Built for This

Carly Pepin

 Where vision meets execution and legacy begins. Built For This is the podcast for founders, business owners, C-Suite Executives, and vision-driven leaders who know their business isn’t just what they do, it’s an extension of who they are. Hosted by business strategist and human behavior specialist Carly Pepin, each episode dives into candid, intelligent conversations with high-performing business owners and executives. These are the real stories behind growth: the pivotal moments, the internal shifts, the strategic moves, and the unseen pressure that comes with building something that lasts. With a sharp eye for strategy and a deep understanding of human behavior, Carly brings out the clarity, conviction, and contradictions that drive exceptional leadership. You’ll hear what’s working, what’s not, and what it actually takes to grow a business without losing yourself in the process. This is where business and personal development meet: honest, direct, and built to bring life to your vision. Whether you’re growing your next big thing or recalibrating to get back on track, Built For This is your space to think, build, and lead with purpose.

  1. Building a Healthier Generation: How Jennifer Chow Is Changing Kids' Nutrition

    2d ago

    Building a Healthier Generation: How Jennifer Chow Is Changing Kids' Nutrition

    In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Jennifer Chow, co-founder of Nurture Life, to explore the intersection of entrepreneurship, nutrition, and the challenge of helping children build healthier relationships with food. Jennifer shares the story behind Nurture Life and the gap she discovered as a parent. While there were growing options for babies transitioning to solid foods, healthy, convenient meals for toddlers and young children were surprisingly limited. Determined to solve a problem she was experiencing firsthand, Jennifer and her co-founder launched Nurture Life, starting with a small team operating out of a converted restaurant before growing into a nationwide company serving families across the United States. Throughout the conversation, Jennifer offers an honest look at what it takes to build and scale a food business, from navigating manufacturing and logistics to maintaining quality standards while expanding operations and entering retail distribution channels. Beyond the business journey, Carly and Jennifer dive into the realities of children's nutrition and eating habits. They discuss picky eating, food preferences, parental influence, and why understanding child psychology is often just as important as understanding nutrition. Jennifer explains why healthy food must be more than nutritious. It must also be appealing, enjoyable, and something children genuinely want to eat. This episode is a thoughtful conversation about entrepreneurship, parenting, leadership, and the role businesses can play in helping families build healthier futures.   Key Themes The Best Businesses Often Solve Personal Problems Nurture Life began when Jennifer recognized a challenge many parents face: finding nutritious, convenient meals for growing children. By solving a problem she personally experienced, she built a company that now supports thousands of families nationwide. Healthy Food Has to Be Appealing, Too Jennifer explains that nutrition alone is not enough. If children aren't attracted to a meal visually or don't enjoy eating it, even the healthiest food won't have an impact. Success comes from combining nutrition, taste, presentation, and understanding child behavior. Scaling Requires Strong Systems and Constant Adaptation From a small startup kitchen to a large-scale production facility and national distribution network, Jennifer shares how operational excellence, customer feedback, and thoughtful planning helped Nurture Life grow while maintaining quality and trust.   Memorable Quotes "If they don't want to try it, if they're not attracted to it from a visual perspective, we've completely lost the battle." "One in ten children in our country will eat enough fruits and vegetables per day." "It's not just about crafting a perfect meal from a nutrition perspective. It has to be delicious, visually appealing, and a kid has to want to eat it."   About Jennifer Chow Jennifer Chow is the co-founder of Nurture Life and a passionate advocate for children's nutrition and healthy eating habits. As a mother of two boys and a lifelong food enthusiast, she has dedicated her career to helping families make healthier choices without sacrificing convenience. At Nurture Life, Jennifer leads product development, marketing, customer experience, and company strategy, with a mission to make nutritious eating more accessible for children at every stage of development. Before founding Nurture Life, Jennifer spent 17 years in the technology industry, holding leadership roles in marketing and product development, including serving as Vice President of Marketing at Engine Yard and leading marketing initiatives for SAP's outsourcing business across the Americas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.   Connect with Jennifer http://nurturelife.com/

