Disruptive CEO Nation

Latest Episodes:

Episode 194: Aric Dromi, Aric Dromi, Founder of Tempus.Motu group, Plovdiv, Bulgaria Apr 26, 2023

Show notes

Simply put, Aric Dromi fascinates us. A self-proclaimed futurologist, innovation strategist, philosopher and professional trouble maker, we caught up with Aric to discuss his new book The Intellectual Rage and his views and work in the area of innovation and disruption.

On the day we caught up with Aric he was in Sweden and energized with insights and ideas. In our conversation he touched on:

- The excitement he holds in helping companies see the forces that can help shape their future and view into what could happen and the great potential of would could be.

- That most businesses need to hone a culture of innovation but they settle for modification and simple change.

- The true purpose of leadership is not commanding but building a vision that others will follow. Great leaders are driven by curiosity and the passion of discovery and are intellectually hungry.

- That you need to recognize that if you are the smartest person in the room then you are in the wrong room.

- How most consulting has brilliantly failed businesses. That having the same advisors is not diverse enough in thinking and what he has built his practice to offer a revolving table of knights to shake up innovative insights for clients.

- That human must rethink their relationship with technology. The axe was created to expand human potential, that's how we should look at tech and the rapid advancement of tech. Often, companies look at tech as a quick shallow solution.

- A great advisor will help a company ideate, calibrate and educate.

Aric Dromi is a highly respected keynote speaker, futurologist and innovation strategist. Aric spent years helping executives and decision-makers to refine their offer and understand the potential impacts that lie along the road ahead.

His focus areas include: Automation and fast-tracking, Privacy, integrity, surveillance and legislation, Social trends and economic models, Transformation, smarter innovation and monetization structures, Mobility, logistics, energy, communication and smarted data, The reciprocal relationships between policy, society and technology, The future of cities and urban structures, The next frontier of Intelligence amplification in the era of VR, AR and AI.

Aric's book The Intellectual Rage: The underground, unfiltered guide to corporate innovation & bullshit can be found on Amazon under the pseudonym D.B Solomon.

Connect with Aric:

Websites: blackswantheatre.com

tempusmotu.com

Risingstringsacademy.com

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

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 193: Jeffrey Klubeck, Founder and President Get A Klu, Inc. and author of The Integrity Game®️- San Diego, CA, USA Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

Jeffrey is an engaging and brilliant executive coach who has knowledge that you and your teams need to know. Currently, he is motivating business leaders to evaluate the topic of integrity via his book and program The Integrity Game®️. Jeff is also serving as a Professor of Communications at San Diego State University where he is challenging emerging leaders to understand their values and how to carry and communicate them into the world.

Here are some highlights from our conversation:

- The motivation behind The Integrity Game®️ and why integrity isn't what everyone thinks it is.

- The importance of personal accountability and self-leadership and that The Integrity Game®️ was born in the land of personal accountability.

- Why companies, their KPIs and the shareholders need teams to know how to operate within the framework of integrity for increased opportunity for success. And why leaders who get permission to lead achieve a higher level of employee engagement.

- The concept that there is never any traffic on the extra mile.

- The rise of the concept of individualism and 'the authentic self' affecting the workplace.

- Jeff's work in the university classroom and why he is passionate about impacting the mindsets of his students.

Jeffrey Klubeck, Author of The Integrity Game® which is evolving into a comprehensive soft skills development company. An upbeat and charismatic coach and consultant. He focuses on how to make businesses and entrepreneurs thrive while not losing a sense of what makes a company outstanding: leadership. Jeffrey is a successful author that has worked with small and big businesses.

Connect with Jeff:

Website: https://getaklu.net/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialcoachjeffrey/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/getaklu?lang=en

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

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

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Episode 192: Maxwell Nee, Managing partner of Oeno, Wine and Whiskey Investment and Chairman of Family Office Association of Australia Apr 12, 2023

Show notes

Maxwell Nee's journey began with a burning desire for freedom, experiences, and meaningful relationships. As a young professional climbing the corporate ladder, he found himself feeling unfulfilled and unhappy, despite his impressive achievements. Maxwell realized that the path laid before him in the corporate world did not align with his core values, leading him to make a bold decision to quit his job and pursue a more fulfilling life. It wasn't easy – Maxwell had to sell personal belongings, sleep on couches, and live frugally – but this challenging period taught him the value of persistence and determination.

