In this week’s interview, Derek Champagne talks with Shark Tank veteran Steven Sashen. Steven talks with Derek about building an international business, stepping in the Shark Tank, and even his days of stand up comedy.

Steven is the developer and CEO of Xero Shoes • Your Original Barefootware – www.XeroShoes.com. Steven and his wife, Lena Phoenix, started the “Barefoot… PLUS!” sandal business in late 2009; he had returned to sprinting 2 years earlier, at age 45, and experienced almost continuous injuries. An experiment with running barefoot cured the injuries and improved his times. Knowing about the Tarahumara indians in Mexico, who run hundreds of miles in sandals made of tire scraps lashed to their feet, Steven created a high-tech upgrade of that product and launched it online.

With nothing but Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing, Xero Shoes has become the best-selling running sandal in the world.

Steven’s commitment is to making footwear that lets customers connect with the ground and “Feel The World,” fits perfectly, express wearer’s personalities, outlasts any other footwear, and uses fewer resources than any other footwear. He’s also committed to discovering and teaching the best techniques for teaching natural movement — for walking, hiking, and running.

Prior to jumping into the sandal business, Steven was an internationally-known Internet marketing expert, Search Engine and Social Media marketing consultant, and software designer. He also co-hosted the Emmy award winning, internationally syndicated TV show, Disk Doctors.

Steven is also a Masters All-American sprinter, one of the fastest 50+ year olds in the United States.

Learn more at www.xeroshoes.com

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

In this episode, Derek interviews Shark Tank veteran Ben Zvaifler. Ben is the co founder and CEO of PupBox. PupBox landed a deal with Shark Tank personality and entrepreneur Robert Herjavec. Ben talks with Derek about his entrepreneurial journey, and how they landed a deal on Shark Tank.

Learn more at www.Pupbox.com

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

In this episode Derek Champagne interviews Siphiwe Baleka. Fox Sports won an Emmy for Changing Lanes: The Siphiwe Baleka story.

Siphiwe Baleka is the founder of Fitness Trucking, LLC and serves as the Driver
Health and Fitness Coach at Prime Inc., one of America’s largest trucking companies.
His innovative, on-the-go wellness program has helped thousands of truck
drivers lose weight and reclaim their health (69% of truck drivers are obese; the
trucking industry is the least healthy of any industry in the country).

His premise is that ANYONE with 4 minutes can get fit. What works for truckers can work
for any sedentary person! Formerly, Baleka served as the Driver Health Editor
for both Road King magazine and The Trucking Network magazine. After being
raised in Chicago by a single dad, he graduated from Yale University and is the
first African American ever named to the First Team All-Ivy League Swim Team.
He missed qualifying for the 1992 Olympic Swimming Trials in the 100 freestyle
by just 0.8 seconds! He is the author of 4-Minute Fit (Simon & Schuster).

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek Champagne interviews Mike Caprari. In addition to being the stars of a highly watched episode of MSNBC's popular tv show The Profit, Mike Caprari is a passionate musician and entrepreneur. Mike is the SVP of Marketing and Co Founder of SJC Custom Drums. His product is played and endorsed by some of the world's top musicians and bands.

Mike talks with us about his journey of building his business, his experience on The Profit, learning from mistakes, developing authentic customer relationships, engaging with customers on social media, and building the right team. Learn more at www.sjcdrums.com

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek chats with entrepreneur, author, and consultant Marissa Levin about highlights from her entrepreneurial journey and how to build an amazing culture.

As a 25 year CEO and Entrepreneur of a multi-million dollar business, she has taken on the challenge to “educate, equip, and empower” 100 million fellow entrepreneurs and leaders across the globe. Throughout her career Levin has been named a SmartCEO three times, named one of Washington’s Top 100 Technology Titans in 2009, and serves on the Global Communications Committee of Entrepreneurs Organization (the largest global organization of entrepreneurs with 13,000 members). She is also the author of a number 1 best selling book, “Built to SCALE: How Top Companies Create Breakthrough Growth Through Exceptional Advisory Boards”.

SCI is a global corporate culture consultancy that leads organizations undergoing significant transformation through a proven model to define, stabilize, and strengthen organizational cultures. SCI also works with emerging companies to help define their corporate cultures so that they can attract, hire, and retain the best talent.

Marissa and her co-founder have more than 50 years of experience helping organizations build their most engaging, productive cultures, implement supporting human resources strategies, and develop transformational leaders and teams. They share a passion for building positive, extraordinary environments where employees love to work and contribute to their organizations’ success.

Derek Champagne talks with Kyle Austin Young.

Kyle Austin Young is an award-winning strategy consultant for high achievers, entrepreneurs, and leaders in
a wide range of fields. This work has allowed him to develop and refine a powerful system for accomplishing
big, meaningful goals that focuses on understanding and changing your odds of success. Kyle is a popular
writer for Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Boston Globe, CNBC, Psychology Today, Forbes,
and Business Insider.