    54 min
  2. The Longevity Revolution: Helping People Stay Younger, Stronger, and Independent with Dr. Hany Demian

    6d ago

    The Longevity Revolution: Helping People Stay Younger, Stronger, and Independent with Dr. Hany Demian

    In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Dr. Hany Demian, board-certified chronic pain specialist, healthcare entrepreneur, and founder of Presentia Healthcare, for a fascinating conversation about the future of health, longevity, leadership, and performance. What started as a career path toward surgery evolved into a mission to fundamentally change how healthcare approaches chronic pain, recovery, and aging. After seeing the limitations of conventional treatment models firsthand, Dr. Demian began exploring a more comprehensive approach that focused on identifying and addressing the root causes of health challenges rather than simply managing symptoms. Today, through Presentia Healthcare, he leads a growing network of clinics across Canada and the United States dedicated to helping people optimize health, improve recovery, reduce chronic pain, and extend both lifespan and healthspan. Throughout the conversation, Carly and Dr. Demian explore why chronic pain is often the result of multiple systems breaking down simultaneously, including sleep, nutrition, hormones, inflammation, stress, and recovery. They discuss the growing role of regenerative medicine, personalized healthcare, AI-powered health optimization, and the exciting future of longevity science. Beyond medicine, Dr. Demian shares valuable lessons from his entrepreneurial journey, including the realization that he had built a business completely dependent on him, and how executive leadership training helped him create a scalable, self-managing organization capable of growing beyond its founder. This episode is an insightful exploration of health, business, leadership, and what it truly means to help people live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.   Key Themes Pain Is Often the Result of Multiple Underlying Factors Dr. Demian explains that chronic pain rarely stems from a single issue. Sleep quality, nutrition, hormones, inflammation, recovery, stress, and lifestyle all contribute to how the body functions. Sustainable healing comes from understanding and addressing these interconnected systems. A Business Should Not Depend on Its Founder One of Dr. Demian's biggest leadership breakthroughs came when he realized he had built a business that couldn't function without him. By developing systems, empowering leaders, and creating clear operational structures, he transformed the organization into a scalable business capable of thriving independently. Longevity Is About Living Better, Not Just Longer For Dr. Demian, longevity is not simply about adding years to life. It is about preserving strength, mobility, independence, and vitality so people can continue doing the things they love for as long as possible.   Memorable Quotes "Pain is actually a multi-system organ failure. You don't have pain because just your disc is herniated or bulging." "You don't have a company. You have a glorified job." "I identify the business. The business doesn't identify me."   About Dr. Hany Demian Dr. Hany Demian is a board-certified chronic pain specialist, regenerative medicine expert, and healthcare entrepreneur dedicated to helping people perform better, recover faster, and age more successfully. As the founder of Presentia Healthcare, he has pioneered an integrated approach to chronic pain and longevity medicine that focuses on treating root causes rather than symptoms alone. His work combines evidence-based medicine, advanced biologic therapies, peptides, regenerative treatments, and data-driven health optimization to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Known for his practical, science-backed approach, Dr. Demian continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in modern healthcare while helping patients maintain independence, vitality, and peak performance throughout their lives.   Connect with Dr. Hany Demian https://drdemian.com/ https://www.instagram.com/drhanydemian/

    59 min
  3. The Future of Work Is Part-Time: Yakov Fillipenko on What's Coming Next

