Office Hours #893 | Made From Mistakes | 80,000 Hours to Change Your Life: Career Fulfillment, Startup Growth, and Bold Leadership

IG Live | The Power of Visibility: LinkedIn Growth, Life-Changing Service, and Startup Innovation

Yesim Saydan is a globally recognized personal branding and LinkedIn strategist who helps entrepreneurs and executives become trusted industry leaders. Featured in major publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Business Insider, she is known for helping professionals transform their expertise into visibility, authority, and revenue. Hand-selected by Google to mentor startup leaders and chosen as one of only 300 members of LinkedIn’s Creator Program, Yesim has spoken across 11 countries and three continents on personal branding, thought leadership, and AI-driven business growth. Haley Hunt is the founder of The VERB Kind, a nonprofit that mentors incarcerated and at-risk youth in juvenile detention centers, foster care systems, and residential facilities. After a successful career in sports and media, a life-changing visit to a juvenile detention center inspired her to shift from pursuing visibility to pursuing purpose. Through mentorship, service, and human connection, Haley works to create opportunities for overlooked young people while encouraging others to find meaning through impact rather than status. She also founded JoyBoy, a youth-focused brand that supports The VERB Kind through products designed by incarcerated youth. Melissa Bamberg is the founder and CEO of Nodpod, the wellness company behind the innovative “Weighted Blanket for Your Eyes®.” Starting with less than $10,000 and no prior experience in consumer products, she built the brand from her kitchen table into a multimillion-dollar business carried by major retailers including Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Anthropologie, and Barnes & Noble. Focused on improving sleep and emotional wellness, Melissa created Nodpod to help people relax, reduce stress, and experience the benefits of Deep Touch Pressure, establishing the company as a pioneer in the growing sleep wellness industry.

Office Hours #893 | Made From Mistakes | 80,000 Hours to Change Your Life: Career Fulfillment, Startup Growth, and Bold Leadership

Benjamin Todd is the founder and president of 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people build meaningful careers that create positive impact. What began as a student society at Oxford grew into a globally recognized organization reaching millions of readers each year. Through its research, career advising, and resources, 80,000 Hours has influenced thousands of professionals to pursue high-impact fields such as AI safety, global health, and pandemic prevention. Benjamin’s work has been featured by major media outlets, and his TEDx talk has attracted millions of views. His latest book, 80,000 Hours: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good, provides a practical framework for making career decisions that align personal fulfillment with meaningful impact. Eyal Lifshitz is the co-founder and CEO of Bluevine, one of the leading digital banking platforms serving small businesses in the United States. Inspired by his father’s experience as a small business owner, Eyal launched Bluevine to simplify financial management for entrepreneurs through a fully digital banking experience. Since its founding, the company has served hundreds of thousands of customers, facilitated billions of dollars in loans, and grown into a trusted financial platform for small businesses. Before Bluevine, Eyal built expertise in venture capital, consulting, and engineering through roles at Greylock Partners, McKinsey & Company, and Texas Instruments. Stephanie Korour is the founder and CEO of Empowered Elixir, a premium organic energy and focus drink designed to deliver clean performance without sugar, artificial ingredients, jitters, or crashes. A former lawyer turned entrepreneur, Stephanie built the company from scratch despite having no prior experience in the beverage industry. Her journey has been defined by embracing uncertainty, taking bold risks, and continually choosing growth over comfort. Through Empowered Elixir, she combines her passion for human performance with her belief that confidence is developed through action, inspiring others to pursue ambitious goals before they feel fully prepared.

Office Hours #892 | How to Lead Through Growth, Build Trust & Increase Profitability in Any Market

