Give First: The Long Conversation of Being a Co-Founder
Release Date: 08/28/2023
Leading with Respect with Marcy Syms
The Conversation Factory
Marcy Syms is a pioneering businesswoman and advocate for respect in leadership. She’s seen leadership fads come and go. She was a CEO when people still thought “women shouldn’t do that sort of thing” And she’s done something many folks have never had to endure - shuttering her family’s business while making her key creditors whole - an act deeply in line with her core value of respect. Marcy shares insights from her journey in the retail industry, her experiences with leadership dynamics and her advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment - something she hopes to see made...
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The Seven Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems
The Conversation Factory
Download free chapters from : Listen now 👇 🎙️ Spotify: 🍎 Apple: And please or Also! support the podcast with or a : Full show notes: SUMMARY In this conversation, Adam Kahane discusses the complexities of transforming systems, emphasizing the importance of understanding systems thinking, collaboration, and the role of individual contributions. He shares insights from urban transformation examples, the significance of culture, and the necessity of engaging with systems responsibly. Kahane introduces seven habits for transforming systems,...
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Innovation, Connection, and Conscious Leadership with Othership CEO Robbie Bent
The Conversation Factory
Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: https://www.danielstillman.com/good-talk Please support the podcast! 💌 : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 : or with : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-once Check out for the full transcript and video highlights. Episode page: https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/innovation-connection-and-conscious-leadership-with-othership-ceo-robbie-bent AI Summary: Introduction and Connection: Daniel Stillman introduces Robbie Bent, highlighting the connection through mutual...
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The Founder's Financial Compass: Navigating Emotions and Assumptions with Fractional CFO Lauren Pearl
The Conversation Factory
Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: Please support the podcast! 💌 : 💌 : or with : : Check out for the full transcript and video highlights. Money! It can be an emotional topic. But, as my guest on today's podcast, fractional CFO Lauren Pearl says, it's emotional for everyone in different ways! In this episode, Lauren reveals her perspectives on how to approach these difficult conversations. Given how many leaders she’s worked with, we also explore her thinking about effective leadership, intentional...
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Join or Die: Behind the Scenes of Creative Collaboration
The Conversation Factory
Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: Please support the podcast! 💌 : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 : or with : https://bit.ly/support-tcf-monthly : Check out for the full transcript and video highlights: Key Chapters 00:00 Growing Up Together: A Family Legacy 02:58 The Birth of a Documentary Idea 06:02 Navigating the Journey: Challenges and Growth 09:02 The Lens of Community: A New Perspective 12:01 Conflict and Collaboration: The Art of Working Together 14:54 The Long Haul: Commitment and Transformation 22:15 The Transformative...
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Founder-Led Sales and Building Co-founder Relationships
The Conversation Factory
Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk, and master the art of conversations big and small: Please support the podcast! 💌 : https://spoti.fi/3QzcPAW 💌 : or with : : Check out for the full transcript and video highlights. We break down: The Importance of Deep and Authentic Conversations and unpack how Natalise fosters honest and open conversations and has worked to build a company culture that reflects these values. Intentional Co-founder Relationship Building: We talk about how Natalise and her co-founder, Nathan Brown, approached building a strong relationship...
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The Inner Work of Leadership with Carole Robin, PhD
The Conversation Factory
Master the art of conversations big and small - both inside yourself and in your teams and organization. Get free chapters of my book, Good Talk: Please support the podcast! 💌 Subscribe on Spotify: 💌 iTunes: or with a monthly contribution here: or make a one-time donation here: For the full transcript, video highlights, and more show links, check out the episode page here: Every conversation - especially the hard ones - is an opportunity to learn more about yourself, to learn about another person and to learn about interpersonal dynamics - if you can set aside judgment...
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Your Brain on Beautiful Conversations with Anjan Chatterjee
The Conversation Factory
Download free chapters from Please support the podcast by or , making , or making . Check out for the full transcript and video highlights. Dr. Anjan Chatterjee is a renowned professor and the founding Director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics. He's a leading expert on how our brains perceive beauty and art, and author of an engaging book on this topic: “The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art" In this beautiful conversation, we explore: the intersection of beauty, conversation, and the human brain how our biological evolution has...
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Changing the Political Conversation with Nick Troiano
The Conversation Factory
If you want to change the game, changing the rules and incentives of the game is a powerful approach. Few people who watch the news - or those folks who avoid watching the news! - would say the political system in the United States is going according to plan. The founding fathers, if they were alive today, would be aghast at the unbridgeable chasm that seems to have developed in our political culture, making dialogue, compromise and progress nearly impossible on some of our most pressing issues. In fact, our founding fathers warned against the rise of what they called factions in their...
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The Secrets of Motivation and Systems Change with Becca Block, PhD
The Conversation Factory
Warning - this episode uses a specific curse word - a lot. And once we started using one, we started using more of them. So…if f-bombs, sprinkled like salt are not your cup of tea, this is a good episode to skip! My guest today is Rebecca R Block, PhD, who is an expert in helping organizations build programs, services and products that equip young people to develop the confidence and skills they need to enter adulthood as thriving and adaptable lifelong learners. She has spent the last 14 years leading the design, improvement, and evaluation of educational programs and services to make them...
info_outlineDavid Hoffman built and sold big-data and data analytics company Next Big Sound to Pandora in 2015. He's now building Beam, which helps people create shoppable mood boards for DTC brands.
David reflects on his experience with mentorship and the long arc of the conversation that is being a co-founder and being in community. We unpack the Techstars motto "give first" and discuss the power of the Techstars community and the importance of community relationships in entrepreneurship.
We talk through the complex evolution that is founding and scaling a startup, his experience doing just that with Next Big Sound, and the challenges of becoming a leader inside a growing company.
One challenge is always scaling culture as a company scales, and David outlines some of the routines and structures that helped in defining his startup's culture. David also shares some insights on the post-startup-sale emotional roller coaster and the decision to build another company. Some of my other favorite insights from David:
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Living the “Give First” motto requires approaching everything with curiosity.
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“Grown ups” is a construct: When it is your idea and your company, you can make the decisions you need to make.
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Your Culture is made of your routines, whether it’s Friday bagels or snap-clapping after people share wins.
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Your MVP product can be much, much more simple than you think if it creates value for your customers.
David’s nuanced reflections are a gift, and I’m so glad he sat down for this conversation.
Head over to theconversationfactory.com/listen for full episode transcripts, links, show notes and more key quotes and ideas. You can also head over there and become a monthly supporter of the show for as little as $8 a month. You'll get complimentary access to exclusive workshops and resources that I only share with this circle of facilitators and leaders.
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