ExecDNA

Mario Rivas
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

The world's most important decisions deserve better intelligence. ExecDNA is the Executive Intelligence company for founders, executives, board directors and investors, helping leaders make better decisions, accelerate their careers and build stronger organisations. This podcast is where that intelligence comes to life. Each week, we sit down with CEOs, founders, board directors, investors and operators to have honest conversations about leadership, governance, AI, growth and what really happens when companies scale. No theory. No recycled advice. Just the patterns, decisions and lessons th

  1. Aug 5

    The Hardest Conversation Every CEO Will Face (Executive Coach Explains) | Nicole Alos

    After 20+ years coaching hundreds of executives, from first-time founders to seasoned CEOs, Nicole Alos kept seeing the same gap: leaders left coaching sessions feeling confident, but froze the moment a real high-stakes conversation began.In this episode of Exec DNA, Nicole joins Mario Rivas to unpack why communication, not technical skill, separates exceptional leaders from competent managers. She shares how she built Socratyc Sidekick, an AI-powered practice tool that lets founders and executives rehearse investor pitches, layoffs, board updates, and difficult co-founder conversations before they happen for real. Nicole opens up about the most common communication failures she's seen across hundreds of leaders on three continents, why "leaders don't need more information, they need more readiness," what psychological safety actually requires from a leader, and why she believes AI will never fully replace human coaches, even as it changes what coaching looks like.Mario also shares his own experience delivering one of the hardest conversations of his career: telling 500 employees a turnaround effort hadn't worked.Connect with Nicole Alos:🔗 nicolealos.com🔗 socratycsidekick.aiChapters:00:00 – Welcome to Exec DNA & introducing Nicole Alos 01:03 – From executive coaching to building an AI product 04:26 – Where Socratyc Sidekick stands today (beta, Sept 1 launch)07:14 – 100+ executives coached: the patterns she's seen 08:19 – Young founders raising millions without the experience to match 09:41 – "Leaders don't need more information, they need more readiness" 10:39 – Can AI ever become an executive coach? 13:00 – The most common communication mistakes leaders make 15:04 – Avoiding hard conversations until they explode 16:43 – Direct vs. kind feedback — and getting it wrong both ways 17:28 – The power of clear non-negotiables 18:47 – The hardest conversation every CEO has to face 20:05 – Mario's story: telling 500 people the turnaround didn't work 23:23 – Why you should never have a high-stakes conversation "for the first time" live 24:09 – Why human skills matter more as AI automates the rest 25:07 – B2B vs. B2C: how Socratyc Sidekick actually works 27:08 – Building as a solo founder with no-code tools 28:56 – What surprised Nicole most about launching the product 32:46 – The hardest truth she's told a CEO 35:17 – Psychological safety without losing accountability 37:19 – Where to find Nicole and try the product 38:48 – Closing advice: get curious with your team

  2. Jul 28

    While Everyone Chased SaaS and AI, He Built a £25M Business Nobody Talked About | Amrit Daliwal

    Amrit Dhaliwal, founder of Walfinch, left hospitality, bought a franchise and spotted what most entrepreneurs completely overlooked: a £68 billion UK home care market with almost no one thinking seriously about scale, quality or wellness. Six years later, Walfinch operates across 40 locations nationwide, serves over 1,000 clients and is on track for £25M in network revenue in 2025. In this startup and scaleup masterclass, Amrit breaks down the franchise model that is taking him to £100M, why boring businesses outperform sexy ones, and the leadership principles that work in restaurants, retail and healthcare alike.Walfinch is not just a care business. Amrit is actively rebranding how the UK thinks about aging, building proprietary AI tools alongside third party platforms, and running a franchise support system that graduates operators from zero to £80K a month. He reveals what separates top performers from average franchisees, how he attracts and retains carers in the most talent-starved sector in the country, and why the future of home care looks a lot more like a wellness brand than a traditional care agency. 00:00 Introduction to Home Care and Franchising 01:51 Transition from Hospitality to Home Care 06:32 Understanding the Home Care Business Model 10:52 Challenges and Opportunities in Home Care 18:14 The Role of AI in Home Care 27:45 Building a High-Impact Care Business 33:11 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

