From Grit to Growth

Dundee Growth Partners
  • 5.0 (4)
  • BUSINESS

Welcome to From Grit to Growth! With a combined 50+ years of executive experience in retail, technology, and financial services, Mark and Jennifer have played pivotal roles in the success of several Fortune 500 companies. In this podcast, they'll talk about the key factors of successful founders, what holds them back from growth, how to find the why behind what they do, and much more. 

  1. 1D AGO

    19. The 90-Day Test for Real Leadership

    What would happen inside a business if a founder stepped away for 90 days? That question cuts straight to the health of a leadership team, and most leaders know the answer the moment they hear it: things would fall apart.  In this new episode of From Grit to Growth, hosts Mark Hasebroock and Jennifer DiMotta explore what they consistently see inside companies that grow well and those that struggle to sustain the momentum. The conversation moves past org charts and titles and into how leadership teams actually operate day to day, how they make decisions, and how to show alignment when things feel uncomfortable. Accountability, communication, trust under pressure, and warning signs that surface long before results slip. They reflect on all of this and how those signals compound over time, shaping whether a business keeps moving forward or slowly loses its edge. Connect with us: Jennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedInAbout Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    18 min

  2. JAN 29

    18. Founders Burn Out Before the Business Does

    Founders talk endlessly about growth, discipline, and execution, but very few of them stop to ask a more personal question: where does your energy actually come from, and where does it disappear? This conversation explores how daily choices, stress responses, routines, and even the way leaders react in meetings can shape performance way more than ambitious goals ever could. Mark Hasebroock and Jennifer DiMotta challenge the idea that endurance alone drives success, after years of working closely with entrepreneurs and leadership teams. They look at energy as something measurable and deeply tied to our decisions quality, leadership presence, and long-term growth. If you have ever felt productive and depleted at the same time, this episode is an invitation to a different way of thinking about what sustains both you and the business. Connect with us: Jennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedInAbout Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    32 min

  3. JAN 22

    17. 3 Things That Make Strategic Planning Actually Work

    Picture this: you block off two full days for strategic planning. The room is booked, the decks are polished, energy is high… and by hour six, everyone’s half-present, half-checking email, wondering how much of this will actually stick. That frustration is exactly where this conversation begins on this new episode of From Grit to Growth. Instead of stretching planning across marathon sessions, the focus shifts to how a small amount of structure can dramatically change the outcome. What happens when leaders show up already thinking strategically? When the past is reviewed ahead of time instead of debated in the room? When every hour is interactive and anchored to a clear financial destination? Join us for a deeper look at how planning can feel focused, disciplined, and actually useful once the meeting is over. Connect with us: Jennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedInAbout Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    24 min

  4. JAN 15

    16. The Books That Changed How We Lead

    Most founders can point to a moment when the work stopped being about products, channels, or growth tactics and started feeling more personal and harder to explain, because it involved managing people, energy, conflict, and expectations, not just numbers on a dashboard. In this conversation, Mark Hasebroock and Jennifer DiMotta talk through a small set of books that have stayed with them over the years, not because they promised quick wins or clever frameworks, but because they met them differently at different stages of life and business. These are the kinds of books you skim when you are young and busy, then come back to years later and realize you missed the point the first time, because experience changes how the ideas land. This episode is for founders who feel their role expanding in ways no one prepared them for, and who are realizing that personal growth and business growth tend to move together, whether you plan for it or not. Connect with us: Jennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedInAbout Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    19 min

  5. JAN 8

    15. How Founders Build Boards That Drive Growth—Not Tension

    Most founders think about the board only when a fundraising round forces the conversation. But that room can either become a real advantage or a constant source of tension, depending on how it’s built and how it communicates. In this episode, Mark and Jennifer walk through what they’ve learned from years of serving on public and private boards. They cover everything from setting expectations early, to defining the culture you want around the table, as well as managing the rhythm of reporting so problems never pile up in silence. You’ll hear about how communication shapes nearly every outcome, how to make sure investors don’t unintentionally take control of your company, and why skill-set mapping matters far more than titles.  Connect with us: Jennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedIn About Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    21 min

  6. JAN 1

    14. Seeing What Others Missed: How Jules Pieri Built The Grommet and Changed Product Discovery

    Jules Pieri built The Grommet at a time when big-box retail was crowding out the makers creating the most interesting products. Instead of accepting that trend, she paid attention to small signals: creators experimenting on their own, customers craving discovery, and the internet reshaping the way to build trust. Her curiosity became a platform that launched thousands of products and gave underdog brands a real shot at scale.  In this episode, Jules talks about the parts of building a company that almost never appear in playbooks: the uncertainty, the timing, the decisions you make long before you feel ready, and the moments that define your leadership. She shares how she learned to move without perfect information, what missteps taught her, and why founders who start later often carry an unexpected advantage.  Connect with us: Jules Pieri on LinkedInJennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedInAbout Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    47 min

  7. 12/25/2025

    13. Simple Body: Building a Clean Beauty Brand Before It Was Cool with Founder Jewels Burdick

    Jewels Burdick never set out to build a beauty brand. She was trying to help her mom, make sense of a health scare, and clean up her own routine, but one small decision to learn more turned into weekends spent experimenting in her kitchen, long nights reading ingredient lists, and eventually a quiet but steady stream of people knocking on her design studio door asking for “more of that cream.” Simple Body grew from those moments. In this conversation, Jewels walks through the early days, the missteps, the formulas that failed, and the customers who kept telling her she was onto something. She shares what it felt like to run a business while holding down a full-time job, the turning point when she finally let herself take the brand seriously, and the later chapter when she had to rethink everything after a cancer diagnosis. Her story is full of grit, warmth, and a kind of practicality that founders will recognize immediately. It’s a reminder that a company can grow with you, change with you, and eventually reflect the life you want to live — not the one you feel pressured to chase. Connect with us: Jewels Burdick on LinkedInJennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedInAbout Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    39 min

  8. 12/18/2025

    12. Loyalty Blindness: The Hidden Risk That's Costing Founders Growth

    As the year wraps, Mark and Jennifer have the conversation most founders avoid: how the business actually performed — not how it felt. They unpack the three areas that never lie in a growing company: people, cash, and focus. Through a practical, operator-level lens, they explore how loyalty blindness quietly stalls growth, why it’s so hard to confront, and how integrity — not comfort — is what ultimately scales a business. Drawing from patterns they’ve seen across more than fifty investments, the conversation reveals why thinking bigger only becomes possible once founders get brutally honest about today’s reality. This is a grounded, practical episode designed to help founders recalibrate, reset, and step into the next year with clarity and intention. Connect with us: Jennifer DiMotta on LinkedInMark Hasebroock on LinkedInAbout Dundee Growth Partners  Dundee Growth Partners provides E-commerce leaders with the strategy, systems, and tools they need to face growth challenges and scale with confidence. With deep industry experience and AI-powered platforms, we help leadership teams scale in a sustainable way. Interested in learning more? Click the link below to get started.  Visit the Dundee Growth Partners website

    17 min
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out of 5
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About

Welcome to From Grit to Growth! With a combined 50+ years of executive experience in retail, technology, and financial services, Mark and Jennifer have played pivotal roles in the success of several Fortune 500 companies. In this podcast, they'll talk about the key factors of successful founders, what holds them back from growth, how to find the why behind what they do, and much more. 

Information

  • Creator
    Dundee Growth Partners
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 From Grit to Growth
  • Show Website
    From Grit to Growth