Business Growth Spotlight

Show Notes:

In this powerful episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk of HLH Growth Solutions sits down with Maria Edelson, founder of Edelson IO and former executive at Procter & Gamble.

With more than 35 years at Procter and Gamble and over 15,000 professionals trained across 86 countries, Maria shares how she transformed world class corporate sales frameworks into a scalable global training platform that delivers measurable ROI.

This episode dives deep into:

• Why selling is a life skill, not just a job
 • How to overcome resistance from experienced sales teams
 • Why real time case based practice outperforms role playing
 • The secret to sustaining growth in a crowded sales training market
 • How referrals built a global business
 • Why confidence and loving feedback change sales performance
 • What it really takes to stand out in a noisy industry

If you lead a sales organization, run a growing company, or want to improve revenue performance, this conversation is a masterclass in practical, measurable sales excellence.

Bio:

After dedicating 35 years to sales at P&G, I now train sales organizations to sell - to create solutions to solve customer problems so that they achieve consistent, profitable growth.

When I left Procter & Gamble, I was responsible for $1Billion in revenue leading a team of over 250 people.  Now I share what I learned because I found others can benefit.

Fortune 100, midsize and even startups have used our Sales Academy including our ‘Thinking Framework’. The Academy adds tools and skills to even the most experienced sales executive’s toolbox.

We produce results as evidenced by our customers loyalty and longevity – some over 13 years.

In 15 years in business we have:

• trained over 14,000 sales people

• in 86 countries

• worked with over 1 dozed Fortune 100 companies training their global commercial organization

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

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-edelson-8a36984/

Website:  www.edelson.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 powerful episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Dr. David Thompson Jr., founder of the David's Loft Group, an integrated behavioral health organization serving Baltimore City.

From growing up in Park Heights to leading a nearly 60 person team serving over 140 patients daily, Dr. Thompson shares the raw realities of scaling a mission driven healthcare organization. What started as a solo private practice evolved into a fully integrated system offering substance use treatment, mental health care, primary care, psychiatric rehabilitation, residential services, and withdrawal management under one coordinated model.

This conversation explores leadership evolution, accountability, AI in healthcare, infrastructure building, and the hard decisions required to build something sustainable.

Bio:

David H. Thompson Jr., PsyD, LCPC, is a veteran behavioral health executive and clinician with more than 38 years in human services and over 25 years in senior executive leadership. As CEO and Chief Clinical Officer of the David’s Loft Group, with multiple programs and locations throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area.  Dr. Thompson provides strategic and operational direction to an integrated behavioral health organization, overseeing clinical quality, administrative performance, and partnerships across public and private systems of care.

Throughout his career, Dr. Thompson has been repeatedly recruited into high-stakes leadership roles to stabilize complex service systems, improve outcomes, and implement data-driven, results-based accountability. He has led large multidisciplinary workforces, managed budgets ranging from $20 million to $647 million, and guided diverse divisions spanning child welfare, adult services, juvenile justice, entitlement programs, and community-based behavioral health.

Dr. Thompson is widely recognized for building high-performing teams, establishing strong accountability systems, and delivering measurable improvements in care access, safety, permanency, and organizational sustainability. His leadership blends clinical excellence, pragmatic systems reform, and a steady commitment to community-centered outcomes.

Dr. Thompson is neurodiverse, living and thriving with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Dr. Thompson was born and raised in the Park Heights neighborhood of Baltimore, MD. He attended Baltimore City Public Schools and graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar Community High School. Dr. Thompson holds a doctorate in psychology with a concentration in forensic psychology and behavioral health leadership. He is a licensed clinical professional counselor with additional certifications in forensic counseling. He is the father of four sons, 11, 12, 14, and 35. He is currently a full-time nursing student pursuing licensure requirements to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

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

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-david-h-thompson-jr-psyd-lcpc-ccfc-ccjts-cccjs-670a8923/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/davidsloftclinicalprograms/

Website:  www.davidsloft.com

Connect with me:

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

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

Check out our AI Assistant Leah:  myhlhgrowthsolutions.com/leah

Show Notes:

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Mark Grech, founder and CEO of Pyaza, to explore the future of networking, community building, and digital growth in an increasingly fragmented online world.

Mark shares his journey from leading product and tech in the iGaming industry to building a platform designed to eliminate the chaos of managing multiple networking apps. With deep experience in blockchain, crypto, Web3, and AI, he offers a candid perspective on what is broken in digital marketing today and why community driven growth is the future.

