In Episode 53 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Etinosa Agbonlahor, founder and CEO of Decision Alpha and a behavioral economist who has spent more than a decade studying how people make financial decisions.

The conversation explores one of the most emotionally charged decisions every business owner has to make: what should I charge?

Etinosa explains why pricing often becomes tangled with identity, confidence, fear of rejection, and self-worth—and why the better question isn’t “What am I worth?” but rather, “What value does my service create for the customer?”

They also unpack Decision Alpha’s approach to pricing, including the “pricing house” framework: understanding your cost floor, identifying the customer’s willingness to pay, studying competitors and alternatives, and determining the price ceiling. Etinosa explains why founders shouldn’t simply copy competitor pricing and why customer research can reveal entirely different markets, positioning, and willingness to pay than expected.

The conversation goes deeper into how to raise prices without unnecessarily damaging customer relationships, why price increases should be framed around the value already delivered and the value still to come, and why businesses should treat pricing as an evolving feature—not a decision they make once and forget about.

Laurie and Etinosa also discuss difficult pricing conversations such as back-billing customers after an error, payment plans, sales-tax mistakes, and when preserving a valuable client relationship may matter more than recovering every dollar.

Finally, Etinosa shares how Decision Alpha is using AI to make sophisticated pricing thinking more accessible to smaller businesses through Fred, its AI pricing guide, as well as how her team uses AI to stress-test ideas, support research, manage pipeline visibility, and accelerate content and product development while remaining cautious around sensitive financial data.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re charging too much, too little, or simply presenting your price the wrong way, this episode offers a practical behavioral-economics lens for building a pricing strategy that reflects the value you actually create.

Quotes

• " As business owners, all our fears, our anxieties, our doubts, our worries show up in the pricing." – Etinosa Agbonlahor
• “My price is my price, and I think it’s fair given the scope of work." - Laurie Chen
  
  

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Etinosa Agbonlahor

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

Website: https://etinosaa.com/

Decision Alpha: decisionalpha.co

📘 Behavioral Pricing Playbook: https://playbook.decisionalpha.co

🤖 Meet Fred – AI Pricing Advisor: https://fred.decisionalpha.co

What’s more dangerous for a founder: making the wrong decision, or waiting too long to make one?  In episode 52 of Built by Margin, David Niccolini joins Laurie Chen to explore how founders can manage risk without allowing fear or overanalysis to stall progress. They discuss the three major threat surfaces facing modern organizations—physical, virtual, and human—and how artificial intelligence has expanded both the opportunities and vulnerabilities available to businesses.

David has spent nearly three decades working across enterprise risk management, entrepreneurship, investing, and board advisory. After launching eight companies and helping leaders navigate everything from cybersecurity threats to early-stage uncertainty, he has learned that the greatest danger is not always making the wrong decision—it is failing to make one at all.

David also shares the story of a small NASA subcontractor who nearly lost $24,000 through an AI-enabled wire fraud attempt, explains why startup life is best understood as “controlled chaos,” and offers a practical framework for distinguishing a calculated risk from one that could destroy a business.

The conversation also examines why visionary founders need financial and operational counterbalances, what effective boards do differently, how investors evaluate coachability, and whether venture-backed, for-profit companies can help combat human trafficking at scale.

This episode is about making decisions with imperfect information, understanding the consequences behind the probabilities, and building the systems required to keep moving when certainty is impossible.

Quotes

• " I can’t guarantee that choosing A or B is the right decision. What I can tell you is your inability to make that decision will kill you." – David Niccolini
• “You’ve got to make the decision, collect the data, and then let the data inform what your next step should be." - Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

David Niccolini

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

StatCrux: StatCruxLLC.com

What if the greatest risk isn’t making a dramatic change—but staying comfortable in a life that no longer fits?

 In episode 51 of Built by Margin, Laurie sits down with entrepreneur Brad Lauter, who shares how the loss of his father forced him to confront a powerful question: What are you exchanging your life for? That realization led Brad to leave behind his job and established life in the United States, move to Mexico, and ultimately build a technology company providing reliable, self-healing internet infrastructure for businesses and properties.

Laurie and Brad explore why remaining stuck can be riskier than stepping into uncertainty, while also questioning whether external change can truly create internal happiness. They discuss the importance of mindset, systems, mentorship, and surrounding yourself with people who challenge and inspire you. Brad also explains how he is using AI to identify problems before customers experience them, automate operations, and create more resilient technology—while emphasizing that human judgment and real-world context remain essential.

This conversation is about building a business and life intentionally, using systems to turn bold decisions into sustainable progress, and recognizing when comfort has quietly become the riskiest choice of all.

Quotes

• "The risk is always greater that you just stay somewhere because you’re comfortable." – Brad Lauter
• “We’re trained to think risk is doing something dangerous and uncertain. But the real risk is not changing." - Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Brad Lauter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brad.lauter

Episode 50 marks a major milestone for Built by Margin. Laurie Chen reflects on the journey from launching the podcast in May 2025 as an extension of Advanced CFO to building a platform that now reaches founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs through meaningful conversations about business, leadership, risk, and decision-making. 

