Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast

Growth Elevated
  • 5.0 (18)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

The Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast is designed to help you become a better leader. Each week we interview C-Level leaders of SaaS and other technology companies and explore their lessons from their growth journey.

  1. Jul 31

    How This Hotel CEO Is Bringing Military Discipline to Hospitality Operations

    What if the housekeepers cleaning your hotel room were replaced by robots? In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, Julian Castelli sits down with Brian Coyne, CEO of The Service Companies, to explore how automation is already reshaping the hospitality industry and what it means for the workforce behind the scenes. The Service Companies provides outsourced cleaning to luxury hotels, casinos, and timeshares, recruiting more than 10,000 people a year. But reliable labor keeps getting harder to find, and Brian is betting that robots and drones are part of the answer. Drawing on 25+ years in the US Marine Corps, where he rose to colonel and led more than 7,000 Marines, Brian brings a rare mix of operational discipline and systems thinking to a business most guests never see. From floor-cleaning robots already deployed on property to why culture is what happens when no one is looking, this conversation dives into what it really takes to scale a people-driven business. 🔑 Key Takeaways: Why robots are already cleaning hotel floors today How COVID forced a rebuild from the floor up Why reliable labor is hospitality's biggest challenge What the Marine Corps taught Brian about scaling people Why outsourcing is about more than cutting costs 👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership inspiration and updates

    How This Hotel CEO Is Bringing Military Discipline to Hospitality Operations

  2. May 25

    John Peebles On Building AI Automation Inside Administrate

    What does practical AI adoption actually look like inside a growing enterprise software company? In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, Julian Castelli sits down with John Peebles, CEO of Administrate, to explore how a former AI skeptic found real business value in Claude Code, agentic coding, and internal workflow automation. John shares how Administrate’s enterprise onboarding process became increasingly complex as the company moved toward larger customers. With project managers, solution consultants, legacy systems, manual configuration, and “wild spreadsheets” all part of the process, implementation work had become slow, repetitive, and difficult to scale. Rather than starting with a flashy AI product feature, John focused on a painful internal bottleneck. Using AI, his team helped turn complex configuration decisions into a structured, reviewable workflow that could import setup data in about 30 seconds. This is a grounded conversation about where AI can create real operational leverage: not by chasing trends, but by solving the manual work teams already know is holding them back. 🔑Key takeaways: Why John was initially skeptical of AI How Claude Code changed his perspective Why coding is powerful because it can be tested How internal AI automation can improve speed, quality, and customer experience Why CEOs should start with practical workflows before chasing AI hype 👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership inspiration and updates

    John Peebles On Building AI Automation Inside Administrate

  3. Apr 30

    Michael Guymon on Why Fixing Weaknesses Is a Leadership Trap

    Have you been told that great leaders need to constantly fix their weaknesses? In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, Julian Castelli sits down with Michael Guymon, CEO of SQA Services and former leader at SpaceX and Rocket Lab, to challenge that idea. Michael shares why trying to turn every weakness into a strength is not just inefficient, it is a leadership trap. As companies scale, the role of a CEO shifts dramatically. You cannot do everything yourself, and trying to will slow your growth and burn you out. Instead, Michael explains why the best leaders build around their gaps by hiring people with complementary strengths. From navigating imposter syndrome to creating a culture that encourages real debate over artificial harmony, this conversation dives into what it actually takes to lead at the next level. 🔑 Key Takeaways: Why fixing weaknesses is an uphill battle Hiring for strengths and building balanced teams The difference between right person and right seat Why conflict driven cultures outperform passive teams How first time CEOs evolve their leadership style 👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership inspiration and updates

    Michael Guymon on Why Fixing Weaknesses Is a Leadership Trap

  4. Apr 20

    The $500/hr CEO: Mastering the Art of Executive Leverage with Jamie Shanks

    Are you a $500/hour executive stuck doing $5/hour work? Most founders who scale past the $5M mark eventually hit a growth ceiling, not because of product or market, but because they’re still buried in the day-to-day noise of the business. In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, Julian Castelli sits down with GetLevrg CEO Jamie Shanks to unpack what he calls the “founder’s trap”. Jamie is a serial entrepreneur who has trained over 250,000 sellers and built three seven-figure agencies. In this podcast, he shares the framework he uses to help leaders shift from low-value execution to high-impact decision-making by trading $5 tasks for $500 outcomes. We explore his “Three Ps” framework: Principle, Process, and Platform, and how offshore talent and AI can be combined to remove operational friction and accelerate growth. Jamie also breaks down his “DSO Zero” strategy, which allowed him to scale a 115-person global team starting with nothing more than a credit card and a disciplined approach to cash flow. If you’re navigating the messy middle of scaling, or trying to step out of execution and into real leadership, this episode offers a clear, practical blueprint. 👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership inspiration and updates.