    While Everyone Chased SaaS and AI, He Built a £25M Business Nobody Talked About | Amrit Daliwal

  3. Jul 23

    How to Challenge a CEO Without Getting Fired as a NED | Alessandro Hatami

    Alessandro Hatami has spent 25 years at the heart of global fintech and banking, holding senior leadership roles at PayPal Europe, Lloyds Banking Group and GE Capital before founding Pacemakers and serving nearly a decade as an FCA regulated non-executive director. In this fintech and board governance masterclass, he breaks down why incumbents have proven far more resilient than anyone predicted, what boards are getting dangerously wrong about AI liability, and why the NED role is fundamentally misunderstood by most executives who transition into it. Alessandro argues that board governance is quietly becoming one of the most significant challengers of AI implementation inside financial institutions, not because boards are obstructive, but because they carry personal legal liability for technology decisions that most of them are not yet equipped to evaluate. He also unpacks how Pacemakers operates as an executive search firm for fintech partnerships and why the adapt, evolve, transform framework determines which banks survive the next wave of disruption. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: Alessandro Hatami and 25 Years Across PayPal, Lloyds and GE Capital 01:58 What Has Fundamentally Changed in Banking Over 25 Years 03:08 The Innovators Dilemma: Why Incumbents Struggle to Move at Fintech Speed 05:21 Why Nobody Is Actually Closing Their Lloyds Account for Revolut 09:46 When Will Challengers Truly Overtake Incumbent Banks 12:21 How Pacemakers Matches Banks With the Right Fintech Partners 19:28 The Biggest Challenges Boards Face as AI Enters Financial Services 25:52 What Most Executives Get Wrong When They Become a Non-Executive Director 27:11 How to Challenge a CEO Without Overstepping as a NED 29:02 What Separates a High Performance Board from One That Just Meets 33:08 Key Questions Boards Are Asking About AI Governance Right Now 37:38 The Toughest Board Decision Alessandro Has Ever Faced 🎙 New episodes every Tuesday at 11:00 UK🌐 https://execdna.com🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.🤝 Join the ExecDNA Community on LinkedIn and WhatsApp. Music licensed through Soundstripe.Code: MB11LKLDVUWQOLI0

  4. Jul 15

    The Three Valuation Drivers Every Acquirer Looks for Every Single Time| Steven Pivnik

    Steven Pivnik failed his first two startups, built his third into a $40M revenue business operating across 20 countries, and sold it in 2020 completing due diligence in just 30 days. Now, as an exit advisor and author of Built to Finish, he has helped founders generate over $1.1 billion in exit value across 38 transactions. In this startup and scaleup masterclass, Steven breaks down exactly what founders must fix before approaching any acquirer and why most exit processes fail before they even begin.The mistakes that cost founders millions at the table are almost always avoidable: founder dependency, customer concentration, weak recurring revenue, and an underprepared finance function. Steven reveals his three-part exit readiness assessment covering psychological, financial, and enterprise value drivers, and explains why average exit preparation takes three years and why AI is already reshaping how acquirers evaluate differentiation and IP. Hosted by Mario Rivas About Startup Scaleup People Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we cover growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation. New episodes every Sunday at 4PM UK time. Chapters 00:00 Introduction: Steven Pivnik and $1.1B in Founder Exit Value 01:30 Failing Twice: What Steven Did Differently on Startup Number Three 02:41 Building to $40M Revenue Across 12 Countries 03:07 Three Valuation Drivers Acquirers Look for Every Time 05:39 How Long a Proper Exit Process Really Takes 08:21 Earning the Trust of Microsoft, IBM and Google as a Startup 10:40 The Valuation Killers Founders Almost Always Overlook 12:37 Negotiation Tactics: When the Seller Has the Leverage 15:33 Exit Readiness Assessment: Three Angles Every Founder Needs 20:40 Why Endurance Sports and Business Success Feed Each Other 24:48 How AI Is Changing Due Diligence and Company Valuation 27:44 Replacing Yourself as Founder: The COO to CEO Move

