Most founders are using AI wrong — and it's quietly burning them out. I sat down with Manuj Aggarwal, founder and Chief Innovation Officer at TetraNoodle Technologies, who has been working in AI since 2005 and now sits at the crossroads of artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and psychology. His central argument: unfiltered AI output is like crude oil for the mind — it overwhelms, it bypasses your values, and it makes you busier without making you better.

Manuj walks us through his seven-pillar AI Merge framework, designed to help founders engage with AI in a way that's actually aligned with who they are — their purpose, identity, relationships, creativity, time, peace of mind, and embodiment. He references the Japanese concept of ikigai as a practical starting point for purpose discovery, and explains why the founders who truly win in this era will be the ones who know themselves deeply first. He also shares the story of how he literally fired himself as CEO of his own company, replacing that role with an AI-powered digital twin — and why it's working better than he expected.

If you're overwhelmed by AI noise, canceling plans to stay home and "just work," or chasing every new tool without a clear reason — this conversation will reframe everything. Manuj's message is counterintuitive but powerful: slow down, go outside, talk to real people, and use AI as a precision instrument rather than a crutch.

Learn More:

Build your founder brand with Mylance: https://mylance.co Connect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Welcome & intro: Manuj Aggarwal
00:41 Manuj's background & origin story
02:23 20 years in AI before ChatGPT
03:09 AI's real impact on the founder mind
06:56 Outsourcing decisions to AI: the risk
07:08 Why AI doesn't know your values
09:17 How to use AI the right way
09:31 The 7-pillar AI Merge framework
13:44 Breaking the addiction of working from home
14:37 The evolutionary shift happening right now
16:40 AI as the "middle 50%" of the past
17:12 What is a digital twin for founders?
20:24 How well does it actually work?
21:32 Too many AI tools — how to choose
22:11 Focus on problems, not tools
24:05 Can you clone Elon Musk or Steve Jobs?
24:40 Why someone else's nervous system won't help you
26:46 How do you actually find your purpose?
26:56 Ikigai, purpose, and the new economy

Most people think the problem with their LinkedIn content is time — but the real issue is fear. In this solo episode, Bradley Jacobs breaks down why generic, AI-generated posts destroy trust with potential clients, and what to do instead. Using a real story from his time on the Uber launch team in Raleigh — a post that earned 700,000 impressions and 22 inbound leads — Bradley shows exactly what makes LinkedIn content actually work: firsthand experience, specific detail, and a narrative that only you could tell.

Bradley also walks through the framework behind effective LinkedIn positioning: defining your ideal customer, identifying their pain points, and building content pillars that make your presence consistent and credible over time. Whether you're a fractional executive, independent consultant, or B2B founder, this episode gives you a clear-eyed look at why your uniqueness is your biggest competitive advantage — and how to stop leaving it on the table.

Build your founder brand with Mylance: https://mylance.coConnect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Intro & Mylance overview01:10 The webinar that sparked this episode02:05 Why LinkedIn content feels cringy03:00 The Uber vs. Lyft Raleigh story05:10 What made the post go viral06:30 Wins, losses & why both build trust07:45 What destroys trust on LinkedIn08:30 Fear is the real barrier, not time09:45 Positioning & content pillars framework11:20 Marrying personal stories with professionalism12:40 The 22 inbound leads lesson13:30 Wrap-up & Mylance free version CTA

Bradley Jacobs sits down with Jamie Sylvian — a 30-year international communications consultant, author of the Executive Nomad Operating System, and founder of Executive Nomad. Jamie has worked with clients ranging from British Gas and global publishing houses to the British Royal Family, all while calling 13 countries home. He's built a business that sold for $200 million and survived a complete collapse in 2008.

The conversation digs into the emotional reality of the founder journey — how to get back up after a deal falls apart, why stepping away from the business (rather than over-analyzing) is often the fastest path to clarity, and how Jamie's "Remarkable Wednesday" routine has grounded him for over two decades.

