The Keri Croft Show

Hosted by Keri Croft

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Episodes

206

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The Keri Croft Show is a podcast for people building something BADASS. A business. A dream. A life that actually feels like yours. Hosted by Keri Croft, this podcast explores the real stories behind the build, what it takes to start, and more importantly, the Mental Athleticism™ it takes to stay in it when the excitement fades and the work gets real. The Keri Croft Show features conversations with founders, creatives, musicians and people in the middle of building something meaningful, without the highlight reel. 🎙 New episodes drop every Thursday.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

July 2, 20261 hr 6 min

Donatos CEO Kevin King on Leading With Heart.

Send us Fan MailKevin King is the CEO of Donatos, but the first thing you should probably know about him is that he really loves his wife.Leslie has challenged him, sharpened him, expanded his taste in music, and spent more than three decades helping him become the person and leader he is today. So naturally, Keri calls her in the middle of the interview.What follows is a very human conversation about marriage, parenting, family, leadership, and running one of Columbus’s most recognizable brands.Kevin explains how he taught his daughter to handle a bully, why he wants his adult children to have relationships with him that do not depend on their mother, and what he has learned about staying calm enough to solve the actual problem.That same approach shapes the way he leads Donatos through changing customer expectations, third-party delivery, automation, and AI. Kevin is not interested in using technology to remove people from hospitality. He wants to use it to eliminate the work people hate so they can spend more time taking care of customers.This is a conversation about pizza, people, marriage, consistency, and why a good leader sometimes has to make sure everyone can see his heart.

June 25, 202643 min

Business, Motherhood, and Getting Your Pink Back with Meleka Jolliff, Founder of MMJ Events and Aiden & Grace.

Send us Fan MailI sat down with Meleka Jolliff, one of the seven incredible women who helped bring our very first IRL experience to life. Meleka was not only a generous sponsor, but she and her team played such a huge role in making the entire space feel beautiful, thoughtful, and intentional. So before anything else, a massive thank you to this woman.As the founder of MMJ Events and Aiden & Grace, and co-owner of Skyflower, Meleka has built her businesses around the thing she does so naturally: making people feel cared for through the details. She has an incredible eye, a creative brain, and the kind of work ethic that quietly holds a lot together.In this episode, we talk about business, team culture, word-of-mouth growth, high-pressure event seasons, motherhood, marriage, and the honest reality of building a life that actually feels like yours. Meleka shares how she’s built a team that cares deeply, why the little details are often the thing people remember most, and what it means to keep going through the messy middle of entrepreneurship, family, and identity.We also get into starting over with a third baby later in life, the idea that “you’ll get your pink back,” and why women need people around them who actually understand the weight of what they’re carrying.This episode is full of wisdom from a woman who knows how to build beautiful things — in business, in motherhood, and in community.Subscribe on YouTube and follow along on Instagram for more conversations with badass women building businesses, families, and lives on their own terms.

June 18, 202644 min

Kelsey Lensman on Faith, Fear, and Expanding Your Limits.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, I sit down with Kelsey Lensman for a conversation about faith, fear, identity, trauma, and what happens when life forces you to stop white-knuckling the wheel.Kelsey shares the moments that cracked her open and rebuilt her from the inside out: walking away from an eight-year relationship, questioning the version of faith she grew up with, surviving a violent highway crash on I-270, and choosing not to let fear become the driver of her life.We talk about the shift from athlete identity to real-world purpose, the difference between checking the “church box” and building an actual relationship with God, and why physical challenges have become one of Kelsey’s greatest tools for mental strength. From Ohio State rowing to Mission 48 — where she completed 48 competitions in 48 states in 48 days for charity — Kelsey’s story is one big reminder that strength is built in the moments you’d rather avoid.This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt stuck, scared, over-controlling, spiritually disconnected, or quietly aware that they’re being called into something bigger.Follow Kelsey:Instagram: @kelseylensmanExpand Your Limits: @xpandyourlimits⚡️If this episode hit something in you please share it with a friend ⚡️Subscribe to The Keri Croft Show on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts⚡️Please leave a review if you’re feeling it.And until next time...Keep Moving, baby!

