Founders Future

In this episode of Founders Future, host Olivia Sammons sits down with Steven Schneider, founder of TrioSEO, to break down what sustainable, long-term growth really looks like in a world obsessed with quick wins.

Steven shares how his entrepreneurial journey began while still in university, where early exposure to SEO and online business allowed him to skip the traditional career path entirely. From building and scaling digital assets in his early days to launching Trio SEO, he explains how organic growth became the foundation of everything he builds.

At Trio SEO, Steven and his team help B2B service providers and SaaS companies grow without relying on paid ads. Instead, they focus on high-quality content, strategic keyword research, and SEO-driven lead magnet funnels designed to generate consistent, compounding demand. In this conversation, Steven reveals how Trio is bridging the gap between traffic and conversions—solving one of the biggest frustrations companies have with SEO.

The episode also dives into founder realities: learning sales from scratch, evolving from operator to CEO, managing expectations in the age of social media hype, and why most businesses need to think in five- to ten-year timeframes rather than chasing overnight success.

Steven also shares why he’s actively niching down into industries like legal services, how case-study-driven growth is shaping Trio’s next phase, and what he believes most founders get wrong about scaling too fast.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Zach Young sits down with Damien Cachia, a mobility, strength, and conditioning coach helping athletes and everyday people overcome long-term injuries and reclaim their quality of life. Damien shares his journey from being a national-level gymnast for Canada to navigating years of chronic wrist, knee, and foot injuries that ended his competitive career—until discovering Functional Range Conditioning (FRC), the system that finally helped him resolve pain and restore joint function, and ultimately shaped his coaching philosophy.

Today, Damien runs both an online coaching business and a brick-and-mortar mobility studio, Calgary Movement Studio, where he focuses on KinStretch and joint-specific strength training for clients ranging from elite athletes to people in their 90s. In the conversation, he breaks down how personalized assessments, video feedback, and genuine human connection have driven exceptional client retention and sustainable growth—doubling revenue without debt—while also sharing insights on community-driven fitness, local discovery in the age of AI, and his long-term vision for helping more people move well for life.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Zach Young sits down with Tom Metscher, founder of Local Scope Marketing, an AI-driven consultancy helping small businesses adopt modern marketing systems without overwhelming technology.

Tom shares an unconventional journey into entrepreneurship, transitioning from a 30-year career in juvenile justice as a probation officer into the world of digital marketing and artificial intelligence. After retiring from law enforcement, Tom leaned into his lifelong curiosity for technology and systems—eventually discovering how AI and automation could dramatically improve how local businesses attract and retain customers.

During the conversation, Tom explains how he works with local service providers, law firms, real estate professionals, and nonprofits to streamline operations, improve visibility in local search, and replace outdated manual processes with simple, automated workflows. From QR-code intake forms to AI-assisted follow-ups and email systems, Tom focuses on practical solutions that save business owners time and reduce friction.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Milan Kohut sits down with Arif Meghani, founder of Customers On Auto, a business helping restaurants, cafés, bars, and physical venues turn everyday customer behavior into automated marketing and repeat revenue. Arif shares his global journey—from growing up in the UK to living and working in Japan, and eventually relocating to Goa, India—where family priorities pushed him to build location-independent businesses centered on freedom, time autonomy, and leverage through automation.

The conversation breaks down how user-generated content on Instagram—such as customers tagging venues in Stories—can be transformed into powerful digital word-of-mouth through automated chatbot flows. Arif explains how these systems reward customers, capture contact details, drive Google reviews, and build owned audiences via WhatsApp and email, reducing reliance on algorithms alone. He also shares his philosophy on lean, AI-powered growth, why he prioritizes systems over headcount, and how Customers On Auto is scaling predictably while preserving lifestyle, family time, and long-term sustainability.

In this episode of Founders Future, host Zach Young sits down with Santo Chiappetta, a strength and conditioning coach who helps high-performing entrepreneurs build sustainable strength, discipline, and resilience—without burnout or quick fixes. With over 14 years in the fitness industry, Santo shares how his background in competitive amateur boxing and kinesiology shaped a behavior-first coaching philosophy designed to hold up under stress, chaos, and real-life pressure.

