Good Shift

Matt Ricotta on building a career in small, low-stakes steps. Switching out a suit for an apron and how he got off the corporate flywheel. 

Riki Zahn left finance to build After Hours Club, a mental health-focused art and wellness company in New York. We talk about the layoff that pushed her, the comfort crisis, founder burnout, and why you don't have to turn what you love into your job to have it in your life.

TEDx speaker. Ex-Apple exec. Former director at Europe's largest private equity fund. Lamiaa Laurène Daif has walked away from more dream jobs than most of us will ever have — and she can help you figure out when it's time.If you've ever thought "I should be happy, but I'm just not" — this one's for you.Lamiaa's first shift was forced: burnout, a health crisis, a life that looked perfect and felt awful. Her second was completely different. After five years leading global strategy at Apple, she left at her peak — on her own terms. Now she's a pivot expert and executive coach helping high achievers do the same, without waiting for the breaking point.We unpack the three limiting beliefs that keep successful people stuck (sunk cost, the "when-then" trap, and fear of other people's opinions), the question her coach asked that changed everything, her three-stage process for making a shift without blowing up your life, what staying too long actually costs you, and how to find a coach who's worth it.Plus: her free Career Clarity Assessment — https://lamiaa.com/

I sat down with Kendall Kransdorf, founder of Cotto (a whipped cottage cheese dip), who left a fast-track job at Boston Consulting Group, then left a startup role too, to build the whipped cottage cheese brand she wished she could buy off the shelf. No outside backing, retail experience or founder expertise, just a recipe from her own kitchen and the nerve to hand it to strangers in a park.In this episode, you'll learn:How Kendall knew it was time to leave a stable career — twiceHow she validated her product with strangers before she had a real brandThe anonymous feedback method she used to get honest answers out of friends and familyHow she landed her first retailer with zero prior retail historyHer tips on how to get into and stay in retailers What she had to let go of as a self-described perfectionist to actually ship the productWhat she'd tell anyone with an idea sitting in their kitchen right nowThis one's permission to stop waiting for the "right" moment, and start with what you've already got.

Joe Rotondo (founder of SmearCase) left a corporate job to create frozen cottage cheese (Froco). Stay with me, Joe moves with intention and has a huge amount of wisdom to share for career shifters or early-stage founders. Joe has shifted from exercise science to sustainable denim to bagels to corporate and now to disrupting the ice cream aisle. This one's about betting on yourself, knowing when to quit versus persevere, and building a business around your life instead of the other way round.Key quotes"Your past career isn't a life sentence, it's just market research for your future.""You don't build confidence by shouting affirmations in the mirror. You build confidence by having receipts of things that you've done.""The safest bet you can make is on yourself."📚 Books mentionedAtomic Habits — James ClearAwaken the Giant Within — Tony RobbinsExtreme Ownership — Jocko WillinkAlex Hormozi (referenced for the "confidence = receipts" idea)

If you're saying to yourself, "I'll do it when the timing is better " then dive in. Megan Black and Eliana Field-Marsham are childhood friends turned co-founders of Sonni, a next-generation mineral sunscreen brand they launched 11 months ago. Before that: Estée Lauder, McKinsey, Little Spoon, and two MBAs between them.We get into:what it actually feels like to leave a job you love;how a solo founder became a co-founding partnership;the consideration of the female biological clock and career paths; andwhy "not now" quietly becomes "not ever" if you let it.Listen in to the reality of building something from the ground up — in real time.Find Sonni at https://sonniskin.com/ and @sonniskin on Instagram.

Debs Brocklesby was a performance analyst for the New Zealand Olympic Cycling team — a specialised, high-achieving role she'd built her identity around. She's now the founder of Stoked NZ, a multi-million dollar towlie company that started from her garage.In this episode, we get into:What it feels like to be stuck in a job that looks great on paperHow Debs let go of who she was professionally and started overLimiting beliefs — and why they don't disappear when things start workingRebuilding after your original career dreams are dashedHow to press forward in the face of adversityHow she built Stoked NZ from her spare room with no money, no business background, and no plan BWhat it means to build something genuinely purposeful — not just profitableDebs resource recs:Start With Why — Simon Sinek (book)Chapter One — Daniel Flynn, founder of Thank You Social Enterprise (book — the one that's horizontal instead of vertical)A vision board — and the practice of writing a letter to yourself as if your goals have already happened (a practice she learned from her psychology mentor)If you're stuck on a career ladder you've climbed and can't quite see how to get off it, give this a listen.

This is the most-requested topic I've had on the show!Most people think building wealth means starting a business from scratch or climbing a ladder for thirty years. There's a third path that often flies under the radar. My guest Brandon Lipman has bought 12+ businesses across various fields and now coaches others to do the same, even if they've never run a business before. He started out in finance at a bank, realised at 25 his future there was capped, left, and along the way discovered he was already doing what investment bankers get paid millions for: acquiring businesses.In this conversation, we get into:What ETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) actually is, and why it's more accessible than you thinkWhy buying a business is often smarter than starting oneThe #1 mistake first-time buyers make How long it actually takes to find and buy the right businessHow to finance a deal when you don't have the cash yourself — and how to find an investor who'll back youWhat to do in your first months as a new owner (and what not to do)How to build the self-belief muscle you need before you buyWhether you're thinking about your first move, don't know how to fund it, or just want to learn how smart people build wealth differently — Brandon's here to meet you where you are.🔗 Resources mentioned in this episode:Brandon's free online course on how to buy a business — Link hereFollow Brandon for bite-sized tips on IG - Instagram Ep 22 of Good Shift with Adam Stewart (Compound Wealth) — Adam introduced me to Brandon and his episode on compounding wealth is the perfect companion listen to this one.If this episode made you think differently about your next move, share it with one person who needs to hear it. And if you're not subscribed yet — hit follow so you don't miss what's coming.Find me on Instagram @goodshiftpodcast and let me know who you want to hear from next.

Nikki Creasy spent nine years working her way from intern to account director at a PR agency. Then Covid, a restructure and a personal itch she couldn't ignore led her to launch Peachy Lip Co.In this episode: how Nikki transitioned from employee to contractor to freelancer to founder, what it actually cost to get a cosmetics brand off the ground, the marketing tactics that grew her community to 30K+ on Instagram, navigating cash flow as a first-time founder, gift-with-purchase and product swap strategies, cutting underperforming product lines to survive, and why founder-led content is non-negotiable for e-commerce brands.Mentioned in this episode: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight | Find a founder you admire and listen to every podcast they've been on — that was Nikki's playbook.Find Peachy Lip Co: @peachylipco_ on Instagram | peachy-lipco.com

If you've been sitting on a big life change but can't quite pull the trigger, this one's for you.Maddie Ireland is an empowerment coach, entrepreneur and reformed self-doubter who spent over a decade building her dream life in LA before making the terrifying leap back to Australia at 35 — no plan, no partner, no idea where she'd even live.In this episode we dig into:How to move somewhere new and actually build community from scratchThe concept of "expanders" and why the people around you are everythingWhat it really looks like to start over in your mid-thirtiesHow to reframe your situation when everyone else looks more "settled"The mindset shift that creates the most change (and how to use it daily)Building a coaching business from zeroDating with intention when you know what you wantBooks mentioned:Atomic Habits — James ClearThe Big Leap — Gay HendricksFind Maddie at https://www.maddieireland.com/ or on Instagram @madeleine_lucy