UNRIGGED with Kirk Coburn

Kirk Coburn
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The corporate game is rigged against executives over 40. Unrigged is how you get out. I'm Kirk Coburn. I created the Fractional CMO category 15+ years ago and built a firm that's placed 2,000+ executives. Now I teach the system — so you can own the playbook, keep 100%, and stop asking permission from HR departments that already decided you don't fit. This show is for corporate refugees ready to stop playing a losing game: • The data on why traditional job searching is broken • The fractional executive bypass (how to talk to founders, not HR) • Process, not motivation — the stuff that actually works • Real numbers, real stories, no corporate theater New episodes weekly. 🚀 Join The Crew: https://theretern.com/crew 📧 Newsletter: https://theretern.com/newsletter 🌐 Website: https://theretern.com #fractionalexecutive #careerover50 #executivetransition #corporaterefugee

Episodes

  1. FEB 18

    Stuart Du Casse: "They Mistake Activity for Confidence" — 30 Years of Automation Theater

    Stuart Du Casse has spent 30 years inside enterprise systems. Finance. Public sector. Regulated industries. He's the guy leadership calls when dashboards say green but their gut says something's about to blow up.  After watching the same patterns repeat for three decades — middle management containing bad news, millions wasted on testing theater, organizations throwing bodies at problems instead of fixing root causes — Stuart built AutoSpec QA and started selling his expertise directly to the C-suite.  His engagement model? The 3x3. Three critical user journeys. Three tiers of analysis. Time-boxed. Outcome-based.  In this conversation, Stuart and Kirk dig into:  - "Automation Theater" — when testing activity gets confused with actual risk reduction  - Why middle management's incentive is containment, not transparency  - How to tell a CEO their systems are at risk without getting shown the door  - The feast-and-famine pipeline problem every independent professional faces  - Why pricing by outcome beats pricing by the hour  - The truth about competing with 20-year-olds when you're 59  If you think your expertise is "too niche" to go independent, this episode will change your mind.  Your niche doesn't have to be obvious. It has to be specific.  Connect with Stuart: LinkedIn: Stuart Du Casse  Website: autospecqa.com  Join The Crew — experienced professionals building independent practices. Not motivation. System. https://theretern.com/ Full show notes: https://theretern.com/unrigged  HR filters you out. Founders don't. That's the whole game.

    39 min

  2. FEB 10

    When Corporate Betrayal Hits During Cancer Treatment - Tyler Wells Story

    Tyler Wells spent 8 years building his career at an ad agency in Knoxville. Then brain cancer changed everything. When he asked for basic accommodation during chemotherapy - just a lighter workload while his body fought for his life - HR's response was brutal: "We're not obligated to help you." They repeated it five times. This wasn't some startup. This was a global company with "unlimited PTO" - the same policy they called "abuse" when Tyler actually needed it. In this episode, Tyler breaks down: The moment he got his diagnosis at a coffee shopHow "unlimited PTO" is corporate America's biggest bait and switchWhy he had to work through surgery, radiation, and chemoThe systematic betrayal that pushed him to independenceWhy network gets you started but process scales your practiceTyler's original LinkedIn story went viral with 760K+ views because it validates what millions of experienced professionals face: corporate promises evaporate when you need them most. Resources mentioned: Tyler's LinkedIn and portfolio: tylerwells.meCorporate Refugee Quiz: theretern.com/quizUNRIGGED podcast: Subscribe wherever you listen

    39 min

  3. FEB 4

    She Saw the Rigged System at 25. Most of Us Needed a Layoff at 45.

    Samriddhi Chakraborty quit corporate in her mid-20s after watching her career become "a black box of templated synergy." Now she runs Evango Group in India as a "fractional everything." In this episode: - Her cold outreach to land client #1 (agencies wouldn't touch them) - Why "timing beats fit" in prospecting - Building fractional in a market that doesn't think it works - The moment she stopped chasing "shimmer" brands If you think you're too young, too old, or in the wrong market for fractional — listen up. Take the quiz: theretern.com/quiz

    48 min

  4. JAN 27

    001: You're Not Getting Another Corporate Job (The Data & The Bypass)

    60% of executives over 50 experience age discrimination in hiring. The system is rigged — but there's a bypass. HR filters you out. Founders don't. That's the whole game. In this episode: • The LinkedIn/AARP data on age discrimination (it's worse than you think) • Why HR is incentivized to filter you out — and it's not personal • The fractional executive bypass: Talk to founders, not recruiters • "Qualify hard, close soft" — the framework that actually works • The David story: What founders really need (hint: it's not dashboards) • Your first move this week — 3 companies, 3 problems, 0 applications Key insight: HR filters you out. Founders don't. Your experience isn't a liability. It's the product. Join The Crew — where corporate refugees navigate this together. Weekly calls, deal flow, accountability. $99/month, 15 founding spots. https://theretern.com/crew Show notes: https://theretern.com/blog/podcast-001-age-discrimination-bypass

    17 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

The corporate game is rigged against executives over 40. Unrigged is how you get out. I'm Kirk Coburn. I created the Fractional CMO category 15+ years ago and built a firm that's placed 2,000+ executives. Now I teach the system — so you can own the playbook, keep 100%, and stop asking permission from HR departments that already decided you don't fit. This show is for corporate refugees ready to stop playing a losing game: • The data on why traditional job searching is broken • The fractional executive bypass (how to talk to founders, not HR) • Process, not motivation — the stuff that actually works • Real numbers, real stories, no corporate theater New episodes weekly. 🚀 Join The Crew: https://theretern.com/crew 📧 Newsletter: https://theretern.com/newsletter 🌐 Website: https://theretern.com #fractionalexecutive #careerover50 #executivetransition #corporaterefugee

Information

  • Creator
    Kirk Coburn
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 UNRIGGED with Kirk Coburn
  • Show Website
    UNRIGGED with Kirk Coburn

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