Answering The Call

In this episode, we sit down with Dave Scott, a veteran product leader and "adrenaline junkie" who walked away from a comfortable corporate executive career to reclaim his professional agency. Dave shares how he broke out of the "execution trap" to pursue fractional consulting, mountain bike racing, and authoring his upcoming book, Product at a Distance.

• Escaping the Execution Trap: Dave explains how senior roles often shift from high-level problem solving to mere execution and politics, prompting his need for a "mental shake-up".
• The "Multiple Lives" Philosophy: Embracing the idea that life is too short to stay on one path; Dave advocates for "scaring yourself" by pivoting into new industries and challenges.
• Product at a Distance: Insight into Dave’s upcoming book, which provides frameworks for making distributed product teams operate as if they are co-located.
• The Power of Agency: Why having the courage to "pick the fork in the road" leads to deeper professional satisfaction and even "unexpected happiness" in daily life.
• AI as a Thought Partner: How Dave uses a suite of AI tools to research, build his business, and even design his website at 10x speed.

Dave discusses his framework for a centered life, which requires three critical anchors:

1. Mental Challenge: Solving problems where you don't yet know the path from A to B.
2. Physical Challenge: Pushing boundaries through endurance sports like mountain bike racing and skiing.
3. Spiritual Balance: Finding a centering practice—whether through meditation or community—to anchor your decisions.

Dave Scott is a product executive with over 20 years of experience at companies ranging from Intuit to seed-funded startups. He is a former leader at the global innovation firm Frog Design and currently serves as a fractional consultant and author.

Connect with Dave: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Dave Scott - Bay Area Software Executive

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

Opening music is Flowers Shower by Devakant. You can hear this and more music by Devakant on Spotity.

Today’s guest is Karena Bell, Founder and CEO of Profitlinz, a boutique, specialized, global advisory firm that helps mid-sized and large enterprises unlock hidden profits, boost efficiency, and leverage AI for measurable results. 

In this conversation, Karena shares her transformative journey from a corporate career to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of curiosity, creativity, and resilience.

Karena discusses the role of mentorship, the impact of AI on business, and the necessity of fostering a culture of feedback and collaboration. Karena highlights the significance of intuition in decision-making and the value of building a community of fellow business owners. Karena also shares advice for navigating a successful journey.

How To Contact Karena

Website: Https://ProfitLinz.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenambell/

Email: Karena@ ProfitLinz.com

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

The intro song is Flowers Shower by Devakant and is available to listen in full on Spotify

Todays guest is Doug Fritz, Founder and Executive Chairman of F2 Strategy. In this conversation, Doug shares his life journey from a challenging childhood labeled as learning disabled to becoming a successful entrepreneur and co-founder of F2 Strategy. He discusses how he relied on his own resilience, adaptability, and the support of his parents in shaping his confidence to create his own journey to success.

Doug reflects on his experiences in Russia, the challenges he faced in New York, and how a move to San Francisco transformed his outlook. He elaborates on the journey of finding the sweet spot for F2, the importance of building a team of experts, and the values that underpin his success. You’ll also hear about the magic of table 15 at Ozumo restaurant in San Francisco. 

Doug concludes with advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in pursuing their passions and the value in embracing the journey of self-discovery.

How To Contact Doug

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougfritz/

Email: [email protected]

How To Contact David

Website: www.zenten.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidzemanek/

Email: [email protected]

The opening song, Flowers Shower, is by Devakant whose music you can find on Spotify.