Jamie reframes self-doubt not as a weakness, but as a productive tool. He shares how questioning whether Executive Nomad would resonate with anyone actually pushed him to validate the market, invest in learning AI, and sharpen his positioning. He also unpacks the moment Executive Nomad was born — a spontaneous conversation in a Greek harbor town with a recently made-redundant 54-year-old — and how it revealed that his decades of lived experience were far more valuable than he'd realized.

For any fractional executive or independent consultant navigating identity, confidence, and the leap from corporate life, this conversation delivers honest, hard-won perspective.

Referenced: Executive Nomad Operating System by Jamie Sylvian

Learn More:

Elevate your voice: https://mylance.co

Connect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Introduction & Jamie's background
00:51 Biggest lesson from 30 years in business
01:51 Staying true to your word — with others and yourself
03:04 How Jamie recovers from major setbacks
04:28 The power of stepping away: city walks & coffee
07:06 Remarkable Wednesday: his 20-year weekly ritual
09:00 What "Remarkable Wednesday" actually looks like
09:39 How Executive Nomad was born in Greece
12:15 Author of your life vs. victim mindset
13:08 Using self-doubt productively
14:22 Why saying no builds credibility
16:48 Imposter syndrome & the confidence gap
17:28 Learning from personality clashes
21:02 Self-doubt as a research and validation tool
21:51 Helping corporate execs find their second act
23:34 "The Advantages of Self-Doubt"
24:48 Separating your identity from your business
26:36 Closing million-dollar deals on your own terms

Most founders and fractional executives struggle with sales — not because they lack skills, but because they're leading with the wrong message. Bradley Jacobs breaks down how he learned this the hard way, sharing stories from his time at Uber that fundamentally shaped his approach to selling.

It started with a rejection. After a successful Uber Eats launch in Miami, Bradley was turned down for a GM role and kept hitting walls when pitching for other positions internally. The problem? He was making it all about himself. The shift came when he reframed his pitch around what the company actually needed — launch expertise for a global Uber Eats rollout — and suddenly got a one-way ticket to Amsterdam.

That mindset carried into his first consulting engagement, where he landed a $25K/month fractional role with a Series A startup by focusing entirely on their problem, not his credentials. No hard sell. Just a clear solution to a high-stakes challenge they were already facing.

Bradley connects these lessons to content strategy and LinkedIn, arguing that value-first content works the same way: give generously, ask strategically, and when you do ask, make the ask itself a value exchange. The formula is simple — solve real problems, ask good questions, and share everything you know.

Learn More:
Elevate your voice: https://mylance.co
Connect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Introduction and Mylance overview
00:34 Learning to sell through mistakes
00:56 The Uber Eats Miami launch story
01:45 Hitting walls with internal pitches
02:46 Lesson 1: Make it about them, not you
03:41 Reframing the pitch around Uber's goals
04:35 Getting the yes — a ticket to Amsterdam
05:24 Fast forward: going fractional after Uber
06:02 Reaching out to 12 companies cold
06:44 Finding the problem worth solving
07:19 Building the $25K/month proposal
07:56 Landing the first consulting client
08:50 Three core lessons from that win
09:41 How content works like a proposal
10:28 Sharing mistakes as value-add content
11:01 One takeaway: always add value
12:15 The give/give/give, then ask model
12:37 How good questions create value
13:41 Value-first content strategy explained
14:17 The 90/10 rule: give vs. ask
15:07 Summary and closing thoughts
15:36 Check out Mylance

After three corporate layoffs, Mindy Gibbins-Klein decided she was done playing by someone else's rules. She went out on her own — no business plan, just determination — and built a career that now spans 15 books, two TEDx talks, and coaching over 50,000 leaders across 18 countries.

Bradley Jacobs sits down with Mindy to dig into the real stuff: what it actually took to buy out her co-founder, run a publishing company into the red, and then — through radical ownership and a few honest conversations — turn it back around. She talks about selling the company five years later and freeing up 35 hours a week to focus on what she was built for.

The conversation gets into the identity challenges founders face when they move from employee to visible leader — and why so many talented people hold back. Mindy makes a compelling case for just getting out there: speaking badly, writing imperfectly, being a beginner in public. She references her flagship book The Thoughtful Leader and the concept of choosing your influences intentionally — what she calls "the power of the UN": unfollow, unsubscribe, unplug. She also shares her personal mantra, shaped by years of Tony Robbins' Date with Destiny, and why saying it to yourself repeatedly actually works.

If you've been sitting on your expertise instead of putting it into the world, this one's for you.

Guest: Mindy Gibbins-Klein
Website: mindygk.com
LinkedIn: Mindy Gibbins-Klein

Books Mentioned:

• The Thoughtful Leader — Mindy Gibbins-Klein

• Think and Grow Rich — Napoleon Hill

Become a LinkedIn thought leader: https://mylance.co
Connect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Introduction
00:57 Mindy's background & accidental entrepreneurship
02:36 Buying out a co-founder & turning the company around
04:39 Navigating four years of losses emotionally
06:30 Where self-belief comes from
08:18 Advice for founders in a tough spot
09:51 Habits, influences & the power of the UN
10:40 Radical ownership & taking responsibility
14:13 Separating identity from business outcomes
16:59 Self-esteem and not being the business
18:45 Owning the good stuff too
20:08 What "leadership" actually means
21:33 Winning in a tough market
22:23 Visibility, credibility & quality over quantity
25:10 LinkedIn strategy & reaching the right people
26:00 What holds people back from being visible
28:40 Be willing to be bad in public
29:28 Handling haters & criticism online
31:53 Overcoming fear of speaking on stage
33:55 Going from employee to visible founder
34:31 Personal mantras & choosing empowering beliefs
36:49 How to find and work with Mindy
38:10 Wrap-up

Sharing your expertise on LinkedIn might feel uncomfortable — even disingenuous. But what if that discomfort is just fear wearing a disguise?

Bradley Jacobs tackles two of the most common mental blocks that hold fractional executives and consultants back from showing up consistently on LinkedIn. The first: the feeling that posting is hollow because "everyone knows" you're just trying to get clients. The second: the fear of looking desperate, especially when you're newly independent and visible to former colleagues, managers, and peers.

Bradley reframes both head-on. Marketing your service is only disingenuous if you're not delivering real value — and if you're genuinely helping people, sharing content is actually one of the most generous things you can do. He also breaks down how the LinkedIn algorithm actually works, explaining why posting frequently doesn't come across as spammy to your audience the way you might fear.

The deeper theme here is judgment. We can never control how others perceive us, and trying to manage those perceptions comes at a real cost — to our consistency, our confidence, and our business. Bradley shares a personal story about accidentally posting an unfinished draft to his 25,000 followers and walking away just fine. The takeaway? Being a business owner means accepting some level of vulnerability. The upside — connecting with clients, growing a practice, and genuinely helping people — is absolutely worth it.

Start Posting on LinkedIn: https://mylance.coConnect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Welcome & episode intro

00:15 About Mylance & free positioning

01:03 Real customer email: "it feels disingenuous"

02:25 Why this mindset won't get you anywhere

03:06 Value-first approach to content

04:18 The fear of looking desperate on LinkedIn

05:17 Why managing perception holds you back

05:29 How the LinkedIn algorithm actually works

06:41 Consistency vs. perfection

07:20 Letting go of the fear of judgment

07:56 The accidental unfinished post story

09:08 Leaving your job is a good thing

09:42 Reframe: sharing expertise is generous

10:54 What 1 in 100 critics actually means

11:33 Real results from showing up consistently

12:22 Authenticity over perception management

13:34 Being a business owner means being polarizing

14:22 Wrap-up & call to action

What if the biggest thing holding you back in sales isn't your pitch — it's your presence? I sat down with Jake Stahl, communication strategist, CEO of Orchestrate, and author of Own the Room: How to Communicate to Be Seen, Heard and Respected, to dig into the psychology behind how founders show up, build trust, and close deals.

