School for Startups Radio

Shawn Hunter – CEO of Mindscaling, Linkedin Learning Instructor at Linkedin and Author of Small Words of Leadership
So we’re on a mission. To build humanity and human interactions into the workplace alongside AI, not in place of.
Shawn Hunter
is the Founder and President of Mindscaling, a leadership development and learning company that helps organizations build stronger leaders, more collaborative teams, and workplace cultures where people can perform at their best. For more than 20 years, Shawn has designed leadership learning experiences for organizations of all sizes, with a particular focus on innovation, collaboration, candor, and the human side of business performance. He is also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, keynote speaker, writer, and leadership researcher who translates behavioral and social science into practical ideas leaders can use immediately. Shawn’s career in leadership development began as an entrepreneur. He co-founded Targeted Learning Corporation with his father, Hal Hunter, Ph.D., building video based learning programs featuring leading business authors, executives, researchers, and university faculty. Skillsoft acquired Targeted Learning in 2007, and Shawn went on to serve as Executive Producer and Vice President of Leadership Solutions at Skillsoft until 2015. During that period, he interviewed and collaborated with hundreds of prominent business thinkers while developing leadership content used by organizations around the world. He later founded Mindscaling to continue creating customized leadership development and online learning programs. Shawn is the author of Small Words of Leadership: The Hidden Power of Everyday Language, published by Productivity Press in August 2026. The book examines how seemingly small choices in language can have an outsized effect on trust, collaboration, belonging, and organizational culture. Drawing on research from the social sciences and Shawn’s experience studying effective leaders, the book explores subjects including inclusive language, listening, feedback, apologies, storytelling, silence, and the subtle signals leaders send in everyday conversations. He introduces a Three Level Conversation Model that looks not only at the words being exchanged, but also at the internal dialogue influencing each person and the deeper cultural message about what is valued, safe, and possible within the organization. At the center of Shawn’s work is the idea that leadership is created as much through ordinary conversations as through major strategic decisions. He argues that influence depends not simply on authority or eloquence, but on how carefully leaders choose their words and how well they listen. Small changes, such as asking a better question, replacing “I” with “we,” allowing a thoughtful pause, or giving someone permission to challenge authority, can shape whether employees feel heard, respected, and willing to contribute. Through Mindscaling, LinkedIn Learning, his books, and his speaking, Shawn helps leaders use everyday communication more intentionally to strengthen relationships, improve performance, and build cultures where people feel valued and connected.Timothy Heffron – President of Timm Stimm Inc.
it’s not about working harder, it’s about working smarter in swimming.
Timothy Heffron
Timothy “Timm” Heffron is the President of Timm Swimm Inc. and the Owner and Head Swim Instructor of Swimm with Timm, a Massachusetts based swim instruction program serving children and adults at every skill level. Timm has spent more than 20 years teaching swimming and coaching swim teams, developing an approach centered on water safety, confidence, strong fundamentals, and keeping swimmers actively engaged in the water. His program offers group, private, semi private, adaptive, and adult lessons designed to help swimmers progress at their own pace in a supportive environment. Timm first began teaching swim lessons and coaching while he was in high school and continued developing his skills while swimming in college. He later stepped away from aquatics and spent several years working full time as a UPS driver. In 2016, he found himself drawn back to teaching and began offering Sunday morning lessons to just seven swimmers. The response convinced him that what had begun as a side project could become something much larger, and in October 2017 he formally launched Timm Swimm LLC, better known as Swimm with Timm. By May 2018, the program had grown to approximately 120 swimmers, and in 2019 he began hiring his first employees. A central idea behind Swimm with Timm is surprisingly simple: children learn to swim by spending as much of the lesson as possible actually swimming. Timm became frustrated with traditional lessons where children spent significant portions of class sitting on the side waiting for their turn. He designed a faster paced curriculum with small student to instructor ratios, individualized instruction, and an emphasis on first building comfort and confidence in the water before demanding advanced technique. The program now operates at multiple Massachusetts locations and includes instruction ranging from parent and child classes through competitive swimming and adult programs. Timm has a particular interest in helping beginners, shy swimmers, and students who need additional encouragement or individualized support. He is Autism Swim certified, and Swimm with Timm offers an adaptive program for children with disabilities and other unique learning needs. Timm Swimm Inc. has also expanded to include the Danvers YMCA Dolfins competitive swim program, creating a pathway for swimmers to progress from learning basic water safety to more advanced and competitive swimming.
