School for Startups Radio

September 23, 2025 - Obstacles to Opportunity Pat Alacqua and Go Giver Bob Burg

Pat Alacqua – CEO of Blue Magnet Partners and Author of Obstacles to Opportunity: Transforming Business Challenges into Triumphs
Growth is not scale. Don’t mistake the two. Scale is capacity, not chaos,and start building scale early, because you run out of hustle at some point.
Pat Alacqua is a seasoned business growth strategist who has built his own successful businesses and helped others achieve exponential growth. He founded the Entrepreneur to Enterprise Program to share his wealth of experience and guide leaders on their journey. His new book is Obstacles to Opportunity: Transforming Business Challenges into Triumphs – Stories and Strategies from Leaders Who’ve Mastered It.  A renowned business growth strategist, Pat founded the Entrepreneur to Enterprise Program and created the 3Cs Process to Faster Results. With expertise in anticipating development needs and overcoming challenges, Pat cultivates leadership skills and disciplined processes to help entrepreneurs, emerging leaders, and executives grow exponentially.Bob Burg – Keynote Speaker, Co-Founder and Coauthor of The Go-Giver Influencer: A Little Story About a Most Persuasive Idea
Shifting your focus from getting to giving – constantly and consistently providing value to others – is not only a nice way to live life, but a very financially profitable way as well.
Bob Burg shares how a subtle shift in focus is not only a more uplifting and fulfilling way of conducting business but the most financially profitable way, as well. For more than 30 years he has helped companies, sales leaders, and their teams to more effectively communicate their value, sell at higher prices with less resistance, and grow their businesses based on Endless Referrals. Bob has regularly addressed audiences ranging in size from 50 to 16,000 — sharing the platform with notables including today’s top thought leaders, broadcast personalities, Olympic athletes and political leaders including a former United States President. Although for years he was best known for his book Endless Referrals, it’s his business parable, The Go-Giver (coauthored with John David Mann) that captured the imagination of his readers. The Go-Giver, a Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek Bestseller, has sold well over a million copies. Since its release, it has consistently stayed in the Top 25 on Porchlight’s (formerly 800-CEO-READ) Business Book Bestsellers List. The book has been translated into 30 languages. It was rated #10 on Inc. Magazine’s list of the Most Motivational Books Ever Written, and was on HubSpot’s 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time. Bob is the author of a number of books on sales, referrals, influence, persuasion, and people skills, with total book sales exceeding two million copies. Bob is an advocate, supporter and defender, of the Free Enterprise system, believing that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve. He is also an unapologetic animal fanatic and serves as part of a South Florida rescue, foster, and adoption organization.

September 22, 2025 – Finance Expert Stefanie O’Connell, I Need A VA Brittany Bettini andEnlightened Entrepreneur Corey Poirier

