Founders Future

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we are joined by Louise Keenan Clarke, the founder of Succeed with Confidence. Louise shares her fascinating journey from a 21-year career in global corporate banking to launching her own business dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs, senior professionals, and leadership teams. She reveals how her lifelong passion for teaching public speaking, which began at the age of three, converged with her corporate experience when she noticed that even the most technically brilliant professionals often struggled to communicate their value and lead with impact in high-stakes situations.

Louise delves into the core of her business, explaining that confident communication is not just for conference stages but is critical for every professional interaction, from team meetings and client pitches to articulating a company's vision. She outlines her unique framework that blends mindset, vocal skills, and body language to help clients build executive presence and credibility. Louise also discusses her rapid early success, including securing a contract to deliver development programs for UK parliamentary bodies, and her ambitious goal to impact 100,000 people by helping them communicate confidently and lead with clarity and authority.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we are joined by Darrel Popowich, the founder of Transformation Craft. Darrel shares his journey from a technology background, where a pivotal early project revealed the critical importance of understanding the human side of change. This insight propelled him through a 25-year corporate career, including roles as a CIO and COO, where he experienced both the successes and "career-limiting" failures of large-scale organizational transformations, ultimately leading him to start his own consultancy.

Darrel delves into the core of Transformation Craft, introducing his proprietary "CRAFT" framework designed to decode the human dynamics of change. He explains how he helps leaders and organizations diagnose cultural alignment, improve relationships, and focus their trajectory to dramatically increase the success rate of their transformations. Looking ahead, Darrel discusses his plans to scale by building out a formal body of knowledge and certifying a team of trainers and consultants to bring this paradigm-shifting methodology to a wider audience.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we are joined by Ludmila Prodan, the founder of Body by Ludmi. Ludmila shares her journey from being a self-employed personal trainer for over 20 years to creating a holistic fitness and lifestyle brand. Her motivation stemmed from a desire to move beyond the limitations of one-on-one training and create a more accessible, comprehensive system that combines fitness, personalized nutrition, and crucial accountability to help women achieve lasting transformation.

Ludmila delves into the core of her business, which she refined during the pandemic. She explains her unique model that integrates small group personal training, customized nutrition plans, and a strong community component to foster accountability and support. Looking ahead, Ludmila discusses her ambitious goal to double her revenue by scaling the group membership model, while openly sharing her biggest challenge as a founder: overcoming overwhelm and learning to trust her team with the "baby" she has built.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we are joined by Chris Anderson, the founder of Elevate Media Group. Chris shares his unconventional journey from studying athletic training and facing a future he didn't want, to answering a calling of faith by quitting his job in 2020 with no business background. He explains how starting his own podcast led to discovering a passion for helping others with their marketing, which organically grew into a full-service digital growth agency focused on helping service-based businesses build their brand and revenue.

Chris delves into the unique model of Elevate Media Group, which partners with clients as an extension of their team to enhance branding, visibility, and engagement through authentic content like live streams and video podcasts. He reveals that his primary marketing strategy is his own podcast, which serves as a powerful "door opener" to build relationships and provide value, leading to 80-90% of their clients through referrals. Looking ahead, Chris discusses his goals for intentional growth, focusing on adding a few high-quality clients per year while continuously improving his leadership to best leverage his "small but mighty" team of contractors.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Olivia Sammons, we are joined by Elvijs Plugis, the founder of Siglop LTD. Elvijs shares his unconventional journey into the world of marketing, which began in modeling and acting—including a role in Star Wars—before a moment of boredom on a film set led him to walk away and pursue a career where he could fully engage his creative and strategic mind. His relentless drive to learn led him to take unpaid internships and master every marketing discipline, eventually evolving into a sought-after consultant and fractional CMO, or as he calls it, a "Chief Marketing Partner," for clients ranging from startups to governments.

Elvijs delves into the unique structure of Siglop, a PR and digital marketing agency that operates more as a collective of specialized partners than a traditional firm. He reveals that his rapid growth is fueled entirely by referrals, to the point where he has to turn away clients due to his commitment to providing intense, hands-on service. Looking ahead, Elvijs discusses his ambitious vision to secure the right investment partner to build a global agency network and his ultimate dream of creating a unified governmental marketing body to shape a country's global brand.

n this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we are joined by Brett Levy, a seasoned entrepreneur and the driving force behind the global rollout for Red Oxygen. Brett shares his journey as a "perennial early adopter" in the tech space, from his beginnings in mobile-first marketing in South Africa to pioneering second-screen experiences for major TV shows. He opens up about the challenges of being ahead of the curve, emphasizing that for entrepreneurs, persistence through failure is key, and the right timing often makes all the difference.

