School for Startups Radio

February 7, 2025 – Sail to Scale Mona Sabet and Innovation Amer Iqbal

Mona Sabet – Growth Stage Tech Advisor and Author of Sail to Scale: Steer Your Startup Clear of Mistakes from Launch to Exit
Mona Sabet’s career spans over two decades in Silicon Valley at the vanguard of the technology industry. Leveraging her technical, legal and business background, Mona works with B2B technology companies through their early and growth stages, shaping their corporate strategy to help pave their way to successful outcomes, from acquisitions to IPOs. She has been called an indomitable force in scaling both businesses and communities. She has spent a career spanning over 25 years at the vanguard of the technology industry, steering numerous technology enterprises from their launch stage to exits, either by acquisitions or public offerings. Mona’s expertise is focused on growing businesses through a combination of relentless focus on scaling business operations, building global partnerships, and driving strategic acquisitions. Her book, Sail to Scale: Steering Startups Clear of Mistakes from Launch to Exit, co-authored with Heather Jerrehian and Maria Fernandez Guajardo, aims to help entrepreneurs navigate the range of conditions they’re likely to face on their journeys. Mona has held a number of executive roles at B2B technology companies including as Chief Corporate Development and Administration Officer at VulcanForms, Chief Corporate Strategy Officer at UserTesting and Corporate Vice President at Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ: CDNS). At VulcanForms, she orchestrates alignment among business operations, commercial activities and overarching financial objectives. Her leadership at UserTesting culminated in the company’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Mona’s career also spans M&A roles, both at Cadence Design Systems and as Managing Partner at Tribal Advisors and Corporate Vice President. Beyond the C-suite, Mona serves on boards and advisory boards, championing the cause of startups and nurturing the ecosystems that sustain them. In addition to her corporate leadership, Mona co-founded the ChIPs Network, a global community for women in tech, law, and policy. She also founded and continues to lead HiPower, a vibrant community of leaders championing executive women poised to shape the future of technology and beyond.Amer Iqbal – Founder & CEO of 5 Ways to Innovate
Amer has spent the last 20 years leading innovation at some of the world’s top companies including Meta (Facebook) and Deloitte Digital. He helps organisations think, act and behave more like a startup in order to reimagine their future in a digital economy. Amer Iqbal is an innovation consultant who has guided dozens of Fortune 500 companies to build the business of tomorrow. He is the author of the upcoming book The 5 Ways to Innovate and hosts the Riding the Wave of Innovation podcast. He has been interviewed as an expert on CNBC, has been featured on the Nasdaq billboard in Times Square and he was a finalist for 2011 Young Executive of the Year. His writing has been published in FastCompany, The Economic Times and WARC. As a keynote speaker, Amer has presented to over 20,000 people on some of the world’s largest conference stages.

February 6, 2025 – Entrepreneurial Environmentalist Wayne Elliott and CPA Super Corp. Chase Insogna

