Not Another CEO Podcast

What does it take to lead a global humanitarian organization through a pandemic and beyond? In this episode, Michael Nyenhuis shares how he has led UNICEF USA since March 2020, starting his role just two weeks after COVID shutdowns began. Michael talks about building strong boards and leadership teams, the balance between confidence and humility, and how to create connection in a hybrid work world. With decades of experience in humanitarian leadership, he reflects on his journey from journalist to President & CEO, and how staying close to mission and people shapes lasting impact.Find Michael's Newsletter here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/relentless-6990692731056488449/ Takeaways:Rebuilding the Board and Leadership Team: Michael explains how reshaping governance and leadership early in his tenure has been crucial to the success of every organization he has led. He emphasizes getting the right people in place who share the mission and bring diverse skills and chemistry to the table.Evolution Over Revolution: Describing his leadership approach, Michael shares his belief in "relentless incrementalism." He believes consistent, thoughtful progress is more sustainable than sweeping change and that small steps taken regularly are key to building lasting impact.Starting a CEO Role in a Global Pandemic: Michael began his job just as COVID shut the world down. He relied on daily video updates, creative communication, and a golden retriever named Izzy to build relationships remotely. He reflects on the benefits and drawbacks of trying to lead without in-person interaction.Creating Culture in a Hybrid Workplace: UNICEF USA has embraced hybrid work, but Michael is intentional about maintaining connection. From monthly staff engagement days to leadership meetings and all-staff retreats, he builds structured moments for human interaction and relationship-building.Honest Career Advice for Aspiring Humanitarians: Michael stresses that global development is a profession, not just a passion. He shares how expertise, formal experience, and training are key to entering the nonprofit space and why it is important to respect the rigor of humanitarian work.CEO Roundtables and Mentorship by Listening: Michael hosts monthly roundtables with staff based on anniversary dates, offering space for Q&A and storytelling. He also invited youth leaders to mentor him, flipping the script to show respect and learn from the next generation of changemakers.Balancing Confidence and Humility: Michael reflects on the need to balance strong leadership with the humility to listen. Early in his career, he sometimes over-relied on consensus. Today, he sees the value in trusting instincts while remaining open.Quote of the Show:"When you find what you're supposed to do, doors start opening." - Michael NyenhuisLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelnyenhuis/Website: https://www.unicefusa.org/Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #UNICEFUSAChapters:00:00 Intro01:28 Key Achievements at UNICEF USA03:18 Building Effective Leadership Teams14:13 Navigating Challenges During the Pandemic20:14 Remote and Hybrid Work Dynamics29:31 CEO Round Table and Onboarding30:48 Operating Rhythm and Annual Planning32:18 Monthly Staff Meetings and Engagement36:22 Public Speaking and Media Training39:55 Managing Diverse Constituents42:36 Biggest Challenge: Leading Through COVID-1945:16 Career Journey and Journalism Background51:47 Mentorship and Youth Engagement54:32 Balancing Confidence and Humility in Leadership58:03 Outro

What does it take to walk away from a big idea and start over inside the same company? In this episode of Not Another CEO Podcast, Adam Dell opens up about the journey behind Domain Money. A serial Founder with multiple exits, Adam reflects on making hard pivots, recruiting top talent personally, navigating investor psychology, and why execution, not ego, is what earns the right to exist. He also shares how AI is transforming financial services and why the emotional highs and lows of startup life never really go away. Takeaways:Recruiting Personally, Relentlessly: Adam still personally recruits on LinkedIn, often spending hours each day identifying talent, crafting outreach, and filtering for startup fit. He believes CEO-led recruiting cuts through noise and shows prospects the role's importance.A Pivot Before the Crash: Originally conceived as a crypto banking platform, Domain Money pivoted early. Adam made the call based on market fundamentals and moved decisively, even when his team was still optimistic about the original vision.Transparent, Yet Optimistic Leadership: During the pivot, Adam prioritized honesty with his team while maintaining belief in the mission. He communicated openly about uncertainty and made clear that success was entirely on them.Investor Support Built on Track Record and Clarity: Adam credits his investor relationships and clear, data-backed thinking for enabling a smooth pivot. Though they challenged him, his investors supported the shift and recognized the market opportunity in personal finance.AI as a Backbone, Not a Gimmick: AI plays a major role in Domain Money’s operations, especially in improving planning efficiency. Adam is enthusiastic about AI’s pace and scope of change, calling it central to his product vision.The Mental Game of Being a Founder: The pivot at Domain Money required layoffs and letting go of certainty. Adam talks candidly about staying objective under pressure, fighting through doubt, and surrounding himself with trusted mentors while still waking up every day to earn it.Quote of the Show:"That uncertainty, that thing inside of you that forces you to figure it out, is very motivating to me and I quite enjoy it." - Adam DellLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamdell/Website: https://www.domainmoney.com/Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #DomainMoneyChapters:00:00 Intro01:25 Recruiting Strategies for Startups07:15 Fundraising Insights and Market Sentiment11:46 The Evolution of Domain Money16:25 Navigating Pivots and Team Buy-In23:07 Growth Strategies and Partnerships26:20 Acquisitions and Exits29:23 Strategic Partnerships and Revenue Growth30:37 The Impact of AI on Technology and Business35:12 AI in Financial Planning and Wealth Management39:51 Challenges and Pivots in Business49:09 Personal Background and Entrepreneurial Journey57:37 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs01:00:30 Outro

