School for Startups Radio

July 8, 2024 - CEO of Leadsales CRM for WhatsApp Roby Peñacastro and Trade School Entrepreneur Donald Booth

Roberto “Roby” Peñacastro – CEO and Founder of Leadsales
Roberto “Roby” Peñacastro, CEO and founder of Leadsales, is a passionate entrepreneur from Querétaro, México, with several years of experience driving national and multinational businesses. He is considered the go-to source when it comes to leadership and problem-solving, no matter what the challenges are. In 2019, while working at Google, he managed to identify an opportunity: conversational commerce by managing key accounts. These experiences paved the way for creating Leadsales, a specialized WhatsApp and social network CRM that helps you triple your sales.Donald Booth – CEO and Founder of American Institute of Nondestructive Testing (AINDT) – Trade School Owner
Donald Booth is the CEO/Founder of the American Institute of Nondestructive Testing (AINDT), BOOKU LLC Real Estate Investment, and CFO of Rich Coast Realty Group. As a business owner of AINDT, he provides top-tier global training to industry titans like SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and the US Navy while uplifting NDT professionals with a 93% job placement rate. Booth’s entrepreneurial prowess extends to his real estate endeavors.

July 3, 2024 - Marketing Superpowers Jon Davids and Lead Boldly Hugh Blane

Jon Davids – Founder of Influicity and Author of Marketing Superpowers: Build a brand so good that getting customers feels like magic
Jon Davids made $300K in college by figuring out one thing. How to hijack demand on the internet. And that skill changed my life. Let me rewind and tell you how it happened. 2004: I built an online magazine and monetized through digital ads. I ran it while in college and sold to a large publisher in 2009. 2011: I stumbled on the world of YouTube influencers and figured out how to use this emerging channel to drive millions in revenue for brands. This was a good start, but I had bigger plans. 2015: I launched Influicity, an early influencer marketing agency. Too early. It was a grind for the first while, but we found our groove. We work with clients like Toyota, Walmart, and Bank of America. 2023: Influicity serves client amazing brands across 7 countries. 2024: Releasing my first book, “Marketing Superpowers: Build a brand so good that your marketing feels like magic.” It’s a play-by-play on how to create a transformational brand from scratch. For the small business owner straight up to the Fortune 50 executive.Hugh Blane – President of Claris Consulting, Elite-Performance Coach, Leadership Transformation Expert, Acclaimed Author of Lead Boldly: How to Coach Others to Greatness
Hugh Blane is President of Claris Consulting. He is a nationally recognized business strategist hired to help organizations solve challenging business issues, strengthen personal and professional relationships, and execute on strategic initiatives with greater results. A subject-matter expert in leadership, team performance and influence, Hugh is a senior-level consultant who has worked with thousands of people in a wide variety of organizations including Nordstrom, Microsoft, Stanford University, Texas A & M in Qatar, Allied Waste, Spacelabs Medical, KPMG, Costco, Starbucks and the University of California in Riverside. Hugh Blane doesn’t claim to know everything about your business. He does claim however to know more than anyone about converting human potential into accelerated business results – that’s why his clients call him the Talent Alchemist. Hugh’s specialty is working with high potential employees as was recognized when he was selected as the exclusive coach for the prestigious Helen M. Young Fellowship at Pepperdine University. He is an adjunct faculty member at the School of Law and Entrepreneurship at Pepperdine University and has taught business literacy courses to homeless men and women through the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. He has also served on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Boys and Girls Club. Hugh is a serial entrepreneur and doesn’t shy away from reinventing himself. After eleven years as the CEO of his own financial consulting firm, Hugh reinvented himself when he was recruited to join renowned business author Tom Peters as a senior level consultant with The Tom Peters Company. After traveling to three continents, working in seven countries and forty-three states, Hugh left to become the youngest partner and consultant in the venerable consulting firm, the Effectiveness Institute. After seven years, Hugh recognized that it was time to reinvent himself again and he started Claris Consulting. Hugh and his family emigrated from Scotland to Canada, and then to Birmingham, Alabama in 1969 to escape financial hardship and begin their lives anew. The culture shock experienced upon his arrival in Birmingham six years after Bull Connor ordered the use of fire hoses and attack dogs, along with the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was profound. His commitment to organizational transformation came as a direct result of being witness to a chaotic time that changed the course of race relations in the United States. Hugh is the author of 7 Principles of Transformational Leadership: Create a Mindset of Passion, Innovation and Growth, and Mastering The Leadership Mindset. He has published over 650 articles and videos on leadership, influence and leadership communication. He is a Leadership Challenge Master Certified Facilitator, an Advanced Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coach, and a graduate of the Million Dollar Consulting College. Hugh once ran with the bulls in Pamplona and learned how not to get gored. He is happily married to Alyson and they love biking, traveling, wine and good food. They reside in the small beach community of Normandy Park, Washington with a Giant Schnauzer they rescued named Brooks. They’re still debating whether they rescued Brooks or if Brooks rescued them.

