Leadership Quotient

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Patricia Lizarraga, Chief Investment Officer of the WCEO ETF and Managing Partner at Hypatia Capital, shares why she believes women CEOs should outperform on average and what that reveals about leadership, resilience, and value creation. Drawing on her experience in investment banking and nearly two decades building Hypatia, Patricia explains how structural barriers shape the path women take to the top, why that longer and often harder road may produce stronger leaders, and how her team built an investment methodology designed to isolate and measure the performance of women CEOs over time. Patricia and Lindsay explore what women-led companies appear to do differently, including building more diverse leadership teams, operating more sustainably, and widening the tent of people involved in driving change. They also discuss the role of listening as a core leadership skill, how leaders translate influence by understanding what different audiences need to hear, and why advancing more women into CEO roles requires better data, better messaging, and more deliberate action from boards and investors. The conversation closes with a practical and personal challenge: how to accelerate the pace of change so that the next generation of women leaders has a broader path to the top.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Ben Narasin, Founder of Tenacity Venture Capital, shares how a lifetime of entrepreneurship shaped his view that the true differentiator between success and failure is not just intelligence, opportunity, or even vision, but tenacity. Drawing on his path from early ventures as a child to building FashionMall.com and later launching one of the earliest institutional seed funds, Ben explains why the entrepreneurs worth backing are the ones who simply refuse to stay down. Ben and Lindsay explore how disdain for losing, frugality, and resilience show up in founder behavior, why great leaders must lead from the front, and how storytelling is not a soft skill but a core leadership capability that drives recruiting, fundraising, sales, and culture. They also discuss the dangers of tolerating weak links on a team, the difference between founder-led and founder-managed companies, and why the best startup leaders hire people strong enough to challenge them. The conversation closes with Ben’s perspective on AI as a transformational force, the importance of protecting time and focus, and the enduring reality that great companies are built by people willing to fight longer, learn faster, and tell a compelling story along the way.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, The Crucible CEO Lindsay Guzowski sits down with Eduardo Amadeo, Venture Partner at Overboost and Kamay Ventures, to explore what leadership looks like inside the venture ecosystem—especially through a Latin American lens. Eduardo shares his path from building Argentina’s early entrepreneurship programs to raising funds, and why serious investors earn trust by investing time, showing professionalism, and staying transparent with founders from the first conversation (whether they invest or not). They dig into the power of “slow” investing as a way to test resiliency, coachability, and urgency—highlighted by a founder team that returned with 15 improvements after being challenged with 10. Eduardo also unpacks the corporate-backed VC model: focusing on strategic fit, helping startups unlock scale through corporate customers, and reshaping business models so they work for both startups and large networks. The conversation closes with a critical leadership watch-out as companies grow: team expansion can break culture unless founders evolve from entrepreneurs into people managers—and with Eduardo’s view on the next wave of value creation, where a specialized thesis paired with flexible financing will win in capital-constrained markets.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Steve Kiser, General Partner at Veteran Ventures Capital, joins The Crucible CEO Lindsay Guzowski to explore what veteran leadership brings to venture-backed companies—and why character traits like integrity, selflessness, and a “no-fail” mindset can be as decisive as skill. Steve shares his unexpected path from 21 years of military service to managing over $100M in assets, and explains why the military teaches followership before leadership, producing leaders who emphasize the collective and lead people—not “manage” them. Together, Steve and Lindsay discuss the challenges veterans face when transitioning out of the military (loss of tribe, structure, and identity), how purpose-driven work helps fill that gap, and how Veteran Ventures supports founders by identifying blind spots, building teams, and “showing what right looks like.” The conversation also digs into what makes a founder investable—especially why talking to customers reveals more about leadership than a pitch deck—and closes with Steve’s view on the next wave of value creation in defense and deep tech, from advanced materials and robotics to AI and the accelerating curve of quantum.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Andy Drummond, Founder of ShireGrowth Partners, joins The Crucible CEO Lindsay Guzowski to explore what leadership requires when time is finite and the clock is always ticking in private equity-backed businesses. Drawing on experience across SC Johnson, industrial distribution, and multiple PE-backed operating roles, Andy explains how the shift from “planning in decades” to “planning for exit in three years” changes decision-making, urgency, and execution expectations. Andy and Lindsay dig into one of the most common breakdowns between investors and operators—when value creation levers look great on a spreadsheet but play out very differently with real customers—and how leaders can bridge that gap by asking better questions, grounding disagreement in facts, and speaking candidly before a lever is pulled. They also discuss why trust-building with the deal team is priceless, how operating partners can serve as translators between strategy and execution, and why sustainable value creation ultimately depends on leaders who care about results and carry responsibility for the people they lead.