Founders Future

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Joseph Fitzgerald sits down with Ian Koniak, founder of Untap Your Sales Potential, to explore Ian's transformative journey from struggling corporate salesman to successful entrepreneur and coach. Ian shares how his personal and professional challenges, including a near-death experience, inspired him to build a business focused on empowering enterprise sales professionals to master their mindset, habits, and sales skills.

Ian reveals his early struggles with scaling the business, transitioning from corporate training to a more sustainable subscription-based model, and the steps he took to overcome being the bottleneck in his company. He delves into the philosophy behind his success, emphasizing service-driven growth, strategic hiring, and building a strong community of high-performing sales professionals.

Listeners will gain insight into Ian’s unique sales methodology, his process for creating a sustainable business, and his vision for the future—shifting from a founder-centric model to a community-powered platform. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or an established business leader, Ian's journey offers valuable lessons on resilience, scalability, and the power of personal transformation.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Laura Skinner speaks with Scott Eaton, CEO of Carbonplace. They dive into Scott's journey, exploring the inspiration behind founding Carbon Place and the market challenges it addresses. Scott shares insights on their mission, the strategies fueling their growth, and the innovative approaches Carbon Place is taking to drive sustainable impact in the industry. Tune in to discover the story behind a company shaping the future of carbon management

This episode of Founders Future features Lance King, the founder of X Fit Coaching, as he shares the story behind his business and how it evolved over time. Initially a bodybuilding coach, Lance transitioned into executive health and fitness coaching. His company focuses on helping executives avoid burnout and optimize performance through a balanced approach involving nutrition and exercise planning. Lance’s journey also emphasizes leveraging technology, with the use of online courses, community-building tools, and AI to scale his business and serve a growing number of clients, including executives from various industries.

He reflects on the importance of focus and refining systems, especially when scaling a business, noting how trying to grow too quickly with additional coaches led to challenges. Lance’s approach has since shifted to maintaining a personalized system while expanding reach, using technology to support clients without overwhelming them.

Looking to the future, Lance's goal is to work with 100 executives in 2025, helping them improve their health and energy through his systematic approach, while technology continues to play a crucial role in delivering value efficiently.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Joseph Fitzgerald sits down with Brett Butler, the CEO of HireSphereAI, a groundbreaking company revolutionizing the talent acquisition space through AI-driven solutions. Brett shares the story of his entrepreneurial journey, from early ventures like selling candy and real estate to navigating career shifts during the pandemic that inspired the founding of HireSphereAI.

Higher Sphere AI focuses on connecting businesses with top-performing candidates by leveraging AI to identify technical, business, and soft skills. Brett explains how his platform helps streamline hiring, improve interview processes, and offer candidates actionable feedback for future growth.

The conversation dives into the challenges of launching a new AI-focused business, including consumer education and establishing trust in a crowded market. Brett also shares insights on balancing personal well-being with the demanding nature of entrepreneurship, the importance of executing ideas over endless feedback loops, and how he envisions the future of hybrid workforces and talent acquisition.

Listeners will gain valuable advice from Brett on overcoming early-stage challenges, building relationships, and navigating the ever-evolving business landscape. If you're curious about how AI is reshaping hiring or seeking inspiration for your entrepreneurial journey,

In this episode of Founders Future, host Elliott Boll welcomes Chelsea Howard, founder and principal of Drift Consulting, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey and her innovative approach to transforming workplace culture.

Chelsea shares her early entrepreneurial spirit, starting her first business at age 13, and how her corporate experiences in journalism, marketing, and HR inspired her to build a more human-centric approach to HR consulting. She delves into the challenges of starting her own business, from establishing her credibility as an entrepreneur to navigating financial complexities and setting boundaries with clients.

Listeners will learn about Chelsea's unique analogy of being a "puffin" entrepreneur—building momentum and catching waves to take flight—and how she values authenticity and generosity while maintaining her worth as a consultant.

The conversation explores the current challenges in workplace culture, including the divergence in organizational approaches to DEI initiatives and the importance of aligning culture with business goals. Chelsea also shares her future plans to partner with forward-thinking companies and her advice to founders about taking strong, informed positions within their industries.

Tune in for actionable insights on entrepreneurship, leadership, and navigating modern workplace challenges.

In this engaging episode of Founders, Future with host Laura Skinner, we dive into the fascinating world of human performance and error reduction with Ginette Collazo, founder of Human Error Solutions. Ginette shares her journey from leading training departments in the pharmaceutical industry to creating her own consultancy that tackles the intricate challenges of human error in regulated environments.