Kim Davies – Vice President of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) Services at ICANN and President of Public Technical Identifiers (PTI)
I think it’s important to remember the internet as a network of networks
Kim Davies
Kim Davies is Vice President of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority Services at ICANN and President of Public Technical Identifiers, the ICANN affiliate responsible for performing the IANA functions. In these roles, Kim leads the team that coordinates many of the unique identifiers required for the global Internet to function as a single interoperable network. The IANA functions include management of the Domain Name System root zone, coordination of global Internet number resources, and maintenance of registries containing the identifiers and codes used by Internet protocols. Although much of this work happens behind the scenes, it provides critical infrastructure that helps ensure that Internet addresses, domain names, and technical standards work consistently around the world. Kim joined ICANN in 2005 and has helped guide the modernization and evolution of IANA through major changes in Internet governance and technology. His work has included implementing new technical systems, formalizing business and quality management processes, and helping transition stewardship of the IANA functions from a contract with the U.S. government to the global multistakeholder community. Public Technical Identifiers was established in 2016 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and affiliate of ICANN dedicated to delivering the IANA services, with Kim serving as its President. Before joining ICANN, Kim was active in the development and management of Internet infrastructure and country code domain names. He co founded auDA, the organization responsible for managing Australia’s .au country code domain, and represented European country code domain managers through CENTR. Earlier in his career in Australia, he worked for a major Internet service provider and helped establish an important Australian Internet exchange point. Those experiences gave him a practical background in the technical infrastructure, governance, and coordination required to keep a decentralized global network functioning reliably. Today, Kim is responsible for some of the Internet’s most sensitive operational functions, including work related to the security of the DNS root. In 2026, he is helping lead preparations for the Root Zone Key Signing Key rollover scheduled for October 11. The key is part of DNSSEC, the security system designed to help ensure that Internet users receive authentic DNS information rather than manipulated responses. The rollover is intended to occur without disruption for ordinary Internet users, while operators of validating DNS resolvers must ensure that their systems recognize the new key. Kim’s broader responsibility is to help ensure that these critical systems remain secure, stable, reliable, and trusted as the Internet continues to evolve.

Nuttha Goutier — Founder and CEO of Sabai Thai Spa
I don’t have money, but I have the vision and a dream. I’m youngand full energy. I believe this is what people need here.
Nuttha Goutier is the Founder and CEO of Sabai Thai Spa, a Canadian wellness company built around the traditions of Thai healing, hospitality, and community. She grew up in a small farming village in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, without running water or electricity. Wellness was part of everyday life rather than something reserved for special occasions. She learned about massage and traditional healing from her grandmother and grew up in a community where neighbors routinely helped one another with farming, building homes, and caring for families. Those early experiences shaped her belief that wellness should be rooted in connection, presence, and care for others. Nuttha moved to Canada in 2001 and opened the first Sabai Thai Spa in 2005. She wanted to create something different from the rushed and transactional spa experiences she encountered in North America. Her vision was to recreate the warmth of Thai hospitality in an environment where guests could slow down, reconnect with themselves, and feel cared for as people rather than simply customers. Sabai Thai Spa combines traditional Thai inspired treatments with modern spa services and has grown to seven locations across Greater Vancouver. As the company grew, Nuttha focused on turning that original feeling of hospitality into a culture that could be consistently delivered across multiple locations. Sabai Thai Spa emphasizes care, simplicity, consistency, and community involvement, and Nuttha has worked to make self care feel like a regular part of life rather than an occasional luxury. The brand is now expanding through franchising, giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to bring its Thai inspired wellness model into additional communities across Canada. For Nuttha, scaling the company is not simply about adding locations. It is about preserving the cultural authenticity and sense of belonging that inspired the business in the first place. Nearly two decades after opening her first spa, Nuttha continues to lead Sabai Thai Spa with a philosophy shaped by her childhood in Thailand and her entrepreneurial journey in Canada. She believes successful businesses can create value for customers, employees, franchise owners, and the communities around them at the same time. Her broader mission is to make wellness more accessible and meaningful while proving that growth does not have to come at the expense of culture or human connection. Through Sabai Thai Spa, she is working to build a national brand that combines business opportunity with a simple idea she learned early in life: taking care of people should be part of everyday living.Jim Bildner – CEO of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and Author of A Matter of Hope: Lessons Learned from Leaders, Changemakers, and Visionaries on Making a Difference in the World
Yeah, so hope is a verb. That’s how we think about it. So, you know,conventionally, people think hope is some kind of aspirational etherealconcept, but we know for sure that hope is a tool.
Jim Bildner is the CEO of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a global venture philanthropy organization that identifies, funds, and supports early stage social entrepreneurs working to solve difficult social and environmental problems. DRK provides entrepreneurs with unrestricted capital along with hands on operational support designed to help promising organizations build the capacity to scale their impact. Over more than two decades, the foundation has made nearly 280 investments in organizations addressing issues including healthcare, education, poverty, economic opportunity, criminal justice, climate, and community development. As CEO, Jim works across DRK’s portfolio, investment pipeline, donor community, talent network, and thought leadership efforts. Jim brings experience from the private, public, academic, and philanthropic sectors to his work. Before focusing much of his career on social impact, he spent 22 years in the private sector, including serving as CEO of two public companies and working as a consultant at Deloitte. His public service has included work as a legislative aide and speechwriter in the United States Senate, two elected terms as a Selectman in Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts, and an appointment to a federal advisory panel for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, where his teaching and research examine social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, private capital, and how organizations can scale solutions to complex public problems. Jim also spent nearly two decades as a trustee of The Kresge Foundation, serving from 2005 until 2024. He played an important role in the development of Kresge’s social investment strategy, became the inaugural chair of its Social Investments Committee, and later chaired its Investment Committee. Kresge credits him with helping shape the foundation’s use of investment capital alongside traditional grantmaking to advance its mission. Jim has also served on the boards of numerous nonprofit and social enterprise organizations associated with DRK’s portfolio. He earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, a Master in Public Administration from Harvard, a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and a Master of Fine Arts from Lesley University. Jim is the author of A Matter of Hope: Lessons Learned from Leaders, Changemakers, and Visionaries on Making a Difference in the World, published by Matt Holt Books in September 2026. Drawing on decades of investing in and working alongside social entrepreneurs, as well as experiences of success, adversity, and personal loss from his own life, Jim examines how hope can become a catalyst for action rather than simply an optimistic feeling. The book shares lessons from entrepreneurs who have built organizations addressing some of society’s most persistent problems and presents a practical path for moving from recognizing a problem to taking meaningful action. At the center of Jim’s philosophy is the belief that people do not need enormous resources, prestigious credentials, or formal authority to begin creating change. They need the willingness to see possibility, take a first step, learn from others, and turn hope into sustained action.