July 1, 2024 - 50 Startups! Risk Based Angel Paulo Andrez and Powerful Phrases Karin Hurt & David Dye

Paulo Andrez – Founder and Investor in 50 Companies and Author of Zero Risk Startup: The Ultimate Entrepreneur’s Guide to Mitigating Risks When Starting or Growing a Business
Paulo Andrez is author of the Amazon Bestselling book Zero Risk Startup: The Ultimate Entrepreneur’s Guide to Mitigating Risks When Starting or Growing a Business, is a serial entrepreneur who started his first business at age 18. He’s an experienced angel investor and venture capitalist who has personally founded and invested in over 50 companies and, through venture capital funds, has invested in more than 200 companies. Since 2005, he has counseled thousands of people worldwide in entrepreneurship-related topics. Governments have also benefited from his knowledge. Some countries he has provided consultation to include Estonia, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Turkey. Andrez graduated as an IT engineer from Nova University in Lisbon, Portugal, and he also has an MBA from the same university.
Karin Hurt and David Dye – Authors of Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict: What to Say Next to De-stress the Workday, Build Collaboration, and Calm Difficult Customers
Karin Hurt and David Dye help human-centered leaders find clarity in uncertainty, drive innovation, and achieve breakthrough results. As CEO and President of Let’s Grow Leaders, they are known for practical tools and leadership development programs that stick. Karin and David are the award-winning authors of six books including, Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers, and Customer Advocates and Powerful Phrases for Dealing With Workplace Conflict A former Verizon Wireless executive, Karin was named to Inc. Magazine’s list of great leadership speakers. David Dye is a former executive and elected official. Karin and David are committed to their philanthropic initiative, Winning Wells – building clean water wells for the people of Cambodia.

June 28, 2024 - Crash Course Angel Story Ricardo Jimenez and Scaling Altruism Donald Summers

Ricardo Jimenez – Founder, Angel investor and Author of Crash Course: A Founder’s Journey to Saving Your Startup and Sanity
Ricardo Jimenez is a Spanish-born author, entrepreneur, and active angel investor. Since 2014, he has invested in over fifty tech projects, including the Ethereum token launch. In recent years, he backed up the first electric aircraft designed for hydrogen propulsion in France, a gold mine in Paraguay, and a financial solution for Gen Z in the Middle East. Back in 2013, Ricardo and a partner launched the kids educational company for plush toys – Plushkies. They failed and learned a lot. This experience later became the foundation for his new book – Crash Course. It’s a book intended to serve as an emotional tool kit for founders, helping them better navigate the startup rollercoaster. He wrote from his personal experiences in entrepreneurship, investing, travel, meditation, and personal growth. He hopes to be a companion to founders in the noble yet often overwhelming pursuit of their dreams. He holds an MBA from Duke and am fluent in Spanish and English. He has traveled to sixty countries, visited the Seven Wonders of the World, spent six months at a meditation retreat in Uruguay, and he continue to spend several months every year at the Isha meditation center in Mexico. He enjoys kite surfing in Puerto Rico and motorbike riding the Texas back roads. He is a founding supporter of “Yo Elijo”, a non-for-profit that supports children and families in socio-economic stress in Colombia by offering them a different path in their lives. He currently lives in Puerto Rico and Barcelona.Donald Summers – Founder & CEO of Altruist Partners and Author of Scaling Altruism: A Proven Pathway for Accelerating Nonprofit Growth and Impact – Running a Non-Profit like a For-Profit
Donald Summers is the Founder & CEO of Altruist Partners, a global advisory firm for nonprofits and social enterprises. He and his firm have led over one hundred successful nonprofit and social enterprise accelerations from the local to the global level in the fields of education, human services, health, environmental reform, and public media.Altruist has helped hundreds of mission-driven organizations around the world solve their toughest challenges, generate hundreds of millions in new revenue and capital, strengthen their boards, staff and volunteer teams, and deliver some of today’s most important social change efforts. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard University.

