Time To Press Pause - Real-Life Stories for Founders

Send us Fan Mail In this heartfelt episode of Time to Press Pause , Ellen Williams speaks with Andrea Schiavone, a seasoned operations and finance executive, about how even the most intentional pauses can be derailed by life’s unpredictability. Andrea shares her journey from leading a high-growth marketing agency through its acquisition, to planning a deliberate break for self-reflection—only to h...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ellen Williams interviews Jennifer Gulbrand, founder of Embody Your Essence , who shares her journey of breaking free from burnout and discovering authenticity. After 35 years in the health and wellness industry, Jennifer realized that her business success did not equate to personal fulfillment. Despite her achievements, she felt disconnected from her own truth. T...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Rajen Sheth, formerly a vice president at Google Cloud AI and industry solutions, shares with host, Ellen Williams, how he took a bold step after nearly two decades at Google. Motivated by a desire to make a positive social impact, he pressed pause on his career, leaving behind the familiar security of his role to explore how technology could improve educational e...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Ellen Williams speaks with entrepreneur and philanthropist Mei-Yung Lee about her unique approach to taking a “pause” when burnout loomed. Mei-Yung, CEO of Ageless Zen—a natural skincare research and manufacturing company—found herself overwhelmed by the demands of building her organization from the ground up. Instead of stepping away entirely, she joined her...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast episode of Time to Press Pause, host Ellen Williams welcomes guest Johanne Brierre, CEO of Brooklyn Commons and New York Beauty Suites. Johanne recounts her transition from working in the fast-paced New York City hospitality industry to founding co-working spaces in her Brooklyn neighborhood. She explains how she recognized a need for supportive, community-oriented...

Send us Fan Mail Ellen Williams host of Time To Press Pause and CEO of The Salient Strategist, Inc. welcomes Paige Arnof-Fenn, founder and CEO of the global branding firm Mavens and Moguls. Paige describes how a six-year period of family caregiving and estate responsibilities forced her to step away from the demanding pace she had maintained early in her entrepreneurial journey. Despite initial fe...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , host Ellen Williams interviews Jeffrey P. McNulty, CEO and Founder of New Retail Ethos Consultancy. Jeffrey recounts two major "press pause" moments in his life that spurred him to step away from a long career in retail leadership. First, after nearly three decades in executive roles with companies like The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of “Time to Press Pause,” Ellen Williams speaks with Dr. Shehzad Batliwala, an ophthalmologist, entrepreneur, and first-generation Indian American who grew up undocumented in the United States. Dr. Batliwala shares how his early struggles with belonging and external validation fueled his ambitious pursuit of success—becoming a doctor, doing research on vision in ze...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Ellen Williams interviews Erin Mote, CEO of InnovateEDU and co-founder of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, as she recounts her transformative moment of realizing she felt detached from her work’s impact. Once working at the intersection of technology and national security, she found herself in boardrooms advising tech giants but missing the direct connecti...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time To Press Pause, host Ellen Williams speaks with CEO Megan Steckly of CompuDopt. She shares how she dramatically grew the nonprofit—from a shoestring budget and three-person staff to a multimillion-dollar organization serving hundreds of thousands across 24 states. Amid the rapid expansion, Megan realized she was burning out: working around-the-clock and fee...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , Ellen Williams interviews Ruchi Pinniger, founder and CEO of Watch Her Prosper. Ruchi recounts her background on Wall Street, where she excelled in leadership and team-building, yet felt unfulfilled. She took a sabbatical hoping to discover her true passion, dabbling in nonprofit work, baking, and decorating. Although she temporarily return...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , host Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, interviews Donna Cravotta, CEO and founder of Cravotta Media Group. Donna shares how, after 18 years running a virtual agency that managed everything from PR to technical fixes, she realized she had built a business she no longer loved. By taking stock of her 40-year professional journey,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , host Ellen Williams speaks with Urs Koenig, founder of the Radical Humility Leadership Institute and author of Radical Humility: Be a Badass Leader and a Good Human . Urs shares his powerful story of “pressing pause” on his life at age 50 to rejoin the Swiss military as a United Nations and NATO peacekeeper. Inspired by his father’s volunte...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , host Ellen Williams welcomes two guests: executive coach and Morningstar Ventures CEO Andrea Chilcote, and philanthropic advisor Stephanie Borsari. Andrea explains three common reasons professionals “press pause” in their careers: being involuntarily forced into change (such as restructuring), retiring without clarity on the next chapter, o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , host Ellen Williams speaks with Henry Poydar, founder and CEO of Steady, a predictive coordination platform that grew out of his earlier venture, Status Hero. Henry describes two pivotal moments when he paused to reconsider his next steps. After co-founding Bantam CRM and joining Constant Contact post-acquisition, he spent three years worki...

