Keep It Brief

Natalie Dawson

Each week, I sit down with the founders, operators, and investors building companies and creating wealth to get into the decisions that shape their success. We talk about the risks they took, the strategies that are actually working in business right now, and what it really takes to scale companies and create influence. No surface-level success stories. These are honest conversations with hard-won lessons you can apply to your own business.

  1. 1d ago ·  Bonus

    When Being Nice Hurts Your Team

    The feedback you’re holding back to protect someone’s feelings could be hurting your entire team. In this bonus episode of Keep It Brief, Natalie Dawson shares the hard conversations she wishes she’d had sooner, from tolerating a toxic senior executive to firing an employee without giving him feedback first. She breaks down how to address issues within two weeks, use regular one-on-ones to make feedback a habit, and focus on one clear truth at a time. If Monday’s conversation about being kind versus being nice hit home, this episode shows how to put that distinction into practice. Check out Natalie’s next event: http://nataliedawson.com/event Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own business operations and identify any potential risks. The information shared here is not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary. Copyright CardoneVentures.com 2026.

  2. 5d ago

    The Early Team I Hired Went on to Become Multimillionaires | Shark Tank Investor Daniel Lubetzky

    Being great at sales or marketing is not enough if the business cannot grow beyond you. Build the leaders, systems, and accountability your company needs at Elite Edge: https://nataliedawson.com/event Most founders think being nice builds a great team. KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky says "nice" is how you end up with mediocrity. He shares what he learned paying himself $24,000 a year for 10 years before his healthy snack brand took off and got bought for $5B. The Shark Tank investor and host of "Build or Break" explains how he realized he was a bad leader, why he kept losing great hires, and how he hires for values now. Daniel also reveals his "not now" strategy for focus, the quality, speed and price triangle, and why he almost walked away from selling KIND. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - Why being too nice creates bad leaders - Why trying to be everything to everyone kills a business - When to let a bad hire go - When to walk away from a deal CHAPTERS 0:00 Daniel Lubetzky: Being Kind vs Nice and Why Nice Kills Growth 0:50 Door To Door Sales And Building The Healthy Snack Aisle 5:14 Kind Culture And Hiring For Values 12:19 How To Know You Are A Bad Manager 17:14 The Not Now Strategy For Founders 24:14 Brand Mistakes That Led To KIND 29:00 Quality Speed Price Value Proposition 35:16 Turn Off Notifications And Think 42:52 Selling KIND And Founder Regret 51:19 The Intervention Before The KIND Sale FOLLOW KEEP IT BRIEF: 📸 https://www.instagram.com/keepitbriefpod MORE FROM NATALIE DAWSON: 📸 https://www.instagram.com/nataliedawson MORE FROM DANIEL LUBETZKY: 🌐 Website: https://daniellubetzky.com/ Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own business operations and identify any potential risks. The information shared here is not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary. Copyright [CardoneVentures.com] (https://cardoneventures.com) 2025

  3. Nov 6 ·  Bonus

    How to Build Your 2027 Business Plan Before January

    Most people wait until January to plan their year. By then, they’re already behind. In this bonus episode of Keep It Brief, Natalie Dawson breaks down the annual planning process that helped her company scale past a quarter-billion in annual revenue, and how to use the rest of this year to prepare for 2027. Learn how to audit the past 12 months using data, set low, mid, and high revenue targets, and align your departments through objectives and key results (OKRs). Use November and December to prepare so you enter January ready to execute. DM Natalie “PLANNING” for the Annual Planning deck: https://ig.me/m/nataliedawson Check out Natalie’s next event: http://nataliedawson.com/event Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own business operations and identify any potential risks. The information shared here is not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary. Copyright CardoneVentures.com 2026.

