School for Startups Radio

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Jun 2026

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On 60 AmFm stations around the US, the show argues that anyone can be a successful entrepreneur when they forget creativity, risk, and passion! Join host Jim Beach, bestselling McGraw-Hill Author for his SBA award winning nationally syndicated radio show. Copy an idea, execute it better, start with less than $5,000 and reserve passion for family & religion.

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June 16, 2026Episode 281153 min

June 16, 2026 – Bully Pulpit Corp Comms Bradley Akubuiro and Radical Responsibility Fleet Maull

Bradley Akubuiro – Head of Bully Pulpit International and Author of Faster. Messier. Tougher.: Crisis Communication Strategies in an Era of Populism, AI, and Distrust Truth should always be the absolute standard, but the way that businesses are interacting with consumers, and leaders are interacting with their workforce and with others, they’re finding that people actually generally expect that they are lying about many things unless they have a trusting relationship with that leader or with that organization. Bradley Akubuiro is a nationally recognized expert on corporate reputation and crisis communications, known for counseling Fortune 500 leaders and boards through high-stakes situations that threaten business resilience. A partner at Bully Pulpit International—an advisory firm founded by leaders of the Obama campaigns and administration—Bradley leads the corporate communications practice, providing strategic counsel to some of the world’s largest brands across sports, tech, fashion, financial services, food and beverage, manufacturing, and more. He also guides clients on inclusion-related strategy and communications, helping organizations navigate complex cultural, reputational, and stakeholder expectations. Previously, Bradley served as Chief Spokesperson and Head of Global Media Relations for The Boeing Company during the 737 MAX crisis and COVID-19. Before Boeing, he led global media relations and public affairs for United Technologies (now RTX), navigating industry-altering M&A, presidential intervention, and other complex stakeholder challenges. His career includes experiences that shaped his approach to communications: serving as policy advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., working as a governance reform consultant in post-civil war Liberia under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and operating as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. A frequent writer and commentator, Bradley’s columns appear regularly in Inc. Magazine, where he writes about corporate leadership and communications. His insights have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Axios, and The Boston Globe. In 2022, he was named to 40 Under 40 lists by both Crain’s Chicago Business and PR Week. He is the author of Faster. Messier. Tougher. Crisis Communications in the Era of Populism, AI, and Distrust. Bradley is an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications – his alma mater – where he also serves on the school’s Board of Advisors. He serves on the boards of The Institute for Public Relations and The 19th News, and is a member of the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. He is based in Chicago. Fleet Maull – Founder of Heart Mind Institute, Prison Dharma Network, Prison Mindfulness Institute, Center for Mindfulness in Public Safety, National Prison Hospice Association, and Windorse Seminars & Consulting The place where we have any real power is with our own choices. Dr. Fleet Maull is a pioneering mindfulness teacher, author, social entrepreneur, and leadership trainer whose work has helped bring mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and resilience training into prisons, public safety agencies, healthcare organizations, businesses, and communities around the world. He is the co-founder of the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, Transforming Justice Initiative, Rwanda Bearing Witness Retreat & Peace Initiative, and the Center for Contemplative End-of-Life Care at Naropa University. He currently serves as CEO and Director of Training, Research & Development for the Prison Mindfulness Institute, the Center for Mindfulness in Public Safety, and the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, while also serving as CEO and senior trainer for Heart Mind Institute and Windhorse Seminars & Consulting. With more than five decades of meditation practice and over four decades of teaching experience, Dr. Maull has trained extensively in the Tibetan, Zen, and Vipassana Buddhist traditions. He was a close student and personal attendant of renowned Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of Naropa University, and a Dharma successor of Zen master, social entrepreneur, and peacemaker Roshi Bernie Glassman. Dr. Maull is a fully empowered senior Dharma teacher in both the Tibetan and Zen traditions, serving as an Acharya in the Shambhala Meditation Community and a Roshi in the Zen Peacemaker Order and Soto Zen lineage. He is also a fully ordained senior Zen priest in the Soto Zen lineage of Maezumi Roshi. Since 1981, Dr. Maull has taught mindfulness-awareness meditation to thousands of practitioners worldwide, leading more than 100 meditation retreats and offering programs for both newcomers and advanced students. He is widely recognized as a thought leader in the modern mindfulness movement and has developed innovative mindfulness-based emotional intelligence, trauma-informed leadership, and resilience training programs. His pioneering Mindfulness-Based Wellness & Resiliency (MBWR®) programs have been used to support first responders, law enforcement professionals, correctional officers, healthcare workers, and social service providers. A certified professional mindfulness teacher and teacher trainer, Dr. Maull serves on the advisory board of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association (IMTA), the Institute for Organizational Mindfulness, and the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism. He is also a certified Council Trainer with the Ojai Foundation and the Center for Council Training. Dr. Maull taught Socially Engaged Buddhism, Buddhist Psychology, Contemplative Approaches to Peacemaking and Social Action, and Integral Politics at Naropa University from 1999 to 2010. He has also been a guest lecturer at institutions including Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Medical School, Brown University, Emory University, the University of Colorado, the University of Illinois, Colorado State University, and Smith College. A sought-after keynote speaker, he regularly presents at conferences and professional gatherings focused on mindfulness, corrections, social work, trauma recovery, resilience, and end-of-life care. He is the author of The Mindful C.O. (2021), Radical Responsibility: How to Move Beyond Blame, Fearlessly Live Your Highest Purpose, and Become an Unstoppable Force for Good (2019), and Dharma in Hell: The Prison Writings of Fleet Maull (2000), along with numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. Throughout his career, he has trained public safety professionals, treatment providers, trauma counselors, and prison volunteers across the United States and internationally, including Canada, Chile, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Rwanda. Today, Dr. Maull continues to travel globally leading mindfulness retreats, transformational leadership programs, resilience training, prison initiatives, and bearing witness retreats, while also offering these programs online through his various organizations.