Stefanie O’Connell – Personal finance expert, featured on The Today Show, ABC World News, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more
My strategy is a time in the market is better than timing the market.
In a time when traditional savings accounts are offering less incentives to younger generations, new research shows that Bitcoin (BTC) is emerging as a frontrunner in how Millennials and Gen Z approach wealth building—and older generations may be missing out. To address this shifting landscape, Uphold is launching easyBitcoin, a seamless way to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin.  Built for simplicity, transparency, and trust, it’s designed to bring crypto into the comfort zone for all, especially Gen Xers navigating a rapidly evolving financial future. According to recent research, many younger people are turning to Bitcoin instead of traditional savings. Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez is a nationally recognized personal finance expert, author, and speaker, known for empowering individuals—especially women and millennials—to achieve financial independence. She’s been featured on The Today Show, ABC World News, Bloomberg, and CNBC, and is widely respected for making complex financial topics relatable and actionable. She brings deep insight into the behavioral trends shaping modern money decisions.Brittany Bettini – CEO of I Need A VA
My main focus and my life revolves around I Need a VA. It’s what reallygets me excited about life, and so I’ve decided to quit chasing shinyobjects and really just double down on what I know best
Brittany Bettini is an award-winning entrepreneur, writer, and philanthropist from Asheville, North Carolina. She is the founder and CEO of I Need A VA, Bettini Financial, and Bettini Business Academy. Over the last six years, Brittany has been the On-Site Chief Of Operations for her family’s company, Clean Streak Incorporated. Her multiple businesses have been nominated for and received numerous awards, including four consecutive Henderson County NC Chamber of Commerce’s highest growth awards from 2018-2021. Brittany was named as one of Business North Carolina Magazine’s 2021 Small Business Trailblazers and received the 2021 Henderson County Athena Award nomination. Brittany is an esteemed member of the Forbes Business Council. She has written articles that have appeared in numerous publications, including Forbe’s magazine, Yahoo Finance, Entrepreneur magazine, MarketWatch, USA Today, and many others. Since escaping a decade-long domestic violence situation in 2017, Brittany has become a fierce advocate for battered women. In 2022 she helped raise over four hundred thousand dollars for the domestic violence shelter where she and her children were once visitors. Brittany currently spends her days coaching small business owners in the art of rapid growth using virtual staff, press, and all of the other tools she has picked up along her entrepreneurial journey.
Corey Poirier – Speaker, Podcaster and Author of The Enlightened Passenger
The question of how important is it to step outside your comfort zone? Ithink it’s everything. I think it is one of those transformational game changers.
Corey Poirier is a multiple-time TEDx Speaker and was recently announced as one of just 15 SUCCESS Magazine Emerging Entrepreneurs (a first-time award). He is also the host of the top-rated ‘Let’s Do Influencing’ Radio Show, founder of the growing bLU Talks brand, and has been featured in multiple television specials. He is a Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Apple Books, and Kobo Bestselling Author, Award Winning Author, and the co-author of the Wall Street Journal / USA Today Bestseller, Quitless. A columnist with Entrepreneur and Forbes magazine, he has interviewed over 6,500 of the world’s top leaders, including everyone from Ken Honda, Lisa Nichols, Dr. Shefali, Deepak Chopra, Tommy Chong, , Neale Donald Walsch, Marie Diamond, and Kristina Mänd-Lakniahi, and he has spoken on-site at Harvard, Columbia, MIT, UCLA, Stanford, and more recently to Microsoft team leaders and at Kyle Wilson’s Inner Circle retreat which has featured everyone from Brian Tracy to Mark Victor Hansen to Phil Collen (Def Leppard). Also appearing on the popular Evan Carmichael YouTube Channel, he is a New Media Summit Icon of Influence, was recently listed as the # 5 Influencer in Entrepreneurship by Thinkers 360, and listed on the 2021 Brainz CREA Global Awards as an honouree, and he is a Humanitarian Hero Award Nominee, Entrepreneur of the Year Nominee, Champion Award nominee, and to demonstrate his versatility, a Rock Recording of the Year Nominee who has performed stand-up comedy more than 700 times, including an appearance at the famed Second City.

September 19, 2025 – Smootheeze Ross Nelson and Lewis Howes

Ross Nelson – Founder of Smootheeze
After about five months, we crossed six figures in revenue. And so it was a great milestone, and just validation that people continue to buy after that.
Ross Nelson is the Founder of Smootheeze, I am passionate about transforming the way people prepare and enjoy smoothies. Our innovative silicone freezer trays make it easy to prep, freeze, and blend fresh ingredients, ensuring delicious, nutritious smoothies every time. Before founding Smootheeze, I had a dynamic career in marketing and video production Beyond my professional life, I have a deep love for music. I studied trumpet and tuba in college and expanded my skills to include guitar and piano. My journey in music production includes producing albums, live recordings, and composing for film and television advertising. A highlight was producing live albums on the 2004 Pixies reunion tour. Now, with Smootheeze, I am excited to bring my expertise in marketing, video production, and storytelling to the health and wellness industry, helping people lead healthier lives with ease and convenience.Lewis Howes – Top Podcaster and Author of The School of Greatness: A Real-World Guide to Living Bigger, Loving Deeper, and Leaving a Legacy
Adversity can either break us or have us break through and it’s ourchoice on how we want to move through it.
Lewis Howes is an online marketing expert, sought-after business coach, podcast and webinar host, speaker, and angel investor. He is the host of “The School of Greatness” podcast. He was recognized in a 2013 White House ceremony by President Obama as one of the top 100 entrepreneurs in the country under age 30.  Lewis is a lifestyle entrepreneur that teaches small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs how to make a full time living doing what they love. Most of his students make 6 and 7 figures a year by applying basic online marketing principles to growing their business. He started out playing professional football then transitioned into the business world. Since then he has written a number of books, invested and advised start ups, built a multi million dollar company and sold it for 7 figures. The School of Greatness podcast reaches 650,000 people monthly and frequently is listed in the top 50 on iTunes each month.

