Humans & Brands

48. The Reality of Building a Business You Need to Hear, with Shiv Gupta, CEO, U of Digital

You're not building a business, you're solving a problem. Shiv Gupta is the Founder and CEO of U of Digital, and he's spent the last eight years learning that lesson the hard way. This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Shiv to talk about business fundamentals, staying focused when you want to do everything, and why the best companies lead with problems, not solutions. They dig into what it takes to go from corporate to entrepreneur, why revenue is a hell of a drug, and how to avoid getting too high or too low when things are constantly changing. Shiv opens up about the moment he got laid off and decided to start his own thing, the mistake he made at 25 trying to start a company, and why laser focus on one specific problem is how you build credibility from scratch.This is a conversation about consistency, problem solving, fluidity, and showing up every day...even when you lose a client or things feel personal. If you're building a business, thinking about starting one, or just want to hear about what it takes to build one, this one's for you.

47. Everyone Is In Sales, with Lucy Markowitz, Vistar Media

The best salespeople aren't selling at all, they're listening.
Lucy Markowitz is the SVP and GM of US Marketplace at Vistar Media, and she's spent her career mastering the art of getting people on board. This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Lucy to talk about what separates a great seller from an average one, and it's not tactics or scripts. It's how you show up, how you listen, and how you help people feel bought into something rather than pushed.
They dig into why building relationships overrise closing transactions, how to approach sales from a place of genuine belief, and why being present in every aspect of your life is what matters most.  Lucy talks about her transition from finance to ad tech, why she only sells things she believes in, and drops some great advice for young women trying to navigate their careers.
This is a conversation about chemistry, energy, and creating symbiosis in your business and your life. If you're building something, leading a team, or just trying to get better at communicating your vision, this one's for you.

46. Building with Ego, Leading Without It, with Anda Gansca, CEO, Knotch

It takes so much ego to start a business, and then you have to let go of all of it to actually build one.
Anda Gansca is the CEO of Knotch, and she's spent the last 10 years building a company while simultaneously breaking down every assumption she had about what it takes to succeed. This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Anda for a conversation that goes beyond the typical founder story and into something deeper: spirituality and capitalism, win-win business models, and why the zero-sum game mentality just isn't that interesting anymore.
They talk about the shift from founder to CEO, why taking two days a week to think is part of the job, and how becoming a mom forced Anda into her own dark closets, which ultimately made her a better leader. Anda opens up about the haunted forest within, why companies don't fail (people give up), and what it means to build something durable when everyone else is focused on the flip.
This is a conversation about patience, clarity, and building businesses that are genuinely good for employees, customers, and stakeholders, without losing ambition or rigor. If you believe business can be serious and human, ambitious and thoughtful, you're going to love this one.

45. Stop Pretending You Know Everything, with Alena DeSalvo, Sightly

The best leaders aren't the ones with all the answers, they're the ones willing to ask more questions.
Alena DeSalvo didn't set out to work in media; she kind of stumbled into it. Now, as SVP and Head of Marketing at Sightly, she's figuring out leadership, growth, and what it means to build something in real time.
This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Alena to talk about what's driving her right now; not the polished highlight reel, but the actual messy middle of building a career. They get into how her psychology background shapes the way she thinks about marketing and what she had to unlearn about being a young woman in business (hint: it involves exclamation points, high heels, and firm handshakes).
Alena opens up about advocating for yourself when no one's going to tap you on the shoulder, why handwritten notes still matter more than AI transcripts, and her hot take on AI-generated copy that needs to stop. This is a conversation about asking more questions, leaning into what you don't know, and learning to let go of control. It's a great reminder that not every career path is planned - sometimes you just stumble into the right industry and build from there.
If you're early in your career, still figuring out how you want to lead, or just trying to find your footing, this one's for you.

44. Letting Go of Control, with John Starkweather, VP of Advertising, AT&T

What do you learn about yourself when you're alone in the mountains for a month with no plan and no one to impress?John Starkweather is the VP of Advertising at AT&T, but this conversation isn't really about advertising. It's about what happens when you get quiet enough to actually hear yourself, and what changes when you stop being so rigid about everything.This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with John to talk about the breakthroughs that only come from long stretches in nature, why being flexible might be the hardest thing to learn, and what he realized about himself when his plan went completely off the rails. They get into the tension between AI and humanity, why real connections still matter, and how John's thinking about leadership shifted after he stopped trying to make everyone conform to him.John opens up about being his own worst enemy, what it means to actually listen, and why he introduces himself as a dad first, not by his job title. This is a conversation about slowing down, letting go of control, and figuring out what you actually want to leave behind.

