Founder-Led

In this episode, we sit down with Jesse Kirshbaum, Founder & CEO of Nue Agency, to unpack why music is the most underused channel in modern marketing and how brands can build real cultural leverage by working with artists. Before Nue's pivot into brand work, Jesse spent his early career as a talent agent, signing artists like Mike Posner, Chiddy Bang, J Cole, Big Sean, and Logic, and helped sh...

In this episode, we sit down with Nick Stagge, Founder of The Grounded Company, to unpack why doing things that don't scale is still the highest leverage move and how he built a multi company creative portfolio entirely through relationships and referrals. Before founding The Grounded Company at nearly 40, Nick spent years as a marketer at Skullcandy, GoPro, and Zumiez, then built creative work fo...

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Persinger, Co-founder & CTO of BizTrip.ai, to unpack why corporate travel is still painfully broken and what it takes to build an AI agent that travelers actually trust to book on their behalf. Before BizTrip, Scott built systems that scale at Heroku, Stripe, and Tartary, leading engineering teams across fintech and developer infrastructure before going...

In this episode, we sit down with Sonya Locke, CEO and Founder of EDS Service Solutions, to unpack how she built a 7,000 person workforce organization across 150 locations and rebuilt it after losing 95 percent of revenue overnight during Covid. Before scaling EDS, Sonya won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award and built a workforce model that supports aviation, hospitality, transportation, and a...

In this episode, we sit down with Christopher O’Donnell, Founder & CEO of Day AI and former Chief Product Officer at HubSpot, to unpack why CRM is being rebuilt from the ground up for the AI era. Before starting Day AI, Christopher helped build HubSpot CRM, co-founded ProfitWell, and spent years thinking about how software can better serve sales, marketing, and customer teams. What we cover: ➜...

In this episode, we sit down with Ben Mohlie, Co-founder & CEO of Hyperscayle, to unpack why revenue operations is the force multiplier behind every great go to market motion and how AI is rewriting what the function actually does. Before founding Hyperscayle, Ben led sales and marketing at Mendix, helping scale the software company from 15 million to 140 million in revenue before its acquisit...

In this episode, we sit down with Sloane Barbour, Co-founder & CEO of engin, to unpack why legacy recruiting tools never delivered on their promise and how large language models are finally rewriting what is possible for staffing teams. Before founding engin, Sloane spent nearly 20 years across recruiting, staffing, and talent technology, leading high growth teams at Motion Recruitment, Hired,...

In this episode, we sit down with Greg Fitzgerald, CEO of Artificial by Design and Chairman of CyberForce Security, to unpack how he turns complex technology into clear market value and why finding the one thing your company does best is the only way to win. Across 27 years and 11 companies, Greg has helped build and scale Fortinet, Cylance, and CVO Security, the last of which was recently acquire...

In this episode, we sit down with Ian Fitzgerald, President of Allied Revenue, to unpack how to align revenue systems to enterprise value, not just next quarter's pipeline, and why founder led businesses have a structural advantage right now. Before founding Allied Revenue, Ian managed multiple portfolio companies inside private equity, sold a previous business, and spent years studying how early...

In this episode, we sit down with Esther Poulsen, Founder & CEO of Raare Solutions and The League of Marketers, to unpack why the agency model is overdue for reinvention and how AI should amplify smart marketers, not replace them. Before founding Raare, Esther built a career in program development and enterprise architecture, then spent 25 years solving the trickiest data problems in healthcar...

In this episode, we sit down with Brian Hyman, Founder & CEO of High Meadow Solutions, to unpack why most digital transformation efforts in wealth management fail and what it takes to make a tech stack actually AI ready. Before founding High Meadow Solutions, Brian led product at a large Manhattan asset manager, ran enterprise digital transformations, and built a team of long time collaborator...

In this episode, we sit down with Mike Moriarty, Founder & CEO of Arsenal Pulse and former talent leader at Google, Dropbox, SpaceX, and The Boring Company, to unpack how to recruit for the re-industrialization moment in defense and hard tech. Before founding Arsenal Pulse, Mike led talent at Google, Dropbox, and Human Capital, then went in-house at SpaceX and The Boring Company, building team...

In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Grossman, CEO of Talent Launch and Piraeus Health, to unpack how he is rebuilding a fragmented staffing industry by acquiring local firms and arming them with modern infrastructure. Before scaling Talent Launch, Aaron won EY Entrepreneur of the Year, built and sold a staffing tech company to Bullhorn, and competed as a Division I college wrestler. What we co...

In this episode, we sit down with Dave Valentine, CEO of Finch, to unpack how he rebuilt his approach to leadership after a doctor warned him he wouldn't see 40. Before scaling Finch, Dave founded or purchased 11 companies, sold nine, was featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and TEDx, and now leads Finch on four core values: humanity, transparency, curiosity, and impact. What we cover: ➜ The burnout...

In this episode of Founder-Led, host Rohan Karunakaran sits down with Richard Ellis, the CEO of Revenue Innovations, to discuss the evolving landscape of revenue operations and the challenges that B2B companies face in aligning their sales, marketing, and customer success teams. Drawing from his extensive background in enterprise software and consulting, Richard shares insights on how companies ca...

In this compelling episode of Founder-Led , host Rohan Karunakaran sits down with Khang Nguyen, the VP of Sales and Operations at Mindlance, a global workforce solutions firm generating over $500 million. Khang shares insights on how the staffing industry is evolving from a volume-driven model to one focused on delivering value and solving complex business problems. With 27 years of experience in...

In this episode of Founder-Led, host Rohan Karunakaran is joined by Court Lorenzini, the founder of DocuSign and the CEO of Founder Nexus, a selective peer community for venture-scale founders. Court shares his wealth of experience in building and scaling tech companies, highlighting the significant inflection points that led to DocuSign's success. He discusses the importance of creating high-qual...

In this episode of Founder-Led, host Rohan Karunakaran sits down with Joe Gagnon, co-founder and CEO of Raynmaker, the first AI-native autonomous sales platform designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Joe shares his remarkable journey from a high-powered corporate career to experiencing burnout and ultimately rebuilding his life with a focus on intentional living. He em...

In this episode of Founder-Led, host Rohan Karunakaran sits down with Jon Chintanaroad, a seasoned recruiter and founder of Recruiting Launch, to explore the transformative power of thought leadership in the recruitment industry. Jon shares his journey from struggling to establish his authority on LinkedIn to witnessing remarkable growth in his business as he embraced a strategic approach to conte...

In this episode of Founder-Led, host Rohan Karunakaran sits down with the illustrious Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn's first Chief Human Resources Officer and a renowned thought leader in talent strategy and workplace culture. Steve shares his unique journey from the fashion industry to the forefront of human resources, driven by his passion for team dynamics and coaching. He reflects on his transformati...

In this enlightening episode of Founder-Led, host Rohan Karunakaran sits down with Jared Black, the Founder and CEO of NewVine Employment Group and Vine AI. Jared shares invaluable insights drawn from his decade-long experience of hiring over 10,000 individuals. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the unique "X factor" in candidates and presents a structured five-step hiring methodology...

In this episode of Founder-Led, host Rohan Karunakaran sits down with Jaidin McCann, the CEO of Jasper Consultancy and a distinguished leader in the executive search and human capital space. Jaidin shares his personal journey from HR executive roles to founding his own consultancy, emphasizing his mission to build organizations where leadership flourishes, culture drives performance, and people ge...

Welcome to Founder-Led, featuring founders scaling 7 and 8 figure companies who share the strategies and mindset driving real growth. Brought to you by LinkedIn Growth Engine. We help established recruitment and staffing firm owners land new clients from LinkedIn by turning their executive content and insights into a trust building inbound lead engine. We partner with $1M to $20M+ agency founders...