  4. Nov 2

    The Daily Routine That Scaled Her Brand to 1.2M Followers | Jennifer Gottlieb

    Want to spend more time building your personal brand, but you’re stuck running your business? Build a business that runs without you, so you can focus on the things only you can do.Learn how with Elite Edge: http://nataliedawson.com/event Jennifer Gottlieb added over 500,000 Instagram followers in nine months, and she says it came down to one choice. She stopped playing the amateur game and went pro. The keynote speaker and Stage Leaders founder breaks down her social media system, how to spot an outlier, and why you don't have to be an expert to grow online. She also shares the day bombed on stage and how a dance party led to seven figures and saved the event. Jennifer reveals her three-part authority story and how she and her husband Chris finally split their roles at work. Watch to learn how to go pro on social media, tell your business story, and speak with more confidence. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - How to post like a pro and double down on the outliers that grow your account - Why you don't need to be an expert to start getting seen online - When to use the three-part authority story to sell without feeling pushy CHAPTERS 0:00 Jen Gottlieb On Why Being Seen Online Matters In 2026 3:29 The Personal Brand Debate 7:56 From Broadway Dream To Personal Trainer 14:46 Working With Your Husband And Owning Roles 24:33 The Day Jen Gottlieb Bombed On Stage 30:59 How To Beat Your Fear Of Public Speaking 39:57 How To Go Pro On Social Media 44:16 Show Don't Tell Content Ideas 51:46 Jealous Friends And Online Lurkers 1:02:50 The Authority Story Formula For Sales FOLLOW KEEP IT BRIEF:📸 https://www.instagram.com/keepitbriefpod MORE FROM NATALIE DAWSON:📸 https://www.instagram.com/nataliedawson MORE FROM JENNIFER GOTTLIEB:🌐 Website: https://www.instagram.com/jen_gottlieb Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own business operations and identify any potential risks. The information shared here is not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary. Copyright [CardoneVentures.com] (https://cardoneventures.com) 2025

  5. Oct 29 ·  Bonus

    How to Fix an Underperforming Team

    Is your team underperforming, or is the real issue how they’re being led? In this bonus episode, Natalie Dawson breaks down the difference between “me work” (execution) and “we work” (leadership), and how to diagnose which one needs fixing. Learn how to align your team around personal, professional, and financial goals, manage by the numbers, spot problems before they escalate, and have clear conversations about performance. The goal: develop people or transition them. No limbo. MORE FROM NATALIE Get Natalie’s book, Team Work:https://www.10xteams.com/teamwork DM Natalie “PPF” on Instagram for her goal-setting playbook:http://ig.me/m/nataliedawson Explore Natalie’s next event:http://nataliedawson.com/event Information shared is for educational purposes only and is not a guarantee of success. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own operations and potential risks. Results may vary. Copyright Cardone Ventures 2026.

  6. Oct 26

    The Hiring Mistake That Costs Founders Hundreds of Thousands | Carly Kremer

    Build a business that can grow without depending on you. Learn more about Elite Edge: http://nataliedawson.com/event Carly Kremer, founder of 'The Beekeepers Naturals', ran out of rent money, moved onto a friend's couch for a year, and kept going. Today her brand, Beekeepers Naturals, is in 20,000 stores. She explains how she did it without an operations background and without giving up control of her company. The founder of Beekeepers Naturals breaks down why she left Goldman Sachs and ended up selling propolis at farmer's markets. She shares how she built a supply chain of pesticide-free apiaries that investors called crazy, and why it now protects her brand. She also reveals how she set up her first term sheet so she could never lose decision-making power. Carly walks through what went wrong on her first maternity leave and how she staffed up to take a real break this time. You'll also hear how she decides what to build, why she waited five years to get on camera, and what is working in marketing right now. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - How to build a loyal customer base by selling face-to-face before you scale - Why you should own your term sheet before you take a dollar of outside money - When to step away from your business and how to make sure the team can lead CHAPTERS 0:00 Carly Kremer On Raising Money Without Losing Control 1:16 Propolis, Goldman Sachs And Farmer's Markets 11:41 How A Product Builds A Cult Following 13:44 Why It Took Five Years To Get On Camera 18:40 Beekeepers' Naturals Sustainable Supply Chain 24:34 Own Your Term Sheet And Stay The Boss 31:16 Maternity Leave Mistakes And Radio Silence 41:03 Product Development And Customer Feedback 44:50 Why She Wrote A Children's Book About Bees 49:25 Nano Influencers And Being Your Own Influencer FOLLOW KEEP IT BRIEF: 📸 https://www.instagram.com/keepitbriefpod MORE FROM NATALIE DAWSON: 📸 https://www.instagram.com/nataliedawson MORE FROM CARLY KREMER: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carly.kremer 🌐 Substack: https://carlykremer.substack.com Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own business operations and identify any potential risks. The information shared here is not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary. Copyright [CardoneVentures.com] (https://cardoneventures.com) 2025