His new book, SUCCESS IS A NUMBERS GAME: Achieve Bigger Goals by Changing the Odds (Hay House Business, November 2025), details this system. In the context of a single goal, it could be the secret advantage that changes your outcome. Over the course of several goals, it could transform the trajectory of your career. Applied

to a lifetime of goals, it can level up your legacy.

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek Champagne talks with Rohit Agarwal, CEO of The Weather Company.

Rohit Agarwal is the CEO of The Weather Company, the world’s most accurate forecaster. In this role, Rohit is responsible for setting the strategic vision that spans the company’s digital consumer properties, including The Weather Channel app and weather.com, as well as its enterprise business across media,

advertising, aviation, defense, and a variety of other industries. He stands behind the belief that high-performing teams are critical to innovation, growth, and impact, and diverse backgrounds and thinking benefit the end customer.

Prior to joining The Weather Company, Rohit was the chief product and revenue officer at SoundCloud, the world’s largest online community of artists, bands, DJs, and audio creators, where he led the vision, strategic execution, and revenue. This included overseeing business and product strategy, delivery and operations, design, product marketing, and growth. Through Rohit’s leadership, SoundCloud refactored the product, doubled its subscriber base, and meaningfully improved its ads business, leading the company to its first profitable year in its 16-year history.

Rohit previously served as chief product and growth officer at CNN. Throughout his career, he has driven 2-3x user and revenue growth across leading companies in industries including music (Last.fm, CBS), media

(CNN/WarnerMedia, The Economist, Bild), banking (HSBC), B2B SaaS (Trustpilot, Akamai), and consumer internet (AOL). Rohit is a frequent speaker at leading conferences (Google I/O, SXSW, CES, RISE, WebSummit, Product Summit), an active advisor and investor in startups, and launched his own startup in the past. He is also a committed supporter of diverse and inclusive education initiatives – both as a board member of the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and as a board member of Leap Year, a unique program based in metro Atlanta dedicated to improving college access and early adolescent reading skills to under-represented youth.

Rohit lives in Atlanta with his wife and two daughters. An avid sports fan, he also enjoys playing soccer and tennis, painting, and cooking, and he acknowledges that his creative endeavors make him a better leader.

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Derek Champagne talks with Marvin Alballi, a globally recognized leader in the food and beverage industry, acclaimed for authoring the world’s highest-rated restaurant and F&B book, Restaurant Excellence: The Ultimate Guide to Success in the Food and Beverage Industry, available on Amazon. His book was purchased by top hotel and restaurant companies and endorsed by global chefs and CEOs.

A recipient of the prestigious Fortune 500 Brinker International “Operator of the Year” award, Alballi has established a reputation as a transformative force in hospitality, with a proven record of turning around struggling businesses and driving sustained growth.

With extensive experience across luxury, lifestyle, upscale, mainstream F&B and the restaurant franchise industry segments, Aballi has worked in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. His career includes consulting for celebrity chefs, Michelin-starred restaurants, and award-winning establishments, including MENA’s 50 Best #1 restaurant. In addition, Marvin Alballi has consulted for global, local brands, and franchises such as Orfali Bros, Boston Market, Café D’Arte, Famoso Pizzeria, The Great Harvest Bread Company, Peaceful Restaurants, Wing Stop, and Fusion Ceviche.

A sought-after keynote speaker, Alballi has been featured at leading conferences and platforms such as Bloomberg Intelligence (NYC), The Future Hospitality Summit, HSMAI, Breaking Travel News, The Fast Food & Café Convention, Dubai Restaurant Week, and the CET World Series convention on CX and Marketing. They are also a regular guest on Dubai Eye Radio’s Helen Farmer Show and have spoken for and guided several organizations including Couqley Restaurants, Paramount Hotels, Adyen, Radisson Dubai, Orfali Bros, and Crowne Plaza Muscat.

His insights and thought leadership have been showcased on international podcasts including Bloomberg, The Chef JPK, GotLanded (New York), Polaris (Dubai), and TwentyOne06.

In addition to creating the groundbreaking Twelve-Point Program (TPP)—the industry’s most effective F&B and restaurant performance management system, Alballi has become a trusted authority on brand reputation, guest experience, profitability, marketing, and restaurant economics. His expertise lies in crafting strategic, long-term business solutions that deliver measurable results and elevate operational excellence.

A Canadian citizen, Alballi continues to influence the global F&B landscape by driving innovation, quality, and sustainable growth. Alballi currently leads 26 countries and territories at Hilton Asia Pacific with more than 1,100 restaurants and bars in the Asia Pacific region.

Marvin's new book, Hospitality Excellence, is available on Amazon (as of February 2026).

Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576