Founders Future

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Madonna Williams, yoga trainer, author of Zen Soul Your Life, and founder of Zen Soul Academy on Australia’s Gold Coast. Madonna shares her powerful journey from health and physical education teacher, performer, and talent agent to fully stepping into her calling as a yoga educator and spiritual guide. After a life-altering horse accident in 1993 and the profound personal losses that followed, she immersed herself in meditation, breathwork, and yoga philosophy—experiences that reshaped her path and ignited a lifelong devotion to healing and inner growth.

Today, through Zen Soul Academy, Madonna offers yoga teacher trainings, retreats, one-on-one and group coaching, and online programs designed to empower individuals to overcome fear, grief, and self-doubt. Rooted in the Chopra coaching model and enriched by her Himalayan yogic studies in India, her work blends meditation, breathwork, and deep self-inquiry to help clients access their own inner wisdom. With a recent rebrand and a renewed focus on global online platforms, Madonna’s 2026 vision centers on balance, automation, and expanding her reach—while staying true to her authentic, heart-led teaching style.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Richard Harris, Founder of Harris Consulting Group and creator of the NEAT Selling framework. Richard shares how an unexpected career turn—getting laid off—led him into consulting, ultimately building a successful business rooted in decades of sales experience. From working his first sales job at The Gap to advising top companies like Salesforce and Zoom, Richard walks us through how he carved his own path in the world of B2B sales.

He dives into the realities of building a consulting business, including the decision between scaling a company versus maintaining a lifestyle business. Richard also shares practical insights on client acquisition, emphasizing referrals, consistent outreach, and meeting your audience where they are. Beyond strategy, he opens up about mindset—imposter syndrome, staying consistent, and pushing beyond comfort zones—as he sets a bold goal to double his revenue while continuing to evolve alongside trends like AI.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Gabriella Cacciatore, a trauma-informed coach, author of Unbroken, and corporate wellness facilitator. Gabriella shares her deeply personal journey—from working as a personal trainer to navigating repressed trauma that reshaped her life and purpose. Through her own healing process, she developed a unique, body-based approach that now helps others process trauma, reconnect with themselves, and live more authentically.

She dives into how she built her business around authenticity, referrals, and energetic alignment rather than traditional marketing tactics. Gabriella also shares her expansion into corporate workshops, group programs, and her long-term vision of scaling impact through her “Unbroken Method.” With a strong focus on healing, leadership, and emotional well-being, she emphasizes that true growth—both personal and professional—starts from within.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Kimberly Joy, founder of The FEW (Fellowship of Extraordinary Women), a faith-driven community empowering women to step into leadership, confidence, and purpose. Kimberly shares how her journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t about solving a problem—but fulfilling a calling. After struggling with fear of rejection and repeatedly quitting past ventures, she found the courage to build a purpose-led community that has now grown into a thriving network of women across the U.S.

Today, Kimberly supports mission-driven women through mentorship, certifications, publishing opportunities, and powerful in-person and virtual gatherings. With a strong emphasis on authentic connection and organic growth, she has built a six-figure business without relying heavily on paid ads. As she looks ahead, Kimberly is focused on expanding The FEW through new city chapters, empowering more women to lead, collaborate, and create impact within their own communities.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Tanya Hagre, a remote business mentor and seven-figure strategist in the e-commerce space, to explore her journey from a decade-long career in healthcare and public health to building a flexible, purpose-driven business. After realizing that the traditional corporate path didn’t align with the life she envisioned, Tanya began building on the side—despite early failures, including losing everything in a brick-and-mortar franchise. Through persistence and reinvention, she eventually found her niche in e-commerce and mentoring, creating a business model centered on sustainability, freedom, and long-term growth.

Tanya shares her philosophy on building “recession-proof” income without burnout, emphasizing financial awareness, intentional living, and creating additional income streams without unnecessary risk. She explains her shift away from one-on-one coaching toward scalable mentorship and partnerships, allowing her to serve more people while maintaining balance. The conversation also highlights her organic approach to growth through relationships, personal branding, and evolving connection strategies—from in-person networking to LinkedIn and now podcasting—reminding us that success is not about speed, but alignment, consistency, and living a life that truly feels good.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Leo O’Brien, founder of AdScriptly, a platform focused on helping marketers and agencies improve ad performance through better data and automation. Leo shares his journey from working in digital marketing roles across multiple industries to building his own solution that addresses a critical gap in advertising—tracking real business outcomes beyond surface-level metrics.

