Disruptive Influence: The Storytelling, Communication & Executive Presence Podcast
If you know what you do but struggle to talk about it in a way that lands — this podcast is for you. Most founders, creators, and leaders have the expertise…but not the story, clarity, or communication skills to express it with confidence, conviction, and influence. Disruptive Influence is the storytelling, communication, and executive presence podcast for founders, solopreneurs, and LinkedIn-era leaders who want to communicate with more clarity and power - in meetings, in pitches, in content, and in everyday conversations. Learn how to: turn lived experience into clear, compelling stories communicate with clarity, confidence, and executive presence build a strong POV that attracts the right people sell your ideas, your value, and your vision with conviction unlock the mindset shifts behind real influence and high-performance communication Hosted by Jeff Abracen - executive storytelling coach, former agency creative director, and creator of the Disruptive Influence™ system - each episode reveals how exceptional thinkers shape narratives, build presence, and communicate in ways that create opportunity. Through a mix of solo tactical episodes and deep conversations with founders and creators who are disrupting and influencing their industries in their own way, you’ll learn how real leaders think, speak, and tell stories that move people. If you're building a company, growing a personal brand on LinkedIn, leading a team, or simply want to communicate with more confidence and conviction — this podcast gives you the tools and perspective shifts to become the most influential person in the room. ➞ Subscribe and learn how to tell stories that sell - and speak with clarity, confidence, and conviction. ➞ Connect with Jeff Abracen on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.
Episodes
In this episode, I sit down with designer, educator, founder, and category creator, Nick Broekema, the mind behind the booming discipline of Content Design and one of the most recognizable visual brands on LinkedIn™.
Nick has built something rare: a business that’s 100% inbound. No outreach. No cold emails. No chasing. Just magnetic, systematic content that compounds.
We go deep on:
- How Nick built an audience of 80k+
- How Content De...
This is a conversation about what it really takes to build a business, stand out in a sea of sameness, and recover when the hustle turns into burnout.
Louis Butterfield is the co-founder of Awesome Business Videos & Video Heroes, an agency, program & community helping founders create videos that actually get watched on LinkedIn. Known for his playful “videos in the park” format, Louis has carved out a reputation for making c...
What does it really take to stand out as a speaker in a noisy world?
The zesty and unapologetically real, Annelise McCarthy, founder of Her Speaking Coach, joins Jeff to explore what speaking with confidence really means.
From overcoming a childhood lisp to building a thriving global coaching business, Annelise shares powerful and counterintuitive lessons on communication, presence, and self-belief. This episode isn’t about tips and ...
Priya Chopra reveals the secret ingredient behind her cross-border PR and creator agencies - a blend of vibes, intuition, and a relentless Momentum Mindset that keeps brands, and teams, sweetly winning.
Priya Chopra is the founder & CEO of 1Milk2Sugars and double shot, where she mixes her “Sugar Factor” - a unique recipe of psychic intuition, empathy, and entrepreneurial grit - to help brands and creators amplify impact, loyalty...
Curtis Matsko turned a pink diary and a garage startup into a $180 million leather-goods empire - then doubled it year after year by unleashing what he calls “founder magic.” He shares how leaning into your strengths and embracing the unknown can turn every setback into a launchpad for growth.
Curtis Matsko is the CEO and co-founder of Portland Leather Goods, one of North America’s fastest-growing DTC and retail brands. A self-descr...
Jasmin Alić, LinkedIn's king of comments, content & community, shares how to turn content into conversations, stories into sales, and profile views into paying clients. We dive into warm outreach, offer alignment, and why connection beats content every time.
Jasmin is a brand strategist and community builder who’s helped thousands of creators turn personal brands into real businesses. As the founder of LinkUp and LinkBound,...
Aaron Spivak co-founded Hush, turning a weighted blanket into a Kickstarter smash and selling to Sleep Country for eight figures - all before his 26th birthday. He joins Jeff to unpack the real juice behind:
Filling Your Four Buckets – his health / friends & family / business / integrity framework
Giving Before You Take – the counter-intuitive first rule powering his invite-only Founders Club
Cooling the Market – How hun...
Shoaib Ahmed, Founder, Brand Storyteller, Ghostwriter, and Digital Nomad, joins Jeff to talk about building a business that actually works for you.
We get into personal branding that drives results, solopreneur freedom, the reality behind it, and how Shoaib curates what he calls his “little life”, for more freedom, flow, and focus. He shares how he approaches content, and what it’s like to ghostwrite for everyone from global execs t...
