The Entrepreneur’s Studio
 From Athlete to Entrepreneur: Shaun White on Risk-Taking, Reinvention, and Building What’s Next

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White shares how he’s applying an elite athlete’s mindset to entrepreneurship; building new ventures and reimagining the future of snowboarding.

Topics Covered:
• Translating an elite performance mindset into business
• Finding “white space” and building in untapped markets
• Taking calculated risks and committing to long-term vision

What do you do after you’ve reached the top of your sport? For Shaun White, the answer wasn’t stepping away, it was building something entirely new.

In this episode of The Entrepreneur’s Studio, Shaun shares how his journey from Olympic champion to entrepreneur has been driven by the same mindset that fueled his success on the slopes. From relentless competitiveness to detailed visualization, he explains how those habits now shape the way he approaches business, risk, and opportunity.

A key turning point in Shaun’s career came when he realized that being “as good as everyone else” wasn’t enough. That insight now drives his approach to entrepreneurship, finding differentiation, creating new experiences, and building where others aren’t looking. Whether launching his snowboard brand Whitespace or developing the Snow League, Shaun focuses on identifying gaps in the market and filling them with intention.

The conversation also explores Shaun’s relationship with risk. Rather than acting impulsively, he takes a calculated approach, knowing when to push forward and when to step back. He shares how visualization, preparation, and commitment helped him succeed at the highest level in sports, and how those same principles now guide his business decisions.

As Shaun transitions from individual competition to leading teams and building companies, he reflects on the importance of patience, collaboration, and long-term thinking. For him, success today isn’t just about winning, it’s about creating something meaningful that lasts and opens doors for the next generation.

• Why differentiation—not imitation—is the key to long-term success
 • How visualization and preparation translate from sport to business
 • What it means to find and build in “white space” markets

Resources Mentioned:
 Woodward Training Facility
 Burton Snowboards
 Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
 Good to Great

If you enjoyed this conversation, share this episode with someone thinking about their next chapter, whether in business, sports, or beyond.

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

The Entrepreneur’s Studio
Reflections: Why Authority Doesn’t Make You a Leader | Seth Godin 

In this Reflections episode, Seth Godin challenges the common belief that authority equals leadership—and explains why true leadership is voluntary, not assigned. 

Topics Covered: 
• The difference between managing people and leading them 
• Why leadership is voluntary—not tied to authority or title 
• How to create “enrollment” instead of compliance 

If you have authority in your business, does that automatically make you a leader? According to Seth Godin, the answer is no, and believing it does might be holding you back. 

In this Reflections episode of The Entrepreneur’s Studio, Seth breaks down the critical difference between management and leadership. Managers rely on authority to drive consistency and results. Leaders, on the other hand, create movement. They point to a future and invite others to come along without guarantees and without forcing compliance. 

Seth explains that leadership is not about control. It’s about enrollment. Whether with employees or customers, great leaders create the conditions for people to willingly join a journey. Instead of telling people what to do, they tell a story that makes others want to be part of where they’re going. 

For entrepreneurs, this shift is powerful. You don’t need permission, a title, or a team reporting to you to lead. Leadership starts in small moments, trying something new, creating something meaningful, and inviting others to participate. Over time, those moments build trust, momentum, and real influence. 

• Why authority can create compliance but not true leadership 
• How leaders create voluntary followers through vision and story 
• Why small, consistent actions are the starting point for leadership 

“Leadership says, I’m going over there, who wants to come?” 
— Seth Godin 

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

The Entrepreneur’s Studio
 How to Build a Remarkable Brand in the Age of AI | Seth Godin

Marketing expert Seth Godin shares how entrepreneurs can build trust, stand out, and create remarkable brands in an AI-driven world.

Topics Covered:
• Why marketing is really about trust and storytelling
• How AI is changing the way brands connect with customers
• What makes a brand truly remarkable in a crowded market

In a world where AI can generate content in seconds, what actually makes a brand stand out? In this episode of The Entrepreneur’s Studio, Seth Godin breaks down what it really takes to build a remarkable brand—and why trust, not technology, is still the foundation of great marketing.