June 26, 2024 - AI Tech for Upskilling Ruban Phukan and Listening Expert Michael Reddington

Ruban Phukan – Co-Founder and CEO of GoodGist Inc
Ruban Phukan has over two decades of pioneering work in AI, Machine Learning, Information Retrieval, Search, Visualization, and Conversational User Interfaces. He is driven by a quest for problem-solution-fit in the enterprise and consumer world, believing deeply in the importance of understanding hard problems thoroughly to devise fitting solutions, regardless of their complexity. Currently as the co-founder and CEO of GoodGist Inc, a Generative AI startup for Upskilling and Research, Ruban is tackling the pressing challenges of scaling corporate skill development with an AI-Coach and mitigating information overload with an AI-Research-Assistant. Through a groundbreaking Learning & Research Intelligence Platform, which boasts patent-pending technology, GoodGist.com is poised to revolutionize corporate training and information research, potentially saving trillions of dollars lost to productivity and skill gaps. Ruban’s journey in the tech world began as one of the inaugural data scientists at Yahoo, where he collaborated closely with co-founder David Filo and the senior management team to leverage data in addressing complex business problems. His entrepreneurial spirit then led him to co-found Bixee.com, India’s first vertical search engine, employing patented technology that caught the attention of the Naspers Group. The acquisition facilitated the expansion of Bixee’s travel vertical into Goibibo, solidifying its position as India’s second-largest travel destination, eventually merging into market leader MakeMyTrip. Continuing his entrepreneurial journey, Ruban co-founded DataRPM, an enterprise that introduced AI to Industrial IoT with its patented Natural Language Question Answering technology, serving esteemed clients like GE, Samsung, Siemens, Jaguar Land Rover, and more, until its acquisition by Progress Software. Beyond his professional achievements, Ruban nurtures a passion for photography and writing. He loves traveling and cherishing moments with his family.Michael Reddington – President of InQuasive, Inc and Author of The Disciplined Listening Method: How A Certified Forensic Interviewer Unlocks Hidden Value in Every Conversation
Michael Reddington is a Certified Forensic Interviewer, executive resource, President of InQuasive, Inc. and the author of The Disciplined Listening Method. As a Certified Forensic Interviewer, he achieved the highest professional designation available in the field of interview and interrogation. Michael spent over a decade training investigators around the world on the successful application of non-confrontational interview and interrogation techniques, earning the Outstanding Contribution Award from Homeland Security along the way. Michael transitioned from educating investigators to educating executives after his research and experience unlocked two key realizations. First, the best leaders and interrogators capitalize on the same two core skills – vision and influence. Second, the cognitive processes that lead customers to commit to saying “I’ll buy it”, employees to commit to saying “I’ll do it” and suspects to commit to truthfully saying “I did it” are all nearly identical. These realizations drove Michael to develop the Disciplined Listening Method by integrating current business communication research and best practices with the most successful non-confrontational interview and interrogation techniques. The resulting educational content represents a new and in-depth approach to applying strategic, ethical observation and persuasion techniques across the spectrum of business conversations. Michael has been invited by companies, government agencies and executive groups to facilitate his programs across the United States, Canada, The United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He has led over 1,500 programs and educated over 15,000 participants from over 50 countries. He teaches participants to activate the truth in the areas of leadership communication, sales, negotiation, candidate interviews, and beyond. CEO’s, executive teams, sales leaders, and Human Resources leaders all rely on Michael to teach them the skills, techniques and perspectives necessary to encourage people to share sensitive information, under vulnerable circumstances, and in the face of consequences. Michael’s insights have been featured in over 100 articles and interviews in outlets including Forbes, Fast Company, Authority Magazine, Newsweek, and beyond. He has guest lectured at over a dozen universities including Harvard, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business, Cornell, DePaul Legal Clinic, and the University of San Diego. Michael’s book, The Disciplined Listening Method: How A Certified Forensic Interviewer Unlocks Hidden Value In Every Conversation, was published on Per Capita press in 2022 and represents a thoroughly researched and illustrated approach for enhancing leaders’ strategic observation and persuasive communication skill sets. Additionally, Michael serves as the host of I See What You’re Saying: The Disciplined Listening Podcast where he interviews wide array of guests to explore the process of communication from often surprising angles. Michael goes well beyond facilitating and advising. He applies customized content specifically designed to meet the needs of each participant with a humorous and intelligent delivery style. His diligent preparation, attention to each participant’s concerns, and added context coalesce to drive home the learning objectives. With Michael it’s never a presentation, seminar, or advisory session, it’s always an experience.

