Better Together

Jeff Burningham sold his first tech company at 26. Ran for governor. Built and exited multiple businesses. And then hit a wall that no amount of external success could fix.

In this episode of Better Together, Jeff gets honest about what happens when you achieve everything you thought you wanted - and realize it wasn't the point. He shares his journey through what he calls the dark night of the soul, how he rebuilt from the inside out, and why he believes AI is less a threat to humanity and more a cosmic mirror reflecting exactly who we are.

His book - The Last Book Written by a Human - explores what it means to stay human in a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence. And the conversation goes deep on letting go of outcomes, building character through small daily habits, and why true fulfillment has nothing to do with what you accomplish on paper.

For entrepreneurs chasing the next exit, leaders navigating uncertainty, or anyone questioning whether the life they're building is actually the one they want - this episode will stop you in your tracks.

Watch the full episode and share your biggest takeaway in the comments below.

🔗 Connect with Jeff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-burningham-15a01a7b/

Better Together is the 2026 Best Podcast in Maryland winner, hosted by Shawn and Kelly Sundsvold, co-owners of GoldBear Media. Each episode is a real, unscripted conversation with a founder or entrepreneur about the business they've built - the wins, the failures, and everything they learned along the way.

Better Together is brought to you by GoldBear Media - helping business owners turn scattered marketing into a real, connected strategy. Learn more at goldbear.media.

#BetterTogetherPodcast #AI #Entrepreneurship #PersonalGrowth #Leadership #JeffBurningham #HumanPotential #GoldBearMedia #MindsetShift

Most small businesses don't need a full-time COO. They need the right person, at the right time, for exactly as long as it takes to fix what's broken and build what's missing.

That's exactly what Fred Garlington does.

In this episode of Better Together, Fred - fractional COO and founder of Zero Point Creations - breaks down what fractional leadership actually looks like in practice, how he builds trust quickly inside new organizations, and why the most common blind spot in growing companies isn't strategy or sales.

It's confusing revenue for profit.

He's helped companies scale from 8M to 25M - and what he's found consistently is that growth without discipline is just expensive chaos. Saying no to the wrong opportunities, refusing to chase bad money with good, and building operational clarity that lets a founder finally step back - that's the real work.

Oh - and he also shares how running a band taught him more about operations than he expected.

🔗 Connect with Fred: Fred Garlington | LinkedIn

Better Together is the 2026 Best Podcast in Maryland winner, hosted by Shawn and Kelly Sundsvold, co-owners of GoldBear Media. Each episode is a real, unscripted conversation with a founder or entrepreneur about the business they've built - the wins, the failures, and everything they learned along the way.

Better Together is brought to you by GoldBear Media - helping business owners turn scattered marketing into a real, connected strategy. Learn more at goldbear.media.

#BetterTogetherPodcast #FractionalCOO #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #Operations #GoldBearMedia #FredGarlington

Chris Papin is both a CPA and a licensed attorney - and he built that dual expertise specifically to serve small business owners who need someone who can see the full picture, not just one side of it. In this episode, he breaks down what it actually means to behave like a business owner, why resilience is built through hard seasons, not around them, and why everything you need to succeed is already known - if you're willing to be intentional about it. Connect with Chris:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispapin/

Better Together is the 2026 Best Podcast in Maryland winner, hosted by Shawn and Kelly Sundsvold, co-owners of GoldBear Media. Each episode is a real, unscripted conversation with a founder or entrepreneur about the business they've built - the wins, the failures, and everything they learned along the way.

Better Together is brought to you by GoldBear Media - helping business owners turn scattered marketing into a real, connected strategy. Learn more at goldbear.media.

#BetterTogetherPodcast #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStrategy #CPA #Resilience #BusinessPlanning #GoldBearMedia #ChrisPapen

David McKee got laid off and instead of letting it break him, he let it build him. In this episode he shares the mindset tools, neuroscience-backed routines, and resilience strategies that took him from that moment to building a thriving coaching practice helping entrepreneurs do the same.

🔗 Connect with David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mckee-a9966514/

Better Together is the 2026 Best Podcast in Maryland winner, hosted by Shawn and Kelly Sundsvold, co-owners of GoldBear Media. Each episode is a real, unscripted conversation with a founder or entrepreneur about the business they've built the wins, the failures, and everything they learned along the way.

