In this episode, we sit down with Ty Frankel, founder and coach at LinkedIn Client Lab, to explore his journey from the music industry to building successful marketing and coaching businesses. Ty shares how he transitioned from producing music and running Shutdown Music to launching Madman Agency and LinkedIn League, ultimately creating LinkedIn Client Lab.

Throughout the conversation, Ty reveals his approach to client acquisition, emphasizing the importance of genuine care and curiosity in sales, prioritizing principles over profit, and crafting quantifiable offers that resonate with clients. He also delves into his personal journey of spiritual growth and the challenges of making money in the music industry, offering insights into risk mitigation and the power of building an email list for long-term scalability.

If you're an entrepreneur looking to refine your client acquisition strategy, scale your business, or navigate the challenges of the digital landscape, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways. Tune in to learn how Ty leverages authenticity, trust, and strategic marketing to drive business success!

In this episode of Founders' Future, host Laura Skinner sits down with Michael Phelan, the founder of Go-to-Market Pros, to discuss the challenges and strategies behind effective market entry and demand generation. With a background spanning major consumer brands and B2B SaaS companies, Michael shares insights into why go-to-market strategies often fail and how companies can optimize their approach.

Michael delves into his unique consulting methodology, which includes best-practice studies, demand generation programs, and moderated prospect meetings to drive engagement and sales. He also highlights the importance of identifying performance gaps, simplifying the buyer’s journey, and integrating professional services into SaaS offerings for better adoption.

Throughout the conversation, Michael and Laura explore the evolving landscape of B2B sales, the impact of disengaged buyers, and practical ways to redefine leads based on meaningful interactions rather than outdated metrics. Whether you're a startup founder or a seasoned executive, this episode is packed with actionable insights to refine your go-to-market strategy and accelerate growth.

In this episode of Founders Future, Elliott Boll sits down with Karen Mayer Cunningham, the CEO and founder of Special Education Academy, to dive into her inspiring journey of advocating for children with disabilities. Karen shares the personal story behind founding her business, motivated by the challenges she faced with her own child’s developmental delays. She explains how her passion for special education was ignited and the steps she took to help other families navigate the complex special education system.

Karen also opens up about the challenges she overcame early on, including a pivotal moment when she advocated for her child’s access to summer school services, which revealed the inequities in the system. She discusses the importance of serving children with disabilities and shares her mission to bridge the gap in special education, both at a local and global level.

As the conversation turns to the future, Karen emphasizes the importance of education, training, and empowering parents and educators. She reflects on how the pandemic accelerated her business’s growth and allowed her to reach families and professionals worldwide. With her online courses and resources, Karen aims to equip more individuals to be "special education bosses," ensuring that every child receives the support they deserve.

Karen wraps up with valuable advice for founders and entrepreneurs: stay focused on your mission, build a strong team, and keep your circle small to protect your vision. This episode is a testament to Karen’s relentless drive to create meaningful change in the special education space, and her unwavering commitment to helping children thrive.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Laura Skinner sits down with Kit Pang, the founder of Boston Speaks, to discuss his journey from a street performer to building a successful public speaking coaching business. Kit shares insights into helping executives overcome speaking anxiety, the challenges of scaling his company, and the lessons learned from trying too many growth strategies at once.

The conversation dives into key business strategies, including the effectiveness of LinkedIn and Google Ads, the importance of data-driven decision-making, and the ongoing debate between organic and paid marketing. Laura and Kit also explore ways to optimize Boston Speaks’ sales funnel, improve lead generation, and enhance conversion rates. If you're an entrepreneur looking to scale your business while staying focused on what truly works, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Elliott Boll sits down with Bryon Morrison, CEO and co-founder of Proxxy, to discuss the journey behind building Proxxy and how it’s revolutionizing executive leadership for scaling businesses.

Bryon shares his inspiration for creating Proxxy—identifying the gap in small to mid-sized companies where great strategic ideas often get lost in execution. Drawing from his corporate experience, he deconstructed the role of a Chief of Staff and built Proxxy to serve as an "executive multiplier," helping founders turn vision into action seamlessly.

Elliott and Bryon explore the challenges of introducing a new business concept, how Proxxy rebranded its messaging for clarity, and what sets the best leaders apart—simplifying their vision, staying consistent, and following through on commitments.

Bryon also provides insight into Proxxy’s evolving focus: preparing businesses for liquidity events such as mergers, acquisitions, or sales. He emphasizes the importance of long-term preparation to maximize company valuation and highlights the distinction between knowledge and wisdom in making high-impact decisions.