Jake created NeuroStrategy — a practical framework for reading people in real time — and he pulls zero punches here. We get into why founders who say "I'm not a salesperson" are actually selling themselves better than they think, the power of transferring passion instead of running a script, and why letting your humanness show is a bigger competitive advantage than any polished brand presence.

We also cover the art of using silence and tension to hold your price, how "intentional networking" can generate 360 solid connections in a year, and why authenticity is now the sharpest differentiator in an AI-saturated world. Jake shares the story behind his book — including a personal chapter on overcoming opioid dependency — and why vulnerability is a feature, not a flaw.

If you're a founder trying to communicate with confidence, influence at scale, or simply close more deals by being more yourself, this conversation is for you.

Learn More: Scale your fractional practice: https://mylance.co Connect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

Guest Info

Jake Stahl

• Podcast: Own the Room with Jake Stahl

• Book: Own the Room: How to Communicate to Be Seen, Heard and Respected — available on Amazon

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakestahl/

• TikTok / YouTube / Social: @OwntheRoomwithJakeStahl

00:00 Introduction
01:04 Jake explains what he does
02:12 Live presence feedback for Bradley
03:51 What founders get wrong about selling
05:48 Reveling in failure to fuel growth
07:47 The power of reframing mistakes
09:24 How to handle being emotionally knocked down
10:50 Early-stage presence on a tight budget
13:09 Being human vs. being credible
15:47 Why talking like a friend outperforms any sales script
18:21 Product-led trust: building presence through content
20:17 Human presence in an AI-driven world
22:35 AI and standing out from more competitors
27:34 How tension creates trust in negotiations
29:18 Why discounting signals low confidence
31:41 The psychology of silence in sales
33:43 Building influence and becoming a speaker
34:49 Intentional networking: the 2x2 strategy
37:49 Keys to building influence at scale
40:49 Authenticity as a content strategy
41:37 Jake's story: vulnerability and the book
41:49 Jake's shameless plug and how to connect

Six years into building Mylance, I'm sharing the messy, unfiltered emotional journey of what it actually takes to go from corporate high-performer to founder — and why the gap between expectation and reality nearly broke me.

When I left Uber in 2018, I had launched billion-dollar business lines and convinced myself that building my own company would be a natural next step. I was wrong. What followed were years of scattered product decisions, self-doubt, comparison, and a crushing sense of being "behind." I tied my entire identity to the business — and when results didn't match the vision, it hit hard.

Three emotional shifts changed everything for me. First, I had to decouple my self-worth from my company's performance. Second, I had to stop comparing myself — not just to other founders, but to the version of myself I'd imagined I'd be by now. Third, I had to release the illusion of control and learn to trust the process instead of the spreadsheet model.

The businesses that scale don't do everything — they solve one narrow problem extraordinarily well. I wasn't doing that. But every "wrong" turn taught me something I couldn't have learned any other way.

Wherever you are in your founder journey, you're not behind. You're exactly where you need to be.

Learn More:
Scale your fractional practice: https://mylance.coConnect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Introduction

00:09 Bradley's founder journey begins

00:56 Coming off a billion-dollar run at Uber

1:17 When reality didn't match expectations

2:16 Spotting the fractional market opportunity

3:04 The $100M fantasy — and why it fell apart

3:57 Building an advisor team with no founders

4:33 Scaling products vs. finding product-market fit

5:27 The Salesforce focus lesson

5:51 Chasing too many products at once

6:38 Three emotional shifts that changed everything

6:59 Shift 1: Decoupling identity from the business

7:14 A coach's question that stopped Bradley cold

8:22 Shift 2: Letting go of "I should be further along"

9:03 Shift 3: Releasing the illusion of control

9:30 Process over spreadsheet models

10:38 Reframing failure as foundation

11:13 The Uber rejection that became a gift

12:16 Trusting the timeline you're actually on

13:16 Why the "perfect" fantasy has no lessons

14:19 Spiritual trust and the founder mindset

14:52 What Bradley would tell his year-three self

15:20 A message for every founder feeling behind

15:44 What Mylance is building right now

16:24 Wrap-up and call to action

Most founders have the skills — but not the confidence to sell them. Business coach and author Julee Gracey joins Bradley Jacobs to break down why confidence is the real driver behind sales, visibility, and sustainable business growth.

