The Corporate Life – Billion Dollar Conversations | Cinematic Stories of Tech CEOs, Multimillion-Dollar Entrepreneurs, and

Hina Siddiqui
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

🎬 Every life is a movie - and the Tech CEOs, multimillion-dollar entrepreneurs, and Leading Investors who come here reveal the real story behind their rise. The Corporate Life - Billion Dollar Conversations is a cinematic podcast hosted by Hina Siddiqui, CEO & Founder of Corporate Influence Media and creator of Capital-Stage Credibility Positioning. Every episode uncovers the human story underneath the success - the turning points, reinventions, identity shifts, and billion-dollar decisions that made extraordinary founders, investors, and leaders who they are. Because the story underneath the success is never the one on the headline. And that story is exactly where real authority lives. Every life is a movie. Here, we find the scene that changes everything. Heard in 94 countries · 800+ cities · Top 3% globally · 150+ episodes · 3 seasons. New episodes every week on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

  1. 19h ago

    Natalie Glebova: Two Suitcases, a Dream, and the Miss Universe Crown

    Send us Fan Mail Natalie Glebova won Miss Universe 2005 as a Russian immigrant many people told her she couldn't win. Two decades later, she's telling a very different story - about the identity crisis that followed the crown, why she ran from a 10-day meditation retreat after four days, and why she'd choose freedom over fame every time. What You Will Learn You'll hear how Natalie went from feeling like a second-class citizen as a young immigrant in Canada to winning Miss Universe Canada on her second attempt, and why she calls the title itself "the most scenic route" to a destination she believes she was always headed toward. She talks candidly about the identity crisis that followed her win, why achieving something that big at a young age left little room for real self-awareness, and how she eventually found her way into meditation, spirituality, and the plant medicine ceremonies that reshaped how she sees herself. She also opens up about writing her book Temple of Love, what true self-love actually requires, and why she believes freedom - not fame - is the truest measure of a life well lived. Timestamps 0:00 - Immigrant roots and bullying growing up in Canada 1:24 - Competing (and losing) Miss Universe Canada the first time 3:37 - Trying again and winning the title 5:58 - How life changed after winning Miss Universe 7:43 - What actually makes a winner 13:41 - The identity crisis behind the crown 17:00 - Discovering meditation - and failing Vipassana 24:52 - Writing Temple of Love 30:51 - Ayahuasca, plant medicine, and the shaman Nayana 44:15 - The line from her book that still moves her 53:17 - What she's still learning about herself 55:46 - Fame or freedom? 59:03 - Her closing mantra: "This is happening for me" About the Guest Natalie Glebova is a Russian-Canadian author and energy coach who won Miss Universe 2005. She now runs a coaching practice focused on inner beauty and self-love, and is the author of Temple of Love: A Pilgrimage to the Heart. Important Links Connect with Natalie https://www.natalieglebova.com/ Connect with Hina LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hinasiddiqui Instagram: @hinawithwings YouTube: @thehinasiddiqui Check out Hina's books: https://amzn.to/3B65Wz7 Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

  2. Jul 15

    Mike Grossman: Six Companies, Six Acquisitions — The Emotional Truth of Silicon Valley Nobody Talks About

    Send us Fan Mail Mike Grossman has built and sold six companies in Silicon Valley — one of them growing to a $30 million run rate in under a year before Congress legislated its business model out of existence overnight. In this conversation, he explains why his book is called Failure Is an Option, why the best things in his life were never the ones he planned, and why he walked away from funding rather than push out his co-founder and best friend. What You Will Learn Mike shares how a single unplanned answer in a job interview set off a chain of decisions that led him to his wife, his career, and Silicon Valley itself.  He talks about refusing an investor's demand to remove his co-founder as CEO, and what that cost him in delayed funding.  He walks through losing a business overnight to new legislation, and how a failed IPO attempt during COVID turned into a better outcome than going public would have.  He also unpacks why he believes decisions should be made on analysis rather than emotion, and how the three roles of a CEO — strategist, psychologist, and storyteller — shape everything else. Timestamps  00:00 — The interview moment that changed everything 07:40 — Starting his first company the day his wife went into labor 10:00 — The investor who wanted him to fire his best friend 15:47 — Building six companies and learning patience through negotiation 18:38 — Luck, belief, and staying level through the ups and downs 27:02 — Redefining success on your own terms 28:21 — This or That with Mike Grossman 31:23 — The three roles of a CEO: strategist, psychologist, storyteller About the Guest Mike Grossman has founded and sold six companies across Silicon Valley, spanning small business finance, lending, and fintech. He is the author of Failure Is an Option, a book built from 44 stories drawn from his own entrepreneurial career, exploring how setbacks, unplanned decisions, and patience shape long-term success. Connect with Mike at failureisanoption.com. Important Links Connect with Mike - mikegrossman86@gmail.com Failure is not an option  - https://www.failureisanoption.com/ Connect with Hina LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hinasiddiqui Instagram: @hinawithwings YouTube: @thehinasiddiqui Check out Hina's books: https://amzn.to/3B65Wz7 Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

