Disruptive CEO Nation

Latest Episodes:

Episode 204: Benjamin Netter, Founder & CEO of Riot, Paris, France Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

90% of cyberattacks start with human error. In this episode, we speak with the founder of Riot, a platform designed to protect your company by preparing your employees to deal with cyberattacks in a modern and engaging way. The number of cyberattacks exploded last year, and everything suggests it will be even worse going forward. Long before AI steals our jobs, it will enable hackers to craft much more sophisticated attacks at scale. These attacks will be far more personalized, far more difficult to discern, and far more devastating. Riot started at Y Combinator in 2020 and is now protecting more than 200,000 employees worldwide.

In this conversation we touch on:

-Benjamin's personal experience with the attack on his first company.

-The mission of making cyber security accessible to everyone and affordable for small business and non-profits.

-How an intelligent tool, 'Albert', makes the experience personable for employees by offering training in small bites based on the user's role and digital habits.

-Why offering a first attack excerise for free can really sell a company on just why they need the service.

-His experiences at Y Combinator and why having mentors who have already been where you want to go is important.

-Insights into raising $15 million in Series A funding.

Benjamin Netter is a cybersecurity expert and the founder and CEO of Riot, a cybersecurity training tool created for employee protection. Benjamin’s platform teaches employees about cybersecurity through mock phishing drills and cyber awareness content custom to each user. Last year, Riot protected cyber attacks across 500 companies.

Connect with Benjamin:

Website: https://www.tryriot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tryriotdotcom

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tryriot/

Benjamin's Twitter: https://twitter.com/benjaminnetter

Benjamin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-netter/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 203: Dmytro Gryn, CEO at Jooble, Kyiv, Ukraine Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Dmytro Gryn, CEO at Jooble, Job Aggregator. Dmytro is an expert in the information technology industry with 15 years of experience. He joined the Jooble team in May 2007 as a Software Engineer, becoming the first employee in the company after its two founders. Before becoming CEO of Jooble Job Aggregator, Dmytro worked as an engineer, team leader of the development team, and CTO of Job Aggregator.

It was our pleasure to speak with Dmytro about Jooble and what is like leading a global company whose international headquarters is in Ukraine.

Here is what we covered:

- Dmytro's personal commitment to the mission of Jooble and how he rose from his start as a software engineer, to be the CEO.

- Why he believes part of their success story is their culture story. He explains that people are attached to the culture and that brings commitment.

- Lessons learned from expanding into nearly 70 countries.

- What it is like to be a wartime CEO to manage global operations and remind people to take care of themselves.

- How the book The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz offered valuable insight for him as a tech CEO facing challenges.

- How Jooble has its sights set on fulfilling the role of a job search product and expanding to meet all job search needs.

As CEO, Dmytro led the international scaling of Jooble to foreign online recruitment markets, created and controlled all the necessary processes, and assembled and trained a team. Today, he continues improving the company's capability to create more value for Jooble clients.

Jooble’s mission is to help people find work. The company is constantly working to ensure that the employment process is as comfortable and fast as possible for both the applicant and the employer. Every day, Jooble aggregates vacancies with more than 140,000 resources from around the world. Sources include corporate websites, social networks, classifieds, and other resources. Thus, all job offers are available in one place.

Connect with Dmytro:

Website: https://jooble.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmytro-gryn-7282802a/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DmytroGryn

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 202 Chloe Duckworth, CEO of Valence Vibrations, San Francisco, CA, USA Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

Chloe Duckworth is the co-founder and CEO of Valence Vibrations, an AI startup delivering emotional classifications in real-time conversation to improve communication and promote empathy across demographics, including neurotypes.

Chloe is personally motivated by democratizing access to wellness in every facet of what it means to be well. In the wake of the pandemic, she co-founded Hope Hearted, a Bay Area-based nonprofit that has provided PPE to thousands of unhoused people.

Here is what we discussed:

- Her path to becoming a computational neuroscience expert and how she was inspired by exposure to haptic feedback and sensory augmentation work.

- What neurodiversity is.

- Partnership on Vibes for Apple Watch.

