The Black Sheep Network

Every mentor he paid told him to stop talking to his own software customers. So he listened. Built a 17-person team. Removed himself completely. And watched his company go numb. On this episode of Black Sheep Network, I sit down with Alex Sanfilippo, the founder of Podmatch, and we get into one of my favorite Black Sheep truths: the advice that feels wrong for you IS wrong for you, no matter who's...

What if the thing everyone said would kill your business is actually what saved it? That is exactly what happened to Stephanie Gross, founder of Bumby Wool. She did not start with a business plan. She started because she could not find what she wanted, so she made it herself. From her basement. With two kids running around her feet. And a first employee she originally hired for free. That employee...

Becoming a parent comes with a lot of complex questions. And depending on your answer you could be labeled a Black Sheep for life.  On this episode of Black Sheep Network, I sat down with Kristina Miller Weston to talk about Just Wait, an upcoming feature film centered on one of the most emotionally charged and least honestly discussed questions women face: what if motherhood is not the life you a...

A lot of companies claim they want innovation.   Very few are willing to question the systems they’re operating inside long enough to actually create it.   In this latest episode of The Black Sheep Network, I sit down with Reid Wicoff, co-founder of Digible, to talk about leadership, startup pressure, sales culture, and what happens when you build a company around trust instead of the relentless p...

Imposter syndrome isn’t a flaw. It’s your brain doing exactly what it was designed to do. And the more you try to eliminate it, the more it tightens its grip.   In this latest episode of the Black Sheep Network, Jen Coken breaks down what’s actually happening when that voice shows up right before you stretch, speak up, or step into something bigger.   Because that is a very important moment that s...

AI isn’t a future shift - it’s already part of your sales floor, whether you’ve realized it or not.  While companies debate adoption, reps have already moved. They’re writing emails with it and strategizing on sales deals.  They didn’t talk to you about it and that’s where things can go wrong.  In this new episode of Black Sheep Network, we sit down with Mike Allton to unpack “shadow AI” and why i...

Kevin Roy didn’t build Green Banana SEO by playing it safe. He built it by surviving a 50/50 partner who stopped working, a salesperson who sued him, a maxed-out line of credit, and a retirement fund he had to drain just to make payroll. In this episode, Kevin shares the hard-won lessons behind 17 years in digital marketing and how nearly losing everything became the best thing that ever happened...

What if the skills you use every day as a parent are the same sales and marketing skills that make a business successful? In this episode of Black Sheep Network, I sit down with marketing strategist, copywriter, and LaunchFlow creator Danielle Weil to explore the unexpected overlap between parenting and marketing. Danielle has written dozens of six- and seven-figure launches and helped generate mo...

Linda Fisk spent two years listening to women describe earning their seat at the table, only to be handed a notepad and told to take notes. She was CMO of one of the most prestigious leadership organizations in the world when she launched a global listening tour to find out why women kept leaving. What she heard was consistent across chapters, across countries, across cultures. Women who had done...

What if the key to better focus, faster decisions, and that elusive flow state… is more mechanics than “mindset work.”   In this episode of The Black Sheep Network, I talk with John Kennedy, creator of Combat Brain Training and a pioneer in applied neuroplasticity. His brain training method has helped Marines reduce combat casualties, athletes unlock peak performance, and founders break through th...

One of the biggest myths about productivity is that better time management will fix burnout. But what if time isn’t the real problem? In this episode of The Black Sheep Network podcast, I sit down with Stephen Courson to unpack why so many high-performing, driven people still feel overwhelmed, distracted, and exhausted - even when they’re doing “everything right.” The issue isn’t discipline or eff...

They told me to play nice, smile more and stop rocking the boat. I tried… for a while. But I’ve always known I was different - and eventually, I realized that was the whole point. In the first episode The Black Sheep Network, I share the real, raw origin story behind becoming the “Black Sheep” - in my family, in corporate America, and in nearly every space where I was told to tone myself down.  Th...

Let’s talk about the train wreck so many Americans are dealing with right now: the U.S. healthcare system is broken. Health insurance premiums are skyrocketing. Deductibles are impossible to navigate. Doctors are buried in bureaucracy. And despite spending more than any other country on healthcare, people are becoming less healthy.  In this episode of The Black Sheep Network, I sat down with Jenni...

If you’ve ever been told your idea was too risky, too emotional, or “would never work,” this episode of The Black Sheep Network is your reminder to trust your instincts.   I sat down with Andrew Bolton, founder of Tech Rescue, and Kareesha Carter, CEO of The Bougie Executive Agency, to break down how a so-called bad idea became a nearly $50M company built on human connection, not automation.   And...

Hello Black Sheep - This podcast is for extraordinary people who want extraordinary results.  I’m your host Aleasha Bahr, creator of Black Sheep Sales, and here on Black Sheep Network, we dive into conversations with impactful disruptors who stopped following the rules, trusted themselves, and innovated something new because of it.  They’re sharing what led them to results most people only dream a...