Founders Future

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Sara Simmonds, founder of Impact Innovator OS, an online education platform helping purpose-led founders scale from idea to meaningful impact. Sara shares her journey from working as a buyer for global luxury retailers to building a business rooted in purpose, sustainability, and buyer psychology. She explains how seeing massive product waste firsthand pushed her to rethink how businesses are built—and why founders must learn to position themselves as a category of one to truly stand out.

Sara dives into her four-step framework for helping founders gain clarity, simplify their offers, sell authentically, and build scalable systems without burnout. From understanding what buyers actually want to mastering social selling and mindset, this conversation is packed with practical insights for founders who want to grow sustainably while staying aligned with their mission. Sara also shares her perspective on leadership, patience, and balancing fast growth with long-term vision—making this episode a must-listen for purpose-driven entrepreneurs.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Mariam Gogidze, founder of ACB (Ascent Capital Branding), a LinkedIn personal branding consultancy focused on financial services founders and professionals. Mariam shares her journey from growing up in Georgia to building a highly specialized brand in London, helping invisible but highly capable professionals turn their expertise into visible authority online.

Mariam breaks down why financial services leaders face a unique “triple-lock” challenge—network dependency, compliance restrictions, and silent resistance to self-promotion—and how she helps them build trust and credibility without relying on outbound sales or cold outreach. She also opens up about the realities of scaling a high-touch consultancy, hitting capacity limits, and her vision for a one-to-many SaaS solution designed specifically for regulated industries. This episode offers deep insight into authority-building, inbound growth, and navigating the next stage of founder evolution.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Jenn Herman, an internationally recognized Instagram educator, speaker, and strategist, and the founder of Jen’s Trends. Jenn shares how a passion project alongside her full-time career evolved into a globally respected brand, built by teaching Instagram strategy at a time when few people truly understood the platform.

Jenn dives into her approach to helping non-traditional and regulated industries succeed on Instagram, breaking down why the platform works differently for lead generation and how intentional, high-quality engagement often leads to stronger conversions. She also reflects on building a brand through education, speaking, and trust, navigating industry shifts like AI and burnout, and why listening to your intuition has been one of the most powerful lessons in her entrepreneurial journey.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Ruth Shrauner, founder of Your Second Self AI. Ruth shares her nonlinear entrepreneurial journey—from early affiliate marketing success and building a high-revenue digital business, to launching and self-funding a tech startup that earned recognition as a startup to watch, and ultimately facing the hard reality of starting again when funding disappeared.

Ruth dives into how that pivotal moment led to the creation of Your Second Self AI, a platform designed to help entrepreneurs scale their voice and content without burnout. She explains her “brain transplant” method, which blends AI with personal storytelling, voice analysis, and digital footprint mapping to create authentic, human-sounding content systems. Throughout the conversation, Ruth reflects on reinvestment, founder bottlenecks, building lean teams, and why leveraging systems—and not doing everything alone—is essential for sustainable growth in today’s creator-driven economy.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Amy Collins, founder of The Real Amy Collins. Amy shares her unconventional path into entrepreneurship, drawing from a wide-ranging background that includes sales, nonprofit leadership, wine sales, and running bar programs and comedy productions—experiences that ultimately shaped her sharp, human-centered approach to email marketing and copywriting.

Amy breaks down how she helps businesses with established email lists unlock hidden revenue through advanced segmentation, targeted automations, and trust-driven storytelling. She opens up about building a brand intentionally and sustainably, balancing lifestyle with growth, and why adopting a beginner’s mindset has been critical in launching a new offer. Throughout the conversation, Amy emphasizes authenticity, organization, and self-trust as essential tools for founders navigating early-stage growth while staying aligned with how they actually want to live and work.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we sit down with Joe Nicassio, business mentor, strategist, and creator of Employee Escape Plan. With over four decades of entrepreneurial experience, Joe shares his journey from electrical engineering and early business success—through painful failure and mentorship under Jay Abraham—to becoming a full-time business problem solver who has coached thousands of entrepreneurs across hundreds of industries.

