Show Notes:

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Tyler Higgins from ClickTrain to unpack what it really takes to build high-performing marketing teams in today’s fast-moving, AI-driven landscape.

Tyler shares how ClickTrain is redefining recruitment by combining performance marketing expertise, data-driven insights, and AI-powered matching to connect businesses with top-tier global talent.

The conversation dives deep into why hiring based on mindset and culture fit often outperforms hiring based on experience alone, and how companies can rethink training, team structure, and visibility strategies to scale effectively.

They also explore how AI is transforming recruitment, from intelligent talent matching to predictive salary benchmarking, and what businesses should be doing now to stay competitive.

Bio

At ClickTrain, I’m all about connecting top-tier Paid Media talent with businesses and agencies ready to scale. We meticulously vet paid media professionals, ensuring brands get the best in the industry to drive real growth. My passion lies in building powerful connections, helping companies find the right talent, and helping professionals land opportunities where they can truly thrive.

From sourcing standout candidates to staying ahead of evolving recruitment strategies, I focus on making the hiring process seamless and practical. As a Talent Director, I’m always sharpening my expertise in talent management, HR operations, and business strategy, ensuring I positively impact the teams I work with.

Let’s connect and build high-performing teams that fuel success! 🔥

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clicktrainplatform/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTbBJxZQwnzJ1f7syOFV9og?reload=9 

Tyler LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-higgins-52857415a/ 

Andrew LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blochify/

Tyler Instagram: @tyhiggins96

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Shashi Subbarao, Founder and CEO of Activity Bees, a platform designed to help people connect locally through shared interests and activities.

Shashi shares how a simple, real-life moment with a neighbor sparked the idea for Activity Bees and evolved into a tech-driven solution to combat isolation, increase activity, and build meaningful community connections.

They dive into:

👉How Activity Bees connects people based on location and shared interests

👉The importance of solving a real problem before building a product

👉Lessons learned from early-stage growth, including churn and scattered user acquisition

👉Why hyper-local growth beats mass marketing for community platforms


👉How instructors and coaches can leverage the platform for visibility and revenue

👉The role of trust, safety, and verification in building a scalable platform

👉Upcoming features including marketplace functionality, scheduling tools, and gamification

👉The power of validation, feedback loops, and incremental progress in startups


Shashi also shares candid insights on what didn’t work, including broad Google Ads campaigns, and how shifting to localized partnerships is unlocking more sustainable growth.

Bio:

Founder & CEO at Activity Bees with more than 20 years experience in technology development, technical and strategic leadership in social networking, large scale systems including biometrics and AI.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashi-s-43473a4/
Website: www.activitybees.com

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/
🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Theo Crewe-Reed, co-founder of Race Car Classifieds, to explore how he turned a passion for motorsports into a rapidly growing niche marketplace.

At just 24 years old, Theo shares how he and his co-founder built a platform designed specifically for high-caliber race cars by focusing on trust, relationships, and deep industry understanding rather than trying to serve everyone.

This conversation dives into the realities of building in a tight-knit industry, the importance of community-driven growth, and why niching down can actually accelerate traction instead of limiting it.

Bio:

Theo is a co-founder of Racecar Classifieds and is currently launching his second company, a productivity-enhancing software tool. With a background in sales, he later re-skilled as a developer to build his latest venture from the ground up.

He is driven by problem-solving, innovation, and optimisation — themes that run through all of his work. Outside of business and tech, his interests include sport (particularly running), cars, and mathematics.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/theo-crewe-read-866998242/

Website:  www.racecar-classifieds.com

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Dr. Cristin Dickerson, founder of Green Imaging, to unpack the realities behind healthcare pricing, insurance inefficiencies, and how employers and individuals can access high-quality care at a fraction of the cost.

Dr. Dickerson shares her journey from practicing radiologist at the Texas Medical Center to building a nationwide imaging network operating across all 50 states with over 6,000 facilities and 3 million covered lives.

This conversation dives deep into the broken incentives within traditional healthcare, the confusion between health insurance and actual care, and how innovative models like direct primary care and transparent imaging are reshaping the industry.

Bio*

Cristin A. Dickerson is the founding partner of Green Imaging. She is a graduate of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston where she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Dickerson completed her radiology residency at UT Houston, where she was a chief resident, with extensive training in cancer imaging at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Dickerson practiced for 13 years at the Diagnostic Clinic of Houston where she served as a two-term president of the 50 physician clinic and oversaw a self-funded health plan. Her clinical interests include oncologic (cancer) MRI and CT and PET/CT, breast imaging, and cardiac screening.