Through sheer hard work and a keen eye for unique opportunities, Maxwell eventually found success in the world of coaching and business development. Now, as the managing partner of Ono Wine and Whiskey Investment, Maxwell continues to embrace a growth mindset, pursuing new and exciting ventures while cherishing the simple joys of life.

While Maxwell is originally from Australia, he's worked in places like Mexico, Chicago, Miami, Copenhagen, and we caught up with him in Barcelona. Here are highlights from our conversation:

- The trigger point when he walked away from banking and sought a life of self-determination which included co-founding High-Performing Coach Ltd., a company which grew 300% in the first five months of the pandemic to a staff of 35 covering the world.

- Why a leader must know their personal core values, and with entrepreneurs growth must be one of the three or it will not work out.

- The why behind his belief in the value of the Ono Wine and Whiskey Investment Fund and the paths to investor choices.

- The importance of having the right network of experts for individuals who grow their personal net wealth.

- Why entrepreneurs need to be in love with how people use and need their products verses how they view their own products. If someone is not using a product or seeing their life as becoming better because of it, success will not come as easily.

Maxwell Nee is the Managing Partner of OENO Wine & Whisky Investment and Chairman of Family Office Association of Australia. He’s a multi-award-winning entrepreneur who earns his investors a recession-proof and market-beating return with wine & whisky alternative investments. He is active on LinkedIn and a great mind to add to your personal network.

Connect with Maxwell:

Website: http://oenowinewhiskyfund.com/

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

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

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

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Episode 191: Mark Firth, CEO of B2B Growth Team, UK and Colombia Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

B2B Growth Team is not an agency or coaching program. It is a B2B growth company with a unique hybrid model that provides education, advisory and coaching together with our own technology platform.

The company is on a huge mission to help 5k B2B Consultants and Professional Services Businesses to stop chasing clients on social media.

In this chat we touch on:

-The need for CEOs to have an impenetrable personal brand that compliments the business.

-That your marketing goal should be to lead people to feel safe, that your marketing provides subconscious tick marks that their need will be met.

-Listening to the challenges you hear your customers talking about.

-That we need to focus on sales behaviors and how to respond to the human buying mind more than avatars.

-Why mini-events can be a strong catalyst for growth.

-That for all business leaders progress takes place in the face of discomfort.

Mark Firth is the CEO of B2B Growth Team. Mark Firth spent a large portion of his life working a corporate job in London, he worked for companies like IBM and Siemens but he was left feeling unfulfilled. He went in search of answers and an 11 year journey from the UK to Colombia for a decade, fell in love and started a family and then a business.

He finally made it into Florida on an investment visa supported by his business. He runs B2B Growth Team which has helped hundreds of B2B consultants to land clients through a mix of organic and paid business strategies.

Connect with Mark:

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

Website: https://www.markfirthonline.com/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast #selfhelp #selfservice #socialselling, #leadgeneration, #salesnavigator, #virtualselling

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Episode 190: Richard van der Blom, Founder and CEO of Just Connecting, Spain Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

Richard van der Blom is on a mission to help sales and marketing teams leverage the world of LinkedIn for brand awareness, lead generation, thought leadership, and more. Personally, Richard has been a valuable member of my LinkedIn network for years and I thought it was about time that you got to know him as well.

Richard founded Just Connecting in 2009 in the Netherlands and today leads operations from Spain with an international team. Richard strongly believes that the sales environment is changing rapidly and requires a different approach and those that will win have a knowledge network to support them.

In this chat we touch on:

- The power of LinkedIn as the ultimate B2B tool.

- The ability of their team to deliver LinkedIn training in seven languages focusing on marketing, content and employee advocacy training.

- Why businesses need to stop playing numbers games of bad one-to-one pitching and optimize LinkedIn campaigns and ads.

_ Using content strategy on LinkedIn.

- His journey of building his company to multi-national status.

- The benefit of his monthly membership group and how it has served as an indispensable

Richard van der Blom is the Founder/CEO of Just Connecting HUB, an international operating agency providing Virtual & Social Selling LinkedIn training and consultancy. Since 2010 he has provided training and sessions for over 200,000 professionals and served more than 750 companies worldwide. Amongst his clients are companies like Nestlé, NetApp, InterSystems, Salesforce, TEVA, Philips and many more.

Just Connecting provides Social Selling strategy and training for (inter)national clients with a sales force of at least 15 representatives. With their B.E.S.T. Social Selling method they train sales representatives how to easily and quickly identify potential clients and how to generate leads. Amongst clients are ING Netherlands, Graydon, Nuance, Alliance Business Center Network, Randstad, Mövenpick Hotels and LinkedIn itself.

