The Conference Room with Simon Lader

In this episode, Simon sits down with Matt Friedman, entrepreneur, franchise executive, and co-founder of Wings Zone, to explore how a simple idea launched in a fraternity house kitchen grew into a successful restaurant franchise. Starting with just $500 in 1992, Matt and his business partner, Adam Scott, built their business around a gap in the college food delivery market: authentic Buffalo wings delivered late at night.

Matt shares how they tested their idea with minimal resources, opened their first storefront, and nearly tripled sales by reaching customers beyond campus. He reflects on the realities of scaling a restaurant business, managing operations, dividing responsibilities between business partners, and learning from mistakes along the way.

The conversation also explores the importance of keeping a business model simple, understanding customer demand, expanding strategically, and building a team that allows founders to work on the business rather than getting trapped in daily operations. Matt also shares lessons from his entrepreneurial journey and offers practical advice for founders looking to build sustainable businesses. This is Part One of the conversation, with franchising and the business exit set to be explored in Part Two.

1. Matt Friedman's introduction and the story behind Wings Zone

2. How a $500 investment sparked a restaurant business at the University of Florida

3. Identifying a gap in the college food delivery market

4. Why studying Domino's Pizza helped shape the Wings Zone business model

5. Starting with a simple menu of chicken wings, French fries, and Coca-Cola

6. Overcoming early challenges by operating from a fraternity house kitchen

7. How opening the first storefront nearly tripled sales

8. The challenges of scaling operations, managing costs, and handling increased demand

9. How Matt and Adam divided responsibilities to build a successful business partnership

10. Lessons from menu expansion, entering new markets, and avoiding unnecessary complexity

11. Why founders need a clear capital plan, strong people strategy, and the ability to delegate

12. Matt's advice on building a business that can operate without the founder's constant involvement

To learn more about Matt Friedman, please visit her LinkedIn profileTo learn more about mattfriedman, please visit her website.

, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

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Key Moments

In this episode, Simon sits down with Liz Wharton, a cybersecurity executive, attorney, and founder of Silver Key Strategies, whose career spans technology, public policy, law, and business leadership.

Liz shares how she moved from business, finance, and real estate law into cybersecurity and technology, eventually building a career helping founders and leadership teams navigate complex business challenges. 

Drawing from her firsthand experience during the 2018 City of Atlanta ransomware attack, Liz takes us behind the scenes of a major cyber crisis and explains what incident response looks like from the executive and legal side. She discusses crisis planning, decision-making authority, backup communications, leadership under pressure, and why organizations need to prepare before disaster strikes. The conversation also explores the cybersecurity “poverty line,” the difference between organizations that lack resources and those that knowingly underinvest in security, and why preparation, communication, and trusted teams are critical during a crisis.

Key Moments

1. Introduction to Liz Wharton and her career across cybersecurity, law, technology, and business

2. How Liz unexpectedly transitioned from traditional law into cybersecurity

3. What Liz does at Silver Key Strategies as an advisor and problem solver

4. Managing a startup crisis during the Silicon Valley Bank collapse

5. Liz’s firsthand experience during the 2018 City of Atlanta ransomware attack

6. What a major cyber incident looks like from the executive and legal perspective

7. Why crisis response requires clear priorities, rapid triage, and flexible decision-making

8. The biggest leadership mistakes organizations make during a crisis

9. Why tabletop exercises, clear authority, and backup communication plans matter

10. The cybersecurity “poverty line” and the difference between underfunding and deliberate underinvestment

To learn more about Liz Wharton, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about Silver Key Strategies, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

In this episode, Simon sits down with Sara Carty, Founder and CEO of Unboring, and Kelly Allen, Co-Founder and CMO of Unboring, a cybersecurity marketing agency focused on making sophisticated technology more distinctive, human, and memorable.

Sara and Kelly share how they found their way into cybersecurity marketing and why they believe the industry has fallen into a “sea of sameness”—from blue branding and hoodies to technical jargon and fear-based messaging. They explore why cybersecurity companies often play it safe, the pressure marketers face to prove ROI, and how investor expectations can influence messaging and creativity.

The conversation also dives into the importance of building a brand with personality, taking creative risks without becoming gimmicky, creating meaningful experiences at cybersecurity events, and developing clear positioning that helps the right customers understand exactly what a company stands for.

