Founders Future

In this episode of Founders, Future, with host Karyn Vadnais, we meet John Schenkelberg, founder of Deep Signal Labs, who pivoted from corporate finance to pioneering AI-driven marketing solutions. John shares his entrepreneurial journey—from building a seven-figure e-commerce business to launching Deep Signal Labs, which helps businesses retarget high-intent website visitors with unmatched precision. His lightweight pixel technology captures first-party data in real-time, enabling clients to create hyper-accurate custom audiences and slash customer acquisition costs. John also dives into his lean team structure, referral-driven growth, and the challenges of scaling predictable lead generation.

John reveals his vision for the next 6–12 months, including expanding his sales team and onboarding 100+ clients, while emphasizing the critical role of AI in marketing’s future. His advice for founders? “Stay open to new perspectives, navigate challenges with resilience, and keep moving forward.” A testament to adaptability, John’s story highlights how embracing innovation can transform industries—and careers.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, Jacob DeGraffe, founder and CEO of Momentum Sports Management, shares his journey from military service to building a veteran-led, NBPA-certified sports agency. Jacob discusses how Momentum Sports empowers athletes through NBA, international, and career development services, emphasizing the importance of personal connections and realistic career guidance in a competitive industry dominated by larger agencies. He opens up about the challenges of breaking into the sports agent world, including failing his NBPA exam the first time, and how perseverance led to signing increasingly high-profile clients.

Jacob dives into the agency’s unique approach—prioritizing personalized attention over transactional relationships—and how they help athletes navigate contracts, overseas opportunities, and the mental hurdles of professional sports. He also reflects on the future of Momentum Sports, including upcoming NBA Summer League networking goals, and offers heartfelt advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: "Your learning curve is your curve—keep your feet moving, or you’ll sink."

In this episode of Founders, Future, with host Karyn Vadnais, we sit down with Soumam Debgupta, founder of Lightyear Ventures, a firm dedicated to helping mid-market businesses boost their valuations through digital transformation. With over 17 years of experience at companies like Amazon and JLL, Soumam shares his motivation for starting Lightyear Ventures—rooted in his father’s small business journey and the realization that many SMBs struggle with scaling and exit strategies. He breaks down the ideal client profile, core offerings (outsourcing non-core tasks, operational tech optimization, and digital marketing for pricing/margin growth), and the vision behind building a buy-sell ecosystem for small business owners looking to retire or transition.

Soumam dives into Lightyear Ventures’ unique approach to client acquisition (leveraging LinkedIn outreach, broker networks, and targeted content) and future scaling plans, including perfecting a repeatable operating model before expanding digital marketing efforts. He also shares invaluable advice for founders in the digital transformation space—urging them to niche down early, perfect their solution before scaling, and embrace AI tools to stay ahead. The conversation highlights how Lightyear Ventures bridges the gap between traditional small business ownership and modern, valuation-driven growth strategies.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Mishal Saeed, we explore the journey of Lisa Swift Young, founder and CEO of SpecialtyRx Growth, as she transforms the healthcare consulting landscape. Lisa brings years of expertise in healthcare and pharmacy operations to help long-term care pharmacies scale, optimize operations, and navigate complex regulations. Having transitioned from Big Pharma and large pharmacy operations, she identified a critical gap in the industry where pharmacists excel as clinicians but often lack essential leadership and business skills needed to grow their practices effectively.

Lisa shares her innovative approach to bridging the passion-profit divide in healthcare through personalized consulting programs, including her signature 90-day "abbreviated MBA" for healthcare professionals. She discusses her client acquisition strategies leveraging LinkedIn thought leadership, speaking engagements at healthcare associations, and her recent venture into TikTok for showcasing quick leadership tips. With ambitious goals to contract 5-10 retainer clients and reach $250-300K in revenue by 2025, Lisa envisions expanding her impact through partnerships with healthcare associations and potentially documentary projects to bring awareness to the critical need for leadership development in healthcare settings.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Jae Encarnacion, we dive deep into the entrepreneurial journey of Erik Bucci, CEO and co-founder of Fresh Lead Flow. Erik brings a unique background combining military service as a Marine Corps Staff Sergeant with extensive marketing expertise, including driving an 83% revenue surge at the Association of National Advertisers and over $50 million in growth at Golden. Founded in late 2024, Fresh Lead Flow is revolutionizing how high-ticket B2B businesses resurrect dead leads using AI-powered messaging to drive warm conversations and close deals.

Throughout the conversation, Erik shares his founding story and the specific problem that inspired Fresh Lead Flow - the 80% of leads that sales teams generate but never properly follow up on or close. He discusses how his company has evolved from serving a general market to focusing specifically on B2B high-ticket sales companies with manual sales processes. Erik also reveals his vision for scaling the business, including his recent acceptance into an accelerator program with Rapid Dev, his approach to building authentic AI messaging that maintains a human brand-centric touch, and his ambitious plans to become synonymous with AI and brand in the B2B space while working on a book to democratize messaging knowledge.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, we sit down with Eric Elkins, founder and CEO of WideFoc.us, a Denver-based social media agency that’s thrived for 18 years by blending organic and paid strategies. Eric shares his accidental entrepreneurial journey—from VP of a mobile payment startup to building a boutique agency that helps B2B and B2C brands drive real revenue through social. He reveals the pivotal moment when a VC advised him to ditch general marketing services and go all-in on social media, a move that catapulted his business during the 2008 recession. Eric also breaks down WideFoc.us’s unique retainer model, where deep client relationships (some lasting over a decade) are built on transparency, data-driven results, and a "spear phishing" approach to lead generation.

