Unconventional Mindset

Odum Idika

Conversations with interesting people who can inspire us to become the best version of ourselves.

  1. FEB 24

    How to Get a Job in Marketing in 2026 (Become an Asset)

    Sean Williams is a 30-year marketing veteran and is the founder of Dashboard Marketing. If you care about building a meaningful career or resilient business with a brand that truly delivers this episode is for you. Today Sean will cover: 🔹 What people look for when hiring 🔹 How to keep yourself open to opportunity 🔹 Understanding that careers evolve over time 🔹 The importance of using AI to augment your ability 🔹 How brand is a promise that you need to deliver on Follow Sean: 🌐 Website 👉 https://dashboardmarketing.ca/ 🔗 LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanwillliams/ ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 Speaking to students about getting a job in marketing 00:01:41 Be open to other roles in the industry 00:02:40 It’s hard to be good at sales  00:04:30 Be valuable to potential employers 00:07:29 Biggest issue when finding a marketing job today 00:09:05 Using AI in school vs. in the real world 00:10:24 How to use AI to improve your skills and value 00:12:42 Differences between personal and business social media use 00:14:11 How to deal with negative customer interactions 00:17:53 Where is the responsibility to learn customers success? 00:19:48 Understanding your strengths 00:21:01 Sean’s background 00:22:53 Why marketing? 00:25:19 Getting laid off and starting a business  00:27:58 Influence parents had on becoming and entrepreneur 00:30:17 Finding a sense of purpose in work 00:33:33 What has change in marketing over the years 00:35:36 How companies get brand wrong 00:37:29 The immense damage of not caring for your customers  00:40:14 Don’t forget to focus on customer retention 00:41:43 Preparing for a job interview 00:43:24 Biggest problems customers are trying to solve 00:46:04 Think about your brand early on in your business journey 00:47:25 What can entrepreneurs do to help with their marketing  00:49:12 You have to network  00:51:28 LinkedIn is important for business and job hunting 00:54:24 Getting into business with your spouse  00:56:17 The importance of partnering with someone the complementary skills 00:57:24 Finding balance as an entrepreneur 00:59:25 We have different seasons as our businesses grow and evolve 01:02:49 Other things that employers look for in new hires 01:03:46 Businesses often don’t fully understand brand 01:06:53 It’s not about you, it’s about the customer 01:08:52 Final takeaway message

    1h 11m

  2. FEB 10

    If You Own A Business AI Is Not Optional

    At 17 years old Clément dropped out of school because he saw something that most people miss: the gab between theory and real life. Clément Roy is the founder of Nukleo, a digital agency that helps small and medium sized create their digital and AI ecosystems. Today Clément will cover: 🔹 Taking the time to learn about yourself 🔹 Finding the right people to build a great team 🔹 The importance of failing and learning from failure 🔹 Importance of philanthropy and giving back to your community Follow Clément: 🌐 Website 👉 https://nukleo.com/ 🔗 LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/clement-roy/ ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 Why drop out of school 00:03:22 Meditation to find yourself and find purpose 00:09:08 Becoming and entrepreneur 00:12:14 Entrepreneurship is risky 00:13:35 Starting and failing in business 00:14:25 What I learned from failure 00:21:30 When is the right time to fire someone 00:23:08 What to look for when hiring 00:26:34 Current work at Nukleo to build digital ecosystems 00:28:07 How AI is disrupting the digital space 00:41:36 Small businesses are the real heroes 00:42:17 Giving back to the community 00:50:02 Advise to young entrepreneurs: don’t be afraid to fail

    52 min

  3. FEB 3

    Our System Is Built Against You (And What You Can Do About It)

