Business of Sports, Media & Entertainment program and leading The Bosstick Blueprint conversation at Cannes Lions, Michael and Lauryn share the ideas, strategies, and trends shaping the future of business, media, and creator brands. They dive into the biggest takeaways on AI, audience ownership, brand-building, and long-term growth – plus the exact frameworks they're already implementing at Dear Media and The Skinny Confidential. If you want an inside look at what the world's top founders, CEOs, creators, and executives are talking about, and how Michael and Lauryn are staying ahead of where business and media are headed, this is an episode you won't want to miss! For Detailed Show Notes visit TheBossticks.com To connect with Lauryn Bosstick click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE Head to our ShopMy page HERE and LTK page HERE to find all of the products mentioned in each episode. This episode is sponsored by The Skinny Confidential Reduce puffiness and boost radiance with The Skinny Confidential Mint Roller, now available at http://shopskinnyconfidential.com. This episode is sponsored by FRE Nicotine Try FRE Nicotine Pouches today at http://FREpouch.com and use code SKINNY for 25% off for NEW customers only. WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. This episode is sponsored by ARMRA Go to http://armra.com/SKINNY or enter SKINNY to get 30% off your first subscription order This episode is sponsored by Branch Basics Get 15% off Branch Basics with the code SKINNY at https://branchbasics.com/SKINNY. This episode is sponsored by Polymarket Polymarket is now available in the U.S. App Store – you can trade on culture, entertainment and more, all in one place. Download the app and use code SKINNY to get $50 to trade when you make a qualifying $20 deposit. This episode is sponsored by Beekeepers Naturals Go to http://beekeepersnaturals.com/SKINNY or enter code SKINNY to get 20% off your order. This episode is sponsored by Ritual Don't settle for less than evidence-based support. Save 25% on your first month at http://Ritual.com/SKINNY. This episode is sponsored by HERS Ready to reach your goals? Visit http://forhers.com/skinny to get personalized, affordable care that gets you. Produced by Dear Media
Professor William Taubman, guest author, explains that McNamara's intellectual journey began at Berkeley and Harvard Business School, where he was consistently recognized as the "smartest guy" in his class, excelling in economics and mathematics. During a 1939 trip to Europe, he notably failed to realize that WWII was imminent even after hearing Hitler speak in Berlin, an admission that contrasts sharply with his later role as a global military strategist. He eventually married Margie, whose cheerful disposition complemented his analytical rigidity. His expertise in "statistical control" led him to teach military officers at Harvard, a role that eventually brought him to the attention of the defense establishment. McNamara at War: A New History (2)1920 HANOI
In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season. While activity for this season is winding down, we do still anticipate a little more waitlist movement in the weeks ahead. For upcoming events, Clear Admit is also hosting a special webinar event for international students, scheduled for July 16, at 10AM Central European time. This webinar will explore the value of a U.S.-based MBA for international students, as well as the logistics of moving to the United States, getting a student visa, and staying for post-MBA employment. Clear Admit's MBA Essay Workshop series, which has now expanded to five events, is scheduled for July 21, 22 and 23, and July 28 and 29. These events will bring together an increasing number of the top MBA programs to discuss both their written essay prompts as well as their video essays. Signups for all events are here: https://www.clearadmit.com/events Graham highlighted Clear Admit's weekly refresh series, which tracks the top MBA programs' announcements related to the upcoming admissions season. We then discussed an admissions tip that focuses on the impact of volunteer experience on the MBA admissions process. Clear Admit continues its Adcom Q&A series. This week Graham noted Q&As from Harvard Business School, Georgetown / McDonough and UNC / Kenan Flagler. Finally, Graham continued with the Real Humans Alumni series. This week focuses on an alumnus from Yale, working at Pepsi Co. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate is a chemical engineer by training, and wants to use the MBA to pivot to consulting. This week's second MBA applicant appears to have strong founder experience. We worry about the combination of their undergraduate record and their lower test score. This week's final MBA candidate is a software engineer from India. They have a 322 GRE. We think it makes sense to try to improve that score. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!
