North Star Leaders

Lindsay Pedersen
  • 5.0 (6)
  • MANAGEMENT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

As a leader, how do you know where to focus? When there are a hundred possibilities, how do you direct your time, your team, your budget, your emotional energy? And - how do you step back and consider the longer term? How do you set conditions for the business to create value not just now, but for years and decades? How do you dance the tension between creating economic value now, while also serving a noble purpose? If you wonder about these things, then this podcast is for you.

  1. Rules Broken with Amanda Kahlow

    JAN 27

    Rules Broken with Amanda Kahlow

    Some leaders chase certainty. Others chase challenge, purpose, and the uncomfortable edge where real growth happens. In this episode of North Star Leaders, Lindsay sits down with Amanda Kahlow, CEO of 1Mind, for a grounded, honest conversation about leadership in the age of AI - where ambition, humanity, and self-awareness all have to coexist. Amanda shares how personal mission, spiritual grounding, and radical clarity shape the way she builds companies, makes hard calls, and shows up as a leader. You’ll hear them discuss: Why Amanda is drawn to unachievable goals, challenge, and the highs and lows of entrepreneurship How her upbringing shaped her resilience, values, and the way she thinks about success and family Creating a personal mission statement and using it as a compass for leadership and life Showing up as an authentic leader without conforming to traditional or male-dominated leadership norms The discipline of self-reflection, including learning to pause and choose your second reaction Rethinking go-to-market teams with AI by starting from a clean slate instead of fixing old processes Being honest about AI replacing jobs, and how that shift could allow humans to reconnect with what makes them human Resources: Amanda Kahlow on 1mind | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    32 min
  2. Fearless Biology with Ridhi Tariyal

    JAN 20

    Fearless Biology with Ridhi Tariyal

    How does a founder stay deeply hands-on without slipping into micromanagement? And what really happens when you build a company around something the world has been taught not to talk about? In this episode, Lindsay and Ridhi Tariyal - CEO and co-founder of NextGen Jane, dive into the reality of leading a precision-medicine company in a space shaped by stigma, silence, and an explosion of new science. Ridhi brings a refreshingly candid look at writing, leadership, fundraising myths, and the changing landscape of women’s health - all while building a company that asks people to rethink what menstrual blood can teach us. You’ll hear them discuss: Why she insists on drafting everything herself before AI comes anywhere near it What has (and hasn’t) changed about the stigma around menstruation over the past decade The surprising ways investors used to redirect her pitches simply because she was a woman founder in femtech The role menstrual blood could play in understanding the menopause transition far earlier and more precisely How she balances being “in the mud” with letting her team actually own their work The moment she knows she’s crossed from helpful to too involved The work norms she refuses to adopt, even in Silicon Valley Why raising more capital doesn’t magically reduce a founder’s stress The emotional and practical realities of leading a company that’s creating an entirely new product category Resources: Ridhi Tariyal on NextGen Jane | NextGen Jane Instagram | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    24 min
  3. Why Matters with Terry Myerson

    JAN 13

    Why Matters with Terry Myerson

    What happens when a tech leader decides to take on one of the hardest problems in healthcare - building a system that can actually save lives with data? How do you unite dozens of massive health systems, a pandemic, and a shared mission into one groundbreaking company? In this episode, Lindsay sits down with Terry Myerson, CEO of Truveta and former Microsoft executive, to unpack the story of how an idea born in the chaos of 2020 became one of the most innovative healthcare data platforms in the world. Terry opens up about what it takes to lead through uncertainty, how to rally people around a clear “why,” and what he’s still learning five years into building Truveta. You’ll hear them discuss: How a simple but bold mission - “saving lives with data” - became the heartbeat of Truveta Why the early days of the pandemic revealed how little usable healthcare data actually existed The power of simplicity when trying to build momentum around a big idea What Terry learned about leadership, culture, and purpose from his years at Microsoft How to balance the “why, how, and what” when you’re building something brand new The surprising parallels between leading a startup and leading a huge corporate team Why Terry believes the best learning doesn’t come from books, but from diving in and doing the work Resources: Terry Myerson on Truveta | Truveta's LinkedIn | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    24 min
  4. Prioritize Boldly with Andrew Grauer

    JAN 6

    Prioritize Boldly with Andrew Grauer

    How do you decide what to build when every day brings a hundred new possibilities? And how do you keep your focus without losing the spark of creativity? In this episode of North Star Leaders, Lindsay talks with Andrew Grauer, CEO of Learneo, the company behind well-known brands like Course Hero, CliffNotes, and QuillBot. Andrew opens up about what it’s like to lead through rapid change, why empathy has always been at the core of his approach, and how he balances the thrill of innovation with the discipline of prioritization. They also explore the personal side of leadership - what keeps Andrew energized and how he avoids burnout after nearly two decades of building companies. You’ll hear them discuss: Why watching an idea go from conversation to prototype to production in record time keeps him energized as an entrepreneur How empathy for students and professionals reveals the real problems worth solving, rather than chasing surface-level fixes The way QuillBot is evolving from a writing tool into a broader platform for generative AI and multimodal communication The simple decision-making framework Andrew uses to weigh priorities, risks, and opportunities when setting a roadmap How he thinks about the tension between going deeper into one capability versus expanding wide into new product areas The personal routines and mindset shifts that help him stay healthy, present with his family, and resilient as a leader Resources: Andrew Grauer on Learneo | Quillbot | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    29 min
  5. Team Energy with Amanda DePalma

