How do you turn a corporate career—and a life-shaking loss—into purpose and impact? In this episode, Mary K Dunn shares her remarkable path from sales executive to life coach and speaker.

With over 20 years in the corporate world, Mary thought she had it all figured out—until life called her in a new direction. Through coaching, public speaking, and a deeply personal story of grief and healing, she discovered the power of listening, presence, and purpose-driven work.

Whether you’re a founder, leader, or someone navigating change, Mary’s insights into communication, emotional resilience, and the “messy middle” will leave you reflecting on what truly matters.

🎯 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The surprising truth about leadership and fulfillment
• Why asking others about your strengths is crucial
• The role of trial and error in building purpose
• How trauma and loss can shape legacy
• Practical habits for mental and physical wellbeing
• What it really means to lead with intention

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⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:15 - Corporate career beginnings

03:10 - Discovering life coaching

05:20 - Balancing family and career

07:00 - Redefining success

09:40 - Health habits and mental clarity

13:00 - Fun, friendship, and fitness

15:00 - Grief, trauma, and showing up

20:00 - Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

22:30 - Where to find Mary K Dunn

LinkedIn

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Website

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What happens when you reach the top of your career… and realize it’s not what you want?
In this episode of A Founder’s Life, Leo Gestetner talks with Rachel Platt, founder and CEO of Platinum HR Consulting, about walking away from a successful corporate career to build something more meaningful.

Rachel shares her journey from Chief People Officer to entrepreneur, the lessons she learned about leadership, and why defining company values early isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. She opens up about building a life rooted in purpose, family, and well-being, and the powerful mindset shifts that helped her find joy again in her work.

👉 If you’re a founder, executive, or people leader navigating culture and growth—this one’s for you.

🔑 What you’ll learn in this episode:
•How to pivot out of a high-level corporate role
•The truth about HR leadership in Fortune 500s
•Why values should guide early-stage hiring and growth
•How Rachel defines health and balance in her life
•The power of saying no to clients who don’t align

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:00 – Rachel’s background and clients
04:00 – Lessons from decades in corporate HR
06:30 – Leaving the CPO role
09:00 – What family and health mean to her
15:00 – Redefining balance and harmony
20:00 – Becoming an entrepreneur
23:00 – Advice for founders and how to connect

Learn more about Plattinum HR Consulting:

www.PLATTinumconsulting.com

Connect with Rachel:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/royvella/

LinkedIn

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Website

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What happens when you walk away from the “dream job”? In this episode of A Founder’s Life, Leo Gestetner talks with Sarah Walton—former Nike executive turned founder of Better Meant—about how burnout, parenting, and the pursuit of freedom reshaped her definition of success.

Sarah left corporate life without a plan and ended up building a thriving company that helps others find agency, happiness, and true work-life balance. Her story is a powerful reminder that fulfillment often starts with listening to what you really want.

🔍 What you’ll get from this episode:
•What led Sarah to leave Nike with no backup plan
•The surprising start of Better Meant and her first clients
•How to reconnect with your health—mentally and physically
•Why gritty founders win (and what most get wrong)
•Her advice for anyone stuck in a job that “should” be enough
•Tools for finding purpose and designing a life you love

🔔 Subscribe for more powerful conversations with founders

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:58 - Meet Sarah Walton
02:10 - Quitting Nike without a plan
04:20 - What family means now
06:50 - Health, values, and energy
08:30 - The surprising birth of Better Meant
13:45 - When it stopped being “just a project”
17:15 - What freedom looks like today
20:50 - Her #1 advice to aspiring founders
22:30 - How to connect with Sarah

Learn more about Better Meant:

https://www.bettermeant.co/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bettermeant/

Instagram @bettermeant.co

Connect with Sarah:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahwaltoncoach/

LinkedIn

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Website

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Cindy Grabowski spent 30 years climbing the ladder in MedTech, becoming a VP of Clinical Affairs. Then—at age 56—she walked away.

In this inspiring episode of A Founder’s Life, Cindy shares why she left her high-level role to create something with deeper purpose: an e-learning platform called MindGrove, designed to help people enter the MedTech industry—no college degree required. Her story is about reinvention, authentic leadership, and defining success on your own terms.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:
•How Cindy went from temp secretary to VP in MedTech
•Why she believes formal education isn’t always the answer
•What she’s building now—and how it’s changing lives
•Her approach to balance, health, and leadership
•What aging backwards really means
•Advice for founders: Why sharing your vision is the key

📺 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to follow A Founder’s Life

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 - Cindy’s intro & blended family
02:30 - Redefining family & chosen relationships
04:00 - From secretary to MedTech leader
07:00 - Leaving corporate life to build MindGrove
10:00 - College vs. real-world education
12:00 - Her new venture and mission
15:00 - Health, aging, and wellness habits
18:00 - Running, yoga, and “motion is lotion”
21:00 - Balance, purpose & leading with intention
23:00 - Advice for entrepreneurs
24:00 - Connect with Cindy

LinkedIn

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Website

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Ron Green has built 9 startups. But what he shares in this episode isn’t just about business — it’s about building a life that works.

As the CTO of Kung Fu AI, Ron is deep in the AI space. But behind his professional success lies a story of personal evolution: from burnout to balance, from overwork to intentional living.

In this conversation, Ron shares:
• The real cost of “grind culture” and how it backfires
• How he balances intense work with family, health, and fun
• His philosophy on fitness, sleep, and why moderation wins
• Hard-won startup lessons from biotech to AI
• What most people get wrong about AI’s future
• Why failing forward is a strength, not a weakness

Whether you’re a founder, future entrepreneur, or simply someone trying to build a better life — this one is for you.

👇 Subscribe to A Founder’s Life for more honest, unfiltered founder stories:
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⸻

Timestamps:
00:00 – Meet Ron Green
01:00 – What Family Means to Ron
03:30 – Remote Work, Gen Z & Quality of Life
05:00 – Burnout & Diminishing Returns
07:00 – Work-Life Balance Tips
10:00 – Ron’s Health Philosophy
13:00 – The Role of Strength Training & Sleep
15:00 – Startup Journey & Biotech Breakthrough
18:00 – The AI Revolution is Faster Than You Think
22:00 – Building Kung Fu AI
24:00 – Best Advice for Founders
27:00 – Why Failure Isn’t a Stain
30:00 – Where to Find Ron

LinkedIn

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Website

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In this episode of A Founder’s Life, host Leo Gestetner sits down with Andy Zimmerman—CEO of Journey and former head of Frog Design—to explore the rarely told truth behind success. From high-powered corporate roles to a life-altering spiritual awakening, Andy shares the personal and professional pivot that helped him rediscover balance, purpose, and empathy.

🔥 Discover how six million air miles and relentless ambition nearly cost Andy everything—and how one soul reading in Glastonbury reset his life and leadership forever.

🎧 Whether you’re a founder chasing growth or a leader craving alignment, this conversation will challenge what you think success really looks like.

What You’ll Learn:
•The hidden cost of ignoring yourself in the name of growth
•Why vulnerability is a superpower in leadership
•How Andy built “Journey”—a creative agency designing immersive experiences (like The Sphere in Vegas and Empire State Building’s new deck)
•How spiritual practice, family, and writing helped him reset
•What “balance” means when the world doesn’t slow down

📺 Subscribe for weekly episodes: youtube.com/@afounderslife?sub_confirmation=1
🌍 Learn more about the podcast: https://leogestetner.com/podcast/

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro & Andy’s background
02:10 - From corporate to creative
07:20 - Mental health and the power of pause
11:45 - Designing The Sphere & immersive experiences
17:10 - Burnout, family, and reconnection
22:30 - The pivotal moment that changed his life
27:00 - How to build your business without losing yourself
30:00 - Final thoughts & where to find Andy

Learn more about Journey.World:

Journey.world

Connect with Andy:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewzimmerman1/

LinkedIn

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Website

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Feeling stuck in a business that controls your life instead of supporting it?

In this episode of A Founder’s Life, Leo Gestetner sits down with Andy Root—co-founder of Better Every Day—to explore how founders, especially in high-pressure industries like accounting, can break free from burnout and build a business that aligns with the life they want to live.

Andy shares how working 60+ hour weeks nearly cost him his health and family time—and what changed everything. From losing 40 pounds to redefining work-life integration, this episode is packed with actionable insights for entrepreneurs seeking balance, fulfillment, and sustainable success.

✅ Value You’ll Get:

• The truth about hustle culture and how to escape it

• How to build a business that fits your life—not the other way around

• The importance of daily routines, mindfulness, and health data

• What intentional living actually looks like for busy founders

• How to be present with your family without sacrificing your business

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

03:30 – Andy’s backstory: Air Force, accounting, and founding Better Every Day

08:00 – Breaking out of hustle culture in the tax industry

12:30 – Work-life integration vs. balance

15:00 – Andy’s journey: losing 40 lbs and prioritizing mental health

18:00 – Meditation, fitness, and health tech

22:00 – Family time, coaching softball, and the power of presence

26:00 – What a balanced day looks like (and how to build it)

31:00 – Andy’s best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

LinkedIn

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Website

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In this episode of A Founder’s Life, Leo Gestetner sits down with Roy Vella, fintech veteran and founder of NextCoLabs, to explore what it really means to live with intention. From building PayPal in its earliest days to creating AI-powered meeting tools, Roy shares why presence—not productivity—is the true key to success.

🔥 Topics include parenting with purpose, optimizing health and sleep, founding companies in fintech and AI, and what exponential technology means for the future of work and life.

📌 You’ll learn:
• How to prioritize family and still lead at the highest level
• Why “you get what you measure” applies to life and business
• The science behind Roy’s biohacking and sleep strategies
• What founders can learn from feedback loops
• How to create a life that blends innovation, parenting, and fulfillment
• A behind-the-scenes look at his startup, NextCoLabs

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro & Roy’s Background
03:00 – Fatherhood and Attention as Currency
07:00 – Presence, Priorities, and Corporate Respect
10:00 – Personal Loss, Transparency, and Trust
13:00 – Sleep, Biofeedback, and Optimizing Health
22:00 – AI and the Future of Personal Assistants
30:00 – Building NextCoLabs and the CoLab Score
40:00 – Adventure, Curiosity & Continuous Learning
47:00 – Advice for Entrepreneurs

LinkedIn

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Website

leogestetner.com/leo

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