Aaron Painter – CEO of Nametage and Author of LOYAL: A Leader’s Guide to Winning Customer and Employee Loyalty
I think one of the most important things that we’ve seen happen isthat this new set of technologies of AI and generative AI has reallygiven superpowers to bad actors
Aaron Painter is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nametag, an identity verification company focused on protecting organizations from impersonation, account takeover, social engineering, and AI generated deepfakes. Nametag develops technology that helps companies verify that the person requesting access to an account, applying for a job, or interacting with a support team is actually the person they claim to be. As generative AI makes voices, images, videos, and identities easier to imitate, Aaron has become an advocate for treating human identity verification as a central cybersecurity and business risk issue. Before founding Nametag, Aaron spent nearly 14 years at Microsoft in senior leadership roles across several countries. His career there included positions in product management, sales, marketing, partnerships, and general management, culminating in his role as Vice President and General Manager for Microsoft in China. He has lived and worked in six countries across four continents, including the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Hong Kong, mainland China, and the United States. After Microsoft, Aaron became CEO of Cloudreach, a cloud computing services company that helped large enterprises modernize their technology infrastructure and accelerate cloud adoption. Aaron is the author of LOYAL: A Leader’s Guide to Winning Customer and Employee Loyalty. Published in 2017, the book grew out of his experience leading global teams and argues that one of the most important skills a leader can develop is the ability to listen. Aaron connects strong employee loyalty with customer loyalty and sustainable business growth, encouraging organizations to build cultures in which people feel heard, respected, and valued. His leadership philosophy reflects a broader theme that has followed him throughout his career: trust must be intentionally earned rather than assumed. Today, Aaron is applying that same interest in trust to the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. He argues that AI has created a new challenge for business leaders because organizations can no longer assume that a convincing voice, face, document, or online interaction belongs to a real and authorized person. Through Nametag, he works with enterprises to strengthen identity verification during high risk moments such as employee onboarding, account recovery, help desk interactions, and hiring. His forthcoming book, Deepfaked: Restoring Trust in the AI Era, extends his work on loyalty and trust into the age of synthetic identities, exploring how leaders can protect their organizations when seeing and hearing are no longer enough to prove who someone really is.
Bennett Maxwell – CEO of Franchise KI
So the business plan I’m really excited about because my costscontinue to go down while intelligence is going up.
Bennett Maxwell is the founder of Dirty Dough, one of the fastest-growing restaurant concepts in the country, with over 80 open locations nationally and 450 slated for development. Their story has been one of rising success but also filled with adversity and challenges that changed their growth trajectory- battling through the internationally covered. #CookieWars lawsuits against multiple startups nearly took them out of the running before they had even begun. They leveraged some wildly novel yet accessible business and marketing strategy that took this lawsuit from liability to growth generator and he has a lot of insights to share with other entrepreneurs and innovators on growth, the adversity to success pipeline and controlling your own business narrative in 2025 and beyond. Dirty Dough uses centralized production with special machines to produce the world’s first 3 layer cookie. This also allows for a franchise to open up at half the cost of the competition, half the labor, while lowering ongoing costs. Other issues of waste, quality control, supply chain etc. are handled on the corporate level, resulting in the most simple food franchise concept in existence. Bennett Maxwell is a multifaceted entrepreneur renowned for his innovative approach to business and commitment to enhancing the entrepreneurial landscape. He was the driving force behind Dirty Dough Cookies, a fast-growing national cookie brand with over 65+ stores open and dozens more set to launch this year. Maxwell’s career spans diverse industries, from real estate in Utah to co-founding and successfully selling Switch to Solar. In addition to his entrepreneurial ventures, he is a sought-after speaker who regularly shares insights with the media. Bennett also hosts the Deeper Than Dough podcast, launched in 2023, where he explores finding joy and fulfillment in life through entrepreneurship and beyond.

Amrit Dhaliwal – CEO and Founder of Walfinch, Listed on the Social Care Top 30 
And I really believe that it’s okay. You know, I think it’s absolutely fineto be obsessed with the mission and talk about it all the time, live andbreathe it, you know, I’m out there.
Amrit Dhaliwal is an entrepreneur, franchising expert, and the CEO and Founder of Walfinch, one of the United Kingdom’s fastest growing home care franchise networks. Passionate about combining business success with meaningful social impact, he founded Walfinch to transform both the home care industry and the franchising model by helping entrepreneurs build thriving businesses while delivering exceptional care to older adults in their communities. Amrit’s entrepreneurial journey began in his early twenties after deciding traditional employment was not for him. He went on to own and transform multiple businesses, including an Italian deli, an award winning tea room, a casual fine dining restaurant, and a home care franchise. Those experiences gave him firsthand insight into what makes franchise businesses succeed and inspired him to launch Walfinch with a model designed to provide franchisees with the systems, support, and mindset needed to build million pound businesses. Today, Walfinch has grown into a national home care brand known for its focus on wellness, innovation, and community based care. Amrit is also the author of Time to Thrive: The Home Care Revolution and host of the Walking With Walfinch podcast, where he shares insights on entrepreneurship, leadership, franchising, and the future of care. Through his work, he continues to help business owners create successful companies while making a lasting difference in the lives of others.Beth Mazza and Victoria Sivrais – Founders of Female Mavericks and Authors of Entrepreneur Like a MOTHER: Build a Company That Buys You Freedom, Not Owns Your Life
I think the biggest mistake that women make is thinking that a passionequals a good business idea. It does not. Sometimes it does but very rarely.