June 15, 2026Episode 281053 min

June 15, 2026 – Built Ready to Sell Jonathan Sherrill and Thrive Fred Marshall

Jonathan Sherrill – Founder of Waypoint Founders and Co-Author of The Extraordinary Exit: How to Sell Your Business for Maximum Value, Protect Your Legacy, and Walk Away with No Regrets It takes time and it’s extra work to train someone to do something that you do, and so we fall into the trap of it’s just easier to do it myself. Jonathan Sherrill is an entrepreneur, investor, author, and founder of Waypoint Founders, an organization dedicated to helping business owners successfully navigate the personal and professional challenges of selling a company. After spending more than twenty-five years building, scaling, and investing in businesses, Jonathan developed a unique perspective on entrepreneurship, mergers and acquisitions, leadership, and what happens after a successful exit. Jonathan is best known for transforming a shuttered sawmill into Quicken Steel, a high-growth company that achieved Inc. 500-caliber success before being sold in 2022. The transaction delivered a 6.5 times return on invested equity, but the experience also revealed an often-overlooked reality of entrepreneurship: the most difficult part of selling a business is frequently what comes next. The unexpected challenges of identity, purpose, relationships, and life after the deal inspired Jonathan to devote his work to helping founders prepare for the transition beyond the closing table. He is the co-author of The Extraordinary Exit: How to Sell Your Business for Maximum Value, Protect Your Legacy, and Walk Away with No Regrets. The book provides practical guidance for entrepreneurs navigating one of the most significant events of their professional lives, addressing both the financial and personal dimensions of a business sale. Through Waypoint Founders, Jonathan works with founder-operators before, during, and after an exit, helping them prepare for the emotional, relational, and strategic realities that traditional advisors often overlook. He is also an active investor, speaker, and advisor whose insights on entrepreneurship, business growth, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, founder psychology, and life after exit have resonated with business owners across the country. Today, Jonathan’s mission is to help entrepreneurs achieve not only a successful transaction but also a successful transition, ensuring that the next chapter of life is every bit as rewarding as the business they worked so hard to build. Fred Marshall – CEO of Quantum Learning and Author of Thrive: The Antidote to Future Shock The superpower to develop is the ability to learn fast and adapt fast. Fredric Marshall is the founder and CEO of Quantum Learning, a performance improvement and consulting firm that has helped some of the world’s most innovative companies accelerate growth, navigate change, and launch successful new products. Over the course of his career, Fred has become a recognized expert in change management, leadership development, sales force effectiveness, and high-performance behaviors, working with organizations including Apple, Pfizer, Genentech, Biogen, and Janssen. For more than three decades, Fred has studied the research-based behavioral patterns that separate top performers from the rest and has helped organizations scale those behaviors across entire teams. He has personally trained more than 130,000 professionals in fourteen countries, while the Quantum Learning team has supported the launch of more than seventy new biopharmaceutical brands that have generated billions of dollars in revenue and growth. Known for his ability to simplify complex challenges and transform uncertainty into action, Fred has built a reputation as a trusted advisor to executives, sales leaders, and organizations operating in highly competitive and rapidly changing markets. His work focuses on helping individuals and teams develop the mindset, skills, and adaptability needed to thrive in environments defined by constant disruption and accelerating change. Fred is the author of Thrive: The Antidote to Future Shock, a practical guide for navigating uncertainty, reducing overwhelm, and building momentum in both business and life. Drawing on decades of experience helping organizations compete and win in fast-moving industries, the book provides actionable strategies for transforming anxiety into confidence and change into opportunity. In addition to leading Quantum Learning, Fred has served as a guest lecturer at Cornell University, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Wharton-Japan Program. He is also a frequent contributor to industry publications and conferences, where he shares insights on leadership, innovation, performance, and the future of work. Through his consulting, speaking, and writing, Fred continues to help leaders and organizations thrive in a world where change has become the new constant.