  3. Jul 8

    Alex McIntyre: He Called the Dot Com Bubble — and Nobody Listened. Here's What His Algorithm Saw

    Send us Fan Mail In 1999, while the world was buying tech stocks with both hands, Alex McIntyre's algorithm was telling clients to sell. The dot-com bubble burst anyway. Three decades and a 76.2% hit rate later, Alex is still making the same argument: the biggest threat to an investor's returns isn't the market, it's their own emotion. What You Will Learn How a purely quantitative, emotion-free model has called major market turns — including the 2008 financial crisis — three to six months ahead of the curve. Why even sophisticated investors get fooled by a "good label," the same way wine critics are swayed by a famous name on the bottle. What separates a hedge fund's agility from a pension fund's caution, and why that difference matters for returns. How Alex identifies balance sheet red flags that traditional P/E-focused analysts miss entirely. Why he shut down his first hedge fund during COVID — and what's different about the relaunch. Timestamps 00:00 — Calling the dot-com bubble before it burst  01:14 — Why clients still want the glossy report over the cold data  03:16 — The wine critic theory: how labels fool even experts  06:01 — Spotting balance sheet red flags others miss  06:34 — How the algorithm was built — and how it found its first client  18:00 — Why he's raising a hedge fund now  21:02 — The meeting that triggered the decision to launch  23:03 — What founders get wrong about hedge funds  26:18 — This or That with Alex McIntyre  28:29 — The title of his life story, and why About the Guest Alex McIntyre has spent over three decades in quantitative investing, beginning his career in proprietary trading and market making with SG Warburg's and Lehman Brothers in London and New York. He now runs a stock-picking algorithm — originally built in the late 1980s by a mathematician colleague and launched commercially in 1998 — that has served Tier 1 pension funds and hedge funds for over twenty years with a 76.2% hit rate. Alex is currently raising capital to relaunch his hedge fund. Important Links Connect with Alex Connect with Hina LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hinasiddiqui Instagram: @hinawithwings YouTube: @thehinasiddiqui Check out Hina's books: https://amzn.to/3B65Wz7 Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

  4. Jul 1

    The Arrogance Tax - What It Actually Costs Businesses and Founders Who Don't Know They're Paying It | Robert A Wilson

    Send us Fan Mail Robert A Wilson built a career out of refusing to play it safe - leaving the comfort of certainty behind to question arrogance everywhere he found it, from job sites to boardrooms to himself. A returning guest on the show, he explains why most companies don't fail from bad strategy, but from leaders who stop listening to the people doing the work. What You Will Learn How unrecognized arrogance quietly breaks teams from the insideWhy "book knowledge" alone can't replace hands-on, hands-dirty wisdomWhat happens to leaders who never question their own certaintyHow to use chaos as a signal instead of a threatWhy silence in a room is often the smartest voice in itAbout the Guest Robert A Wilson is a union electrician and founder of My Cowboy Wisdom, where he explores how arrogance, ego, and certainty quietly limit people in business and life. A returning guest on The Corporate Life Podcast, he's known for his unfiltered, no-credential-required take on leadership and his refusal to follow the rules of self-help culture. Timestamps  00:00 — What is arrogance in business, really?  02:30 — The arrogance of not listening to your team  06:01 — Blame, ego, and the need to be right  08:33 — Is AI taking from us, or are we letting it?  14:38 — Liberation vs. healing: getting out of the story  17:15 — Chaos as a breath of fresh air for intuition  22:58 — College degrees vs. "hands-dirty wisdom"  42:35 — This or That with Robert Wilson  49:34 — The biggest limitation in your business is you Connect with Robert Robert A Wilson's website: https://mycowboywisdom.com Connect with Hina Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/ Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday and Friday.