Seth explains that marketing has never been about shouting the loudest. Instead, it’s about telling a story that resonates with the right people and consistently delivering on the promises you make. In an increasingly noisy digital landscape, trust is earned through clarity, consistency, and a deep understanding of your audience.

The conversation also explores the growing role of AI in marketing. While AI can accelerate content creation and scale communication, Seth emphasizes that it cannot replace authenticity. The businesses that will win are the ones that use AI as a tool—while staying grounded in human connection, empathy, and purpose.

For small business owners, Seth highlights the importance of differentiation. Being “remarkable” isn’t about appealing to everyone—it’s about being meaningful to someone. He also touches on the role of personal branding, explaining how individuals within a company can amplify trust and create deeper relationships with customers.

• Why trust and storytelling are the foundation of effective marketing
 • How to use AI without losing authenticity and human connection
 • Why differentiation—not scale—is the key to building a remarkable brand

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

If you’re building a business, you already know that success is no accident.

It’s shaped by perseverance, unexpected breakthroughs, and the moments that test everything you thought you knew.

Season 4 of The Entrepreneur’s Studio is here, and we’re bringing you a new series of conversations with founders and business leaders who’ve built something meaningful and are willing to talk honestly about what it took to get there.

These are the stories behind the stories:
the early bets, the bruises, the pivots, and the wisdom gained along the way.

If you’re committed to building something real—and staying in the work—you’re in the right place.

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

This episode is the concluding segment of our roundtable discussion on building high-performance teams. In part one of this conversation, we discussed the difference between lived versus aspirational values and how to discern healthy from unhealthy tension in our teams and organizations. Today, we’re taking it a step further and looking at the importance of humor in our businesses, cultivating mutual accountability and how to live out our values in the midst of challenging circumstances.

Joining host and Global Payments HOM, Chris Allen are: multi-dimensional leader and fortune 500 executive, Vince Lombardo, Founder and Chief Strategist at Revisionary, Celine Williams and co-founder and Managing Partner of Mudita (moo-DEE-tah) Venture Partners, Josh Linkner. 

• Understanding Rumbling vs. Feedback 
• The importance of levity and humor in businesses
• Cultivating mutual accountability
• Living your values through adversity 

Learn More about our guests:

VinceCeline 

Josh  

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

What if the greatest resource in your businesses isn’t a strategy, technology, or particular skillset—but the health within your teams and cultural dynamics?  

In this 2-part roundtable, we are exploring the value systems of building high performance teams. Building on the foundation of our previous roundtable on transformational leadership, we’ll be discussing what it takes to implement transformational leadership on an organizational level, in our businesses and in our teams. 

Joining host and Global Payments HOM, Chris Allen are three seasoned leaders whose diverse perspectives bring a wealth of experience and insight: Vince Lombardo, a multi-dimensional leader and fortune 500 executive as the President of Heartland. Celine Williams, Founder and Chief Strategist at reVisionary, a boutique consulting firm providing executive coaching, leadership development, and culture services to human-focused businesses around the world and Josh Linkner, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Mudita Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in groundbreaking technologies. 

• The courage it takes to change 
• Lived vs. aspirational values
• Understanding the difference between healthy and unhealthy tension

Learn More about our guests:

VinceCeline 

Josh  

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is powered by Heartland Payment Systems. Providing nearly 1 million entrepreneurs with the technology to make money, move money, manage employees and engage customers.

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

Shop Small is a year-round effort that encourages people to support local businesses and communities, with a special focus on Small Business Saturday. Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday has become a nationwide celebration of small businesses. In 2023 alone, U.S. consumers who shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday spent an estimated $17 billion.

In today’s episode, Erin Sweatman of American Express joins us in the studio to share the incredible story of how Shop Small evolved from a single idea into the expansive movement it is today. We’ll also explore how social media plays a crucial role in connecting small businesses with the next generation of shoppers. Based on a study from American Express, 73% of Gen Z say they are more likely to shop with a small business when they see them on social media. Tune in to learn practical ways you can get involved by shopping small and how to participate with Small Business Saturday on November 30th, 2024.

