Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
Episodes
638. Nir Eyal, Author of Beyond Belief
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Nir Eyal, author of Hooked and Indistractable, talks about his new book Beyond Belief. Nir explains the inspiration for writing the book a...
637. Erin-Michael Gill, Founder of Genaesis on GovCon M&A
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Erin-Michael Gill, founder of Genaesis, shares his upbringing in Middletown, Maryland, and his education at Benedictine College in Atchiso...
636. Sarah Pomeranz, The Consultant's Guide to Working with Nonprofits
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Sarah Pomeranz, founder of Consultants for Impact, provides an overview of the organization. Sarah explains that Consultants for Impact wa...
635. Richard Millington, Contrarian Consulting Advice: That Really Works
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Richard Millington talks about his Substack and consulting practice, Fever B. Richard shares his journey of starting his consultancy pra...
634. Angie Lu, Founder of CasewithAI, an AI-powered Case Interview Prep Platform.
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Angie Lu highlights her background as a McKinsey alum and founder of CasewithAI. Angie explains that CasewithAI is an AI-powered platform ...
633.Tarek Matar, Introducing Scalar.AI
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes Tarek Matar, founder of Scalar AI, explains the tool's purpose. He describes Scalar AI as an AI engine designed for consultants to build Mc...
632. Jason Baumgarten, How to Position Yourself for Board Roles
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Jason Baumgarten is a partner at Spencer Stuart where he is also the global head and CEO of board practice. He assists businesses in all s...
631. Stacey Dietsch, Learning Journeys at McKinsey Academy
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Stacey Dietsch talks about her 18-year tenure at McKinsey, focusing on human behavior and organizational performance. She highlights the...
630. Remco Visser, Introducing Saga, Legal AI Innovation
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Remco Visser talks about Saga, an AI product used by 150 law firms. Remco explains that Saga is a legal AI innovation company helping law ...
629. Isa D'Eila, Co-founder of Goalbridge
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Isa D'Elia, co-founder of GoalBridge, an AI startup in stealth mode opens the conversation with a brief overview of her background, mentio...
628. Bruno Strunz, How to Sell Value in Professional Services
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Bruno Strunz, lawyer, keynote speaker, and author of How to Sell Value in the Legal Market, shares his background, including his career pa...
627. Rod Neuenschwander, Author of From Crisis to Clarity and Co-founder of GIFT.OLOGY.
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Rod Neuenschwander, author of From Crisis to Clarity and co-founder of GIFT.OLOGY, recounts his early days with John Ruhlin, their initial...
626. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, Author of HBR's Powered by Projects: Leading Your Organization in the Transformation Age
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, a leading expert on project management, talks about his upcoming HBR book. Antonio shares his career path, incl...
625. Samora P. Z. Wolokolie, How to Hire a Consultant in Liberia
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Samora Wolokolie talks about his dual roles as a CPA, CA and attorney in Monrovia, Liberia. Samora lists his credentials: chartered accoun...
624. David Nour, Author of Relationship Economics
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: David Nour, author of Relationship Economics, discusses the six phases of strategic relationships. He emphasizes intentionality and a port...
623. Kartik Sundar, TeamSlide, A Free AI Tool for Generating Consulting-style PPT Slides
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Kartik Sundar, founder of TeamSlide, a tool that uses AI to create PowerPoint slides, explains that TeamSlide is available through a web b...
622. Brian Potter, Author of The Origins of Efficiency
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Brian Potter, author of The Origins of Efficiency, explains his core model of efficiency, which includes five levers: production method, i...
621. Vadim Rogovskiy, Founder of EVE
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Introducing EVE This episode kicks off with an introduction to EVE, an AI operator that turns email inboxes into lead generation. Founder Vadim Rogovs...
620. Christian Derosiers, Co-founder of Flashpoint.ai
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Christian Derosier, co-founder of Flashpoint.ai, explains that it is an AI-native market research agency that offers tools and methods typ...
619. Uday Turaga, What the AI Boom Means for Energy
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Uday Turaga runs ADI Analytics, a boutique firm specializing in oil and gas, energy, and chemical industries. ADI Analytics was founded in...