Beth Mazza is the Co-Founder of Female Mavericks, a serial entrepreneur, business strategist, speaker, and two time company founder who has built and sold professional services firms while raising four children. With more than 30 years of business and advisory experience, Beth has worked with major corporations and senior executives on investor relations, communications, ESG strategy, and other complex business issues. Today, through Female Mavericks, she focuses on helping women build profitable, scalable companies that create financial independence without requiring them to sacrifice the rest of their lives. Beth founded Ashton Partners, an investor relations and strategic communications firm that grew into a multimillion dollar business before being acquired by FTI Consulting. She later co-founded Clermont Partners with longtime business partner Victoria Sivrais in 2015. They built the firm without venture capital, eventually growing it to approximately 43 employees and about 100 public company clients. Riveron acquired Clermont Partners in 2022 in a transaction reported at $30 million. The contrast between Beth’s first and second exits became an important part of her approach to entrepreneurship. Her first company taught her how easily a successful business can remain dependent on its founders, while Clermont was intentionally built with systems, recurring value, and an eventual sale in mind. Beth and Victoria later created Female Mavericks to share the lessons they learned building businesses while raising nine children between them. Their work emphasizes choosing the right business model, understanding cash flow, delegating before the founder becomes a bottleneck, creating repeatable systems, and designing a company around the life the entrepreneur actually wants. Beth has been recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as a 40 Under 40 honoree and has been featured in Forbes. Her experience has made her particularly interested in helping service business founders move beyond simply creating a job for themselves and instead build companies with lasting enterprise value. Beth is the co-author, with Victoria Sivrais, of the forthcoming Entrepreneur Like a MOTHER: Build a Company That Buys You Freedom, Not Owns Your Life. The book presents their Power Moves framework for women who want to launch and scale businesses while remaining present for their families and personal lives. It covers business model selection, financial boundaries, minimum viable products, delegation, strategic pivots, and building a company that can ultimately operate beyond its founder. Drawing on two successful businesses, two exits, and their experiences as mothers and entrepreneurs, Beth and Victoria challenge the idea that serious entrepreneurship requires sacrificing family, personal freedom, or everything outside the company.
Victoria Sivrais is the Co-Founder of Female Mavericks, an entrepreneur, business strategist, speaker, and mother of five who has built her career helping companies navigate complex financial, investor, crisis, and corporate communications challenges. After beginning her career in the corporate world, Victoria moved into consulting and entrepreneurship, eventually building businesses while simultaneously raising a large family. Today, through Female Mavericks, she focuses on helping women build profitable and scalable companies without accepting the idea that business success must come at the expense of family, personal freedom, or the life they want outside of work. Victoria co-founded Clermont Partners with longtime colleague and business partner Beth Mazza in 2015. The women owned advisory firm specialized in investor relations, ESG strategy, strategic communications, and transaction communications for public and private companies. Victoria advised senior executives and boards on complex financial and corporate issues while helping build Clermont into a multimillion dollar professional services business. In 2022, Riveron acquired Clermont Partners, and Victoria and Beth went on to co-lead Riveron’s newly created ESG and Strategic Communications practice. The experience of building and selling Clermont became an important foundation for Victoria’s views on entrepreneurship, particularly the importance of choosing the right business model, creating predictable revenue, developing strong systems, and building a company that does not depend entirely on its founders. In 2024, Victoria and Beth launched Female Mavericks to share the lessons they learned as entrepreneurs and mothers. Together, they raised nine children while building businesses, managing employees, serving major corporate clients, and eventually navigating successful exits. Their work challenges the assumption that serious entrepreneurship requires endless work hours or sacrificing important family moments. Female Mavericks teaches founders to think deliberately about business models, financial boundaries, delegation, support networks, and the systems needed to create both enterprise value and greater personal freedom. Victoria is the co-author, with Beth Mazza, of the forthcoming Entrepreneur Like a MOTHER: Build a Company That Buys You Freedom, Not Owns Your Life. The book introduces five Power Moves designed to help women move from an idea to a profitable and scalable business while protecting the life they are building alongside it. Drawing on their experiences as founders and mothers, Victoria and Beth cover topics including choosing the right business model, establishing financial boundaries, testing ideas, making strategic pivots, building a trusted group of advisers, delegating effectively, and creating systems that allow a company to grow beyond its founders. Their central message is that motherhood and entrepreneurial ambition do not have to compete with one another. With the right structure, founders can build companies that create financial opportunity, flexibility, and freedom rather than businesses that ultimately control their lives. Entrepreneur Like a MOTHER is scheduled for publication by Wiley on September 22, 2026.

David Horne – Founder & CEO of Add then Multiply
Anything that reduces founder dependency increases the value of the business.