June 12, 202614 min

BONUS Episode! Joe DeLoss on Ego, Service, and Modern Masculinity

Send us Fan MailAfter we wrapped my conversation with Joe DeLoss, we kept talking.What started as a conversation about marriage turned into something much bigger: masculinity, ego, service, leadership, and why so many men seem to be struggling to find their footing right now.Joe shares his perspective on the version of masculinity that's being celebrated online, why he thinks it's missing the mark, and what he's learned through building businesses, navigating marriage, raising daughters, and doing the ongoing work of understanding himself.We talk about strength, vulnerability, accountability, and the difference between chasing trophies and becoming the kind of person your family, community, and relationships can actually count on.It's a short conversation, but one that felt too important to leave on the cutting room floor.If you enjoyed my full conversation with Joe, consider this the bonus chapter.

June 11, 20261 hr 16 min

The Founder Who Sold His Hot Chicken Restaurant and Walked Into the Woods with Joe DeLoss

Send us Fan MailJoe DeLoss is best known as the founder of Hot Chicken Takeover, one of Columbus’s most recognizable restaurant stories. But this conversation is not really about chicken.Joe talks with Keri about the rise of Hot Chicken Takeover, the ego that came with it, the people impacted by his leadership, and the personal reckoning that followed. He is honest about marriage, fatherhood, masculinity, ambition, and the uncomfortable reality that success does not automatically make you whole.Now, Joe lives in Mount Vernon and is building Baker Road, a hospitality and retreat concept rooted in nature, adventure, discomfort, and real human connection. Think less corporate retreat, more walking into the woods and remembering you are still a person.This conversation moves from Columbus entrepreneurship to 100-mile runs, natural burials, leadership, vultures, marriage, and what the next chapter of Joe’s work looks like.At its heart, this conversation is about what happens when success forces you to face yourself. Joe’s story is a reminder that growth isn't always glamorous. Sometimes, the real work begins after the big win, when you have to decide who you want to become next.

June 4, 20261 hr 10 min

How to Build a Bigger Life Without Shrinking Yourself with Elizabeth McCormick

Send us Fan MailElizabeth Blount McCormick doesn't think women should play small.As CEO of Uniglobe Travel Designers, she helped navigate one of the most challenging periods in modern business history when COVID brought the travel industry to a standstill. Today, she's leading a nationally recognized company, setting audacious growth goals, and challenging conventional thinking about leadership, ambition, and success.We talk about building through uncertainty, why women need to get more comfortable talking about money, the importance of finding the right rooms and communities, and what it means to be the first Black woman to join YPO Columbus.We also get into entrepreneurship, mental athleticism, self-care, motherhood, identity, and the mindset shifts that help people keep moving when things get hard.If you've ever felt stuck, underestimated, or like you're playing smaller than you're capable of, this one's for you.

May 28, 20261 hr 7 min

Why Most Entrepreneurs Never Actually Start with Nick Braun

Send us Fan MailMost people talk about ideas. Very few actually write the check and start.Nick Braun went from building a pet insurance comparison company to scaling a water filtration business doing millions in revenue. But this conversation is really about risk, timing, relationships, and why entrepreneurship in the Midwest looks different than Silicon Valley.We talk about building businesses in Columbus, raising four kids, moving to San Diego, selling to Petco, funding local entrepreneurs, and why community matters more than people think.Also: Brandon Road lore, Upper Arlington real estate, and a very real debate about what should replace Bed Bath & Beyond.

