The myth of the genius jerk founder has shaped startup culture for decades, but it’s wrong. Dr. Richard Hagberg and Tien Tzuo, co-authors of Founders Keepers, have the data to prove it. In this episode, they unpack the real traits that define high-performing founders, why bad behavior gets glorified, and how emotional intelligence and adaptability, not arrogance, drive lasting success.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Hartz is the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite, the platform built to help anyone host and sell tickets to an event. But after years in the business, Julia and her team realized something surprising. Their biggest growth opportunity wasn’t with the people creating events, it was with the people searching for them. On this episode, Julia shares how Eventbrite rethought its product, reimagined discovery, and why, in an AI-saturated world, real human connection might just be the ultimate value proposition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Ania Smith, CEO of TaskRabbit, has spent her career building marketplace businesses. She shares the operational challenges of matching people who need tasks done with people who can do them and how TaskRabbit solves for the millions of unpredictable human variables that come with it. Balancing supply and demand at scale means identifying the patterns and solving the problems.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eynat Guez, co-founder and CEO of Papaya Global, shares how a single contract clause nearly bankrupted her first company and why confronting that worst-case scenario changed everything. Instead of panicking, she mapped out the fallout, turned it into leverage, and negotiated a way out. That mindset became a repeatable leadership strategy, helping her build a $3 billion global payroll platform while navigating both personal and professional risk.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does an old video game get reborn as a modern entertainment behemoth? Just ask the producers behind Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider, and more. Their names are Dmitri M. Johnson and Mike Goldberg, co-founders of Story Kitchen, a media company that specializes in adapting classic video games and other unconventional IP for TV and film. Upcoming projects include adaptations for Toys R' Us, Teddy Ruxpin, Toe Jam & Earl, and more. On this episode, they share what makes a character worth reviving — and how to do it right.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember the Sonic “Two Guys” commercials? That simple marketing campaign transformed the brand — but creating it wasn’t simple at all. In this episode, Cliff Hudson (former Sonic CEO) and Craig Miller (former Sonic CIO) share how the “Two Guys” campaign emerged through testing, refinement, and real-time feedback. This  low-budget idea turned into a powerful brand asset. Hungry for more? Check out their book, Bricks and Clicks: How We Drove Sonic into the Digital Age.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you want to learn to predict what your competitors will do next and prepare for it? Arjan Singh, author of Competitive Success: Building Winning Strategies with Corporate War Games, joins the show to explain how companies of any size can use war game simulations to uncover blind spots, anticipate moves, and build stronger contingency plans. Singh has worked with 68 of the top 100 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list, and teaches marketing at SMU’s Cox School of Business. In this episode, he breaks down how to run a corporate war game and how it can help you build a more resilient, forward-looking strategy.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a space evolving as fast as AI, how do you build something that stays relevant? According to Misbah and Farah Uraizee, co-founders of Nectar Social, the answer starts with founder-market fit. Solve the problem that you are uniquely suited to solve. In this episode, they share how that clarity helped them land early clients, raise a full seed round without even using a pitch deck, and introduce a bold new solution to the marketplace.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a high-tech world, old-school relationships still win. So take a cue from Hollywood: Film producer and financier Matthew Helderman, cofounder and CEO of BondIt Media Capital and Buffalo8, shares how his team turned the classic business lunch into a repeatable growth strategy - one so effective, it’s written into the employee handbook. These social outings have even led to seven-figure deals. In this episode, Matthew explains how to systematize relationship-building to open doors, uncover opportunities, and grow any kind of business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone says to “build your personal brand,” but how do you actually do that on LinkedIn? In this episode, Jason talks with Laura Lorenzetti, Senior Director and Executive Editor at LinkedIn News, about what really works and what doesn’t. They walk through how to create content that sparks conversation and build a strategy for growing your personal brand. Along the way, they bust some common LinkedIn myths, and Laura shares just when the perfect time to post on LinkedIn really is. Whether you're growing a business or a career, this is how to make LinkedIn work for you.

Want more strategies for finding your next big client on LinkedIn? Check out Jason's new course, LinkedIn Mastery. Get 40% off with code PS.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices