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Scale Like a CEO

Performance Accelerated Learning

46 episodes

2 days ago

Tired of watching your town’s news vanish into rumor threads and paywalled dead ends? We sat down with Michael Shapiro, founder and CEO of Tap Into, to explore how a revenue-first franchise model is rebuilding local journalism while giving small businesses a powerful digital voice. What started with a personal wake-up call became a network nearing 100 sites across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida—each delivering free, objective reporting and a daily newsletter that neighbors ac...

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Entrepreneurship

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Tired of watching your town’s news vanish into rumor threads and paywalled dead ends? We sat down with Michael Shapiro, founder and CEO of Tap Into, to explore how a revenue-first franchise model is rebuilding local journalism while giving small businesses a powerful digital voice. What started with a personal wake-up call became a network nearing 100 sites across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida—each delivering free, objective reporting and a daily newsletter that neighbors ac...

Show more...

Entrepreneurship

Episodes (20/46)

Scale Like a CEO

From Attorney to Media Entrepreneur: Building a Franchise News Empire | Michael Shapiro

Tired of watching your town’s news vanish into rumor threads and paywalled dead ends? We sat down with Michael Shapiro, founder and CEO of Tap Into, to explore how a revenue-first franchise model is rebuilding local journalism while giving small businesses a powerful digital voice. What started with a personal wake-up call became a network nearing 100 sites across New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida—each delivering free, objective reporting and a daily newsletter that neighbors ac...

2 days ago

19 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Nicolas Genest: Training Business-First Technologists for the AI Era | Scale Like a CEO

What if the real edge in tech isn’t code, but care? We sit down with Codebox founder and longtime CTO Nicholas Genest to unpack the “big reset” that AI triggered across engineering teams and hiring—and why the winners now pair sharp business instincts with humble, adaptive execution. Nicholas traces his journey from leading teams at The RealReal and ModCloth to building Codebox, an academy and solutions company that trains business‑first technologists. He explains why so many organizations f...

5 days ago

21 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

From Google Engineer to $4.3M ARR: Building Mexico's Next Tech Giant | Roby Peñacastro

What if your CRM started where your customers actually are—inside WhatsApp and social DMs? We sit down with Robbie Peña Castro, founder and CEO of Lead Sales, to unpack how a chat-native platform scaled to 3,000+ companies across 20 countries and reached $4.3M ARR by turning conversation chaos into predictable revenue. Robbie shares why email feels too slow for modern buying moments, how SMS breaks collaboration, and why centralizing WhatsApp threads under an official company channel unlocks ...

1 week ago

16 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling Startups: Execution, Team Building, and Avoiding Mistakes with Sam Wong

Most startups don’t fail for lack of technology; they fail on execution. We sit down with Sam Wong, founder of Fundable Startups, to pull apart the mechanics of executing well—how to hire the right people, when to scale headcount, and how to build systems that make success repeatable. Sam draws on five startups, two failures and three exits, to show why operational models matter more than pitch-friendly spreadsheets and how a learn-it-all mindset replaces the tired “fake it till you make it” ...

1 week ago

25 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Revolutionizing Healthcare Technology with Alex Koshykov | Scale Like a CEO

Imagine a healthcare system where the first mile of care starts at home—and the data is so clear your doctor can act with confidence. That’s the future we explore with serial founder and CEO Alex Koshykov, who moved from building bespoke tech for clients to launching a medical device company born from a volunteer telehealth project supporting Ukrainians in wartime. The lesson that changed everything: software alone can’t diagnose; accurate data can. We break down how Alex’s team shifted from...

1 week ago

15 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling Startups: Challenges, Management & The Role of AI | Scale Like a CEO

“Cutting costs with AI” sounds sharp until the bots get confused and your help desk catches fire. We sat down with Matt Peters of Fixify to unpack a smarter path: design for the mix—pair automation and agentic AI with skilled people who step in at the right moments—and invest in the management muscle that keeps quality rising as complexity grows. Matt explains how Fixify handles roughly 75% of break‑fix tickets by integrating with existing stacks, not ripping and replacing. We dig into the f...