September 18, 2025 – Working w King Charles & High End Clothing Empire Federico Marchetti and Lisa Lindahl

Federico Marchetti – Member of the Board of Trustees at Circular Bioeconomy Alliance
The most important thing is take courage. Take risks, because if you don’t take risks, it would be impossible to be lucky. I was very lucky, but simply because I took so many risks, and most of the times it went well.
Federico Marchetti took a few million dollar investment from Benchmark, a venture capital firm, in early 2000 and turned it into YOOX Net-a-Porter Group. This was later sold to Cartier’s parent company, Richemont, in a $6 billion transaction value. Marchetti found his own recipe for success by combining Silicon Valley hard skills with Italian creativity and humanism. His approach to business harkens back to this Italian DNA, and yet Marchetti helped bring fashion into the 21st century by building Italy’s first unicorn, in a country lacking digital infrastructure and tech culture. Marchetti’s story unfolds against a backdrop of European vistas, Milan, Lake Como, Venice, and England’s Royal Palaces. His journey starts with a challenging Italian childhood, and hits on many of the most significant moments in international business over the past decades—from working in the Twin Towers to studying at Columbia Business School and launching a start-up right before the dotcom bubble. Along the way he meets the who’s who of technology from Jeff Bezos to Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Marchetti sits on the Armani board of directors as the only non-family member, attends the catwalk shows, and co-invests in the movies of Luca Guadagnino. From the glamorous party thrown with Anna Wintour to the dazzling coronation of King Charles III—where he sits on another type of front row as the only Italian invited alongside the President of the Republic of Italy—The Geek of Chic is as inspiring as it is entertaining, filled with doses of style, surreal situations, unexpected happenings, and ‘sliding door’ moments.
Lisa Lindahl – Sports Bra Inventor and Book Author of Unleash the Girls
The whole idea started as a joke… my sister said, ‘Why isn’t there a jock strap for women?’ And when I hung up the phone, I thought, this is not such a silly idea.
Lisa Z. Lindahl invented the first-ever sports bra, the “Jogbra”, in 1977 as a game-changer, evolutionizing athletic participation for women and girls and building a million-dollar business around it. She is an accomplished public speaker, writer, problem sighter and solver with knack for niche marketing and special focus on vision and planning, specializing in women-related issues. Along with being inducted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Smithsonian’s Innovate Lives series this spring in March, Lisa has detailed her life in her new book, Unleash the Girls, telling her deeply personal and improbable story of a young artist with a disability who solved a vexing problem and ended up leveling the playing field for girls and women across the globe.

