Disruptive CEO Nation

Latest Episodes:

EP 74 Vidusha Nathavitharana: Founder & Destiny Architect, Luminary Learning Solutions & High5 Consultancy Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

In this episode we head to Sri Lanka to speak with Vidusha Nathavitharana. Vidusha is a vibrant and motivating leadership and human resource expert who possesses a wide corporate background that has served as a positive foundation to launching his businesses. He is also the author of over 50 books and a TedX speaker.

We have an open and honest conversation on his first startup High5 Consultancy and the lessons learned that he improved upon in his second venture Luminary Learning Solutions, which has scaled up and delivered executive training, team building and other services in 25 countries and counting. Vidusha has pioneered the concept of ROI based leadership training and boasts the ability to offer quantifiable and verifiable ROI after each of his signature leadership programs - possibly a first across the globe. We also discuss the influence of his father on his business life and why he is so passionate about training the next generation of business leaders and offers all his books for free - honouring his fathers’ request to ‘payback’ for the free education he received in his normative years.

Vidusha holds a bachelor’s in business management from the University of Lincoln, UK, a master’s in leading innovation and change from the University of York St. John, UK and a MBA from the University of Wales Trinity St. David, UK. He started his career in branding and marketing, moved to manufacturing and finally ended in HR and HRD, with his last corporate role at Sara Lee Courtaulds. Vidusha founded High5 Consultancy (www.highfiveconsultancy.com) in 2005 where his clients include The World Bank, The UN, MAS Holdings, John Keells Holdings, HSBC, Deutsch Bank, BRAC University, CARE International, top corporates and INGOs. In 2018, he founded Luminary Learning Solutions (http://www.luminarylearningsolutions.com/). Vidusha was also a lecturer for the CIM program in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He was on the Board of Advisors for CARE Sri Lanka, and helped form Chrysalis (a social enterprise focusing on Women and Youth) as one of the two founding Directors. Connect with Vidusha on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidushanathavitharana/.

#CEO #founder #entrepreneur #startup #training #HR #HRD #business #SriLanka

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EP 73 Carlos Castelan – Founder and Managing Director of The Navio Group Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

Retail is a sector that has experienced unprecedented shifts related to customer behaviors, changes in loyalty, digital strategies, AI advances, the rise of influencers and more. For brands it is no longer only important to get a product on the shelf and for stores the stakes are now high on how to engage and entice the in-person purchase experience. Retailers need tailored solutions and guidance on how to innovate for the world of tomorrow.

Enter The Navio Group founded by Carlos Castelan. In this episode of Disruptive CEO Nation we speak with Carols about his founders story and his vision to establish a lead boutique firm focused on helping retailers transform their business, drive cost savings, reinvent core business, and develop innovation.

Through The Navio Group, Carlos supports clients range from Fortune 500 retailers to high growth direct-to-consumer businesses. Prior to Navio, Carlos was a Partner & Chief Strategy Officer at Conlego, a premier negotiations and partnership firm. There he advised on growth strategy, negotiated key agreements and was the principal partner to open new accounts. Carlos previously founded & was the Managing Director at Noma Consulting Partners (acquired by Conlego Consulting in 2016). Carlos has worked at The Boston Consulting Group and at Target Corporation. He holds a B.A. and B.S. in International Studies and Economics from the University of St. Thomas and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Find out more at www.thenaviogroup.com. Connect with Carlos on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carloscastelan/

#retail #customers #B2C # #Harvard

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EP 72 Oleksandr Kosovan – Founder & CEO of MacPaw, Founder of SetApp Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

From college student to world domination and all the tough work that takes place in-between, this is the story of Oleksandr Kosovan. For this episode of Disruptive CEO Nation, we went to the Ukraine to speak with this tech-entrepreneur who has achieved what only others have dreamed of. As the creator of CleanMyMac, Oleksandr has witnessed his app pass the count of 4 million users, in fact, every 5th Mac on Earth has a MacPaw app installed on it and there is at least one MacPaw user in Antarctica.