2 weeks ago

25 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling with AI: Ajay Malik, CEO of Studio X, everyone is a manager of one

Stop treating skills as the finish line and start treating them as a starting point. That was the spark running through our talk with Ajay Malik, CEO of Studio X, who argues that AI turns every motivated person into a “manager of one.” When knowledge retrieval, drafting, coding, and analysis are augmented by capable models, the real differentiators become chemistry, curiosity, and the ability to ask sharper questions. We dig into the most common AI pitfalls: inflated expectations that assume...

2 weeks ago

18 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Transforming Business Communication: Insights from Relayto CEO Alex Shevelenko

Static files don’t just slow you down—they mute your best ideas. We sit down with Alex Shevelenko, founder and CEO of Releto, to unpack how turning PDFs and PowerPoints into interactive, nonlinear experiences can unlock attention, shorten sales cycles, and finally show what your audience is engaging with. Alex shares the moment he realized great strategy was dying in folders, then walks through a practical path to adoption: keep the tools teams already use, upgrade the output, and remove chan...

2 weeks ago

19 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Building the Future of E-Commerce with AI | Bryan House, CEO of Elastic Path | Scale Like a CEO

What if the “mall” of the future is an answer engine? We sit down with Bryan House, CEO of Elastic Path, to unpack a bold reinvention: turning a 25-year-old commerce platform into an AI-first engine built for complex B2B and highly configurable experiences. From T-Mobile-grade reliability during iPhone launches to Serena & Lily’s 1,500-option couches, Bryan explains why the hardest problems in commerce aren’t about pretty storefronts—they’re about data, orchestration, and performance unde...

3 weeks ago

22 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

A Mission to Safeguard Digital Identity: Dr. Damodar Sahu of Data Safeguard

Breaches are happening every 39 seconds, and the cost isn’t just financial—it’s personal. We sat down with Dr. Damodar Sahu, co‑founder and chief growth officer of Data Safeguard, to unpack how privacy can shift from a box to tick into a durable growth engine. He explains why synthetic fraud is outpacing legacy defenses, how their patented Cognizable Computing Engine powers ID Privacy to spot risk in real time, and what it takes to turn trust into a competitive advantage that accelerates sale...

3 weeks ago

12 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling Businesses with AI & Human Behavior: Insights from Sean Languedoc

If you’ve ever been told to “just add AI,” this conversation will change the way you lead. We sit down with five-time founder Sean Lagon to unpack the uncomfortable truth: technology changes nothing until people do. From media and clean tech to industrial logistics and now AI-powered outsourcing, Sean shares the patterns that actually move a P&L—behavior-led change, precise partner selection, and a sober approach to risk that executives can live with. We trace Sean’s journey from buildin...

3 weeks ago

23 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Navigating Web3: Gamification, AI, and Blockchain Innovations with Loretta Chen | Scale Like a CEO

Markets swung, hype spiked, and scams grabbed headlines—yet we chose a different path: build trust first. I sit down with Dr. Loretta Chen, founder and CEO of Smobler, to unpack how self-awareness, character-first hiring, and pragmatic innovation turned a Web3 whirlwind into steady growth. From Singapore’s first for‑profit theater company to a digital-first agency at the intersection of gamification, AI, and blockchain, Loretta shows why real-world outcomes beat buzzwords every time. We dig ...

4 weeks ago

17 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling Startups with Sam Wehbe: Insights from a Veteran CEO | Scale Like a CEO

Growth shouldn’t feel like pushing a boulder uphill. We sit down with career startup operator and SignWell CEO Sam Wavey to unpack how a lean, bootstrapped team is beating heavyweight e‑signature incumbents by doing the opposite: simpler workflows, honest pricing, and enterprise‑grade security backed by fanatical customer support. Sam’s seen the startup journey from every seat—entry-level marketer to C‑suite across 30+ companies—and he shares a hard-earned playbook for scaling without the cha...