    The $500/hr CEO: Mastering the Art of Executive Leverage with Jamie Shanks

  5. Apr 6

    Jay McEntire on Fixing Farming with AI and Regenerative Practices

    In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, Julian Castelli sits down with Jay McEntire, founder and CEO of ARVA Intelligence, to unpack a hard truth: modern farming is under serious pressure, and many farmers are struggling to survive. For decades, agriculture has been optimized for one thing: producing cheap calories at scale. But that model is breaking down under rising input costs, volatile markets, and unsustainable practices. Jay shares how AI is transforming key decisions in farming, from fertilizer use to soil management. By leveraging data at the field level, farmers can optimize inputs more precisely, reducing costs while improving yields and resilience. The conversation also explores how regenerative practices are turning farms into carbon assets, creating new revenue streams through environmental impact and carbon markets. If you are interested in how AI is reshaping agriculture and unlocking new economic opportunities, this episode offers a clear perspective on the future of farming, sustainability, and long-term profitability. Ready to take your leadership to the next level?  👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership inspiration and updates 🎧

    Jay McEntire on Fixing Farming with AI and Regenerative Practices

  6. Mar 23

    Is Predictable Revenue Still Possible in 2026? Aaron Ross Explains

    In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli sits down with Aaron Ross, bestselling author of Predictable Revenue, to discuss how sales and go-to-market strategies are evolving in the age of AI. Aaron reflects on the original ideas behind his book predictable revenue and explores whether those principles still apply in today’s rapidly changing business environment. While AI and automation are transforming sales tactics, Aaron explains why the core principles behind building a pipeline and driving growth remain relevant. The conversation also explores a broader shift toward nonlinear growth. As technology accelerates change, companies and individuals are moving beyond rigid, spreadsheet-driven models toward more adaptive strategies built on relationships, trust, publishing, and referrals. If you’re a founder, sales leader, or operator navigating the future of go-to-market, this episode offers practical insights on building sustainable growth in the AI era. 👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for leadership insights and updates. Let’s grow together!

    Is Predictable Revenue Still Possible in 2026? Aaron Ross Explains

  7. Mar 9

    The Recruiting Playbook for Scaling from 40 to 200+ Employees

    In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli sits down with Laura Frances Merin, a talent leader who helped scale a company from 43 employees to more than 200 during a period of hypergrowth. Laura shares lessons from over a decade of building recruiting systems at fast-growing startups and explains why great hiring isn’t about chasing resumes from big-name companies. Instead, it’s about recognizing entrepreneurial traits, building structured hiring processes, and trusting conviction when you see exceptional potential. She also discusses how authenticity and transparency with candidates can improve recruiting outcomes, including how her approach helped her achieve an extraordinary close rate when hiring top talent. If you’re a founder or leader responsible for building a team, this episode offers practical insights on identifying exceptional talent and building a hiring strategy that scales. 👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership inspiration and updates.Let’s grow together!

    The Recruiting Playbook for Scaling from 40 to 200+ Employees

  8. Feb 27

    The AI Monetization Shift: Insights from Bessemer’s Pricing Playbook

    In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli explores how AI is reshaping SaaS pricing and monetization. Drawing on insights from Bessemer Venture Partners’ AI Pricing and Monetization Playbook, Julian examines why traditional seat-based subscription models are increasingly under pressure. For years, SaaS thrived on predictable per-seat pricing with high margins and minimal variable costs. AI changes that equation. With compute costs tied to tokens, inference, and GPU usage, margins can compress if pricing isn’t aligned with value creation. Julian breaks down the shift from selling access to aligning pricing more closely with outcomes. He explores copilots, AI agents, and AI-enabled services, and discusses the implications of the coming 2026 renewal cycle for founders and buyers alike. If you’re building or investing in AI-powered software, this episode offers a practical lens on pricing strategy, margins, and long-term sustainability. 👉 Visit us at GrowthElevated.com 📲 Follow us on LinkedIn for daily leadership inspiration and updates. Let’s grow together!

    The AI Monetization Shift: Insights from Bessemer’s Pricing Playbook
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5
out of 5
18 Ratings

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The Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast is designed to help you become a better leader. Each week we interview C-Level leaders of SaaS and other technology companies and explore their lessons from their growth journey.

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