43. When Your Category Doesn't Exist Yet, with Rachel Goldflam, CMO, Sneex

Rachel Goldflam is building something from scratch, and she's doing it in a category that doesn't quite exist yet. As CMO of Sneex, a hybrid sneaker-heel brand, Rachel is figuring out how to normalize a product people have never seen before, get it on enough feet to reach a tipping point, and do it all with a scrappy team of four.
This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Rachel to talk about what it's really like to work at a founder-led startup after years at established fashion brands like Veronica Beard and Spanx. They dig into why fashion isn't vapid, how Rachel unlearned the rigid career rules she grew up with, and the feedback that changed everything when she was 22 and thought she had all the answers.
Rachel opens up about balancing motherhood with building a brand, why enthusiasm beats credentials every time, and what she learned from taking a risk she thought she wasn't "allowed" to take.
This is a conversation about scrappy ambition, learning what you don't want, and why sometimes the best move is the one that doesn't follow the rules.

42. On Being Yourself Always, with Dave Kersey, SharkNinja

Not all pivots are about moving up, some are about moving on. Dave Kersey is the Global Head of Media at SharkNinja, and his journey here includes a wrong phone number that changed everything, switching from architecture to media on a hunch, and learning the hard way when to walk away.
This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Dave to talk about career pivots, unexpected turns, and why he didn't leave a toxic work environment sooner. 
Dave opens up about staying curious, building trust by being authentic all the time, and why no one cares about your career more than you do. This is a conversation about resilience, self-awareness, and learning when to protect your own worth.

41. Reframing The Dip, with Sunni Hickman, Founder, B. Sunni

Sunni Hickman spent 20 years working with some of the biggest brands in the world: Dollywood, the Harlem Globetrotters, amongst others, before stepping into what she calls her "desert season." A brand strategist and connector, she now has her own company, B. Sunni Hickman, where she helps organizations and audiences find their voice, own their story, and ignite growth.
This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Sunni to dig into what it's really like to start your own business and brand after years of corporate life. Sunni unpacks how she stopped hiding behind her work and started owning it, and how she's redefining success on her own terms. They dig into why women hide behind their work instead of claiming it, how Sunni's retraining herself to say "I did that," and why she believes AI will never replace marketers because it doesn't have a heartbeat. 
This is a conversation about resilience, self-worth, and what happens when you finally let people see you, not just your work.

40. Cheat Codes Revealed, Crossover Episode with Courtney Johnson

This week on Humans & Brands, we're doing something a little different and flipping the script as Courtney Johnson interviews our host Lauren Douglass on Courtney's podcast, Slay the Gatekeeper. This one's all about cheat codes. Lauren shares the cheat codes that have shaped how she shows up, builds, and creates, from reframing fear into courage, to using intuition as a business tool. The women dig into why your purpose doesn't have to stay static, how thinking like a kid unlocks creativity, and what it really takes to build a personal brand that opens doors. This crossover episode unpacks the messy parts of entrepreneurship, the power of vulnerability, and why sometimes the best move is to just start. Let's get into it. 

39. The Funeral That Changed Everything, with Eleni McCready, CMO, PWRHOUSE Collective

Am I living or am I just existing? That's the question that hit Eleni McCready at a funeral three years ago, and it changed the course of her life. 
This week, host Lauren Douglass sits down with Eleni McCready, Partner and Chief Marketing Officer at PWRHOUSE Collective, who recently left the corporate world after 20 years to leap into consulting. We talk about the funeral that changed her life, what she calls her "midlife awakening," and how she found the guts to leave a stable job without knowing exactly what came next. 
Eleni shares the exercise that helped her realize what really mattered, what it's like to navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, and the importantance of the spiderweb of connection.
If you've ever wondered whether it's time to make a leap, felt stuck in the day-to-day grind, or questioned what legacy you want to leave behind, this conversation is your reminder that the second half of your career can look however you want it to.