Shift & Thrive: CEO Insights on Driving Change

How do leaders stay ahead when the rules keep changing before they even finish adapting to the last shift? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson talks with Ann Reilly, founder of AdaptSuccess, a growth and transformation leader who spent her career navigating disruption at companies including STAR TV, Intuit, and Yahoo. Ann shares the moment she realized the digital media w...

What happens when a founder applies the lessons of two successful exits to one of AI's biggest challenges: trust in a world of deepfakes and digital fraud? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson talks with Shawn-Marc Melo, founder and CEO of deepidv, an AI-native identity verification and compliance platform. Shawn walks through how he approached this third venture different...

What's the hardest leadership skill for a founder to learn, and why does almost everyone get it wrong at first? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson talks with Ahmad Jadallah, Founder and CEO of PanBio, an AI-native platform that helps governments and hospitals localize clinical genetic testing and makes genomic data more accessible for researchers worldwide. Ahmad opens u...

What does it take to build a business so well structured that it could run without you? In this Investor Spotlight episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson talks with Paul Oggelsby, a former IT managed services CEO and Founder, who exited his business in 2022, and now is an investor, chairman, and advisor. Paul shares how a single Reddit post connected him with thousands of struggling...

What does it take for a lifelong engineer to build a high-growth services firm on a foundation of radical transparency and relentless speed? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Tameem Hourani, Founder and CEO of RapDev, a firm that helps enterprises modernize their technology environments with speed, automation, and best-in-class implementations. Named Data...

Is your go-to-market strategy built for today's buyers, or are you still relying on playbooks that no longer work? In this special Best of Season 2 compilation, Natalie Nathanson brings together some of the most impactful conversations from founders, CMOs, operators, and investors who are redefining growth in the age of AI. It pulls together some of the season's most brilliant GTM strategists, fra...

Scaling out of founder-led sales is one of the most critical, yet deeply misunderstood transitions any B2B company will ever face. In the early days, no one sells the vision better than the founder. The passion, the relationships, and the storytelling instinct all lives with the person who built the thing. But as companies mature, the scrappy hustle that fueled early growth eventually stops workin...

What does it actually take to lead a commercial transformation before anyone else believes in it, and what happens when the biggest threat to closing a deal is not your competitor, but your buyer's fear of being wrong? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Paul Terry, global go-to-market leader, advisor, and investor at Tech Operators, who brings over 25 year...

What if the reason your go-to-market isn't working has nothing to do with your tactics and everything to do with how your leadership team defines, owns, and executes it in the first place? In this Re-air episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson is joined by Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder and CEO of GTM Partners, bestselling author of Move, and pioneer of account-based marketing, for a cand...

What happens to a founder's mental performance when the company is winning on paper but quietly unraveling from the inside, and what does neuroscience say about fixing it? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Kevin Bailey, CEO and Co-Founder of Dream Fuel and a three-time Inc. 500 founder, to explore the intersection of leadership, mental performance, and ne...

What does it actually take to build a market category that doesn't yet exist, and how do today's go-to-market leaders use AI to accelerate that process without losing the human edge? In this Go-To-Market Deep Dive episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Kat Wendelstadt, CMO at Electric Twin and a three-time CMO with a track record of scaling venture-backed startups to...

What does it actually take to reach buyers in a world where AI has flooded every inbox, gated white papers have lost their pull, and generic personalization is table stakes? In this special compilation episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson brings together five of the sharpest go-to-market minds from previous episodes to tackle one of the biggest disruptions in B2B today.  Kerry Cun...

What does it take to transform a venture-backed startup into a profitable, predictable business after acquisition by a public company? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with David Axler, CEO of Occupier and seasoned tech executive, to unpack the mechanics of leading high-stakes transformation. David draws on his experience guiding Wave through its post-acquisi...

What does it take to step into the CEO role at the exact moment your industry faces its most turbulent period in history? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson speaks with Brandon Muniz, CEO of HeiTech Services, a veteran-founded government contracting firm with 26 years of legacy behind it. Brandon shares how he navigated DOGE cuts, a historic government shutdown, and the...

What does it actually take to survive a business crisis and come out the other side a better leader? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Vaughn Thurman, CEO and Founder of HighGear Software, and a seasoned entrepreneur with nearly 30 years of experience building and scaling technology businesses. Vaughn opens up about the moment his company was simultaneous...

What does it take to reinvent a company not once, but multiple times, while keeping your team aligned, motivated, and moving in the same direction? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Sam Ziman, CEO of Global CI, a data scientist turned operator who has led his organization through a series of deliberate transformations. The business has transformed from fe...

What does it actually take to move a dual-use technology from a proven prototype to a scalable, fundable business? In this Investor Spotlight episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Derek Willis, Founder and Managing Partner of Etowah Capital Partners, who has spent more than three decades navigating the space between early-stage innovation and full-scale commercializa...

What happens when accomplished leaders stop trying to lead like someone else and finally trust their own voice, instincts, and definition of success? In this special International Women's Day compilation episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson curates powerful moments from past conversations with extraordinary women founders and CEOs, weaving in her own personal reflections on buildi...

What does it really take for a tech company to break into the federal government market, and what separates the ones who land contracts from those who waste time and resources running from meeting to meeting with nothing to show for it? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson sits down with Harvey Morrison, Founder and CEO of Marion Square, a firm dedicated to helping technol...

How are shifting buyer behaviors and AI reshaping B2B go-to-market strategies? What happens when companies fail to adapt? In this Go-to-Market Spotlight episode of Shift & Thrive, host Natalie Nathanson talks with Kerry Cunningham, Head of Research and Thought Leadership at 6Sense, about the realities of modern B2B buying. With decades of experience, Kerry breaks down how outdated outbound tac...

In this Investor Spotlight episode of Shift & Thrive, Natalie Nathanson sits down with Elena Gantvarg, Principal at Flint Capital, to unpack how early-stage investors evaluate startups in today’s rapidly evolving market. Elena shares firsthand stories of portfolio transformations, explains why product-led growth has become a baseline expectation rather than a differentiator, and offers a candi...

In this Go-to-Market Spotlight episode of Shift & Thrive, Natalie Nathanson sits down with Kristina McMillan, a seasoned go-to-market strategist and venture advisor, to unpack how AI is reshaping the way companies grow. Drawing from her experience and hands-on work with early and growth-stage startups, Kristina shares real-world examples of AI-enabled go-to-market transformation. Together, the...

What happens when the host steps into the hot seat to reflect on leadership, growth, and navigating change in uncertain times? In this special re-aired episode of Shift & Thrive, we flip the mic and turn the spotlight on Natalie. Guided by Magnetude’s VP of Client Strategy & Delivery, Cindy Hunter, Natalie shares her entrepreneurial journey, the evolution of Magnetude Consulting, and the l...

How can today’s CEOs evolve fast enough to lead through AI disruption, generational complexity, and outdated incentive systems? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, Natalie Nathanson sits down with executive coach Maximos Lih to unpack how leadership must fundamentally change as companies scale. Drawing from his experience at Google Ventures and coaching hundreds of founders, Maximos explores wh...

How do leaders stay calm, compliant, and effective when everything is on the line, and turn crisis into a catalyst for growth? In this episode of Shift & Thrive, Natalie sits down with Joe Campanella, CEO of Complily, to unpack what it truly means to lead through extreme pressure. Joe shares the behind-the-scenes reality of navigating an 18-month FTC investigation, the leadership lessons forge...