    12/16/2025

    Team Energy with Amanda DePalma

    Plenty of leaders talk about collaboration. Far fewer can actually make it happen—especially when the stakes are high, and the timelines are brutal. So what’s the real difference between the buzzwords and the leaders who truly deliver? In this episode, Lindsay sits down with Amanda DePalma, Head of Global Marketing for Ultrasound at Siemens Healthineers. Amanda shares the real stuff: how she learned to lead cross-functional teams without micromanaging, the years it took to trust her own thinking style, and the moments that shaped her commitment to mentorship and diversity. She also opens up about the role storytelling plays in healthcare, why patient impact keeps her grounded, and why the current wave of AI innovation finally feels different - and genuinely helpful - for clinicians and patients. You'll hear them discuss: How Amanda’s early career in every corner of marketing shaped the way she leads today The culture of trust she builds so teams can do their best work without being over-managed The moment she realized authenticity mattered more than mimicking the “loudest voice in the room” Why forcing people to behave outside their natural style leads to burnout The difference between coaching, mentoring, and sponsoring and why sponsorship changed her career How real patient stories keep teams connected to the purpose behind the work The global challenges clinicians face right now, from staffing shortages to long diagnostic wait times Why AI is finally moving from buzzword to real-world impact in imaging and procedures The possibilities opening up at the intersection of devices, imaging, and intelligent workflows Resources: Amanda DePalma on Siemens Healthineers | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    23 min
  6. Local Value with Todd Dunlap

    12/09/2025

    Local Value with Todd Dunlap

    Every box on your doorstep, every item you’re ready to toss - could those be hidden opportunities to build community? Todd Dunlap, CEO and board chair of OfferUp, thinks so. In this episode, he joins Lindsay to talk about why local marketplaces are about far more than buying and selling. For Todd, it’s about people, trust, and connection - and the leadership lessons that keep him grounded while running a fast-growing business. You’ll hear them discuss: How business problems across industries tend to rhyme, but the people you solve them with make all the difference The ways OfferUp is helping communities unlock local value in goods, services, and even conversations A simple used boat cover that turned into something life-changing for a family in need Why Todd welcomes respectful challenge over easy harmony when building teams His approach to decision-making: right decisions, wrong decisions, and the real risk of indecision The “platinum rule” of leadership he picked up from his mom, and why it matters more than ever Why his core principle is people first, even when others argue it should be profit or shareholders Resources: Todd Dunlap on the OfferUp | LinkedIn | OfferUp on Google Play | OfferUp on App Store Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    25 min
  7. Energized Leadership with Dan Lorenc

    12/02/2025

    Energized Leadership with Dan Lorenc

    Selling doesn’t have to feel slimy. Open source doesn’t have to feel risky. And leadership doesn’t have to drain you. Dan Lorenc, CEO and founder of ChainGuard, has built a company - and a culture - around those beliefs. In this episode of North Start Leadership Podcast, Dan and Lindsay dig into what it means to build a “safe source for open source,” how to lead with authenticity, and why sometimes the best way to serve customers is to take work off their plate entirely. You’ll hear them discuss: Why Dan, an engineer at heart, fell in love with sales once he realized it could be about solving real problems for people The hidden risks of open source software, and how ChainGuard is tackling them head on The difference between building another “smoke alarm” tool versus creating a fireproof foundation How Dan keeps his team aligned and motivated in a fully remote environment Why repetition is one of the most underrated leadership tools The company values that guide ChainGuard, including the reminder to take the work seriously without taking themselves too seriously Resources Dan Lorenc on the Chainguard | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    30 min
  8. Market First with Latane Conant

    11/25/2025

    Market First with Latane Conant

    You can’t “ing” your way to winning. At least, that’s how Latane Conant, CRO of 6Sense, sees it. For her, leadership isn’t about cranking out activities - it’s about shaping markets, chasing causes instead of jobs, and finding ways to make the work actually fun. In this episode, Lindsay talks with Latane about why she calls herself a Chief Market Officer, what it really takes to create product-market fit, and why she believes anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Latane shares her no-nonsense, energetic take on building teams, leading with clarity, and bringing a sense of beauty and joy into the mix. You’ll hear them discuss: Why “anything worth doing is worth overdoing” has become Latane’s phrase The real difference between activity-based marketing and market-shaping leadership Why product-market fit is everything and why you can’t just execute your way past it How to think about category creation vs. category evolution Latane’s view on cause vs. job, and why she refuses to settle for the latter The surprising link between beauty, fun, and leadership energy in her world Her unapologetic stance on vulnerability at work and what she believes leaders should do instead Resources: Latane Conant on 6sense | LinkedIn Lindsay Pedersen - Contact me to tell me who you'd like to hear as a guest! | Connect with me on LinkedIn

    28 min
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5
out of 5
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About

As a leader, how do you know where to focus? When there are a hundred possibilities, how do you direct your time, your team, your budget, your emotional energy? And - how do you step back and consider the longer term? How do you set conditions for the business to create value not just now, but for years and decades? How do you dance the tension between creating economic value now, while also serving a noble purpose? If you wonder about these things, then this podcast is for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Lindsay Pedersen
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2023
  • Show Website
    North Star Leaders