Bio:

A seasoned product expert and emerging tech advisor with over 10 years of experience in the iGaming industry, having worked with leading companies in Product, Marketing, and Technology. His last full-time role was as Chief Product & Technology Officer withing the iGaming industry.

For the past 8 years, Mark has been deeply involved in the Crypto, Blockchain, and Web3 spaces, driving innovation and developing innovate solutions. Mark is also a frequent speaker and moderator at global panel discussions. 

As a versatile leader, Mark is now driving Pyaza, his innovative product idea, towards its full potential.

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

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/m4rkgrech/

https://x.com/m4rkgrech

https://www.facebook.com/m4rkgrech

https://www.instagram.com/m4rkgrech/

https://pyaza.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, Heidi Schalk interviews Sathya Elumalai, Founder and CEO of Aidar Health, a Johns Hopkins spin off health technology company transforming long term care through AI powered predictive monitoring.
Sathya shares how his decade of experience at Johns Hopkins University exposed critical gaps in post acute and long term care, and how Aidar Health was built to answer one powerful question . . . How do we keep the people we love out of crisis

The conversation dives deep into AI in healthcare, long term care staffing challenges, regulatory rigor, scaling innovation, and what it really takes to drive adoption in a complex industry.

Bio:

Sathya Elumalai is the Founder and CEO of AIDAR Health, a clinical intelligence company redefining how chronic care and long-term care are delivered. He leads the development of MouthLab, a medical-tricorder–like device that captures multisystem physiological data in under a minute, and the AIDI predictive analytics platform, positioning AIDAR as the foundational data and AI infrastructure for next-generation care automation.

A longtime healthcare innovator and Johns Hopkins–trained public health and business leader, Sathya has built multi-million-dollar initiatives with global health systems, insurers, and corporate partners. His personal experience caring for family members with chronic illness drives his commitment to advancing proactive, data-driven care models. Under his leadership, AIDAR is scaling across long-term care facilities and preparing for its Series A to expand nationally and internationally.

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

Aidar Health:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/AidarHealth
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/Aidar.Health/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AidarHealth/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/aidar/
Twitter https://x.com/AidarHealth

Sathya Elumalai

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sathyaelumalai/
iNSTA - https://www.instagram.com/sathya.elumalai/
X - https://x.com/SathyaElumalai:   
Website:  https://www.aidar.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, Heidi Schalk sits down with Darshan Honali, founder of i2VC, to explore why deep industry expertise is becoming the true competitive advantage in today’s AI driven startup ecosystem.

Darshan shares how i2VC connects industry experts across healthcare, financial services, renewable energy, space tech, and cybersecurity with venture capital firms and early stage startups. The conversation dives into what is actually driving growth right now, how founders should think about AI beyond the hype, and why narrowing your ideal customer profile accelerates traction.

This episode is a practical guide for founders, operators, and investors who want signal over noise in a rapidly evolving AI market.

Bio:

Darshan Honale is a venture advisor and ecosystem builder working at the intersection of industry expertise, applied AI, and venture capital.

He is the founder of i2VC, a platform focused on helping domain experts across healthcare, finance, energy, and enterprise technology, connect with startups, venture funds, and private capital in meaningful ways.

Darshan advises startups, syndicates early-stage deals, and works closely with founders and investors on go-to-market clarity, capital strategy, and where AI actually creates value beyond the hype. He is particularly passionate about why industry expertise is becoming more important than software alone in an AI-driven world.

He regularly speaks at investor and operator focused events and moderates panels across healthcare, private capital, and emerging technology.

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

LinkedIn:  http://linkedin.com/in/hdarshan

Website:  i2vc.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, Heidi Schalk sits down with David Saadia, Director of Operations at Rove Travel, to explore how luxury hospitality is evolving in a remote first, AI driven world.

Broadcasting from Mexico City, David shares his global hospitality journey, from studying in Switzerland to leading hotel operations across major international cities, and how he transitioned from traditional hotel management into a fast growing luxury property management startup.

This conversation dives into experiential travel, operational excellence, company culture, AI implementation, and what it truly takes to scale a hospitality brand without sacrificing service standards.

Bio:

I was born and raised in Mexico City from a French father and American mother. At 16 I attended a hospitality summer program at Cornell and knew this was the path I wanted. I studied at Les Roches in Switzerland and later completed a Bachelor of Arts in Food and Beverage and Revenue Management at Kendall College in Chicago.

