Want a real playbook for scaling without hiding behind a 90-day plan? We sit down with Stephen Rose, CEO of Render Networks, to unpack how he makes faster decisions without sacrificing rigor—grounding every move in customer conversations, employee insight, and hard data. From the brutal economics of fiber and utility builds to the messy reality of changing a go-to-market thesis, Stephen shows what it takes to steer a scale-up through real constraints.

We dig into the two levers that matter most in software—innovation and marketing—and why aligning those creates downstream momentum in sales and cost to serve. Stephen explains how he assesses leaders using pipeline health, conversion metrics, and employee engagement as a proxy for followership, then maps leadership skills to the company’s stage. The method is disarmingly practical: get individual feedback on a strategy thesis to reduce bias, bring the team into one room to synchronize context, and run a dynamic RevOps cadence so the org responds to signals in days, not quarters.

One standout story: entering the U.S. market with a transformative technology only to discover most buyers weren’t ready. Rather than force adoption, Stephen reoriented the product to meet current workflows, then designed a path to move customers forward. It cost time and money—and built long-term traction. We also explore how to empower the middle layer of management with clear guardrails, tie responsibility to accountability, and promote at 50% readiness to keep learning curves steep. If you’re scaling a product company, leading a transformation, or trying to turn engagement into execution, you’ll walk away with concrete steps you can use this week.

If you enjoyed this conversation, follow the show, share it with a colleague who leads teams, and leave a quick review to help others discover it.

What does it take to pivot a public company under real pressure and come out cleaner, simpler, and stronger? We sit down with Matt Edelman, CEO of Super League, to unpack the strategy and humanity behind a turnaround that moved the business from live esports events to scalable digital engagement while restoring investor confidence and partner trust.

Matt traces the journey from Marvel’s early entertainment studio to a front-row seat in the gaming economy. He explains why Gen Z now spends more time playing games than watching social video and what that means for brand marketers who still treat interactive worlds as side projects. We dig into the executive lag—many current decision makers didn’t grow up inside multiplayer environments—and how the next wave of millennial CEOs and CMOs will likely redirect budgets toward play-first platforms where attention, engagement, and conversion stack together.

The conversation gets candid around leadership in crisis. Matt breaks down the headwinds from platform changes on Roblox, the decision to reduce staff, and the discipline required to align bankers, investors, employees, and partners around one consistent narrative. He shares a clear execution chain: restore Nasdaq compliance, eliminate unsustainable debt, simplify the cap table, clean up payables, and then invite strategic capital—proving each step before telling the next chapter. Along the way, he outlines his three rules for compassionate separations and how a profound personal experience reshaped his voice as a leader, making empathy a precise tool rather than a platitude.

If you care about the future of marketing, brand safety in gaming, or the nuts and bolts of public-company turnarounds, this conversation delivers practical insight and human depth. Subscribe, share with a colleague who leads teams through change, and leave a review with the one lesson you’ll apply this quarter.

Most decks drain attention; the best stories drive decisions. We sit down with Dean Curtis, CEO of Ingage, to unpack how a services agency transformed into a focused SaaS company by turning sales content into interactive, data-driven experiences that prospects actually remember. Dean shares the messy middle of building go-to-market while the product was still taking shape, the moment they chose a single vertical in home services, and the downstream effects of that decision on retention, revenue quality, and roadmap discipline.

We get tactical about leadership. Dean explains how stepping from CRO/COO into the CEO role forced him to stop being the doer and start building the people who build the business. He walks through hiring for curiosity and ownership over resume length, replacing leaders as growth ceilings changed, and anchoring culture on two simple values: customer first and value focused. The conversation gets real on feedback: how he rebuilt one-on-ones around the employee’s agenda, required unfiltered two-way critique, and learned to ask clarifying questions instead of shutting ideas down. Psychological safety didn’t appear overnight; consistency and grace made it stick.

Alignment is a system, not a slogan. Dean outlines the OKR backbone, quarterly onsite planning, monthly business reviews, and a candid weekly update video that surfaces wins and misses across teams. He also breaks down the 1080-10 leadership framework: set the first 10% with a clear definition of done, empower the team to own the middle 80%, then return for the final 10% to raise the standard. It’s a practical playbook for SaaS founders and operators who want product market fit, accountable teams, and a culture that scales.

If this conversation gave you a useful tactic or a new lens on leadership, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review so others can find it. Got a PMF story or a feedback ritual that works? Send us a note—we’d love to hear it.