183: How to Grow from 20 to 200 Without Losing Your Mind or Your Mission with Betsy Hamm
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
Release Date: 12/31/2025
188: The Hidden Performance Crisis No One’s Talking About with Henna Pryor
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
Henna Pryror Speaker. Executive Coach. Workplace Performance Expert. Considered one of the best recruiters on the east coast - and gave it all up. She had an incredible sales and consulting career. She shattered records and was in the top 10% of the company every year. She loved the industry – but her heart broke every time she helped a high-performing employee exit their high-potential team. Socials: LinkedIn: Instagram: Facebook: Summary: In this episode, workplace performance expert and bestselling author Henna Pryor joins the show to discuss the hidden...
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187: Turning Adversity into Authority: Resilience Personified with Victoria Pelletier
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
Victoria Pelletier is recognized across North America as a dynamic, captivating keynote speaker, published author and dynamic executive. Her story of overcoming unspeakable odds to live a life of #NoExcuses is both moving, and incredibly inspiring. Victoria draws from her 20+ years in corporate senior leadership at companies like IBM and American Express to deliver engaging, inspiring keynotes to audiences across North America. Socials: Website: Youtube: Instagram: LinkedIn: Facebook: Summary: In this episode of The Heartbeat for Hire Podcast,...
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186: Why AI Is a Leadership Shift, Not a Tech Upgrade with Elatia Abate
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
Elatia Abate is an entrepreneur with a mission to revolutionize leadership to empower humanity in the Age of AI. Named a Forbes leading female futurist, she is a globally recognized expert on the futures of work and strategy and is a distinguished member of the American Her Future-Led Leadership learning and development content has been utilized in organizations including Verizon, UniGroup RMI – Rocky Mountain Institute, Grupo Globo, CME Group, Arcus Power, GMAC (Graduate Management Admissions Council), and The College of William and Mary Raymond A. Mason School of Business. She...
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185: The Sales Leadership Playbook Every BDR Team Needs Now with Gabe Lullo
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
Gabe Lullo is the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development agency working with industry giants such as ZoomInfo, Salesloft, and Adobe. He has trained over 8,000 salespeople across diverse businesses and, during his tenure in Alleyoop, he has personally hired and managed more than 1,500 BDRs. With over two decades of experience in sales, marketing, and executive recruitment, his strategies have significantly driven Alleyoop’s growth and shaped its corporate culture. Beyond his career accomplishments, Gabe graduated from the Barney School of Business at the University of...
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184: Reinvent Your Life: Truth, Alignment and Unlocking Your Potential with Dana Grant
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
Dana Grant is an International Master Life and Business Coach, best-selling author of The Truth Within The Lie: How to Align with Universal Principles to Create the Life You Deserve, host of global retreats, keynote speaker, host of top performing podcast The Dana Grant Show, and co-founder of the multi-million-dollar-brand, Cali'Flour Foods. Her influence spans continents, leading transformational retreats in Italy and delivering sold-out masterclasses in Paris and Amsterdam. From her triumphant defeat of her debilitating illness in which she battled addiction and found a path to...
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183: How to Grow from 20 to 200 Without Losing Your Mind or Your Mission with Betsy Hamm
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
Betsy Hamm, MBA, is the former CEO of Duck Donuts, where she led the brand’s expansion from 20 locations in 2016 to nearly 200 by 2025. Under her leadership, the company grew across the United States and expanded internationally into nine countries, including locations in the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Asia. Before serving as CEO, Betsy held key roles at Duck Donuts, including Chief Operating Officer and Director of Marketing. She brought more than 15 years of marketing and leadership experience, including serving as Marketing Director for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, a...