Wayne Elliott – Ship Recycling and Strauss Naturals Advocate
Wayne Elliott has been in the ship recycling business for 40 years. His company can take a 1000-foot-long ship and reduce it to a pile to reusable materials. He has grown into other areas such as battery recycling. He recounts his life-changing experience with SHD, a health supplement he stumbled upon after battling angina and its debilitating symptoms. Struggling with leg cramps, shortness of breath, night sweats, and chest pains, Wayne also grappled with anxiety and a lack of energy, resigning himself to the fate of heart-related issues that plagued his family. However, upon learning about SHD through a friend in Vancouver and being inspired by studies from renowned institutions like Harvard, Wayne decided to give it a try. Astonishingly, within two weeks of taking SHD, he noticed improvements in unexpected ways – his hearing returned, and his respiratory system cleared, leading to a significant boost in energy. Over the course of three months, Wayne transformed into a revitalized version of himself, feeling as energetic as he did decades ago. This transformation propelled him into a new phase of life where he actively engaged with others, becoming a spokesperson for Jim Strauss, the creator of SHD. Wayne’s involvement extended to radio shows and lectures, allowing him to share his incredible journey with thousands of people suffering from various health issues. His enthusiasm and dedication to natural health solutions led him to become a regular guest on radio networks in the USA and Canada, where he continued to spread the word about his positive experiences with SHD and its miraculous effects on individuals dealing with diabetes, heart disease, low energy, and clogged arteries. Wayne’s story highlights the power of painless, safe, and affordable health products, emphasizing the beauty of solutions that genuinely work. His gratitude towards Jim Strauss and the Strauss Heart Drops is profound, as he believes that without this intervention, he might not have been alive today, reinforcing the transformative impact of natural health remedies in the face of life-threatening conditions. Strauss Naturals is sponsoring the show with support for our radio-minute segments. Wayne says very simply that their products saved him. He became an advocate for the company and has been working with them for 29 years.Chase Insogna – President of Insogna CPA PC
Chase Insogna is an expert in tax planning and financial management with over two decades of experience. As the founder and president of Insogna CPA in Austin, Texas, his growing experienced team help transform the financial futures of many valued clients through strategic tax planning and advisory services, with a large vertical in e-commerce businesses. His firm is renowned for being proactive, communicating timely, transparent pricing, and exceptional client service. Recognized recently by the Inc. 5000 Region List for 4 years , Chase and his team are dedicated to helping business owners achieve their own financial freedom, sharing practical advice and insights, and leveraging expertise for business growt

February 5, 2025 – 1300 Houses Sayam Ibrahim and Human Hacking Christopher Hadnagy

Sayam Ibrahim – 1300 House Owner and Founder Hero Homes U
Sayam Ibrahim began his career on Wall Street in 2008, just before the market crash, and quickly realized it was not the right path for him. After spending two years in the industry, he transitioned into entrepreneurship—a journey that was far from smooth but ultimately rewarding. Since then, he and his team have successfully acquired over 1,000 residential and commercial properties across Ohio, Florida, Georgia, and Maryland. As a speaker and mentor, Sayam has taught and guided over 5,000 students through a nationwide seminar series. Now, through Hero Homes University, he and his team are expanding their efforts to provide even more valuable insights and opportunities in real estate.Christopher Hadnagy – CEO & Founder of Social-Engineer and the Author of Human Hacking: Win Friends, Influence People, and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You
Chris Hadnagy is the Founder and CEO of Social-Engineer, LLC. During Chris’ 19 years in information security, he created the world’s first social engineering framework and newsletter. He has also hosted the first social engineering-based podcast. Chris is the Founder, Executive Director, and Board Member, for the Innocent Lives Foundation, a nonprofit organization that identifies anonymous child predators and helps bring them to justice. Having written five books on social engineering, Chris is also a well-known author. His most recent book, “Human Hacking: Win Friends, Influence People and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You,” was released January 5, 2021. Chris leads the way in educating people about social engineering. He created the world’s first Social Engineering Capture the Flag (SECTF) to raise awareness of this serious threat. Chris is also an Adjunct Professor of Social Engineering for the University of Arizona’s NSA designated Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO). And he also lectures and teaches about social engineering around the globe. Moreover, he was invited to speak at the Pentagon and other high-security facilities. Chris works with some of the world’s leaders in scientific research for the purpose of acquiring a deeper understanding of social engineering. Notably, Chris authored a book with Dr. Paul Ekman regarding the use of nonverbal communication by social engineers. Chris is certified as an Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP), as well as an Offensive Security Wireless Professional (OSWP). He is also the creator of the Social Engineering Pentest Professional (SEPP), Certified Ethical Social Engineer (CESE), and Master’s Level Social Engineering (MLSE), certification.

February 3, 2025 – Exbo Group Eric Fiegoli and Ping Pong Leadership Justin Bookey

Eric Fiegoli – Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Exbo Group
Eric Fiegoli co-founded Exbo Group in 2017. Since the firm’s inception, he has helped to provide finance, operations, and strategy support to more than 50 growth-stage companies. Eric focuses much of his time supporting clients’ fundraising efforts as well as new business development for Exbo Group. His areas of focus include software, education technology, and digital health. Prior to Exbo, Eric worked as a Senior Product Manager at Amazon where he managed the design and execution of a global order consolidation program. Previously, Eric worked at TD Securities as an Associate on the debt capital markets and sales & trading teams. Eric began his career at Deutsche Bank where he worked in credit risk on a global team spending extensive time in New York, London, and Hong Kong. Eric received a BS in finance, with honors, from Lehigh University and earned his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In his free time, Eric enjoys running, skiing, traveling, and spending time with his family.Justin Bookey – Founder & CEO of PongFit
Justin Bookey is a former lawyer, an award-winning marketing strategist, and global ping pong player. He’s had the good fortune of learning from some of the best and brightest in several arenas while working with leaders at Disney, Sony, Honda, Qualcomm, XPRIZE, and more. After practicing communications law for several years in Washington, DC, he transitioned to web content development. He’s earned Emmy nominations for feature documentaries he produced, and Telly, Viddy, and ADDY awards for digital marketing campaigns he spearheaded. Upon moving to LA, Bookey stepped up his training with Olympian and world-class table tennis coach Wei Wang. His efforts with her and other national/world champions helped him win medals at the US Open and the US national championships. He learned different leadership cultures while studying in India and teaching in Japan, and has played table tennis on seven continents. He grew up in Seattle, Washington, and now lives and works in Santa Monica, California, where he also runs PongFit, a nonprofit that builds fitness and community through ping pong.

January 31, 2025 – Israeli VC Judah Taub and Unlikely Felon Will Young

Judah Taub – Managing Partner at Henz Ventures & Author of How to Move Up When the Only Way is Down: Lessons from Artificial Intelligence for Overcoming Your Local Maximum
Judah Taub is co-founder and managing partner at Hetz Ventures, a leading Israeli seed stage venture capital firm ($300M AUM) taking a thematic approach to early stage investing. Before founding Hetz, Judah was Head of Data at Lansdowne Partners ($20B London-based hedge fund) as well as advising multiple young start-ups. In his service in the Israel Defense Forces Judah served as an officer in a classified intelligence unit where he engineered a large-scale project to win the IDF 2014 Creativity Award. He has lectured widely, including throughout the IDF and at Wharton Business School, on time-management and creative thinking, and wrote a book for new soldiers published by Yediot, Israel’s leading publisher. Judah was also elected as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2020. Judah is the author of How to Move Up When the Only Way is Down.Will Young – Author of The Unlikely Felon: A Memoir of Ambition, Elder Care and Jail
W.C. Young made his mark as an entrepreneur and civic leader, helping raise more than $25 million dollars for companies and nonprofits in his capacity as board member (serving on ten boards), volunteer, and business owner from 2000 to 2011. He helped start several companies and raised significant funds for children’s organizations throughout the Denver area through his relationship with the Denver Active 20-30 Children’s Foundation (where he was the top fundraiser from 2005 to 2010). Denver Business Journal named Will to its prestigious 40 Under 40 Award list in 2000 and recognized one of his companies (XploreNet) as the sixth fastest-growing privately held company in Colorado during the early 2000s. The Journal also included him in its 2010 edition of the Denver Business Journal’s Power Book. He was a 2011 finalist for the Journal’s Philanthropy Day Corporate Citizen of the Year Award. Will has authored five books and at one time lectured and trained professionals nationwide. He considers himself a professional, creative, dynamic true storyteller and speaker, making an incredible impact architecting, writing and delivering authentic stories and keynotes. He writes and records books, podcasts, plays, keynotes, movie scripts, short stories, and blog posts from his own life experiences. Will’s stories move, challenge, anger, inspire, and motivate people of all ages to listen, change, laugh, cry, and look inside themselves. He’s a Colorado State University graduate with a wife and four children. He coaches volleyball, basketball, and soccer. He spends his time consulting, writing, traveling, and watching his kids play sports. He believes we all deserve a second chance.

January 30, 2025 – Entrepreneurial Environmentalist Wayne Elliott and Without Pain Daniela Bumann

Wayne Elliott – Ship Recycling and Strauss Naturals Advocate
Wayne Elliott has been in the ship recycling business for 40 years. His company can take a 1000-foot-long ship and reduce it to a pile to reusable materials. He has grown into other areas such as battery recycling. He recounts his life-changing experience with SHD, a health supplement he stumbled upon after battling angina and its debilitating symptoms. Struggling with leg cramps, shortness of breath, night sweats, and chest pains, Wayne also grappled with anxiety and a lack of energy, resigning himself to the fate of heart-related issues that plagued his family. However, upon learning about SHD through a friend in Vancouver and being inspired by studies from renowned institutions like Harvard, Wayne decided to give it a try. Astonishingly, within two weeks of taking SHD, he noticed improvements in unexpected ways – his hearing returned, and his respiratory system cleared, leading to a significant boost in energy. Over the course of three months, Wayne transformed into a revitalized version of himself, feeling as energetic as he did decades ago. This transformation propelled him into a new phase of life where he actively engaged with others, becoming a spokesperson for Jim Strauss, the creator of SHD. Wayne’s involvement extended to radio shows and lectures, allowing him to share his incredible journey with thousands of people suffering from various health issues. His enthusiasm and dedication to natural health solutions led him to become a regular guest on radio networks in the USA and Canada, where he continued to spread the word about his positive experiences with SHD and its miraculous effects on individuals dealing with diabetes, heart disease, low energy, and clogged arteries. Wayne’s story highlights the power of painless, safe, and affordable health products, emphasizing the beauty of solutions that genuinely work. His gratitude towards Jim Strauss and the Strauss Heart Drops is profound, as he believes that without this intervention, he might not have been alive today, reinforcing the transformative impact of natural health remedies in the face of life-threatening conditions. Strauss Naturals is sponsoring the show with support for our radio-minute segments. Wayne says very simply that their products saved him. He became an advocate for the company and has been working with them for 29 years.Daniela Bumann – Keynote Speaker & Master Coach
Daniela Bumann is a transformative Swiss keynote speaker, bestselling author, corporate consultant, trainer, transformational speaker, international teacher, and life mastery coach renowned for her ability to blend visionary insights with practical applications. Her diverse expertise spans performance psychology, emotional intelligence, and positive psychology, which has earned her prestigious honors like the SIMA Global Award. In her book “High-Performance Without Pain,” Daniela guides readers through mindfulness habits designed to help high-performers achieve holistic success. Her literary work, “Gliding You Home,” delves into spiritual potential, offering an unconventional narrative that transcends traditional speaking methods. Off-stage, Daniela is an adventurer who brings a ripple of positivity into every engagement, making her events truly memorable.

January 29, 2025 – BofA Robin Growley, 400plus Startup Clients Herman Dolce and TikTokTraumaDoc Dr. Christine Gibson

Robin Growley – Head of Consumer Deposits Bank of America
Robin Growley is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of our everyday banking, savings, and payments solutions for 42MM consumer clients. In this role, she leads the company’s efforts to provide a full range of consumer deposit products and payments including checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, Debit Card, Wires, and ACH. Robin is responsible for a $775B deposit portfolio, which has achieved a #1 position for retail estimated deposit market share and U.S. Debit Card Issuer. Under her leadership, the product team consistently delivers innovative, industry leading products and features such as Essential Solutions to empower clients to budget, save, spend, and borrow carefully and confidently. Robin and her team are committed to delivering for unique needs of client segments including programs for unbanked to banking sustainably and youth/young adult. Robin has also led Bank of America to be the first U.S. bank to transition all plastic credit and debit cards to recycled plastic – which will eliminate over 235 tons of single use plastic, based on annual card issuance.
Herman Dolce – The “Haitian CEO” – Founder of Bella Sloan Enterprises
Herman Dolce aka the “Haitian CEO”,  is the Founder of Bella Sloan Enterprises, well-established business and credit funding expert, speaker, educator, and financial freedom mentor. What sets Herman apart is his immense passion for financial freedom began when he realized that working for someone else was not the route he wanted to take. His drive, ambition, and growing success allowed and quickly led him to become a multi-business mogul with over 400+ small businesses in credit education, business funding, real estate, trucking, and more. As Founder of Bella Sloan Enterprises; a company that stands on the platform of educating all people on financial literacy and ensuring the playing field is even for us all to reach our financial goals through a multi-platform digital network, in-person seminars, and events, Herman’s company offers credit and financial education, along with support in business funding for small, medium, and large companies. As a mentor, Herman seeks to provide a blueprint for financial freedom for all and teaches his mentees the importance of financial literacy to create financial freedom, no matter their background, and as such, his company is currently serving more than 2,500 clients and his mentorship program has graduated more than 1,500 students.Christine Gibson – Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Calgary
Christine Gibson is a family physician and trauma therapist in Calgary, Canada with a background in equity work, medical education, and global health. Her writing creates the woven narrative between her interests – systems change, post-traumatic growth, and the power of story. Her first book, The Modern Trauma Toolkit, was released in 2023. A popular voice on social media, she is Tiktoktraumadoc with >130k followers. She earned a DProf in transdisciplinary studies and a Masters in Medical Education. She is a WHO-approved social media educator and a two-times TEDx speaker. She runs a global non-profit, a corporation that builds psychological safety (Safer Spaces Training), and the Belong Foundation.

January 27, 2025 – SuperLoop Susan Vibe Leger Ferraro and 5-Time Survivor Bill C. Potts

Susan Leger Ferraro – #1 Best Selling Author of SuperLoop: How Understanding Beliefs, Biology & Behavior Creates A Business That Works For Every One, CEO & Founder of G3 Works, Public Speaker, and Executive Coach
Susan Leger Ferraro is author of SuperLoop: How Understanding Beliefs, Biology, and Behavior Creates A Business That Works For Everyone, is an entrepreneur and sought-after business innovator. She’s the founder and CEO of six multi-million-dollar ventures. Ferraro and her team provide transformational leadership and wellbeing training built around socially conscious cultures, behavioral economics, and employee engagement, designed in collaboration with Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Rudy Tanzi, and Gallup science, among others. A leading business and early-education expert, she has held positions on numerous boards, is a popular speaker and has been published in the Harvard Family Research Project. Ferraro also has been featured in such major publications as Fortune; Inc.; The New York Times; The Boston Globe; and Entrepreneur.Bill C. Potts – Co-founder of Remedy 365 and Author of Up for the Fight: How to Advocate for Yourself as You Battle Cancer—from a Five-Time Survivor
Bill C. Potts is a motivational speaker, creative business leader, energetic community builder, and dedicated father and husband. A five-time cancer survivor, he pursues life with the utmost passion and drive. While his kids say he’s “sometimes slightly embarrassing,” they also admit he’s the “toughest man we have ever met.” He loves his job and wakes up each morning expecting an A+ day—because every day is an A+ day, no matter the circumstances. An Ironman triathlete and the co-founder of marketing agency Remedy 365, Bill lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, with his wife, Kim, and their dog Pippa.

January 24, 2025 – Free Will Roy F. Baumeister and Homelessness Advocate Glen Dunzweiler

