The Driven Podcast

Colt Charlebois
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  • Entrepreneurship

The Driven is a podcast hosted by Colt Charlebois. Sitting down with business owners, founders, and high-capacity leaders, he uncovers the real stories behind their success — the lows, the turning points, and the faith woven through it all. Every episode follows the same arc: where it all started, what nearly broke them, the moment things shifted, and where they are now. Raw testimony from leaders who built something meaningful while carrying real weight — in business, in life, and in faith.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    Ep 008 | When Who You Are at Church Isn't Who You Are at Work | feat. Calvin Quek

    Most leaders can name the moment they realized the person they are at work and the person they are on Sunday had drifted apart. In this conversation, Colt sits down with Calvin Quek to talk about that gap and how it tends to form. Calvin was 23 and clearing over a hundred thousand a year in tech sales, in an office with a beer fridge and a standing month-end ritual at the bar downstairs, and he is candid about how hard it was to follow Christ and still belong there. You'll hear why the gap usually shows up as loneliness rather than anything dramatic, how one question at a generosity retreat ("what is the finish line?") reshaped his sense of what enough looks like, and how his thinking moved from tithing on profits to stewarding the whole business. Calvin also reflects on the season after a partnership ended, what he learned about identity when the title went away, and why he would tell his younger self to trust that God has a plan. ABOUT THE GUEST Calvin Quek is the founder of Bright Mark, a consulting firm that implements Salesforce and marketing automation for growing businesses, nonprofits, and Christian ministries. He began his career at Salesforce as a sales rep and solutions engineer, reached President's Club in his third year, and later ran sales enablement bootcamps for new hires across Canada, the US, the UK, and Ireland. He co-founded an earlier Salesforce consulting practice and grew it past 40 staff and 5 million in revenue. He is also part of Multiplied Impact, which gathers Christian entrepreneurs around a Kingdom Vision Statement and three pillars: generosity, evangelism, and missions.

  2. Jul 24

    Ep 007 | The Post-Exit Crash No Founder Sees Coming | feat. Troy Hoffman

    You spent a decade building the thing. The day it sells is supposed to be the finish line, so why do so many founders crash the moment they cross it? In this conversation, Colt sits down with Troy Hoffman to unpack the addiction underneath the drive and what actually happens on the other side of a sale. Troy went bankrupt at 23, hit 300 pounds and a Hashimoto's diagnosis by the time his second company was running, and rebuilt himself over years of protocols, coaches, and men's groups. He tells the story of Blake Mycoskie, who sold TOMS Shoes, looked like he had the perfect life, and nearly took his own. You'll hear why the traits that make you a great operator make you a crappy investor, why wealth is created in concentration but preserved in diversification, how Strategic Sedation keeps a nervous system from shattering under founder-level stress, and what the first year after a sale should actually look like. Troy also shares the three warnings every founder needs before they sign the papers. If you have been eyeing an exit or feeling the pace catch up with your body, this one is for you. ABOUT THE GUEST Troy Hoffman leads FNDRS, an organization helping entrepreneurs build, lead, scale, and exit without burning out, with a stated goal of guiding 10,000 companies through scale and exit. Over three decades in the arena, Troy went bankrupt at 23, rebuilt from a 300-pound burnout and Hashimoto's diagnosis, and refined a founder philosophy built on Strategic Sedation, real-money mentorship, and a post-exit playbook most founders never hear until it is too late. Troy is a fixture in global founder circles, drawing on years of NLP work under the late Dr. Robert D. McDonald from Tony Robbins' lineage, Garrett J. White's Wake Up Warrior, Mark Moses of CEO Coaching International, and personal counsel from Richard Branson. He splits time between Puerto Rico and Florida with his wife and kids, and stays anchored in a faith practiced through worship, morning journaling, and an ongoing search for deeper connection with God.

  3. Jul 17

    EP 006 | 92% of Entrepreneurs Can't Answer This One Question | Feat. Stephen Courson

    You're making good money. Your calendar is packed. But if you had to say out loud what you actually want, would you have an answer? In this conversation, Colt sits down with Stephen Courson to unpack the clarity problem hiding underneath most driven entrepreneurs' stuck moments. Stephen tracks it: 92% of the people he works with cannot answer the one question that would change everything, what do you want? You'll hear why ambition is God-given and not the same as pride, what the "God slot" is and why leaders quietly hand it to themselves, how good distractions sabotage a calling faster than bad ones, why "vagueness is fear dressed up as humility," and how the TEAMS framework (time, energy, attention, money, soul) exposes where your life is actually going. If you have been staying busy so you don't have to face the question, this one is for you. ABOUT THE GUEST Stephen Courson is the founder of Lifebuilder and author of What Do You Want? He spent over a decade in enterprise sales at Gartner and Salesforce, earning 11 top sales awards in 12 years, before stepping out to help high performers align their time, energy, attention, money, and soul. Through his Clarity Machine, a 7-step system to eliminate distraction and turn goals into daily execution, Stephen coaches founders and leaders to reclaim 10 plus hours a week, build new income streams, and get more done by doing less, better.

  4. Jul 10

    Ep 005 | Opposition Isn't Proof You're Off Path | feat. Brandon Hayes

    You stepped out in faith. Then everything came apart. Does that mean you're off path? In this conversation, Colt sits down with Brandon Hayes to unpack the moment every faith-driven entrepreneur eventually meets: opposition that makes you feel like you've made the wrong call. Brandon shares how a decade of loyal service ended in a lawsuit, a vanished attorney, a default judgment, and a friend praying an unprecedented prayer that changed a judge's mind the same night. You'll hear why soft skills are the next commodity while everyone else chases AI, how to build a business that serves before it sells, how to actually hear God in ordinary moments, and how to walk free from offense when someone royally misuses you. Brandon also shares the one discernment question he asks himself every time opposition shows up. If you've been questioning whether obedience actually pays, this one is for you. ABOUT BRANDON HAYES Brandon Hayes is the founder of Kalos Consulting, a fractional talent and strategic hiring practice serving founders, CEOs, and leadership teams when a hire really matters. Over nearly two decades, he has helped organizations attract, assess, and retain high-performing talent through the Kalos Essentials behavioral framework, which evaluates candidates for skill, behavior, compensation alignment, and culture fit. Brandon is the original founding recruiter for Forbes.jobs and a chosen partner of the Carolina Panthers Small Business Program. He hosts the Build.Grow.Learn Conference, co-leads the OneLife Mastermind, and speaks nationally on hiring systems, leadership alignment, and decision quality in high-stakes moments. A third-generation entrepreneur, husband, and father of three, Brandon lives by Galatians 6:9, do not grow weary in doing good.

  5. Jul 3

    Ep 004 | You Are Not the Thing You Do | feat. Adam Loomis

    You spent years building the thing. What happens when the thing isn't who you are? In this conversation, Colt sits down with entrepreneur, marketing strategist, and author Adam Loomis to unpack a trap kingdom-minded builders quietly fall into: mistaking the work for the calling. Adam, a third-generation minister turned serial entrepreneur, explains why so many gifted leaders stay stuck in businesses they've outgrown, how faith turns fear into forward motion, and why perfectionism is the quiet enemy of obedience. You'll hear how AI is reshaping what a visionary can build in a week, why authentic conversation beats polished marketing, how to encourage yourself in the Lord when everything falls apart, and what to do when you don't yet know your calling. Adam also opens up honestly about bankruptcy, divorce, and the identity work that came after. ABOUT THE GUEST Adam Loomis is a marketing strategist, speaker, and author who has spent two decades helping hundreds of business owners grow through organic, relationship-first marketing. His journey started with a single question from a friend who owned a cigar shop, "Do you know anything about social media?" and grew into an approach that has reached over 300 million people through authentic engagement rather than paid ads. Adam is the author of Conversational Marketing and host of the Mondays with Adam podcast. Driven by faith and purpose, he helps entrepreneurs cut the hype and build something meaningful through marketing that actually works.