What’s it really like to build a billion-dollar business with your spouse, and live to tell the story? In this special live episode, David Politis sits down with Kass and Mike Lazerow, Co-Founders of Buddy Media and authors of Shoveling $H!T: A Love Story About an Entrepreneur’s Messy Path to Success..They open up about building cult-like culture, radical transparency, co-founder dynamics, fundraising strategies, pivots, parenting, and everything in between. With humor and honesty, the Lazerows share the unvarnished truth of what it takes to build something meaningful, and survive the chaos along the way. Takeaways:Building a Cult-like Culture with Intentionality: Kass shares how she focused on creating a high-trust, high-engagement company culture through rituals, transparency, shared values, and even handwritten birthday cards. The foundation was purpose-driven work, and a lot of cupcakes.Radical Focus as a Leadership Imperative: Mike emphasizes the importance of choosing just 3–5 core priorities each quarter and communicating them relentlessly. He admits that his natural state is distraction, and that focus, both personal and organizational, is what drives growth.Fundraising Is a Relationship Business: Mike describes how he built trust with investors over time by sending updates, even to people who said no, and treating everyone with respect, from analysts to GPs. He reframes fundraising as offering a great opportunity, not asking for a favor.The Power (and Pain) of Pivoting: The Lazerows recount the early missteps at Buddy Media, from virtual currency to raffles, before landing on a scalable SaaS product. They stress the importance of cutting old lines of business fast and committing fully to what’s next.Marriage and Co-Founding: They describe co-founding as an intense version of marriage, with shared values, relentless communication, and radical honesty. Kass encourages couples to embrace their lanes and support each other’s growth, both professionally and personally.Startups and Parenting Don’t Balance, But They Can Work: Kass shares how they intentionally deprioritized social commitments and accepted imperfection at home to build their company. She encourages other founder-parents to aim for 80%, not perfection, and to give themselves grace.Quote of the Show:"Being a founder, there’s no worse way to spend your day. And it’s awesome, right?" - Mike LazerowLinks:Kass’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasslazerow/Mike’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lazerow/Get Their Book: https://shovelingshit.com/Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Shoveling$H!TChapters:00:00 Intro00:46 Podcast Journey and Growth01:41 Acknowledging Sponsors and Supporters03:56 Introducing Cass and Mike Lazaro05:33 Building Buddy Media: Key Strategies and Insights08:19 Challenges and Successes in Leadership14:09 The Importance of Transparency15:19 Husband-Wife Co-Founders: A Unique Dynamic20:09 Fundraising and Building Relationships27:46 Marketing and Branding Strategies34:09 Thought Leadership and Public Speaking36:36 Navigating Business Pivots38:25 The Birth of Buddy Media40:31 Challenges and Successes of Custom Apps45:20 Balancing Family and Business48:50 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs54:58 Building a Positive Company Culture01:02:21 Q&A with the Audience01:11:11 Outro

How do you scale yourself as your company scales? Tien Tzuo, Founder and CEO of Zuora, joins David Politis to share hard-won lessons from his journey building a category-defining SaaS company. In this candid conversation, Tien reflects on early team building, founder growth inflection points, strategic planning, and the leadership gaps many founders face as their companies mature. Drawing on his new book, Founders Keepers, he reveals why great founders often succeed in spite of themselves—and how to turn blind spots into leadership strengths. Takeaways:Category Creation and Team Building: Tien reflects on the impact of coining the term “subscription economy” and credits early success to not just vision, but team-building. He shares how Zuora evolved through multiple “generations” of leadership, and how long-tenured team members were balanced with fresh perspectives as the company grew.Recognizing the Founder’s Growth Curve: Tien describes a critical inflection point when Zuora hit ~150 employees—a moment where personal evolution became necessary. That led him to executive coach Rich Hagberg and a deeper understanding of how personality traits drive both success and failure.The Three Pillars of Leadership: Through data-driven leadership profiling, Tien outlines the three dominant founder traits—vision, execution, and relationships. He shares that most founders score high on vision but often struggle with execution and people management, which can lead to common pitfalls.Owning Your Leadership Gaps: Tien reveals his own leadership profile—high vision, medium execution, low relationship—and how understanding that helped him improve in areas like prioritization, team-building, and relationship development. He even shared his leadership gaps openly with his company to build trust and culture.A Better Way to Do Strategic Planning: Borrowing a method from Brad Smith (former Intuit CEO), Tien walks through how Zuora moved from a 2-day offsite to a 6-month annual strategy cadence. It includes deep research, team ownership of ideas, board engagement, and company-wide evangelism—because a founder’s job is to repeat the story until it sticks.Letting Go Without Losing Drive: He emphasizes the importance of giving leaders autonomy and building space into his calendar—cancelling recurring meetings, avoiding over-scheduling, and giving energy to what matters most. He advises founders to avoid being the bottleneck and protect organizational focus by saying “no” to distractions.Quote of the Show:"The same things that make up a founder, that make us do what we do, ultimately are the seeds sewn of our own destruction." - Tien TzuoLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tientzuo/Website: https://www.zuora.com/Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #ZuoraChapters:00:00 Intro02:00 The Journey of Building Zuora03:59 Scaling and Team Dynamics07:43 Founder's Journey and Coaching22:12 Strategic Planning and Execution30:28 Frameworks for Strategic Alignment32:33 Self-Awareness and Leadership34:10 Execution-Oriented Teams37:03 Lessons from Salesforce38:07 The Power of Storytelling40:59 Advice on Managing Time43:33 Biggest Challenges and Overcoming Them46:24 Future Vision for Zuora48:22 Personal Journey and Motivation52:33 Advice for Aspiring Founders54:13 Outro

How do you grow a startup into a transformative force in a highly regulated, slow-moving industry? John Swigart, Co-Founder and CEO of Pie Insurance, joins David Politis to discuss the importance of decisive leadership, the balance between founder intuition and executive delegation, and how execution at scale can be a long-term competitive advantage. From assembling a thoughtful board to reorienting a business for profitability, John shares lessons from building a modern insurance company from scratch. Takeaways:Decisiveness Around Leadership Transitions: John emphasizes making tough calls on leadership team members who may no longer be the right fit as a company evolves. Waiting too long creates compounding challenges and stalls progress.Balancing Founder Involvement with Delegation: He reflects on the “founder mode” concept, describing the need for leaders—founder or not—to stay close to the details while avoiding micromanagement. Clarity and context are key.The Decision-Making Matrix at Pie: John explains Pie’s internal framework for decision-making, which clearly defines who owns decisions, who contributes input, and how final calls are made—helping empower teams without chaos.Why Pie Competes in a Difficult Industry: Despite the dominance of legacy players in insurance, John saw a real opportunity: a fragmented market with outdated tech and poor customer experience. Pie’s modern, data-driven model aims to change that.Process Power as a Competitive Moat: Pie focuses on doing hundreds of small things better than the competition. John describes how consistent operational execution and better technology form a durable advantage over time.Adapting to a Profitability-Focused Environment: John details the major internal shift required when venture markets changed in 2022—from “grow at all costs” to sustainable, efficient operations. Layoffs and restructuring followed, but the business emerged stronger.Advice to His Younger Self: John would tell his younger self—and others early in their careers—to say yes to opportunities that offer growth. Don’t over-optimize for money or title; focus on learning and exposure instead.Quote of the Show:"Early in your career, optimize on learning growth, exposure, opportunity, not on money or title or, or anything of that nature." - John SwigartLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnswigart/Website: https://www.pieinsurance.com/Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #PieInsuranceChapters:00:00 Intro01:42 Key Decisions and Leadership Challenges07:24 Building and Evolving Leadership Teams11:03 The Concept of Founder Mode20:58 Competing in a Highly Regulated Market31:13 Early Days and Customer Acquisition31:53 Early Days of Multi-Channel Distribution34:35 Fundraising Challenges and Successes36:59 Building an Impressive Board42:33 Navigating Business Challenges48:39 Founding a Company Later in Life53:46 Personal Growth and Mentorship57:06 Pivotal Career Moments01:00:48 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs01:02:17 Outro

What happens when a strong vision, real traction, and early funding still aren’t enough? In this Failing Forward episode of Not Another CEO Podcast, Sasha Pasulka shares the journey behind her AI startup, Elka. Sasha opens up about the thrill of building, the challenge of fundraising, the reality of launching with imperfect tech, and the emotional toll of shutting down a business you deeply believe in. From her days as a software engineer to founding one of the most-read blogs of its era, Sasha reflects on learning to trust herself, ask for help, and move on with grace. Takeaways:The AI Aha Moment: Sasha was re-energized to found again after ChatGPT launched publicly in late 2022. She saw an opportunity to solve marketing problems that hadn’t been addressable before due to the language limitations of software.Solving a Real Problem from Experience: The product idea came from Sasha’s time at Tableau, where hours of valuable customer video content went unused because it was too hard to search. Elka aimed to automate finding and surfacing those insights for sales teams.Alpha and Beta Lessons: The team built fast and launched a beta early to help with fundraising, but users got frustrated with AI inconsistencies. Sasha onboarded every beta customer herself, but admits they may have opened access too soon.The Limits of Non-Deterministic Tech: Building on an LLM proved unpredictable. Despite numerous safeguards, the AI struggled with tasks like basic math and clip durations—issues Sasha says may have improved if they had more time to wait out tech advances.The Fundraising Wall: While Sasha successfully raised an angel round, later fundraising stalled. She reflects on her discomfort with the performative aspects of pitching and how authenticity may have hurt her in a system designed for bold salesmanship.Support and Disappointment: From angel investors to past coworkers, Sasha describes the surprising people who showed up to help—and the ones who didn’t. She credits her team, co-founder, and a few critical mentors with getting them as far as they did.Learning, Letting Go, and Looking Ahead: Sasha closes with advice to bring on a co-founder who can fundraise and a reminder to stop being intimidated by others’ confidence. She shares how the journey helped her understand her strengths and what she’ll do differently next time.Quote of the Show:"They may be in positions of power right now, but they're not necessarily smarter than you. They're not better than you… Don’t waste so much energy being intimidated by these people." - Sasha PasulkaLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spasulka/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sashaiscookingWays to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #ElkaAIChapters:00:00 Intro03:07 The Aha Moment: Founding Elka AI04:30 Challenges in Marketing and AI Solutions09:42 Building the Product: Alpha and Beta Phases18:07 The Struggles of Fundraising and Leadership25:22 Navigating Luck and Timing in Entrepreneurship27:38 Key Decisions and Reflections31:56 Navigating AI Non-Determinism33:01 Support System and Key Influences36:38 Fundraising Challenges and Lessons42:40 Gender Dynamics in Fundraising48:47 Personal Journey and Reflections56:01 Advice for Future Founders01:00:05 Outro

How do you build a global tech company from scratch—and stay married while doing it? Nicolas and Alina Vandenberghe, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Chili Piper, join David Politis for an in-depth conversation on bootstrapping, hiring globally, handling layoffs, and building community with intention.From convincing early customers to prepay for a non-existent product to implementing a decision-making framework that replaces most meetings, they reveal what it really takes to grow a successful, remote-first company together. Takeaways:Buy-In Without a Product: By focusing on real, unsolved pain points and validating ideas through milestone-based contracts, they built confidence and traction before writing a single line of code.Hiring Across Borders for Talent, Not Cost: Nicolas explains how they built Chili Piper by hiring globally from day one, prioritizing talent regardless of geography. They developed a compensation framework by region and job level to ensure fairness while scaling a fully remote team.Building Culture Through Annual Global Gatherings: The company brings its global team together once a year for a shared in-person experience—despite the cost. The cultural exchange deepens trust and unity across a fully distributed team, making it one of the most valuable investments they make each year.Scaling with Asynchronous Decision Memos: To cut down on meetings, Chili Piper developed a company-wide decision memo process. Each decision includes context, options, and a designated “consensus caller.” This system supports clarity, inclusion, and transparency without constant live discussions.Overcoming Financial Stress in a Bootstrapped Journey: Nicolas recounts moments when they had no cash in the bank—offering equity in lieu of salaries to early employees. Those shares later became life-changing, and the experience shaped their resilient, scrappy mindset.Community as a Founder Superpower: Alina reflects on how building community—without tracking pipeline or ROI—has been vital to learning and joy. By showing up with genuine curiosity, she’s gained clarity on what customers really care about and how to serve them authentically.Leading with Empathy, Curiosity, and Drive: In describing each other’s superpowers, Alina credits Nicolas for his deep empathy and organizational clarity, while Nicolas points to Alina’s intense curiosity and willingness to experiment. Together, they’ve created a leadership model rooted in trust and transparencyQuote of the Show:" If you go with selfish reasons… people read that. Even if you don’t say it, they can feel it." - Alina VandenbergheLinks:Alina’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinav/Nicolas’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nvandenberghe/Website: https://www.chilipiper.com/Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #ChiliPiperChapters:00:00 Intro01:59 Early Challenges and First Customers07:28 Building and Scaling the Team12:59 Remote Work and Company Culture17:55 Decision Making and Documentation34:23 Alina's Superpower: Curiosity and Community Building35:59 The Value of Community in Business40:03 Nicholas's Superpower: Empathy and Human Insight44:34 Challenges and Triumphs in Entrepreneurship51:25 The Future of Chili Piper54:25 Personal Backgrounds and Entrepreneurial Journeys01:02:28 Balancing Family and Business01:06:18 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs01:08:49 Outro