June 12, 2026Episode 280953 min

June 12, 2026 – eReleases CEO Mickie Kennedy and FranBridge Jon Ostenson

Mickie Kennedy – Founder of eReleases and Author of Worth Building & Glandscape A lot of people feel they’re too small to matter, but that’s an advantage when it comes to the media. Mickie Kennedy is an entrepreneur, author, poet, and founder of eReleases, one of the leading press release distribution companies serving small businesses, startups, authors, and entrepreneurs. For more than two decades, he has helped organizations gain media attention, build credibility, and increase visibility by connecting them with journalists, news outlets, and influential media platforms. Through eReleases, Mickie has assisted thousands of businesses in earning meaningful press coverage and establishing themselves as trusted authorities in their industries. A recognized expert in public relations and media outreach, Mickie is passionate about helping small businesses compete with larger organizations by leveraging strategic publicity rather than expensive advertising. His work focuses on helping entrepreneurs build trust, strengthen their online presence, and create the kind of third-party validation that drives growth and credibility. Through speaking, consulting, and educational content, he shares practical insights on media relations, press releases, branding, and authority building. In addition to his entrepreneurial career, Mickie is an accomplished poet and author. He is the author of the poetry collection Worth Burning and the chapbook Glandscapes. His work has appeared in numerous respected literary publications, including POETRY, Prairie Schooner, The Threepenny Review, The Southern Review, and The Sun. His writing often explores themes of identity, resilience, family, memory, and personal transformation. Mickie earned an MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University, where he studied under acclaimed poet Carolyn Forché. Originally from rural North Carolina, he now divides his time between Maryland and Delaware. Whether helping businesses earn media coverage or sharing stories through poetry, Mickie is driven by the belief that authentic stories have the power to connect people, build trust, and create lasting impact. Jon Ostenson – Founder & CEO of FranBridge Consulting and Author of Non-Food Franchising: The Better Path to Business Ownership Non-sexy is the new sexy when it comes to business ownership. Jon Ostenson is an entrepreneur, franchise investor, consultant, speaker, and author specializing in non-food franchising and alternative paths to business ownership. He is the founder and CEO of FranBridge Consulting, a two-time Inc. 5000 company, where he helps entrepreneurs, executives, and investors evaluate franchise opportunities and build wealth through business ownership. Recognized as a top franchise consultant, Jon has guided hundreds of clients through the process of selecting, financing, and launching franchise businesses that align with their financial goals, lifestyle preferences, and long-term objectives. Drawing on experience from both the franchisor and franchisee sides of the industry, Jon brings a unique perspective to franchise investing. Prior to founding FranBridge Consulting, he served as President of ShelfGenie, an Inc. 500 franchise system with more than 200 locations across North America. He is also a multi-brand franchise owner and investor, giving him firsthand insight into the opportunities and challenges entrepreneurs face when building businesses through proven franchise systems. Jon is the author of the bestselling book Non-Food Franchising: The Better Path to Business Ownership, which highlights the growing opportunities available outside of traditional food and restaurant concepts. He is a frequent contributor and thought leader on franchising, business ownership, and entrepreneurship, with insights featured in publications including Forbes, Inc., and Bloomberg. Before entering the franchise industry, Jon held executive leadership roles with major national companies, including serving as Vice President of Sales for Carter’s, Inc., where he oversaw more than $350 million in annual sales. He began his career as a consultant with Accenture, working with clients both domestically and internationally. Jon earned both his BBA in Finance and MBA from the University of Georgia and was recognized by the University of Georgia Alumni Association as a recipient of its prestigious 40 Under 40 award. Today, Jon is passionate about helping professionals create financial freedom, diversify their investments, and pursue business ownership through scalable franchise opportunities. Through his consulting, writing, and speaking, he helps aspiring entrepreneurs navigate the franchise landscape with confidence and clarity.

