Founders Future

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Scott Johnston, founder of Future Selfing, to explore a deeply personal founder journey that bridges high-performance leadership and inner transformation. Scott shares how his early career in software sales and the founding of a successful global SaaS company led to intense pressure at the executive level—ultimately pushing him into burnout and addiction despite outward success.

From that turning point, Scott explains how his path to recovery reshaped his understanding of identity, subconscious programming, and decision-making. The conversation dives into the core principles of Future Selfing, including breathwork, meditation, and future-focused thinking as tools for creating space between reaction and response. Scott discusses how these practices help founders and executives regain clarity, presence, and long-term alignment—allowing them to lead with intention rather than impulse while building sustainable success.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Lina Fernanda Cardozo, founder of Fit by Lina. Lina shares her journey from studying translation and working in gyms across Austria and Switzerland to building a fitness and wellness brand focused on helping women create lasting confidence, strength, and sustainable health—starting with addressing stubborn belly fat and overall well-being.

The conversation explores Lina’s hybrid coaching model, combining in-person and online training, mindset work, and lifestyle support. She explains her Flat Belly Reset program, the importance of gut health and consistency, and why long-term coaching is key to real transformation. Lina also discusses standing out in a crowded fitness space through clear messaging, organic content, community building, and her vision to expand her impact by supporting and mentoring other fitness trainers while continuing to grow her core coaching brand.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Candy Messer, a Clockwork-certified fractional COO and founder of A&B Payroll & Bookkeeping. Candy shares her journey from corporate bookkeeping into entrepreneurship, explaining how a side project grew into a multi-decade business focused on giving owners peace of mind by taking financial and operational chaos off their plate.

The conversation explores how Candy helps small business owners streamline bookkeeping, payroll, compliance, and delegation while building companies that can run without constant owner involvement. She discusses the mindset challenges of letting go, the importance of proper delegation and SOPs, and how implementing Clockwork principles allows founders to reclaim time, test owner independence, and create businesses that function as assets—not jobs—while supporting long-term sustainability and optional exit readiness.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we’re joined by Dr. Shaniqua Nicole, an Atlanta-based tax and wealth strategist and the founder of Money Maven Club. Dr. Shaniqua shares her journey from starting her career on Wall Street at just 19 years old to retiring at 30 to build a firm dedicated to closing the wealth gap through financial education, tax strategy, and legacy planning.

The conversation explores democratizing access to wealth-building tools, the importance of financial literacy, and why access to information—not income alone—creates long-term wealth disparities. Dr. Shaniqua breaks down her approach to free tax planning, education-driven financial empowerment, ethical scaling through technology and AI, and her mission to help individuals and families retire rich, raise financially confident children, and build generational wealth that lasts.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Patricia Sanna, founder and lead resume strategist of First Impressions Resume Writing. Patricia shares her journey from working in corporate HR and recruitment to building a thriving resume writing business, driven by her deep understanding of hiring processes and applicant tracking systems after nearly two decades in the field.

The conversation explores how Patricia helps professionals stand out in competitive job markets through tailored resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and interview preparation, while maintaining a highly personalized, quality-first approach. She opens up about building trust through organic marketing on LinkedIn, growing through referrals, balancing entrepreneurship alongside a full-time job, and her long-term vision of scaling her business with a team—without sacrificing the care and results her clients are known for.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Stephanie McPhail, co-founder of Being Loved Shouldn’t Hurt. Stephanie shares her journey from an 18-year career in education and crisis counseling to building a global relationship-recovery business rooted in lived experience, deep self-reflection, and accountability. She opens up about recognizing her own repeated relationship patterns and how taking ownership became the catalyst for lasting personal and professional transformation.

The conversation explores how Stephanie and her husband built a hybrid coaching model combining group programs, one-on-one support, and mindset work to help high-achieving women break free from toxic relationship cycles. She discusses navigating market shifts, refining messaging, building community through podcasts and social platforms, and balancing impact with sustainability—while staying deeply aligned with a mission centered on healing, self-worth, and long-term change.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Nancy Ho, founder of The Work of Nancy Ho. Nancy shares her journey from decades of corporate soft-skills training into one-on-one coaching, explaining why she stepped away from traditional programs to work only with individuals who were truly ready for intentional change.

The conversation explores Nancy’s work with high-performing professionals who appear successful on the outside yet feel unfulfilled or stuck internally. She discusses her blend of deep self-awareness, mindset work, and compassionate guidance, her belief in outsourcing everything outside her zone of brilliance, and her evolving focus on what she calls the “paradox of success”—helping people recalibrate their lives, reconnect with themselves, and move forward with clarity and authenticity.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we’re joined by Jamie Nguyen, an online health and wellness coach, posing coach, and NPC bikini athlete. Jamie shares her non-linear journey—from becoming a personal trainer at 18, to working as a pharmacy technician and later a stem cell lab technician—before finding her way back to fitness through mentorship and a renewed passion for truly personalized coaching.

The conversation explores Jamie’s one-on-one coaching philosophy, her focus on helping aspiring bodybuilders confidently step on stage, and why she prioritizes individualized programming over group models. Jamie opens up about building her brand organically through social media, managing a growing roster of athletes, mentoring future coaches, and navigating self-doubt while scaling a business rooted in trust, accountability, and long-term client relationships.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Jana Rose Stewart, founder of Vela HR. Jana shares her journey from two decades in corporate sales and customer success to running a fitness and wellness business, and how her personal experience with perimenopause led her to identify a major, overlooked gap in workplace support for women.

The conversation explores Jana’s pivot into building Vela HR, an AI-powered workplace menopause support platform designed to help employees, managers, and HR teams navigate menopause with clarity and confidence. Jana discusses the productivity impact of untreated menopause symptoms, the importance of removing stigma in professional environments, and her vision for creating healthier, more inclusive workplaces where experienced women can continue to thrive rather than exit the workforce prematurely.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we’re joined by Verna Haywood, life coach, speaker, therapist, and founder of Unstoppable Life with Verna Haywood. Verna shares her powerful life journey, from growing up in the Caribbean and navigating deep personal trauma to building resilience through faith, healing, and lived experience. She opens up about loss, abuse, miscarriage, cancer survival, and caregiving, explaining how these defining moments shaped her calling to help others rediscover their strength and self-belief.

Verna explores her coaching philosophy, which centers on mindset, self-worth, and personal responsibility, helping people—especially women—break free from self-doubt and limiting beliefs. She discusses her work across one-to-one coaching, group programs, and holistic therapies, emphasizing the importance of nurturing individuals so they can truly “bloom.” Looking ahead, Verna shares her vision of building a legacy-driven foundation focused on changing lives globally through empowerment, education, and inner healing.