  6. Jun 26

    Ep 003 | When Loss Hits, Your Real Theology Surfaces | feat. Melissa Baker

    You can quote the verses. You can teach the truth. But when the worst day of your life arrives, what you actually believe about God will rise to the surface. In this episode, Colt sits down with biblical counsellor and author Melissa Baker for an honest conversation about functional theology, the gap between the faith we profess and the faith we live. Melissa opens up about the year that dismantled her life, when she lost her husband, her church, her job, her home, and the country she had adopted, all within twelve months. You'll learn how driven leaders tend to quietly medicate with work and status, why daily surrender matters more than ambition, what most Christians get wrong about grief, and how to stop performing the answer to "how are you?" Melissa is candid about the questions she wasn't allowed to ask and the theology she had to unlearn before she could rebuild. ABOUT THE GUEST Melissa Dawn Baker is a biblical counsellor, writer, and founder of Daughter of Grace LLC, a ministry walking with women through grief, anxiety, and the long work of rebuilding faith after loss. She is the author of To Cast My Cares, a Scripture-rooted study used by churches and individuals navigating hard seasons. Raised in a pastor's home and called with her husband to Ontario in 1980 to help plant a church, Melissa spent three decades in full-time ministry and music education across Canada before relocating to North Carolina in 2020. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, she writes openly about the kingdoms in her own heart that had to fall, and points readers to a faithful God who brings beauty from ashes.

  7. May 12

    Ep 002 | The Cost of Burying Your Calling | Cheyenne Jones

    Twenty years ago, Cheyenne Jones received a 28-page vision from God during a week of fasting — a detailed blueprint to help young women reclaim their identity. Instead of acting on it, she buried it. A secret from her past made the calling too personal, too exposing, and fear kept her running. In this episode, Cheyenne shares the fundraiser that cracked her open, the scripture that shifted everything from self-preservation to surrender, and the birthday provision that confirmed God was already moving ahead of her. Colt and Cheyenne go to deeply vulnerable places together — discussing abortion, shame, and the forgiveness that comes when you stop running. Cheyenne now runs Face-to-Face Against Exploitation and facilitates the Girls Like Us program in youth homes across Nova Scotia, walking alongside young women who remind her of exactly who she used to be.

  8. May 10

    Ep 001 | The Cost of Drivenness | Vinny Savard & Jennifer Amirault

    In this episode of The Driven, host Colt Charlebois sits down with Vinny Savard and Jennifer Amirault for a raw and honest conversation about the cost of drivenness. Together they explore the dark side of ambition — the limiting beliefs, inner dialogue, and hidden motives that can fuel success but come at a serious personal price. Jennifer shares her powerful story of transformation and surrender, including an unexpected encounter with Jesus during a guided meditation that changed the trajectory of her life and leadership. Vinny opens up about the pressure to perform, the lies that drove his ambition, and what it looks like to lead from a place of purpose rather than proving yourself. They dig into what it means to be driven by impact rather than ego, how to identify when ambition is rooted in pain, and why the most meaningful leadership starts with surrender. This isn't a tips-and-tricks leadership conversation — it's a deep, faith-centered look at what it really takes to lead with integrity. Vinny and Jennifer are the lead organizers of the upcoming Leaders of Impact Conference on May 23rd in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Colt will be speaking. Visit Inspire FM online to learn more and register.

  9. May 8

    Ep 000 | The Driven Podcast With Colt Charlebois

    Welcome to the very first episode of the Driven Podcast, hosted by Colt Charlebois. In this pilot, Colt introduces the show's mission: exploring the fine line between drive for impact and ego-driven pride. He shares his own story of chasing success in real estate, accumulating $100K in debt by his mid-20s, and hitting rock bottom in a friend's basement before a radical shift in perspective changed everything. This podcast isn't about business owners promoting their products -- it's about raw, vulnerable conversations that unpack the true motives behind ambition, the cost of climbing the wrong mountain, and what it looks like when faith, purpose, and leadership intersect. If you've ever wondered whether your drive is taking you somewhere worth going, this is your show. Buckle up.

  • 9 Episodes

About

The Driven is a podcast hosted by Colt Charlebois. Sitting down with business owners, founders, and high-capacity leaders, he uncovers the real stories behind their success — the lows, the turning points, and the faith woven through it all. Every episode follows the same arc: where it all started, what nearly broke them, the moment things shifted, and where they are now. Raw testimony from leaders who built something meaningful while carrying real weight — in business, in life, and in faith.

Information

  • Creator
    Colt Charlebois
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Driven Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Driven Podcast