David B. Horne is the Founder and CEO of Add Then Multiply, a business growth consultancy that helps founders scale through strategic finance, fundraising, acquisitions, and stronger financial infrastructure. A PwC trained Chartered Accountant with more than 40 years of business experience, David has worked with companies ranging from entrepreneurial ventures to publicly listed businesses. Over his career, he has raised more than £120  million in funding and completed more than 30 acquisitions and exits, giving him firsthand experience in the financial and operational challenges that come with rapid growth. Earlier in his career, David served as CFO of two companies listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market, where he gained practical experience raising capital, acquiring businesses, integrating operations, and preparing companies for future transactions. One of the businesses he supported grew sales from approximately £1.1 million to £27.7 million in three years, a 25 fold increase. Those experiences became the foundation for the work he now does with founder led companies that have reached the point where organic growth alone may no longer be enough to achieve their ambitions. At Add Then Multiply, David uses his FACE methodology, which stands for Fund, Acquire, Consolidate, and Exit. The framework helps entrepreneurs think more strategically about raising capital, acquiring other companies, successfully integrating those acquisitions, and ultimately building a business with greater long term value. His approach emphasizes that buying another company is only part of the challenge. Founders also need the financial systems, leadership capacity, cash flow discipline, and integration plan required to make the combined business stronger. Add Then Multiply also provides fractional and outsourced finance teams to help growing businesses develop the financial infrastructure needed to scale. David is the author of Add Then Multiply: How Small Businesses Can Think Like Big Businesses and Achieve Exponential Growth, which won the Business Self Development category at the 2020 Business Book Awards. He is also the author of Funded Female Founders and the Founder of Funding Focus, a social enterprise created to improve access to capital for female and underrepresented entrepreneurs. His work with Funding Focus led to his TEDx talk, The Fight for Fairer Funding. Across his consulting, writing, and advocacy, David‘s central message is that ambitious founders can accelerate growth when they combine entrepreneurial vision with disciplined finance, strategic acquisitions, and a clear plan for building a company that can ultimately thrive beyond the founder.D. Earl “Doug” Johnston – Author of Choosing Emotions: Thinking with Your Head and Acting with Your Heart
And the point being, you’re going to be happiest when you are the real you.
D. Earl “Doug” Johnston is a former business executive, banking and private equity leader, investigative business researcher, litigation support expert, lexicographer, and author of Choosing Emotions: Thinking with Your Head and Acting with Your Heart. Over more than 30 years in executive management, Doug worked across commercial banking, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, lending, due diligence, operations, and complex business transactions. His professional experience also includes research and consulting for national law firms involved in high stakes commercial disputes. He has supervised more than $5 billion in transactions over the course of his business career. After decades working in finance and business, Doug turned his attention to a very different subject: the language people use to understand and describe emotions. The project began after a conversation with his daughter led him to realize how difficult it can be to clearly explain even familiar emotional states. What started as a personal question developed into nine years of research across psychology, neuroscience, medicine, philosophy, linguistics, literature, religion, and the arts. Doug ultimately identified and organized 272 emotional states and conditions, drawing from thousands of observations and quotations spanning roughly 3,000 years of recorded thought. The result is Choosing Emotions: Thinking with Your Head and Acting with Your Heart, published by Western Gold Publishing in 2026. Designed as what Doug calls an “Emotionary,” the book examines emotions ranging from anger, fear, gratitude, confidence, and joy to more complex conditions including anxiety, procrastination, trauma, narcissism, addiction, and codependence. Rather than approaching emotions from a single academic discipline, Doug brings together perspectives from scientists, philosophers, psychologists, writers, spiritual teachers, and everyday language to help readers develop a richer emotional vocabulary. He argues that emotions function as a kind of internal operating system and as the “Gears of Life,” influencing how people interpret situations and how they ultimately behave. Doug‘s work has particular relevance for entrepreneurs and business leaders because he connects emotional understanding with communication, negotiation, leadership, judgment, and decision making. His central idea is that greater emotional vocabulary gives people more options for understanding what they are experiencing and choosing how to respond. Rather than treating emotion as the opposite of reason, he encourages leaders to recognize emotions as information that can improve self awareness and relationships when understood clearly. Outside of business and writing, Doug is also a world champion sailor, an experience that adds another perspective to his interest in judgment, preparation, performance, and decision making under pressure.

Nick Gross – Founder & Managing Partner of Gross Labs and Founder of Find Your Grind
I was a college dropout that found my path really early on through musicand what excited me. And I think that’s kind of the mission here is to likehelp every kid kind of identify with that early on to set them up with adirection that makes sense for them.