May 20, 202649 min

Shark Tank, Building Brave & Redefining Success with Megan Pando

Send us Fan MailSixty seconds of total silence doesn’t sound that long… until you’re standing on a Persian rug making eye contact with some of the most famous investors in America.This week, Megan Pando joins me to talk about what Shark Tank actually feels like from the inside — the nerves, the pressure, the mindset shifts, and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling.But this episode goes way deeper than TV.We talk about:✨ Building Makers Social through uncertainty, failed deals, and brutal “in-between” seasons✨ Getting ghosted in business and the stories we create when people don’t close the loop✨ Why scaling fast isn’t always the goal✨ Franchising vs. corporate growth and protecting culture while growing✨ Being a single mom entrepreneur✨ Handling criticism without losing yourself✨ Grief, emo music, bravery, freedom, and redefining success on your own termsThis conversation is honest, funny, emotional, and probably way too relatable if you’ve ever questioned yourself while building something big.And maybe the biggest takeaway?Trying new things while you’re bad at them might actually be the whole point.👇 Drop a comment: What does success look like for you right now?If this episode hit home:✔️ Subscribe to The Keri Croft Show✔️ Send this to a friend chasing something scary✔️ Leave a review — it helps us grow and keeps these conversations goingAnd Keep Moving, Baby!

May 14, 202633 min

Community Over Competition: Motherhood, Mental Health & Movement Haven with Libby Welch.

Send us Fan MailHello, my friend, hello...This week, Libby Welch joins me for a conversation that starts with wedding songs, curly hair, and dance moms… and somehow lands in grief, postpartum anxiety, mental health, identity, and building a business that actually gives a damn about people.Libby opens up about losing her dad after years of overwork and an undiagnosed mental health condition, and how that experience changed the way she sees herself, motherhood, and emotional wellness. We talk honestly about postpartum anxiety symptoms that often get missed — the control, overstimulation, rigid routines, unexplained weight loss, the feeling that something is just… off. Not the cute Instagram version of motherhood. The real one.We also get into:postpartum mental health + asking for helpgrief and generational patternsconfidence, curls, and self-imagebuilding Movement Haven in Dublin, Ohio“community over competition” in youth danceraising emotionally healthy kidsskincare, hydration, intermittent fasting, and random life tangents because obviouslyLibby shares the mission behind Movement Haven and why she believes in “human first, artist second” — a philosophy that feels refreshing as hell in a hyper-competitive world.If you’ve ever struggled with anxiety, grief, identity, motherhood, or trying to build a life that actually aligns with your values… this episode will hit home.And if you came for Neil Diamond and stayed for emotional healing? Honestly, same.🎧 Subscribe, leave a review, and send this to a mom, friend, or fellow overthinker who needs to hear it.#PostpartumAnxiety #MentalHealth #Motherhood #Grief #WomenInBusiness #DanceStudio #DublinOhio #Podcast #AnxietySupport #MentalHealthAwareness #TheKeriCroftShow

May 11, 202616 min

You'll Support Women...Until They Make You Uncomfortable. (We Can Do So Much Better.)

Send us Fan MailThe internet loves to scream “women supporting women”… right up until a woman makes a choice they wouldn’t make themselves.This episode starts with the backlash around Lisa Oxenham’s British Vogue essay about becoming a mom at 49—and spirals into a much bigger conversation about judgment, fertility, grief, motherhood, ambition, and why women can be brutal to each other when something feels unfamiliar, audacious, or uncomfortable.We talk about the comment sections that turn into courtrooms.The silent competition.The projection.The “I support women… but not like THAT” energy.I also share how infertility and loss completely changed the way I look at people’s choices. Because once life humbles you enough, you stop assuming you know what someone else should be doing with their body, timeline, career, or family.We also get into Emma Grede’s comments about women in power, why society says it wants powerful women but struggles when women actually take up space, and what I’ve learned becoming an older mom—aka you finally realize not every tiny thing deserves a full psychological investigation.And we end with this:Can you actually name the thing that makes you you?Your edge.Your essence.Your fingerprint-level badassery.This one is honest, spicy, emotional, funny, and probably a little uncomfortable at times—which usually means it’s worth having.If it hits, send it to a friend, leave a review, and come hang with us on YouTube.