June 11, 2026Episode 280853 min

June 11, 2026 – If He Can, You Can Patrick Engasser and Personal Brand Anne Candido & April Martini

Patrick Engasser – Author of If I Can Do It, You Can Do It!: Inspiration for Eliminating Excuses, Overcoming Challenges, and Succeeding in Business and Life Find out what your dream is, find out what your version of vacation is, and do your best to build your business around that lifestyle and build that life the way you want it. Patrick Engasser is a bestselling author, business coach, motivational speaker, and sales leadership expert who has spent his career helping individuals and organizations achieve extraordinary results by overcoming obstacles and maximizing their potential. Blind since birth, Patrick has built a successful career by refusing to let limitations define his future, becoming a powerful example of resilience, determination, and achievement. Patrick began his professional career with a Fortune 500 insurance company, where he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the organization’s top-performing sales professionals. By his third year, he earned recognition as a Top Account Closer and later advanced into leadership roles, building and managing a seven-figure sales organization. Throughout his career, he has coached and mentored numerous sales professionals, helping them develop successful careers while earning three of the company’s highest honors for Management Excellence. Today, Patrick is the author of If I Can Do It, You Can Do It!: Inspiration for Eliminating Excuses, Overcoming Challenges, and Succeeding in Business and Life. Through his writing, coaching, and speaking, he shares practical lessons on personal responsibility, perseverance, leadership, sales success, and overcoming adversity. His message resonates with entrepreneurs, executives, sales professionals, students, and anyone seeking to break through self-imposed limitations. A highly sought-after speaker, Patrick has delivered hundreds of presentations and training programs across the United States for corporations, universities, leadership organizations, sales teams, and youth groups. His unique combination of business expertise and life experience allows him to inspire audiences while providing actionable strategies for achieving success in both business and life. Through his coaching and consulting work, Patrick continues to help professionals, entrepreneurs, executives, and high achievers eliminate excuses, overcome challenges, and reach their goals faster, proving that determination and mindset often matter far more than circumstance. Anne Candido & April Martini – Co-Founders of ForthRight People and Author of The Power of Your Personal Brand: A Playbook for Struggling Middle Managers Who Want to Do Big Things If you don’t define your personal brand, somebody else is going to do it for you. Anne Candido & April Martini are the authors of The Power of Your Personal Brand: A Playbook for Struggling Middle Managers Who Want to Do Big Things, and co-founders of ForthRight People, a leadership performance company focused on building high-performing leaders from the inside out. They believe a leader’s Personal Brand is their greatest competitive advantage – and when understood and activated intentionally, it becomes a powerful driver of influence, credibility, and impact in pursuit of a leader’s “Big Thing.” Their perspective is grounded in more than 45 years of combined experience navigating the realities of middle management and coaching hundreds of leaders through career inflection points. Having lived the challenges of the “struggling middle,” Anne and April bring practical frameworks, candid stories, and real-world application to help leaders move from a state of struggle to one of clarity, intentionality and credibility. Together, they challenge the idea that Personal Brand is something you manufacture. Instead, they teach leaders how to uncover what’s already there – and use it to guide decisions, shape presence, and accelerate growth for themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

June 10, 2026Episode 280753 min

June 10, 2026 - Steve Jobs in Exile Geoffrey Cain and The Back Nine P. Scott Bening