September 17, 2025 – Principal Amen Rahh and Justin Harbinger

Amen Rahh – Founder/CEO at Knowlej and Author of  Revolutionary School Culture: The 6 Principles of Unlocking Your School’s Hidden Treasure
I was graduating 100% of my students year over year for three yearsstraight, and I have one student who was homeless and in foster care…he needed $400 to get from California to Alabama to pay for his ticket.He tried to hustle the money up on the streets, and before he could getthe money the streets took his life. If Knowledge was around and wasthriving, he would still be here today.
Amen Mandela Rahh is known as the Revolutionary Principal for how he has built and founded University Pathways Public Service Academy “The U” an urban public school in South Central Los Angeles. Principal Rahh distinguished himself in the classroom and as an educational change agent. As a middle school teacher in Watts, CA, he was selected as the turnaround teacher which ultimately helped him obtain his position as dean of students. As a principal, he founded one of the most highly-regarded schools in the area by students and parents. Currently, Principal Rahh is one of the most engaging speakers for transforming the way schools serve their at-promise student populations in America. He is a published author of a chapter he wrote in the book titled Restorative Practices Meets Social Justice as well as his debut book Revolutionary School Culture: The 6 Principles of unlocking your School’s Hidden Treasure. He is also the recipient of many educational, professional and community awards. He was born and raised from Compton, California in which he takes pride in saying. Amen received Associates Degree from Compton Community College, his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Black Studies, from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. He holds two Master’s Degrees in Education and in Special Education from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. Amen is a certified trainer of trainers in Restorative Justice by the Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP). Amen began his Professional career as a Special Education Assistant.Jordan Harbinger – Creator of The Jordan Harbinger Show
Really, the best way to express confidence is to be confident, and the bestway to be confident is to change your personality and internalize the conceptsthat make it possible for you to communicate confidence.
Jordan Harbinger has always had an affinity for Social Influence, Interpersonal Dynamics and Social Engineering, helping private companies test the security of their communications systems and working with law enforcement agencies before he was even old enough to drive. Jordan has spent several years abroad in Europe and the developing world, including South America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and speaks several languages. He has also worked for various governments and NGOs overseas, traveled through war-zones and been kidnapped -twice. He’ll tell you; the only reason he’s still alive and kicking is because of his ability to talk his way into (and out of), just about any type of situation. At The Art of Charm, Jordan shares that experience, and the system borne as a result, with students and clients. Jordan’s business sense, extensive knowledge of the industry and contemporary approach to teaching make him one of the best and most sought after coaches in the world.

September 16, 2025 – Coaster Force Scott Schaffer

Scott Schaffer – Founder of Upstop Media and Videographer of Coaster Force
Constant content that people are interested and engaged with, I wouldsay is the best way to put it… The more consistent you are, and the moreYouTube recognizes that, the more YouTube pushes your content, andthen the more viewers you get, the more subscribers you get, and themore money you end up making.
Scott owns Upstop Media, which is a video production company that specializes in the amusement/theme park industry. His clients include RMC, Zamperla, Ride Entertainment, SNL, HGTV, the Travel Channel, IAAPA, Holiday World and Fun Spot America. He joined CoasterForce in 2018 as Content Creator, but has been working with East Coast(er) General since they first met at Silver Dollar City’s Outlaw Run media days in 2013. Specializing in on-ride videography, it’s no wonder that Jerry asked Scott to help him with filming for CoasterForce, an offer which Scott gladly accepted. In addition to our common roller coaster hobby, Scott is also an executive bourbon steward with an impressive collection of the American whiskey.

September 15, 2025 - AI Sales Role Playing Kelvin Johnson and Likeable Dave Kerpin

Kelvin Johnson – CEO of Brevity and Author of The Sales Trap Prevention Playbook
In essence, a lot of people believe that practice makes perfect. We don’t believe that. At Brevity, we believe perfect practice makes perfect.
Kelvin Johnson is a leader and sales expert who founded Brevity. He is CEO and can speak about many topics such as leadership and his philosophy about starting a successful company. Brevity, a Twin Cities-based company backed by seven institutional investors, uses Al-Driven Role Play platform helping sales teams improve revenue performance.Dave Kerpen – Serial Entrepreneur – Cofounder and coCEO of Apprentice – Chairman of Likeable.com – New York Times Best-Selling Author of The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want
One of the things that has helped me be as successful as I have… iscreating an advisory board for yourself. Anyone can create an advisoryboard for anything, it’s just a matter of figuring out who you haveconnected with over the years that can be helpful to you, giving thema call, asking them for help… and tapping into their incredible resources,intelligence and network.
Dave Kerpen is a serial entrepreneur and New York Times Best Selling Author. He is the cofounder and coCEO of Apprentice, a platform that connects entrepreneurs with bright, hard working college students; the Chairman of Likeable Local, a social media software company serving thousands of small businesses, and the chairman and cofounder of Likeable Media, an award-winning social media and content marketing agency for big brands. Likeable Media is the only 3-time WOMMY Award winner for excellence from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and one of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the US according to INC Magazine for 4 consecutive years. Dave has been featured on the Today Show, CNBC’s “On the Money”, BBC, ABC World News Tonight, the CBS Early Show, the New York Times, and countless blogs. He has also keynoted at dozens of conferences across the globe including Singapore, Athens, Dubai, San Francisco, Cologne, Toronto, Bangkok, and Mexico City. He is also the New York Times bestselling writer of Likeable Social Media, Likeable Business, and Likeable Leadership. His newest book, The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want, is out now.