Oleksandr shares his founder’s journey which began as a hobby project spending one year developing his first app over nights and weekends and once ready, he chose to allow open access to it. His journey is an amazing one that covers product development, distribution, customer feedback, and accelerated growth, all while bootstrapping his way to leading a 260-employee organization. We also discussed the careful balance of the life of an entrepreneur, starting a family, and giving back.

MacPaw is headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine. The company develops and distributes software for macOS and iOS and is one of the biggest software developers on the Mac market. MacPaw's flagship app, CleanMyMac 3, cleans 614 TB of junk every day - two times the size of the Library of Congress. In 2017, MacPaw launched Setapp, the first subscription service for Mac apps.

Today, Oleksandr invests in the local IT field, providing funding and mentorship programs for young specialists. He has co-founded SMRK (smrk.vc), a venture capital fund with global reach. Though SMRK he has invested in world-famous projects like AJAX.Systems, Madberry, Amazing Hiring, and Allset. Connect with Loeksandr on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/akosovan/?originalSubdomain=ua and visit www.macpaw.com.

#tech #CEO #founder #entrepreneur #startup #MacPaw #macOS # iOS #apple #apps #setapp #business #Ukraine

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EP 71 Tim Spiker: Founder of The Aperio Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

Whether you are in startup, scale up or running steady and strong, every business builder needs to be a great leader. In this episode of Disruptive CEO Nation, we speak with Tim Spiker, author, trainer, team builder and leadership development expert. As the founder of The Aperio, Tim can uniquely relate to entrepreneurs and the decisions and pressures on their shoulders as they navigate business. He also shares his own story of planning his leap from receiving a paycheck to writing the check for others.

Tim’s book, The Only Leaders Worth* Following, reveals that 77% of leadership effectiveness comes from who a leader is and not what they do. Using this principle, Tim helps people become, be, and stay leaders who are actually worth following.

Tim has worked with leadership teams in North America, Australia, and Asia. Tim’s work includes delivering keynote talks, creating unique and customized learning experiences, and guiding long-term development journeys including teaching on the Who* Not What Principle. He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and four children.

Connect with Tim on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/timspiker/. Visit his company www.theaperio.com. Follow on Twitter @TimSpiker.

#Leadership #Business #Founderstory #Atlantabusiness

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Karolyn Hart - Founder of InspireHUB Oct 28, 2020

Show notes

A big part of any business is the basis for its tech framework. In this episode of Disruptive CEO Nation we speak with Karolyn Hart, an award-winning Canadian entrepreneur, technology executive, activist, speaker, author and Founder of InspireHUB. Our conversation transverses topics of digital experience platforms, data security, data ownership, and how to have a simple, organic, business ecosystem that allows start-ups and small business owners focus on their objectives and customer care rather than risks and stumbling blocks of the tech framework.

We also talk about Karolyn extraordinary journey as an entrepreneur and founder that included being sought out by the Mandela family to bring her skills to a very special project in South Africa. With a vision to ‘Fred Rodgers’ the business world, Karolyn is a person to know in your network. She has also made "The Ultimate Small Business Survival Guide" available to help navigate crisis management and shore business continuity plans: https://www.inspirehub.com/en-us/small-business-survival-guide

Karolyn has spent two decades building a unique skill set around engagement including as a technologist with experience implementing large scale projects in financial services, automotive and healthcare; an entrepreneur launching a national television show; an award-winning economic developer working in community engagement; and a startup founder designing and working with the latest in Progressive Web App technology. Karolyn has been covered in the Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, The Globe and Mail, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, GCN and SD Times. She was recognized as one of 99 Limit Breaking Female Founders by Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global and was featured as a Top Female Disruptor in Authority Magazine. Her technical white papers have been published by various industry magazines, and her 2017 white paper garnered the support and participation from leading engineers in Google Chrome and Samsung Internet.