618. David A. Fields, How AI is Impacting Consulting Hiring
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: David A. Fields talks about how AI is affecting consulting firms. David clarifies that his company's active client base is 30-50 firms, an...
617. Sri Kaza, Unconvention: A Small Business Strategy Guide
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Sri Kaza is a former McKinsey partner and the author of Unconvention, A Small Business Strategy Guide. Sri explains why he left McKinsey a...
616. Sandor Marton, Chronos Insights, a Gen AI Tool for Market Assessments
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Sandor Marton, a McKinsey alum and co-founder of Chronos Insights introduces the AI research companion tool and explains its features. San...
615. Sid Masson, Co-Founder of Wokelo.ai, a Powerful Tool for Commercial Due Diligence
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Sid Masson, co-founder and CEO of Wokelo.ai explains that Wokelo is an agentic platform for investment research and commercial due diligen...
614. Dina David, Umbrex and Veritux Mastermind Groups
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Will Bachman and Dina David, the facilitator for the Umbrex and Veritux Mastermind groups, discuss the program's basics. Mastermind groups...
613. Brian Stollery, AlphaSense's AI Market Intel for Consulting
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Brian Stollery talks about AlphaSense, an information provider that independent consultants and boutique firms are using to gain an edge o...
612. Wes Wheless, Intellectual Headshots for Solo Consultants
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wes Wheless helps solo consultants bottle their secret sauce. To do so, Wes offers two services: The NicheFinder Sprint and The IP Builder Sprint. H...
611. Ilya Druzhnikov and Alex Lugosch, Using Cold Calls to Find Product-Market Fit
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Alex Lugosch and Ilya Druzhnikov, founders of True PMF, explain that True PMF is a rapid prototyping and discovery service for startups an...
610. Vanessa Liu, Co-founder & CEO of Sugarwork
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Vanessa Liu, co-founder and CEO of Sugarwork, talks about how this tool helps enterprises capture tacit knowledge by acting as a guide. ...
609. Ami Parekh, Chief Health Officer at Included Health
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Ami Parekh discusses the business model and services of Included Health, a company that provides personalized healthcare. Included Health ...
608. Sarah Dobson, Design of Brand for Entrepreneurs
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Sarah Dobson, founder and creative director at Design of Brand, discusses their niche in helping founders of companies establish their bra...
607. Chad Oakley, Current State of the Job Market for Consultants
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chad Oakley, CEO of Charles Aris, a second-generation executive search firm, discusses their 55-year history and their focus on four areas. Charle...
606. Joe O'Mahoney, Helping Boutique Consulting Firms Scale Up
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Joe O'Mahoney is a part-time professor of consulting at Cardiff University and a leading authority on the growth and sale of boutiques a...
605. Chris Freeberg, Building deck.support, which brings MBB-tools to GSlides
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Chris Freeberg is the co-founder of deck.support, a company that brings some of the best tools for PowerPoint into Google Slides. Chris an...
604. Stephan Meier, Author of The Employee Advantage
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Stephan Meier, a professor at Columbia Business School, is the author of the book "Employee Advantage." He teaches the business strategy c...
603. Dori Yona, Founder of Simple Closure, How to Shut Down a Business
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Dori Yona, founder of Simple Closure, explains the process of shutting down a company. The process is painful, manual, and bureaucratic, w...
602. Jacob Bank, Founder of Relay.app, No-code AI Agents
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes Jacob Bank, founder and CEO of Relay.App, talks about the rise of AI agents, a type of chatbot that can work on your behalf in the backgrou...
601. Nikola Lazarov, Co-Founder & CEO at Eilla AI
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nikola Lazarov is the co-founder and CEO of Eilla AI, a tool that provides AI workers for private market intelligence. Nikola is an AI engineer who st...
600. Jeff Sinclair, The History of the Operations Practice at McKinsey
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff Sinclair, a senior global leader at McKinsey, discusses the history of operations at the firm. The firm was initially known as a strategy firm an...
599. Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Anne-Laure Le Cunff, author of Tiny Experiments and founder of Ness Labs, shares her approach to understanding her own life and why she do...
598. Harsh Sahai, AI-powered Due Diligence
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman interviews Harsh Sahai, CEO and co-founder of Bridgetown Research, a company that has built an ...
597. Jim Ettamarna, A Framework for Commercial Excellence
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Jim Ettamarna, a renowned expert in commercial excellence, defines it as incorporating commercial efficacy and efficiency. He believes tha...
596. Bart Sayer, Looking Beyond the Mirror: The Business and Science of Beauty.
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman interviews Bart Sayer, an expert on the beauty industry. Bart worked for nine years at the Esté...
595. Robert Garmaise, AI Marketplace Insights
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Garmaise, VP of AI research at Info-tech Research Group, is at the forefront of Info-tech research, helping clients identify best practices across...
594. Marilyn Lin, SaaS Customer Support
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Marilyn Lin, a customer support thought leader with over two decades of experience, discusses the importance of customer support in drivin...
593. Scott Markman, Conducting a Brand Diagnostic
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Scott Markman, founder of MonogramGroup, discusses his journey as an entrepreneur and the challenges he faces in the private equity sector...
592. Matthew Hunt, Generating Clients through LinkedIn Thought Leadership
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Matthew Hunt talks about Demandii, a firm that helps busy B2B executives create snackable content for LinkedIn from a single monthly inter...
591. River Tompkins, 17-year-old Independent Consultant
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: River Tompkins, a 17-year-old high school senior, started his own consulting practice in Austin, Texas, with five different clients. He pr...
590. Jenelle Sheridan, How to Analyze a Retail Company
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jenelle Sheridan, a former VP and GM at Athleta, discusses how to analyze a retail company. Jenelle has 15 years of experience in retail and e-commerc...
589. Gerd Schenkel, How to Analyze a Telecommunications Company
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Gerd Schenkel discusses his experience in creating new telco businesses and how to analyze a telecommunications company. Gerd has spent ov...
588. Daniel Bauer, Creating a Summer Entrepreneurship Program
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Dan Bauer, a Harvard Business School graduate and independent consultant, talks about the NSLC "Business & Entrepreneurship" program , s...
587. Jonathan Schwartz, How to Analyze a Manufacturing Company
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Schwartz discusses how to analyze a manufacturing company. Jonathan's background includes working in operations improvement, starting with ma...
586. Sanjar Iyer, How to Analyze a Telecommunications Company
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sanjay Iyer, a consultant for 25 years, discusses the evolution of telecommunications companies, focusing on network, infrastructure, quality, and cov...
585. Matt Sobieski, How to Analyze a Manufacturing Company
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Matt Sobieski discusses the process of helping a manufacturing plant improve its performance by understanding the problem statement and 47 different a...
584. Paul Millerd, Good Work
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Paul Millerd, author of The Pathless Path and Good Work talks about his books. He explains the behind-the-scenes process of writing abou...
583. Christian Hyatt, Growing a Cybersecurity Firm
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Christian Hyatt, Founder of Risk3Sixty, discusses the top three or four things that chief information security officers at sub-enterprise ...
582. Strategy Mavericks: Disrupting Traditional Approaches to Business Strategy
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this panel discussion, Lisa Carlin, director of Future Builders and author of the newsletter Turbocharge Weekly, and strategy execution...
581. David A. Fields, Pursuing Cold Leads
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman discusses cold outreach with David A. Fields. David advises that cold outreach is a last resort...
580. Tish Baldez, Training Consultants
22 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tish Baldez, a leading expert in management consulting, has worked with small and mid-sized consultancies and 20,000 professionals worldwide. She shar...
579. Michael Rubenstein, Organizational Culture in Mergers and Acquisitions
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Unleashed, Michael Rubenstein discusses the importance of organizational culture in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Michael's exper...
578. Lisa Carlin, Growing a Membership Community
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa Carlin, founder of Future Builders Group, discusses her experience in consulting and the need for a more passive income stream. She has over 50 s...