June 24, 2024 - New Kitchen Appliance Christina Bellman and WSJ Cartoonist Contact Marketing Stu Heinecke

Christina Bellman – Founder and CEO of Levo Oil
Christina Bellman’s journey is one of remarkable transformation and entrepreneurial spirit. A corporate dropout with no prior engineering background, in 2016 Chrissy defied the odds by turning a random idea into the revolutionary LĒVO, the world’s first oil infuser with multiple use cases. Breaking new ground in the kitchen appliance industry, LĒVO created a brand new category, much like air fryers did, offering consumers a unique and innovative way to infuse oils with herbs, spices, or fruits. Despite initial doubts and criticism, Chrissy’s perseverance and vision paid off, propelling LĒVO into an 8-figure business. Chrissy’s story is a testament to the power of determination and innovation, proving that with creativity and drive, even the craziest ideas can become groundbreaking realities. Her 30 trips to China as part of her entrepreneurial journey highlight her commitment to bringing LĒVO’s vision to life on a global scale. Chrissy has created a new category in the kitchen appliance industry, similar to air fryers, offering consumers an innovative way to infuse oils with herbs, vegetables, spices, fruits, and more! Chrissy has grown the company into an 8-figure business, with products now available in major retailers such as Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and Urban Outfitters.Stu Heinecke – Bestselling author of How to Get a Meeting with Anyone: The Untapped Selling Power of Contact Marketing and How to Grow Your Business Like a Weed: A Complete Strategy for Unstoppable Growth
Stu Heinecke is a bestselling business author, marketer and Wall Street Journal cartoonist. His first book, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone, introduced the concept of Contact Marketing and was named one of the top 64 sales books of all time. His latest release, How to Grow Your Business Like a Weed, lays out a complete model for explosive business growth, based on the strategies, attributes and tools weeds use to grow, expand, dominate and defend their turf. He is a twice-nominated hall of fame marketer, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center author-in-residence, and was named the “Father of Contact Marketing” by the American Marketing Association.

June 21, 2024 - CIA to CEO Rupal Patel and (Religious) Executive Search William Vanderbloemen