    Jun 9

    The Future of Work Is Part-Time: Yakov Fillipenko on What's Coming Next

    In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with entrepreneur, startup founder, and technology innovator Yakov Filippenko to explore the realities of building companies, navigating failure, and preparing for the future of work. Yakov shares his entrepreneurial journey from product management at Yandex to co-founding SailPlay, a customer loyalty platform that expanded into 45 countries before being acquired. Along the way, he experienced many of the challenges that define startup life, including failed products, major pivots, fundraising pressures, acquisition negotiations, leadership struggles, and the unexpected experience of being fired from his own company after a failed acquisition process. Rather than allowing those setbacks to define him, Yakov used them as catalysts for growth. His experiences led him into venture capital, deeper studies in psychology and group dynamics, and ultimately to the launch of Intch, an AI-powered platform connecting businesses with highly skilled part-time professionals and helping talent access flexible work opportunities. Throughout the conversation, Carly and Yakov explore the evolving nature of leadership, hiring, company culture, startup decision-making, and the rapidly changing workforce. Yakov challenges traditional assumptions about employment, arguing that the future belongs to flexible work models where expertise is accessed on demand rather than tied to traditional full-time roles. This episode is a powerful exploration of resilience, leadership, networks, and how entrepreneurs can position themselves to thrive in a world where work is being fundamentally redefined.   Key Themes Relationships Create Opportunities Yakov explains that nearly every major breakthrough in his career came through relationships. Investors, co-founders, customers, advisors, and new ventures all emerged through trusted connections, reinforcing the importance of building and maintaining strong professional networks. Great Leaders Hire People Smarter Than Themselves One of Yakov's biggest lessons was realizing that trying to be the smartest person in the room can actually limit growth. Today, he intentionally hires experts who outperform him in their areas of specialization and empowers them to make decisions. The Future of Work Is Becoming More Flexible As AI, remote work, and specialized expertise continue reshaping the economy, Yakov believes businesses will increasingly rely on highly skilled professionals working in flexible arrangements rather than traditional employment structures.   Memorable Quotes "Everything is about people and communications." "It's not about making smart decisions to grow your company. It's about making smart decisions to prove that you're a smart person." "I'm actually trying to hire people that are smarter than me."   About Yakov Filippenko Yakov Filippenko is a technology entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience building and scaling businesses internationally. Early in his career, he helped grow a major product at Yandex from 700,000 users to 1.2 million while expanding it into international markets. He later co-founded SailPlay, a customer loyalty platform that scaled to 45 countries before being acquired by Retail Rocket in 2018. Today, Yakov is the founder of Intch, an AI-powered platform connecting part-time professionals with flexible opportunities. Built around a proprietary matching algorithm, Intch is helping reshape how companies access talent and how professionals build careers in the evolving future of work. In 2024 alone, the platform grew from 65,000 to more than 500,000 active users.   Connect with Yakov https://intch.org/

    57 min
  4. Building the Future of AI Infrastructure: Michael Wu on Innovation, Storage, and Scale

    Jun 4

    Building the Future of AI Infrastructure: Michael Wu on Innovation, Storage, and Scale

    In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with Michael Wu, President and General Manager of Phison Technology USA, to explore the technology powering much of today’s digital world and the leadership principles that have helped drive Phison’s remarkable growth. Michael shares the story of joining Phison USA as employee number one and helping grow the organization from a one-person operation into a thriving team of more than 80 employees across the United States. Along the way, he played a key role in transforming Phison from a behind-the-scenes technology provider into a recognized leader in NAND flash storage innovation and the launch of its enterprise-focused brand, Pascari. The conversation dives into the realities of leading global teams, bridging cultural differences between Taiwan and the United States, and building a company culture grounded in trust, accountability, and empowerment. Michael explains how effective leadership often requires acting as a translator between different perspectives, communication styles, and ways of working. Carly and Michael also explore one of the most exciting developments in artificial intelligence today: the growing demand for memory and storage infrastructure. Michael shares how a simple internal challenge led to a breakthrough innovation that uses NAND flash storage as an extension of AI memory, dramatically reducing infrastructure costs while expanding AI capabilities. This episode offers a fascinating look at leadership, innovation, AI infrastructure, and how questioning assumptions can unlock entirely new possibilities for growth and technology.   Key Themes: Innovation Begins with Better Questions: How challenging accepted limitations led to a breakthrough in AI memory and storage architecture. Leadership Across Cultures: Why empathy, communication, and cultural understanding are essential for scaling global organizations. Speed Creates Competitive Advantage: How rapid iteration and continuous improvement help companies stay ahead in fast-moving industries.   Memorable Quotes: “You sometimes lose by winning.” “You don't know what you don't know.” “Our goal is never to make the perfect device. We want to turn ten chips in a year instead of making the perfect chip.”   About Michael Wu: Michael Wu is the President and General Manager of Phison Technology USA and a respected expert in NAND storage technology with more than 20 years of industry experience. Over his 17+ years with Phison, he has held leadership roles including General Manager, Director of Global Customer Relations, and Project Manager, helping establish Phison as one of the world’s leading NAND storage solution providers. Today, Michael oversees Phison’s U.S. operations, driving growth, innovation, and strategic partnerships while helping shape the future of enterprise storage and AI infrastructure. Prior to Phison, he worked as a Verification Engineer at RF Micro Devices. He holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech.   Connect with Michael Wu: https://www.phison.com/en/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-wu-a273694/ https://www.facebook.com/phisonUS/

