What does it really take to leave a successful corporate career and build a company from the ground up?

In this episode of Fractional Frequency, we sit down with Ike Nwabah, co-founder of Basalingo, to discuss the realities of bootstrapping a startup, building a two-sided marketplace, and leading through uncertainty.

After years in executive leadership roles at companies like Autodesk, AT&T, Cisco, and Armor, Ike made the leap into entrepreneurship to solve a deeply personal problem: helping children learn new languages through activities they already love, like music, sports, dance, and art.

Together, we explore:

• Why Ike chose to bootstrap instead of raising venture capital
• The unique challenges of building a marketplace that requires both supply and demand
• Leadership lessons from transitioning out of corporate America
• Building culture with a lean team of family members, interns, and subject matter experts
• The one metric every bootstrapped founder should be watching
• Advice for professionals navigating layoffs and unexpected career changes

Whether you're a founder, operator, product leader, or someone considering taking the entrepreneurial leap, this conversation offers practical insights on leadership, growth, and building something meaningful from the ground up.

On this special one-year anniversary episode, STRATIVIS founders Erin Todus and Amy Crook look back on the year that turned an ambitious idea into a growing business.

They share the highs worth celebrating, the lows that tested them, the lessons they learned the hard way and the people who helped bring STRATIVIS to life. From building a business and growing a team to navigating uncertainty, taking risks, and figuring things out in real time, this is an honest reflection on what year one really looked like behind the scenes.

They also look ahead to what’s next for STRATIVIS, the opportunities they’re excited about, the impact they want to create, and the vision guiding them into year two.

One year in. A lot learned. Even more still to build.

In this episode of Fractional Frequency, we sit down with Yakov Filipenko, Founder and CEO of Intch, to explore how the workforce is evolving and why fractional talent is becoming a permanent part of the future of business.

Yakov shares his journey from being voted out of his own startup to building a global HR technology platform that connects companies with specialized talent. Along the way, he challenges some of today's biggest assumptions about AI, hiring, and what truly makes professionals valuable in an increasingly automated world.

Together, we discuss:

• Why the "social contract" between employers and employees has fundamentally changed.
• The rise of fractional work and why Gen Z is redefining traditional careers.
• Why AI won't replace human judgment—and why decision-making will become the most valuable skill of the future.
• How small and midsize businesses can use fractional talent to innovate and scale more effectively.
• Why resumes are becoming less meaningful and what will replace them.

Whether you're a business leader, founder, HR professional, or someone navigating today's rapidly changing workplace, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on the future of work and the leadership mindset needed to thrive in it.

In this episode of Fractional Frequency, we sit down with Jimmy Lowery Jr., Founder and CEO of Simplora, to explore how AI is transforming the way leaders prepare for, participate in, and act on their most important conversations.

Jimmy shares the story behind building an AI-native meeting workspace, the pivotal moments that shaped Simplora, and what it's really like to lead a startup in one of the fastest-moving industries in the world. From making bold decisions under uncertainty to navigating constant market shifts, he offers an honest look at the realities of scaling an AI company.

Beyond the business, Jimmy opens up about balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with being a husband and father, sharing the principles that help him stay present both at work and at home.

We also look ahead to the future of work, discussing how humans and AI agents will collaborate over the next decade and what leaders should be doing today to prepare for what's coming.

Special Edition: The Founder Table

What does it really take to build and scale a company?

In this special edition of Fractional Frequency, Jenna Ferrua brings together six founders for an honest conversation about the realities of entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation in the age of AI.

Featuring:

• Joe Silva - Founder of Spektion
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephfsilva/ 
• Brandon Metcalf - Founder of Asymbl  
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/metcalf/ 
• Dan Sincavage - Founder of Synagentis 
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-sincavage/ 
• Paige Arnoff, Fractional CMO, Founder of Mavens & Moguls
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paigearnoffenn/ 
• Myles Harrison, Founder of PRAKTIKAI 
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mylesharrison/
• Amy Crook, Founder of STRATIVIS
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amylouisecrook/

Whether you're a founder, executive, investor, or simply curious about the future of work and business, this roundtable offers practical insights, candid stories, and diverse perspectives from leaders building what's next - and some bonus giggles.

Tune in for one of our most dynamic conversations yet, where experience meets innovation, and the future of work takes center stage.

In this episode of Fractional Frequency, we sit down with Jon Smucker, Partner and Portfolio Manager at Marietta, to explore how a challenge inside a 25-year-old investment firm became the foundation for Sherlock AI.

What started as an internal solution to improve investment research evolved into a platform designed to help investment professionals quickly uncover reliable insights from complex financial data. Jon shares the entrepreneurial journey behind turning an idea into a product, the unexpected moments that shaped the business, and the pivotal decisions—from meeting a technical co-founder in a coffee shop to choosing how to fund and grow an AI company.

We also dive into why accuracy matters more than ever in an AI-driven world, how Sherlock AI differs from traditional large language models, and what it takes to build technology that professionals can trust when the stakes are high.

Whether you're a founder, operator, investor, or simply curious about where AI is creating real value, this conversation offers practical insights on building products that solve meaningful problems instead of chasing hype.

In this episode of Fractional Frequency, we sit down with Dr. Rob Yonover.

Scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and author, to explore the incredible journey behind a life-saving invention now used on every crewed SpaceX mission and by military pilots around the world.

From researching active volcanoes and diving the Galápagos to bootstrapping a business while caring for his family through nearly two decades of unimaginable challenges, Dr. Yonover shares what it truly means to build with resilience. We discuss his "Hardcore Inventing" philosophy, why simple solutions often outperform complex ones, the power of staying independent, and his belief that we're all capable of solving meaningful problems.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that innovation isn't just about technology, it's about perseverance, purpose, and showing up when it matters most.

High-performing teams don't happen by chance, they're built through trust, clarity, and a shared commitment to something bigger than individual success.

In this special episode of Fractional Frequency, Amy is joined by former teammates from Glassdoor to reflect on what made their team so effective. Together, they explore the leadership behaviors, communication habits, and cultural foundations that enabled the team to consistently deliver exceptional results while supporting one another through periods of rapid growth and change.

From psychological safety and transparent leadership to proactive collaboration and intentional prioritization, this conversation offers practical lessons for anyone responsible for building, leading, or being part of a high-performing team.

Whether you're a founder, people leader, or manager looking to create a stronger team culture, this episode is packed with honest reflections and actionable insights on what it really takes to perform at a high level—together.

This week on Fractional Frequency, we're joined by Jeremy Blaze, a multi-venture founder, product designer, and the mind behind Never Before Seen.

Software is now being built at the speed of thought, but products and people can't keep up. As AI accelerates development and more "slop" floods the market, quality has become the ultimate competitive advantage.

We unpack why product is the new bottleneck, how founders can scale without creating long-term debt, the shift from founder-led product to mature product leadership, and what responsible AI integration actually looks like in practice.

If everyone's shipping faster, the winners won't be the ones building more. They'll be the ones building better.

In this episode of Fractional Frequency, we strip away the industry buzzwords with Ahryun Moon, Founder and CEO of GoodTime.

We’re moving past the hype cycle to get into the raw reality of the founder journey, the stark difference between buying AI for optics versus buying for utility and why the ultimate goal for recruiting—seamless, one-click scheduling—is closer than you think.

Join us for a great conversation on leading through uncertainty and fixing the friction that actually matters.