Eric opens up about the post-pandemic challenges of selling social as a must-have (not a nice-to-have) service, and how economic uncertainty has forced marketers to justify every dollar. He shares hard-won lessons on pricing pitfalls—like undercharging to win clients only to bleed margins—and why mastering cash flow is the unsung hero of agency survival. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Eric’s advice is blunt: “Fall in love with your numbers, not just your craft.” Looking ahead, he’s focused on refining WideFoc.us’s niche, doubling down on high-touch influencer marketing and executive thought leadership, and cracking the code on consistent lead flow in a volatile market.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Mishal Saeed, we sit down with Lauren Martin, the fiercely authentic founder of Words of Women, a platform empowering women through raw storytelling and emotional wisdom. Lauren shares her unconventional journey from Penn State marketing grad to Vogue writer, and ultimately to building a global community of over 1M followers—all while navigating the challenges of motherhood, societal expectations, and the dismissive label of "indulgent" often slapped on women’s creative work. She reveals how she monetized her vulnerability, turning a $1 newsletter into a lifeline for thousands of women and landing six-figure book deals by refusing to conform to traditional media playbooks.

Lauren opens up about the double resistance women face in entrepreneurship—balancing business growth with caregiving, and fighting for legitimacy in industries that undervalue their voices. She breaks down her "anti-algorithm" approach to growth: prioritizing deep engagement over follower counts, betting on boosted posts that resonate, and rejecting prescriptive models in favor of instinct-driven pivots. With plans to expand into live events, collaborations, and even a play, Lauren’s vision for Words of Women is clear: to create a "secret network" where women find resources, solidarity, and the courage to demand space for their stories—and their livelihoods.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, we dive into the entrepreneurial journey of Michael Rager, founder of Teach Your Business to FISH and Whiteboards N Whiskey. Michael shares his transition from a 20-year career in oil and gas to coaching entrepreneurs, driven by a pivotal exit experience that left him determined to help business owners scale profitably and build sellable companies. He discusses the evolution of his coaching framework, which focuses on valuation over revenue, and the unique Whiteboards N Whiskey events that blend networking, whiskey tastings, and strategic planning to attract high-ticket clients.

Michael opens up about his shift from one-on-one coaching to a scalable mastermind model, the Accountable Boardroom, designed to help businesses between $1M-$5M overcome bottlenecks and prepare for exits. He also reveals his ambitious franchising plans for Whiteboards N Whiskey, targeting NFL cities to replicate his Houston success. Along the way, Michael reflects on lessons from his own entrepreneurial missteps, emphasizing the importance of understanding financials, mastering sales, and avoiding emotional pricing—a must-listen for any founder aiming to build a business that thrives beyond their direct involvement.

In this episode of Founders, Future, with host Mishal Saeed, we dive deep into the entrepreneurial journey of Tom Briggs, founder and chief brand strategist of epigraph. Tom shares how his background in humanities and classical philosophy inspired him to create a branding agency that taps into timeless human wisdom rather than chasing fleeting trends. He explains how epigraph operates on a collective model, working with values-aligned partners worldwide to deliver holistic brand-led marketing that touches every aspect of a business—from visual identity to core purpose and positioning. Tom emphasizes the importance of sustainable branding that doesn't pivot every six months but instead anchors organizations to bedrock principles that remain true as they scale.

Throughout the conversation, Tom discusses his approach to differentiation in an overcrowded marketplace, advocating for authentic human connections over automated outreach and deeper storytelling over quick-hit content. He shares insights on scaling through selective client partnerships, letting exceptional work speak for itself, and maintaining a learning mindset while integrating AI as a tool to augment rather than replace human creativity. Tom's vision for 2025 focuses on thought leadership, higher-quality content production, and continuing to challenge conventional thinking by asking "why" and exploring novel connections that can lead to breakthrough strategies for purpose-driven organizations.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, Heather Doyle, VP of Marketing and Sales at Leap Academy, shares how the company helps high-performing professionals break through career stagnation. Leap Academy provides strategic guidance, executive-level support, and a highly engineered process to help individuals accelerate their careers—whether they're climbing within an organization, transitioning industries, or launching their own ventures. Heather discusses the importance of becoming "uncompetable" in today’s job market by refining personal branding, executive presence, and strategic positioning.

Heather also dives into Leap Academy’s ideal client—driven "A+ players" who are ready to move fast and create legacy impact—and explains their white-glove, high-touch coaching model. She highlights the challenges of scaling a business built on deep trust and personalized career transformations, while emphasizing the power of referrals and multi-channel marketing. Listeners will walk away with key insights on avoiding "job geography" traps and instead positioning themselves as the executive others aspire to follow.