Closing the episode, Bryon shares his biggest advice for founders: Execution is the strategy—success isn't about chasing the next big idea but about ensuring processes, metrics, and teams align with long-term goals.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Elliott Boll sits down with Alex Ward, the CEO and founder of Automate My Co. Alex shares his unconventional path into entrepreneurship—starting as a bike-powered food delivery worker, becoming the owner of Food Peddler, and ultimately building an automation consulting business.

Alex discusses how his firsthand struggles with inefficiencies led him to master automation tools like Zapier, ManyChat, and Mailparser. He explains how automation not only transformed his own business but became the foundation of Automate My Co., helping other companies streamline operations, save time, and scale effectively.

The conversation explores key challenges in selling automation services, the growing impact of AI on business efficiency, and why founders should audit their workflows before hiring. Whether you’re a startup founder, an operations enthusiast, or simply curious about how automation is revolutionizing small businesses, this episode is packed with valuable insights.

Tune in for an inspiring discussion on problem-solving, scaling, and the future of automation!

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Elliott Boll sits down with Jeremy Bedenbaugh, CEO and Founder of Recreate Solutions, to explore his entrepreneurial journey and leadership philosophy. Jeremy shares his personal story of success, burnout, and ultimately, transformation—how stepping away from leadership helped him redefine his mission and build a company centered on organizational and personal growth.

Throughout the conversation, Jeremy discusses the importance of asking for help, the power of mentorship, and the key role middle management plays in a company’s long-term success. He also unveils his plans for the next 12–18 months, including leadership curriculum development and an exciting partnership with a private equity firm to scale leadership training across 72 companies.

Finally, Jeremy leaves listeners with a powerful insight: instead of falling in love with a product, entrepreneurs should fall in love with their customers—because true growth comes from understanding and solving their biggest challenges.

Tune in for an inspiring discussion packed with valuable leadership lessons, personal growth insights, and business strategies that can help any founder or executive scale their impact.

In this episode, Laura Skinner speaks with Noelle Russell, founder of the AI Leadership Institute, about the challenges and opportunities in AI adoption. Noelle shares her journey from selling over a billion dollars in AI technology to realizing that many organizations lacked the knowledge to implement it effectively. This realization led her to create a company dedicated to closing the AI literacy gap.

The discussion covers how fear and lack of education hinder AI adoption, and how Noelle’s hands-on approach—taking organizations from the boardroom to the keyboard—empowers businesses to embrace AI. She highlights her successful "I Love AI" initiative, a free educational challenge that has drawn tens of thousands of participants and helped build a thriving community.

Noelle also delves into the intricacies of go-to-market strategy, emphasizing that being known is more important than being the best. She explains how paid advertising, content creation, and community building play a crucial role in scaling AI education and adoption. Additionally, she shares insights into the science of sales, the importance of script adherence, and the challenge of transferring authority to sales teams.

Whether you're an AI enthusiast, business leader, or marketer, this episode offers valuable takeaways on overcoming AI resistance, leveraging community-driven growth, and mastering the sales process.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Elliott Boll sits down with Barbara Jenks, CEO and founder of Bright Fulcrum, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey and the impact of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) on leadership development. Barbara shares how her transition from a corporate HR executive to a business owner was driven by a desire to help managers communicate more effectively with their teams.

She delves into the challenges of pivoting her business focus, from operations to personal development coaching, before ultimately honing in on leadership and communication training for businesses. Barbara highlights a recent success story in which NLP techniques helped a leader gain clarity on a difficult personnel decision.

The conversation also covers Barbara’s strategic priorities for growth, including refining her target market, expanding her work in healthcare, and training additional coaches to scale her impact. She emphasizes the power of face-to-face networking in client acquisition and discusses how AI tools are shaping the future of leadership development while reinforcing the need for human touchpoints in coaching.

Tune in to hear Barbara’s insights on effective communication, business growth strategies, and the evolving role of AI in leadership training.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Laura Skinner sits down with Jens Thorsen, co-founder of Valhalla Business Advisors, to explore the challenges and strategies behind growing a professional services firm in an industry with notoriously long sales cycles.

Jens shares his journey from leading a regional employee benefits and financial advisory firm to co-founding Valhalla, highlighting the key gaps he saw in the market and how his firm is addressing them. He dives into the complexities of acquiring and retaining clients, the importance of defining a clear target market, and why trust and relationships play a crucial role in their go-to-market strategy.

Laura and Jens also discuss innovative approaches to lead generation, including account mapping, leveraging community-driven events, and experimenting with targeted marketing tactics like webinars and paid ads. Jens reveals the firm's data-driven approach to sales, their focus on thought leadership, and the long-term vision that drives Valhalla's sustainable growth.