Be Better Than Your BS (Zerlo Network)

Zerlo Network

A Zerlo Network Original: Blending her Division I athletic background with her work in Personal Culture and leadership, Risha Grant brings the energy of the locker room into conversations about business, identity, and the beliefs that shape how we lead. At the center of the show is a lesson Risha learned in sports and carried into the boardroom: Culture wins. Every episode follows a four-part structure inspired by the sport that shaped Risha’s career. Pre-Game: The experiences that formed each guest’s identity and mindset. The Play: The defining risk, pivot, or breakthrough moment. Post-Game: Lessons learned, and the BS unlearned. Overtime: A fast-paced lightning round that closes the conversation. The Conversations Be Better Than Your BS™ features bold conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives, and culture-shapers. Each guest is challenged to examine the beliefs, decisions, and behaviors shaping their impact.

Episodes

  1. Jun 29 ·  Video

    Stop Pushing Through Pain: Shayna Hammond, Host of The Grounded CEO

    Shayna Hammond, founder of Lead for Liberation and Indigo Unbound, talks about moving through fear, reinvention, and the discipline of rest. From gymnastics in Lansing to becoming a school principal at 25 to launching a national coaching movement, Shayna shares the lessons that carried from sport into business: the high-beam night her coach made her "stick it 10 times," why closing a business sets off a real grieving process you have to honor, and why she now gives herself permission to rest instead of always chasing the next play. The throughline is Indigo Unbound's core idea — "Be Free" — a space where people release the fear and limiting beliefs holding them back from their next level. Shayna Hammond is the host of the upcoming Zerlo Network show The Grounded CEO, where she goes by Shayna Renee. Chapters: 0:00 Cold open and intro: meet Shayna Hammond 1:14 The pregame: gymnastics in Lansing and an early athlete mindset 3:58 Sprint relay triathlon and becoming a principal at 25 12:44 Founding Lead for Liberation and Indigo Unbound; the high-beam story 17:27 Getting real: grieving and looking toward closing Lead for Liberation 28:01 Rest and self-compassion 33:57 The BS she's working through: spirituality and ancestral ritual 37:47 Overtime: quick hits, joy, and "do it scared" Be Better Than Your BS is an original talk show from Zerlo Network, hosted by Risha Grant. Streaming on Roku and Amazon Fire — search: Zerlo Network.

  2. Jun 22 ·  Video

    I Sued the U.S. Government for $1B: Dr. Colleen J. Payne

    Risha Grant sits down with her longtime mentor and friend, Dr. Colleen J. Payne, founder and owner of MCI Diagnostic Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Colleen started in 1998 with a single mobile unit — a company she launched as "Mobile Cardiac Imaging" while her son was six months old — and grew it into a diagnostic operation serving locations across all 50 states. A trained nuclear medicine technologist, she walks through the journey: driving the truck herself in coveralls, adding mobile ultrasound and hospital staffing, mastering government contracting (including a roughly $35 million Department of Labor / Job Corps contract spanning 125 locations), and taking on the U.S. government in a billion-dollar lawsuit. Colleen — whose company is a service-disabled veteran-owned, minority-owned, woman-owned, HUBZone business — also teaches other entrepreneurs how to secure government contracts. Along the way she opens up about the mother who shaped her, the loss of her late husband Donnie, the son who pulled her out of grief, and why she has never once called herself "successful." Chapters: 0:00 Cold open & welcome: Risha introduces her mentor, Dr. Colleen J. Payne 1:31 How they met in Nashville & 20 years of mentorship 2:14 First hustles, an amusement park job, and her book 3:58 The origin story: one mobile truck, "Mobile Cardiac Imaging" (1998) 7:05 The Chicago truck story 9:22 Who believed first: her mother 14:39 Government contracting, the $35M Job Corps win & suing the government 20:00 "I have never said that I am successful" 29:08 Walking unwounded & the quiet man who controls the money 36:00 Pivoting to last: morphing the business 38:00 Overtime quick hits 40:47 Grief, her late husband Donnie, and the son who pulled her out 48:13 One word to live by: "It's gonna be okay" Be Better Than Your BS is an original talk show from Zerlo Network, hosted by Risha Grant. Streaming on Roku and Amazon Fire — search: Zerlo Network.

  3. Jun 8 ·  Video

    I Ran Away at 21 to Build a Global Business Empire: Kaanti Suresh

    Kaanti Suresh Shetty, President and CEO of Indus Synergy Partners, shares how she left home at 21 with a single suitcase and built a career bridging business between India and the United States. Kaanti talks about being born a girl in a town that asked "what will she achieve?", losing her father at six and turning that grief into drive, and why running away from home was the boldest move she ever made. She reframes self-doubt as useful ("doubting is good, because then you start working on how to get out of it"), leads with "faith over fear," and explains why empowering women is about presence, not charity. From a state-level hockey career in India to developing a Dallas commercial center that offers low-cost space to women entrepreneurs, Kaanti's story is about owning the room and rewriting the rule book. Chapters: 0:00 The BS Kaanti had to break through: clarity 2:05 Born a girl in a town that asked "what will she achieve?" 6:41 How losing her father at six became her drive 14:38 Why running away from home at 21 was the boldest move 29:00 Why empowering women is not charity 43:58 Owning the room and rewriting the rule book 44:35 Faith over fear: advice for women who doubt themselves Be Better Than Your BS is an original talk show from Zerlo Network, hosted by Risha Grant. Streaming on Roku and Amazon Fire — search: Zerlo Network.

  4. Jun 1 ·  Video

    Why Doing Good Is Good for Business: LaDondra Wilson on Social Impact

    LaDondra Wilson, Vice President of Social Responsibility for the Dallas Wings, shares her path from South Oak Cliff to a WNBA front office. LaDondra reframes the "male-dominated industry" narrative as overrated, and explains what social responsibility actually looks like inside a pro sports franchise — including writing community pillars directly into corporate partner contracts so impact isn't optional. She talks about honoring Juneteenth and partnering with Dr. Opal Lee, the "grandmother of Juneteenth," leading with empathy and personal culture, and why she refused to be hired as a DEI checkbox. The conversation closes on building a legacy and the discipline of learning to say no. Chapters: 0:00 The BS LaDondra pushed through 4:16 What social responsibility means inside the WNBA 7:08 Why "male-dominated industry" is overrated 10:14 Leading with empathy and personal culture 15:52 Honoring Juneteenth and Dr. Opal Lee 21:38 Why doing good is good business — community in the contract 27:44 Building a legacy and learning to say no Be Better Than Your BS is an original talk show from Zerlo Network, hosted by Risha Grant. Streaming on Roku and Amazon Fire — search: Zerlo Network.

  5. May 25 ·  Video

    Stop Layering Makeup: Chithra Kannan's Data-Driven Glow Guide

    Chithra Kannan, founder and CEO of SkinCentrick, shares how she built a clean beauty brand — alongside four learning academies and a construction business, and a team of more than 500 — across industries she entered with no prior background and no outside funding. With a background in analytics, Chithra explains why she leads with strategy over emotion ("strategies make you; when you are emotionally connected, it breaks you"), and uses the story of the elephant that won't break its chain to talk about training unshakable confidence. She opens up about starting as a "one-woman army," the hardest mindset shift from employee to CEO, and how she approaches investors with a win-win. Her throughline: do not shrink your dream to fit your comfort zone — "let me jump in the water, then I can learn swimming." Chapters: 0:00 The BS Chithra had to break to lead 4:10 Balancing data-driven logic with intuition 7:13 Why "layering makeup" is a myth — and what builds real loyalty 13:35 Training unshakable confidence: the elephant and its chain 26:12 The hardest mindset shift from employee to CEO 34:14 How to pitch investors with a win-win Shop SkinCentrick: https://skincentrick.com Be Better Than Your BS is an original talk show from Zerlo Network, hosted by Risha Grant. Streaming on Roku and Amazon Fire — search: Zerlo Network.