Rupal Patel – Founder of Entreprenora and Author of From CIA to CEO: Unconventional Life Lessons for Thinking Bigger, Leading Better, and Being Bolder
My job at the CIA was in many ways even cooler then people wouldimagine it to be. It’s an incredible place full of some really smart peopledoing really groundbreaking work. No one fit a mold. 
Rupal Patel’s high-octane career has taken her from military briefing rooms in jungles and war zones to corporate boardrooms and international stages. During her thrilling career as an analyst and field agent at the CIA, she advised Four-Star Generals, earned War Zone Service Medals, and was recognized by the CIA Director for “superior support to the President of the United States.” After leaving the CIA, she earned her MBA and started her first award-winning business over a decade ago. Called a “Power Woman” by Harper’s Bazaar Magazine and a “super-strategist” by her clients, Rupal is a sought-after international speaker, corporate consultant, and executive advisor who has spoken in front of thousands and delivered leadership and talent development programs for Fortune 500 companies around the globe and the White House. Her trailblazing work has been incorporated into the MBA and Executive MBA programs at elite business schools across the US and UK where she serves as visiting faculty, and has been featured in USA Today, Business Insider, and other prominent media outlets. In 2023, Rupal was named “One of the Most Influential Women of the Year.” Her commitment to developing the next generation of leaders and change-makers extends into her pro bono work for Virgin Startup, and through her roles as Entrepreneur in Residence at London Business School and Alumni in Residence at the University of Chicago. She is the author of the international best-seller From CIA to CEO: Unconventional Life Lessonsfor Thinking Bigger, Leading Better, and Being Bolder, which has been translated into multiple languages and been hailed as an “essential manual for entrepreneurs” and “one of the best business books,” and and her TED talk explores the power of “owning your weird” to unleash personal excellence.William Vanderbloemen – Founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group and Author of Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest
Speed! Responsiveness or speed, the bias toward getting back to peoplereally quickly, is an easy separator of the best from the from the rest. Ifwithin 60 seconds of a lead coming in to a website, if you respond personallyand intentionally, you have a 99% chance of having a sales call with that client.
William Vanderbloemen has been leading the Vanderbloemen Search Group for 15 years, where they are regularly retained to identify the best talent for teams, manage succession planning, and consult on all issues regarding teams. This year, Vanderbloemen will complete their 3,000th executive search. Prior to founding Vanderbloemen Search Group, William studied executive search under a mentor with 25+ years of executive search at the highest level. His learning taught him the very best corporate practices, including the search strategies used by the internationally known firm Russell Reynolds. Prior to that, William served as a Senior Pastor at one of the largest Presbyterian Churches in the United States.

June 19, 2024 - Möve Marketing Kaitlyn Merola and Xero SMB Accounting Ben Richmond

Kaitlyn Merola – CEO and Founder of Möve Marketing
Möve serves B2B tech startups first and foremost. Is our ICP, that iswho we go after, that is who we serve and that has always been thebackbone, staying within startups. All of our employees are fully remote.Some of the people on my team I have yet to meet in person.
Kaitlyn Merola is the CEO and Founder of Möve Marketing. She is a renowned marketing leader and expert in demand generation, customer experience optimization, and revenue growth acceleration. With over a decade of driving success through data-driven strategies, she offers a wealth of actionable insights for businesses across B2B, B2C, SaaS, and SMB markets. As a master of marketing operations, Kaitlyn seamlessly orchestrates user experience architectures, marketing automation tools, CRM systems, and multi-channel campaigns. Her extensive expertise spans lead generation, lead nurturing, content marketing, SEO, SEM/PPC, account-based marketing, social media strategies, and multimedia campaigns. Kaitlyn’s passion lies in shaping holistic marketing approaches that seamlessly align sales and marketing efforts for a consistent, exceptional customer experience.Ben Richmond – Country Manager at Xero
The biggest thing I hear is that ‘its easy to use and I actuallyknow how my business is doing, which means I’m am confident to grow.’
Ben Richmond is a Country Manager at Xero. Xero is a powerful all-in-one financial solution for your business. Because it is Cloud based, you can use Xero to work with your accountant, bookkeeper, or employees, even if you’re on opposite sides of the world. Ben Richmond started with the company in New Zealand, its home market, and came to the states to bring big power to small businesses. Ben has been recognized by CPA Practice Advisor as a “20 Under 40 Influencer” and was named Accounting Today’s “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.”