You can listen and learn from Karolyn on the "Big on Small" business podcast. Visit her company at www.inspirehub.com and connect with her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/karolynzhart/.

#entrepreneur #smallbusiness #tech #dgital #DXP #datasecurity #CEO #founder #canadabusiness #womeninbusiness #female founders #DisruptiveCEONation

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Jeff Chastain - Founder and CEO, Admentus Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

For this episode of Disruptive CEO Nation, we head to Texas to speak with Jeff Chastain, founder of Admentus and a professional Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®) Implementer. We have a candid conversation with Jeff about his own career and the motivation to establish his own business. We then focus on the challenges faced by all business builders and approaches to ease stress as a business grows. We all know that it takes very different skills to start a business then to sustain one, and that if you don’t have the right advice, cracks can show up rather quickly.

Complementing fifteen years in the technology space, Jeff founded Admentus to help entrepreneurs and business leaders embrace systems that can predict success. Jeff is a big believer in the EOS Model™ and mentors and trains founders and business creators on the Six Key Components™ that must be managed and strengthened to be a great business: vision, people, data, issues, process and traction. Of course, here at Disruptive CEO Nation, we also would add networks and coaching to that equation because business builders at every stage need to hear from those that have gone before them to help make their own path a little clearer.

You can connect with Jeff on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffdchastain/ and visit his company at www.admentus.com.

#entrepreneur #Texasbusiness #startup #CEO #EOS #EOSmodel #founder #DisruptiveCEONation

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Theresa M. Līna – CEO, Loina Group Inc and Author of Be the Go-To Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

What can you learn from a recognized Silicon Valley thought leader and strategist? A whole lot about market domination strategies.

In this episode, we talk with Theresa M. Lina. the author of the best-selling bookBe the Go-To: How to Own Your Competitive Market, Charge More, and Have Customers Love You For It. Every business builder knows they need to find that perfect edge to their value proposition and using ‘The Apollo Method for Market Dominance’, we discuss with Theresa what elements it takes to achieve success as a premium Go-To brand. Her tips and insight on how you shouldn’t be competing on price are good reminder for all our listeners that you constantly need to evaluate the course of your mission.

Theresa M. Lina is the CEO of Līna Group, Inc., which specializes in market dominance strategy. Over her professional life, she has served as chief strategy and marketing officer for several technology startups and has advised hundreds of companies. She began her career at Accenture, where she helped found, lead, and grow the firm’s communications industry group, now a multibillion-dollar business unit. Theresa is a frequent speaker and workshop leader on strategy, market leadership, innovation, and technology topics.

Always helping those coming up behind her, Theresa has been involved at Stanford University since 2006 as a course facilitator at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, teaching courses on Marketing, Strategic Leadership, Critical Analytical Thinking, and Principled and Purposeful Leadership.

To connect with Theresa on LinkedIn visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-lina/. You can find her on Twitter under @theresa_m_lina. Be the Go-To is available on Amazon and other bookstores.

#Business #CEO #marketing #Stanford #businessstrategy #valueprop #dominance #leadership #startup #founder #entrepreneur

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Chris Locke - Partner & CEO UK and Europe at Rainmaking Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

Chris Locke is an innovative business growth and start up expert who has a legacy of working with corporates and individuals to build powerful, sustainable, and socially minded organizations. But aside from being a wealth of knowledge, we love the ease at which he approaches his conversations and clients – it makes him a pleasure to know.

In this episode of Disruptive CEO Nation, we talk with Chris about the current economic environment, evolving business models, opportunities, rapid shifts in customer bases, and the tenants for a successful business. Chris share case studies (Nokia), data (the average age of successful entrepreneurs is 45) and talks about businesses focused on solving problems and delivering positive impact under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (check out their SDG Compass program).

