In this episode of Momentum Mode, Corey Ferengul sits down with co-host Mike Shannon to go deep on what it really looks like to be a second-time founder in the AI era, from how you think about strategy differently, to how you protect your time, build your team, and find customers in a market where the core models keep changing the rules.

They cover:
Why the best founders discover their business instead of forcing it into the world
The design partner model and why Mike wouldn't start a company any other way now
Why product market fit is no longer a stable destination, and what to do about it
The real reason is to raise as little money as possible, as late as possible
How fractional talent has changed early-stage team building (and where it still doesn't work)
The six-eight-week cycle framework Mike uses to protect his time and stay focused
Why the technical moat is dead, and what actually defends a business long term
How one great referral from a credible client beats ten thousand cold emails

If you're a founder, operator, or investor trying to understand what building looks like in this moment, this one is worth your time.

In this episode, Mike Shannon and Corey Ferengul go one-on-one to unpack a provocative article claiming your CEO is suffering from AI psychosis and whether the diagnosis holds up against what they're actually seeing in the market.
They cover:

Why major layoffs at Meta, Oracle, and Square may have less to do with AI and more to do with overhiring
The "management by magazine" problem and why it's more dangerous than ever in the AI era
Which processes are the glass balls you absolutely cannot afford to break with premature AI deployment
Why AI adoption has to be bottom-up and what happens when CEOs try to force it top down
The sycophancy problem: why AI affirms you 49% more than a human would, and what that means for decision-making
Token costs: how some companies are spending more on AI than they saved by cutting headcount
Why token usage is a vanity metric and what actually matters when measuring AI ROI
Where the agent orchestration problem is already breaking down inside real companies

No predictions that will age badly. Just two operators who work in AI every day, telling you what they're actually seeing.

Most executives are asking the wrong question about AI. It's not "how do I cut headcount?" It's "how do I grow without adding it proportionally?" Alex Kelleher, Founder & CEO of Quantum Rise, has spent his career answering exactly that.

In this episode of Momentum Mode, Corey Ferengul and Mike Shannon sit down with Alex, a multi-time founder, former CMO of Deloitte Digital, and now CEO of a 110-person AI transformation firm, to unpack what it actually looks like to deploy AI inside mid-market companies at scale.

They cover:
Why "management by magazine" is the most dangerous AI strategy in the boardroom right now
The real reason companies aren't further along on AI (hint: it's not the technology)
Why Quantum Rise prices on outcomes, not hours, and why that's a fundamental shift for the services industry
The difference between AI training and AI change management, and why it matters
How to spot fake AI expertise on a resume and what real credentials actually look like
Where the Sequoia "services is the new software" thesis holds up, and where it gets complicated
Why Alex believes AI will create more jobs than it destroys

Whether you're a founder, operator, or executive trying to figure out your AI strategy, this one cuts through the noise.

Should you raise millions and blitz-scale, or build slow, stay lean, and keep control? Mike and Corey dig into one of the most consequential decisions a founder makes: how much money to raise, and when.

Mike is two and a half years into his second startup (Impruve), and this time he's doing it differently. No $4M raised before product-market fit. No chasing the next round before discovering what the business actually is. In this episode, he breaks down what he learned the hard way the first time and why AI makes the case for restraint even stronger today.

They cover:
→ Why raising too much too early limits your operational creativity
→ The "discovery vs. scaling" mindset shift that changes everything
→ How AI is compressing build costs and what that means for your funding strategy
→ The vendor risk paradox: why more capital raised ≠ more stability
→ What product-market fit actually has to look like before you pull the scale lever
→ The real cost of marrying yourself to a financial goalpost too early

Whether you're pre-seed, mid-raise, or reconsidering your next round, this one is worth your time.

🎙️ Momentum Mode is hosted by Mike and Corey, two operators who've built, invested in, and advised technology companies across the Midwest and beyond.
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What should you actually DO about AI as a leader right now? Not the hype, the real strategic decisions.

In this episode, Mike and Corey break down the most pressing question executives are facing: how do you build a genuine AI strategy when the technology is changing faster than your planning cycle, investors are breathing down your neck, and employees are already using AI tools you don't even know about?