The conversation dives into why long-term habit building beats short-term transformations, the role of accountability in lasting change, and how Santo reframes setbacks to help clients stay consistent through business and family demands. He also discusses standing out in a crowded fitness space through authenticity and storytelling, his approach to organic growth, and his vision for deeper community building, in-person events, and a future podcast focused on purpose-driven transitions.

In this episode of Founders Future with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Natan Verhofsky—also known as The Force Multiplier—a serial founder, medical hypnotherapist, and community builder focused on impact, legacy, and service-driven leadership. Born in the former Soviet Union and raised in an immigrant family in Canada, Natan shares how watching his parents rebuild their lives shaped his mindset around resilience, discipline, and contribution, leading him through elite performance environments and decades of work in hypnotherapy and leadership coaching.

The conversation explores Natan’s mission-driven ventures, including Allura Creative, Apex Business Alliance, and The Force Multiplier initiative supporting U.S. military veterans through coaching and leadership development. He breaks down his philosophy on scaling without burnout, leading with humanity, and building for long-term impact through presence, consistency, and service—offering a powerful perspective for founders who want to grow businesses rooted in purpose, people, and legacy.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Hannah Longstaff, a food freedom coach and high-performance mentor who helps driven professionals break free from binge eating, emotional eating, and destructive dieting cycles. Hannah shares her deeply personal journey—from decades of struggling in silence with food and body image to finally uncovering the root psychological causes behind disordered eating. Drawing on her background in science, coaching, and rapid transformational therapy, she explains why food issues are rarely about willpower and almost always rooted in subconscious patterns formed earlier in life.

In this conversation, Hannah breaks down how her work today focuses on fast, lasting transformation through mindset rewiring, habit change, and addressing the true emotional drivers behind eating behavior. She discusses her one-to-one coaching model, upcoming group programs, and her mission to help high performers regain clarity, confidence, and energy by repairing their relationship with food. Hannah also reflects on why restrictive dieting continues to fail at scale—and how conscious awareness, compassion, and sustainable practices are the key to long-term success in both health and life.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Jodi Rumack, founder of Jodi Rumack Coaching. Jodi shares her journey from a long career in the fitness industry—where she helped open and manage dozens of clubs across Canada—to building and scaling a successful online coaching business. After being unexpectedly let go from her corporate role, she leaned into her natural ability to coach and mentor, first supporting brick-and-mortar fitness businesses before transitioning fully into the online space.

In this conversation, Jodi breaks down how her business has evolved into Becoming the CEO, a high-intent membership and virtual co-working community designed to help coaches and online entrepreneurs work smarter, not longer. She explains why she and her partner intentionally moved away from high-pressure funnels and 

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Rebecca Schmidt, a nurse-turned business systems and growth strategist and the founder of Called to Elevate. Rebecca shares her unconventional journey from working in hospital settings and clinical research at the Mayo Clinic Health System to co-founding and scaling a fast-growing product-based business during the pandemic. Through firsthand experience in operations, leadership, and rapid growth, she discovered her natural strength in systems, strategy, and helping businesses scale efficiently without sacrificing personal values.

Now through Called to Elevate, Rebecca helps entrepreneurs—particularly product-based and service-based business owners—build streamlined systems that support sustainable growth and time freedom. In this conversation, she breaks down the importance of early delegation, value-based decision-making, and using tools like AI as support rather than replacement. Rebecca also opens up about burnout, motherhood, and designing a business that aligns with real life, offering a grounded perspective on growth, integrity, and building a business that truly elevates both impact and lifestyle.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we sit down with Lucas Popiel, a fitness performance coach for high-ticket closers and remote sales professionals. Lucas shares his journey from insurance sales to high-ticket remote sales, and how that experience led him to identify a major performance gap in the industry—physical health. Seeing talented reps burn out despite strong scripts and leads, Lucas built a coaching program centered on stamina, energy, and discipline as the foundation for consistent sales performance.

Lucas breaks down how his four-month fitness coaching program is designed to integrate training and nutrition into a salesperson’s lifestyle rather than chasing short-term transformations. He explains why he focuses on LinkedIn over more saturated social platforms, how relationship-first outreach drives client acquisition, and his long-term vision to move from one-on-one coaching into B2B sales team performance training. This episode offers a practical look at how physical standards directly impact mental clarity, confidence, and results in high-pressure sales environments.