  5. Jul 6

    The Skill That Gets You Promoted Will Also Get You Fired | Navid Nazemian

    40% of Executive Transitions Fail, Navid Nazemian on the Leadership Gap. Navid Nazemian, executive transition coach and author of Mastering Executive Transitions, has coached 350+ senior leaders across 7 industries over 26 years and the data is stark: 4 in 10 executive transitions fail. In this startup and scaleup leadership masterclass, he reveals why technical skills get you promoted into the C-suite and why the lack of soft skills gets you fired, and how leaders can use his Double Diamond Framework to onboard successfully before costly mistakes derail the transition. With only 1% of leaders reporting confidence in deploying AI and CEOs saying the role has changed more in the past year than in the previous 25, Navid breaks down the leadership paradox at the heart of today's organisations. He also reveals the world's first executive transition intelligence LLM, built on 12 years of coaching transcripts, book citations, and 116 podcast episodes, designed to give every executive access to world-class transition coaching at scale. Chapters: 00:35 Introduction to Leadership and Coaching 08:48 Executive Transition Challenges 15:04 Qualities of Exceptional Leaders 20:31 Understanding Executive Presence 25:01 The Impact of AI on Leadership34:45 Cultural Differences in Leadership

  6. Jun 30

    Take Back 1,000 Hours a Year as a Founder | Cory Blumenfeld

    In this episode of Startup Scaleup People, Mario speaks with Cory Blumenfeld, serial entrepreneur, founder, investor-backed startup builder, and entrepreneur with multiple successful exits. Cory shares lessons learned from launching businesses in industries where he had no prior experience, raising millions in funding, building startups from scratch, and eventually creating systems that allow founders to delegate, automate, and scale. The conversation explores founder psychology, leadership, documentation, hiring, virtual assistants, delegation, and why building a business that runs without you is one of the most valuable assets you can create. Whether you're launching your first startup or leading a growing company, this episode offers practical advice on building systems that free your time while helping your business grow faster. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Background 04:45 Key Lessons from Exiting Businesses 09:05 Recognizing Bottlenecks in Business 18:41 Overview of Blue Mosso and Virtual Assistance 24:16 AI and Virtual Assistants: A Symbiotic Relationship 31:01 Empowering Business Owners: Taking Back Time

  7. Jun 23

    Why the $3 Trillion TV Market Can't Make Money (And Who's Fixing It) | Amanda Groom

    Amanda Groom Built the Bridge Between South Korea and Global TV Amanda Groom, founder of The Bridge, has spent 20 years helping broadcasters, streamers, and production companies expand internationally, turning South Korea into a benchmark for global media scaleup and now unlocking Brazil and India for the world stage. In this episode, she breaks down the structural collapse of the $3 trillion TV market, why fragmented audiences are forcing a co-production revolution, and how cultural intelligence, not capital alone, determines which media businesses win globally. The TV industry is undergoing its biggest transformation in decades: advertising revenue has fled to digital, commissioning is down across the US and UK, and production budgets have surged 20–40% since 2020. Amanda reveals the new financing waterfall model, why Brazil and India are the next South Korea, and how The Bridge de-risks international expansion for some of the world's leading broadcasters. Hosted by Mario Rivas About Startup Scaleup People: Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we cover growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation. Chapters 00:00 — Introduction: Amanda Groom & The Bridge's Global Footprint 04:56 — Inside the $3 Trillion TV Market: How It Actually Works 12:22 — Why Broadcasters Struggle to Profit Despite the Market Size 16:26 — Brazil & India: The Next Global TV Powerhouses 23:52 — How Co-Productions Are Reshaping TV Financing 30:22 — AI in the Creative Industries: Efficiency Without Replacement Follow our socials! https://www.instagram.com/startupscaleuppeople/ https://open.spotify.com/show/3804Om0XrGG1gNRsev6DlU https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/startup-scaleup-people/id1847157416 https://www.linkedin.com/company/squarecirclecommunity/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/ Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: YS8O6F9QUCRMAZTI

