Sweet Takes

Big Leap

Catch a ride with leaders, creators, and curious minds as they share their freshest takes on work, life, and growth. Tired of impersonal, formal business interviews? Sweet Takes is the bi-weekly podcast that brings you honest, behind-the-scenes looks at the complex business landscape, one beverage run at a time. Hosted by Big Leap leaders like Coby Bush and Dan Posner, each episode is filmed during a quick drink run to a local treat vendor. We invite our guests into the car to share their sweet takes. Hop in for a casual, unfiltered, and highly valuable conversation. Let's go get a sweet!

  1. Sep 10

    Quests, Not Grades: Inside the School With No Report Cards | Tanner Bowman

    Traditional education isn’t broken. It’s just punishing the wrong things. On the road to Sinners and Saints Coffee, Coby and Tanner Bowman of Optio talk about tearing down classroom rules, replacing letter grades with experience points, and why the most powerful thing you can give a student is autonomy. Tanner shares what it took to walk away from ten years as a high school computer science teacher, how making attendance completely optional actually made kids want to show up, and why true learning happens when you stop penalizing failure. He opens up about doing his doctorate research on intrinsic motivation, how a student is currently earning math credit by analyzing the physics in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, and how Optio is helping homeschool families and micro-schools issue accredited high school diplomas. Plus, Tanner shares his sweet take on why letter grades create a toxic feedback loop for both teachers and students, why we need to build creators instead of consumers, and how thinking like a gardener (rather than a boss) could reshape how we approach education reform. And of course, no Sweet Takes episode is complete without a special stop! This week at Sinners and Saints coffee truck for a cold iced latte and a look at what happens when you treat the learning process as the actual goal. ☕ Grab a drink and tune in! 🎧 New episodes of Sweet Takes drop every other Thursday. Follow, rate, and share to join the conversation.

  2. Aug 13

    The Future is for the Originals

    The best creative work has never been about the tools. On the road to Protein Foundry in Daybreak, Coby sits down with Ash of Weapon to talk about what makes creative endure, why every brand needs a great story, and what it actually means to be original in the age of AI. Ash opens with a story he's never met anyone else who can match. He wanted kids, so he made it happen: embryos, a surrogate, two exits down the freeway, and now twins, three nannies, and a branding agency to run. His big lesson so far? Grace. For parents, for kids, for employees, for everyone still winging it. He also makes the case that relationships have seasons, that you strengthen a bridge instead of burning it, and that a brand, much like a kid, has to be given room to become what it wants. Then they get into the craft. Ash explains why great creative always starts with strategy, how the Allstate Mayhem campaign won by turning a raccoon in your ceiling into a genuine villain, and why a $4 million Park City condo and a local med spa are selling the exact same thing: a story. Coby counters with his own framework. Nobody buys products or services. They buy the story they tell themselves about them. And if you can shape that story, you can add a zero. Plus, Ash shares his sweet take on AI, and why the future belongs to the originals. He watches AI videos add fake film grain and thinks, buddy, that's just a darkroom. The bar is higher now, which is precisely why this is the best possible time to make something real. Also worth noting: while everyone else stares at Silicon Slopes, he's betting on blue collar. And of course, no Sweet Takes episode is complete without a stop at Protein Foundry for a PB Edge that tastes like a 90s lunchbox and a Lush that hides its avocado a little too well. 🥤 Grab a treat and tune in! 🎧 New episodes of Sweet Takes drop every other Thursday. Follow, rate, and share to join the conversation.

  3. Jun 18

    Nutrition First, Sleep Second, Workout Third

    What does it take to stay genuinely healthy in a world full of supplement hype, fad diets, and conflicting fitness advice? According to one coach, the answer is simpler than you think: eat real food and get some sleep. In this episode of Sweet Takes, Coby and Natalie Peterson, owner, coach, and competitor at Saratoga Springs CrossFit head over to grab some salmon sushi from Smith's to talk about what actually moves the needle on health and fitness. Natalie has trained consistently for over 15 years, made the CrossFit semifinals in her age division, and built a thriving gym community along the way, all on the back of habits she swears anyone can build. Her big idea? The workout isn't the hard part. Most people stall because they neglect everything that happens outside the gym, the nutrition, the sleep, and the recovery that actually let the body change and grow. Along the way, Natalie shares: Why nutrition is the base of the fitness pyramid and the biggest driver of visible resultsHow she sticks to a 4 a.m. routine through structure, not willpowerWhy she spends twice as much time on recovery as she does working outThe truth about CrossFit injuries and why most trace back to egoHow the gym transforms people's mental health, not just their bodiesIf you're an athlete, a beginner, or anyone trying to build habits that actually last, this conversation is full of practical wisdom and a little tough love. Grab a sweet treat and settle in. There's plenty of sweetness ahead.

  4. Jun 4

    The Brands That Win Aren't Afraid to Experiment

    What do a billion-dollar mattress company, a hands-free shoe brand Nike invested in, and a smart-oven meal service all have in common? One marketer: Alex McArthur. In this episode of Sweet Takes, fractional CMO Alex McArthur sits down with Dan over fresh-baked focaccia from a Lehi bakery called F'kosh to talk about what really drives brand growth. Alex has helped build and scale some of Utah's most recognizable brands, from Purple (concept to public) to Kizik to Tovala, and now works with companies like Just Ingredients. His big idea? Most brands stall because they're afraid of their own customers. They get so locked into rigid brand guidelines that they never experiment, never take a point of view, and never find the "tension" that separates a real brand from a commodity. Along the way, Alex shares: Why Purple ran funny mattress ads for four years despite pressure to "get serious," and grew like crazy doing itHow Kizik stumbled into an unexpected breakthrough with nurses during CovidWhat "fixed and flexible" branding actually means, and why it mattersThe difference between executives who want to grow and those who just want moneyWhy your customers are far more forgiving than you think If you're a marketer, founder, or anyone trying to build something people genuinely connect with, this conversation is full of practical wisdom and a few good laughs. Grab a sweet treat and settle in. There's plenty of sweetness ahead. Learn more: bigleap.com/sweet-story

About

Catch a ride with leaders, creators, and curious minds as they share their freshest takes on work, life, and growth. Tired of impersonal, formal business interviews? Sweet Takes is the bi-weekly podcast that brings you honest, behind-the-scenes looks at the complex business landscape, one beverage run at a time. Hosted by Big Leap leaders like Coby Bush and Dan Posner, each episode is filmed during a quick drink run to a local treat vendor. We invite our guests into the car to share their sweet takes. Hop in for a casual, unfiltered, and highly valuable conversation. Let's go get a sweet!