Geoffrey Cain – Author of Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary I would have never gotten where I am in life or business if I hadn’t had people mentoring me. Geoffrey Cain is an award-winning author, investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, and expert on technology, innovation, and leadership. He is the author of Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary, a deeply researched account of the twelve years Steve Jobs spent outside Apple and how failure, setbacks, and reinvention shaped the entrepreneur who would ultimately lead one of the greatest comebacks in business history. Over the course of his career, Geoffrey has interviewed world leaders, technology founders, corporate executives, investors, dissidents, and innovators at pivotal moments in history. His reporting and research have taken him around the world, producing acclaimed books that explore the forces shaping technology, business, and society. His previous books include Samsung Rising, which was longlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, and The Perfect Police State, which was named NPR’s Book of the Day and received a citation from the Overseas Press Club for the Cornelius Ryan Award. Geoffrey’s work has been praised by leading publications including the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Forbes, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews. Known for combining investigative rigor with compelling storytelling, he specializes in uncovering the hidden struggles, failures, and turning points behind remarkable success stories. In addition to his writing, Geoffrey is a frequent guest on CNN, NPR, Bloomberg Television, and other major media outlets, where he provides analysis on technology, business, global affairs, and innovation. He has also testified before the United States Senate and advised leaders seeking to communicate complex ideas and build lasting influence. As Managing Partner of Alembic Partners, Geoffrey works with founders, investors, and executives to develop thought leadership, strategic positioning, and powerful narratives that help them stand out in competitive markets. Whether writing about global technology giants or entrepreneurial reinvention, his work explores a central theme: how people recover from failure, adapt to change, and ultimately achieve extraordinary success. P. Scott Being – CEO of MonoSol, LLC and Author of The Back Nine: Inspiration and Insights on Retaining Relevance, Purpose, and Integrity in Retirement A lot of what the wilderness is, is learning to work with the limitations of the world and finding your place within it. P. Scott Bening is an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, author, and former CEO of MonoSol, LLC, the company that pioneered and commercialized water-soluble film technology used in single-dose detergent products around the world. During his tenure as President and CEO, Scott helped grow MonoSol from a small startup operation into a global industry leader serving the multibillion-dollar consumer goods market. Under his leadership, water-soluble unit-dose packaging became the worldwide standard for laundry and household cleaning products, transforming consumer behavior and reshaping an entire industry. Drawing on expertise in innovation, strategic partnerships, marketing, manufacturing, and business development, Scott built a reputation for guiding companies through rapid growth while maintaining a strong focus on customer needs and long-term value creation. His success earned widespread recognition, including induction as a Fellow of The Society of Innovators of Indiana, recognition by the United States Congress, and membership in the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Today, Scott serves as CEO of MBS2 Advisors, where he mentors entrepreneurs, executives, and business leaders on growth strategy, leadership, innovation, and organizational development. He is also the author of The Back Nine: Inspiration and Insights on Retaining Relevance, Purpose, and Integrity in Retirement, a book that explores how successful professionals can continue to find meaning, contribution, and fulfillment during the later stages of life and career. A graduate of St. Lawrence University and the University of Illinois Chicago, Scott also serves on the Board of Trustees at Butler University. Through his advisory work, writing, and speaking, he continues to share lessons learned from building a global company while helping others navigate leadership, personal growth, and purposeful transitions in business and life.

June 9, 2026Episode 280653 min

June 9, 2026 – Radio AI Riply Jen Austin and American Financial History Joseph Moore