We get into why cutting headcount is the wrong first move, what "shadow AI" in your organization is really telling you, and the unglamorous data work that separates companies who will win with AI from those who won't.
What we cover:
— Why the "cut first, figure it out later" approach is organizationally dangerous
— The MIT vs. Wharton AI adoption research and what the gap tells us
— "Management by Magazine" — and why investor pressure is driving bad AI decisions
— Why your data house has to come before your AI strategy
— Shadow AI: what to do when employees are already using tools you haven't approved
— The career opportunity hiding inside the AI disruption (for employees at every level)
— Why you should never get married to a single AI tool or vendor
— The regulatory fragmentation coming for multinationals and the fiduciary risk already here in financial services
If you're an executive, operator, or anyone trying to lead through the AI moment without just reacting to headlines, this one is for you.
🎙️ Momentum Mode drops new episodes weekly. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one!

In this episode of Momentum Mode, Corey Ferengul and Mike Shannon draw on their own experience on both sides of the table, as founders, executives, and investors, to break down what M&A readiness really means and why most companies aren't as prepared as they think.

From the midnight due diligence call to the data gaps that quietly kill deals, they get into the details founders rarely hear until it's too late.

They cover:

• Why not all revenue is equal and how buyers value it differently
• The churn data you should have been tracking years ago
• How succession planning becomes an M&A issue for services businesses
• What separates a PE buyer from a strategic — and why it changes everything
• The curveballs that catch sellers off guard: legal history, executive turnover, and decelerating growth
• Why clean, organized data can add half a turn to your multiple

If you're a founder thinking about an eventual exit, a services business owner navigating succession, or an operator who wants to understand how buyers really think, this episode is a must-watch.

In this episode of Momentum Mode, Corey Ferengul and Mike Shannon sit down with Ann Perry, M&A consultant and former corporate development leader at companies including VMware, Intel, and McAfee, to unpack what really determines whether an acquisition succeeds or fails.

From how startups actually get on the radar of strategic buyers to why integration should start before a deal is even signed, Ann shares hard-earned lessons from decades inside Silicon Valley deal rooms.

They dig into the realities founders don’t always see:
• Why culture mismatch kills value post-close
• How messy IP and entity structure can derail a transaction
• The real purpose of earn-outs (and why they often end in lawsuits)
• Why Intel rewarded “devil’s advocates” for stopping bad deals

If you’re a founder thinking about being acquired, an operator navigating integration, or an investor trying to understand what really drives M&A outcomes, this episode is a must-watch.

In this episode of Momentum Mode, Corey Ferengul and Mike Shannon sit down with Marty Pletkin, Managing Director of Corporate Development at Deloitte, to unpack what really determines whether M&A deals succeed or fail.

With decades of experience across global transactions, Marty shares a behind-the-scenes look at how acquisitions actually happen — and why leadership alignment, timing, and operational discipline matter far more than financial models alone.

The conversation explores common misconceptions founders have about exits, the hidden risks that emerge during diligence, and how companies can maintain leverage while navigating complex deal processes.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• The one factor that ultimately determines if a deal closes
• Why time — not price — kills most transactions
• How founders unintentionally weaken their position during diligence
• The difference between strategic buyers and financial buyers
• How to maintain operational momentum during an exit process

If you’re a founder, executive, or investor navigating growth, fundraising, or potential acquisition, this episode offers a practical perspective on how deals really get done.

Subscribe for more conversations on leadership, scaling, and strategic decision-making.

Most companies don’t fail because of a lack of ambition.
They stall because they outgrow their structure.

In this episode of Momentum Mode, Corey Ferengul and Mike Shannon sit down with Anthony Knierim to unpack what actually drives durable growth inside scaling organizations.

From operational discipline and accountability to leadership evolution and system design, Anthony shares what separates companies that scale intentionally from those that grow into chaos. The conversation explores:

• Why early success often hides structural weaknesses
• The difference between motion and real progress
• How process protects innovation (instead of slowing it down)
• Why accountability must be cultural, not situational
• The leadership shift required to move from founder-led to system-led growth

If you're a founder, operator, or executive navigating growth, this episode offers a practical lens on building organizations that last — not just ones that move fast.

Subscribe for more conversations on leadership, scaling, and building with intention.