September 12, 2025 - Venture for Canada Scott Stirrett and Network Star Graham Hancock

Scott Stirrett – Founder and CEO of Venture for Canada and Author of The Uncertainty Advantage: Launching Your Career in an Era of Rapid Change
Self compassion is a really important part of navigating uncertainty…adaptability means not setting really rigid plans for yourself, but beingguided by your values and your life mission.
Scott Stirrett’s mission is to help people reach their full potential. As the Founder and CEO of Venture for Canada (VFC), he built a national movement that equips early-career professionals with the skills, networks, and mindset needed to thrive in an uncertain economy. Since launching VFC in 2013, he has helped 10,000 young people launch their careers and raised more than $80 million in funding to expand entrepreneurial opportunities. Scott is also the author of The Uncertainty Advantage, a guide for young professionals navigating today’s unpredictable global economy. Leading figures such as Andrew Yang, Stephen Poloz, Amanda Lang, Eric Ries, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, and Michele Romanow endorse the book, which draws from his experience scaling VFC and emphasizes adaptability, entrepreneurial thinking, and lifelong learning as critical skills for the future of work.Graham Hancock – Author of Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth’s Lost Civilization
We are a species with amnesia… an advanced civilization existed duringthe Ice Age and was destroyed by a cataclysmic event 12,800 years ago.
Graham Hancock’s multi-million bestseller “Fingerprints of the Gods” remains an astonishing, deeply controversial, wide-ranging investigation of the mysteries of our past and the evidence for Earth’s lost civilization. Twenty years on, Graham returns with the sequel to his seminal work filled with completely new, scientific and archaeological evidence, which has only recently come to light. In the early 1980’s, he was the East Africa correspondent for The Economist, writing about wars, politics, and economics. But in 1983, he made his first visit to Axum in northern Ethiopia, then in the midst of a war zone, and found himself in the presence of an ancient monk outside a little chapel in the grounds of the cathedral of Saint Mary of Zion. The monk told him that the chapel was the sanctuary of the Ark of the Covenant and that he was the guardian of the Ark, the most sacred relic of the Bible, supposedly lost since Old Testament times. What he said seemed ludicrous, but for some reason, it intrigued Graham. In 1992, he published “The Sign and the Seal: A Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant,” his first full-fledged investigation of a historical mystery. In 1995, the publication of “Fingerprints of the Gods” looked specifically into the mysteries of the Great Sphinx of Giza and why many ancient sites in all parts of the globe replicate the patterns of constellations on the ground and are aligned to important celestial events. His new book, “Magicians of the Gods,” presents all the new evidence that has emerged since 1995 for a great lost civilization of prehistoric antiquity and for the global cataclysm that destroyed that civilization almost 13,000 years ago. His TED talk “The War on Consciousness” was deleted from the TED YouTube channel on grounds that TED itself later admitted to be spurious. TED, however, refused to restore the talk to its YouTube channel resulting in dozens of pirate uploads all over the internet that have now registered well over a million views.

