From the Ground Up

Janelle (Jay) Eckardt, a certified health and wellness coach, disability advocate, and founder of Problematic Pineapple, believes mindfulness should adapt to people rather than demand that everyone follow the same practices. She joins John Boitnott on From the Ground Up to explain how inaccessible coaching exercises shaped her approach to wellness and why breathwork, movement, and conventional gratitude practices can unintentionally exclude people with disabilities. Eckardt also shares practical alternatives from her book No Breathwork, No Bullshit and explains how listening to individual experiences can make the wellness industry more inclusive.

Philip de Rita, founder of Personalized Communication Design Services, believes nonprofits often struggle to attract supporters because their core message gets lost in everything they are trying to accomplish. He joins John Boitnott on From the Ground Up to discuss how clearer storytelling, smarter marketing budgets, and measurable outreach can help mission-driven organizations build stronger relationships with donors, volunteers, and their communities. De Rita also shares how nonprofits can find compelling stories within their everyday work, develop meaningful business partnerships, and create the operational foundation needed for sustainable growth.

Rich Waryn, founder of Ridgefield Partners and owner and CEO of LDK Logistics, has experienced business acquisitions from both sides of the negotiating table. He joins John Boitnott on From the Ground Up to explain how he grew the value of LDK Logistics tenfold, why empowering employees can improve business performance, and what private equity buyers look for in an acquisition. Waryn also shares how AI is changing his logistics operations and why owners preparing to sell should focus on management depth, financial discipline, and company culture.

Laura Carrington has spent three decades in technology witnessing how leadership decisions can determine whether organizational change succeeds or fails. She joins John Boitnott on From the Ground Up to explain why companies often invest in new systems without preparing the people expected to use them, and how trust, communication, and employee involvement can improve adoption. Carrington also discusses emotional resilience, compassionate leadership, and why building a collaborative culture is essential as businesses navigate AI and continuous change.

Mikhail Voloshin has spent years working across data analytics, software engineering, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, giving him a close view of what AI can actually do and where expectations tend to outrun reality. He joins John Boitnott to explain why companies need to define success before automating anything, how poor metrics can push AI toward the wrong outcome, and why prompt quality matters less than having a clear way to judge results. Voloshin also shares why the next major shift in AI may happen on everyday devices rather than inside massive data centers and why keeping humans technically literate will matter even more as the tools become more capable.

Jay Avigdor built Velocity Capital Group around a simple frustration: small businesses often need capital faster than traditional financing channels can move. He joins John Boitnott to explain how revenue-based financing has evolved, why technology and regulation are making the category more credible, and how AI is changing underwriting without eliminating the need for human judgment. Avigdor also shares what founders misunderstand about financing, why relationships with capital providers matter, and how his own setbacks shaped the way he evaluates risk and growth.

Dr. Burl Randolph Jr. spent nearly 32 years in the U.S. Army, including three combat tours in Iraq, before turning his leadership experience toward helping organizations build healthier management cultures. He joins John Boitnott to explain how toxic behavior takes root, why organizations often tolerate it for too long, and how fear, poor accountability, and weak leadership development can quietly damage a team. Randolph also shares what employees can do when they are working under a difficult boss and why strong leadership has to be developed deliberately rather than assumed.

Robert Saltz spent decades in hospitality and higher education before realizing that many artists face the same career questions as business professionals, often with far less structure around them. He joins John Boitnott to explain why talent alone cannot answer questions about direction, resilience, visibility, and professional growth, and how artists can take more ownership without losing what makes their work personal. Saltz also shares what his wife’s career as an international opera singer taught him about preparation, self-doubt, and why even accomplished performers never really stop developing.

Aaron Pott has spent decades making wine in Napa Valley and France, but some of his most important lessons came from learning when not to impose his own preferences on the vineyard. He joins John Boitnott to discuss how Burgundy and Bordeaux shaped his approach to terroir, why he built Pott Wine around a small organic mountain property, and what craftsmanship looks like when quality matters more than scale. Pott also explains why he took on the unlikely challenge of nonalcoholic wine and how innovation can demand a completely different kind of winemaking discipline.

Todd Katcher has spent nearly two decades moving between industries by paying attention to problems other people have learned to tolerate. He joins John Boitnott to explain how a Nashville bar led to an early digital advertising network, how one conversation with a car dealer pulled him into automotive technology, and why solving the right problem matters more than starting with the most impressive product. Katcher also shares what bodybuilding taught him about failure, how he decides which ideas deserve attention, and why customer relationships still matter more than having the best technology.