- How one function of their platform provides emotional subtitles in digital spaces to enable people to connect, and the details of how that works.

- Her approach to pricing and having a fee-based app versus a free one that may sell data for money.

- How a digital accessibility tool like theirs can break through discrimination in employment settings and also extend to elevating customer support.

- Her take on the rapid development of AI and the opportunities to integrate with voice assistant tools.

Connect with Chloe:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-duckworth/

Website: https://www.valencevibrations.com

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@valencevibrations

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 201: Mohammed Widdi, CEO of Soul Detox, Brooklyn, NY, USA Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

201 Mohammed Widdi, CEO of Soul Detox, Brooklyn, NY, USA

The main purpose of business, in our guest’s opinion, is to make a difference in people’s lives. In this episode, Mohammed ‘Moe’ Widdi speaks about his latest business venture, Soul Detox, and his feelings about holistic healing and business practices.

Always intrigued by the ways CEOs and high-performing business leaders manage stress, I was curious about what Moe would have to share. Here is what we discussed:

- What does it mean to cleanse your soul?

- Why we need to explore alternative ways to relieve stress.

- How to choose the right kind of healing for you.

- The interconnections of life- spiritual, physical, financial, etc.

- Thinking of business as interacting with fellow humans instead of money moves.

- Taking care of yourself and your business.

Mohammed Widdi is a Brooklyn-based social entrepreneur with a background in fitness science. He has founded several startups. Mohammed is passionate about health, wellness, and spirituality, leading to him starting his latest venture, Soul Detox, which raised $400K in pre-seed funding. Soul Detox just celebrated the grand opening of its Brooklyn location in January 2023 and has plans to expand in the US and abroad.

Connect with Moe:

Website: https://getsouldetox.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moe-widdi/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 200: An Interview with Host, Allison Summers Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

We are doing a happy dance at the Disruptive CEO Nation podcast because this is our 200th episode, and to celebrate, we made Allison the guest.

In this episode, Bruce Corris from Market Domination takes the interviewer's seat and helps listeners get to know Allison better and what is behind the career that has enabled her to work with CEOs and senior leaders in over 90 countries. Through the conversation, we explore:

- A glimpse into Allison's childhood and how that formed her life's work.

- The unique position of being a first-generation college student and what that meant to her.

- Her early years in business when she figured out her drive to want to achieve more.

- Why she embraces the philosophy 'The start of amazing begins with a question'.

- Lessons learned being a podcast host (and why she wishes there was a podcast hall of shame for bad guests).

Allison K. Summers, CAE, is a global business expert and recognized association management professional with 30-plus years of experience on the international stage working with ground-breaking industry leaders across six continents. As the host of the Disruptive CEO Nation Podcast, she has interviewed 200+ company founders, CEOs, and cutting-edge thinkers on topics ranging from advancements in tech to leading in the #futureofwork. Allison is an international best-selling author of books such as Building Your Brand: Make Business Happen in a Global Economy and Connect to Influence. Allison is passionate about support systems for youth experiencing illness and their quality of care based on her own experiences with her son and his multiple auto-immune disorders.

Connect with Bruce:

Email: bruce@marketdominationllc.com

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 199: Eric Passon, CEO of Ancore Health, Franklin, TN, USA May 31, 2023

Show notes

Eric carries more than two decades of experience in the healthcare advisory space and leading teams at Southwind and The Advisory Board Company. His background in financial operations, mergers and acquisitions, technology innovation, and traditional consulting services sets the foundation for creative and bold solutions.

Here is what we discussed:

- Why 'curiosity meets clarity' is important to the DNA of the business.

- Insights into working with physicians and administrators and other key individuals to design better outcomes.

- Why understanding data compared to the perception of data is so important when working with people and systems to find opportunities for an optimal future.

- Why looking at data analytics alone without having the right subject matter expertise will cause failure and why you must have all the key stakeholders and players in the room.

- How boldly walking away from a corporate job with a young family to start his own business ended up being the right equation for success, even with its challenges, but how the support of family made all the difference.

