Gilad Rom

Gilad Rom is the founder of GetOpener, a platform helping brands get into retail and actually sell once they’re there. Before this, he worked with companies like Shopify, Clearco, and Google, and is now on a mission to fix what he sees as a broken distribution system where brands fight to get on shelves but fail to move product once they do. His work focuses on helping brands go direct to retailers, cut out middlemen, and turn cold outreach into real retail growth.

Most brands think getting into retail is the hard part. It’s not. The real challenge is what happens after you’re on the shelf—and that’s where most brands fail. I’ve worked with companies like Shopify, Clearco, and Google, and now I’m the founder of GetOpener, where we’re fixing what I believe is a broken distribution system. Today, brands rely on brokers and middlemen, fight to get into stores, and still struggle with sell-through once they’re there.

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intao (LT) Lu is a global business executive, engineer, entrepreneur, and author. He is the founder, President, and CEO of NAVAC Inc., a New Jersey-based company specializing in HVAC tools, instruments, and industrial vacuum technology. Under his leadership, NAVAC has grown into an international brand known for innovation in the HVAC industry.

He was born in a rural fishing village in China during the Cultural Revolution. According to his published biography, he overcame poverty to become the first person from his village to attend university. He later earned a doctorate in France, became fluent in multiple languages, and built a career leading businesses across China, France, Singapore, and the United States. He also holds seven U.S. patents.

In April 2026, Lu published the memoir In Through the Window: On Forging Your Own Path to Success, which chronicles his journey from rural China to international business leadership. The book emphasizes resilience, perseverance, innovation, cross-cultural leadership, and the philosophy that "when the door is closed, go in through the window.

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Bren Marrick

Author of Dicks I’ve Met Online | Exploring Self-Discovery Through Uncomfortable Experiences

I didn’t set out to tell a story like this. I set out to tell the truth—about what happens when the life you built no longer fits, the quiet courage it takes to open doors you thought would stay closed, and the unexpected humor you find while figuring it out.

At a certain point, I realized my life had been shaped more by habit than choice. So I started paying attention—to what I wanted, what I avoided, and what I kept explaining away. Writing became a way to look at things honestly, without judgment, and with a little more compassion for every version of myself along the way.

That reflection became my book, Dicks I’ve Met Online: How I Turned Casual Meetups Into a Journey of Discovery.

It’s not a guidebook. It’s an honest account—sometimes funny, sometimes uncomfortable—about connection, self-discovery, and what our experiences reveal when we actually pay attention to them.

In my writing and in conversation, I’m drawn to intimacy, identity, and the messy truths of everyday life—because those are the stories that actually connect us.

If something in this conversation resonates, I hope it leaves listeners feeling a little more seen, and a little less alone in figuring things out.

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