Most founders treat product-market fit like a feeling. Mark Roberge thinks that's as absurd as calling profit a feeling.The founding CRO of HubSpot, Harvard Business School lecturer, and Stage 2 Capital co-founder joins Josh to break down his new book, The Science of Scaling. The argument at the center of it - the decision of when and how fast to scale shouldn't be a gut call. It should be gated on retention.Mark shares the leading indicator of retention (the one metric that predicts churn in a customer's first month), the 5-50-500 playbook a Microsoft leader used to launch new products, why Drift's founder flew across the country to onboard $50/month customers, and what "AI-native sales team" should actually mean in 2026 (with numbers attached).If you work in Customer Success, this episode makes the case that you own the most strategic metric in the company. All proceeds from Mark's book go to McLean Hospital for mental health care.---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---What You'll Learn- Why we scale haphazardly, not scientifically- A quantitative definition of product-market fit - How to design a leading indicator of retention- Real LIR examples from Slack, Harvey, Facebook, and Gainsight - The three maturity levels of an LIR- How a Microsoft leader used the 5-50-500 rep model to de-risk new product launches- How to pick your threshold based on the blitzscale risk in your category- Why product-market fit and go-to-market fit must be sequenced, not pursued at once- How to know when to move past founder-led sales - How to bring unit economics into board meetings - Why blitzscaling fails more companies than it saves (and why VCs push it anyway)- The two metrics that define an AI-native sales team in 2026- Mark's four phases of the AI revolution in go-to-market ---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Intro1:30 - Meet Mark Roberge3:07 - The Science of Scaling (All book proceeds go to McLean Hospital)7:30 - We scale haphazardly, not scientifically9:06 - Microsoft's 5-50-500 playbook13:19 - Is product-market fit a feeling?15:48 - The leading indicator of retention, explained17:30 - Time to value vs. recurring value19:42 - Designing your own LIR24:04 - Why go-to-market fit comes after PMF26:06 - Pitching this framework to VCs28:15 - How to know when you have go-to-market fit31:15 - Bringing the science to larger companies33:00 - When to move beyond founder-led sales35:51 - AI and the four phases of the GTM revolution37:20 - What "AI-native sales team" means in 2026---Josh is writing a book on building customer relationships. Follow his journey and insights at www.joshschachter.com---Where to Find the GuestMark Roberge: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/The Science of Scaling: https://a.co/d/0boDpDUcStage 2 Capital: https://www.stage2.capital/---Where to Find the Host: Josh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/
What if the most freeing financial decision you could make had nothing to do with your portfolio returns? In this episode, host Justin Forman sits down with John Cortines, co-author of God and Money and True Riches and a generosity leader at the Maclellan Foundation, for a practical, spiritually grounding conversation about generosity, stewardship, and freedom. John shares how his journey began at Harvard Business School with a banking password that read "retire@40!" and how God used a men's Bible study, serious biblical research, and interviews with radically generous Harvard MBA alumni to completely reframe his understanding of wealth. What emerged wasn't just a new giving percentage. It was a transformation of the heart. Key Topics Discussed: The wrong question most Christian investors ask about money, and the right one Financial finish lines: how pre-defining your lifestyle and net worth guardrails creates freedom instead of limiting it The four heart conditions that keep investors from true generosity (pride, coveting, anxiety, and indifference) and the gospel transformation for each Why effective altruism produces joyless giving, and what makes Christian generosity categorically different The rise of professionally managed giving funds, and why John believes they'll become as normal as index funds Practical steps for faith-driven investors to move from obligation-based to joy-driven stewardship Direct Quotes from John Cortines: "The right question isn't how much do we need to give? It's how much do I really need to keep." — John Cortines "Giving is actually a source of joy and freedom and purpose in the Christian walk. And it's God's invitation where I can step into playing on his team to accomplish his purposes in the world." — John Cortines "What if 10, 20, 30 years from now, it was as normal to think about professionally managed giving funds as it is to think about an index fund for stocks today." — John Cortines Episode Description John Cortines started his career in oil and gas with a banking password that literally read "retire@40!", a saver's dream encoded into every login. Then Harvard Business School, a men's Bible study, and a deep dive into Scripture dismantled his framework entirely. What he and co-author Greg Baumer uncovered changed not just how much he gave, but why, and the freedom that came with it. In this episode, John walks through the framework from his books God and Money and True Riches, including the concept of financial finish lines that set guardrails for lifestyle and net worth, and the four heart transformations every steward must navigate: pride to gratitude, coveting to contentment, anxiety to trust, and indifference to love. These aren't abstract theological ideas. They're the architecture behind how faith-driven investors actually hold and deploy capital with joy. John also shares his vision for the future of generosity: professionally managed giving funds that work alongside traditional portfolio management, bringing the same rigor, governance, and reporting to Kingdom capital that investors already expect from their financial advisors. Recorded live at Kingdom Advisors, this conversation is a call to bring generosity out of the shadows and into the boardroom, and the family table.
Olive Young is now Korea’s biggest beauty retailer, but it wasn't always that way. In this episode, Lauren dives into the business story behind Olive Young's rise to dominance and explains why its success goes far beyond selling Korean skincare. Learn how the company built an ecosystem that helped shape the modern K-Beauty industry, why Harvard Business School chose Olive Young as the subject of a case study, and what global retailers can learn from its approach to merchandising, supplier relationships and brand building. Plus, Lauren explores why Olive Young's "beauty playground" concept resonated so strongly with Korean consumers, the role of Korea's OEM/ODM ecosystem in its success, and why supporting emerging brands has been central to the company's growth. For full show notes and resources, visit: stylestory.com.au/blogs/podcast Brands Mentioned in This Episode Olive Young Missha Etude House Innisfree Nature Republic The Face Shop Skin Food TonyMoly Rom&nd Torriden Connect with Lauren Book a Consultation: stylestory.com.au/pages/k-beauty-consultancy Instagram: instagram.com/lauren.kbeauty TikTok: tiktok.com/@stylestory_kbeauty Threads: threads.net/@lauren.kbeauty YouTube: youtube.com/@thekoreanbeautyshowpodcast Take a Korean style skin analysis: https://jellyko.com/pages/ai-skin-analysis Shop Jelly Ko: jellyko.com Affiliate Disclaimer Some links we share may be affiliate links. This means we may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. This helps to offset the cost of producing the show. A Small Request If you use insights, data or research from this episode in your own content, we ask that you kindly credit The Korean Beauty Show and tag us where possible. It helps others find the original source and supports the work that goes into producing these episodes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode of Molecule to Market, you'll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Lisa Studnicki Hunt, Ph.D, Co-Founder and Board Member, GL CHEMTEC. Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Lisa, covering: How her passion for problem solving led her to cofound a CDMO straight out of grad school How, without an established industry network, she focused on developing her core skill set and immersing herself in a different culture Figuring things out day by day, while pursuing opportunities aligned with the company's long term vision Positioning the business as “innovation experts” to differentiate in a competitive and fragmented CRO and CDMO market How the pandemic accelerated demand and growth, ultimately leading to a well timed private equity deal The “misbehaving of the market” over the last few years, and how a Canadian CDMO is positioned amid geopolitical shifts involving the US and China Lisa co-founded GL CHEMTEC INTERNATIONAL in 2002 and has played a key role in growing the organization across both operations and commercial functions for more than two decades. She also now serves on several boards and is passionate about philanthropy and supporting non-profit organizations. Lisa began her academic journey with a degree in Natural Sciences from John Abbott College. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science with Honours, with a minor in French, and a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Toronto. She later completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Organic Polymer Chemistry at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. Lisa has authored several scientific publications and holds multiple patents. Alongside her scientific credentials, Lisa has continued to build her commercial and business expertise. She earned her Professional Sales Designation from the Canadian Professional Sales Association in 2008, completed the E2: Entrepreneur's Edge course at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2009, attended Harvard Business School in 2015 under the guidance of renowned professor Clayton Christensen, and completed the Marketing Innovation course at MIT Sloan School of Management in 2017. Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharmaceuticals and supported by Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We'd also appreciate a positive rating!
