Bailey Kochis Empyre Tax Pros LLC CEO Bailey Kochis is the Founder and CEO of Empyre Tax Pros LLC, a trusted tax service firm dedicated to helping individuals and business owners navigate their finances with clarity and confidence. With a strong commitment to simplifying the tax process, Bailey built the company on the principles of accuracy, transparency, and client-first service. Driven by a passion for financial empowerment, Bailey specializes in delivering reliable, stress-free tax solutions that help clients maximize their refunds while staying fully compliant. Under Bailey’s leadership, Empyre Tax Pros has become known for its personalized approach—offering tailored tax strategies, expert guidance, and ongoing support beyond tax season. Bailey’s mission is simple: to remove the confusion from taxes and help clients keep more of what they earn. By combining industry knowledge with a relationship-focused approach, Bailey continues to create meaningful financial outcomes for individuals, entrepreneurs, and growing businesses alike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gregory Shepard The entrepreneurs; entrepreneur - 12 Exits, 4 PE Awards, Published Author Gregory Shepard is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and author with a track record of building and selling 12 businesses across BioTech, TransitTech, AdTech, and MarTech. Throughout his career, he has successfully led startups, turnarounds, cleanups, and roll-ups, demonstrating a deep expertise in business growth and transformation. He is the author of The Startup Lifecycle (Penguin Random House), a definitive guide to navigating a startup from idea to exit. Greg’s insights have been featured in leading publications such as Forbes, Fortune, Entrepreneur, The New York Observer, The DEAL, and Thrive Global. A four-time private equity award recipient for transactions ranging from $250M to $1B, Greg has been a guest on TV, radio, and top podcasts. As a TEDx speaker and keynote presenter, he has shared his expertise at leading universities and conferences worldwide, inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Lu Exited startup founder now running one of the hottest AI Recruiting startups: Co-Found & CEO @ Pin.com - AI Recruiting & Sourcing Steven Lu has spent nearly a decade inside recruiting technology, on both the build side and the sell side. He's watched the same pattern repeat at every company he's touched: great recruiters get buried in low-value work, and the tools they pay for keep them there. He's now on his second act trying to fix it. He shows up to podcasts with specific patterns, hard numbers, and operator stories from inside the hiring funnel, not theory and not the usual AI hype cycle commentary. Background: - CEO and Co-Founder of Pin (pin.com), the highest-rated AI recruiting platform on G2 (4.8/5) - Previously Co-Founder and CEO of Interseller, the sourcing and outreach platform acquired by Greenhouse - Spent his post-exit years inside Greenhouse, watching how recruiting software actually gets adopted (and abandoned) at scale before leaving to start Pin - Raised a $3M seed led by Expa Ventures in December 2024 - Advisory bench includes Benjamin Mena (Elite Recruiter Podcast, 170K+ downloads), Brianna Rooney (Techees, acquired by Affirm), Rich Rosen (Forbes Top-50 Recruiters, 1,200+ placements), and Evan White (Purple Acorn Network) - Press: VentureBeat, Pulse2, and most of the major recruiting trade publications The numbers he can speak to (Pin's real customer data, not a deck): - 850M+ candidate profiles across professional networks, GitHub, Stack Overflow, patents, and academic publications - 14 days average time-to-fill - 12 hours a week saved per recruiter on sourcing and outreach combined - 5x better outreach response rates vs. industry averages - 83% candidate acceptance rate into customers' hiring pipelines - 90% reduction in manual sourcing time - 91% of users reduce or eliminate LinkedIn Recruiter spend after switching - 6x more diverse candidate pipelines Topics Steven can go deep on: Recruiting and talent acquisition - The post-LinkedIn-Recruiter stack: what TA teams are buying instead, and why 91% of Pin users walked away - Outbound vs inbound hiring, and why sourced candidates are 5x more likely to be hired than applicants - Why multi-source candidate data (GitHub, Stack Overflow, patents, publications) beats single-network sourcing for technical and niche roles - The agency vs in-house TA economics shift happening right now - What "good" looks like for time-to-fill, response rates, and recruiter capacity in 2026 - The future of the recruiter role: strategist vs operator, and which parts of the job AI is actually changing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bo Short Co-Founder & CEO, Base Molecular Resonance Technologies - Speaker to 1M+ People in 35 Countries. Published author and holder of 19 patents, Top 10 Most Influential Leadership Speakers of 2023 Bo Short is the Co-Founder and CEO of Base Molecular Resonance™ Technologies, a company advancing one of the most important scientific breakthroughs in the past 50 years. In less than 24 months, Bo and his team have transformed a revolutionary quantum physics discovery into a validated technology with 20 patent assets and a third-party valuation of $60.3 billion. BMRT’s technology can detect cancers, weapons, explosives, and every element on the periodic table. It is non-invasive, safer than Wi-Fi, and designed for mass-market affordability. A published author and holder of 19 revolutionary patents, Bo was named one of the 'Top 10 Most Influential Leadership Speakers of 2023,' cited alongside Jordan Peterson, Simon Sinek, Malcolm Gladwell, and John Maxwell. He has spoken in 35 countries to over one million people, addressing global brands and institutions including Harley-Davidson, John Hancock, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and the American Red Cross. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Newsome Lead generation specialist, Non traditional referral generation strategist As a featured guest on your show. Your audience will discover how to systematically create long term repeat customers. Even on a shoestring budget. And how to consistently out promote their big buck major competitors. For a fraction of the traditional upfront out of pocket cost. Plus consistently generate a ton of on and offline buzz All without major corporate backing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lauren Cockerell Public Relations and Marketing Expert for Growing Organizations Lauren Kwedar Cockerell is the founder and president of Kwedar & Co., a boutique strategic communications firm that helps business owners grow with clarity, confidence, and integrity. Her team provides both the thinking and doing behind thoughtful PR and marketing so clients can focus on building meaningful businesses without losing themselves in the process. At Kwedar & Co., Lauren works with values-driven entrepreneurs across industries like insurance, real estate, and manufacturing to uncover the stories that build trust, reputation, and long-term relevance. Beyond the firm, Lauren is a member of the Fort Worth Chamber board of directors, the immediate past board chair of the Foundation for the Young Women’s Leadership Academy of Fort Worth, and an EO Fort Worth Accelerator participant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carol Clegg When was the last time you held space for YOU? Business Coach Simple strategies for clarity and more ease and flow Carol Clegg is an accountability and mental fitness coach who supports people navigating change — in life and business — and wanting to move forward in a way that feels more like themselves. Her work blends gentle accountability with mindset and mental fitness tools, helping clients move from feeling scattered or stuck into clarity, consistency, and steady, meaningful progress. With a background in marketing and as the founder of Classic Exec Marketing, Carol brings a practical, real-world perspective to her coaching, grounded in both experience and a deep understanding of what it takes to keep trying and showing up. Her approach has been shaped not only by her professional journey, but also by her personal experiences of loss, reinvention, and learning to trust life in a new way. This brings a calm, compassionate depth to the way she supports her clients. Carol is passionate about helping people create sustainable ways of working and living — where success is defined not just by achievement, but by alignment, balance, and self-trust. Originally from South Africa and now based in the USA, she works with clients around the world and hosts the podcast Connect Inspire Create, where she explores thoughtful conversations about life, growth, and what it means to move forward with intention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Swing Christopher Swing: Seasoned Executive Driving Innovation Across Logistics, Banking, Healthcare, and Private Equity A podcaster might want to have Christopher Swing on their show for several reasons: Diverse Industry Expertise: Christopher’s extensive experience across logistics, healthcare, private equity, manufacturing, and finance allows him to offer valuable insights that appeal to a wide range of audiences. Podcasters appreciate guests who can speak to different topics and share stories from various fields. Leadership Insights: As a seasoned executive and board director, Christopher can share practical advice and strategies on leadership, decision-making, and driving organizational growth. This especially appeals to business-focused podcasts aiming to educate entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders. Success Stories and Case Studies: His accomplishments at Vantage Surgical Solutions, such as revolutionizing logistics and spearheading healthcare innovations, can serve as case studies for business success. Christopher can share real-life examples of overcoming challenges and driving transformational change. Private Equity and Investment Knowledge: With his experience in private equity and investments, Christopher can provide insights into evaluating ventures, generating returns, and empowering emerging companies, which would be of interest to finance, investment, or startup-focused podcasts. Teaching and Mentorship Experience: As an Adjunct Professor, he can offer advice on career growth, continuous learning, and business education, appealing to podcasts that focus on personal development or professional skills. Thought Leadership: Christopher’s broad knowledge and visionary outlook can help shape discussions on the future of industries like healthcare, logistics, or finance. Podcasters often seek thought leaders with unique perspectives on trends and future directions. Networking and Relatability: His reputation for building relationships and fostering stakeholder consensus can resonate with audiences interested in understanding how to connect, collaborate, and cultivate strong networks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Goldman For the past 9 years, franchise coach and consultant Adam Goldman has helped hundreds of people transform their lives through franchise business ownership. As the author of The Franchisee Lifestyle, he demystifies franchising and shares key insights into what makes or breaks a deal. In addition, as founder of FranchiseVisa, Adam helps foreign investors secure a U.S. E-2 Visa through franchise investment—turning entrepreneurial and immigration goals into reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Barattiero Dr. Paul Barattiero, Founder of Echo Dr. Paul Barattiero is the founder of LumaNova and a leading advocate for performance-based red light therapy systems designed to support cellular health, recovery, and long-term vitality. With more than two decades of experience in the health and wellness industry, he focuses on advancing non-invasive technologies that enhance mitochondrial function, improve energy production, and optimize the body’s natural recovery processes. Through LumaNova, Dr. Paul develops photobiomodulation devices engineered to deliver clinically relevant wavelengths and power densities aligned with published research. His work centers on helping individuals, athletes, and wellness providers integrate red and near-infrared light therapy into practical, measurable health routines. By bridging consumer accessibility with professional-grade standards, he positions red light therapy as both a performance tool and a foundational wellness modality. Scientific literature on photobiomodulation underscores that therapeutic benefit is dose-dependent. The biological response to red and near-infrared light is influenced by wavelength specificity, irradiance, exposure time, and cumulative energy delivery. Peer-reviewed studies suggest that when light is delivered within established parameters, it may support: • Enhanced mitochondrial ATP production and cellular energy output • Reduction in oxidative stress and inflammatory markers • Improved muscle recovery and tissue repair • Increased circulation and collagen support for skin health • Circadian rhythm alignment and sleep quality • Cognitive clarity and mood regulation Research consistently emphasizes that precision matters. Effective photobiomodulation requires consistent wavelength accuracy and controlled irradiance levels to align with validated photobiological standards. This research-driven approach informs the development philosophy behind LumaNova systems and distinguishes clinically aligned devices from commodity wellness lighting products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices