Behind the Founders

By Cherry Assistant

Behind the Founders is where we breakdown how founders actually run their businesses. from hiring to scaling and hard decisions. Produced by

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FAQs about Behind the Founders:

How many episodes does Behind the Founders have?

The podcast currently has 29 episodes available.

Behind the Founders episodes:

August 14, 2026 Why Most Marketing Agencies Get It Wrong: Austin Rohleder on Building a Founder-First Agency
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com
Episode 27: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/ ) talks to Austin Rohleder (https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-rohleder-ba6232213/) about building a founder-first marketing agency, leveraging AI and data, and the realities of growing a business from the ground up.

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Austin Rohleder is the founder of Capstone Marketing Group, a fractional CMO agency helping businesses manage their marketing from strategy through execution, with a strong focus on measurable business results.
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Chapters:
00:00 From Marketing Director to Founder
06:51 Building a Remote Team
08:53 The Hiring Lesson That Changed Everything
12:45 AI as a Business Superpower
19:51 Getting Your First 5–10 Clients
23:18 The Reality of Entrepreneurship
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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25min
August 12, 2026From Accidental Accountant to Thriving Entrepreneur: How Saadi Sabah Scaled an Accounting Firm
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 26: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Saadi Sabah (https://www.linkedin.com/in/saadi-sabah/) about taking the leap from corporate employment, learning to delegate, building a team and sustainable client relationships, and using AI and automation to scale more efficiently.

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Saadi Sabah is the founder of ECA Financial Consultancy, a firm that began as a side hustle serving friends and family and grew into a business serving more than 900 clients each tax season.

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Chapters
00:00 Introduction and guest background
05:00 Strategies for client acquisition and word-of-mouth
09:00 Building a team and operational setup
10:17 Overcoming delegation fears and building trust
22:02 Thoughts on AI and automation
25:56 Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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24min
August 10, 2026How a Father-Son Conversation Sparked a Boot Camp Revolution
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 25: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Erik Gross https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikdgross/details/experience/ about the importance of fundamentals in tech education, the impact of AI, and the value of building a diverse student body.

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Erik Gross is the co-founder of The Tech Academy, a software developer boot camp that has helped thousands of people break into tech, and the author of The Uncommon Engineer: The Art of Being Wrong for Fun and Profit. Carmen Dörwald sits down with Erik Gross about building a successful business by recognizing where you need help, finding the right people to complement your strengths, adapting to change, and developing the self-belief and resilience needed to navigate the founder’s journey.
Connect with Eric and learn how he built A high value career in tech: https://erikdgross.com/free-course

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Chapters
00:00 The Mindset Every Founder Needs
01:03 The Unexpected Origin of The Tech Academy
04:21 Why Fundamentals Matter in the Age of AI
19:32 Knowing What You Can’t Do Alone
27:41 Building a Team That Can Actually Succeed
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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38min
August 07, 2026From Scaling Too Fast To Building Smarter: Nicky Fairclough on AI, Business Pivots & Founder Freedom
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 24: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Nicky Fairclough (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicky-fairclough-92a6262b6/) about scaling too quickly, learning from costly mistakes, using AI to build leaner businesses, knowing when to pivot, and designing a business around the life you actually want.

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Nicky Fairclough is an entrepreneur, owner of Cold Hut Recovery, and founder of AI consultancy Reduce Admin, where he uses his engineering and automation background to help businesses reduce administrative work with AI.

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Chapters
00:00 From Unilever Engineer to Entrepreneur
03:42 Launch Day Chaos: When Everything Goes Wrong
07:31 The Cost of Scaling Too Fast
12:10 Turning Business Mistakes into an AI Opportunity
20:10 Why Founders Should Grow Slower
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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45min
August 07, 2026From Scaling Too Fast to Building Smarter: Nicky Fairclough on AI, Business Pivots & Founder Freedom
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 24: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Nicky Fairclough (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicky-fairclough-92a6262b6/) about scaling too quickly, learning from costly mistakes, using AI to build leaner businesses, knowing when to pivot, and designing a business around the life you actually want.

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Nicky Fairclough is an entrepreneur, owner of Cold Hut Recovery, and founder of AI consultancy Reduce Admin, where he uses his engineering and automation background to help businesses reduce administrative work with AI.

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Chapters
00:00 From Unilever Engineer to Entrepreneur
03:42 Launch Day Chaos: When Everything Goes Wrong
07:31 The Cost of Scaling Too Fast
12:10 Turning Business Mistakes into an AI Opportunity
20:10 Why Founders Should Grow Slower
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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45min
August 03, 2026From Homeless to Building 6- Figure Businesses: Marcel Löwigt on Sales & Scaling with Systems
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 23: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Marcel Löwigt (https://www.linkedin.com/in/10xmarcel/) about how to harness technology to scale your business effectively without the burden of high agency retainers.

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Marcel Löwigt is a serial entrepreneur with more than 18 years of experience in business, sales, and scaling companies, and is the founder of GrowthZilla OS, an AI-powered marketing platform designed to help SMEs grow more efficiently.

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Chapters
00:00 Introduction and guest introduction
09:16 Marcel's personal journey from homelessness to success
15:52 Challenges faced by small businesses in sales and marketing
21:57 The impact of AI in business and common mistakes
26:00 Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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27min
July 27, 2026What If You Don't Need to Scale? Natasha Bhogal on Building a Business Your Way
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 22: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Natasha Bhogal (https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-bhogal-47026ab8/) about the importance of building long-term client relationships, learning to lean into resistance, and why founders don't always need to follow the conventional definition of success.

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Natasha Bhogal is a Los Angeles-based senior marketing leader and fractional CMO who founded In Current Creative in 2017, a full-funnel marketing consultancy that works with a select number of clients through a flexible network of specialized consultants.
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Chapters
00:00 From Marketing Leader to Unexpected Founder
01:51 What Makes InCurrent Creative Different?
10:12 Consultancy vs. Agency: Building a Business Your Way
25:58 Why You Don't Need to Scale to Succeed
27:01 Leaning Into Resistance & Trusting Your Gut
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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29min
July 24, 2026Why Most Sales Teams Fail: Chuck Thokey on Building High-Performing Teams
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 21: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Chuck Thokey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesthokey/) about building high-performing sales teams, developing talent, and transforming sales through ethical coaching and AI-powered simulations.

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Chuck Thokey is the Co-Founder of Top Rep, a leading home services sales and leadership training company, as well as an award-winning sales and marketing coach, keynote speaker, business consultant, and author. With more than two decades of experience in sales, coaching, and leadership, Chuck has helped organizations build high-performing sales teams, improve closing ratios, and grow their sales by more than 150%.

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Chapters
00:00 – Meet Chuck Thokey & Top Rep
01:04 – Building a High-Performing Sales Team
09:28 – Hiring, Coaching & Developing Top Talent
20:56 – How AI Is Transforming Sales Training
32:28 – Chuck’s Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs.
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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35min
July 22, 2026The Best Executives Aren't Applying Jobs: Here's how Christopher Haywood Rethought Executive Search
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 20: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Christopher Haywood about innovative approaches to executive search and evolving practices over 15 years.

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Christopher Haywood is the founder of Strategic Executives Agency, specializing in executive search and leadership consulting for dynamic organizations. With a management consulting background, he redefines how firms find and engage top leadership talent.

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Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Podcast Setup
02:11 Founding of Strategic Executives Agency
12:11 Evolution of the Business and Services Offered
24:21 Incorporating AI in Business Operations
29:57 Team Culture and Operational Challenges
30:31 Business Advice for Entrepreneurs
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
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33min
July 22, 2026Building with Purpose: Stephanie Reese on Entrepreneurship, AI & Mission-Driven Growth
Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 19: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Stephanie Reese (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-reese-hr/) about the role of AI, talent, leadership and capacity challenges in mission-driven organizations.
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Stephanie Reese is the founder of Higher and Thread, where she helps mission-driven organizations build stronger hiring, systems, and organizational structures. She has over 12 years of experience in nonprofit and HR/operations leadership, with a focus on capacity, change management, and helping teams work more effectively.

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Chapters
00:00 Introduction and business overview
07:10 Challenges in Organizations
12:50 AI Integration and Concerns
23:01: Business Takeaways and Advice
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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.
...more
26min

FAQs about Behind the Founders:

How many episodes does Behind the Founders have?

The podcast currently has 29 episodes available.