She founded Green Imaging in 2011 to provide affordable, high-quality medical imaging for uninsured and high-deductible patients in Houston and rapidly expanded the company to provide services throughout most of the US and to employer-sponsored health plans. She loves being able to provide quality services to patients who otherwise couldn’t afford them and delivering significant imaging cost savings to patients with healthcare coverage and their employers without compromising quality. Dr. Dickerson is passionate about spreading the word that patients and employers do have great new nontraditional healthcare coverage options in the fast-growing alternative healthcare market.

Dr. Dickerson serves as a Committee Member on the Independent Practice Committee of the Texas Medical Association, as a Member of the Validation Institute’s Certified Health Value Professional Board, Harris (HCMS) Alternate Delegate to the Texas Medical Association (TMA) House of Delegates, and is a Health Rosetta Benefits Advisor.

Dr. Dickerson’s book, Aligned: How Patients, Physicians, and Employers Are Working Together to Transform Healthcare, was published last year.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristin-dickerson-md-a1a1b013/

Website:  www.greenimaging.net

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Gabor Nemes, founder of Good People Everywhere, to explore what it truly means to build a purpose driven business in today’s world.

This is not just a conversation about startups or visibility.

It is a deep dive into how business can be used as a vehicle for meaning, impact, and real world change.

Gabor shares the story behind Good People Everywhere, a platform built on one simple but powerful belief:

There are good people everywhere, they just need better ways to find each other.

At its core, Good People Everywhere is not just a tech company.

It is a for profit, for purpose business model designed to:

• Connect people through shared values, not surface level interests
  
  
• Reduce loneliness by creating meaningful relationships
  
  
• Empower individuals to take action on real world problems
  
  
• Support nonprofits and impact driven initiatives globally

This episode challenges the traditional idea that businesses exist only to generate revenue.

Bio:

Co-founder & Chief Visionary Officer at Good People Everywhere

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabornemes0822/

Website:  goodpeople.world

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Kiran Pasavedala, CEO and co founder of Wexa AI, to explore how agent automation is transforming the future of work.

Kiran shares his journey from working in the aerospace industry with Airbus to becoming a serial entrepreneur building emerging technology companies. Drawing from his experience across multiple industries, he explains how businesses today are struggling with complex systems, fragmented processes, and massive amounts of data that require manual decision making.

Wexa AI was created to solve this challenge by introducing AI coworkers that can automate business processes, assist with decision making, and help organizations operate more efficiently while keeping humans in control.
Throughout the conversation, Kiran explains why AI will fundamentally reshape the structure of organizations, how companies can adopt AI without replacing human employees, and why businesses must prepare now to remain competitive in an AI driven economy.

He also discusses the potential for one person billion dollar companies, the challenges enterprises face when implementing AI, and the importance of clean data and realistic expectations when deploying AI solutions.

If you are a business leader, founder, or entrepreneur looking to understand how AI automation will shape the next generation of companies, this episode offers practical insights and a powerful perspective on the future of work.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiranpasavedala/
Website:  Wexa.ai

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/
🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Kevin Stubbs, founder of PubGenius, to talk about what it really takes to build and scale a tech company.

Kevin shares his journey from working at Microsoft to launching startups, experiencing failure, pivoting multiple times, and ultimately building a successful development studio that helps companies bring new products to market faster.

The conversation dives into the realities many founders face when building products, including the importance of validating ideas before investing heavily in development. Kevin also explains why trying to build a “better mousetrap” is often the wrong strategy and how focusing on quality and specialization helped PubGenius stand out in a crowded development market.

Heidi and Kevin explore the challenges of pivoting a business, the lessons learned from early failures, and why speed to market and validation are critical for startups trying to reach product market fit.

Kevin also shares insights from working with companies at every stage, from founders with early ideas to venture backed startups launching new products.

If you are a founder, startup builder, or business leader looking to bring a product to life without wasting time or capital, this episode is packed with practical insights.

Bio*

Kevin has been working as a software developer for 15 years, initially at Microsoft before starting his own startup. pubGENIUS started in ad-tech and pivoted to becoming a development agency where we have found a lot easier successes as well as diverse opportunities to grow with our clients and in some cases even partner with them. When covid started, he became a full-time digital nomad in Europe & Asia and has built & managed an entire remote team ever since.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinstubbs2/

http://pubgenius.io/

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Verl Workman, founder of Workman Success Systems, to talk about building high performing teams, creating predictable success, and designing a business that supports the life you actually want to live.

Verl shares the powerful story of being fired at age fifty after selling a company he helped build. Instead of seeing it as a setback, he used the moment as a catalyst to build a new company alongside his daughter. That company has since grown into an eight figure business that helps entrepreneurs and real estate professionals build systems for growth, leadership, and profitability.

The conversation explores why greatness is predictable, how referral systems outperform expensive marketing strategies, and why profitability must be the focus for every entrepreneur. Verl also dives into the role of artificial intelligence in coaching, the importance of family and intentional life design, and how entrepreneurs can create businesses that support both financial success and meaningful relationships.