Send us Fan Mail In this special New Year’s episode of Time to Press Pause , host Ellen Williams compiles lessons from several Season 1 guests to help leaders make 2025 a purposeful and growth-oriented year. Each guest highlights a key insight for personal and professional development: Stay Open to Possibilities DC Glenn , half of hip-hop duo Tag Team and CEO of CLG Investments Inc., discusses the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , host Ellen Williams interviews Rob Levin , a long-time friend and business colleague, about the pivotal moments in his entrepreneurial journey that stemmed from deliberately taking time to pause and reflect. Rob shares two main “press pause” stories : New York Enterprise Report : Rob launched this media venture in 2003, featuring a magazine...

Send us Fan Mail In this special Thanksgiving episode of "Time to Press Pause," host Ellen Williams reflects on the themes of gratitude, togetherness, and reflection amid a year marked by global conflicts and challenges. She emphasizes the importance of "pressing pause" to foster unity, understanding, and resilience within ourselves and our communities, starting at our own Than...

Send us Fan Mail  In the Season 1 finale of Time to Press Pause , Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, reflects on the journey of launching the podcast in April and emphasizes that pausing is crucial for everyone, not just CEOs or business leaders. Whether for personal or business reasons, taking time to pause can help people think things through and find new perspectives.    Ellen annou...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time To Press Pause, Ellen Williams interviews Julie Thomas, President and CEO of Value Selling Associates, who shares her journey of career transformation and entrepreneurship. Julie begins by recounting her experience at Gartner, a large IT research and advisory company, where she had a successful career in sales and training. However, in 2002, after a leaders...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause , Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, interviews Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier (MH), a leadership psychologist, executive coach, and workplace mental health expert. Dr. Peltier discusses the importance of taking strategic pauses in life and leadership, sharing her own experience of pressing pause during the lead-up to her book launch,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time To Press Pause, Brynn Gibbs shares her experiences as a CEO and the pivotal moments when she realized she needed to "press pause" to improve her leadership and company culture. About three years ago, she recognized that her controlling nature was hindering the growth of her company, Consumer Fusion. To address this, she implemented the Entrepreneu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Time to Press Pause, host Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, interviews Julie Christiansen, known as the "Anger Lady," who is the president and CEO of Leverage U and author of 15 books on leadership and mental health. Julie shares her personal story of burnout and pressing pause after her father suffered two strokes, and she experienced a s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of "Time to Press Pause," host Ellen Williams speaks with Melinda F. Emerson, CEO of Quintessence Group and America's #1 Small Business Expert, also known as the "Small Biz Lady." Melinda shares her personal "pause" story, recounting how a high-risk pregnancy in 2005 forced her to step away from her workaholic tendencies and rethi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the "Time to Press Pause" podcast, host Ellen Williams speaks with Dr. Neha Sangwan, CEO and founder of Intuitive Intelligence, about her experiences with burnout, stress management, and the importance of pausing in life. Neha shares her journey as an overachiever who pushed herself to please others, ultimately leading to severe burnout. She discusses...