  5. Jun 24

    April Brucker: She Chose Puppets Over Him - Here's What Happened Next

    Send us Fan Mail April Brucker built a career out of a decision most people told her not to make — choosing her ventriloquist puppets over her fiancé, then turning that story into television features, a streaming special, two music releases, and a published book. In this episode, she explains why staying visible to a specific, niche audience — rather than chasing mainstream approval — is what turned an "unconventional path" into a career with staying power. What You Will Learn How to turn a personal ultimatum into the foundation of a careerWhy visibility with a niche audience can outlast chasing mainstream approvalWhat it actually costs, in years and rejection, to stay unconventionalHow one street performance can snowball into TV, music, and a bookWhy a character can say what the person behind it can'tAbout the Guest April Brucker is a ventriloquist, actress, and television personality whose story — choosing her puppets over her fiancé — was the subject of TLC's My Strange Addiction. She has appeared on Entertainment Tonight, The Today Show, Judge Jerry, and The Wendy Williams Show, released two recordings with her puppet May Wilson (including a collaboration with The World Famous Ink Spots), and wrote Don't Read My Lips!, a guide to building a career as a ventriloquist. She currently hosts the streaming chat show April in Vegas. Timestamps 00:00 — Cold open: "him or the puppets"  01:47 — How an ultimatum from her fiancé changed everything  04:09 — Identity vs. attachment: puppets or something deeper  06:22 — Being judged in the "glamour world"  07:12 — Music collaborations with The World Famous Ink Spots  08:52 — What it takes to commit to an unconventional path  12:19 — The hustle years: street performance, rejection, day jobs  13:16 — "When a door doesn't open, build one"  16:45 — Donald J. Tramp: political comedy through puppetry  24:08 — This or That with April Brucker  29:13 — The title of her movie: "Did That Just Happen?" Connect with April April Brucker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-brucker-ab8a34b8/ Website: https://www.aprilbrucker.tv Book mentioned: Don't Read My Lips! Connect with Hina Hina’s Website Hina’s LinkedIn Hina’s Youtube Channel Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

  6. Jun 17

    Seva Ustinov: How He Raised $5M, Cut Onboarding From Six Weeks to Two Days, and Built the Playbook for a $100M AI Company

    Send us Fan Mail Seva Ustinov raised $5M for Plurial - AI agents for performance marketing - after rebuilding his company from scratch in a market where every founder has an AI pitch and most investors are no longer moved by them. In this episode, he explains why traction now matters more than vision, how he compressed client onboarding from six weeks to two days using a shared AI workspace, and the playbook he built by studying 17 companies that hit $100M ARR in under 36 months. What You Will Learn How to raise funding when investors are drowning in AI pitches Why a bold vision alone will not close a funding round in 2025 What the fastest-growing AI companies have in common at $100M ARR How to use a shared AI workspace to compress onboarding and scale knowledge across your team Why pricing against value - not per seat - is the structural advantage most AI founders miss About the Guest Seva Ustinov is the co-founder and CEO of Plurial, an AI agents platform for performance marketing that he rebuilt from an earlier marketing data business after identifying the AI wave early.  His previous agency scaled to $15M per year in revenue before the pivot. Seva spent 40 hours personally — and over 100 hours of agent compute time - studying 17 AI companies to extract the exact growth laws behind their rise to $100M ARR. Connect with Seva on LinkedIn and find Plurial at plurio.ai. Connect with Seva Ustinov LinkedIn: Seva Ustinov Website: plurio.ai Connect with Hina Hina’s Website Hina’s LinkedIn Hina’s Youtube Channel   Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