My career has taken me through several countries and brands. I worked in Barcelona at the Ritz Carlton, in New York at the Eventi Hotel, in Thailand, Italy, and Chicago. At 23 I moved to California to run operations for a 93 room hotel, overseeing housekeeping, front office, reporting directly to the General Manager.

After 8 years abroad I moved back to Mexico City to be closer to family and stepped into the startup world. I joined WeWork in its early stage and worked across operations and sales. I eventually led all building openings across Latin America during a period of rapid growth. I later joined Oyo Rooms, where I led Sales Operations and helped build processes for a business development team of around 300 to 400 people.

A few years later, my passion for hospitality brought me back when I got recruited as General Manager at Habitas. I managed their flagship hotel in Tulum and their new property in Bacalar, overseeing about 200 team members and 77 rooms.

A year ago I joined Rove Travel as Director of Operations. I oversee the guest experience across multiple US markets and manage a fully remote concierge team. My work focuses on operational systems, quality control, vendor management, training, and building consistent hospitality standards across our luxury rental portfolio.

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

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rove_travel?igsh=MTZvZDd3bXhtMGgzZg==

Website:  www.rovetravel.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, Heidi Schalk welcomes Dolapo Adedayo, Founder of Trend Hijacking, to discuss how e-commerce can be repositioned from a side hustle into a structured, cash flowing investment vehicle.

Dolapo shares how his journey began in 2017 when he acquired his first profitable e-commerce business, scaled it, and exited within two years. That experience reshaped his perspective on digital businesses, leading him to build a firm that helps investors buy, scale, and exit profitable e-commerce brands using institutional grade diligence and below market acquisition strategies.

Rather than building from zero, Dolapo advocates skipping the zero to one phase and acquiring businesses that already have product market fit, infrastructure, teams, and cash flow in place. From there, the focus becomes operational optimization, margin expansion, global scalability, and structured exits within one to three years.

Bio:

Dolapo Adedayo is the Founder and Managing Partner of Trend Hijacking, an alternative wealth advisory helping high-net-worth individuals, professionals, and entrepreneurs diversify into digital assets, specifically e-commerce businesses, through structured acquisition, growth, and exit strategies.

Under Dolapo’s leadership, Trend Hijacking has developed a proven model designed to create predictable and outsized returns:

- Acquire profitable e-commerce businesses below market value.

- Scale them using performance-driven frameworks to achieve 2–5× revenue growth within 12–24 months.

- Exit at premium multiples of 3–5×, maximizing client ROI.

Unlike traditional brokers, Dolapo and his team operate as buy-side advisors and operators, applying private equity discipline to every phase of the process, from sourcing and evaluation to negotiation, scaling, and exit execution.

Through this model, Dolapo has helped investors generate consistent cash flow, mitigate risk, and build long-term wealth within the rapidly growing $6 trillion e-commerce sector.

His mission is clear: To democratize the strategies used by private equity firms and make them accessible to individual investors seeking to diversify portfolios and build sustainable wealth through digital commerce.

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

Personal Socials:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adedayo-dolapo/

https://x.com/DolapoAdedayo3

Business Socials:

https://www.youtube.com/@TrendHijackingAcquisition

https://trendhijacking.com/blog

https://trendhijacking.com/ecommerce-businesses-for-sale

Website:  http://trendhijacking.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, Heidi Schalk sits down with James Hamet, CEO and Founder of Vistim Labs, to explore a breakthrough approach to neurological care.

Vistim Labs is tackling one of the biggest challenges in neurology: knowing whether a treatment is actually working. While tools like PET scans and MRIs provide structural information, they are expensive, difficult to access, and not designed for frequent monitoring. James shares how Vistim Labs uses advanced EEG based brain imaging to deliver real time, non radioactive insights into brain function in just 30 minutes.

The conversation dives into how this technology helps physicians personalize treatment plans for conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. With nearly 40 percent of patients potentially receiving therapies that do not produce results, having measurable feedback can dramatically improve outcomes. By providing objective data, doctors can adjust treatment sooner, build trust with patients, and accelerate progress.

James also explains the science behind neurofeedback and how measurable feedback drives neuroplasticity. From retraining fall prevention responses in elderly patients to supporting cognitive recovery, feedback loops are central to measurable improvement in both medicine and performance.

