This conversation between host and Nate Fochtman cuts straight to the intersection of personal transformation and professional leadership. Nate — a 17-year solopreneur in the adult beverage space, 3 years sober, and the founder of Free Mind Group — shares how his lived experience (rock bottom, sobriety, two divorces) became the operating system for how he coaches founders today.

The episode explores why culture problems almost always start at the top, how to actually diagnose them through a qualitative culture audit, and why the era of leadership masks is over. It's raw, honest, and practically useful for anyone leading a team or scaling a business.

Key Topics Covered

• The 'onion model' of founder coaching — how deep Nate goes based on client need
• Why Nate's 17-year business is still intentionally one-on-one, with no buffers between him and the client
• The culture audit process: 10–15 spontaneous probing questions, employees first, founder last
• The C-suite client who discovered mid-sessions he was only there for the paycheck
• Nate's personal journey: 21 years in alcohol, addictive personality, three years of sobriety
• Why recovery taught him more about leadership than any academic program
• The 'founders assume everyone is as passionate as them' problem — and how it dehumanizes teams
• The death of the corporate mask: same person at work, at home, everywhere
• How Nate's unfiltered LinkedIn newsletters went from dormant to 40K+ monthly organic views
• The masculine/feminine energy balance conversation — and why men are confused about how to show up

Guest Bio:

Nate Fochtman is the founder of Free Mind Group, a one-on-one founder coaching and brand strategy consultancy serving the adult beverage space and beyond. With 17 years as a solopreneur — and a personal journey through addiction, sobriety, and rebuilding — Nate helps founders, operators, and executives face what they've been avoiding: culture gaps, identity drift, and the human cost of growth. No textbooks. No checklists. Just real, situational leadership coaching rooted in lived experience.

Find Nate at fmgstrategy.com and @FreeMinNate on social media.

What if your burnout isn't a productivity problem — it's a design problem?

In Episode 87 of The Branding Laboratory, we sit down with Stefanie Carlstedt, a human design business coach and manifesting generator who spent years following every marketing tip, guru strategy, and morning routine she could find — only to lose herself completely in the process. She built a big business. Then she burned it down. Not because of failure, but because it was profoundly misaligned with who she is.

Now Stefanie helps entrepreneurs infuse their unique Human Design into their business strategy — their marketing, their messaging, their offers, and how they lead. The results? Clients who walk away with a completely different business model than the one they came in with — and one that actually works for them.

In this episode, we explore:

• What Human Design actually is — and how it differs from Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, or strengths finders
• The five energy types (generator, manifesting generator, projector, manifester, reflector) and what each means for how you work
• Authority: how you're designed to make decisions — and why leading with your mind is costing you clarity
• How Human Design acts as a GPS to your highest potential — not a box that limits you
• Why the burnout epidemic among entrepreneurs is a sign of design misalignment, not time management failure
• How to use your design to shape your marketing voice, business model, and team leadership
• The Chiron return, energy centers, and what makes two people born in the same place at the same time different

Whether you're a skeptic or already obsessed with Human Design, this episode will make you rethink how you're showing up — and why the most productive thing you can do might be to stop working the way everyone else does.

About The Guest

Stefanie Carlstedt is a human design business coach who helps entrepreneurs align their business strategy with their unique energetic design — so they can stop copying someone else's success and start building one that actually feels like them. Free Report: stefcarlstedt.com/hdreport

Get your free Human Design report + 10-part audio: stefcarlstedt.com/hdreport

🔗 Connect with Stefanie Carlstedt:

Website: stefcarlstedt.com

Free Report: stefcarlstedt.com/hdreport

What if the pressure you're running from is actually the thing that's supposed to build you? Alex Bolowich — elite mental performance coach and son of a legendary college soccer coach — spent four years at Creighton playing through injuries, online harassment, and a nervous system that shut down under pressure. That experience became his life's work.

Key Topics Covered

• Why mental performance isn't therapy — it's a trainable skill with real science behind it
• The performance identity trap that breaks athletes and entrepreneurs alike
• The 4 core mental skills: strength, flexibility, agility, and endurance
• How long real mental transformation takes: 90 days to feel it, 1 year to become it
• The car-and-driver analogy: why upgrading your team won't fix a broken driver

Alex Bolowich is an elite mental performance coach and founder of the Mental Edge program, helping high-performers build the mental foundation that no tactic can replace.

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You're putting in the work — the content, the social posts, the funnel. So why does marketing still feel like pushing a boulder uphill? In this episode, Deevo sits down with Kelly Schuknecht (Two Mile High Marketing) to get honest about what's really going on when marketing stops feeling light.

Topics Covered

• The 4-question framework for annual marketing reflection
• Why messaging confusion is the root cause most founders miss
• The marketing ≠ sales ≠ branding equation every founder needs to understand
• Positioning strategy: how to become the go-to expert in your space
• Real founder lessons: cashflow, team building, and hiring carefully

Kelly Schuknecht is the founder of Two Mile High Marketing, specializing in helping business owners and thought leaders find their authority X factor and build a marketing strategy that fits.