Nick Gross is the Founder and Managing Partner of Gross Labs and the Founder and CEO of Find Your Grind. An entrepreneur, investor, musician, and company builder, Nick has created a career spanning education, entertainment, sports, media, and technology. Gross Labs is his family enterprise and cultural investment platform, bringing together businesses and investments across industries that have shaped his own life. Its portfolio includes more than 50 companies and investments, with interests in organizations and brands including X Games, 100 Thieves, Breakaway Music Festival, BeatBox Beverages, sports franchises, music ventures, and emerging consumer companies. Rather than separating his interests into unrelated businesses, Nick views Gross Labs as an ecosystem in which culture, creativity, investment, and entrepreneurship can reinforce one another. Nick’s entrepreneurial perspective grew out of an unconventional career in music. He joined the band Open Air Stereo as a teenager, and the group gained national attention after appearing on MTV’s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. At 17, Nick and the band signed with Sony Epic Records. He later continued touring and recording, eventually becoming one half of the pop punk group girlfriends with Travis Mills. His music career has taken him around the world on tours with artists including Avril Lavigne and Machine Gun Kelly. Nick also helped build Big Noise Music Group and created The Noise Nest, a Los Angeles recording studio and content facility. His experience in entertainment taught him early lessons about branding, audience building, partnerships, creativity, and the importance of owning the platforms and businesses behind creative work. Nick founded Find Your Grind to rethink how young people prepare for life and work. The education technology platform starts with a different question from traditional career counseling. Instead of asking students only what job they want, Find Your Grind encourages them to first understand who they are, what they value, how they want to live, and what skills they need to build. The platform is now used by schools and districts nationwide and combines self discovery, career exploration, social and emotional learning, and workforce aligned credentials. Find Your Grind was recognized by Fast Company as one of its Brands That Matter in 2022 and raised a $5 million Series A round in 2025 to accelerate the growth of its future readiness platform. Nick also founded the Find Your Grind Foundation to expand educational and career opportunities for young people. His work in education led to a longstanding partnership with TGR Foundation, founded by Tiger Woods, and in 2025 Nick joined the organization’s Board of Governors. Across his investing, education, music, and entrepreneurial work, Nick advocates for a less traditional view of career building. His own path has moved from professional musician to education founder, investor, media entrepreneur, and venture builder, reinforcing his belief that successful careers do not always follow a straight line. Instead, he encourages young people and entrepreneurs to develop self awareness, stay curious, build adaptable skills, and create opportunities at the intersection of the things they care about most.

Barry Levine – Bankruptcy Attorney and Founder of The Law Office of Barry R. Levine
I suggest to entrepreneurial types that when they’re going into business,they should determine the downside, what happens if the sh*t hits the fan?You know, it’s much easier to deal with it then than 6 years later.
Barry Levine
Barry R. Levine is a Massachusetts bankruptcy attorney with more than four decades of experience helping individuals and small business owners overcome financial hardship and regain control of their financial future. As the founder of The Law Office of Barry R. Levine, he has represented hundreds of clients facing overwhelming debt, foreclosure, wage garnishment, tax issues, and creditor actions, guiding them through complex legal challenges with practical advice and compassionate counsel. A graduate of New England Law Boston, Barry has built his career on helping clients understand their legal options and make informed decisions during some of the most difficult periods of their lives. In addition to his extensive bankruptcy practice, he has served as outside counsel to numerous small businesses, advising on corporate matters, legal agreements, and real estate transactions. His experience gives him a broad perspective on both personal and business financial issues. Admitted to practice in Massachusetts since 1980, Barry believes that financial recovery begins with education, preparation, and taking action before problems become overwhelming. Through his legal practice and public education efforts, he continues to help people replace fear and uncertainty with confidence, empowering them to use the legal system as a path toward long term financial stability.

Ron Deutsch – Managing Director of Magnus Financial Group
I know what my strengths are. Everyone’s gottheir strength and their weaknesses
Ron Deutsch is the Managing Director of Magnus Financial Group and a wealth management professional with more than 30 years of experience in portfolio management, financial advisory services, and the fixed income markets. He works with entrepreneurs, business owners, high net worth individuals, retirees, pre-retirees, and institutional clients to develop diversified investment strategies designed to support long-term financial goals. His areas of expertise include strategic asset allocation, portfolio diversification, income-focused investing, risk management, and taxable fixed income, with particular experience in investment grade and high yield corporate bonds, mortgages, and sovereign debt. Before his work in private wealth management, Ron built an extensive career on Wall Street. He held senior positions in the fixed income departments at Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Prudential Securities, and Kidder Peabody, and began his career in investment banking at Drexel Burnham Lambert. His wealth management experience has also included roles with Dynasty Private Wealth, Sage Capital, and Lebenthal Asset Management. This combination of institutional market experience and personal financial advisory work gives Ron a broad perspective on how investment decisions, market conditions, business growth, and risk can affect long-term wealth. Ron focuses on helping clients make informed financial decisions while building portfolios and financial plans that can remain resilient through changing economic and market environments. For entrepreneurs and business owners, his work extends beyond simply growing business revenue to understanding how to diversify wealth, manage financial risk, generate income, and protect the assets they have worked to build. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Outside of his professional work, Ron is an avid tennis player and sports enthusiast and serves on the Investment Committee for the Binghamton University Foundation.Matt Hunter – Executive Leadership Coach & Author of Tough Enough: How to Lead a Team to Greatness Without Being a Jerk
And by the way, you can decouple the toughness from behavinglike a jerk from being disrespectful to your people.