    55 min
  5. Building Tech Parents Can Trust: Kate Doerksen on Protecting Kids in a Digital World

    Jun 1

    Building Tech Parents Can Trust: Kate Doerksen on Protecting Kids in a Digital World

    In this episode of Built For This, Carly Pepin sits down with entrepreneur and innovator Kate Doerksen, co-founder and CEO of Sage Haven, a safer messaging platform designed to protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content, and unhealthy digital habits. Kate shares her remarkable entrepreneurial journey, beginning with the creation of Ditto, a pioneering augmented reality and AI eyewear technology company that ultimately served more than 70 million users worldwide before being acquired by 1-800 Contacts. She opens up about the realities of building a venture-backed startup, raising $35 million in funding, navigating years of costly litigation, and staying committed through more than a decade of challenges before achieving a successful exit. The conversation then turns to the deeply personal experiences that inspired Sage Haven. After witnessing the devastating impact of cyberbullying and harmful online content on a close family member, Kate became determined to create a safer digital environment for children. Through extensive research with parents, kids, psychologists, and technology experts, she identified a critical gap in the market and built a platform designed with children's wellbeing at its core. Carly and Kate also discuss the lessons learned from building multiple companies, the unique experience of partnering with her sister as a co-founder, how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship, and why mission-driven businesses often create a level of resilience and energy that purely commercial ventures cannot. This episode is a thoughtful exploration of entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, and the responsibility of creating products that positively impact future generations.   Key Themes: The Best Businesses Solve Personal Problems: How firsthand experience with cyberbullying inspired a mission-driven company designed to protect children. Experience Creates Clarity: Why Kate approaches entrepreneurship differently after building, scaling, and exiting her first company. Purpose Fuels Persistence: How a mission centered on children's wellbeing creates the motivation to overcome challenges and keep moving forward.   Memorable Quotes: “I don't follow the trend. I don't give a shit. I'm just building a product that a lot of people need.” “I learned the first time you can't predict the future. Your plan doesn't matter. Make it make sense right now and wait and see.” “The mental health of kids is at the center of every decision that we make. That's clean fuel.”   About Kate Doerksen: Kate Doerksen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sage Haven, a safer messaging app created to help reduce cyberbullying and protect children from harmful digital interactions. Throughout her career, she has focused on building technology that improves the lives of individuals and families. Before launching Sage Haven with her sister Anne, Kate founded Ditto, a groundbreaking augmented reality and AI eyewear technology company that served more than 70 million users globally before being acquired by 1-800 Contacts in 2021. Kate holds an MBA from Stanford University and a Bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship from Ball State University, where she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her academic and athletic achievements. She lives in Danville, California, with her husband and two children.   Connect with Kate Doerksen: https://sagehavenforkids.com

    54 min
  6. Leadership Beyond Profit: Josh Block on Growing People and Business Together