1 month ago

16 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Building a Sustainable SaaS Business: Insight from Jonathan Brun, CEO of Nimonik

What does it really take to build a company that survives the hype cycle and still serves customers a decade later? We sit down with Jonathan Brun, founder and CEO of Nimonik, to explore how a vertically integrated compliance platform—combining both rich regulatory content and the software to manage it—can turn a “must-do” cost center into a durable growth engine. Jonathan shares the honest playbook: the messy shift from scrappy chaos to repeatable process, the power of lean principles to eli...

1 month ago

17 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling Success: Inside the Journey of Rajeev Shah, CEO of Celona | Scale Like a CEO

Factories still run on clipboards while our phones stream 4K video. That disconnect is the real digital divide Rajeev Shah set out to fix, and he walks us through how Celona brings private 5G to the hardest industrial environments—and what it actually takes to scale a company built for mission‑critical reliability. We get candid about the first sale every founder makes: recruiting exceptional people from comfortable roles. Rajeev shares how he screens for low ego and a true growth mindset, w...

1 month ago

24 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling Success & Sober Buzz: An Inspiring Journey with Josh Case

When personal transformation meets entrepreneurial vision, remarkable things happen. Josh Case, CEO and co-founder of SoberBuzz, exemplifies this powerful combination as he channels his business scaling expertise into building a global recovery community that's changing lives daily. Fresh from rehab and newly sober since July 2024, Josh and his wife Heidi transformed their recovery journey into a platform that resonates with authenticity. "We're real, raw and authentic," Josh explains, descr...

1 month ago

17 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling B2B Tech Companies with Jonathan Buckley | Scale Like a CEO

Stop treating scale like a job title upgrade and start treating it like a system you can prove. Justin sits down with Jonathan Buckley—founder of Artesian Network and a seasoned fractional CMO/CEO—to unpack why early-stage B2B tech companies win when they favor efficacy over efficiency, generalists over siloed specialists, and fractional leadership over rushed, permanent hires. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to “hire the CMO now” after a Series A, this conversation offers a smarter path. W...

1 month ago

20 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Scaling a Digital Marketing Powerhouse: Insights from Chris Dreyer, CEO of Rankings.io

What does it really take to sustain exceptional business growth year after year? Chris Dreyer, CEO of RankingsIO, delivers a masterclass in building a company that's made the Inc 5000 list for eight consecutive years without a single down year since 2013. At the heart of RankingsIO's success is their laser focus on generating auto accident cases for personal injury attorneys - the universal "holy grail" case type that every PI firm desperately wants but struggles to obtain consistently. "The...

1 month ago

21 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Re-thinking The Urban Planet with 25K Leaders: A Conversation with City Age CEO Miro Cernetig

The quest for genuine human connection has never been more challenging—or more valuable—than in today's AI-dominated business landscape. Miro Cernetig, founder of CityAge, brings this paradox into sharp focus as he shares his journey from foreign correspondent to innovative business leader on this illuminating episode. Drawing from his background in journalism with Canada's Globe and Mail, Cernetig reveals how he built CityAge into a powerful platform connecting 25,000 leadership-level profe...

1 month ago

15 minutes

Scale Like a CEO

Building Legacy and Trust in Entrepreneurship: Scott Conine's Journey

What does it take to grow a business from $10,000 to a $100 million exit without venture capital? Scott Conine's entrepreneurial journey reveals powerful lessons about leadership, talent, and trust that any business leader can apply. Scott opens up about co-founding Rise Interactive and the innovative approach they took to hiring. Recognizing that analytical skills were harder to teach than marketing tactics, they implemented rigorous testing that only 22% of applicants passed. This strategy...

1 month ago

35 minutes