  6. May 18 ·  Video

    Stop Using Your Own Money: Keisha Allen on Money & Mindset

    Keisha Allen, Financial Inclusion Leader at Truist Bank with 25 years in banking, breaks down money as a mindset. Keisha opens up about pushing through a childhood speech impediment, and about being told she was "too much" — and why that same energy is exactly what opens doors. She gets practical about building wealth on any income: giving every dollar a job, the 48–72 hour rule for separating wants from needs, and her reminder that we buy what we want and beg for what we need. Risha and Keisha also dig into confidence and presence — owning the room instead of just being in it — and the financial-literacy work Keisha does in partnership with North Texas school districts. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:56 The BS Keisha pushed through: a childhood speech impediment 13:27 Being told you're "too much" — and why that energy opens doors 30:57 Give every dollar a job 32:22 We buy our wants and beg for our needs (the 48–72 hour rule) 36:23 Own the room instead of being in it Be Better Than Your BS is an original talk show from Zerlo Network, hosted by Risha Grant. Streaming on Roku and Amazon Fire — search: Zerlo Network.

  7. Mar 19 ·  Video

    From Stay-at-Home Mom to C-Suite: Taunya Williams' Late-Bloomer Playbook

    Risha Grant sits down with Taunya Williams, chief of staff at UNT Health Fort Worth. Taunya traces a path that started not in a boardroom but at home: she was a stay-at-home mom for nearly a decade before a CEO gave her a first leadership role and started her "from the ground up." Hampton-bred and Baylor-educated, she shares how imposter syndrome and years of living in fear nearly stopped her, and why going back for her MBA in her forties became her defining play. The conversation digs into the hardest pivots — leaving a marriage to a professional athlete, leaping from financial services into a healthcare startup — and learning that real leadership means admitting what you don't know, leading from values, and caring about people as human beings. The throughline: there is no straight path to success, you can be a late bloomer, and "you can have it all — you just can't have it all at the same time." Chapters: 0:00 Meet Taunya Williams, chief of staff at UNT Health Fort Worth 1:09 From stay-at-home mom to a first leadership role: "a career, not a job" 2:56 Finding out who you are and learning to "do it afraid" 6:32 What her kids taught her about leadership and being human 9:46 "If I'm the smartest person in the room, I'm in the wrong room" 11:30 The defining play: going back for the MBA in her forties 13:31 Marriage to a pro athlete, imposter syndrome, and knowing when to pivot 16:01 The biggest risk: switching from financial services to healthcare 23:00 Leading scared: values, DEI rollbacks, and standing on what you believe 28:36 Greatest leadership win: caring for people through a startup layoff 34:38 Authenticity, norms, and the "bonnet culture" debate 38:55 Rapid fire: superpower, kryptonite, buzzwords, P-Valley, and Suddenly Single 44:14 The legacy: no straight path, late bloomers, "you can have it all, just not at the same time" Taunya's book, Suddenly Single: https://www.amazon.com/Suddenly-Single-Taunya-Wade-Williams/dp/B0C2SRHD7Q Be Better Than Your BS is an original talk show from Zerlo Network, hosted by Risha Grant. Streaming on Roku and Amazon Fire — search: Zerlo Network.

  • 7 Episodes

About

A Zerlo Network Original: Blending her Division I athletic background with her work in Personal Culture and leadership, Risha Grant brings the energy of the locker room into conversations about business, identity, and the beliefs that shape how we lead. At the center of the show is a lesson Risha learned in sports and carried into the boardroom: Culture wins. Every episode follows a four-part structure inspired by the sport that shaped Risha’s career. Pre-Game: The experiences that formed each guest’s identity and mindset. The Play: The defining risk, pivot, or breakthrough moment. Post-Game: Lessons learned, and the BS unlearned. Overtime: A fast-paced lightning round that closes the conversation. The Conversations Be Better Than Your BS™ features bold conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives, and culture-shapers. Each guest is challenged to examine the beliefs, decisions, and behaviors shaping their impact.

Information