At Rainmaking, Chris and his team work with corporates by implementing a systemic approach to driving innovation and developing new business models to unlock future growth. Under the ASPIRE program, the Rainmaking team has an ambitious goal to help individuals displaced by redundancies and reductions to be gain the knowledge they need to launch their own companies. Since 2006, Rainmaking has helped scale and build over 900 tech companies and hundreds of other companies across a variety of sectors. Prior to Rainmaking, Chris led Pearson's award-winning Global Innovation Team, leading the company through its transition from print to digital. He also founded Startup Republic, a UK focused edtech company, which enabled students to unleash entrepreneurship and build startups whilst studying.

Connect with Chris Locke on Twitter @clocke78 and LinekdIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-locke-28680517/

To learn more about ASPIRE and Startupbootcamp visit https://rainmaking.io/aspire/

#CEO #business #founder #startup #techstartup #entrepreneur #business #motivation #success #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurlife #smallbusiness #businessowner #hustle #ASPIRE #Rainmaking #SDGs #socialimpact #startuprepublic #Nokia #redundancies

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Jonathan Ogurchak - Co-Founder & CEO, STACK Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

Sometimes we meet entrepreneurs who amaze us and Jonathan Ogurchak, the Co-founder and CEO of http://stackpharmacy.com/, is one of those people. Jonathan stepped away from a lucrative career as a pharmacist to build a platform that could transform the way #pharma business gets done, and he did so as a father of two children with one on the way and he literally started this great business in his garage (and here we must pause for quick salute to his wonderful wife).

In this episode, we hear the #startup story of Stack, a compliance management software designed to simplify the “outside of the dispense” complexities associated with running successful pharmacy organizations; however, the principles and functions of the STACK information ecosystem principles can translate to multiple industries.

Jonathan is also Managing Partner of Rhythm Group, a consulting and technology solutions organization, and is a Certified Consultant with Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). Jonathan has designed programs and services for both Accredo and PANTHERx Specialty Pharmacy focusing on implementing innovative uses for technology, including high-touch pharmacist-driven programs focused on dosing efficiency, clinical monitoring of patient outcomes, and integrated patient engagement. He is on faculty for the Master of Pharmacy Business Administration (MPBA) program through the University of Pittsburgh, leading the Specialty Pharmacy Management curriculum. He currently serves on the editorial board for Specialty Pharmacy Times, holds CSP Certification through the Specialty Pharmacy Certification Board, and serves as an Educational Consultant for the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP).

Jonathan is a disruptive entrepreneur you just may want to follow @stackpharmacy and connect with via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanogurchak.

#CEO #founder #business #startupstory #tech #pharma #pharmacy #entrprenuer #medtech #healthcare #h2p #Pitt #Pittnow #DisruptiveCEONation

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Pedro Pico (a.k.a. Teresa Al Dente) – Founder, Drag Taste Aug 05, 2020

Show notes

Pedro Pico is both an inspiring businessman and gem of a woman. For this episode of Disruptive CEO Nation, we head to Lisbon, Portugal and meet Pedro, whose motto is ‘My secret to get things done is getting started’.

Pedro is a creative adventurer who has built a business out of his love affair with food. He produced his own cooking show on YouTube which led to founding Tasty Studio, a company specializing in branded food and beverage media content. He has also hosted hundreds of home-cooked dinners for people from around the world all of which has led to his latest business venture: Drag Taste.

Featured by Airbnb as one of the top experiences in the world, Pedro developed Drag Taste with spouse Nikolay (a.k.a. Irina Ganache). They have an amazing team of the best drag queens from all over the world and, under a chandelier of red high heels, they host events such as "Drag-up Cooking Class", where they transform every guest in drag and host a Portuguese cooking class and event. Not to be side tracked by COVID, the team converted the event experiences to virtual and are now the top online Airbnb Experience with ‘Sangria and Secrets with Drag Queens’, where they actually dramatically increased their revenue beyond the ability of the restaurant. Next up? Opening Drag Taste locations worldwide.

To connect with Pedro visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedropico89/, however, to connect with Teresa al Dente visit www.dragtaste.com or sign up with Sangria and Secrets at https://www.airbnb.com/experiences. You can also follow the adventure on social at @DragTaste

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