Leo dives into how AdScriptly empowers agencies to optimize campaigns based on revenue-driven data, while also exploring the transition from consulting to a scalable SaaS model. He discusses the challenges of bootstrapping, the importance of distribution, and the fast-moving nature of AI in marketing—highlighting both the opportunities and pressure to innovate quickly in an increasingly competitive space.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Dana Kushnir, Digital Coach & Story Alchemist, and founder of Mantra Digital House, to explore her journey from a background in music into becoming a storytelling-driven marketing strategist. Dana shares how her natural shift from creative production into content and marketing led her to discover her true calling—helping brands communicate their message with clarity and purpose. With entrepreneurship running in her family, she embraced building her own business while balancing motherhood, ultimately reshaping her priorities and approach to growth.

Dana dives into how she helps small to medium-sized businesses uncover the core story behind their brand, blending data-driven strategy with authentic emotional connection to create impactful content that converts. She discusses the importance of building strong foundations before scaling, her reliance on organic growth and word-of-mouth referrals, and why systems and operations are her current focus for reaching the next level. Looking ahead, she shares her vision of integrating AI-powered tools and scalable products to expand her impact while maintaining a deeply personalized approach.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Brandon King, founder of Churlish Media, to explore his journey from creating simple content for a local gym to building a full-service storytelling and lead generation agency. What started as a casual experiment quickly turned into a thriving business as Brandon discovered the power of combining cinematic storytelling with strategic marketing. Without initially planning to become an entrepreneur, he followed opportunities, refined his craft, and built a company rooted in hands-on collaboration and real client results.

Brandon shares how Churlish Media helps service-based businesses and nonprofits grow through a hybrid approach—blending high-quality video production with backend lead generation systems that convert attention into revenue. He opens up about the realities of building a business in a market that doesn’t always understand modern marketing, the importance of education and persistence, and how shifting to paid ads unlocked scalable growth. This conversation highlights the power of storytelling in business, the value of being deeply involved with clients, and the long game required to build something meaningful and sustainable.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Paulina Siegel and Andrea Taylor, founders of Unravel & Rise, to explore their journey from licensed therapists to building a transformational coaching program designed to help high-performing professionals overcome burnout. After working closely with executives, founders, and leaders in their private practices, they began to notice a recurring pattern—high achievers who looked successful on the outside but were mentally, emotionally, and physically depleted. This realization led them to create a 90-day program focused on nervous system regulation and sustainable performance.

Paulina and Andrea break down their unique approach, combining clinical expertise with somatic and experiential practices to help clients not only understand burnout but actively rewire their internal systems. They share how their program blends education with embodiment—starting with identifying burnout patterns and ending with reconnecting clients to creativity, presence, and joy. The conversation also highlights their organic growth through word-of-mouth, the importance of addressing burnout at its root rather than relying on quick fixes, and their broader mission to normalize nervous system work as a foundation for long-term success and well-being.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Denise R. Green, Executive Coach, best-selling author, and founder of Brilliance Inc., to explore her unconventional journey into leadership and coaching. From starting her career at Oracle with no formal business training—shortly after recovering from a life-altering injury—Denise shares how developing presence, curiosity, and empathy became her greatest strengths. That experience shaped her philosophy that true success doesn’t come from overworking, but from being grounded, self-aware, and intentional in how we show up.

Denise dives into her work helping high-achieving professionals—particularly women—break free from what she calls “worker bee syndrome,” a deeply ingrained pattern of overworking, people-pleasing, and self-doubt. She explains how most personal development efforts fail because they don’t address the subconscious “operating system” formed early in life, and how transforming that internal wiring can unlock confidence, influence, and lasting change. Through a blend of neuroscience-backed coaching and real-world leadership insight, Denise empowers her clients to move from overwhelm to clarity, and from striving to truly leading.