Whether you're a cybersecurity founder, marketer, CMO, or business leader, this episode offers valuable insights into building a distinctive brand, communicating complex technology clearly, and creating marketing that people actually remember.

1. Sara and Kelly’s journeys into cybersecurity marketing

2. Why cybersecurity marketing has become a “sea of sameness”

3. How unclear messaging creates friction in the buying journey

4. Why copying successful competitors rarely creates a distinctive brand

5. How trends and buzzwords influence cybersecurity messaging

6. Why marketers need the freedom to take creative risks

7. The challenge of measuring creativity through ROI

8. How investor expectations can influence marketing decisions

9. When bold event marketing becomes a gimmick

10. Why everyone representing your company at an event should understand the product

11. How cybersecurity culture has evolved over the years

12. Why making technology more accessible can attract new talent

13. How to build a distinctive brand without losing authenticity

14. Why clear positioning and a focused target market can save time and marketing budget

To learn more about Sara Carty, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about Kelly Allen, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about Unboring, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

In this episode, Simon sits down with Cleve Adams, a veteran technology executive, entrepreneur, investor, and six-time CEO with decades of experience building, scaling, turning around, and exiting high-growth technology companies.

Cleve shares the remarkable story of helping build Websense from an early-stage cybersecurity startup into a billion-dollar public company, including how landing Compaq as an early Fortune 500 customer transformed the business. He also discusses strategic partnerships, raising venture capital, scaling through channel partners, and witnessing the cybersecurity industry evolve from its earliest days.

The conversation also explores the rise of SaaS, today's increasingly complex cybersecurity landscape, and why Cleve believes AI represents another major technological shift comparable to the Internet.

Key Moments

1. Cleve Adams’ journey from Texas Instruments into the startup world

2. Building Websense from a tiny startup into a billion-dollar public company

3. How landing Compaq became the turning point for Websense

4. Why strategic partnerships with Cisco, Check Point, and Microsoft accelerated growth

5. How Websense built its enterprise product around a real customer problem

6. The role of channel partnerships in scaling globally

7. Raising $6 million in venture capital after securing a major customer

8. How Websense pioneered user-based subscription pricing and early SaaS concepts

9. How cybersecurity evolved from a handful of vendors into a massive global industry

10. Why Cleve believes AI could become as transformative as the Internet

    
    

To learn more about Cleve Adams, please visit her LinkedIn profile.

To learn more about the National Artificial Intelligence Association, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

In this episode, Simon sits down with David Etue, CEO of Cyberbit, a cybersecurity executive with more than 20 years of experience building, scaling, and leading organizations across startups, high-growth businesses, and global enterprises.

David shares lessons from his journey across different leadership roles, including how working across multiple business functions gave him greater context and empathy as a CEO. He also explores the differences between leading small and large companies, creating a culture of innovation, learning from failure, navigating acquisitions, and building teams that can perform without the CEO becoming a bottleneck.

The conversation offers practical insights for CEOs, founders, and business leaders looking to build high-performing teams, encourage innovation, and lead successfully through growth and change.

Key Moments

1. David’s journey from technology and cybersecurity into executive leadership

2. How working across different business functions built context and empathy as a leader

3. What small companies do better—and what large organizations do better at scale

4. Why successful innovation starts with the customer’s problem, not the technology

5. How small, autonomous teams can help large organizations innovate faster

6. Why failure needs to be an acceptable part of an innovative company culture

7. Why high-performing teams need ambitious goals and room to learn from missed targets

8. The leadership lesson: fail differently, learn, and don’t repeat the same mistake

9. Why employees can struggle with the shift from startup autonomy to a larger organization after an acquisition

10. How a CEO’s role changes as a company grows and why leaders must avoid becoming bottlenecks

11. David’s three lessons for becoming a successful CEO: do what you love, develop empathy, and build a culture around your leadership principles

12. What’s next for David: cybersecurity readiness, AI, private-equity leadership, and national security

To learn more about David Etue, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about Cyberbit, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

In this episode, Simon sits down with Kim van Lavieren, Co-Founder & CTO of Dawn Guard, and Martijn Hoffmans, Head of Go-to-Market at Dawn Guard, to explore what it really takes to build a cybersecurity startup from the ground up.