Can loving your work make burnout more likely? In this episode, I sit down with Harvard Business School professor Jon Jachimowicz to talk about the downside of passion at work. Jon shares why passion isn't something you either have or don't have, but something that rises and falls over time. We also talk about why passionate employees often overwork, skip recovery, and become vulnerable to burnout, how organizations unintentionally exploit passion, and why leaders need a better strategy for helping people sustain meaningful work over the long term. Tune in to rethink what it really means to follow your passion without sacrificing your well-being. Check out our sponsors: Shopify - Sign up for a $1 per month trial, just go to shopify.com/anxiousachiever Monarch - Use code ACHIEVER at monarch.com to get 50% off your first year Physician's Choice - Use code PCPODCAST10 at physicianschoice.com to get 10% off your entire order Whatnot - Get free shipping on your first order. Just search W-H-A-T-N-O-T in the app store and start scoring amazing deals Pebl - Take advantage of Pebl's limited-time offer before it's gone. Visit hipebl.ai today. In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 Why following your passion isn't always the path to sustainable success. 04:00 How Jon's own loss of passion inspired his research. 09:00 Why passion can become one of the biggest drivers of burnout. 12:15 How passionate employees unknowingly skip recovery and overextend themselves. 15:00 Why do client and societal expectations trap high achievers into overperforming? 17:00 How do workplaces systematically confuse extroversion with passion? 23:15 Why performing passion can become emotionally exhausting. 27:15 How managers should lead passionate employees differently. 31:00 Why organizations often exploit passionate workers without realizing it. 35:15 Why current promotional career paths are broken for passionate workers. 39:15 How can companies help employees sustain passion? 43:45 The 3 different types of burnout and why they need different solutions. 45:30 Ways to recover when burnout comes from a loss of self-efficacy or cynicism. Resources + Links Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam
What happens when everything you were told to do stops working — and you have to figure it out at 23? In this episode of Winners Find A Way, Coach Trent M. Clark sits down with Tony Wilkins, Northwestern and University of Chicago Booth graduate, longtime angel investor, executive coach, cancer survivor, and author of The Art of Angel Investing. Tony grew up as the oldest of six boys, built his career as an electrical engineer at Chrysler Corporation in 1979, and was laid off after just one year, along with 300 others. At 23, with everything he thought he had figured out suddenly gone, he made a decision that would shape the rest of his life — stop solving for a job and start solving for financial independence. From there, he went on to earn his MBA at Booth, build a career in high-level banking and finance, become a founding member of Hyde Park Angels in Chicago, and invest in early-stage companies like Spot Hero (acquired by Uber), Cameo, and Nutrasense. This conversation is about more than investing. Tony and Trent dig into what it really means to be the CEO of yourself — knowing what you are solving for, being ruthless about what you can control, and letting go of what you can't. Tony shares how the layoff that shattered his plans at 23 was actually the best thing that ever happened to him, why he secretly applied to Harvard Business School nine months into his dream job, and how a mentee half his age gave him one of the most powerful leadership phrases he's ever heard: "I am firm in my mission and flexible in my methods." This episode is a reminder that winners are not people who never face setbacks. Winners are the ones who learn, adjust, lead, and find a way. In This Episode, We Discuss: How getting laid off at 23 became Tony's most important life lesson Why you must know what you are really solving for — not just what you want right now The CEO of your mindset and owning your results completely Being ruthless about what you can control and letting go of everything you can't How to get started as an angel investor — even without Silicon Valley connections The concept of "triumph or tuition" and why every investment teaches you something How change, AI, and the next generation will shape the future of leadership Key Takeaways ✨ Know what you're really solving for It's