  7. Jun 10

    Manuel Barragan: Why AI Is Scaling Your Problems - Not Solving Them

    Send us Fan Mail Most companies chasing AI transformation are doing it in the wrong order. Manuel Barragan spent 20+ years inside organisations like Reuters and HSBC before building his own consultancy - and what he learned is this: technology cannot fix broken people and broken processes. It can only run them faster. What You Will Learn How to identify whether your company is truly transforming or just adding tools to existing dysfunction  Why putting technology before people is the single most expensive mistake in digital transformation  What AI governance actually means - and why ignoring it is exposing your company's data to the world  How to close the AI literacy gap inside your organisation before it becomes a competitive liability  Why the conductor, the musicians, and the instruments all have to be ready before the concert begins Timestamps 01:30 — From Reuters CTO to Regional CEO: What 20 Years Inside the Giants Taught Him  08:15 — Why "We're Transforming" Is the Biggest Lie in Business Right Now  10:18 — The AI Hype Trap: Why It's the Same Mistake Companies Made with SAP  14:16 — Data Governance & AI Literacy: The Hidden Risk Destroying Companies From the Inside  21:06 — This or That: Corporate World vs Entrepreneurship, AI Liberates or Replaces, and More About the Guest Manuel Barragan is a fractional executive and digital transformation strategist with 20+ years of leadership across Reuters, HSBC, Marsh, IBM, and multiple CEO and Managing Director roles across Latin America. His firm, DTS Strategist, works with corporations and SMEs to fix the people and process foundations that determine whether technology investments succeed or fail. He is currently writing a book on navigating digital transformation through the human lens.  Connect with Manuel  LinkedIn: Manuel Barragan  Website: www.dtstrategist.com Connect with Hina Hina’s Website Hina’s LinkedIn Hina’s Instagram Hina’s Youtube Channel  Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday and Friday. Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

  8. Jun 3

    Sreedhar Peddineni: Why He Walked Away From a $1.2B Exit and Started Building Again

    Send us Fan Mail Sreedhar Peddineni co-founded Gainsight - the world's first customer success platform - at a time when customer success didn't exist as a recognised function. After a $1.2 billion acquisition, he returned to build again, this time targeting a billion-dollar revenue enablement category he believes is fundamentally broken. His thesis: in the AI era, the go-to-market motion matters more than the product - and most founders are still building backwards. What You Will Learn How to identify when your category label is suppressing your growth and what to do about itWhy the human sales role doesn't disappear with AI - and where it gets more valuableWhat Sreedhar changed about his company's positioning to move from "enablement" to "revenue activation"How AI is widening the gap between founders who use it strategically and those who don'tWhy investors now penalise companies for headcount - and what that means for your ARR storyTimestamps  00:00 — After a $1.2B exit, why start again?  03:24 — How Gainsight created the customer success category from nothing  10:03 — The billion-dollar revenue enablement category nobody talks about  16:49 — What's broken in sales tech — and why everyone's saying the same thing  21:35 — The role of human sellers in an AI-first world  24:22 — Why AI still feels like work — and why that gap is widening  32:00 — Sreedhar's advice for founders building in the AI era About the Guest Sreedhar Peddineni is a two-time founder whose exits include Host Analytics (acquired 2017) and Gainsight (acquired 2020 for $1.2 billion) - the platform credited with establishing customer success as an enterprise function. He is now building GTM Buddy, an AI-native revenue activation platform operating in the $1B+ sales enablement category. Connect with Sreedhar on LinkedIn and follow GTM Buddy at gtmbuddy.ai. Sreedhar’s LinkedIn GTM Buddy Website Connect with Hina Hina’s Website Hina’s LinkedIn Hina’s Instagram Hina’s Youtube Channel  Hina’s Email  Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

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🎬 Every life is a movie - and the Tech CEOs, multimillion-dollar entrepreneurs, and Leading Investors who come here reveal the real story behind their rise. The Corporate Life - Billion Dollar Conversations is a cinematic podcast hosted by Hina Siddiqui, CEO & Founder of Corporate Influence Media and creator of Capital-Stage Credibility Positioning. Every episode uncovers the human story underneath the success - the turning points, reinventions, identity shifts, and billion-dollar decisions that made extraordinary founders, investors, and leaders who they are. Because the story underneath the success is never the one on the headline. And that story is exactly where real authority lives. Every life is a movie. Here, we find the scene that changes everything. Heard in 94 countries · 800+ cities · Top 3% globally · 150+ episodes · 3 seasons. New episodes every week on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

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