Kim shares his journey from serving in the Dutch Marines and working in cybersecurity to becoming a security engineering lead at Amazon, where he saw firsthand how difficult it was for organizations to build secure systems. That experience ultimately led him to research how secure design could be automated and to co-found Dawn Guard.

Martijn brings a different perspective to the conversation. After more than 20 years working commercially across cybersecurity, he first became an angel investor in Dawn Guard before eventually joining the company to help build its go-to-market operation.

The conversation explores how Dawn Guard identified a fundamental problem in cybersecurity, why the company chose to address the root cause rather than add another security tool, and how it validated its assumptions with early customers and design partners.

Kim and Martijn also discuss the realities of building an early-stage startup, including raising investment, hiring the first employees, establishing company culture, balancing customer demands with product vision, and determining when you've found product-market fit.

Whether you're a cybersecurity leader, startup founder, technology executive, or entrepreneur, this episode offers practical insights into building a company around a real customer problem, making difficult decisions, and creating a product for a market that doesn't yet have a defined category.

Key Moments

1. Kim's journey from the Dutch Marines to cybersecurity and Amazon

2. How Dawn Guard's original idea became a company

3. Why solving the root cause matters more than adding another security tool

4. How customer validation shaped Dawn Guard's early development

5. Why the founders were able to avoid major product pivots

6. The importance of trust and relationships when building a startup

7. Why the first ten hires can define a company's culture

8. Hiring for today's needs while preparing for future growth

9. Balancing customer demands with long-term product vision

10. Why listening to customers too much can become dangerous

11. How AI is changing the way secure systems can be designed

12. What product-market fit really looks like for an early-stage startup

13. Kim and Martijn's advice for founders building their companies

14. The importance of solving a problem customers already feel

To learn more about Kim van Lavieren, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about Martijn Hoffmans, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about Dawnguard, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

In this episode, Simon sits down with Dr. Sherry Zhang, an entrepreneur, molecular geneticist, bestselling author, and pioneer in personalized nutrition.

After arriving in the United States from China with just three bags and $3,000, Sherry went on to earn her PhD in molecular biology and build a career at the intersection of science, entrepreneurship, genomics, and longevity.

She shares how her scientific curiosity led her from the laboratory into entrepreneurship, the challenges of building a biotech company, and the lessons she learned about fundraising, leadership, hiring, and building the right team.

The conversation also explores personalized health, the future of AI-driven longevity research, and what founders can learn from listening deeply to customers and building products around real problems.

Whether you're a founder, entrepreneur, scientist, or business leader, this episode delivers powerful insights on curiosity, resilience, innovation, leadership, and turning ambitious ideas into meaningful impact.

Key Moments

1. Introduction to Dr. Sherry Zhang and her journey from China to the United States

2. How curiosity shaped Sherry's career as a scientist and entrepreneur

3. The journey from molecular biology to personalized nutrition

4. The moment Sherry realized her scientific research could help everyday people

5. Why she decided to become a founder and build a company

6. The challenges of fundraising and finding the right investors

7. How Sherry's leadership style evolved from science to entrepreneurship

8. Why founders need to surround themselves with people who share their principles

9. The importance of hiring the right talent—and making difficult decisions quickly

10. Sherry's top advice for first-time founders: listen deeply to your customers

11. Why building a focused minimum viable product is essential

12. How structured communication can prevent unnecessary meetings

13. The future of AI, systems biology, and personalized longevity

14. What's next for Sherry and her work in health optimization

To learn more about Sherry Zhang, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about GenoPalate, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

In this episode of The Conference Room, Simon Lader sits down with Aly Samaha, Founder of Samaha Consulting and the “King of Follow-Up.”

Aly explains why most salespeople give up on opportunities far too early and how a structured, human approach to follow-up can turn missed opportunities into revenue. He shares practical strategies for staying top of mind, overcoming objections, building trust, and knowing when to use persistence versus automation.

The conversation also explores how AI can support follow-up without removing the human element—and why sales professionals should focus more on the opportunities already sitting in their pipeline instead of constantly chasing new leads.