Jen Austin – Founder & President of Riply, the first AI-powered newsroom designed for local radio As long as we have it as a human-led entity, then it can be very effective. Jen Austin is a three-decade radio veteran and on-air personality who has been heard on more than 100 stations across the U.S., reaching over 10 million listeners through Townsquare Media, Virtual News Center, Global 1 Media, Mountain Dog Media, iHeart, Baroka Broadcasting, and others. After decades in the business, Jen saw the same challenge again and again: shrinking staffs, tighter budgets, and local communities losing reliable news coverage. That experience led her to found Riply, a full-service, ready-to-air newsroom built specifically for radio stations, podcasters, and content creators. Riply delivers local and regional news, weather, sports, lifestyle, and entertainment content using a powerful blend of AI speed and human editorial oversight. Stations can choose human or AI voices, add new voices without new hires, and fill programming gaps across mornings, afternoons, nights, weekends, and holidays. Jen is not a tech founder who discovered radio. She is a broadcaster who built the platform she always wished existed. As president of Riply, she remains hands-on with editorial standards, sound quality, and ensuring every piece of content is natural, accurate, credible, and broadcast-ready. Riply was created to support local radio, not replace it. Its mission is simple: help stations expand their on-air presence quickly, affordably, and responsibly, while giving teams more time and flexibility to focus on the content that matters most to their communities. Joseph Moore PhD – Author of How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice that Worked (& Didn’t) The lesson of history is clear: upward mobility is as alive as ever before. Joseph Moore is the author of How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice that Worked (& Didn’t). He is an author, historian, and investor whose research into America’s 300-year pursuit of wealth helped make him financially independent in his mid-40s. Moore spent more than a decade studying the financial strategies Americans have used to get ahead, from stocks and real estate to scams, speculation, crypto, and wild get-rich schemes. He even tested some of history’s strangest ideas himself, including buying land on the moon, founding a cryptocurrency, shorting Jim Cramer’s stock picks, and renting out every room in his house. His writing combines serious historical research with sharp humor and unforgettable stories, including tales like Teddy Roosevelt’s wife taking away his checkbook. His work has appeared through HarperCollins, The New York Times, Oxford University Press, and other major outlets. His first book was praised as “extraordinary” and “witty,” and his newest book has been described as one that “leaves you believing in the American Dream again.”

June 8, 2026Episode 280553 min

June 8, 2026 – Legacy On The Line Andrea Baumann Lustig and Hunter Kurt Belding

Andrea Baumann Lustig – Manager Partner at Fischer Stralem Advisors and Author of Legacy on the Line: Overcome Blind Spots to Grow and Transfer Your Wealth The same hustle that built your business can actually work against you when it comes time to sell it. Andrea Baumann Lustig is Managing Partner of Fischer Stralem Advisors, where she helps entrepreneurs, executives, and multigenerational families build, protect, and transfer wealth with long-term purpose and strategy. With more than 30 years of experience in wealth management, investment banking, and management consulting, Andrea specializes in guiding founders through the often-overlooked transition from business success to lasting personal wealth. A sixth-generation wealth adviser whose family legacy in finance dates back to Banque Levy in 1810, Andrea has been repeatedly recognized on the Forbes list of Top Women Wealth Advisors. She is also the author of the upcoming book Legacy on the Line, which explores why founders should begin wealth planning long before a business sale or liquidity event occurs. Andrea believes many entrepreneurs make a costly mistake by delaying wealth planning until after they exit their business. By then, critical decisions involving taxes, estate strategy, ownership structures, philanthropy, and family wealth transfer may already be fixed, limiting flexibility and reducing long-term outcomes. Her work focuses on helping founders think strategically years before a sale so they can maximize both financial opportunity and family legacy. At Fischer Stralem Advisors, Andrea leads a multi-generational advisory firm that coordinates closely with attorneys, accountants, and insurance professionals to create highly personalized wealth strategies. Clients rely on her team not only for investment management, but also for integrated planning that aligns financial decisions with long-term goals and values. Andrea earned BA and MPA degrees in International Relations from Princeton University and an MBA from Yale University. Beyond her professional work, she is deeply involved in philanthropic and educational organizations, serving in leadership roles with institutions including Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Weizmann Institute of Science, and Park Avenue Synagogue. Andrea is a sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship, wealth stewardship, succession planning, philanthropy, and the historic transfer of wealth now underway in America. Kurt Belding – Founder of Western Obsessions TV The biggest thing videos do is pop and exposure, exposing more people to what we do, and then also starts to build trust within the brand. Kurt Belding is the founder and host of Western Obsession TV and the driving force behind Hunt Adventures, a company dedicated to connecting hunters with exceptional guided experiences across North America and beyond. A lifelong outdoorsman with a deep respect for the fair chase tradition, Kurt has built his reputation on authenticity, integrity, and a passion for the hunting lifestyle. Through Western Obsession TV, he shares real world hunting adventures, showcasing the people, places, and wildlife that make the outdoors so compelling. Kurt and his team personally evaluate every outfitter and destination featured through Hunt Adventures, ensuring that each experience meets the same standards viewers have come to expect from the show: genuine hunting opportunities, quality outfitters, and unforgettable adventures. His mission is simple: help hunters create lasting memories in the field while preserving the traditions and values that define the hunting community.