Joe breaks down what it really takes to escape the 9-to-5, emphasizing proof of concept, aligned business creation, and building offers around skills, passions, and real market demand. The conversation explores why most businesses fail, how to start generating clients while still employed, the power of micro-budget marketing, and why human connection will always outperform over-automation. This episode is a masterclass in practical entrepreneurship, mindset shifts, and building businesses that deliver money, meaning, and freedom.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we meet Evelyn de Vries, the passionate founder behind the platform Menopausal Thoughts. Evelyn shares her personal journey into entrepreneurship, which began with her own confusing and challenging experience with menopause. After feeling overwhelmed by symptoms like brain fog, mood swings, and hormonal imbalances, she started an Instagram page as a hobby to connect with other women. What began as a personal outlet quickly blossomed into a supportive community, revealing a widespread need for relatable, holistic education and support during this life stage, ultimately inspiring her to build a coaching business.

Evelyn discusses her mission to empower women by demystifying menopause and highlighting the critical, yet often overlooked, connection between gut health and hormonal balance. She is currently developing a comprehensive coaching program focused on nutrition, natural supplements, and lifestyle changes as an alternative or complement to traditional HRT. Looking ahead, Evelyn's vision for Evelyn de Vries Wellness is to create a global sisterhood where women feel seen and supported, with the goal of transitioning from her full-time job in social services to dedicate herself entirely to this empowering venture within the next year.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, Patrick Sebastien—founder of Patrick Sebastien Performance—shares his journey from graphic design and web development into performance coaching rooted in movement, breathwork, and mindset. After discovering coaching through martial arts and training professional fighters, Patrick realized that true performance isn’t driven by physical strength alone, but by mental resilience and nervous system regulation. This insight shaped his philosophy around “human technology”—the internal tools we all possess to perform under pressure.

Patrick discusses how his work evolved beyond athletes into leaders, creatives, and corporate teams, emphasizing that peak performance principles apply across every industry. He explores the role of breath, movement, and mental conditioning in sustainable performance, along with his innovative integration of AI to deliver deeply personalized coaching experiences. The conversation highlights the balance between creativity and structure, the challenge of scaling as a solopreneur, and Patrick’s vision for building a future-focused performance academy designed to elevate human potential without burnout.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Olivia Sammons sits down with Veronica Castro-Albano, founder of Souls Tide, for a heartfelt conversation about purpose, reinvention, and choosing yourself—especially in midlife. Veronica shares her journey as a counselor, peer recovery specialist, and long-time coach who launched Souls Tide on Christmas Day to support women navigating major life transitions. She speaks candidly about the moment many women reach after doing everything “right”—building careers, raising families, meeting expectations—yet still feeling an inner pull for something more.

Through Souls Tide, Veronica helps women create space for rest, reflection, and reconnection so they can rediscover who they are beyond the roles they’ve fulfilled for years. She explains that purpose isn’t about becoming someone new, but remembering who you’ve always been—recognizing the consistent thread in your life experiences and honoring your natural gifts. With a vision that includes group coaching, beach gatherings, and intimate retreats grounded in her philosophy to rest, realign, and rise, Veronica offers a powerful reminder that it’s never too late to begin again—and that sometimes the bravest choice is choosing yourself.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we sit down with Christine Perkett, the seasoned CEO and Co-Founder of The NOVA Method. Christine delves into her remarkable journey of merging her decades of experience in marketing and PR with her former colleague, Michelle Baum, to form a new, dynamic agency. She explains the core of their proprietary "Assimilate, Align, Activate" framework, emphasizing why an audience-first approach is more critical than ever in the age of AI. Christine argues that true resonance comes from deep understanding and trust, not just technological innovation.

The conversation explores the delicate balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and maintaining the essential human element in marketing. Christine shares invaluable advice for founders, stressing the importance of trusting your gut, building resilience, and empowering your team. She also outlines her vision for The NOVA Method's future, including launching a podcast to champion audience-centric strategies and helping brands navigate the dual narratives of innovation and trust in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.