In this powerful episode of The Grit Mindset, Matt Rosen sits down with longtime friend, mentor, and client Richard Maranville, now CTO of Pinnacle Live, an innovative event-technology company operating in 150+ hotel properties nationwide.

Richard’s story is a masterclass in grit, adaptability, and leadership. From a humble upbringing with a single mother in Southern California to discovering coding on a vintage Tandy computer at age 13, Richard shares how early responsibility and hard work—from paper routes to McDonald's shifts—instilled the resilience that would fuel his entire career.

He walks listeners through his rapid ascent at Kinko’s (later FedEx Office), where he advanced from developer to CIO, managing a 300-person team in his mid-30s. Richard discusses the challenges of earning respect as a young leader, the importance of partnership between IT and business teams, and the lessons he learned about humility, communication, and empowering others.

Richard then opens up about his 12-year chapter at Freeman, the world’s largest event-production company. From stabilizing a broken payroll system to leading digital transformation, navigating multiple tech acquisitions, and managing through the chaos of COVID—when Freeman saw 100% of its revenue vanish almost overnight—he shares candid stories about crisis leadership, rebuilding trust, and the necessity of confronting problems head-on.

The conversation also explores his time as COO and CTO at Salad and Go, where Richard transitioned from tech into operations and supply chain—applying grit, people leadership, and decades of experience to a fast-scaling restaurant brand.

Matt and Richard dive deep into:
-What grit means in real life

-Perseverance, asking for help, leaning on your support network, and giving yourself space to think clearly.

-Lessons for young professionals

— Focus on soft skills, not just coding.

— Don’t play politics—focus on your work.
— Empower your team and take the bullets for them.

-Parenting with grit

— Teaching kids to earn what they want, handle “no,” and work in the service industry to build empathy and resilience.

-Leadership Principles

From early hustle to executive boardrooms, Richard’s journey is packed with insight, humility, and the kind of hard-earned wisdom that defines true grit.

Thanksgiving Special: The Untold Origin Story of Allata

In this special Thanksgiving episode, Host Matt Rosen sits down for a rare solo conversation to share the full origin story of Allata — the pivotal moments, the early supporters, the tough lessons, and the grit it took to build a company from his garage into a national consulting firm.

Matt opens up about the mentors who shaped him, the season of self-doubt, the leap into entrepreneurship, and the unexpected people who pushed him forward—sometimes intentionally, sometimes by accident. From his early years at Pariveda to navigating a difficult leadership environment, to naming the company in his backyard with his wife, this episode traces the real, unvarnished journey behind the Allata you know today.

You’ll hear:

How two founders, Bruce and John, sparked Matt’s passion for people-first leadership

Why timing mattered—and how his wife Stephanie helped build a life that made entrepreneurship possible

The hard quarter that revealed a leader’s true colors and ultimately pushed Matt to strike out on his own

The moment Allata got its name (hint: bamboo + a backyard conversation)

The first clients who took a chance and the early team members who shaped the culture

How the company survived 2020 and why Allata’s core mantra still anchors everything:
Family First. Clients Are King. Take Great Care of Your People.

A heartfelt message of thanks to his team, clients, partners, mentors, and family

This honest, gratitude-filled episode is part reflection, part masterclass in leadership, and part reminder that no entrepreneurial journey is ever walked alone.

If you’re a founder, a leader, or simply someone who believes in building something meaningful—this is a must-watch.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Grit Mindset. Stay gritty out there.

In this inspiring episode of The Grit Mindset, host Matt Rosen sits down with Christine Rogers, co-founder of Spark Farm, a marketing and PR agency built on flexibility, integrity, and a bold mission: reinventing the workplace—especially for working moms.

Christine shares the deeply personal and professional journey that led her from male-dominated big-agency environments to launching Spark Farm in the middle of the 2009 recession. What began as playground conversations during layoffs became a thriving 16-year agency that champions flexibility, balance, and a “no-asshole policy” that prioritizes culture over contracts.

From her early upbringing in Northern Virginia to the powerful mentors who shaped her, Christine opens up about resilience, founding challenges, hard lessons (including a costly legal one), and the value of standing firm in your values—even when it means walking away from clients. She also digs into modeling grit for her own children and supporting today’s working parents through Spark Farm’s unique flat-organization structure.

This episode is packed with real talk about leadership, motherhood, entrepreneurship, toxic workplaces, and finding a path forward—no matter what obstacles are in the way.

If you’re an entrepreneur, a working parent, or someone considering building something of your own, this conversation will hit home. Stay gritty!