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Hanim Dogan, Partner at Prime Advantage Capital Partners, angel investor, and venture partner, shares why enabling more female founders is both a leadership imperative and a value creation opportunity, and what investors often miss when evaluating early-stage teams. Drawing on her journey from founder (including an early software exit) to investor and advisor across multiple ecosystems, Hanim explains why the global investment community is smaller than people think, how trust and relationships shape access, and why authentic leadership presence matters as much as the pitch deck. Hanim and Lindsay explore the gaps she sees most often for female founders in fundraising—particularly the pressure to “perform” rather than lead—and how investors can get closer to real founder potential through deeper, more human diligence beyond the first screen (especially as AI becomes more common in sourcing). They also discuss how building great companies ultimately comes down to building great teams, why founders must upskill in team-building or bring in support early, and how leadership expectations are evolving in a more remote, AI-influenced world where soft skills are becoming differentiators. The conversation closes with a clear call to action: increasing female representation on the investor side, and ensuring men and women are in the same room driving change—because progress won’t happen in parallel conversations.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, David Norton, Managing Director at Gale Partners, shares why empathy is one of the most underrated leadership strengths and how customer-centered thinking becomes a competitive advantage in investor-backed environments. Drawing on a career that spans American Express and the brand transformation era at Caesars Entertainment, David explains how leaders can combine analytical rigor with creativity to turn insight into action, build momentum inside complex organizations, and earn trust across functions. David and Lindsay explore what it takes to drive transformation without burning relationships, including why “points on the board” matter early, how to bridge silos through stakeholder alignment, and why great leaders keep the customer “above every door.” They also discuss the growing importance of omnichannel experiences—where loyalty, personalization, and service connect the physical and digital worlds—and what CMOs must develop to remain effective as the role expands beyond brand into revenue, data, and technology. The conversation closes with a forward-looking lens on the leadership tradeoffs many executives face: balancing today’s pressure for results with the investments that create long-term value, building durable relationships that compound over time, and staying anchored to the customer even when the business is optimized for the present.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Jeff Glick, Head of U.S. Operations at Outsourced CFO (OCFO), shares why in investor-backed environments “the right way is the only way” and how financial rigor becomes a leadership advantage. Drawing on a career that spans internal audit, global M&A and integration, private equity diligence, and decades as a CFO, Jeff explains how strong controls and trustworthy reporting create the foundation for better decisions, better valuations, and ultimately better outcomes. Jeff and Lindsay explore what great finance leaders look for when assessing management teams, including how leaders respond to hard questions, whether they build policy and process with intention, and how they balance speed with operational risk. They also discuss why the best CFOs are mentors—developing teams so they can operate strategically rather than reactively—and the common failure points when finance leaders struggle to adapt after an acquisition. The conversation closes with a practical view of value creation today: using technology as a tool, leading with trust, and building teams that go the extra mile because they feel supported, developed, and accountable.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Deborah Magid, Co-Founder and Managing Director at NextStar Venture Partners, shares why leadership is ultimately defined by the opportunities you create for other people—and why trust sits at the center of both numbers and relationships. Drawing on her path from GE to IBM’s corporate venture world and into building a new fund, Deborah explains how her background in cognitive psychology shapes how she evaluates founders: not just on experience, but on how they engage, build credibility, and influence others across an ecosystem. Deborah and Lindsay explore why remote investing makes team assessment harder, how great leaders avoid micromanagement by distributing ownership and responsibility, and why many early-stage teams stall by chasing too many opportunities at once. They also discuss what founders need to understand about enterprise selling, how to use networks and external validation to drive focus, and why “AI dust” is the new “blockchain dust” in startup storytelling. The conversation closes with Deborah’s view of the next wave of value creation: investing in the physical world—energy, healthcare, agriculture, and other real-world systems—where enduring moats are built through trust, community, and impact.

In this episode of the Leadership Quotient Podcast, Michael Frank, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Gildre, shares how a career on the trading floor shaped his leadership philosophy and why the habits that create success in markets translate directly to entrepreneurship and private equity. From his early days on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange to building and exiting a multi-exchange trading operation, Michael reflects on what it means to reset every day, take accountability for outcomes, and stay sharp in environments where the rules can change overnight. He explains why great leaders listen before they act, including a pivotal story about taking a painful loss after finally trusting his partners’ instincts and how that lesson mirrors the founder’s challenge of letting smarter people run with the ball. Michael and Lindsay explore the difference between “organized chaos” and the real-world messiness of startups, including why credibility, execution, and incentives matter more off the floor than most investors expect. They also discuss how value creation is shifting as distribution becomes the true barrier to building, why Michael believes more entrepreneurs should consider search funds and acquiring durable businesses instead of starting from scratch, and how AI is changing the risk landscape for leaders across every industry. The conversation closes with Michael’s practical advice for founders: work hard, build community, hire people who are better than you, and always be the person willing to raise your hand and ask for the ball.