- The growth journey for the company, from working his own network to becoming a recognized brand and why it is key that you do not try to make your business all things to all people.

Eric’s passion for answering the “up-at-night” questions led him to build our company from the ground up. As a creative and strategic thinker, Eric leads his team to live outside the box to build innovative and sustainable solutions for our clients.

When not sporting a colorful shirt or crazy socks around the office, Eric enjoys spending time with his wife, two kids, and their dog, CC. He loves biking the Natchez Trace with old and new friends, as well as “working” from the Cape in the summer.

Connect with Eric:

Website: https://www.ancorehealth.com/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 198: Sharekh Shaikh, Founder of CleverX, San Francisco, Dubai, and Singapore May 24, 2023

Show notes

Did you know that in the US alone, almost 55 billion is spent on conducting online surveys, and another 10 billion on conducting product research interviews? And do you know if all that data gathered is trustworthy? Well, Sharekh Shaikh founded CleverX on a mission to not only make it easier for marketers and researchers to reach the right audiences, but to also make sure that the data is reliable to count on for business decisions and strategic planning.

CleveX is a platform that powers market research teams by providing them with access to the tools and the hardest-to-reach commercial audiences. The company's platform allows users to build a network with business professionals and fellow entrepreneurs via video calls, enabling entrepreneurs to avail expert advice and grow their businesses. CleverX is building the next generation of work collaboration platform, where you can collaborate with >20K senior professionals ranging from the world’s leading companies like Apple, McKinsey, NASA to founders of exciting startups.

We caught up with Sharekh at his office in San Francisco, CA, USA, and here is what we discussed:

- His business adventures from his start in India to professionals stops in Dubai and Singapore before landing in the US.

- Why it was so important to him that CleverX be a product-centric company built with the goal of solving massive problems in the research industry.

- That while billions are being spent on the survey industry, when you look at the online survey market it has 40% fraud data. That means that for everyone hundred dollars of spend on an online survey project, $40 traditionally has been a waste.

- How the CleverX platform resolves unreliable data by gathering a professional network with 10,000 users on the platform and so companies have the ability to connect their research tools to this incredible verified audience.

- And a discussion on AI trends and if AI can ever replace authentic market research - surprise, Sharekh's answer is no.

Sharek Shaikh founded CleverX in 2020 so that the world's leading research teams could access hard-to-reach-business audiences and amazing research tools, all in one place. Prior to that Sharek was a Government and Public Sector Manager at Gartner UAE, the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Other professional stops included time with Columbus Global, Sonata Software, and Nokia Siemens Networks. Today Sharek is on a mission to place expert contacts directly into the hands of the businesses who need their expertise and insights.

Connect with Sharekh:

Website: https://cleverx.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharekh-shaikh-4591874/

Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleverxhq/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 197: Phil Alves, CEO of DevSquad, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and Brazil May 17, 2023

Show notes

DevSquad is a bootstrapped, profitable, ~90-person boutique consulting firm that specializes in strategizing, designing, and developing SaaS products. We build SaaS products for bootstrapper founders, VC-funded fast-growing startups, and big enterprises like ADP, Box, and the US ski team.

Here is some of what we touched on:

-Phil's journey from Brazil to the United States and how he has developed his team, their core values, and why simplicity is so important to them.

-The mindset difference between a founder and CEO and the beauty in founder thinking.

-Insights into lessons learned through rapid scaling.

-How Dev Squad seeks to reduce the chance of SaaS development horror stories and increase the odds of success and satisfaction for clients who build custom SaaS products.

-The importance of their website in lead development and how relevant content is to inbound pull and then the story will help potential customers self-select that the fit is right for them.

-Technologies they are coding in today such as JavaScript and React and why sometimes the simplest technology is the best solution.

-How Phil balances stress with adventure as a pilot flying his own plane, cycling, and Brazilian jujitsu.

Phil Alves is a man on a mission: helping underdog SaaS founders compete against Big Tech. As the CEO and Principal Consultant at DevSquad, he’s led the build of over 100 SaaS products for bootstrapped founders and VC-funded startups alike, leading multiple clients to multi-million dollar exits along the way. Now, he’s paving the way for other up and coming SaaS founders by developing the strategies, tactics, and insights they need, earning a reputation as a leading expert on taking on tech giants… and winning.