June 5, 2026Episode 280453 min

June 5, 2026 - Elephant in the Family Room Rene Sonneveld and Greatest Hits Brian Smith

Rene Sonneveld – Author of The Elephant in the Family Room: Managing the Complexities of Legacy Businesses The less we talk about those things that are hard but are necessary to talk about, the bigger the elephant gets. René Sonneveld is an executive coach, educator, former international executive, and author of The Elephant in the Family Room: Managing the Complexities of Legacy Businesses. For more than 25 years, he has worked with business families, entrepreneurs, and ultra high net worth family enterprises around the world, helping them navigate the often-unspoken emotional dynamics that shape succession, governance, leadership, and long-term family unity. René began his career as an international tax lawyer, working across the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Curaçao before moving into senior leadership positions with major global financial institutions. At UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank, he advised some of the world’s most successful family enterprises and wealthy families, leading initiatives in wealth management, family governance, succession planning, fiduciary structures, and family office strategy. Through that work, he discovered that even the most sophisticated governance systems fail when they ignore the human side of family relationships. Drawing on those experiences, René developed Enterprise Family Coaching, an approach that combines governance expertise with the psychological and relational realities that determine whether family businesses thrive across generations. Since 2012, he has advised family controlled companies and business families worldwide, helping them address issues that are often difficult to discuss openly but critical to preserving both family harmony and business success. A Master Certified Coach and Vice Chairman of the International Coaching Federation’s Global Board of Coaching Education, René also teaches leadership coaching and organizational performance at American University, Rutgers University, and North Carolina State University. His work spans six continents and focuses on helping leaders, families, and organizations address what others leave unsaid. Through his writing, teaching, and advisory work, René provides a rare inside perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing multi-generational family enterprises. Brian Smith – Keynote Speaker & Founder of UGG If you did all the research and knew what was ahead, you would never start. Brian Smith is an Australian born entrepreneur, bestselling author, and keynote speaker best known as the founder of the UGG Australia brand, the iconic sheepskin footwear that grew into a global fashion and lifestyle phenomenon. After graduating as a chartered accountant in Australia and studying at the UCLA Graduate School of Management, Brian left public accounting and moved to California driven by his passion for surfing and business. Noticing that there were no sheepskin boots available in the United States, he and a friend imported a small number of pairs from Australia and began building what would become the UGG brand, growing it into a national business over seventeen years before selling it to Deckers Outdoor Corporation, where it continued to expand into a billion dollar global brand. Drawing on his experience building and selling UGG, Brian became a sought after business speaker, sharing lessons on entrepreneurship, brand building, leadership, resilience, and company culture with audiences around the world. He is also the author of The Birth of a Brand, and his talks combine personal stories with practical insights to inspire business owners and leaders of all ages.

