Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Richard Coleman, President of Axon Federal, a technology company delivering critical public safety solutions to the nation’s top security, law enforcement agencies, and military departments.Richard shares what attracted him to the public sector and national security as a young engineer, the importance of “breakthrough moments” in your career,  Axon’s work protecting lives and building trust between law enforcement and the community, and the importance of building a diverse team.“Mission-driven people are typically the most passionate people, and oftentimes I find that they’re the most productive. It’s critical to make sure that you find something that you’re passionate about. Find something where every single day you wake up and go to sleep thinking about it. It becomes less like work and more like your why – why you exist, why you do what you do.”Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org. If you’re interested in exploring partnerships with BreakLine, please visit https://breakline.org/partners/partner-signup/.

Tyler Sweatt, CEO of Second Front Systems | Defense Tech: Transforming Government Software Delivery Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Tyler Sweatt, CEO of Second Front Systems, a software startup building the first of its kind DevSecOps platform that accelerates delivery of commercial technology to U.S. warfighters and national security professionals.Tyler shares what drew him to the defense tech space, ositions in the tech industry that are well aligned to veteran skill sets, and how Second Front is “the lattice that stitches the defense tech revolution together.” He talks about the importance of mission when it comes to attracting talent into the space, the value of building a team that is both intellectually and experientially diverse, and his advice for tech companies looking to create what he calls a “human capital flywheel.”“If you’re creating space as a leader to enable good ideas, new expectations, and new ways of doing [things] to come up and ultimately get operationalized or institutionalized, that’s a human capital flywheel that’s pretty magical.”Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org. If you’re interested in exploring partnerships with BreakLine, please visit https://breakline.org/partners/partner-signup/.

In this podcast, Brett Granberg, Co-founder and CEO of Vannevar Labs, discusses funding and building a defense tech company, ensuring product-market fit, and the importance of mission-driven organizations. He also shares insights on leadership and the challenges faced by entrepreneurs. The chapter highlights the significance of adaptability, resilience, and team building in the startup journey.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Ethan Schmertzler, Co-founder and CEO of Dispel, a computer and network security company revolutionizing the Zero Trust and network security space.Dispel started in Ethan Schmertzler’s New York City apartment nine years ago and today the company is well on its way to becoming the gold standard in industrial scale moving target defense technology. In this episode of the BreakLine Arena, Ethan shares the factors that are foundational to Dispel’s culture; including the flat hierarchy, the emphasis on “good expedition behavior,” and the prioritization of life outside of work. He digs deeper with the core mission of Dispel, their approach to hiring talent, and some fun stories from their early days in business!“What Dispel focuses on is really enabling secure access to industrial control systems and all the components around that. We succeed as a company because we get really in the technical weeds on the market that we serve.“Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for another conversation within our “How do I tell you…” series. These discussions aim to foster healthy work relationships and collaborative professional environments by leveraging data-driven insights from our community, best practices that we role model here at BreakLine, and a few personal experiences and stories as well. In this episode of the BreakLine Arena, Mack and Bethany unpack the topic of microaggressions in the workplace and how to address them. They share personal examples of these experiences as well as reactions they’ve witnessed when others have been targeted. They offer a framework on how being specific, outcomes-oriented, and gracious can drive toward productive conflict resolution. To learn more about how to handle difficult situations in both high-trust and low-trust environments, what you can do when you are on the receiving end of clumsy, hurtful, or unkind language, and why having a low ego and high tolerance are vital in receiving and giving feedback, be sure to tune in! “BreakLine’s perspective is that the level of responsibility for addressing an insult or an offensive remark rises along with your positional authority, your safety, and your stature within the organization.” — Mack GladneyPlease like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for the first conversation within our “How do I tell you…” series. These discussions aim to foster healthy work relationships and collaborative professional environments by leveraging data-driven insights from our community, best practices that we role model here at BreakLine, and a few personal experiences and stories as well. BreakLine Senior Customer Success Manager, Mack Gladney, joins Bethany to unpack the topic of conditional support in the workplace and how to address it. Conditional support refers to the common experience of perceiving psychological safety and belonging as long as you continue to show up in a particular way, often a way that is prescribed by your coworkers or the company at large.They discuss their own experiences of conditional and unconditional support, leading with love instead of fear, building trust, and remaining outcomes-oriented. They also provide some real-world examples of how to successfully implement BreakLine’s problem-solving framework before Mack offers some inspirational parting words of wisdom. “Doing hard things with your teammates is how you build trust, and part of the hard thing is being vulnerable together.” — Mack Gladney“Unconditional support is not about solving someone else's problem; it’s about standing alongside another human being who is feeling something deeply.” — Bethany Coates Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Aishatu Fatima Dozie, Founder and CEO of Bossy Cosmetics, a mission-driven women’s empowerment company operating through the beauty industry. In this episode, Aisha explains what it means for women to have economic power and her approach to changing the power structure through cosmetics. She shares insights from her interdisciplinary and multicultural experiences, the importance of feedback, how she builds resiliency, and how to grow and maintain a great support network. “Go out and give something a try. If it works, great. If it doesn’t work, learn. There is no failure. Failure is not doing it at all.”Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Andy Rachleff, Executive Chairman of Wealthfront, Co-Founder of Benchmark Capital, and faculty member at Stanford Graduate School of Business.Andy shares his perspective on why Silicon Valley Bank collapsed (including the 'monstrous mistake' that led to a bank run), the actions that regulators took, and how these circumstances might affect the employment landscape and the broader economic environment. “Cash is oxygen and oxygen is life. This became a crisis for startups and young companies.”Please like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri, Partner and CHRO at TPG, a leading global alternative asset management firm investing across five multi-product platforms: Capital, Growth, Impact, Real Estate, and Market Solutions.Diversity is synonymous with performance, especially when aligned with business outcomes. Anilu joins the BreakLine Arena to talk about her leadership experiences overseeing all-things people related, including diversity. She shares insights related to the importance of diverse boards of governance, why language surrounding diversity matters, why mentorship is vital, and how we can handle feedback with grace. “Being different is an asset… but make sure you’re not the only one who looks like you forever. Diversify the rooms you enter and then pay it backward for those who follow.” — Anilu Vazquez-UbarriPlease like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org

Join us in the BreakLine Arena for a conversation with Wyc Grousbeck, Lead Owner of the Boston Celtics!Wyc Grousbeck shares stories of determination, humility, kindness, insight, and respect. He recounts finding purpose through rowing - a lifelong pursuit that became a key driver of his success with the Boston Celtics. He also dives into the long-term plan he implemented together with Team Celtics to win the national championship in 2008.Beyond his interests and talents at the Celtics, Wyc explains why service, and in particular, Massachusetts Eye and Ear is dear to his heart. He further illustrates how he views young leaders in high-visibility roles, and why he will always cherish lasting relationships.“We know what the right thing to do is, all of us, and the more we can do it, the better.” — Wyc GrousbeckPlease like, rate, subscribe, or review our show if you’ve liked what you’ve heard! We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re interested in joining our community, please visit www.breakline.org.