Fresh off a 4,751-mile journey to Kelowna, British Columbia for the Pink Skirt Summit, Laurie shares the three questions that impacted her most—questions she expects will still shape her thinking a year from now.

Rather than focusing on tactical business advice alone, Laurie explores the deeper identity shifts behind these questions and how they challenge us to eliminate what holds us back from the next level, embrace success without apology, and compress the timeline between who we are today and who we are going to become.

The episode closes by connecting these lessons to the central thesis of Laurie's upcoming book, Risk Worthy. She explains why the greatest returns in life aren't always financial—they're qualitative. True risk-worthy decisions are the ones that align our actions with our authentic identity and future self. As Laurie shares, it's not ultimately about what you do—it's about who you are becoming.

Whether you're building a business, leading a team, pursuing a dream, or simply trying to live more intentionally, this milestone episode offers a powerful reminder that your greatest competitive advantage is becoming the most authentic version of yourself - and that is the greatest return on investment.

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

What happens when the person trained to assess clinical risk becomes the patient at the center of a life-threatening event?

In episode 49 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen speaks with Kristin Gype, DNP, MSQM, APRN-CRNA, CNE, a lead CRNA, healthcare entrepreneur, adjunct instructor, and Duke Fuqua MSQM alum. Kristin shares how her background in anesthesia, healthcare analytics, patient safety, and mental health education has shaped the way she thinks about risk, decision-making, and innovation in healthcare.

The conversation explores the limits of today’s healthcare risk assessment tools, the opportunity for AI and data analytics to improve patient safety, and why human connection still matters deeply in a system increasingly focused on speed, volume, and automation. Kristin also shares the personal story of surviving a near-death experience during childbirth, and how that moment reshaped her perspective on wellness, healthcare leadership, and what it means to advocate for patients.

From clinical decision support to value-based care, mental health first aid, and the future of healthcare innovation, this episode is a powerful look at how numbers, risk, and humanity intersect when the stakes are highest.

Quotes

• "The tools we’re using in healthcare to assess risk are still in their infancy. We need to build them more robustly with technology and AI, because there are so many patient outcomes we still don’t have risk tools for." – Kristin Gype
• “Owning your own business is like drinking from a fire hose. You’re always learning — and you’re taking on risk from every side: legal, financial, operational, and human.” - Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Kristin Gype

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

In episode 48 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen speaks with John Konhilas, founder, professor, and Chief Science Officer at BioXGen, about what it really takes to turn scientific discovery into a product that can reach patients.

John shares his unconventional path from studying art at Duke University to earning a PhD in physiology, spending nearly two decades as a professor at the University of Arizona, and building ventures at the intersection of women’s health, heart disease, microbiome research, and medical device innovation. He discusses the lessons from scaling and exiting Menolabs, including how data, consumer behavior, and timing shaped the company’s trajectory. 

The conversation then moves into BioXGen’s patent-pending single-use cardiac patch, designed to be placed directly on the heart during open-heart surgery to support healing during the highest-risk post-operative period. John explains the technical, clinical, and adoption risks behind the product, why surgeon buy-in matters, and how the company is pursuing an FDA 510(k) pathway to create a faster and more capital-efficient route to market. 

Laurie and John also discuss capital strategy, including self-funding, friends-and-family investment, and BioXGen’s current Regulation CF raise. John shares why he believes in “science for the people,” how AI may accelerate medical device customization, and why founders building serious medical innovations need diligence, partnerships, and the willingness to step outside their comfort zone. 

This episode is a powerful look at how discovery becomes utility — and how risk, science, regulation, capital, and persistence all come together when building something that could change patient outcomes.

Quotes

• "It’s not always the best idea that makes it to the patient. It takes the right people, the right environment, and the willingness to bring science into the real world." – John Konhilas
• “Medical innovation is not just a science problem. It’s a risk, capital, regulatory, and execution problem.” - Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

John Konhilas

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

BioXgen: https://invest.bioxgen.life

In episode 47 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Adi Daryanani, founder and CEO of Lyncoris, to talk about the hidden complexity behind dental insurance, billing, and collections. After acquiring a dental practice with his wife, Adi saw firsthand how fragmented and manual the insurance verification and claims process still is for independent practices. That experience became the foundation for Lyncoris, a platform designed to bring eligibility, claims, patient billing, and denial management into one more centralized workflow.

Adi shares how his background in engineering, analytics, data systems, and product development shaped the way he approached the problem. He explains why dental billing is especially hard to automate, how payer fragmentation creates operational friction, and why AI is helpful but still needs human judgment for edge cases. The conversation also covers the risk decision behind acquiring an existing dental practice instead of starting one from scratch, the importance of testing software in real-world workflows, and the trap founders face when they confuse personal access to a problem with full market understanding.

This episode is a great listen for founders building from lived experience, healthcare operators managing administrative complexity, and anyone interested in how AI, automation, and human expertise can work together to make small business operations leaner and more scalable. 