Connect with Phil:

Website: https://devsquad.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philalves/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 196: David Harel, Co-Founder and CEO of CytoReason, Israel May 10, 2023

Show notes

CytoReason is supporting some of the largest pharma companies and research institutes with their boldest attempts to improve people lives through improved clinical design and speeding the discovery of new life-saving drugs.

Using the knowledge the world has accumulated to intelligently augment clients’ data and to identify patterns within it and generate a system-level understanding of immunity. These patterns then become powerful tools for explaining, predicting and optimizing outcomes proving guidance in both drug discovery and clinical trials.

I spoke with David from his office in TelAviv and here is some of what we touched on:

- What it means to be the first cell-centered computational model for human disease.

- How CytoReason's massive database and AI-led platform supports the pharma and the biotech space to make decisions on what drug to give to what patients.

- It's not one company, it's not one person, it's not the brilliance of one researcher or one invention but rather a long, long, long chain of people, different people, different companies, different research institutions, different governments all contributing to bringing therapy to a patient somewhere in the world.

- Five of the world's top 10 pharma companies use CytoReason technology in order to manage their research and development.

- The why behind his personal drive to improve patient outcomes in healthcare.

- The early stages of getting the business off the ground and bootstrapping the company until they knew the exact value they could bring to the market and then scaling to 150 team members globally.

David Harel, co-founder and CEO of CytoReason, is a well-rounded business leader with proven strategic thinking and demonstrated execution in healthcare, technology and finance. He spent the first part of his career in private equity, focusing on strategy and financing of growth companies in industrial and healthcare IT markets. Prior to CytoReason, David served as the CEO of Virtual OfficeWare Healthcare Solutions. He is an expert at evaluating business models, creating targeted go-to-market plans and focusing on the right opportunities. David has excellent negotiation skills with the ability to close large contracts. David also has direct experience in P&L management, M&A, market evaluation, sales planning and financial analysis.

Connect with David:

Website: https://www.cytoreason.com/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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Episode 195: Dr. Jeffrey Magee, Leadership Strategist, CBE, CSP, CMC, PDM May 03, 2023

Show notes

In almost 200 episodes I have not repeated a guest until now. Dr. Jeffrey Magee is an incredible leadership and business expert who works with business owners and leaders and someone I thoroughly enjoy speaking with.

Here are some highlights of our conversation on our second go around:

- Why business leaders need to pay more attention to human capital (because every problem and challenge you have in your business is because of human capital).

- The reality for most of us is that there are disruptions, interruptions, challenges, unforeseen opportunities, and problems that pop up for all of us every day so we need to understand that change is where we live.

- Transformational leaders are the people that create change. Transformational leaders are the people that write the rule.

- We operate in a time when people have not been taught how to make a decision so he often trains on the STOP method: stop and look at a new stimulant, target and think, organize options, and pick and proceed.

- The importance of diversified teams. Google evaluated the top 32 businesses that filed bankruptcy in America, one of the interesting phenomena is that no one in the executive team ever spent time in sales and marketing.

- The big challenge globally facing all employers is recruiting and retention and the disruption of the negative 10% of the workforce - but he provides his advice on how to deal with them.

- Why new businesses today need to focus on two things - scalability and sellability.

Dr. Jeffrey Magee CBE, CSP, CMC, PDM is often referred to as one of today’s leading Leadership Strategists. Dr. Magee believes that in both the start-up to mature-growth market business sector, the number one resource companies have is human capital and successful leaders bring out the best in people to help organizations thrive.

Dr. Magee is the author of over 30 books, three college graduate management textbooks, four best sellers, and is the Publisher of PERFORMANCE/P360 Magazine. He was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce and twice selected to represent the United States at the World Congress as a Leadership Speaker.

Connect with Jeffrey:

Website: http://www.jeffreymagee.com

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

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#futurist #CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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