Mike Fata is a founder, investor, health advocate, and builder of movements. After losing 100 pounds, he co-founded Manitoba Harvest and grew it into a $100M+ hemp foods powerhouse, later guiding its $419M sale to Tilray. He’s now the CEO of Fata & Associates, host of the Founder to Mentor podcast, and an advisor to world-class natural product brands. Whether he’s mentoring founders or plunging into ice baths, Mike is all about...
Aransas Savas, motivational strategist and coach, joins Jeff to explore the real drivers behind creativity, influence, and personal growth.
They dive into why healthy conflict is essential for innovation, how to transition from chasing positional power to embodying personal power, and why authenticity, not conformity, is the real superpower.
Aransas shares how embracing play, curiosity, and even our perceived limitations can unlock n...
Rob Lawless set out to meet 10,000 strangers for one hour each. 7,000+ conversations in, the project has become more than a social experiment - it's a masterclass in empathy, presence, and the untold power of human connection.
In this conversation, we go deep into what drives Rob, how he turned a bold idea into a global movement, and what he's learned from spending thousands of hours truly listening. From growing up in a b...
Sales and communication expert & founder of the Art of Sell, Richard Moore, joins Jeff Abracen to dig into why most people are selling the wrong way, how to stop chasing vanity metrics, and what really drives business growth in 2025.
They discuss why content and engagement won’t pay the bills, how to ditch the spray-and-pray approach to sales, the power of deep, meaningful conversations over mass outreach, why client acquisition...
Presentation Coach, Creative Director, and Author, Ben Levy joins Jeff Abracen to break down the art of creative agency presentations, why the best idea doesn’t always win, and how to structure a story that sells.
Dig into the biggest mistakes people make in presentations (and how to fix them), why reading slides out loud is killing your pitch, how confidence in public speaking is built through preparation—not personality,...
Albany-based Alana Sparrow, Brand Strategist, Visual Storyteller, Founder of The VIB, and Chief Brand Officer & Co-Founder of The Foundry for Art, Design + Culture, joins Jeff Abracen to dig into why storytelling is the ultimate tool for branding success, the rapid rise of personal brands in corporate spaces, how confidence is built through action, scaling a business without sacrificing freedom, the impact of authenticity on tr...
In this extended episode, Darren Lee, Founder & CEO of Voics, and Podcast Host of Kickoff Sessions, joins Jeff Abracen to dig into how he built a 7-figure podcasting business from scratch, the importance of creating your own universe, how focus fuels success, learning through failure, why you should sell before you build, the importance of trust, the power of metrics, niching down and mastering simplicity, monetizing small audi...
Kasey Jones, Growth Strategist, Personal Brand Coach, Founder & CEO at The Solo CEO, joins Jeff Abracen to talk about how self-compassion is a superpower, turning hardship into strength and opportunity, how finding your ‘One Thing’ brings clarity and magnetism to your brand and business, why your insecurities might be your biggest differentiator, how personal branding creates meaningful connections, why Kasey is a mix between J...
Dhaval Bhatt, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Courage Inc., joins Jeff Abracen to share how he co-built Courage into one of Canada’s top and most awarded in under three years - crafting work for clients like KFC, CIBC, Kit-Kat, Taco Bell and Skip.
They chat about treating clients as collaborators, how to present big ideas & moving at the speed of culture, why the human-to-human approach matters more than ever, th...
Robb Gilbear, Coach & Founder of Growth Habit and author of Die Before They Do, joins Jeff Abracen to share how fear can spark breakthroughs, decoupling learning from school, how accountability transforms goals, using storytelling as a tool for connection, the clarity found in digital detoxes, and the power of forgiveness and empathy in healing. Robb also opens up about the personal growth behind his heart tattoo, why adaptabil...
Robin Waite, Business Coach & Founder of Fearless Business, joins Jeff Abracen to share why a 'boring business' might be for you, the 7/11/4 concept for building trust, simplifying offers for better outcomes, how fewer clients can mean better service, why giving away books is a winning strategy, how guesting on podcasts is one of the best marketing moves you can make...and so much more!
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:37 Th...
Ben Albert, Founder of Real Business Connections and Balbert Marketing, joins Jeff Abracen to discuss the journey from accidental entrepreneur to podcasting expert, the power of local connection and how to build genuine business relationships, the essential role of gratitude, the importance of commitment and consistency in podcasting, the art of storytelling, monetizing a podcast beyond sponsorships...and so much more!
Cha...
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