    May 28

    Leadership Beyond Profit: Josh Block on Growing People and Business Together

    In this episode of Built for This, Carly Pepin sits down with Josh Block, President of Block Imaging and author of People Matter at Work, for a powerful conversation about leadership, trust, company culture, and what it takes to scale a business without losing sight of people. Josh shares the story of unexpectedly stepping into leadership at just 29 years old after his father transitioned him from sales representative to president over the course of a single weekend. At the time, the company was still recovering from a painful round of layoffs known internally as “Black Thursday,” forcing Josh to confront difficult lessons around transparency, trust, and leadership very early in his presidency. Throughout the conversation, Josh explains how the philosophy of “People Matter” evolved from a simple idea into the cultural foundation that helped grow Block Imaging from $30 million to more than $250 million in revenue. Carly and Josh unpack the importance of psychological safety, transparent communication, leadership development, and creating ownership within teams rather than simply managing employees. The episode also explores succession planning in family businesses, navigating difficult employee transitions, leading remote teams, and why meaningful workplace relationships can transform not just organizations, but families and lives. This conversation is a thoughtful and practical look at modern leadership, proving that companies grow strongest when people are treated as human beings first, not just resources.   Key Themes: Culture Is Built Through Action: Why values only matter when they shape decisions, leadership behavior, and accountability. Transparency Creates Ownership: How open communication and shared understanding strengthen trust and engagement across teams. Leadership Means Multiplying Leaders: Why great leaders focus on developing others instead of centralizing power.   Memorable Quotes: “When people matter at work, everything changes. Business grows, families thrive, and lives are transformed.” “People want to know the answers to three questions: what’s going on, what the leader’s thinking about, and what the leader’s thinking about them.” “Right decision done in the wrong way is the wrong decision.”   About Josh Block: Josh Block is the President of Block Imaging, a global medical imaging company, and the founder of Cube Mobile Imaging. A Michigan native, husband, father, leadership advocate, and author of People Matter at Work, Josh has spent decades working across every level of business, from entry-level jobs to leading a company through significant growth and transformation. Under his leadership, Block Imaging grew from $30 million to more than $215 million in revenue while building a culture centered on trust, transparency, leadership development, and meaningful human connection. His work focuses on helping organizations become places where both businesses and people thrive together.   Connect with Josh Block: https://www.blockimaging.com/ https://amzn.to/46QXd4F

    55 min
  7. From Landscaper to Software Builder: Tommy Lather’s Unexpected Journey

    May 25

    From Landscaper to Software Builder: Tommy Lather’s Unexpected Journey

    In this episode of Built for This, Carly Pepin sits down with Tommy Lather, founder of Takeoff Monkey, to explore how automation, customer service, and operational simplicity helped transform a hands-on service business into a highly scalable company. Tommy shares his unconventional journey from working in landscaping and estimating to building a rapidly growing takeoff services company that now processes hundreds of projects daily for contractors across the United States. Along the way, he taught himself software development and began building custom automations that dramatically improved efficiency across the business. One of the biggest breakthroughs Tommy discusses is how Takeoff Monkey reduced overhead by roughly 70% through strategic automation, process optimization, and smarter systems. Instead of relying on huge teams or outside funding, the company focused on simplifying repetitive workflows, eliminating bottlenecks, and using AI-driven tools to scale sustainably. Carly and Tommy also dive into the realities of managing remote teams across the United States and India, building strong culture inside a fully remote company, and why responsiveness and reliability have become the foundation of customer loyalty. Beyond operations, the conversation explores the emotional side of entrepreneurship, including founder loneliness, staying focused during growth, avoiding shiny object syndrome, and why persistence is often the biggest differentiator between success and failure. This episode is a practical and honest look at building a modern business through systems, simplicity, and relentless consistency.   Key Themes: Automation Should Simplify, Not Complicate: How removing repetitive tasks and operational friction dramatically improved efficiency and scalability. Culture Starts With the Right People: Why attitude, integrity, and work ethic matter more than credentials alone. Persistence Beats Perfection: Why long-term success often comes from refusing to quit and continuing to adapt over time.   Memorable Quotes: “You can’t teach someone to give a shit.” “Just by not quitting, you will be successful.” “We do what we say and we say what we do.”   About Tommy Lather: Tommy Lather is a lifelong landscape construction professional, self-taught software developer, and founder of Takeoff Monkey, a company helping contractors streamline estimating and takeoff processes at scale. With more than 25 years of experience across supply, operations management, sales, and estimating, Tommy developed a passion for building systems and processes that improve efficiency and simplify operations. Today, he combines industry expertise with automation and software development to help customers save time, reduce costs, and operate more effectively.   Connect with Tommy Lather: http://www.takeoffmonkey.com https://www.instagram.com/takeoffmonkey