    Dave Culligan breaks down the lie we’ve been sold: work hard, be a good employee and you’ll be able to buy a house, live a comfortable life and be happy. Dave Culligan is the found of threesixfive, a creative studio located in the heart of downtown Halifax that specializes in creative story telling for ambitious brands. Today Dave will cover: 🔹 Redefining happiness beyond money 🔹 Using social media the wrong way 🔹 Authenticity, AI, and the future of online trust 🔹 Leadership and the cost of people-pleasing 🔹 The power of doing the hard inner work Follow Dave: 🌐 Website 👉 https://www.threesixfive.ca/ 🌐 Personal Website 👉 https://www.daveculligan.com/ 🔗 LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-culligan/ 🔗 Company LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-culligan/ 🔗 Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/dave.culligan/ 🔗 YouTube 👉 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ2TlP_ul9bDFBFEHP1uG8g ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 What leads to happiness 00:01:04 Navigating materialism in society 00:08:00 Balance between authenticity, professional and AI 00:14:00 Overcoming adversity and learning how to help others 00:15:22 Desire to be loved 00:20:00 Losing friends throughout life’s different seasons 00:24:38 Changing level of professionalism 00:30:07 We need to tell better stories 00:42:37 Project 365 and making one video everyday for a year 00:49:18 Mindset going into project 365 00:55:21 How to change your mindset if you’re not where you want to be (yet) 00:58:33 Importance of mentorship and being a mentor 01:03:35 Challenges facing our youth today 01:14:11 What can “I” do to help? 01:19:26 Provoke change through powerful storytelling 01:23:08 Finding common ground as Canadians 01:28:20 Advice to our youth to help them navigate through life 01:32:18 What will be the legacy for Dave?

    1h 34m

  4. JAN 20

    Stop Building Ideas No One Will Pay For (You're Solving the Wrong Problem)

    Dennis Dixon is the founder of Oquli, a lean and bootstrapped team working to build custom software tools designed to solve real-world problems. We sit down to have a candid conversation on failure, validation, and why the most successful founders learn to deeply understand real problems before trying to solve them. Today Denis will cover: 🔹 The danger of building in isolation 🔹 The importance of validating ideas quickly 🔹 Progress comes from listening more and building less 🔹 Learning when to walk away from ideas you’re attached to 🔹 How to look for problems that people actually want solved Follow Dennis: 🌐 Website 👉 https://codiii.com/ 🔗 LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisod/ 🔗 Oquli LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/company/oquli/ ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 Takeaway from this episode 00:00:35 Introduction to Dennis 00:01:47 What’s it like teaching adults as a teenager 00:04:15 Falling in love with an idea 00:08:14 Learning from people within your industry 00:11:46 Finding actually problems from the noise 00:14:47 Learning to let go of your ideas and changing your mindset 00:19:50 Finding solutions after you identify a problem 00:25:12 The hidden dangers of building software 00:29:00 Importance of getting feedback from users 00:31:50 Bootstrapping 00:37:33 Canada vs. United States for selling software 00:42:00 Mindset shift for growing business after validation 00:45:26 Don’t be ignorant to AI, even if you don’t use it 00:48:02 Putting aside ego to grow 00:53:24 Thoughts on when to quit a business 00:57:10 What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

    1h 3m

  5. 2025-12-23

    Skip the Startup Phase and Go Straight to Cash Flow (A Proven Path to Ownership)

    Entrepreneur Amin Tran takes us on a journey from being kicked out of school, holding 37 jobs, not fitting into traditional roles, to building a portfolio of companies which is tracking to generate 9 figures of revenue in 2026. Amin Tran highlights the current opportunity we have for acquiring businesses, particular in the construction industry. Today Amin will cover: 🔹 The biggest productivity killers today 🔹 The importance of trusting your gut 🔹 How to find opportunities to buy businesses 🔹 Developing strength through hardship 🔹 Why strong leadership is more critical than ever ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 Buying businesses and starting with cash flow 00:10:58 Being fired from many jobs 00:16:24 The entrepreneur mindset 00:19:42 When to continue or pivot 00:21:16 Our education system 00:24:12 Top productivity killers and a lack of strong men 00:29:09 How do we help young men 00:36:42 Learning about mergers and acquisitions 00:40:19 Growing and scaling businesses to over 8 figures in annual revenue 00:44:47 What’s on the horizon for Amin 00:46:49 Unlocking new skills 00:51:10 Growing from your past 00:55:50 Importance of having purpose 00:57:42 What it means to be a good leader 01:01:58 Managing clients 01:11:55 Women make better project managers 01:14:17 Settling down with a family 01:16:52 Navigating social media with kids 01:21:21 Amin staying away from social media 01:27:31 Leaving legacy behind to children 01:29:02 Don’t make New Year resolutions 01:34:15 Advice to break free from the 9-5 01:38:11 How to look for mentors

    1h 42m

  6. 2025-12-16

    How Downsizing Built a $2,000,000 Investment Portfolio (Stop Chasing Status)