  8. Jun 15

    How to Build a Financial Giant Without Massive Funding | Tomás Bercovich

    Tomás Bercovich, founder & CEO of Global66, scaled a Latin American fintech startup to $1.4B in Q1 2026 transaction volume, on just $20M raised. In this episode, he breaks down the scaleup strategy, capital-efficient growth model, and AI-first transformation turning Global66 into one of LATAM's most important financial platforms. Global66 is now processing $550M in a single month across B2C and B2B segments, acquiring 40–50K new transactional users per month while remaining profitable for over two years. Tomás reveals the three pillars behind this growth, product & CX, geographic expansion into 100+ countries, and disciplined customer acquisition, and makes the case for why Latin America is the world's most underserved fintech market. Hosted by Mario Rivas About Startup Scaleup People: Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we cover growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation. Chapters 00:00 — Global66 & Tomás Bercovich: Who Is He? 01:24 — Inside the Global Account: Multi-Currency, Stablecoins & MasterCard 04:55 — $20M, 7 Years: The Fundraising & Team-Building Reality 08:00 — Google Sheet to $550M/Month: The MVP Origin Story 11:21 — The 3-Pillar Growth Strategy to $10B in Transactions14:43 — Profitable Without VC: Organic Scaling & Banking Licenses 16:35 — Why LATAM Has 35× Fewer Banks Per Capita Than the US 21:25 — Will Stablecoins Replace SWIFT? A Founder's Honest Take 26:28 — CEO Leadership at Scale: The Inverted Pyramid Model 30:06 — AI as a Cultural Transformation, Not a Tool 34:52 — Founder Lessons: Product-Market Fit, Unit Economics & Hiring Follow our socials: https://www.instagram.com/startupscaleuppeople/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/squarecirclecommunity/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/ #startupleadership #businessgrowth #scaleups #enterprise #boardleadership #venturecapital #startup #founderstories #innovation #businesspodcast #careergrowth #operationalexcellence #leadershipdevelopment #startupstrategy #funding #exitstrategies #teambuilding #corporategovernance #techfounders #startupscaleuppeople #startupfunding #vc #podcast #shorts #leadership #fintech #entrepreneurship #investing #governance #peoplestories #experience #leadershipskills #leadershiplessons #businessleadership #businessstrategy #businessideas #businesssuccessstories #businesssuccess #biotech #saas #failure #fail #entrepreneur #howtoinvest #hiring #digitaltransformation #expansion #businessexpansion #energy #technology #techstartup #techfounders #successmindset #motivation #mindset #perseverance #resilience #Emprendimiento #Empreendedorismo #Entrepreneuriat #Unternehmertum #Imprenditorialità #Ondernemerschap #उद्यमिता #ريادة_الأعمال #Girişimcilik #Kewirausahaan #Pagnenegosyo #创业 #起業家精神 #기업가정신

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The world's most important decisions deserve better intelligence. ExecDNA is the Executive Intelligence company for founders, executives, board directors and investors, helping leaders make better decisions, accelerate their careers and build stronger organisations. This podcast is where that intelligence comes to life. Each week, we sit down with CEOs, founders, board directors, investors and operators to have honest conversations about leadership, governance, AI, growth and what really happens when companies scale. No theory. No recycled advice. Just the patterns, decisions and lessons th

Information

  • Creator
    Mario Rivas
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Mario Rivas
  • Show Website
    ExecDNA