The Flipped Story

What happens when you stop looking at artificial intelligence as a shiny tech demo and start treating it as a partner for raw, unpolished usefulness? In this episode of The Flipped Story , host David Gadarian sits down with an unexpected guest: Boardy , an AI-powered superconnector developed by boardy.ai . This isn't a conversation about machines replacing human labor, nor is it a corporate pitch....

What happens when you survive a major medical crisis but wake up completely stripped of your past? In January 2024, veteran nurse and healthcare executive Jennifer White woke up from a three-day neurosurgery coma with total amnesia. She didn’t recognize her name, her biography, or her husband of 30 years. Her decades of high-level clinical memories were seemingly wiped. In this episode of The Flip...

Every year, new tech waves break across the business landscape, leaving most leaders guessing where things are going. In this episode, David Gadarian sits down with Christopher M. Carter, founder of Approyo and Mugatu AI, to explore what it actually takes to win in business today, how to navigate the current shift into AI, and the raw human grit behind a world-class tech career. From surviving sev...

When Dan MacQueen sat down in the driver’s seat for this episode of The Flipped Story , I was immediately struck by his deep humility, his quick humor, and his powerful presence. It is easy to assume that a elite corporate keynote speaker who has delivered his story 90+ times across major global stages would rely on a highly polished, pre-packaged presentation. But Dan completely left the standard...

What happens when you realize the entire corporate marketing complex is fundamentally broken? You stop trying to fit into the market, and you start programming it. In this episode of The Flipped Story , host David Gadarian sits down with Jesse Wroblewski, the founder of Decommoditized and author of the Marketing for Supervillains series. Jesse is a self-proclaimed "marketing villain," but look a l...

What do you do when your own mind becomes a room you can no longer stand to live in? At age 22, artist and author Xavier Nuez experienced a severe nervous system collapse—a baseline of complex PTSD that left his internal fight-or-flight switch permanently jammed in the "on" position. During the day, ordinary life felt entirely broken, leaving him in a constant state of feeling hunted. But instead...

How many brilliant ideas have you lost simply because you couldn’t type fast enough to catch them? 🔄 For 22 years, wealth management veteran Chris Hensley lived by the book. He mastered the rigid corporate frameworks and productivity hacks designed to keep a business running smoothly. But Chris is on a journey of perpetual discovery. As the tech landscape exploded with complex LLMs, he realized t...

When you sit down to talk about health tech and longevity, you don’t expect the conversation to pivot into emerging artificial intelligence, running call centers, and the literal biology of human generosity. But that is exactly what happens when you track the journey of Mark Young, PhD. Mark is the CEO of Zona Health, founder of Ryze Agency, and host of the Age Defiantly podcast. He possesses a hy...

What happens when an Emmy-winning Hollywood interviewer decides that the stories on the screen aren’t nearly as interesting as the ones happening inside the people making them? In this episode of The Flipped Story , David Gadarian sits down with executive coach Kenny Rhodes to unpack his massive career transition from Hollywood’s brightest lights to the Socratic method. While Kenny’s career looks...

What happens when your primary superpower is stripped away from you? Historically on The Flipped Story, we have spent our time focusing on traditional business frameworks and market pivots. But this episode marks a completely new type of exploration for the show. David Gadarian sits down with former NFL player and current 5x USATF All-American Daniel Esposito to examine what it takes to completely...

What if the best tool for building psychological safety, creative thinking, and leadership presence has been hiding in plain sight — on the improv stage? Kat Koppett is one of the founding voices in applied improv, the practice of bringing improvisation principles into organizations to develop the human skills that actually drive performance. Her book Training to Imagine is now in its third editio...

What happens when you spend the first quarter of your life engineering a world designed entirely around external security, only to realize you are dying inside? On this episode of The Flipped Story , David Gadarian sits down with Alan Lazaros, CEO of Next Level University, for a masterclass in business and life transformation. Alan was the ultimate high-performer with an elite engineering backgrou...

Eric Levine is a world-class strategist who helped shape how Meta competed with TikTok — then walked away without a plan. His entrepreneur journey from philosophy major to AI entrepreneur runs through Deloitte, Hyperloop, four and a half years at Meta, a scuba diving app, and ultimately StratEngine AI, a platform that builds full business strategy from start to finish using artificial intelligence...