1. How Aly became the “King of Follow-Up”

2. Why staying top of mind creates future opportunities

3. The biggest reasons salespeople stop following up

4. How to make follow-up feel human—not salesy

5. Identifying the real obstacle before leaving the sales call

6. Why valuable follow-up beats “just checking in”

7. When persistence becomes annoying—and how to avoid it

8. Building a 72-hour follow-up cadence

9. How to use AI and automation without losing personalization

10. Why 20% of your opportunities deserve 80% of your attention

11. The biggest mistakes people make with automated follow-up

12. Why speed and clarity build massive trust

13. Aly’s three essential follow-up principles

14. How to revive deals already sitting in your pipeline

15. Aly’s free follow-up resources and pipeline audit

To learn more about Aly Samaha, please visit her LinkedIn profileTo learn more about Samaha Consulting, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

Key Moments

In this episode of The Conference Room, Simon sits down with Chandra De Keyser, co-Founder of Voicera, an AI company focused on helping organizations understand not only what people say, but what they mean by combining large language models with emotional intelligence.

With a career spanning Europe, Silicon Valley, Brazil, and beyond, Chandra shares his journey as an entrepreneur and innovator, including his experience building AI companies long before generative AI became mainstream.

The conversation explores how AI can help organizations understand human emotions, sincerity, and trust in an increasingly digital and video-first world. Chandra explains how Voicera analyzes facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, speech patterns, and other signals to provide a deeper understanding of human communication.

Simon and Chandra also discuss the challenges of building AI responsibly, including the importance of diverse datasets, informed consent, ethical guidelines, and protecting people's information.

The episode goes beyond technology, covering leadership, hiring, building high-performing teams, product-market fit, startup resilience, and how executives can use AI strategically to overcome their biggest bottlenecks.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, executive, technology leader, or simply interested in the future of AI and human communication, this episode offers valuable insights into how technology can augment human potential rather than replace it.Key Moments

1. Chandra De Keyser’s journey into AI and entrepreneurship

2. How COVID highlighted the need for better human understanding

3. The evolution from facial analysis to emotional AI

4. How AI can detect sincerity through voice, facial expressions, and body language

5. The importance of diverse datasets and ethical AI development

6. How AI can uncover signals that transcripts alone miss

7. Using AI to improve sales conversations and customer interactions

8. What separates successful founders from unsuccessful ones

9. How leaders can identify bottlenecks and use AI strategically

10. The importance of persistence, strong teams, and customer-focused growth

To learn more about Chandra De Keyser, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about Voicera AI, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio

In this episode, Simon sits down with Val Coin, the Digital Transformation Fairy Godmother and a systems and technology strategist helping business leaders navigate growth and change.

Val shares her journey from hospitality to technology and explains why true digital transformation starts with people and processes—not software. She also discusses optimizing tech stacks, avoiding unnecessary subscriptions, creating clear accountability, and helping accidental CEOs transition from working in the business to working on it.

Whether you're a CEO, founder, or operations leader, this episode offers practical insights on systems, leadership, technology, and building businesses that can scale.

Key Moments

1. Introduction to Val Coin and her digital transformation journey

2. Why digital transformation is more than simply implementing software

3. Why businesses should streamline processes before introducing technology

4. How to assess whether your technology stack fits your stage of growth

5. Why growing businesses accumulate too many disconnected software platforms

6. How to identify duplicate software and unnecessary subscriptions

7. The importance of clear organizational charts, roles, and accountability

8. The common challenges faced by accidental CEOs

9. How leaders can balance working in the business with working on the business

10. Why curiosity, listening, and avoiding technology-first thinking are essential to digital transformation

To learn more about Val Coin, please visit her LinkedIn profile

To learn more about via technology, please visit her website.

YOUR HOST - SIMON LADER  

Simon Lader is the host of The Conference Room, Co-Founder of global executive search firm Salisi Human Capital, and lead generation consultancy Flow and Scale. Since 1997, Simon has helped cybersecurity vendors to build highly effective teams, and since 2022, he has helped people create consistent revenue through consistent lead generation. 

Get to know more about Simon at:    

Website: https://simonlader.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonlader  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/headhuntersimonlader/    

The Conference Room is available on

Spotify

Apple podcasts

Amazon Music

IHeartRadio