Connect with Richard:

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

Website: https://www.justconnecting.nl/en/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast #selfhelp #selfservice #socialselling, #leadgeneration, #salesnavigator, #virtualselling

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Episode 189: Ivan Anz, Founder CAPITANZ Family Office, Argentina & USA Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Ivan Anz is an INC 500 Magazine-recognized international serial entrepreneur operating companies in 14 countries. Throughout his journey, Ivan has always viewed himself as the Chief Dream Officer considering hiring a solid CEO as his top priority for his companies. We invited him on as a guest because we admire his approach to leading teams and inspiring those around him.

Here are some highlights of our time together:

- Brands he has built, expanding from Argentina to the US and what it was to be one of the youngest individuals to found a family office.

- The CEO handles the creation of right now - or present activities, and the reason he needs to be the Chief Dream Officer creating the future aspects that do not exist yet.

- Why you need to be a leader who allows people the space to grow and how to get team members to take on ownership responsibilities to achieve better results.

- You can't grow if you live in the past, that you need to learn to let things go and being mad is expensive.

- Insights into what a family office is, how it operates and the value to managing assets.

- How his focus today is moving beyond wealth to well-being.

Ivan has been an entrepreneur since he was seven years old, selling candy to his friends in Argentina. As he grew older, he continued his business efforts. And his investments from real estate and his Toyota dealerships had impressive growth. But simply making money was not furthering his burning passion for building a better world.

In 2014, not speaking a word of English, he brought his passion for helping to America. His intention to help led him to the discovery of a unique approach to stabilize families in their own homes. And Philanthroinvesting was born. Philanthroinvestors now span the globe in 16 countries.

Connect with Ivan:

Website: www.ivananz.com

Website: www.philanthroinvestors.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivananzig/

Podcast: https://philanthroinvestors.com/podcasts/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast #selfhelp #selfservice

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Episode 188: Daniel James, CEO and Founder, Mint Performance Marketing, Los Angeles, CA, USA Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Daniel James has a unique mind for performance growth marketing because he has successfully navigated the wave of digital trends and the social media landscape from the early days of MySpace to influencer marketing and everything in between. What you get with Daniel is an innovative mind with an edge of 'been there done' that practicality that delivers results and this is what makes him a man worth listening to.

Mint Performance Marketing is a full-service growth marketing agency working with e-commerce brands across everything from creative influencer marketing, paid advertising on social and Google as well as email, SMS, and website development. In 2021, the business was acquired by Social Chain, a world-leading social media and e-commerce group, but Daniel remains at the helm.

So what did we learn from our sit down with Daniel?

- Various digital platforms and the challenges and myths around metrics.

- That what must remain true of any brand is a real focus on customer experience and customer attention.

- How businesses are on a race to the bottom if they are not increasing the lifetime value of existing customers. If you're only ever scaling the front end of the business, but you're not paying attention to retention you will be in trouble.

- That you need an ecosystem that allows you to understand your business and be able to plan and therefore measure how effective your marketing is being - but also be looking for what you are missing in opportunity.

- You need to have a 360 aspect of customer acquisition but it must allow space for creative testing, lots of social proof and influencers support backed by a really cohesive paid retention strategy.

Part of the Digital/Social Media Landscape since 2004, Daniel James has led digital strategy at companies including MySpace, AOL, and Turn for some of the world's most successful companies. Today, he heads up Mint Performance Marketing, a full-service performance marketing agency based in LA with a growing global footprint, whose mission is to accelerate growth for disruptive DTC/eCommerce brands through cutting-edge strategies across creative, influencer marketing, paid social, paid search, email and sms.

Connect with Daniel:

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

Website: https://www.mint-performancemarketing.com/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast #selfhelp #selfservice

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Episode 187: Natalie Ruiz, CEO of AnswerConnect - Portland, Orgeon Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

In honor of International Women's Day, we had the great privilege of speaking with Natalie Ruiz, CEO of AnswerConnect. Natalie is a business builder with a unique background. In fact, she started with her company as a temporary employee in an operation of 30 employees. In 2015, she assumed the role of CEO and today AnswerConnect has over 1,500 global employees who operate 24/7 365 days a year.

Natalie is a big believer in the human spirit and in mentoring others to succeed. Her motto is "Leaving people and places better than I find them."

Here is some of what we covered in our conversation:

- The importance of human connections in a business world that leverages so much technology and her belief that business should strive to provide customers with the shortest distance between 'I have a problem' and 'my problem is solved' and her belief that it is still a human.

