Business Growth Spotlight

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Kevin Stubbs, founder of PubGenius, to talk about what it really takes to build and scale a tech company. Kevin shares his journey from working at Microsoft to launching startups, experiencing failure, pivoting multiple times, and ultimately building a successful development studio that helps companies b...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Verl Workman, founder of Workman Success Systems, to talk about building high performing teams, creating predictable success, and designing a business that supports the life you actually want to live. Verl shares the powerful story of being fired at age fifty after selling a company he helped build. Instead...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk welcomes Kelly Fairbairn, Co Founder, President, and CEO of PPS International Limited. With more than twenty five years of experience in talent development and leadership consulting, Kelly shares insights into how organizations can build stronger leaders and improve performance across teams. PPS International works globall...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk welcomes Justin Solms, founder of Index Solutions in South Africa. Justin shares his fascinating journey from aerospace engineering and missile guidance systems to building a successful investment management firm powered by advanced technology and machine learning. Justin explains how his engineering background helped him...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Todd Smith, founder of QoreAI, to explore how artificial intelligence and clean data are transforming decision making in the automotive industry. Todd brings more than 30 years of experience across dealership operations, automotive technology, and entrepreneurship. After exiting his previous company, he began stu...

In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with South Florida entrepreneur and dentist Dr. William Balanoff, founder of Smile Perfected. With more than 43 years in dentistry and 13 years building a national whitening brand, Dr. Balanoff shares the unconventional lessons that fueled his growth. From being gifted a trademark by a patient to building a 20 minute whi...

Show Notes: In this powerful episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk of HLH Growth Solutions sits down with Maria Edelson, founder of Edelson IO and former executive at Procter & Gamble. With more than 35 years at Procter and Gamble and over 15,000 professionals trained across 86 countries, Maria shares how she transformed world class corporate sales frameworks into a scala...

Show Notes: In this powerful episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Dr. David Thompson Jr., founder of the David's Loft Group, an integrated behavioral health organization serving Baltimore City. From growing up in Park Heights to leading a nearly 60 person team serving over 140 patients daily, Dr. Thompson shares the raw realities of scaling a mission driven h...

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Mark Grech, founder and CEO of Pyaza, to explore the future of networking, community building, and digital growth in an increasingly fragmented online world. Mark shares his journey from leading product and tech in the iGaming industry to building a platform designed to eliminate the chaos of managing mu...

Show Notes: In this episode, Heidi Schalk interviews Sathya Elumalai, Founder and CEO of Aidar Health, a Johns Hopkins spin off health technology company transforming long term care through AI powered predictive monitoring. Sathya shares how his decade of experience at Johns Hopkins University exposed critical gaps in post acute and long term care, and how Aidar Health was built to answer one powe...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Darshan Honali, founder of i2VC, to explore why deep industry expertise is becoming the true competitive advantage in today’s AI driven startup ecosystem. Darshan shares how i2VC connects industry experts across healthcare, financial services, renewable energy, space tech, and cybersecurity with venture capital f...

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with David Saadia, Director of Operations at Rove Travel, to explore how luxury hospitality is evolving in a remote first, AI driven world. Broadcasting from Mexico City, David shares his global hospitality journey, from studying in Switzerland to leading hotel operations across major international cities, and how...

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk welcomes Dolapo Adedayo, Founder of Trend Hijacking, to discuss how e-commerce can be repositioned from a side hustle into a structured, cash flowing investment vehicle. Dolapo shares how his journey began in 2017 when he acquired his first profitable e-commerce business, scaled it, and exited within two years. That experie...

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with James Hamet, CEO and Founder of Vistim Labs, to explore a breakthrough approach to neurological care. Vistim Labs is tackling one of the biggest challenges in neurology: knowing whether a treatment is actually working. While tools like PET scans and MRIs provide structural information, they are expensive, dif...

Show Notes: In this high energy episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Yancy Culp, Co Creator and Senior Director of Spartan DEKA, for a powerful conversation that connects fitness, leadership, mindset, and business growth. Yancy shares his journey from completing a grueling 72 hour Spartan Death Race to helping build a globally recognized fitness competition design...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Kylen Ribeiro, CEO of Defender Shield, to explore the intersection of business growth, digital wellness, leadership, and EMF protection. Kylen shares the powerful origin story behind Defender Shield, founded by a telecom engineer who discovered the potential health impacts of electromagnetic field (EMF) radi...

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Sam Palazzolo, founder of Tip of the Sphere and the Javelin Institute, to unpack what real business growth looks like heading into 2026. Sam brings decades of experience spanning Fortune 500 companies, consulting at Deloitte, private equity advisory, executive development, and scaling organizations from...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with leadership expert and founder of Berkshire Group, Janet Kendall White, for a powerful and deeply honest conversation about what it really takes to build strong leaders, resilient teams, and sustainable businesses. Janet shares her journey from corporate leadership into entrepreneurship at a young age, includ...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Victor Penev, founder and CEO of Edamam, to explore the powerful intersection of food, data, AI, and longevity. Victor shares his journey as a serial entrepreneur with over three decades of experience and explains how Edamam was built at the crossroads of two passions: nutrition and technology. The conversat...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight host Heidi Schalk cofounder of HLH Growth Solutions sits down with Elvan Baker VP of Client Experience and Clinical Strategy at Rubato Life. Elvan shares her journey from hands-on speech therapy into executive leadership within a fast growing health tech startup and offers an honest look at leadership growth, burnout, resilience and innovati...

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Dr. Carlos Elizondo, founder of Elizondo Medical Group, to explore what it really takes to build and scale a private medical practice while staying deeply rooted in patient care. Dr. Carlos shares his journey from growing up in a family of physicians to expanding a solo practice into three thriving clini...

Show Notes: In this episode of the Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Daniel Story, founder of HomeJoy of Kalamazoo, to unpack what it really takes to build and scale a care based business without sacrificing quality, trust, or humanity. Daniel shares how his 30 year career as a registered nurse shaped the way he built Homejoy and why caring has always come before systems, safe...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, Heidi Schalk sits down with Toby from 3Helix to explore how biotech startups move from breakthrough science to real world commercialization. Toby shares his journey as an MD MBA leader navigating venture capital, startup strategy, and regulatory complexity while helping 3Helix pioneer extracellular matrix based therapies that target disease...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Dr. John Oberg, founder of John Oberg Advisory, to explore what truly drives sustainable organizational growth. With decades of experience as a CEO, advisor, and healthcare innovator, Dr. Oberg shares powerful insights on the intersection of people, performance, and leadership. The conversation dives deep in...

Show Notes: In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk, Co-Founder of HLH Growth Solutions, welcomes Alex Brueckmann, Founder of Brueckmann Strategy Consultants, for a deep conversation on what strategy truly is and why so many organizations struggle to turn it into results. Alex draws from his experience building multiple international consulting firms to explain why strategy...