Quotes

• "AI does help to build a lot of the scaffolding around workflows and processes and problems. But you ultimately need a reviewer or someone who can verify that that is correct." – Adi Daryanani
• " We shouldn’t confuse access to the problem with understanding of the market." – Adi Daryanani
• “Having experienced your own pain point, you’re able to better diagnose and solve the problem for someone else who’s probably experiencing it as you are.” - Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Adi Daryanani

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

Lyncoris: https://lyncoris.com/

In episode 46 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen talks with Elizabeth Ringas, president of American Coaster Enthusiasts, an international 7,000-member nonprofit dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and educating people about roller coasters.

Elizabeth shares how a lifelong love of roller coasters grew into more than two decades of volunteer leadership, eventually leading her to guide ACE through a major technology and member engagement transformation. She explains how the organization balances fun, preservation, fundraising, and community while serving an incredibly passionate membership base.

The conversation explores the numbers Elizabeth watches most closely, including membership renewal rates, regional fundraising participation, and annual preservation donations. She also discusses the risks of modernizing a 48-year-old organization, especially when introducing a new website, app, automation, and AI-powered personalization while still honoring longtime members who value tradition.

Laurie and Elizabeth also dig into the deeper leadership questions behind nonprofit growth: how to measure trust, how to protect volunteer time, how to make mission-aligned partnership decisions, and why strong communities require both data and intuition. Elizabeth reflects on the personal and professional risks she has taken, including choosing flexible and volunteer-heavy roles to support her family while building a meaningful leadership path.

At its heart, this episode is about more than roller coasters. It is about preserving joy, leading through change, and making mission-driven decisions that keep a community thriving across generations. 

QUOTES

• "As an all-volunteer organization, it's meant to enhance our love of roller coasters, not be a burden. And that's a really delicate balance." – Elizabeth Ringas
• " Ideas are so important because without a random idea like, hey, let's run the coaster an hour before the park opens, I don't know where we would be as a club." – Elizabeth Ringas
• “My questions are always based around risk, numbers, and decision making. That's really the theme, the angle that I'm trying to come at it.” - Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Elizabeth Ringas

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coastr_gal/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explorationandthrills/

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

Website: https://www.ridewithace.com/home

In episode 45 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Phil Fortin, CEO of OCFit in Ottawa, Canada, to talk about his journey from respiratory therapist to gym owner. After 12 years working in hospitals and seeing the long-term consequences of poor health, Phil felt called to build something focused on prevention rather than crisis care. He shares how he opened OC Fit with no business background, learned through trial and error, and leaned on coaching, data, and community to grow into an eighth-year gym owner.⁠
⁠
Phil also breaks down the numbers and decisions behind running a successful fitness business, from hiring coaches based on personality first, to using attendance as the gym’s “North Star” metric, to maintaining low churn through personal member relationships. The conversation expands into longevity, high-intensity training, strength work, nutrition, and the habits that help people make fitness part of their identity. Phil’s story is a reminder that the strongest businesses are often built around a deeper mission: helping people change their lives before they are forced to.⁠
⁠

QUOTES

• "The twice-a-week membership, if you're not doing anything else, it'll be hard all the time... you won't be able to get into a routine that feels comfortable, and that is just going to be what you actually do." – Phil Fortin
• "We made sure that we know every member's name. We'll meet with you one-on-one every 90 days to review your goals, your progress, and related topics. So it keeps it very personal." – Phil Fortin
• “That has to become a habit in order for someone to consistently reap the benefits of it and consistently go. Especially if we’re talking about health and fitness and going to the gym, it has to become part of your routine.” - Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Phil Fortin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortin.phil/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philippe.fortin/# 

OC Fit: https://ocfit.ca/about 

In episode 44 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Jaramogi Adams, founder of Jarkara Strategies, to discuss his journey from dot-com consulting to an 18-year career at American Express, global finance leadership, to fractional COO and strategic advisory work. With an educational background from Duke University and Stanford Graduate School of Business, Jaramogi shares how his name — meaning “one who travels often” — became a through line in his life and career, shaping his desire to learn across countries, companies, and industries.

The conversation explores how growing companies can move from intuition to execution by building stronger operating rhythms, clearer KPIs, and better communication systems. Jaramogi explains why his core superpower is listening, how he helps leaders translate qualitative challenges into quantitative decisions, and why scaling requires more than ambition — it requires people, tools, processes, and disciplined change management. He also shares how he uses AI as a thought partner, why nonprofits still need financial stewardship, and how one early career decision at American Express became far more valuable over time than he could have measured in the moment.

QUOTES

• "Good work begets more work. My brand is the work that I deliver — and when that work becomes memorable, people either refer me or bring me back in." – Jaramogi Adams
• "YI don’t use AI to do the thinking for me. I use it as a thought partner — to give me alternate perspectives so I can make a better decision." – Jaramogi Adams
• "Ultimately, it’s my human brain and your human brain that are the most valuable. AI is here to make things faster and give us a different perspective." – Laurie Chen

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

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

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Jaramogi Adams

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

Jarkara Startegies: https://jaramogikadams.com/