Julee shares her journey from international modeling and TV to selling millions in real estate to coaching founders and executives — and the frameworks she uses to help entrepreneurs stop second-guessing themselves and start showing up. From her time audit method (which uncovered 97 wasted hours in one month for a single client) to her approach to emotional intelligence in sales, this conversation is packed with actionable tools. Bradley and Julee also discuss Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss and why making people feel heard is the single most powerful thing you can do in a sales conversation.

If you're a founder who knows you need to put yourself out there more, struggles with self-promotion, or just wants to sell with less friction and more confidence — this one's for you.

Connect with Julee Gracey:

• Book: Highly Confident — available on Amazon (audiobook now available)
• Website & Coaching: juleegracey.com
• Instagram: @juleegracey

Learn More:Scale your fractional practice: https://mylance.coConnect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Introduction & Julee's background

01:10 The driving force behind her career pivots

02:34 Why she walked away from real estate

04:58 Discovering her mentorship superpower

07:07 Modeling, identity, and building thick skin

10:10 How to not take rejection personally

13:37 It's usually not about you

15:40 The two-minute pity party strategy

18:34 Communication, listening & marriage lessons

21:50 Defining emotional intelligence in leadership

24:36 Why EQ matters for business growth

26:37 Never Split the Difference & feeling heard

27:46 Controlling the sale while listening

28:03 The #1 principle from Highly Confident

30:26 The 15-minute time audit explained

34:03 Why every founder needs a coach

36:05 The 80% prospecting rule for founders

36:34 Overcoming fear of self-promotion

40:15 Building resilience from within

43:43 How to work with Julee Gracey

What does it actually take to build something that lasts — and what's quietly holding you back? This week Bradley Jacobs sits down with Ty Hammond on the True Leadership Podcast to get real about the mindset and inner work behind Mylance's journey.

Bradley opens up about his early days at Uber — including a $20,000 mistake he made in his third week on the job — and what his first boss there taught him about leadership that actually works: care for your people, invest in their growth, and watch everything else follow. It's a model he's carried into how he leads his own team at Mylance today.

The conversation goes deep on what true leadership looks like in practice — why the best leaders aim to not be needed, how to understand what actually motivates your team (hint: it's not always money), and why asking direct, consistent questions in 1-on-1s is one of the most underrated tools a founder has.

Bradley also reflects on his own growing edge: the fear that quietly runs the show, the ownership mindset that drives him, and why he believes the inner work is the real reason Mylance is still going. If you've ever felt like fear might be holding you back, this one's for you.

Learn More: Scale your fractional practice: https://mylance.co Connect with Bradley Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-r-jacobs/

00:00 Introduction & episode overview

01:20 About Bradley Jacobs & Mylance

02:51 Early leadership influences

03:05 The $20K Uber mistake & what followed

04:52 How genuine care shows up in leadership

05:19 What made his first boss different

06:44 How caring leadership benefited Uber

07:14 Ownership mindset & the "be an owner" culture

08:35 What true leadership means to Bradley

09:00 Hiring smarter people & getting ego out of the way

10:30 Understanding what truly motivates people

11:00 The CTO bonus story — money vs. recognition

12:00 How to uncover what motivates your team

12:22 Asking direct questions & consistent check-ins

13:43 Ownership as a core motivator for entrepreneurs

14:14 Inner work, impact, and why Bradley keeps building