The Founder's Sandbox is going to be an exciting new podcast produced and sponsored by Next Act Advisors. Brenda McCabe, founder of NAA, will be interviewing players in the ecosystem of startups. Discussion centers on the nuts and bolts of resilient companies, shared experiences creating (and keeping) revenue, while making companies playful AND well governed! We will tackle common issues faced by the founders of startups, and talk about how to create a fun environment where, under great corporate governance, founders can sit back and watch their employees build and play. transcript: 01:18 Hello, this is Brenta. I'm with NextAct Advisors. I am absolutely delighted to be doing a test drive today with a 01:32 podcast I'll be launching in the fall the founder sandbox I work from my advisory firm next act advisors with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs and They work largely in the clean tech the digital health medtech and enterprise software spaces now I own and operate a consulting firm next act advisors and It's all about my next act 02:02 I've been 25 years in corporate America and Europe and upon making a big change, I moved back from Europe after living there for over 25 years. I have retooled myself, re-skilled and realized that I have something to offer the new generation of entrepreneurs. I've had the privilege of assisting founders and business owners since 2012. 02:32 And I build with them scalable and really resilient and well-governed businesses. And right now when I'm launching this podcast, we're all coming out of two years of lockdown and having to reinvent ourselves. And there seems to be a down cycle coming in the economy. And I think that it's a great time to launch this podcast. 03:01 because my message through a podcast can get to a broader audience. And I have guests that will be joining that not only have uh built businesses, continue to build businesses, have exited businesses. I also bring guests that, like myself, have a mission to work with entrepreneurs to make a better world and bring their expertise in the boardroom. 03:30 in the corporate room and selling into large enterprise customers. I made a major life change, returned to the US after many years abroad. And my work with large corporations and privately owned companies and as an independent board director since 2012, I like to work in the vibrant ecosystem of technology startups. 03:59 and deep tech in large markets. I myself worked as an executive in clean tech for over six years after leaving corporate America and I discovered disruptive technology and its promise to make a better world. The combination of my life change, you could say it was a down cycle in the economy. It was a very large life change after 24 years of marriage and two children. I divorced. 04:29 and stayed in Europe and continued to build resilient companies. But I wanted to come back to my people. You can be anything in the United States. So I built not only on my life change and what I did to make that change, I built on my operational experience in large corporates and the governance oversight that I acquired while sitting on a public board. 04:59 and private company boards since 2012. 05:04 This journey of mine over the last 10 years, I believe has had positive outcomes for my clients, my professional aspirations in my next act, and my personal success. Through my work with founders, I aspire to influence those whom I serve to shape a better world. I've done this by being very purposeful. I launched first Next Act Advisors. 05:33 I could write frequently, you'll see my post on LinkedIn, and continue to write blog posts on what is a purposeful company. Myself, my company, I've been inspired by a servant leader model. My mission is to serve clients. And I'd like to say that I follow the words of Gandhi. 05:58 I want to be the change that I wish to see in the world. Through my own journey of change, three tenants garner not only what I did with my personal life, but I found that they'd often dovetail in the type of work I do with founders. Three tenants are fit for purpose. The business you are creating was or is your true north. 06:26 And it is what makes you get up in the morning. It's around authenticity. A second tenant that garnered my personal life, as well as my professional work with founders, is Poise for Growth. 06:47 I continued to work and work in jobs that I didn't necessarily like. I had to keep the lights on and the refrigerator full as I retold myself. Got a few consulting gigs until I was able to build the vision, the content, and actually have a few clients through Next Act Advisors. 07:13 Only if your lights continue on and your refrigerator is full can you be poised for growth. A third tenet is around resilience. We all know a little bit about of that during this last two years going on three with the pandemic. Resilience is the agility and the adaptability of working with the available resources you have. 07:42 so you can expire to achieve your true north. When in doubt or when in a doubt cycle, always go back to resilience and it's taking stock of those resources you have available. 07:59 Back to me. In my servant leader leadership style, I ascribe that to uh Robert Greenleaf. I was first exposed to his writings 20 years ago. He wrote, if one is to be successful, she will be able to answer. Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer? 08:28 more autonomous, more likely to become servants. I'm absolutely delighted and humbled to work and serve CEOs and founding members on their growth stage on the way to make the world a better place for future generations. My white glove advisory firm, NextAct Advisors, exists to work with founders and owners to bridge ideas from the lab, from the bench, from the sandbox. 08:58 to commercialization, to build a large enterprise. 09:04 I will be joined on this podcast by founders, business owners, professional service providers, and professionals, executives who, not unlike me, also have been sitting on corporate boards, have consulted with technology and early stage companies, and bring good corporate governance skills. So welcome. 09:32 to Next Act Advisors additional channel, a podcast, the Founder Sandbox. In this Founder Sandbox, we will have play, we will play while we have fun and enjoy learning about Poise for Growth, Fit for Purpose and Resilience. Signing off, thank you, have a great day.