What happens when a "native introvert" who spent years trying to disappear decides to stand up on a comedy stage in a foreign country? In this episode, David Gadarian sits down with speaker and communication coach Bee Baumann to explore the transformative journey from running from anxiety to running toward the microphone. Bee shares how moving from Cambridge, MA, to a tiny German village forced he...

If you’ve ever felt stuck in a career you’re "qualified" for but not "meant" for, this episode is your roadmap. David Gadarian welcomes Laura Berman Fortgang , a bestselling author and pioneer who helped pave the way for the modern coaching industry. While she is now a frequent guest on Oprah and The Today Show , Laura’s journey began with an 8-year grind as an actress and waitress in New York Cit...

Most people think success in the digital world requires feeding the algorithm. Brian Wallace did the opposite: he became the "Human Algorithm." In this episode, David Gadarian explores the life-defining pivots of Brian Wallace, founder of NowSourcing. We trace Brian’s journey from the high-pressure NYC tech scene to a grounded, intentional life in the Midwest. Brian opens up about how a profound p...

“Shortcut to Last.” That was the name of Matt Diamante’s band in the early 2000s. It’s also the perfect irony for a guest who has built a powerhouse SEO agency by doing the exact opposite: playing the long game. 🔄 In this episode, we sit down with Matt Diamante, founder of HeyTony , to explore a journey of pure grit—from driving film trucks for indie horror movies to leading a 15-person marketing...

Walter Rusniaczek knows how to perform. With 30 years in high-stakes sales and a background in stand-up comedy, he’s a master of reading the room. But in this episode, Walter takes us behind the mask to explore a "live flip" driven by a search for actual meaning. From a "feral" upbringing to navigating a metaphysical breakdown, Walter shares a raw, stream-of-consciousness look at what it takes to...

"I realized that being 'nice' was just a way of negotiating against myself." We’re often taught that being "nice" is the key to leadership. But what happens when that narrative starts costing you your time, your peace, and your power? In this episode, David Gadarian sits down with serial entrepreneur and author Danny Goldberg to discuss the "Identity Upgrade" required to reach your true human pote...

What if the most "inefficient" use of your time—sitting with a stranger for an hour—was actually the key to unlocking your greatest potential? Rob Lawless left a high-polish career at Deloitte to bet on human curiosity. 7,476 friends later, he joins David Gadarian to discuss the grit of the "Messy Middle" and his blueprint for authentic connection. In this episode, we explore: The Bus Stop Metapho...

What does it take to move from the front lines of the Army and the oil fields to the "Driver’s Seat" of a multi-division professional powerhouse? In this episode, David Gadarian sits down with Darren Tompkins , Founder & CEO of Vader-Rey . Darren breaks down his purposeful, sequential journey of leaving the "operator" seat to build a business that provides high-stakes talent, engineering, and...

What happens when you stop apologizing for your "glitches" and start charging for your perspective? Sam Mitchell, the voice behind Autism Rocks and Rolls , joins David Gadarian to discuss the journey from the resource room to the CEO's chair. In this episode, we move past the clinical labels to explore the Human Potential of what Sam calls "the worst story alive." Sam shares his "Hulk Hogan" appro...

What happens when you stop running a 100-mile-per-hour race and finally ask, "Where am I actually going?" In this episode, marketing strategist Anthony Neal Macri shares his "flip" from the high-pressure startup engines of Toronto and New York to the intentional restraint of Southern Italy. From managing global scrutiny at Ashley Madison to navigating the future of AI from a quiet Italian beach, A...

How do you walk away from a "safe" corporate career without taking a reckless gamble? Today on The Flipped Story , we talk with Abi Asija, an entrepreneur who flipped the script on the traditional "leap of faith." After 10 years in tech, Abi built a 7-figure land empire by focusing on the "unsexy" world of vacant land and the hyper-logical math of a tapered exit. Tune in to hear from Abi on: The "...

"We die the moment we stop learning. We die the moment where we completely settle." Imagine growing up in a household where education isn't just a career path—it’s a religion. You spend years honing a mind to dissect human behavior at a molecular level, earning a PhD that offers a lifetime of safety within the "Ivory Tower" of academia. But then, the flip happens. [cite: 56] In this episode of The...