Ginette explains how she recognized that training alone wasn’t addressing the root causes of mistakes, sparking her mission to design systems and processes that account for human limitations. From memory constraints to visual fatigue, her innovative approach focuses on adapting environments to improve reliability and performance.

Throughout the conversation, Ginette offers thought-provoking insights into the challenges of scaling a niche business, the power of referrals, and the importance of maintaining confidentiality in her work. She also sheds light on her plans for growth, the evolving role of technology and AI in error reduction, and her efforts to educate industries on a problem often overlooked.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Laura Skinner sits down with Diane Hare, the founder and CEO of BizLove, to explore the journey behind building a boutique consultancy dedicated to transforming organizations while prioritizing both profit and people. Diane shares the story of how her passion for supporting companies through major transitions led her to leave a large strategy house and create a firm that emphasizes thoughtful, people-focused strategies during times of transformation.

The conversation dives into BizLove’s value proposition—creating space for organizations to transform and reach their highest potential. Diane reveals the company’s approach to nurturing long-term client relationships with multinational corporations and founder-led high-growth businesses, emphasizing the importance of execution quality, reputation, and relationship building in the consulting world.

Diane also discusses the challenges of scaling a boutique consultancy, from finding A-player talent to balancing organic growth with strategic outbound efforts. The episode offers valuable insights into BizLove’s plans for 30-40% growth in the coming year, leveraging their established foundation and increasing demand.

In this episode of Founders, Future, host Laura Skinner chats with Taylor, the CEO of Uncubed. Taylor delves into the company's fascinating journey, from its origins as an HR software startup to its evolution into hosting career fairs and producing compelling content. Highlighting the critical role of employer branding, Taylor shares insights into creating strategies that resonate with target audiences and ensure long-term impact.

The conversation touches on marketing and sales strategies, emphasizing the importance of persistence and crafting cohesive approaches tailored to client pain points. Taylor outlines plans to refine and develop Uncubed’s employer branding further, ensuring it aligns with client needs and market demands.

This episode offers valuable lessons on adaptability, innovation, and the power of truly understanding your customers in building a thriving business.

In this episode of Founders' Future, host Joseph Fitzgerald welcomes Don Schin, founder of Franchise Building Experts (FBE), to discuss the world of franchising and how FBE is reshaping the industry with integrity and innovation. Don shares his journey from a successful corporate career to becoming a key figure in franchising, including helping to grow one of the largest small business coaching franchises in the world.

Don dives into FBE’s mission to empower franchisors, franchisees, and brokers through consulting, training, and matching the right candidates to the right opportunities. He addresses the challenges of working with individuals who aren’t fully committed to entrepreneurship and emphasizes the importance of integrity in franchise development.

The conversation explores FBE's new focus on coaching underperforming franchisees, their strategic goals for the next few years, and their commitment to raising the standards of the franchising industry. Don also provides valuable advice for aspiring business owners, highlighting the benefits of franchising as a pathway for first-time entrepreneurs.

Whether you’re an aspiring franchise owner, a seasoned entrepreneur, or curious about the franchise industry, this episode offers valuable insights into the power of mentorship, education, and integrity in business.

In this episode, host Joseph Fitzgerald chats with Will Baggett, co-founder of Monetize Your Message, about his journey in the professional speaking industry and the business behind it. Will shares how a chance encounter with co-founder Darren K. Roberts on Twitter in 2017 blossomed into a thriving partnership focused on helping aspiring speakers turn their passion into a sustainable career.

Will provides a behind-the-scenes look at the growth of Monetize Your Message, now in its third year, including lessons learned in content creation, marketing strategies, and leveraging email campaigns for audience engagement. He dives into their approach to creating “thumb-stopping content,” using tools like lead magnets and newsletters to build credibility and trust with their audience.

The conversation also touches on the challenges of differentiating themselves in a saturated market, the importance of authenticity in speaking, and their efforts to elevate the industry by focusing on quality and impact. Will explains how their annual conference has become a cornerstone of their strategy, offering actionable tools and insights for speakers to refine their craft.

Finally, Will discusses the long-term vision for Monetize Your Message, emphasizing their goal of empowering speakers with the skills, marketing strategies, and storytelling techniques needed to stand out in an increasingly competitive space. He also reflects on how the pandemic reshaped the speaking industry with virtual opportunities and shares advice for adapting to future trends.