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What does it really take to build a business rooted in who you are — not just what you sell?

In this episode, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer and Brand Storyteller, sits down with Scott Hogan, Founder of SaltWrap Company and author of Built from Broken, for a raw and reflective conversation that goes far beyond business strategy.

Scott opens up about the early injuries and personal struggles that shaped his path — and how his mother's approach to natural healing planted the seeds for a company built around therapeutic sports nutrition and long-term physical health. But this episode isn't just about building a brand. It's about building yourself first.

Together, Deevo and Scott explore what authentic leadership actually looks like in the day-to-day grind of running and scaling a company — how to protect your culture as you grow, how to stay anchored to your values when the pressure mounts, and why self-leadership is the foundation everything else is built on.

They also dive into fatherhood, personal growth, and the role that genuine communication and customer trust play in creating a brand that truly means something.

If you're a founder, a leader, or simply someone trying to build a life and business that reflects who you really are — this one is for you.

What does it take to build a brand from nothing—no inherited network, no industry experience, no AI buzzword on your pitch deck? Jennifer Millard, five-time founder and Maine Entrepreneur of the Year, chose to bet on water. Canned, local, and rooted in one of America’s most beloved states. This episode is a masterclass in conviction.

Key Topics

• The Rising Tides thesis and how Maine Love revives idle breweries
• Raising $2.2M without AI on the pitch—and why capital clarity matters
• Titles vs. real power: how Jennifer builds agile, agency-driven teams
• The 95 corridor growth strategy and the water economy thesis
• Exit optionality: ESOP, priced round, or cashflow dividend business

Jennifer Millard is the founder of Maine Love, a fast-growing canned water brand expanding down the East Coast. She has exited four previous companies, including a sale to MasterCard, and was named Maine Entrepreneur of the Year by Maine Business Magazine.

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In this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer of The Brand Storyteller and Fusion Creative Brands, sits down with Charlie Sells, Founder of Clarity Over Everything, to explore the core principles of business growth and brand momentum.

From understanding your unique identity to cutting through complexity, Charlie shares actionable strategies for entrepreneurs who want to scale their business effectively. They discuss why a 40,000-foot perspective is essential for clarity, how to focus on what’s already working, and the difference between growing and scaling your business.

Charlie also reveals his approach to workshops, diagnostics, and authority-building strategies that help brands get unstuck and communicate clearly. Whether you’re a small business owner or a solo entrepreneur, this conversation provides valuable insights into positioning your brand, refining your message, and building momentum that lasts. Tune in to gain expert guidance from two leaders passionate about redefining how businesses grow.

In this thought-provoking episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer of Brand Storyteller and Fusion Creative Brands, sits down with Aleksandra Ceho, Founder and Principal Astrologer of Astrologer Royale, for a powerful conversation on identity, timing, and courageous reinvention. Aleksandra shares the bold story of walking away from her career as a kinesiologist in January 2010 with no backup plan—calling it the best leap of her life.

What followed was the rise of a globally recognized astrology practice serving entrepreneurs across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Together, Deevo and Aleksandra explore the philosophy that identity is the engine behind how we lead, build, and show up in business. The discussion reframes astrology from pop-culture mysticism into a strategic decision-making tool—one historically used by royalty, military leaders, and statesmen. Aleksandra explains how natal chart analysis and planetary forecasting help founders optimize visibility, marketing, partnerships, and executive timing.

Join Deevo, Chief Experience Officer of The Brand Storyteller, on The Branding Laboratory as he sits down with Kat Halushka, business strategist and visibility expert. In this episode, they explore the powerful intersection of values, leadership, authenticity, and personal development, revealing how entrepreneurs can leverage their voice to grow their business. Kat shares her journey from Belarus to Canada and how she discovered the $7 million selling-from-stage strategy that helps entrepreneurs convert audiences into clients. They dive into the art of storytelling, building visibility, and designing systems that create predictable results without relying solely on referrals or ads. Discover the behind-the-scenes techniques of creating signature talks, understanding client beliefs, and aligning business with personal values. Perfect for leaders, founders, and creatives, this episode provides actionable insights to elevate your brand, amplify your message, and turn your expertise into measurable success. Tune in to gain practical strategies that blend The Branding Laboratory’s insights with The Brand Storyteller philosophy.

n this episode of The Branding Laboratory, host Deevo, Chief Experience Officer at The Brand Storyteller, sits down with Mark Wojcik, Founder and CEO of The Wojcik Group and a veteran talent acquisition strategist.

Together, they explore why human connection continues to outperform automation in recruiting and leadership, even in an AI-driven world. Mark shares hard-earned insights from his journey through sales failure, recruiting disruption, and leadership growth.

The conversation challenges common hiring myths, examines the real cost of misalignment, and reveals why authentic, human-centered experiences remain the foundation of strong brands, cultures, and sustainable business success. 💡 I