Better Together is brought to you by GoldBear Media, helping business owners turn scattered marketing into a real, connected strategy. Learn more at goldbear.media.

#BetterTogetherPodcast #Mindset #Resilience #Entrepreneurship #MentalHealth #ControlTheControllables #GoldBearMedia #DavidMcKee

Most people spend a career building expertise. Very few spend 42 years doing it accumulating over 32,000 hours of client work and coming out the other side with something most consultants never develop.

A genuine understanding of why people resist change and what actually moves them.

In this episode of Better Together, John Deel shares his journey through IT and organizational change management, the lessons that only come from decades in the field, and why the human side of change is always the hardest part to get right.

John breaks down why most change initiatives fail not because of bad strategy or wrong technology, but because the people leading them underestimate how deeply human behavior shapes every outcome.

Fear, identity, habit these aren't soft issues. They're the actual work.

He also gets into building a personal brand in the digital age, why your LinkedIn profile matters more than most professionals treat it, and how to share your story in a way that builds real credibility and impact.

And for anyone navigating the balance between professional ambition and personal life John's perspective on finding that equilibrium after decades of hard work is both honest and grounding.

For leaders driving change, professionals building their presence, or anyone who wants to understand why people do what they do inside organizations this episode is worth your time.

Watch the full episode and share your biggest takeaway in the comments below.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndeel/

Want to build a personal brand or business presence that actually reflects your expertise? Connect with GoldBear Media, we help leaders show up with clarity, strategy, and content that converts.

📩 DM us or visit our website to start the conversation.

There's a moment a lot of high-achievers reach where the career that looks perfect on paper starts to feel completely wrong on the inside.

Emily Chapman hit that moment and instead of staying comfortable, she left a successful corporate career in commercial editing to build something entirely her own. The Testimonial Collective.

In this episode of Better Together, Emily shares the real story behind that transition the fear, the uncertainty, and the conviction that she wanted to be the one calling the shots in her own life.

But this episode goes beyond the founder journey. Emily makes a compelling case for why authentic storytelling is one of the most underutilized tools in marketing today and why in a world increasingly flooded with AI-generated content, human stories are becoming more valuable, not less.

She breaks down how testimonials done right aren't just social proof. They're trust builders, objection handlers, and the closest thing to a warm referral that marketing can produce at scale.

And she gets honest about why most businesses get them wrong chasing polish over authenticity and losing the very thing that makes them work.

Her advice for anyone feeling stuck or unfulfilled is as straightforward as it gets: take messy action. Results don't come from waiting until everything is perfect. They come from moving forward anyway.

For founders, marketers, and business owners who want to grow through genuine human connection rather than louder messaging this conversation is worth every minute.

Watch the full episode and share your biggest takeaway in the comments below.

Want to build a brand that people actually trust? Connect with GoldBear Media, we help businesses tell their story with clarity, authenticity, and strategy that converts.

📩 DM us or visit our website to start the conversation.

Most people's path to building a consulting business doesn't start in remote Alaska. Emily Berliner's did.

In this episode of Better Together, Emily founder of EBO Consulting shares a journey that spans Bethel, Alaska to London, and everything she learned along the way about resilience, leadership, and what it actually takes to build organizations that work.

Growing up in one of the most remote communities in the United States shaped Emily in ways that show up in everything she does. The community resilience she witnessed early on became the foundation for how she thinks about culture, team building, and organizational health today.

She gets honest about the challenging experiences that tested her before EBO Consulting existed the failures, the hard lessons, and the moments she had to decide whether to quit or stay committed to her vision.

Emily breaks down how she helps organizations move from chaos to clarity building systems, culture, and leadership structures that allow teams to perform without constant firefighting. Her approach is practical, grounded, and built on the belief that great culture isn't an accident. It's designed.

She also shares what building a remote team culture actually looks like in practice one of the most relevant challenges facing modern businesses today.

For leaders navigating organizational complexity, founders building teams across distance, or anyone who's had to fight to stay committed to a vision that hasn't paid off yet this episode delivers.

Watch the full episode and share your biggest takeaway in the comments below.
https://linkedin.com/in/emilyberliner

Want to build a brand and business presence with that same clarity and purpose? Connect with GoldBear Media, we help organizations show up strategically and grow with intention.

📩 DM us or visit our website to start the conversation.

There's a voice most entrepreneurs know well but rarely talk about.

The one that shows up right before the big decision. The one that whispers you're not qualified, not ready, not enough. The one that keeps you playing small under the cover of being realistic.

That's imposter syndrome. And in this episode of Better Together, James Black gets into exactly what it is, where it comes from, and how to stop letting it run the show.

James breaks down why entrepreneurs are uniquely vulnerable to imposter syndrome, how childhood experiences and negative self-talk wire the brain for self-doubt, and why most people never address it because they don't even recognize it for what it is.

But this episode isn't just a diagnosis. It's a playbook.

James shares his five daily non-negotiables for building real confidence, the concept of building evidence through good decisions, and a technique he calls the "death warrant" a practical way to name, separate, and silence the inner critic before it costs you another opportunity.

His most honest line in the conversation:

"The cost of listening to that voice is your life."

Not an exaggeration. A reality check.

For entrepreneurs who know they're capable of more but keep getting in their own way this is the episode that names what's happening and gives you the tools to change it.

Watch the full episode and share your biggest takeaway in the comments below.
https://linkedin.com/in/jamesblack

Want to build a brand presence that reflects your real value? Connect with GoldBear Media we help founders show up with clarity, confidence, and content that converts.

📩 DM us or visit our website to start the conversation.

Leaving a stable corporate career to build something from scratch takes more than ambition. It takes clarity, systems, and an unwavering belief that the market will show you the way if you're willing to listen.

In this episode of Better Together, Beau Groover, founder of the Effective Syndicate, shares his journey from corporate consulting to building a business ecosystem rooted in lean principles, strong culture, and scalable systems specifically in the world of manufacturing.

Beau breaks down why so many businesses resist building systems until it's too late, how to empower teams to perform beyond the owner's direct involvement, and why culture isn't a feel-good concept it's the operating system of every high-performing team.

He also gets honest about burnout, the challenge of recruiting and staffing in manufacturing, and how to find clarity when everything feels overwhelming.

One of the most grounding things Beau shares: when you don't know what to do next, start with clarity. Not strategy. Not tactics. Clarity.

And his take on culture is worth sitting with long after this episode ends "Culture means how we move together." Not what you say on a wall. How you actually show up, make decisions, and treat people every single day.

For business owners navigating growth, building teams, or trying to create something that lasts beyond their own involvement this conversation delivers.

Watch the full episode and share your biggest takeaway in the comments below.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/beaugroover/

Want to build a business presence that works as hard as you do? Connect with GoldBear Media, we help founders and businesses grow with strategy, clarity, and content that converts.

📩 DM us or visit our website to start the conversation.

Most business owners start with a vision. Freedom, impact, something built on their own terms.

But somewhere between the early hustle and the day-to-day grind, that vision gets buried under decisions that only they can make, problems that only they can solve, and a business that quietly stops growing the moment they step away.

In this episode of Better Together, Scott Raven, founder of Corvus Solutions, gets honest about the founder dependency trap why so many business owners become the biggest bottleneck in their own company, and exactly what it takes to build your way out of it.

Scott draws from his journey across corporate leadership, franchise operations, and entrepreneurship to break down how to identify where you're holding your business back, how to build operational systems that don't depend on you being everywhere, and how to realign your business with the life you actually set out to create.

He challenges the difference between productivity and busyness, dismantles shiny object syndrome, and makes a case for why bite-sized, consistent steps beat scattered ambition every single time.

But what makes this conversation stand out is the deeper question Scott keeps coming back to:

Are you competing for the life you want?

Not just growing a business. Intentionally building toward something specific and making sure every system, decision, and structure is pointed in that direction.

If you're feeling stuck in your business, overwhelmed by the day-to-day, or wondering how to build something that scales without running through you this episode is exactly what you need to hear.

Watch the full episode and share your biggest takeaway in the comments below.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-raven/

Want to build a business presence that works as hard as you do? Connect with GoldBear Media we help founders and businesses grow with strategy, clarity, and content that converts.

DM us or visit our website to start the conversation.