What happens when your values deeply align with a room full of people… but your identity still feels complicated?

In this episode, Melody joins Curt live from a Christian business conference in Arkansas and opens up about something unexpectedly vulnerable: feeling like a fraud in spaces where she actually feels deeply at home.

What starts as a conversation about faith quickly becomes a much bigger exploration of entrepreneurship, authenticity, self-worth, and the emotional tension many founders feel around visibility, networking, and asking for what they want.

Curt and Melody unpack:

• Why purpose-driven entrepreneurs often struggle to advocate for themselves
• The difference between authentic connection and strategic collaboration
• Why “being business-minded” can feel manipulative to relational people
• The fear of rejection hiding underneath networking discomfort
• What it means to “hold the pose” of the person you’re becoming
• Why promoting a shared mission feels easier than promoting yourself
• The surprising overlap between faith-based leadership values and ethical entrepreneurship

Along the way, Melody reflects on hearing speakers like Auntie Anne’s founder Anne Beiler, wrestling with identity in unfamiliar spaces, and realizing that maybe the hardest part of growth isn’t becoming someone new — it’s allowing yourself to fully step into who you already are.

This episode is honest, funny, uncomfortable in the best way, and deeply relatable for anyone building a business without wanting to lose themselves in the process.

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