From Founder To CEO

There's a dirty word in some entrepreneurial circles. It starts with s...no, not that word. It's structure. Yes, some Founders shy away from structure, processes, and systems just at the time the business needs a bit more. Christian experienced this himself and is helping Founders like you better navigate this important part of entrepreneurial leadership.

Daisy Ozim is passionate about helping marginalized communities get access to and use the healthcare resources in their area. She is using tech like blockchain to make it happen. Plus, she shares her own struggles with Founder health and how important it is to the success of your business.

You can learn a lot about Founder development from the Founder of a church. That's why I was very excited when Luke Dooley agreed to come on the show. Luke learned a lot being the Co-founder of Journey Church and has applied his lessons learned as the Vice President of Program for the OCEAN Accelerator. In this revealing interview, you'll hear Luke talk about:

• Why he decided to start a church with a friend
• How he learned to shift his perspective from "me-oriented" to "team-oriented"

You have heard of gamification. But have you heard of the gamification of on-boarding your new team members? Jason and his team have a tiger by the tail and he shares some Founder to CEO stories and value bombs you won't want to miss...like...

• Why on-boarding of your new team members is so important
• Why his masters degree in humanities computing was such a big part of his success
• Why its important to double check the financials of the company you plan on acquiring
• Why he, and you, may delude yourself about the extent you can change others
• Why one of your jobs as Founder is to help your team simply

What does it take to be a Founder in the RF, wireless, optics, and autonomous vehicles industries...a lot of mistakes, hard work, and inspired leadership. I have wanted to interview Dr. Achour for quite some time. Her team is striving to make autonomous driving safer with their amazing technology. Maha shares some incredible insights about

• Why she isn't fond of recruiters
• Why she likes LinkedIn
• Why she gives special attention to spouses during the hiring process
• And more

Nathan's enthusiasm is infectious. You can hear it in his voice as he describes his quick ascent to being a successful Founder. Yet, that success came quick and he had to learn how to adjust his style after a previous boss may have led him astray about a better way to interact with team members. In this interview, Nathan is transparent about what he has learned on the path from Founder to CEO. He explains...

• Why he started FreeeUp after building a $20 million company in 4 years
• What he learned from his first manager and how his impacted his leadership as Founder
• The painful lessons he learned about hiring effectively
• Why diversification applies to partners, clients, and your team members
• Why having a co-founder who is different than you is so helpful
• Why agenda-less meetings with his individual team members are so fruitful

When you listen to this interview with Marshall Chesrown, Founder & CEO of RumbleOn, it's hard not to hear the wisdom, passion, and focus. He sure has been through a lot and has accomplished a lot. Here's what I think you'll learn or be reminded of after listening to Marshall's interview:

• It takes a great deal of commitment to overcome bankruptcy
• Hiring others who offset your limitations is a best practice
• Clear vision and determined execution go hand-in-hand

Being a Founder is tough work. It's even harder when you are bringing innovation to industries and areas of business that struggle with change. Grant is creating a triple win in higher education...students can earn credits for their first year of college for free...universities gain access to a new pool of students...and tax payers avoid my student loan debt.

Building this new approach is not easy. Grant has learned a lot. In this interview he explains why it has been hard for him to convince others of this innovation and how he has overcome this challenge.

Communication is the foundation of all relationships. Xenia understands this. Not only did she and her team create a powerful collaboration platform for agencies and their clients, but she also has learned a lot of about communication with her growing team.

In this candid interview, Xenia explains how she probably could have done a better job communicating the importance of The Cannes Lions Festival to her team. Because she didn't, it had an impact on her team and their confidence in her as a Founder and CEO. Hear her explain this and more in this wisdom filled episode.

We continue our conversations about artificial intelligence with a Founder who is making it a lot easier to make sure your paid social ads are doing the job they were intended to do. R.J. talks about the work of Pattern89 and also a very specific personal development point on the path from Founder to CEO. You'll want to listen closely as he describes the shift in leadership he has had to make and how it connects to his time as a D-1 swimming coach.