RadEO

When did the work stop being fun? You’re still showing up, still delivering, still telling everyone you're fine, while something underneath has already gone. Ross sits down with Dr Manuel (Manny) Astruc, a board-certified psychiatrist, EO member, and the founder of Your Next Act, to talk about what burnout actually looks like before it looks like burnout. Manny has lived this. He crashed in 2008, at the end of a decade of twe...

Sometimes, you hit a ceiling in your business, and it’s got nothing to do with the market, the team, or the model. And everything to do with you. 

Talie Smith has spent 25 years leading organisations through complex change. When COVID hit, her business came close to going under, and the personal work she did first is what turned it around.

We got into her Design Therapy methodology, which surfaces the misalignment sitting ...

Don Hache has started, scaled, acquired, and exited eight companies across North America over three decades. Long before AI was a talking point, he was building industrial automation systems with fuzzy logic and robotic vision. The question driving all of it has never changed: why is it done that way?

In this conversation, Don and Ross explore the framework at the centre of Don's work. Founder. Architect. Steward. Three roles. Three...

Most founders don't have a growth problem. They have a clarity problem.

Dan Grech is a serial entrepreneur who has built six startups, from selling candy at 14 to a $15 million exit. He was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism team, created and sold Miami's first podcast company, testified before Congress on AI and small business, and had a company recognised as a Minority-Owned Business of the Year in 2023. He is the founder...

Catherine Hover built a multi-location paint-and-sip business from scratch, pivoted through COVID, exited on her own terms, and is now building Palette, a female-focused co-working community in Saratoga Springs, New York. She calls herself a purveyor of fun, and she means it. 

In this episode, Catherine talks about using joy as a competitive advantage, the moment becoming a girl mom of four completely reoriented her identity an...

Morné Smit learned the hard way that the "show up and throw up" approach to pitching is dead.

After an accidental start in a soul-crushing cold-calling job, he realised that actively ignoring traditional sales training was the only way to build real trust. He discovered a simple truth: selling does not work because nobody actually wants to be sold to. Every buying decision is an emotional decision first, and service is what creates...

We often fall into the lazy thinking that family businesses are easy to hand down.

Stephen Shortt lived the messy reality. He grew up in two family businesses and nearly walked away from it all just to save his relationship with his parents.

In this episode, we talk about escaping that trap and surviving succession without burning down the family home. We unpack the "five Ps of successful succession," why the ancient Celtic concept...

We are standing at the edge of the biggest technological shift of our lifetimes, and most businesses are reacting with lazy thinking. They adopt shiny new tools without a strategy, leading to a chaotic web of shadow AI and disconnected agents. 

In this episode, I sit down with Jason Rhoades, founder of Meaningful AI, to cut through the noise. We unpack why building mediocre software is a necessary step in innovation and how to ...

We often get trapped in the lazy thinking that offering more services equals scaling. Mike Bodkin lived this. He grew his digital marketing agency, Giant Propeller, by saying yes to everything from email to media buying until the business hit a hard plateau. In this episode, we talk about escaping the generalist trap, navigating the inevitable tension between co-founders, and finding a lucrative exit through pure serendipity and pe...

In this special episode, Ross Drakes is joined by his part-time co-host Rich Mulholland, founder of Missing Link. They discuss the seismic shift AI is causing in service businesses and why the old adage "execution is everything" no longer holds. Rich argues that we are entering the era of "Tiny Epic Businesses," where the goal isn't headcount, but revenue per human. They explore how to turn internal costs into profit centres, the p...

In this episode, Ross Drakes speaks to Marina Byezhanova, co-founder of Brand of a Leader and member of EO’s Global Products Portfolio. Marina shares how she lost her first business and rebuilt from the ground up. They unpack the realities of partnership, the pull of golden handcuffs, and what it takes to start again. Marina reflects on launching EO Ukraine during a war and how courage, curiosity, and humanity keep entreprene...

In this episode, Ross Drakes speaks to Byron McFarland, founder of The McFarland Group and 21-year EO member. Byron traces a path from selling nightcrawlers to lessons in pricing, psychology, and asking for the sale. He opens up about burnout, the coach who exposed his blind spot, and choosing work that fits his wiring.

Together, they explore the human condition: what motivates us, what breaks us, and how honesty builds trust and r...

In this episode, Ross Drakes speaks to Ami Kassar, founder and CEO of Multifunding and creator of EO’s Grit Group.

Ami shares how childhood memories of immigrant families around his kitchen table shaped his philosophy of generosity and peer learning. They explore the realities of starting again after corporate collapse, the discipline of saying no, and why business owners should focus on fundamentals before chasing shiny fram...

In this episode, Ross Drakes sits down with Carrie Schochet, founder of Purple Squirrel Advisors, who got "forced" into entrepreneurship when circumstances changed after maternity leave.

From starting as a single recruiter competing against global firms to building a thriving business by hunting "purple squirrels" (the impossible-to-find perfect candidates), Carrie shares her strategic approach to finding opportunities in the space...

In this episode, Ross Drakes sits down with Igor Vainshtein, a serial entrepreneur who has started over 20 businesses, failed at most, had an exit, written books, and created a board game.

From losing 12 properties in three months at the age of 23 to building a golf simulator empire that was sold to the company that had called him a decade earlier, asking, "Why do you have our name? Who the hell are you?" Igor shares the raw realit...

When your business crashes, your reputation tanks, and your wife’s about to give birth… what do you do?

In this jaw-dropping episode of RadEO, Ross Drakes sits down with Shawn Johal; entrepreneur, coach, author of The Happy Leader, to unpack the wild, humbling, and inspiring story of how he lost everything, rebuilt from the ashes, and ended up leading a business culture so powerful that private equity bought in because ...

What if the way you lead is the very thing holding your business back?

In this episode of RadEO,  Ross sits down with Joss Du Trevou, a leadership coach who has spent years helping high-performing entrepreneurs, CEOs, and teams get out of their own way.

Joss believes that most business problems aren’t external; they’re internal. Your fears, mindset, and habits shape how you show up as a leader. If you’re not pa...

Building a business is supposed to give you freedom. So why does it so often feel like a prison?

In this episode of RadEO, I sit down with Ronen Aires - entrepreneur, author, speaker, and the guy who swears by breathwork, cold plunges, and unconventional ways to unlock peak performance.

Ronen co-founded Student Village, scaling it into South Africa’s leading student marketing agency. But along the way, he fell into the trap so ...

What happens when your business is $600K in debt, your bank is ready to take your house, and your kid stops talking to you?

For most people, that’s the end. For Todd Palmer, it was the beginning of something bigger.

Todd realised the biggest problem in his company wasn’t the market, the customers, or the economy. It was him.

In this episode, Todd shares how hitting rock bottom forced him to rebuild; not just his business, ...