Matt Hunter is an executive leadership coach, entrepreneur, and author who works with founders and CEOs to grow their businesses, build winning cultures, and become more effective leaders. He brings two decades of experience founding, leading, and coaching companies and now advises leaders of fast growing and later stage businesses, including companies backed by venture firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and NEA. His clients represent companies with a combined market value in the tens of billions of dollars, and his work is expanding to include public companies and elite sports teams. Before becoming an executive coach, Matt was an entrepreneur and company builder himself. He co-founded Turnstyle, a technology company that used WiFi data to help businesses better understand and engage customers. Turnstyle was acquired by Yelp in 2017. Matt later joined Founders Pledge, eventually serving as President and U.S. CEO. Founders Pledge is a global community of entrepreneurs who commit a portion of their personal proceeds from successful companies to charitable causes. The organization has now recorded more than $12.9 billion in charitable commitments, with more than $1.7 billion already deployed. Matt’s experience as both a founder and organizational leader gives his coaching a practical foundation rooted in the challenges executives encounter while building and scaling companies. Matt’s leadership approach draws from a wide range of disciplines, including negotiation, organizational behavior, communication, psychology, executive coaching, athletic performance, and personal development. He has studied approaches associated with the Harvard Negotiation Project, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Nonviolent Communication, the Conscious Leadership Group, the Co-Active Training Institute, and other leadership and coaching traditions. He also brings lessons from his own athletic background in college basketball, competitive golf, and endurance sports. Across these influences, his focus remains highly practical: helping leaders set clearer standards, handle difficult conversations, make better decisions, and create cultures capable of sustained high performance. Matt is the co-author, with executive coach John Baird, of the forthcoming Tough Enough: How to Lead a Team to Greatness Without Being a Jerk. The book challenges the idea that leaders must choose between demanding exceptional performance and treating people with humanity. Matt and John argue for a form of leadership that is firm, fair, respectful, and appropriately demanding. Drawing on decades of coaching founders, CEOs, and senior executives, they introduce seven leadership habits and a Toughness Spectrum designed to help leaders recognize when they need to push harder, when they need greater compassion, and how to maintain high standards without creating a destructive culture. Tough Enough is scheduled for publication by Basic Venture on September 29, 2026.

Nir Zavaro – Business Storyteller, Keynote Speaker and Author of F*ck the Slides: Creating A Winning Pitch Using Storytelling Techniques
And how to do the most important thing, understand that we do notcommunicate through data. We 1st and foremost communicate throughemotion. And then the experiences we had. And then we are able to read inbetween the lines, something AI is still incapable of doing. And we only lastlyuse data to convince us that what we feel is actually what is happening.
Nir Zavaro is a business storyteller, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, author, and creator of The Business Catcher, a methodology designed to help companies connect their brand, messaging, marketing, sales, and customer journey into a unified system. For more than 20 years, Nir has worked across sales, marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, and storytelling, helping founders, executives, and organizations communicate their value more clearly. Today, he works primarily with B2B enterprise and mid market companies and delivers keynotes and workshops around the world on storytelling, pitching, branding, marketing, and sales. He has spoken and taught in more than 30 countries. Nir began his career in sales and marketing, including the unusual challenge of selling snowboards in a country with roughly ten months of sunshine. He later worked as a marketing manager, brand manager, and CMO before founding Streetwise, his creative sales and marketing agency, in 2011. Streetwise grew into a seven figure agency and worked with hundreds of companies and brands in Israel and internationally. Nir has worked with organizations including Microsoft and Unilever, as well as startups, technology companies, accelerators, and entrepreneurs. His career has also included launching multiple businesses, creating a software platform, working with food and beverage ventures, and mentoring entrepreneurs through organizations such as Techstars and WeWork. Teaching has become another significant part of Nir’s career. Since 2014, he has taught branding, marketing, entrepreneurship, and venture creation at universities and colleges while also working directly with founders on their pitches and business stories. His approach is built around the idea that storytelling is not simply a presentation technique. It is a practical business skill that influences how customers understand a brand, how salespeople communicate value, how founders attract investors, and how organizations create emotional connections with their audiences. His current work through The Business Catcher focuses on identifying where brand, marketing, and sales have become disconnected and creating a clearer story that can be consistently used across the business. Nir is the author of Fck the Slides: Creating a Winning Pitch Using Storytelling Techniques*, published in November 2023. The book presents a four step methodology for developing compelling pitches before worrying about presentation design. Rather than beginning with slides, Nir teaches founders, salespeople, executives, and students to clarify the story, understand the audience, determine the desired response, and practice communicating the message effectively. He is also the author of two novels, making Fck the Slides* his third book. His broader message is that data and information may explain an idea, but people make decisions based on what they understand, remember, and feel. Better storytelling, therefore, is not merely about giving better presentations. It can become a measurable advantage in sales, fundraising, marketing, leadership, and business growth.Dr. Sherry Turkle –  Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT and Author of Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines
I mean, social media came after our attention and chatbots are comingafter our capacity for attachment. And that capacity for attachmentis the bedrock of our being human.
Sherry Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. A social scientist and licensed clinical psychologist, she has spent decades studying the psychological and cultural effects of technology and the evolving relationship between people and machines. Her work began during the early personal computer era and has expanded to examine online identity, mobile technology, social networking, sociable robots, and, most recently, generative artificial intelligence. She received a joint doctorate in sociology and personality psychology from Harvard University. Turkle is one of the most influential scholars examining how technology changes the way people think about themselves, communicate with one another, and form relationships. Her books include The Second Self, Life on the Screen, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, and the memoir The Empathy Diaries. Across this body of work, she has explored how digital technologies can expand human possibilities while also changing expectations around attention, conversation, empathy, solitude, and intimacy. Her research is particularly concerned with what happens when technologies designed to serve people begin to occupy roles previously filled by other human beings. Her forthcoming book, Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines, examines the rapidly growing use of artificial intelligence chatbots as companions, confidants, advisers, therapists, and even romantic partners. Turkle argues that the central question is not simply whether machines can convincingly simulate empathy or affection, but what happens to people when simulated intimacy begins to feel sufficient. She explores the appeal of AI companions that are always available, attentive, agreeable, and free of the demands that come with human relationships. At the same time, she warns that relying on machines for emotional connection may change our expectations of friendship, love, care, and empathy. The book is scheduled for publication by Little, Brown and Company on September 29, 2026. Turkle’s scholarship has earned numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship, and Harvard University’s Centennial Medal. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Through her research, writing, teaching, and public commentary, she continues to challenge audiences to think beyond what new technologies can do and consider what using them may encourage us to become. Her work on artificial intelligence extends a question she has pursued throughout her career: as our machines become more capable of imitating human behavior, how do we protect and strengthen the distinctly human capacities for conversation, empathy, relationships, and care?

