[A] Growth Ventures Podcast with Hamlet Azarian

Hosted by Azarian Growth Agency

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Nov 2026

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About the show

Welcome to the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, the go-to platform for entrepreneurs, innovators, and change-makers. I'm your host, Hamlet Azarian. In this podcast, we delve into the world of business, technology, and innovation. We bring you conversations with industry leaders, disruptors, and visionaries who are shaping the future and making a difference in their fields. Each week, we explore the challenges and opportunities of growth, from startup to scale-up, and everything in between.

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37 recent

November 3, 2026Episode 3648 min

The PE Playbook for Software CEOs - How to Grow, Exit, and Do It Again

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Len Finkle, CEO of Profisee, a master data management software company in Atlanta. Len has been a CEO three times and is nine years into the current one, having grown Profisee from about $4 million in ARR to north of $60 million, better than 40 percent compound growth per year through two private equity sponsors. Before Profisee, he led Empower, a three-company rollup that got acquired by its biggest competitor after it finally figured out who it was. This conversation unpacks how Len decides what to fix first when he steps into a company, why forecasting accuracy tells you more than the numbers do, how he handles tough board meetings, and why he believes most corporate AI projects fail. His central insight: stop trying to perfect all your data first. Start with the business outcome you need, find the few data attributes it depends on, and make only those right.

October 5, 2026Episode 3535 min

How Excellis Built a Company to Sell and Kept Growing After a Strategic Exit

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Greg Cathcart, founder of Excellis Health Solutions and now SVP and Head of NNIT US. Greg founded Excellis in 2008 to help pharmaceutical companies prepare for serialization and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. He grew the company to about 120 people across the US, Europe, and India before selling to NNIT, a Danish IT services company, and then stayed on to lead its US business. This conversation unpacks how Greg built the company to be bought, why he walked away from a PE deal at the closing table, and what a strategic acquisition looks like from the inside. He also shares the next major shift coming for the pharma supply chain. His central insight: find the disruption early, earn credibility before the wave hits, and you'll be the one leading it when it arrives.

September 24, 2026Episode 3438 min

Rachel Lawler: "The Operating System Behind Growth" – Why Revenue Traceability Is the New Driver of Enterprise Value

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Rachel Lawler, Founder and Managing Director of Aperture Growth, a firm that designs and builds commercial operating models for mid-market businesses. With more than 20 years as a founder, operating investor, and advisor, Rachel has assessed hundreds of businesses for investment and worked alongside deal teams deploying more than $3 billion in capital. This conversation unpacks why most companies can report their revenue but can't reconstruct how they produced it. Rachel covers the red flags buyers spot in diligence, what turns a rollup into a platform, and where AI and automation are delivering real results today. Her central insight: your operating model is now a strategic asset. The businesses that can trace every step from first lead to cash collected will be the ones that command a premium at exit.

May 25, 2026Episode 331 hr 6 min

"Better Leads Come From Better Decisions" — How Behavioral Economics Is Reshaping Lead Generation

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Tom Thompson, Chief Economist at Havas Edge - the world's largest full-service performance marketing agency - and Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs. With roots in naval intelligence, game theory, and behavioral economics, Tom spent over two decades applying the science of consumer decision-making to how the world's biggest brands generate leads and convert customers. This conversation unpacks Tom's unconventional journey - from submarines and Gulf War intelligence operations to the U.S. Department of Treasury's housing crisis response, to becoming the in-house economist reshaping performance marketing strategy at global scale. His central insight: most conversion friction isn't informational - it's psychological. And until marketers understand that, they'll keep optimizing the wrong things.

May 8, 2026Episode 3245 min

Michael Slawson: Professionalizing Sales at First Institutional Capital

In this episode of the [ A] Growth Ventures Podcast , Hamlet Azarian sits down with Michael Slawson , President of Apparel Advisors , and the go-to expert PE firms call when their portfolio companies need a serious go-to-market overhaul. With a background spanning international consulting, the World Bank, clean energy entrepreneurship in Kenya, and hypergrowth stints at Hum Capital and Clipboard Health, Michael brings a rare blend of global perspective and on-the-ground sales execution to every engagement. This conversation explores Michael's journey — from co-founding a pyrolysis-based clean energy charcoal company in East Africa and learning hard lessons about willingness to pay, to doing door-to-door pest control sales, to now building full GTM systems from scratch for sponsor-backed B2B companies. His central insight: go-to-market is never just a hire — it's a system built around four pillars: accounts, channels, messaging, and RevOps . And if you're not building that system with flexibility baked in, you're accumulating GTM debt that future you will regret.

May 13, 2025Episode 3159 min

Jason Jones: From Investor to Builder: Launching Ventures and AI in Accounting

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Jason Jones , serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Tellen , a vertical AI company reinventing how accounting firms conduct audits. With a background in venture capital, hedge funds, fintech, and DeFi, Jason brings decades of experience in identifying disruptive trends and translating them into scalable businesses. This conversation explores Jason’s journey - from investing in early Web 1.0 companies and launching Lending Robot , to pioneering securitization protocols on the blockchain, and now building AI-powered tools for the audit and accounting space. His central insight: disruption always follows a recognizable pattern, and opportunity lies in spotting it early.

March 23, 2025Episode 2751 min

Dennis Mortensen: Build a Better Startup - Obsess Over the Pain, Not the Tech

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sat down with Dennis Mortensen , a serial entrepreneur with four exits and a deep passion for building AI-powered products that solve real, tangible problems. As the founder of Launchbrightly , Dennis is tackling a unique but widespread issue in the SaaS world: outdated help docs caused by constant product updates. Beyond that, this episode is packed with powerful lessons for founders who want to build, validate, and scale startups correctly.

March 23, 202559 min

Russell Palmer: Empowering Creators - How AI is Shaping the Future of Filmmaking

In this episode of [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Russell Palmer , the CEO and Co-Founder of CyberFilm AI . Russell's journey from working at Microsoft and Samsung’s AI division to launching an AI-powered filmmaking tool is an inspiring story of innovation and perseverance. CyberFilm AI is designed to help filmmakers create high-quality films on an indie budget, giving storytellers the tools to bring their visions to life efficiently.

March 13, 2025Episode 2733 min

Clate Mask: Lessons on Scaling and Supporting Small Businesses

Want to 10x Your Business? It Starts with the Right Leadership. In the latest episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast , Hamlet Azarian sat down with Clate Mask , co-founder and CEO of Keap (formerly Infusionsoft), to discuss scaling businesses, leadership evolution, and the role of AI in entrepreneurship.

March 6, 2025Episode 2739 min

Ghassen BENHADJSALAH: How To Leverage AI To Create Value

In the latest episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast , the conversation centered around solving one of the most pressing challenges for businesses today: workplace disengagement. Hamlet Azarian talked with Ghassen Benhadjsalah , a serial tech entrepreneur and co-founder of inncivio . It’s a startup focused on modernizing workplace learning. With over 15 years of experience as a founder and a deep background in AI, machine learning, and fintech, Ghassen shared valuable insights on innovation, leadership, and building a team and product with lasting impact.