Brett delves into his current work with Red Oxygen, a 29-year-old company he is helping to pivot back to its roots as a "play to win" gamification studio. He explains how they build engaging, cross-platform WebGL games for brands—from breweries and burger joints to cancer councils—that drive real consumer engagement without the friction of app downloads. Brett also reflects on his long-standing passion for esports, recounting how an early failed tournament 13 years ago fueled his belief in its potential, a belief that has now become a multi-billion dollar industry.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Zach Young, we sit down with Bindy Taylor, a mindset and relationship coach who helps professional women break free from self-sabotaging patterns to find love and self-worth. Bindy shares her personal journey from hitting "relationship rock bottom"—despite being a successful CEO—to taking a year off dating to work with her own coach. This deep, introspective work on her childhood conditioning and limiting beliefs ultimately led her to meet the love of her life and inspired her to guide other women on the same transformative path.

Bindy delves into her methodology, which blends group programs like "The Reset Room" with intimate one-on-one sessions, including intensive modalities like Timeline Therapy. She explains how she helps clients rebuild confidence, establish boundaries, and develop the self-trust needed for healthy relationships. Bindy also discusses her authentic marketing approach, emphasizing the power of genuine connection on Instagram and the importance of moving beyond AI-generated content to build real trust in a sensitive field like love and relationships.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we sit down with Ricci Colla, the co-founder and coach at Dose Collaborations. Ricci shares his unconventional journey into entrepreneurship, which began with a decade of working in career guidance for marginalized groups before a chance meeting with a new CEO friend led to his first major business coaching contract. This experience revealed his true passion for helping early-stage founders, leading to the creation of Dose Collaborations, a business dedicated to combating the high failure rate of new startups by providing clarity, confidence, and collaborative support.

Ricci delves into his "KISS" (Keep It Super Simple) methodology, designed to cut through the overwhelm that plagues founders in their first 0-3 years of business. He outlines his multi-tiered approach, from one-on-one coaching to an upcoming membership community, all aimed at making business support affordable and accessible. Looking ahead, Ricci shares his ambitious vision to build a 3,000-member community and host a large-scale, high-energy annual event, creating a "business home" where founders can find safety, support, and sustainable growth.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we sit down with Jessica Playfair, an online fitness and nutrition coach who specializes in helping high-achieving women and mothers navigate weight loss, prenatal and postpartum fitness. Jessica shares her deeply personal journey, from her own struggles with weight throughout her life to facing the challenge of losing 30 pounds postpartum, which became the catalyst for creating her coaching business, Boundless. She reveals how these experiences, combined with her time as a private trainer, led her to develop her signature "Core Method," a framework that places as much emphasis on mindset and sustainable habits as it does on workouts and nutrition.

Jessica details her high-touch, one-on-one coaching program, delivered through a custom app, which includes personalized programming, weekly check-ins, and direct messaging for accountability. She opens up about the realities of running a solopreneur business, discussing the challenges of balancing client delivery with marketing and the need to systemize and delegate to scale her impact. Looking ahead, Jessica shares her goals for the next 12 months, focusing on mastering lead generation to multiply her impact and help more women achieve the lasting wellness she once struggled to find herself.

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Milan Kohut, we sit down with Connor Donnelly, the founder of Linked Leverage LLC. Connor shares his journey from a background in sustainability consulting and teaching to becoming a career and networking coach, a path he discovered after years of peers consistently seeking his advice on mastering LinkedIn. He explains how witnessing the seismic shift in the job market—where AI now filters thousands of applications and a candidate's LinkedIn profile has become the primary introduction—inspired him to build a business dedicated to helping professionals stand out by blending human authenticity with data-driven precision.

Connor details his multi-faceted approach, which includes one-on-one career coaching, specialized LinkedIn profile optimization, and highly-rated group workshops aimed at organizations and universities. He emphasizes the critical importance of a strong LinkedIn presence in today's "AI gig economy," backing it up with compelling statistics on networking's role in landing jobs. Looking ahead, Connor discusses his vision for scaling his impact by systemizing his operations and training others in his methodology, all while navigating the challenge of educating a market that is only just beginning to understand why his services are now mission-critical.