• How we can support small businesses 
• Connecting communities and customers
• How to get involved with Shop Small 

Learn More about Shop Small 

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is powered by Heartland Payment Systems. Providing nearly 1 million entrepreneurs with the technology to make money, move money, manage employees and engage customers. 

[3:05] The total reported projected spending of U.S. consumers who shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday in 2023 reached an estimated $17 billion.

[10:10] Based on a study from American Express, 73% of Gen Z said that they are more likely to shop with a small business when they see them on social media.

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

In a world where business leaders are lauded for being cutthroat, Marcus Lemonis does it all with heart and compassion for the “people, process, and product” he aspires to elevate. Marcus Lemonis is a Lebanese-born American businessman, philanthropist and television personality best known for hosting The Profit on CNBC. He has helped numerous companies find success while also expanding his personal brand as a business expert and advocate for entrepreneurs. 

In this episode, Marcus shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey and mission to help small businesses thrive. We explore the highs and lows of his career, and how his emphasis on building strong relationships has shaped his business philosophy.

Key points:

• Reshaping how business is done 
• Betting on yourself, taking chances on people 
• How recognition and admission of mistakes lead to success

Learn more about Marcus Lemnois 

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is powered by Heartland Payment Systems. Providing nearly 1 million entrepreneurs with the technology to make money, move money, manage employees and engage customers.

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

We often think of leadership in terms of externals such as ethical behavior, good communication skills and sound decision making. But true leadership begins from the inside out. Leaders must first recognize and deal with the uglier parts of themselves — emotional blind spots, ego and insecurities. This requires a significant commitment to doing the inner work of transformation. 

In this episode of The Entrepreneur's Studio, we are tackling this subject with three remarkable guests: Ryan Estis, a sales and leadership expert who champions human-centered growth for sustainable success; Stephanie Spencer, an Enneagram coach known for guiding individuals and teams through life's toughest challenges; and Dr. Olivia Audrey, a board-certified naturopathic doctor, whose holistic approach to leadership and healing has transformed the lives of CEOs, Fortune 500 executives and global leaders. 

Each of our guests, along with The Entrepreneur’s Studio host, Chris Allen, share a candid conversation geared to help leaders develop practices that not only modify outward behaviors but foster transformation from the inside out.  

• Developing Self-Awareness
• Trauma’s impact on how we lead
• Best practices for transformational leadership

Learn More about our guests.

Ryan Estis

Dr. Olivia Audrey

Stephanie Spencer 

__ 

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Watch Full Episodes of The Entrepreneur's Studio on YouTube.

The Entrepreneur’s Studio is powered by Heartland Payment Systems. Providing nearly 1 million entrepreneurs with the technology to make money, move money, manage employees and engage customers. 

Follow The Entrepreneur’s Studio so you never miss an episode:

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io 

Stephanie J. Spencer is a personal and leadership development coach who utilizes the Enneagram to help clients find new ways forward. She has spent years coaching individuals and teams from around the country, including major universities, local churches, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and more. 

In this episode, Stephanie shares why understanding our core motivations and ways of operating are vital to the success of our businesses and team relationships. 

Key Points:

• Why knowing the way we work can help us improve our work
• How to Leverage our team’s unique contributions to reach common goals 
• How the Enneagram helps us resolve conflict

Learn More about Stephanie J. Spencer

Download the free PDF resource mentioned in this episode

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Watch Full Episodes of The Entrepreneur's Studio on YouTube.

The Entrepreneur’s Studio is powered by Heartland Payment Systems. Providing nearly 1 million entrepreneurs with the technology to make money, move money, manage employees and engage customers.

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The Entrepreneur’s Studio is sponsored by Auris, helping small and mid-sized businesses simplify payroll and HR with powerful tools and real human support. Learn more at https://www.auris.io