    54 min
  8. Why Most Entrepreneurs Scale Too Wide Too Early with Hadley Nightingale

    May 21

    Why Most Entrepreneurs Scale Too Wide Too Early with Hadley Nightingale

    In this episode of Built for This, Carly Pepin sits down with Hadley Nightingale, CEO of New Zealand Property Buyers, to unpack the realities of building a fast-growing business while navigating some of life’s hardest personal and professional challenges. What started as Hadley’s own property investment journey quickly revealed a major gap in the New Zealand real estate market: buyers lacked true representation and strategic guidance when making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. That realization became the foundation for New Zealand Property Buyers, a company designed to help investors confidently navigate property acquisition, renovation, project management, and long-term property management. But this conversation goes far beyond real estate. Carly and Hadley dive deep into the realities of entrepreneurship, including the pressure of scaling too quickly, hiring before systems are ready, and trying to build multiple divisions before the core business is fully stabilized. Hadley also speaks candidly about building a company while navigating divorce, custody battles, financial stress, and immense uncertainty, revealing the emotional resilience required to keep moving forward when life and business collide. The episode also explores remote team culture, accountability, offshore hiring, leadership, and why documented systems and processes become essential as businesses grow. Together, Carly and Hadley unpack what truly creates sustainable success: ownership, consistency, operational clarity, and the willingness to improve imperfectly over time. This episode is an honest and practical look at entrepreneurship without the highlight reel, showing that long-term growth is rarely linear, but it is possible when resilience and systems work together.   Key Themes: Scaling Too Wide Too Early: Why trying to grow multiple divisions before stabilizing the core business creates unnecessary pressure and complexity. Systems Create Sustainable Growth: How SOPs, playbooks, and operational processes transformed hiring, delegation, and team performance. Resilience Over Perfection: Why entrepreneurship is often about continuing forward through uncertainty, setbacks, and imperfect conditions.   Memorable Quotes: “People want the perfect house, but the perfect house never comes along.” “If anything goes wrong, just put your hand up and say, ‘Hey look, I got this wrong.’” “Better processes, better people. Better processes, better people. It’s just how it works.”   About Hadley Nightingale: Hadley Nightingale is the CEO of New Zealand Property Buyers, a rapidly growing property investment company founded in 2020. Under his leadership, the business has scaled quickly, helping hundreds of clients acquire and manage investment properties across New Zealand while operating with a remote team across New Zealand and Southeast Asia. New Zealand Property Buyers offers a fully integrated, end-to-end investment service covering acquisition, renovation, compliance project management, and ongoing property management. Hadley’s focus is on helping investors avoid costly mistakes while creating systems and operational structures that allow businesses and people to scale sustainably.   Connect with Hadley Nightingale: https://www.newzealandpropertybuyers.com/ https://www.instagram.com/hadleynightingale/ https://www.tiktok.com/@hadleynightingale https://www.linkedin.com/in/hadleyn/ https://www.facebook.com/Newzealandpropertybuyer/

    58 min
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out of 5
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About

 Where vision meets execution and legacy begins. Built For This is the podcast for founders, business owners, C-Suite Executives, and vision-driven leaders who know their business isn’t just what they do, it’s an extension of who they are. Hosted by business strategist and human behavior specialist Carly Pepin, each episode dives into candid, intelligent conversations with high-performing business owners and executives. These are the real stories behind growth: the pivotal moments, the internal shifts, the strategic moves, and the unseen pressure that comes with building something that lasts. With a sharp eye for strategy and a deep understanding of human behavior, Carly brings out the clarity, conviction, and contradictions that drive exceptional leadership. You’ll hear what’s working, what’s not, and what it actually takes to grow a business without losing yourself in the process. This is where business and personal development meet: honest, direct, and built to bring life to your vision. Whether you’re growing your next big thing or recalibrating to get back on track, Built For This is your space to think, build, and lead with purpose.

Information

  • Creator
    Carly Pepin
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Built for This