Alan Masarek, a seasoned CEO known for turning around companies like Vonage and Avaya, dives into the essence of authentic leadership and the role of clear communication in building strong organizational cultures. He discusses the shift from residential to B2B models at Vonage, highlighting the need for cultural change and recruiting top talent. With a focus on effective messaging, Masarek emphasizes that lasting success stems from a combination of strategic choices, empowering teams, and maintaining integrity across all levels of leadership.

What does it take to build a pioneering luxury lingerie brand? In this episode, Jennifer Zuccarini, Founder and CEO of Fleur du Mal, shares her journey from launching her second company in the lingerie space to creating a brand celebrated by celebrities and top fashion publications. Jennifer opens up about key moments in her entrepreneurial path, including nurturing team culture, expanding product lines, and overcoming financial hurdles. She also discusses the importance of community-building, the challenges of retail expansion, and the creative satisfaction that drives her forward. Takeaways:Staying True to the Vision: Jennifer explains that her original idea for Fleur du Mal remains core to what the brand is today. She emphasizes the importance of holding onto that original creative inspiration while evolving with new trends and consumer expectations.Focusing on Team Culture: Jennifer underscores the importance of investing in team culture. She admits that early on, she was more focused on building the brand, but now she emphasizes team recognition. Initiatives like 'employee of the season' and regular team outings, such as Spring Equinox parties and personalized birthday celebrations, have helped create a strong, appreciative team environment.Overcoming Financial Challenges: Jennifer reveals a critical moment two years into Fleur du Mal when the company almost ran out of money. She borrowed funds from investors and had to delay payroll, which resulted in losing much of her team. Despite the setback, she managed to rebuild the company, describing it as the most challenging period in her professional life.Passion for Product and Brand: Jennifer highlights her deep passion for product design and brand building, taking personal involvement in every aspect from approving email marketing to attending every product fitting.Innovative Products and Methods: She details the challenges and strategies involved in creating and marketing new products, especially within the constraints of advertising restrictions on platforms like Google and Meta.Retail Expansion and Community Building: Jennifer discusses the strategic expansion of Fleur du Mal’s retail footprint. By leveraging data from their strong online business, they identify ideal locations for new stores to build community and enhance customer experience. Personal and Professional Growth: Reflecting on her career, Jennifer values the importance of appreciating the journey. She advises founders to find satisfaction in their daily work and to recognize that building something meaningful takes time and effort.Quote of the Show:" I think the best brands really have a very strong point of view that they stick to all the time." - Jennifer ZuccariniLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferzuccarini/Twitter (X): https://x.com/jzuccariniWebsite: https://fleurdumal.com/Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #FleurduMalChapters:00:00 Intro01:33 Building a Strong Team Culture05:21 Passion for Product and Brand06:27 Challenges in Brand Building14:54 Expanding Product Lines18:27 Navigating Marketing Restrictions26:22 Engaging with the Community28:48 The Power of Authenticity in Business29:24 Expanding Retail Strategy29:41 Balancing Retail and Online Presence30:41 Challenges of Retail Expansion31:37 Future Plans and Team Building34:20 Overcoming Financial Challenges37:53 Lessons from Transparency and Team Loss42:08 Entrepreneurial Spirit and Family Influence44:48 Mentorship and Role Models46:58 Drive and Motivation51:17 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs54:53 Outro

How do you grow a podcast into a true platform for founders and CEOs? In this solo episode of Not Another CEO Podcast, David Politis reflects on Q1 2025 and shares a behind-the-scenes look at what's next for the show. From launching a Substack and partnering with Nick Freund to rethinking content distribution and recording locations, David breaks down what's working, what he’s learning, and the goals for the next quarter.Ways to Tune In:Substack: https://notanotherceo.substack.com/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ #NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #DavidPolitisChapters:00:00 Intro00:42 Launch of Not Another CEO Substack03:07 Partnership Announcement: Joining Forces with Nick Freund05:31 Reflecting on Goals and Achievements09:58 Looking Ahead: Goals for Q212:26 Outro