not enough to want a good job or a big title. Tony asks every client: "What are you really solving for?" Keep asking why — five times if you have to — until you get to the truth beneath the surface answer. ✨ Be the CEO of yourself You are responsible for your results. No one is coming to save you. Tony learned this at 23 when Chrysler cut 300 people without warning. The sooner you take full ownership of your direction, the sooner your life changes. ✨ Be ruthless about what you can control Tony's rule: be ruthless about what you can control and ruthlessly ignore everything you can't. Gravity exists. Corporate layoffs happen. AI is here. Your energy goes toward what you can actually move. ✨ Triumph or tuition — just get in the water You cannot learn to swim from a book. You cannot become an angel investor without writing a check. Every investment either gives you a triumph or pays your tuition. Either way, you are learning. The key is to start. ✨ Firm in your mission, flexible in your methods A young mentee said this to Tony at the end of a coaching call, and it stopped him cold. Your mission is the non-negotiable. How do you get there? That can evolve. The best leaders hold both at once. Resources Mentioned The Art of Angel Investing by Tony Wilkins Hyde Park Angels — Chicago-based angel investing group Spot Hero — parking app, acquired by Uber Cameo — celebrity video platform Nutrasense — glucose monitoring and quantified self-tracking Connect with Tony Wilkins Instagram: @TonyWilkinChicago LinkedIn: Tony Wilkins 76 Connect with Trent M. Clark Trent M. Clark is the CEO of Leadershipity, President of EOS Michigan, a global speaker, former Major League Baseball coach, and the author of Leading Winning Teams. Website: https://www.trentmclark.com/ Leadershipity: https://www.leadershipity.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leadershipity LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trentmclark/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrentMClark Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trentmclark/ Book: Leading Winning Teams — https://leadingwinningteams.trent-clark.com/bookrecording79 Listen & Subscribe Listen to Winners Find A Way every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms for conversations with leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and high performers who know what it means to overcome adversity and keep finding a way.
Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Demond Martin. Co‑founder and CEO of Well With All, a Black‑owned purpose‑driven wellness brand—joins Rushion McDonald to discuss health equity, entrepreneurship, his life story, his upcoming book Friends of the Good, and his new $1M AI Health Equity Prize. Martin shares how his difficult upbringing in the projects and rural North Carolina shaped his commitment to giving back. After a successful 21‑year career as the only Black partner at a major hedge fund, he launched Well With All to merge consumer products, wellness, and social impact. The brand donates 20% of its profits to health‑equity initiatives. He discusses product innovation, the importance of supplements in underserved communities, the power of Black longevity, and the need to prepare younger generations for healthier futures. He also explains his upcoming book—which uses Aristotle’s philosophy of “friends of the good” to show how meaningful relationships enable success. The conversation is energetic, inspirational, and focused on using business as a force for social good.
Leslie John (Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing) is a behavioral scientist, Harvard Business School professor, and expert on privacy, self-disclosure, and decision-making. Leslie joins Armchair Expert to discuss growing up in Waterloo, Canada, training professionally in ballet as a child, and how her family's irrational penny-pinching sparked her fascination with human behavior. Leslie and Dax talk about why people are more open to revealing their dark secrets on a sketchy-looking website over a more official looking one, how one mortifying overshare helped her find lifelong mentors, and what parasocial relationships reveal about modern intimacy. Leslie explains why secrets take up cognitive space, how vulnerability creates trust through social risk, and why we may be better off sharing a little more than we think we should.Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds: https://www.allstate.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.