September 11, 2025 – Success Mindset Gary MacDermid and Publisher David Hancock

Gary MacDermid – Founder of USA Private Equities and ProGrowth Solutions and Author of Set Your Own Goals-Or Someone Else Will: How to Overcome Self-Limiting Beliefs and Get Things Done
You’re the sum of the five people that you spend the most time with, and sometimes you do have to remove yourself from negativity to position yourself for success.
Gary MacDermid is a highly sought-after motivational speaker, private investor, serial entrepreneur, professional engineer, and retired Naval Officer whose journey from humble beginnings to international success is inspiring audiences around the world. You may recognize Gary from his powerful episode “Set Your Goals, or Someone Else Will” on Season 3 of the Amazon Prime Video series SpeakUp TV. His message of reclaiming your life through intentional goals and financial independence has resonated deeply with aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those rising from underrepresented communities. In March 2025, Gary released his debut book “Set Your Own Goals or Someone Else Will”—a definitive playbook for breaking through mental barriers and engineering the life you truly want—not the one others expect you to live. The book dives deep into how to overcome self-limiting beliefs and get things done, serving as a blueprint for personal transformation and bold action. Gary’s career began when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school. A simple but powerful piece of advice from a Master Chief—to buy a home at every duty station—opened his eyes to the power of passive income. From there, he began acquiring properties across the U.S. and internationally. After earning a scholarship and completing a degree in electrical engineering, Gary was commissioned as a Naval Officer. He went on to lead design and analysis projects for nuclear power plants in the U.S. proving his talent for solving high-stakes, complex problems. Eventually, Gary transitioned full-time into entrepreneurship, building a multi-state real estate portfolio and investing in private companies around the globe. He founded USA Private Equities, a company that acquires and manages real estate and businesses. He is also the co-founder of ProGrowth Solutions, a financial services firm offering accounting, tax strategy, and business advisory services tailored for entrepreneurs. Today, Gary is known as “The Cash Flow Engineer”—teaching others how to create wealth through systems thinking, disciplined investing, and intentional goal setting. Whether on stage or in strategy sessions, Gary is focused on helping people from seasoned business owners to first-time founders build lasting wealth and freedom.David Hancock – Founder of Morgan James Publishing 
The guerrilla entrepreneur realizes that the journey is actually the goal. Heis in control of his enterprise, not the other way around… build balance inyour life — faith, family, food and fun, and then work, and it can all workout really well.
David Hancock is founder of Morgan James, the entrepreneur’s source of great books. NASDAQ recognized him as one of the world’s most prestigious business leaders and he was also named a Finalist by The American Business Awards in the Best Chairman category. David was compared to the business world’s Oscars by the New York Post. He is also the Founder of The Ethan Awards, the only international entrepreneurial author awards for business authors.

September 10, 2025 – Film History Alice Lovejoy and Master of Memory Ron Fry

Alice Lovejoy – Professor at University of Minnesota & Author of Author of Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War
We know that our smartphones and computers can’t run without rareearths, without materials that have very violent histories behind them…what Tales of Militant Chemistry shows is that these present-dayhistories are part of a much longer story, one that stretches back to film.
Alice Lovejoy is a media and cultural historian based at the University of Minnesota, known for her scholarly deep dives into film and media history on a global scale. Her forthcoming book, Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War (University of California Press, August 2025), weaves a tense narrative of film stock—photosensitive celluloid—as a material enmeshed in warfare, colonial extraction, and environmental fallout. Spanning Kodak’s Tennessee Eastman plants and uranium enrichment at Oak Ridge, to Agfa’s role in Nazi industrialism, Lovejoy reveals how cinema’s chemical underpinnings shaped modern violence. An award-winning author, her first book, Army Film and the Avant Garde (2015), won the MLA’s Scaglione Prize, and she also co-edited Remapping Cold War Media (2022).Ron Fry –  Founder and President of Career Press and Author of Master Your Memory: From America’s Top Expert on Study Skills
I think that if you’re committed, if you’re passionate, if you pick the right books, if you promote them right, if you show people that this is a book that will actually help them, then I think you can have a successful writing career and a successful publishing career.
Ron Fry is a nationally known proponent for the improvement of public education and an advocate for parents and students, playing an active role in strengthening personal education programs. In addition to being the author of the best-selling How to Study series, which has sold more than 3,000,000 copies to date, Ron has written more than 30 other books in the areas of education and careers. He is the founder and president of Career Press, an internationally known independent publisher of trade nonfiction books.