  7. Oct 22 ·  Bonus

    Why the Way You Dress Changes Who You Become

    What you wear does more than change how other people see you. It can change how you think, perform, and see yourself. In this bonus solo episode of Keep It Brief, Natalie Dawson shares five pieces from her wardrobe and the lessons each taught her about identity, confidence, credibility, and growth. She explains why a blazer became a daily cue to lead, why she stopped dressing for different versions of herself, why holding on to old clothes can keep you attached to an old identity, and how one outfit taught her the difference between looking good and communicating authority. This episode continues the conversation from Rebecca Minkoff’s appearance on Keep It Brief by turning the lens inward. Your wardrobe is already sending a message. The question is whether it matches the person you are becoming. YOU’LL LEARN How clothing can influence your focus and performance Why your wardrobe should reflect the person you are becoming How to reduce decision fatigue with timeless staples When your appearance can undermine the message you want to communicate Why confidence sometimes means dressing differently from everyone around you

  8. Oct 19

    "I Almost Lost My Business In 9 Months Because Of This" | Rebecca Minkoff

    Rebecca Minkoff bootstrapped her handbag brand for seven years to a $100M Brand. Then two hires she trusted almost sank it in nine months. The fashion designer and founder shares why her biggest wins came from going against the grain, how designing for editors instead of customers hurt her apparel line, and why she would take the valuation her team once passed on. We also get into why not every business should take investor money, how she learned the language of business by asking what EBITDA meant in her own boardroom. And why no night or weekend she worked ever changed her company's path. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN - How to spot the red flags in a hire before they damage your business - Why you might not need investors to build a company that lasts - When to say no to events and opportunities that pull you from family CHAPTERS 0:00 Rebecca Minkoff On Bootstrapping And Breaking With The Pack 4:17 Designing For Editors Instead Of Customers 7:19 Why Following The Pack Never Worked 9:42 Turning Handbags Into Milestone Purchases 13:23 Treating Business Cards Like Cash 17:47 Investor Lessons And A Missed Valuation 22:54 Learning The Language Of Business 26:47 Staying Present As A Mom And A Founder 38:20 The CMO Who Almost Sunk The Company 46:27 Using AI To Join Cultural Moments FOLLOW KEEP IT BRIEF: 📸 https://www.instagram.com/keepitbriefpod MORE FROM NATALIE DAWSON: 📸 https://www.instagram.com/nataliedawson MORE FROM Rebecca Minkoff: 🌐 Website: https://www.rebeccaminkoff.com/ Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own business operations and identify any potential risks. The information shared here is not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary. Copyright [CardoneVentures.com] (https://cardoneventures.com) 2025

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About

Each week, I sit down with the founders, operators, and investors building companies and creating wealth to get into the decisions that shape their success. We talk about the risks they took, the strategies that are actually working in business right now, and what it really takes to scale companies and create influence. No surface-level success stories. These are honest conversations with hard-won lessons you can apply to your own business.

Information

  • Creator
    Natalie Dawson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Natalie Dawson
  • Show Website
    Keep It Brief

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