Beyond the science, this episode explores the realities of building a high tech medical company. James discusses regulatory hurdles, insurance reimbursement challenges, long sales cycles, and the importance of humility and generosity in scaling innovation. He shares why scientific conferences have been his most effective growth strategy and how physician education remains a critical focus.

A powerful takeaway from this conversation is that Alzheimer’s disease is not necessarily a hopeless diagnosis. Emerging research and measurable treatment monitoring are changing what is possible.

Key topics covered include

• How EEG based brain imaging compares to PET scans
 • The importance of treatment monitoring in neurology
 • Personalized therapy for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
 • Neurofeedback and brain plasticity
 • FDA approval and reimbursement challenges in medical innovation
 • Scaling a mission driven biotech startup
 • Increasing access to neurological diagnostics across the United States

To learn more or connect with James, visit vistimlabs.com.

If you are a neurologist, physician, patient, or know someone navigating a neurological condition, this episode is one you will want to share.

Bio:

Serial neurotechnology entrepreneur, specialized in brain imaging

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

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

Website:  https://vistimlabs.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 high energy episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Yancy Culp, Co Creator and Senior Director of Spartan DEKA, for a powerful conversation that connects fitness, leadership, mindset, and business growth.

Yancy shares his journey from completing a grueling 72 hour Spartan Death Race to helping build a globally recognized fitness competition designed for all levels. What began as a bold idea inside the Spartan ecosystem has evolved into thousands of revenue generating events inside gyms, studios, and fitness communities around the world.

This conversation goes far beyond physical fitness. Yancy explains why movement is foundational to high performance leadership and why training the body directly impacts clarity, decision making, resilience, and long term success in business and life.

Bio:

Yancy Culp is the Co-Creator and Senior Director of Spartan DEKA. A U.S. Navy veteran with more than 30 years in the health, wellness, and fitness industry, Yancy has built a career as a coach, business owner, and team leader. His journey with Spartan began during the 2013 Spartan Death Race, a 72-hour challenge that became a life-changing experience and sparked a lasting friendship and opportunity to work for Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena.

Before joining Spartan and DEKA, Yancy spent over 15 years managing Fixed Base Operator (FBO) aviation facilities and military aviation contracts, leading large-scale operations and service teams on U.S. military bases and civilian airports. During this period and continuing today, he has coached more than 5,000 group exercise classes while managing his own fitness businesses.

Ever the multitasker, Yancy has also developed a long-standing career in the health and wellness space. He serves as the Active Lifestyle Coach for the science-driven nutrition company Humann and as a Master Coach for Get Burly, which offers mental and physical conditioning camps focused on leadership and personal development.

From day one, Yancy’s mission with DEKA has been to create a globally recognized sport for all fitness levels, offering fitness testing experiences that highlight the value of consistent training and caring for what he calls “our beautiful machine - our body.” He believes everyone is an athlete and that we should all train for the ultimate sport: life.

Yancy says:

“My fitness love tank is filled every weekend when I see DEKA gyms around the world hosting events and celebrating fitness with their members and communities. Gym owners are hanging DEKA finisher medals around the necks of first-time testers, elite athletes, and everyone in between. At 4,500+ events and counting, it’s safe to say we’ve created a globally recognized sport for all levels—and we’re just getting started.”

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

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/yancy-culp-b792b519b/

Instagram: @yancyculp @deka.fit @spartan @dekaeurope 

Connect with me:

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

Show Notes:

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Kylen Ribeiro, CEO of Defender Shield, to explore the intersection of business growth, digital wellness, leadership, and EMF protection.

Kylen shares the powerful origin story behind Defender Shield, founded by a telecom engineer who discovered the potential health impacts of electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation long before it entered the mainstream conversation. What began as a solution to protect family members from laptop radiation has grown into a global digital wellness brand trusted by health-conscious consumers, parents, and clinicians alike.

This conversation dives deep into EMF exposure, modern technology habits, leadership as a female CEO, education-first marketing, and how companies can scale while staying mission-driven. Kylen also offers practical, no-cost steps listeners can take immediately to reduce EMF exposure in their homes and workplaces.

Whether you’re a business leader, parent, wellness advocate, or simply someone navigating life in a tech-heavy world, this episode delivers insight, clarity, and actionable guidance.

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

facebook.com/defendershield

Instagram.com/defendershield 

tiktok.com/defendershield

defendershield.com

https://defendershield.com/pages/bios

Connect with me:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/HeidiSchalk