Why Human Insight Beats Data

Your personal brand is one of your greatest competitive advantages as a leader. But how do you build one that genuinely reflects who you are and helps you achieve your professional goals?In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, I’m joined by April Martini and Anne Candido, co-founders of ForthRight People and authors of The Power of Your Personal Brand: A Playbook for Struggling Middle Managers Who Want to Do Big Things.With more than 45 years of combined experience, April and Anne share practical insights on how leaders can uncover their authentic personal brand, build credibility, strengthen their influence, and create greater impact within their organizations.We discuss why personal branding isn't about manufacturing an image or trying to be someone you're not. It's about understanding your strengths, being intentional about how you show up, and using your unique qualities to create opportunities for growth.Whether you're a middle manager, business owner, entrepreneur, or aspiring leader, this conversation will help you rethink how your personal brand can accelerate your career and leadership journey.In this episode, we discuss:Why your personal brand is your greatest competitive advantage.How to identify and communicate what makes you unique.Building credibility and influence as a leader.Moving from professional struggle to clarity and intentionality.How to use your personal brand to achieve your bigger goals.Tune in to discover how to turn your personal brand into a powerful driver of professional growth and impact.Subscribe to Entrepreneurship Lab for more conversations with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and experts sharing insights to help you grow.

What does it take to lead a family-founded business while keeping it relevant in a changing world?In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, Anne Huntington Sharma, CEO of Huntington Learning Center, shares her perspective on second-generation leadership, evolving a legacy brand, and balancing purpose with business performance.With nearly five decades of history, Huntington Learning Center has helped millions of students succeed. Anne discusses the responsibilities of carrying a family business forward, building her own leadership identity, navigating changes in education, and making strategic decisions during uncertain times.Tune in to learn how to lead with purpose, adapt to changing markets, and build a business that stands the test of time.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, we speak with Allison Byers, founder of Scroobious and author of Fundraising for the Rest of Us, the #1 new release in Venture Capital.Allison is on a mission to help women entrepreneurs access the capital they need to grow their businesses in a venture capital system that has historically excluded them. Through Scroobious, she has helped over 1,000 founders build investor-ready pitches and connect with aligned investors.In our conversation, Allison shares her Core 10 pitch framework, developed through her own experience raising nearly $10 million and interviewing hundreds of early-stage investors. She explains what founders need to know to create compelling pitches, connect with the right investors, and improve their chances of securing funding.We also explore her personal journey, from being forced out of a job after maternity leave to helping co-author California’s first law requiring venture capital firms to report diversity data.Whether you're a startup founder, an aspiring entrepreneur, or looking to raise capital for your next big idea, this episode offers practical insights into fundraising, overcoming barriers, and creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs.Subscribe, download, and share Entrepreneurship Lab for more conversations with entrepreneurs and business leaders who are changing the way we do business.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, we sit down with Jesus de la Garza, Founder of Monarch Leaders, entrepreneur with 40 years of experience, and leadership coach who has spent over 26 years training CEOs and founders around the world.Jesus shares practical insights from more than 1,000 leadership sessions, helping entrepreneurs understand what it takes to become better leaders, build stronger teams, and grow their businesses. As the author of 100 Leadership Questions and a trainer at Entrepreneurs’ Organization, he brings a wealth of experience and actionable lessons for business owners at every stage of their journey.An ICF-certified coach with an MBA and a Master’s in Counseling, Jesus explores the importance of asking the right questions, developing leadership skills, and making better decisions as an entrepreneur.Tune in to discover how asking the right questions can transform your leadership, strengthen your business, and help you achieve sustainable growth.Subscribe, download, and share Entrepreneurship Lab for more conversations with experts who help entrepreneurs succeed.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, I’m joined by Monte Wyatt, CEO of AddingZEROS Executive Development and a leading coach in organizational development. With more than 25 years of experience in leadership, business, and personal development, Monte works with executives and leadership teams to improve performance and create lasting impact.Monte shares his practical four-pillar approach to leadership: Awareness, Education, Implementation, and Discipline.We discuss how leaders can identify blind spots, develop stronger teams, improve strategic thinking and communication, turn insights into action, and create the accountability needed to achieve results.If you're an entrepreneur, founder, or executive looking to improve your leadership and take your business to the next level, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply immediately.Subscribe, download and share Entrepreneurship Lab!

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, we speak with Becca Pearce, author of You Don’t Have to Achieve to be Loved, inspirational speaker, growth strategist, and personal executive coach.Becca spent much of her career leading teams at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and Kaiser Permanente before becoming CEO of Maryland’s Health Benefit Exchange. After a very public separation from the Exchange and a life-altering brain tumor diagnosis, she was forced to rethink everything she believed about success.Today, Becca helps organizations and professionals lead with authenticity, purpose, and confidence. She shares her powerful journey of resilience, redefining success, and learning that your worth is not measured by your achievements.Tune in for an inspiring conversation about overcoming adversity, finding purpose, and building a life and career that truly reflect who you are.Subscribe, download and share Entrepreneurship Lab.

Google Ads has changed dramatically over the past two decades — and so has the way businesses need to approach paid search.In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, we’re joined by Jeff, a Google Ads expert who has been running campaigns since 2004 and now manages more than $4 million in annual ad spend for businesses ranging from local service companies to Fortune 500 brands.After 20+ years in the industry, Jeff has seen firsthand why so many Google Ads campaigns fail — and why simply “spending more and trusting the process” is rarely the answer.We dive into what’s really happening inside underperforming accounts, why even well-managed campaigns can miss the mark, how Google Ads is evolving, and what businesses need to do to turn paid search from a frustrating expense into a predictable and scalable lead-generation engine.Jeff also shares practical insights from his experience teaching digital marketing at UC San Diego Extension and USD’s Office of Corporate and Professional Education, breaking down complex advertising mechanics into strategies business owners can actually understand and implement.If you’re investing in Google Ads — or considering it — this episode will help you look at paid search from a completely different perspective.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, I’m joined by Jennifer Stanford, a sought-after Trust Coach and CEO of Emergent Performance Solutions.With more than 25 years of experience working with complex organizations, Jennifer brings a unique perspective on leadership, workplace stress, and the critical role trust plays in creating high-performing teams.Jennifer challenges the traditional way we think about workplace stress and helps leaders understand how stress can quietly impact decision-making, innovation, collaboration, and performance.We explore how leaders can build trust quickly, create environments where people feel empowered to contribute bold ideas, and shift their mindset from simply managing stress to creating workplaces where both people and innovation can thrive.If you are an entrepreneur, leader, or business owner looking to build stronger teams and unlock better performance, this conversation will give you plenty to think about.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, I sit down with Dean Mathews, an entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience building products, teams, and companies. Dean shares the journey behind growing OnTheClock from a simple idea into a business used by thousands of companies around the world, but this conversation is about much more than software.We explore the realities of entrepreneurship, the mindset required to keep growing through different stages of business, and the leadership decisions that helped Dean build a company with near-zero employee turnover and exceptional employee satisfaction. He opens up about creating a culture where people feel valued, defining company values that are actually lived every day, and balancing business growth with long-term relationships and trust.This episode is a powerful reminder that sustainable success is not only about revenue or scaling fast. It is about people, purpose, consistency, and building something meaningful that lasts.If you are an entrepreneur, founder, manager, or anyone building a business for the long term, this conversation will give you practical insights and a fresh perspective on what lasting success really looks like.🎙️ Tune in to hear Dean Mathews’ entrepreneurial journey and the leadership lessons that helped him grow both the business and the people behind it.

In this episode of Entrepreneurship Lab, I sit down with Johanna Faigelman, Founder & CEO of HumanBranding, the consultancy trusted by global brands including Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Visa, and Logitech to uncover what truly drives human behavior.Johanna didn’t raise venture capital, follow a startup playbook, or enter an established industry. Nearly 20 years ago, she identified a massive gap in how companies were trying—and failing—to understand people. She created her own methodology, Applied Anthropology Thinking (AAT), and turned a one-woman consultancy into a thriving multi-million-dollar global business.In this conversation, we explore:* How Johanna bootstrapped HumanBranding from scratch* Why data alone often leads companies in the wrong direction* How to build brands and messaging that genuinely resonate* What female founders need to know about credibility, visibility, and impact* Why empathy, intuition, and cultural insight are becoming the most valuable leadership skillsThis is an unfiltered, high-energy conversation about entrepreneurship, human behavior, leadership, and the future of business.🎧 Listen now and discover why understanding people is still the ultimate competitive advantage.