    Luke Morgan is a passive income investor who has built his portfolio to over $2 million in assets providing him with $28,000 in monthly income. Today Luke breaks down all the investing mistakes he made, including losing $500,000 in a span of a few months. He gives us a blueprint into building wealth intentionally, how to avoid common pitfalls, and most importantly how to change your mindset to help you attain true financial freedom. Today Luke will cover: 🔹 Mindset needed for long-term investing & wealth generation 🔹 Real-estate and the hidden costs of homeownership 🔹 Pitfalls of chasing status and material possessions 🔹 How to get started with passive income investing 🔹 How to navigate risk ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 How to change your mindset  00:04:15 Introduction to Luke and passive income investing 00:07:37 Building a $2,000,000 portfolio with $28,000 monthly passive income 00:10:12 Growth mode with passive income 00:11:10 Enjoying money now 00:14:21 Path to investing: real-estate & cannabis 00:19:52 Early wins in investing leading to a dangerous mindset 00:24:36 Learning to be content and staying away from greed & envy 00:30:43 Simplest way to get started with investing (don’t lose $500,000 like Luke) 00:38:51 Simple investment strategy to make your kids millionaires 00:44:04 Social media’s negative effects on our perception of finances for our youth 00:49:40 Using social media with intent and purpose 00:52:54 Just start today 00:55:00 Understanding that Real-estate is a liability 01:06:17 Wealthsimple & Questrade for investing in Canada 01:12:41 Turning liabilities into assets

    1h 16m

  7. 2025-12-09

    How to Stand out in the Attention Economy (Psychology That Makes Your Brand Impossible to Ignore)

    Sarah Hart is the found of Hart & Co., a creative agency that helps founder-led B2B brands build memorable, attention-grabbing visual identities. Today Sarah breaks down how to stand out in today’s attention economy, and how to use simple psychology principles to hijack people’s brains so your brand stops being ignored. Today Sarah will cover: 🔹 What it means to be the glitch 🔹 Psychological principles that drive attention 🔹 Why so many brands look the same 🔹 Understanding the attention economy 🔹 The importance of having a vision as a founder Follow Sarah: 🌐 Website 👉 https://hartcocreative.com/ 🔗 LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahhartcreative/ 🔗 YouTube 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@SarahHartDesign ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 “Be the glitch” 00:02:45 Introduction to Sarah 00:07:08 Changes in brand industry 00:10:23 Psychology behind design 00:15:41 Dealing with clients 00:18:25 Tying design to the buyer’s journey 00:19:45 Finding happiness in work 00:23:46 Navigating clients as an entrepreneur 00:25:42 Psychology and design principles 00:29:42 Using AI to create assets 00:32:11 Hijacking brains 00:36:32 Finding balance in standing out 00:39:41 Tips on branding Unconventional Mindset and getting clarity 00:44:23 Challenges and joys of entrepreneurship 00:46:30 Sarah’s entrepreneurship journey and making over $100,000 early 00:52:23 Getting back into education 00:54:37 Personal growth as a business owner 01:01:34 What’s next

    1h 3m

  8. 2025-12-02

    How to Get More Customers (It's Not About You)

    Most companies don’t lose customers to competition, they lose them because they don’t really understand them. Melissa Hughes is the owner of Marketing Mile where she helps clients from all over the world truly understand their customers. Today Melissa will cover: 🔹 Asking the right questions 🔹 How to avoid making assumptions 🔹 Understanding the customer journey 🔹 Using data effectively without getting overwhelmed 🔹 Better marketing through a better understanding of your customer Follow Melissa: 🌐 Website 👉 https://marketingmile.co/ 🔗 LinkedIn 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissahughes/ ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00:00 Key takeaway from today’s episode 00:02:05 Introduction 00:06:14 Working with big clients 00:10:32 How to avoid making assumptions 00:13:49 Why entrepreneurs often don’t think about their customers 00:17:02 Melissa’s transition to entrepreneurship 00:22:10 Odum’s transition to entrepreneurship 00:25:51 Starting point to understanding your customers 00:32:07 Understanding pain points of customers’ day 00:35:10 Customer journey 00:46:30 Making data-driven decisions 00:48:53 Run intentional experiments 00:50:03 Example of great customer understanding 00:52:47 Is AI helpful for understanding customers? 00:58:30 How to nurture customers to keep them 01:01:47 Marketing mistakes by small businesses 01:05:34 Last word to entrepreneurs

    1h 6m
See All (28)

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Conversations with interesting people who can inspire us to become the best version of ourselves.

Information

  • Creator
    Odum Idika
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Unconventional Mindset
  • Show Website
    Unconventional Mindset

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