Tales From The PROS

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, hosts Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence sit down with Jonathan Maxim, founder of Viral App Launch, to discuss what it really takes to turn an app idea into a successful business. Drawing from hundreds of app launches and years of experience helping startups grow, Jonathan shares why most founders struggle after building their product and why success depends...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros , hosts Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence sit down with change management and enablement leader Cesar Viana Teague to explore one of the biggest challenges organizations face today: leading people through change. From ERP rollouts and CRM adoption to AI-driven transformation, Cesar explains why successful change is about more than new systems or training. It...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, hosts Eric Lawrence and Zach Bruno dive into one of the most overlooked yet critical stages of product development—the discovery phase. While many founders rush straight into design and development, skipping discovery often leads to wasted budgets, overbuilt products, and solutions users never actually wanted. Zach shares insights from leading discovery for...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, hosts Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence have an unfiltered conversation about what actually makes great apps successful in today’s tech landscape. From overrated app features and startup mistakes to AI, user experience, and product strategy, the episode dives into the realities of building software that people genuinely want to use. Michael and Eric break d...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, hosts Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence are joined by Gal Vered, co-founder and CEO of Checksum AI, to break down one of the biggest bottlenecks in modern software development—fixing bugs and ensuring code quality in an AI-driven world. AI can now generate software faster than ever. You can build features, ship MVPs, and even spin up entire applications in...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, hosts Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence are joined by Imaginovation’s co-founder and Head of Technology, Pete Peranzo, to break down how AI is actually impacting business operations and when it truly makes sense to implement it. AI is everywhere right now, but not every company needs it. Not every workflow benefits from it. And in some cases, adding AI can...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros , hosts Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence break down what really happens after you launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). For many founders, launching an MVP feels like the finish line. In reality, it’s just the beginning. The real challenge lies in turning that early product into a scalable, revenue-generating business. Michael and Eric walk through the pro...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, hosts Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence sit down with Imaginovation Chief Product Officer Zach Bruno to unpack one of the most talked-about topics in technology today: building products with AI. AI is everywhere right now. Startups are launching “AI-powered” products every day, founders believe they can build entire businesses with a single prompt, and comp...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence sit down with Imaginovation Co-Founder Pete Peranzo to unpack a topic that most product teams misunderstand: gamification. Too often, teams treat gamification like a cosmetic upgrade. Add some points. Throw in a leaderboard: a badge or two. But without a strategy, it can backfire fast. Pete shares real examples of what happ...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, Michael Georgiou sits down with Chris Ronzio, founder and CEO of Trainual, to talk about what it really takes to build a business that can grow without breaking. Chris shares his journey from starting his first business at 14 to running a nationwide operation and eventually launching Trainual, a platform designed to help small businesses document their proce...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence get real about a mindset many high performers live by but rarely question: continuous improvement. What happens when Kaizen stops being a strength and starts becoming a liability? Drawing from personal experiences scaling Imaginovation, Michael and Eric unpack how relentless growth, overhiring, and constant optimization can...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros , Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence sit down with Andrew Cherry , COO of Movement for Life , to explore how innovation actually works inside a legacy healthcare organization. Andrew shares how COVID, clinician burnout, and access challenges forced Movement for Life to rethink traditional physical therapy delivery and why waiting on off-the-shelf solutions wa...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros , Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence break down what software automation really means for growing businesses and how to know when an organization is actually ready for it. Moving beyond buzzwords, they share real-world examples of companies that automated successfully and others that wasted time and budget by doing it too early or without a plan.  Drawing fro...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence open up about the hidden challenges that quietly derail SaaS startups. These issues often go unnoticed until it is too late, and they rarely have anything to do with funding or technology. Instead, the real problems show up in planning, leadership, market understanding, and the founder’s mindset. Drawing from real stories a...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros , Michael Georgiou and Eric Lawrence dive into a topic every growing business eventually faces — when to stop patching old systems and start rebuilding from the ground up. Many organizations cling to outdated software because rebuilding feels risky — too costly, too disruptive, or simply too big to take on. But as Eric and Michael explain, the real cost often...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros , I sit down with my co-host and our Director of Growth, Eric Lawrence, to talk about something that hits home for many founders: what happens after you get funding. You’d think raising capital is the hard part, but what often follows can be even tougher. So many startups make one critical mistake right after receiving funds: choosing the wrong development pa...

In this episode of Tales from the Pros, Eric and I dive into something every entrepreneur struggles with at some point: how to choose the right app development partner. If you’ve ever sat through vendor pitches, you know how overwhelming (and sometimes confusing) the process can be. We talk about spotting the red and green flags when evaluating teams, and why things like transparency, clear commun...

In today’s episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Marwan Forzley, who is CEO of Veem.com, a next-generation global B2B payment network that enables a quick and secure way of sending and receiving money. Since its founding in 2014, Veem is backed by Goldman Sachs, Google Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, and many many others. In addition, Marwan is an innovator, visionary and enjoys launching new...

In today's episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Dan McGaw, who is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker and CEO of McGaw.io , an analytics and marketing technology consultancy, and also the founder of a SaaS platform called UTM.io . In addition, he also finds time to be a 500 Startups Mentor, and has previously started the first business accelerator in Orlando. He was previously selected t...

In today's episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Anthony Blatner, who is the founder of Speedwork Social, a top LinkedIn Advertising agency. He is known as one of the top LinkedIn ads experts in the industry, having managed millions in ad spend and generating over 100,000 new sales opportunities. As a previous tech founder and ex-IBMer, he has seen a lot of companies have explosive growth wi...

In today's episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Rob Charles, who is the Founder and CEO of Goldfingr, a vetted and exclusive social network of business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and influential thought leaders working together and supporting one another for the common good and with intention. His expertise is exhibited in a long track record of always executing, being an entreprene...

In today's episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Mike Welsh, who is a veteran leader in sales and revenue growth and has been named CEO of Uptime.com, a leader in website monitoring software He brings more than two decades of sales and revenue leadership experience to Uptime.com, driving growth for numerous public and private software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, such as Chargify, Rackspac...

In today's episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Michelle Seiler Tucker, who is the Founder and CEO of Seiler Tucker Incorporated.  She owns many other businesses in several different industries. As a 20-year veteran in the Mergers & Acquisitions industry, she is regarded as the leading authority on buying, selling, fixing, and growing businesses. She and her firm have sold over a thousa...

In today's episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Anastasia Leng, who is the Founder and CEO of CreativeX, a technology company that aims to advance creative expression through the clarity of data.  CreativeX technology is used globally by Fortune 500 brands like Unilever, Mondelez, Heineken, ABI, and more to measure creative efficiency, consistency, and impact across all creatives worldwide....

In today's episode of Tales from the PROS, I talk with Mark Samuel, who is the Founder and CEO of IWON Organics, a thriving health, and wellness company that makes bold, flavor-infused snacks made from plant-based proteins.  IWON's snacks can be found in over 5,000 stores nationwide, including Kroger's, Sprouts, Whole Foods, Amazon, and many more.  Mark is a foodie and a popular serial entrepreneu...