If you are building a business, scaling a team, or searching for a better way to grow without sacrificing your life, this episode is packed with practical insights.

Bio*

Verl Workman is the co-founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems, a business coaching company that specializes in developing high-performing companies and teams, using his unique approach that focuses on the totality of the team or company, developing leaders at every organizational level.

Verl knows that Greatness is Predictable and has built systems, processes, and procedures (tools, training, and trade secrets) to make Greatness Predictable by focusing on the right things, and developing greatness-predicting habits.

As a father of 6, Verl believes that no other success can compensate for failure in the home. His focus on family is such that he co-founded Workman Success Systems with his oldest daughter Brianne to be the kind of place where his family would want to join in and add to the business. He’s succeeded in that: 3 of his 6 children have helped Verl build Workman Success into what it is today.

Verl says his greatest success is measured by how he teaches his clients to have balance in their lives as they grow their businesses. For more than 20 years, Verl has led agents, brokers, and teams with enthusiasm, determination, unashamed optimism, and innovative systems that have

created Greatness that is truly Predictable, building top producers and real estate millionaires who understand what’s really important in life and real estate.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

https://www.instagram.com/workmansuccesssystems/

https://www.facebook.com/WorkmanSuccessSystems/

https://www.facebook.com/VerlWorkmanWSS

https://www.linkedin.com/company/workman-success-systems/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/verlworkman/

https://verlworkman.com/

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk welcomes Kelly Fairbairn, Co Founder, President, and CEO of PPS International Limited. With more than twenty five years of experience in talent development and leadership consulting, Kelly shares insights into how organizations can build stronger leaders and improve performance across teams.

PPS International works globally with organizations to deliver leadership assessments, training programs, and development solutions that help individuals and teams perform at a higher level. Kelly explains how the leadership landscape has evolved over the past two decades and why today’s leaders must develop new skills to navigate uncertainty and rapidly changing environments.

Heidi and Kelly discuss the leadership gaps companies are facing today, how businesses can align leadership development with real business outcomes, and the trends shaping the future of corporate learning. Kelly also shares the strategies PPS uses to maintain strong client relationships, grow through referrals and thought leadership, and adapt to new technologies and hybrid work environments.

If you are a business owner, executive, HR leader, or someone responsible for developing people within your organization, this conversation offers valuable insight into building leadership capacity and driving meaningful organizational growth.

Bio*

Kelly Fairbairn is co-founder, President and CEO of PPS International Limited, a consulting firm that partners with regional and global organizations to build leadership talent through customized training, assessments, coaching and more.

Before co-founding PPS, Kelly was a Director of Human Resources and Manager of Instructional Design for several manufacturing, financial services and technology corporations.

Kelly holds many certifications and she and her team have won awards related to the creation and implementation of learning, including several Brandon Hall, HCM Excellence Awards for Innovative Learning and Development Programs.

PPS International Limited is a nationally certified, Women-Owned Small Business Enterprise, is Ecovadis certified for sustainability and a Fortune 5000-ranked organization.

In addition to her work in talent development, for 20 years, Kelly has served as Vice Chair of the Board for Project HOPE Foundation, a nationally-recognized organization providing a lifespan of services for individuals with autism.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

PPS LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/pps-international-limited

Kelly's LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellylawasfairbairn/

PPS YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/@ppsinternationallimited-sy4711

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint

Show Notes:

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk welcomes Justin Solms, founder of Index Solutions in South Africa. Justin shares his fascinating journey from aerospace engineering and missile guidance systems to building a successful investment management firm powered by advanced technology and machine learning.

Justin explains how his engineering background helped him develop data driven investment strategies that outperform traditional benchmarks while keeping fees low for everyday investors. The conversation dives into how technology is transforming the finance industry, including the role of machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and large scale simulation tools.

Heidi and Justin also explore the realities of building a business over more than a decade, the challenges of marketing highly technical services, and why founders must focus on their zone of genius while bringing in experts to support other areas of growth.

If you are curious about the future of investing, the role of AI in finance, and how technology can empower everyday investors, this episode delivers valuable insights.

Bio:

Experienced software developer and systems engineer with a background spanning

aerospace avionics, quantitative finance, and AI-driven automation. Founder and Chief Investment Officer of a successful investment firm with deep expertise in designing and deploying mission-critical systems using Python, SQLAlchemy, and the scientific stack with a host of other languages. Proven track record in working remotely, independently delivering robust, scalable solutions. Holds a Master's degree in electronic engineering.

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

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

Website:  www.indexsolutions.co.za

http://www.itransact.co.za/

Connect with me:

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

🎁 Grab your Spotlight to Scale Blueprint:  https://spotlighttoscale.com/blueprint