June 17, 2024 - Student AI Shayan Khanlarbeik and Connecting Potential Pam August

Shayan Khanlarbeik – Co-Founder of Mindgrasp – AI for Students 
The most common use of the Mindgrasp platform is students using it as atutor, helping them understand a lecture. It can create analogies for youand explain things to you. One user asked the platform to explain a lectureas if it was from SpongeBob. It was incredible. Or you can generate reportsbased on Zoom meetings.
Shayan Khanlarbeik, born and raised in Maryland, stayed close to his roots and pursued the pre-dental track at the University of Maryland. During his senior year of undergraduate education and entering into his gap year, he discovered a strong passion for entrepreneurship and leadership that was facilitated by his cultural competency, ability to communicate with others and project management skills. Developing a strong understanding of machine learning through his first year as a co-founder of Mindgrasp, Khanlarbeik leads the team as COO. Mindgrasp AI, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) learning assistant for students and professionals, launched in 2021 out of the Maryland Innovation Center. Mindgrasp AI reads, listens and watches uploads to create notes, summaries, flashcards and quizzes. This model has enabled more than 500,000 registered users to save time, learn faster and improve memorization and comprehension skills. The educational technology software is trusted by students from esteemed education institutions across the U.S. as well as post-grad professionals.Pam August – Founder of Connecting Potential and Author of Potential: How to Connect What’s Already There for Exponential Impact
Breathing is the only automatic body process that is done unconsciously,but we can also do consciously.
Pam August guides organizations, teams, and leaders to unlock the potential that is already there for transformational results. She was the director of culture activation at WestJet, one of Canada’s most admired corporate cultures, where for fourteen years she was a fierce champion and developer of people and culture as a key enabler of strategic success. Today, she is a trusted partner for high-performance organizations around the world through her firm, Connecting Potential. With deep and diverse experience, she knows what it takes to uncover, align, and activate the best of what organizations already offer and what they can develop into. Pam is a sought-after speaker, facilitator, coach, and cocreator with a strong foundation of lifelong learning. She has a Bachelor of Adult Education, a Master of Arts in Leadership, and is certified as an Organization and Relationships Systems (ORSC) and brain-based coach. Pam takes pleasure in solving tricky problems, listening deeply, learning always, and laughing—a lot.

June 14, 2024 - Eating Her Baconator Alexandra Watkins and E&Y Winner Larry Gaynor

Alexandra Watkins – Famous Brand Name Creator – Named the Baconator for Wendy’s and Author of Hello, My Name Is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick
I named the Wendy’s Baconator. It is so famous that it has its own Wikipedia page,it was recently an answer on Jeopardy and it was an answer in a New York Timescrossword puzzle.
Alexandra Watkins is the leading and outspoken authority on brand names with buzz. If you have ever eaten a Wendy’s Baconator, you have literally eaten her words. For nearly 20 years, she and her naming firm, Eat My Words, have created love-at-first sight brand names for countless startups and companies including Amazon, Coca-Cola, Disney, Twitter, and Google. Her own “Name Hall of Fame” includes frozen yogurt franchise Spoon Me, the robotic vacuum Neato, and education startup Headrush. The vertical farming company she named Plenty was recently named one of Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Companies. Alexandra is a former Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Author in Residence. Her breakthrough creativity book, Hello, My Name is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick, was named a Top 10 Marketing Book by Inc. Magazine and Branding Journal.Larry Gaynor – Founder & CEO @ TNG Worldwide, Amazon Top200 Beauty Reseller, Best-Selling Author of Take a Chance!: 101 Entrepreneurial Lessons for Making It Big – Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner
Unless you have the most phenomenal product, you will go broke selling through atraditional retailer. Everybody is allowed to sell on Amazon, no requirements, noapplication. Just put your product on the platform and see what happens. Do theyhave fees? Yes. Do they have policies? Yes. It is the most democratic retailer to dobusiness with. They are going to overtake Walmart as the biggest retailer next year.
Larry Gaynor is author of Take a Chance!: 101 Entrepreneurial Lessons for Making It Big. He is the founder and CEO of TNG Worldwide, the beauty-product supplier whose best-selling signature brands include ForPro Professional Collection and Ginger Lily Farms. TNG manufactures more than 1,000 products in several countries and launches between 50 and 100 new products annually. Since establishing TNG Worldwide in 1985 as a distributor of beauty products, he has shifted the company to a manufacturing role, and it is now recognized as among the top-selling names in the beauty industry. TNG manufactures in over 75 factories. Gaynor has won numerous awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. His business was named a Detroit Free Press Top Workplace five years in a row, from 2013 to 2017.