Dr. Roy F. Baumeister – New York Times bestselling Author of Willpower and The Science of Free Will: Bridging Theory and Positive Psychology
Roy F. Baumeister is one of the world’s most prolific and influential psychologists. He has published over 700 scientific works, including over 40 books. In 2013, he received the highest award given by the Association for Psychological Science, the William James Fellow award, in recognition of his lifetime achievements. As of 2023, He holds affiliations with Harvard University (USA), Constructor University Bremen (Germany), Florida State University (USA), BetterUp, Inc. (USA), and the University of Bamberg (Germany). Additionally, Baumeister serves as the president-elect of the International Positive Psychology Association. Although Roy made his name with laboratory research, his recognition extends beyond the narrow confines of academia. His 2011 book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (with John Tierney) was a New York Times bestseller. He has appeared on television shows such as Dateline NBC and ABC’s 20/20, as well as on PBS, National Public Radio, and countless local news shows. His work has been covered or quoted in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Economist, Newsweek, TIME, Psychology Today, Self, Men’s Health, Businessweek, and many other outlets.Glen Dunzweiler – Filmmaker/producer, Public Speaker and Homelessness Advocate
Glen Dunzweiler is a filmmaker/producer, public speaker, and video coach. His documentary yHomeless? is available on Amazon Prime and his new book, A Degree In Homelessness? Entrepreneurial Skills For Students can be found on Amazon Books! glendunzweiler.com  Glen wrote the book for students who only know how to be successful in school. He currently lives in Los Angeles and works to make his creative projects sustainable. In 2015, he moved from a professorship at CSU San Bernardino to Los Angeles to focus on the business side of entertainment. He found distribution for yHomeless? and began work on his second film, a biopic titled Deuce -about a former student getting himself out of The South Side of Chicago.In addition to filmmaking and book authoring, Dunzweiler speaks publicly about insights gained from working with the homeless and with community leaders; strategies for navigating the differences between academic and business success for students; and tips for smoother presentations for corporate audiences.

January 22, 2025 – Challenge of Growth Philippe Bouissou and Mental Health at Work Genevieve Hawkins

Philippe Bouissou – Managing Partner at Blue Dots Partners
Philippe Bouissou, Ph.D. has spent three decades in Silicon Valley as an entrepreneur, a CEO, a venture capitalist and a management consultant. He is Managing Partner at Blue Dots Partners LLC, a management consulting firm he co-founded, focused on top-line acceleration. He started his career as the Founder and CEO of G2i, Inc., a Unix software company that was acquired by Matra. Later, Philippe joined Apple as Director of the Worldwide Internet Commerce group, where he founded and managed the online Apple Store and grew its revenue from zero to $350 million. After Apple, Bouissou became a venture capitalist and successfully invested tens of millions and generated double-digit cash-on-cash IRR. Philippe’s latest book, Aligning the Dots: The New Paradigm to Grow Any Business, is an Amazon Best Seller in Business and Amazon #1 New Release in Business. This Growth Playbook reveals the blueprint that will guide any business to align the dots to outperform its target market and fly past its competitors.Genevieve Hawkins – Author of Mentally at Work: Optimising health and business performance through connection
Genevieve Harkins is a health professional turned transformation executive, Non-Executive Director and business advisor with over 25 years of experience of leadership experience from professional services, to start up, to large corporate organisations.She has developed and executed strategies that have solved highly complicated problems end-to-end, helping transform and deliver sustainable commercial results in two of Australia’s largest businesses, Wesfarmers and Coles and the global companies of WSP and Allianz. She is experienced in and has a deep understanding of how to influence a business across strategy, operations, finance, people and risk, landing material change in supply chain, capital investment programs (digital and property), demergers, strategic risk management, new business and captive insurance. She has a unique combination of commercial and cultural transformation experience, speaking the ‘language’ of multiple departments. With exposure to a range of industries, a clinical health background, and spending a significant amount of her time working in the personal injury arena, she has a deep understanding of mental health in the workplace and expertise in influencing behaviour across and between organisations. Her commitment to helping organisations create the right environment to unlock value at an individual, team and business level, has led her to write ‘Mentally at Work: Optimising health and business performance through connection’ in 2020, and ‘Shrinking Elephants: Untangling workplace conflict to unlock value for all’ in 2024. In a complex world, where collaboration will be needed more than ever to solve strategic problems, Genevieve helps organisations have the conversations they need to have, shrinking the elephant in the room, to improve commercial collaboration and the mental health of teams. Genevieve believes in the value of simplicity, pragmatism, acceptance of clunkiness, finding the right way to talk about the elephants in the room and the importance of sticking to your ‘true north’ to get the right long-term outcome for a business and its people.