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182: Stop Assuming. Start Getting Access. with Stephen Oommen
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
After nearly 200,000 cold calls and a million auto-dialer calls, Stephen Oommen discovered something shocking: 98% of his revenue came from warm referrals. Today, he breaks down how sellers can turn relationships into predictable growth. In this episode, host Lyndsay Dowd sits down with Stephen Oommen, a 25-year go-to-market veteran, speaker, and author of the upcoming book The Referral Effect. Stephen shares why nearly 98% of his business revenue came from warm referrals, despite making hundreds of thousands of cold calls throughout his career. Stephen opens up...
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181: The Future of Food: Why Oceans Hold the Answer with Jennifer Bushman
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
What if the solution to feeding the world isn’t on land—but in the ocean? Today, we’re diving into the future of food with James Beard and Emmy-nominated storyteller Jennifer Bushman. In this episode of The Heartbeat for Hire, we dive into the deep blue with Jennifer Bushman, a James Beard Award–nominated chef, Emmy-nominated producer, and co-founder of Fed by Blue. Jennifer shares her journey from growing up in a cattle-ranching family in Colorado to becoming one of the world’s leading advocates for sustainable aquaculture, ocean health, and blue...
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180: Lights, Camera, Leadership with Rob Sharenow
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
What if the secret to leading creative teams wasn’t control — but curiosity? Rob Sharenow shares the leadership philosophy behind decades of award-winning programming. In this episode of The Heartbeat for Hire Podcast, host Lyndsay Dowd sits down with Rob Sharenow, President of Programming for A+E Networks, overseeing the creative vision behind A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime, A&E Indie Films, and Home.Made.Nation. Rob is one of the most respected creative executives in modern media — an award-winning writer and producer, Emmy and Peabody–recognized leader, and a guiding...
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179: Hamilton: The Business Behind the Magic with Maggie Brohn
Heartbeat For Hire with Lyndsay Dowd
What It Feels Like to Lead the World’s Most Successful Musical with Maggie Brohn ---------------------------- She started answering phones. Now she runs Broadway’s biggest global hit. Meet Maggie Brohn, the powerhouse behind Hamilton. In this episode of Heartbeat for Hire, host Lyndsay Dowd sits down with Maggie Brohn, Chief Operating Officer of Adventureland and the powerhouse Executive Producer of Hamilton across Broadway, the West End, Disney+, multiple global tours, and international productions. Maggie shares the remarkable story of how she went from...
info_outlineBetsy Hamm, MBA, is the former CEO of Duck Donuts, where she led the brand’s expansion from 20 locations in 2016 to nearly 200 by 2025. Under her leadership, the company grew across the United States and expanded internationally into nine countries, including locations in the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Asia. Before serving as CEO, Betsy held key roles at Duck Donuts, including Chief Operating Officer and Director of Marketing. She brought more than 15 years of marketing and leadership experience, including serving as Marketing Director for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, a premier hospitality company known for its iconic attractions, resorts, and venues in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
In her latest venture, Betsy Hamm Lifted Studio, she partners with founders and executives to accelerate growth, streamline operations, and build strong, scalable brands and leadership teams. Betsy also hosts Loud & Lifted, a women-in-leadership podcast blending real talk with practical tools on confidence, executive presence, and career growth. She serves on the board of Central Penn College and holds a B.A. in Communications and an MBA from Shippensburg University.
Summary:
In this episode, host Lyndsay Dowd sits down with Betsy Hamm, the former CEO of Duck Donuts who helped scale the beloved brand from 20 local shops to nearly 200 global locations. Betsy shares her journey from a marketing career at Hershey Entertainment to navigating the chaotic startup environment of Duck Donuts as employee number 12. She discusses the critical operational strategies required to scale a franchise without losing its soul, the delicate art of giving founders honest feedback (or "calling the baby ugly"), and why consistency is the hardest part of growth. Now an advisor for emerging brands, Betsy also opens up about the importance of personal branding for leaders and her passion for empowering women to be louder, braver, and more supportive of one another through her own podcast, Loud and Lifted.
Key Takeaways:
- Scaling Requires Standards
- The Art of "Calling the Baby Ugly
- Build Your Personal Brand
- Women Supporting Women