In this high-energy episode of the Unicorn Leaders podcast, Fahd sits down with serial entrepreneur and author Adrian Salamunovic for a raw, real, and wisdom-packed conversation on what it takes to build—and exit—category-defining companies. Adrian shares the behind-the-scenes journey from selling his first business at 21 to founding DNA11 and CanvasPop, exiting for 30x EBITDA, and now launching The Exit podcast and founder community. Together, they unpack what founders get wrong about scaling, the psychology behind great leadership, and why the smartest move isn’t always about being the smartest person in the room. From hiring to vision, from mental stamina to co-founder breakups, this episode is a tactical masterclass in how to build a business worth buying—without losing yourself along the way.

Episode Mentions

• The Play Bigger Book: https://www.playbigger.com/book
• Join Adrian’s community for exited founders: The Exit Group - https://www.theexit.group/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAack5M_B93ea5JJQkDPVRxjRi--i_RbpbaO00u2Eoq3QD5XL_JlAUQCtStee7Q_aem_OTsbTW-XT_JHFe1HQ40haQ
• Where to find Adrian: clarity.fm/adrian-salamunovic

In this episode of the Unicorn Leaders podcast, host Fahd Alhattab sits down with three-time Chief People Officer Ali Farrell, currently CPO at Apprentice, to unpack what it really takes to build high-performing teams in fast-growth startups. Ali brings a rare blend of corporate, VC-backed, PE-backed, and bootstrapped startup experience—and she’s not afraid to challenge outdated HR norms.

From navigating chaos to ditching performance improvement plans, Ali shares hard-won insights on what works (and what absolutely doesn’t) when leading through scale. You'll learn why clarity is more powerful than complexity, how to bring “just enough” structure to support growth, and why ownership and curiosity matter more than credentials.

Whether you're a founder, people leader, or scaling operator, this episode is packed with tactical advice, real talk, and fresh perspectives on how to grow teams that actually thrive in the messy middle.

In this season opener of the Unicorn Leaders podcast, Fahd Alhattab sets the stage for a new narrative—one centered around the underdogs. Drawing inspiration from the classic David vs. Goliath story, Fahd explores why small, scrappy teams often outperform their larger, better-resourced competitors. Using Google's historic win over Overture as a launch point, he teases a season packed with modern business stories—from tech startups to industry disruptors—showcasing how trust, speed, culture, and strategic clarity help small teams punch far above their weight.

With upcoming guest interviews and deep dives into companies like Slack, Pixar, Netflix, and Shopify, this season is designed to unpack what really makes high-performing teams succeed. Whether you're a founder, people leader, or just team-curious, this season promises to deliver the tools and insights to help your team win—no matter the odds.

In episode 20, Eva shares her use of a product led mindset for developing new strategies of learning and development at Fullscript with about 800 employees. She dives into how the traditional models of learning and development are not always agile or adaptive especially with the rise of AI, remote and hybrid work environments. 

Eva dives into a new strategy she used to build community among teams in her current role. She shares the tools, resources, and approach used in developing opportunities that helped individuals blossom in their own way. 

In episode 19, Andre dives into how he found his way into creating a socially impactful business while sharing valuable lessons and principles that he embraced on his journey to success as a leader. 

From letting go of micro details to building high performing teams and influencing decision making processes, discover some actionable insights that will transform your leadership approach and help you create a meaningful impact. 

Get ready to unleash the unicorn leader within! Tune in to hear about Andre’s experience and journey.

In episode 18,  Jonah Midanik shares his journey and experience in a growth mindset of recognizing that ‘what got you here won’t get you there. He has been lucky enough to have seen the startup journey from a variety of perspectives: as a successful bootstrapped founder/CEO, having helped launch new corporate divisions at BigCo, and as the founder/CEO of Limelight, a Venture backed company.  Jonah currently spends his time helping companies grow with Forum Ventures as the COO and General Partner. 

Jonah shares a crucial tip in the discussion around ‘what got you here won’t get you there’. The tip for every founder or leader involves 3 key steps:

• Conduct an honest self-assessment. Asking yourself what you’re struggling with, what does the company need from you right now,  where I need to go? Identify the gaps in the stage. 
• Approach your peers, mentors, founders, etc. Ask what they think you are really good at vs not great at. Write all this down.
• Finally, review your notes and ask if you can do this, or if you event want to do this. If it’s absolutely yes, then you will find the resources that will get you there. 

Jeanette Dorazio, CEO of Leadpages, a no-code website and landing page builder. She has had various executive-level positions at leading organizations, including Oracle, 8thBridge, Verifone, and Solera. Jeanette’s passion comes from breaking down barriers and championing the inclusion and success of women in STEM fields as female leaders in tech.

In episode 17, Jeanette lays out how to reach the next level of your leadership career. She shares 3 lessons gained through her journey: knowing what is happening in the market, which she calls “outside in” because “nothing important happens in the office,” listening first and understanding all sides before communicating, and finally, understanding how to interpret data.

Her main piece of advice is to lean into your strength no matter what the judgements might be. With this advice, you will succeed in reaching the next level of your leadership journey.

On this episode we look at organizational systems and how to think when designing the organizational structure. Realizing that it should not be designed from a people centric place but rather around the needs and direction of your business. It’s important to be mindful when you do design around people and whether it is sustainable long term. 

Krista shares the top two reasons to consider when looking to expand a team.  First, think about whether the growth is significant and if in fact, a talent acquisition specialist becomes a specialty that is needed. Second, you reach a point and realize that the evolution of your organization and the complexity of products and solutions is growing. 

Some trends to look forward to: The skillsets for managers are looking very different, we promote people into roles and the manager role is the one they’re least prepared for while adding new skills on top of that.

Kyle Racki, the co-founder and CEO of Proposify, Kyle helps thousands of businesses remove the bottleneck of proposals and get more visibility into the close. 

In true serial entrepreneur form, Kyle also co-host his own podcast, The Racki and Symes Podcast, where he discusses ideas and strategies to push through growth.

Kyle got his start in marketing and design, and ran a digital agency for over five years before selling it and starting Proposify.

Since then he’s amassed a wealth of experience and lessons that he shares with us in this episode.

In episode 15, Kyle lays out the framework of the job of a CEO and some of the important pieces they’re faced with including: creating vision and auditing values, building out the executive team (title politics are real), hiring leadership contextually, having difficult conversations and holding people accountable.

He even offers a tool to conceptualize cash concerns that are big on the mind during periods of recession.


Listen to the full episode to hear more from Kyle!

Natalie Furness, CEO of RevOps Automated and Revenue Operations Consultant shares her journey and learnings along the way onto remote work and falling into the world of operations.

She speaks of finding your people through value alignment for both the work you do and the work environment you prefer. Though she’s the biggest remote work proponent, she acknowledges that its’ not for everyone and a reshuffling can and should naturally occur for the best possible match.

She encourages remote individuals not to lose sight of their personalities and not allow slack only to be a platform for work. Instead, she reminds us to use it to continue fostering social bonds as we would in person, and also continue to empower others to check in with one another and release the pressure off yourself as a leader for the need to control everything. 

One of her main pieces of advice is to lead with empathy and understand the challenges of remote work to then better help those you lead.