- Learning that there are many paths to success but it really comes down to grit, resiliency, and curiosity.

- The revolutionary leadership lesson she learned under the guise of, "What would you do differently as a manager if the team that you have right now was the team you were going to have forever?"

- Trying to follow other people's archetypes or narratives only to realize they do not serve you.

- The dream of 'hockey stick' growth but the challenges and cautionary tale that comes with such success.

- How they manage global training via an online university called Adaptview and then support success by partnering people up.

Connect with Natalie:

AnswerConnect Website: www.answerconnect.com

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_natalieruiz/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#CEO #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast #selfhelp #selfservice

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Episode 186: Manuela Seve, Co-Founder and CEO of Alphaa.io, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

If you want to follow the innovations happening in the blockchain and NFT space then you need Manuela in your network. Manuela Seve is co-founder and CEO of Alpha’a & alphaa.io through which she is changing the way we think of asset ownership by connecting the physical and digital realms via blockchain certification, licensing, and dropshipping.

She has been in the tech and art sector for the past 8 years successfully raising funds from industry leaders such as: Metaprop vc, EOS VC, Chingona Ventures, and Gaingels among others funds. With a background in finance, Manuela worked as an equity analyst at GáveaInvestments, one of Brazil’s most reputable investment management firms.

Alphaa.io gives brands verified proof of who their biggest fans are and provides special access to anything online or offline.

Some great intelligence and insights shared with us:

- How Alphaa.io is using blockchain for authenticity, resale tracking, and community building for sports teams, luxury brands, and companies.

- How this technology allows for ongoing royalty tracking on the resale of products, memorabilia, autographs, and more leading to residual revenue, community tracking, and more. For example, 80% of athletes go bankrupt 18 months after they leave the courts but by putting a resale royalty for articles that they create during their careers they can continue to earn income.

- How businesses such as Starbucks are using NFT loyalty programs, which is basically just the evolution of the punch card but on a much more massive scale that can also utilize geofencing and provide loyalty rewards in an entirely new way. These digital wallets are the way of the future.

- Other unique aspects of NFTs allow for people to purchase NFTs as a pre-order on products which becomes production on demand and can significantly zero waste.

- How the rise of the backend revolution and how it will upset power dynamics and what this could mean in terms of government organizations is massive.

Connect with Manuela:

Website: https://www.alphaa.io/home

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphaaio/?hl=en

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

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

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Episode 185: Dena Prastos, CEO and Founder of Indigo River, New York, NY Feb 22, 2023

Show notes

Evolving weather patterns are dramatically impacting our lives and businesses. To address this, we need insightful, forward looking leaders who can guide us safely forward. Well, Dena Prastos and the team at Indigo River are up for this challenge.

Indigo River is a woman-owned, trans-transdisciplinary design firm focusing on progressive waterfront architecture built for resiliency and climate adaptation. The waterfront inherently is one of our most vulnerable zones subject to sea level rise, as well as floods and inundation but that should not be a barrier to proper utilization.

In this episode we discuss:

· How typical upland design and construction differs from considerations for structures located on or near the waterfront.

· Dena's perspectives about being faced with inconvenient truths, climate change, hyper-urbanization, rising economy, and social challenges.

· The types of projects Indigo River works on ranging from marinas, ports, and maritime infrastructure to waterfront parks and recreational access areas.

· Dena’s mission to build a transdisciplinary team comprised of traditionally trained architects, naval architects, environmental planners, marine engineers, coastal engineers, etc.

· Insights into the company's growth and Dena’s leadership vision.

As Founder and CEO of Indigo River, Dena Prastos, AIA, is the first "waterfront architect," trailblazing a new category in the industry. Indigo River is a leading authority in the New York Harbor and beyond. The firm specializes in climate adaptation through waterfront solutions that seamlessly transcend boundaries - guiding and executing projects from ideation through final construction and operations.

Waterfront architect, civil engineer, futurist, climate adaptation expert, entrepreneur, and creative original, Dena is driven to transform the built world at the water's edge. With transdisciplinary and progressive views, she is fueled by the overlapping of design, technology, and nature.

Connect with Dena:

Website: https://www.indigoriver.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indigo_river_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/indigo-river-consulting/

Connect with Allison:

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

Website: DisruptiveCEONation.com

Twitter: @DisruptiveCEO

#CEO #archetecture #climatechange #climateadaptation #startup #startupstory #founder #founderstory #business #businesspodcast #podcast

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