June 3, 2026Episode 280353 min

June 3, 2026 - Unframe AI Larissa Schneider and Greatest Hits Kay Koplovitz

Larissa Schneider – Co-Founder & COO of Unframe AI We didn’t want to be this company that is just sitting in a corner or basement and thinking about what the market wants. Larissa Schneider is a global enterprise technology executive and co-founder of Unframe, an AI company helping large organizations turn artificial intelligence from an expensive experiment into a practical business tool. With more than a decade of leadership experience in enterprise technology, Larissa has helped scale high-growth companies through IPOs, acquisitions, and major expansion phases, including senior leadership roles at Nutanix and Noname Security. Throughout her career, Larissa worked at the intersection of complex enterprise technology and the real-world business teams expected to use it. After watching companies struggle with clunky AI tools, painful integrations, and unclear ROI, she co-founded Unframe to solve the gap between AI’s promise and actual enterprise value. At Unframe, Larissa leads strategy and operations as the company builds an AI layer designed to make existing enterprise systems genuinely intelligent without forcing companies to rip out and replace their current infrastructure. The company raised $50 million to help enterprises deploy AI solutions that integrate quickly, deliver measurable outcomes, and reduce the friction that has slowed AI adoption across large organizations. Larissa discusses why so many enterprise AI projects fail, what businesses actually need from AI tools, how to bridge the gap between experimentation and execution, and why the future of enterprise AI will depend less on hype and more on seamless integration, usability, and measurable business impact. Kay Koplovitz – Chairman of Koplovitz & Co, Founder of USA Network & Sci Fi Channel and Author of Been There, Run That People actually do treat you in the end the way you treat yourself Kay Koplovitz started her amazing career by using geosynchronous orbiting satellites to broadcast the Thrilla in Manila between Ali and Frazier, opening the world to global communications. She launched the first satellite delivered basic cable network, USA Network, creating the two revenue stream model – advertising and licensing – that still exists today. It is the model that makes the cable networks so profitable. During her tenure, she built USA into the #1 ranking in prime time viewership among cable networks, for 13 consecutive years. The Company was sold in 1998 for $4.5 Billion and became a publicly listed company. Today, she is devoted to helping women build their companies and create jobs. As Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, the nation’s premier platform for connecting women with venture capital, Kay helped 481 companies raise over $5.5 billion in new capital. Springboard partners with Angel Funds, VC’s and corporations to grow great female owned companies that have yielded extraordinary growth levels and positive liquidity events for investors including IPO’s. Her latest passion is joining thought leaders at Singularity University and XPrize to brainstorm ways to bring technology innovation to commercial enterprise and better the lives of the 7 billion people around the globe.

June 2, 2026Episode 280253 min

June 2, 2026 – Remote Leverage Abbas Mohammed and Franchise Guru Giuseppe Grammatico

Abbas Mohammed – Founder of Remote Leverage – Recruiting Agency Helping Businesses Hire English Speaking Virtual Assistants From Latin America & The Philippines for 70% Less Than U.S. Employees. Whatever that reason is, I would just go and hire more people to fill that gap, and then I would move on to the next reason. Abbas Mohammed is the founder of Remote Leverage, a global recruiting agency that helps businesses hire English-speaking virtual assistants and remote team members from Latin America and the Philippines at a fraction of traditional U.S. hiring costs. Starting with less than $5,000 at age 18, Abbas scaled the company to more than $1.5 million in monthly revenue in under two years, building a team of more than 120 people across 25 countries. 3x Founder. Rather than inventing something completely new, Abbas focused on executing a proven business model better than anyone else. After recognizing that successful entrepreneurs were already leveraging virtual assistants to scale operations, he built systems, processes, and recruiting infrastructure that made global hiring simpler, faster, and lower risk for growing companies. Today, Remote Leverage helps businesses build remote teams without the overhead and financial pressure of traditional local hiring. Abbas is a strong advocate for practical entrepreneurship, proving that business success does not require groundbreaking creativity or massive startup capital. Instead, he emphasizes disciplined execution, strong systems, and hiring the right people. Giuseppe Grammatico – Founder of GG The Franchise Guide Do not chase someone else’s version of success. Giuseppe Grammatico is a franchise veteran, consultant, author, speaker, and founder of GG The Franchise Guide, where he helps corporate professionals, executives in transition, and military veterans evaluate franchise ownership as a pathway to business ownership, income diversification, and long-term freedom. With more than two decades of experience spanning corporate leadership, franchise ownership, and master franchising, Giuseppe brings real-world perspective and hands-on experience to the franchise industry. He is the author of Franchise Freedom and host of the highly ranked Franchise Freedom Podcast, where he shares practical insights on entrepreneurship, semi-passive franchise models, and building financial security outside traditional investments. Since 2018, Giuseppe has appeared on numerous podcasts and media platforms discussing franchising as an alternative to stocks, crypto, and even real estate investing. Known for simplifying the franchise process, Giuseppe guides candidates through a structured, personalized approach to finding business models that align with their goals, lifestyle, and desired level of involvement. His expertise includes franchise evaluation, career-transition planning, scalable business models, and helping professionals create a “career safety net” through business ownership. Giuseppe’s content resonates strongly with audiences interested in entrepreneurship, wealth-building, alternative investing, and late-career pivots. He also maintains a strong online presence with more than 18,000 LinkedIn followers and actively promotes podcast appearances and collaborations across his network.