DJ Self Born – CEO of G2 Productions and Author of SELF BORN: How I Made a Million Dollars as a DJ… And Built a System Anyone Can Use!
Nobody can find your success for you or give you yourhappiness so you you’ve got to lock it all down yourself.
Gregg Davis, professionally known as DJ Self Born, is a DJ, music producer, entrepreneur, author, and partner in G2 Productions with more than three decades of experience in music, nightlife, entertainment, and business. A native of Chicago who later established himself in Miami, he built his career through live performances, touring, music production, event creation, and ownership rather than relying on a single source of income. His career has included touring and performing alongside artists such as Wu-Tang Clan and Special Ed, producing music for Chicago hip hop group Abstract Mindstate, and creating a long running presence in Miami’s nightlife and entertainment community. DJ Self Born became particularly well known in Miami through Classic Sundays at Love/Hate Lounge in South Beach. After helping turn the event into one of the venue’s strongest nights, he eventually took over the location and developed the concept as what he called the world’s first DJ Bar. His work has also included serving as an official DJ and music coordinator connected with VH1’s Master of the Mix and providing music for corporate and entertainment events. As a producer, he later worked with Abstract Mindstate on the Kanye West produced album Dreams Still Inspire, providing scratches and contributing to the group’s creative work. Beyond music, Gregg has expanded his entrepreneurial experience into other industries. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Virtual Psychiatric Care, a telepsychiatry company founded by Pascale Davis, where he brings experience in operations, team management, brand development, and niche marketing. His current biography also identifies him as Vice President of Experience for MOORS Brewing Co. These roles reflect a broader philosophy that creative professionals should look beyond individual gigs and develop ownership, systems, partnerships, and business assets that can continue producing value over time. He is the author of SELF BORN: How I Made a Million Dollars as a DJ… And Built a System Anyone Can Use!, published by Self Born Music in 2026. Rather than presenting his career simply as a music memoir, the book uses more than 30 years of experience to explain how creative professionals can turn talent into a sustainable business. Gregg emphasizes controlling infrastructure, building direct relationships with customers and audiences, reducing dependence on outside platforms, developing multiple revenue streams, and moving from selling labor to creating leverage and ownership. His central message is especially relevant to entrepreneurs and creators who depend heavily on social media or other platforms they do not control: build the systems, audience relationships, and business assets that allow the career to survive even when the platform changes.Josh Troy – CEO of Curvion Blue
This is a class to teach you how to own a business. I’m the only one inthe entire classroom that already owns one. And so if you’re gonna failme because I’ve already done the thing that you’re trying to teach peopleand I have a successful business meeting, then you can go ahead andfail me. I’m not interested in your grade.
Josh Troy is the CEO of Curvion Blue, a revenue operations and sales infrastructure company that helps businesses build more predictable and scalable revenue engines. His work focuses on the systems underneath successful sales organizations, including CRM architecture, pipeline management, sales recruiting, training, performance management, outbound prospecting, artificial intelligence, and revenue analytics. Curvion Blue works with companies that already have demonstrated demand but need stronger infrastructure to scale efficiently. Rather than treating sales growth primarily as a matter of hiring better salespeople, Josh emphasizes building systems that allow good people to perform consistently. Josh began his entrepreneurial career in his early twenties when he launched a video marketing agency and built the business primarily through outbound prospecting. He later expanded into direct response marketing, paid acquisition, and high ticket sales, gaining experience with both outbound and inbound customer acquisition. Those experiences eventually shifted his attention away from individual sales tactics and toward the operating infrastructure that determines whether a sales organization can scale. He became particularly interested in CRM design, sales forecasting, compensation plans, performance measurement, recruiting, onboarding, and the management systems that make revenue less dependent on any one salesperson or founder. That focus ultimately led Josh into revenue operations and the company that became Curvion Blue. Josh and his team say they have hired and managed more than 1,000 sales representatives across a range of high ticket sales environments. His current work includes building sales teams, designing outbound operations, implementing CRM systems, developing management scorecards, improving sales compensation structures, and using AI powered call analysis to identify coaching opportunities and performance gaps. Curvion Blue also builds custom AI based revenue tools that analyze pipeline activity, customer interactions, rep performance, and conversion data while keeping human managers involved in the decision making process. A central theme in Josh’s approach is that companies often blame salespeople for problems that are actually caused by weak systems. When follow up is inconsistent, pipelines are poorly managed, managers lack useful data, or training depends on tribal knowledge, adding more salespeople may simply make the underlying problems larger. Josh teaches founders to look at sales as an operating system, measuring capacity, conversion, sales cycles, lead flow, rep development, and accountability together rather than as isolated numbers. His broader goal at Curvion Blue is to help companies create revenue organizations that can continue performing without requiring the founder or a single star salesperson to hold everything together.