Ben Hansen is a profitability specialist, entrepreneur, and speaker widely known as “The Profit Doctor” for helping businesses solve what he calls “Profititis” — when companies generate strong revenue but struggle to maintain healthy profits. A five-time Inc. 5000 founder and former executive at Dell Technologies and Microsoft, Ben built and scaled an eight-figure staffing company before moving into consulting. Today, he works with owner-led businesses to improve cash flow, eliminate hidden profit leaks, and create more sustainable financial growth through his Profit Accelerator™ program and consulting services. Chad Gruen is the CEO of 3STEP Sports, the nation’s largest youth sports event and club operator serving more than two million athletes annually. He oversees enterprise strategy, operational growth, and digital transformation efforts focused on improving the experience for athletes, families, coaches, and sports organizations nationwide. Chad’s entrepreneurial journey began by building a youth sports business out of the trunk of his car, eventually growing Sports Made Personal into one of the Midwest’s largest multi-sport platforms before selling it to 3STEP Sports in 2022. Since then, he has helped lead the company’s growth, innovation, and long-term vision as CEO. Susan MacKenty Brady is a leadership educator, executive coach, bestselling author, and CEO of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. Her work focuses on helping leaders strengthen self-awareness, improve communication, build trust, and lead more authentically. Susan is the author of books including Arrive & Thrive and Mastering Your Inner Critic, with her upcoming book All the Difference exploring leadership strategies for bridging perspectives and creating stronger teams. Through coaching, speaking, and advising, she helps leaders improve relationships, navigate differences, and build healthier, more effective workplace cultures.

IG Live | How to Build Wealth, Avoid Crypto Scams & Turn Your Career Into Financial Freedom

Adetayo “Tayo Lusi” Ibijemilusi is a strategic operator, investor, and founder of The 1% University, where he helps high-earning tech professionals build long-term financial freedom. His work focuses on helping professionals increase income, create leverage, and transition away from trading time for money by using positioning, strategic relationships, and intelligent investing. Known for his execution-driven approach, Adetayo blends real-world operating experience with practical frameworks that help clients scale their income without burnout, while building authority and long-term wealth. Courtney Werning is a Principal Attorney at Meyer Wilson Werning, a nationally recognized law firm specializing in securities and investment fraud cases. She represents investors in complex disputes involving financial advisors, brokerage firms, and investment professionals through litigation, appellate courts, and FINRA arbitration. Courtney also serves as a leader within investor protection organizations and is launching Crypto.Court, a platform focused on cryptocurrency fraud and digital asset investor safety. She is a frequent speaker on topics such as investment fraud, crypto scams, and elder financial abuse, and is widely recognized for her advocacy on behalf of harmed investors. Lori Atwood is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with nearly two decades of experience and the CEO & Founder of Fearless Finance, a company dedicated to making financial advice accessible to everyone. Through her firm, she provides hourly, unbiased financial guidance to individuals at all stages of life—from recent graduates to retirees—helping them make confident, informed decisions about their money. Her mission centers on democratizing financial planning and ensuring people can access expert advice without barriers.

Office Hours #891 | The Future of Leadership: Authentic Communication, Biotech Innovation & Mission-Driven Success

Rachel McElreath is a keynote speaker, public speaking coach, and founder of Purpose Powerhouse, where she helps entrepreneurs and leaders become unforgettable communicators. Using her background in NLP, mindset coaching, and stage performance, Rachel teaches people how to speak with authenticity and confidence by connecting emotionally with their audience instead of relying on scripts. Her philosophy, “be felt, not just heard,” has helped six- and seven-figure entrepreneurs improve their communication, leadership, and stage presence. Rachel’s journey as a single mother, combined with overcoming serious health challenges and achieving sobriety, has shaped her mission to help others turn adversity into confidence, influence, and personal growth. Kendall Dabaghi and Ravi Sheth are the co-founders of Kingdom, a biotechnology company focused on microbiome science and innovation. Kendall is an entrepreneur and former Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree who previously co-founded A Plus with Ashton Kutcher and worked at McKinsey & Company before transitioning into biotech. Ravi is a scientist and systems biology expert who earned his PhD from Columbia University, where he specialized in microbiome research, synthetic biology, and advanced genomic technologies. Together, they are combining entrepreneurship and science to advance biotechnology solutions while exploring how microbial ecosystems can impact health and human performance. Arun Gupta is the CEO of the NobleReach Foundation, venture capitalist, bestselling author, and educator focused on technology, entrepreneurship, and public impact. As a former partner at Columbia Capital, he spent nearly two decades investing in cybersecurity, AI, government technology, and SaaS infrastructure companies. Arun also teaches at Stanford University and Georgetown University, where he has earned awards for excellence in entrepreneurship education. Through his books, including The Mission Generation, and his work in venture capital and public service, Arun encourages the next generation of leaders to pursue purpose-driven innovation and use their skills to create meaningful societal change.