577. Jeremy Greenberg, AI-powered Audience Simulator
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Jeremy Greenberg discusses the AI-powered audience simulator built by the Avenue Group. The tool allows users to provide a set of custom i...
576. Bryan Caplan, The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulations
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this discussion, Professor Bryan Caplan discusses the science and ethics of housing regulations and the argument for housing deregulati...
575. Maria Isabel Rios, How to Make Your Consulting Firm Work for You
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Maria Isabel Rios discusses the importance of making a firm work for you, rather than working for your firm. She emphasizes that firm lead...
574. Lindsay McGregor, Co-founder and CEO of Vega Factor
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Lindsay McGregor discusses her firm's focus on building high-performing organizations. She explains that the highest performing organizati...
573. Ron Razmi, AI Doctor: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Ron Razmi discusses his book, AI Doctor: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, which focuses on the applications of AI in various are...
572. Divya Agarwal, Somatics 101
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: The Benefits of Somatics Divya Agarwal, founder of Vivekam, explains what somatics is and what the benefits are. Somatics is a term used t...
571. Kathy Hines, Unleashing Brand Fundamentals
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kathy Hines, former Chief Marketing Officer at brands like Dickies and Vice President at brands like North Face and Kipling ,shares her experiences. S...
570. Dimitris Samouris, Founder of Junior, Harnessing AI to Extract and Structure Expert Call Insights
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Dimitris Samouris discusses the development of a tool called Junior, an SaaS tool built on large language models and speech to text models...
569. Ran Harpaz, Automating Tax Accounting for Solopreneurs
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Unleashed, Ran Harpaz, founder of Lettuce, discusses the importance of an automated tax and accounting system for businesses and th...
568. Salah Zalatimo, Integrating AI into a 100-year-old Media Business
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Salah Zalatimo, former Chief Digital Officer at Forbes, discusses the history of magazines and digital transformation. Magazines have been around for ...
567. Henry Oliver, Author of Second Act, on The Secrets of Late Bloomers
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this discussion, Will Bachman interviews Henry Oliver, author of the forthcoming book Second Act about late bloomers. Oliver has a back...
566. Craig Callé, Third Party Risk Management and Cyber Security
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes Craig Callé talks about third party risk management (TPRM), with an emphasis on cybersecurity. TPRM is a subset of Governance Risk and C...
565. Ivan Oransky, Co-founder of Retraction Watch
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this conversation with Will Bachman, Ivan Oransky, a co-founder of Retraction Watch, shares his experience as a medical journalist and ...
564. Melanie Espeland, Executive Presence Presentation
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Melanie Espeland, a TEDx speaker and executive coach with 17 years of experience in strategy, operations, and coaching, she's former McKin...
563. Alex Brueckmann, Author of The Strategy Legacy
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Alex Brueckmann discusses the concept of strategy and its importance in business. Alex states that strategy ...
562. Karen Friedenberg: AI Project Case Study
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Karen Friedenberg discusses a project she worked on to design an Intelligent Automation Center of Excellence for a Fortune 500 medical sup...
561. Why and How to Become an Adjunct Professor
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, the panel discussion focuses on the pros and cons of becoming an adjunct professor. The panelists discuss th...
560. Russell S. Reynolds, Jr. Building a World-class Professional Services Firm
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Russell Reynolds, founder of Russell Reynolds Associates and RSR Partners, shares his story of starting his own executive search firm in t...
559. Paul Gaspar: AI Project Case Study
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Paul Gaspar discusses his experience working with artificial intelligence at a major global insurance conglo...
558. Astrid Malval-Beharry: AI Project Case Study
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Astrid Malval-Beharry discusses an AI case study with a top 50 homeowners insurance carrier in the US. Astri...
557. Julie Noonan: AI Project Case Study
17 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Julie Noonan shares a case study on using AI while working with a top 15 global pharma company to get the most insight from the data and r...
556. Markus Starke: AI Project Case Study
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Markus Starke, an advisor for cybersecurity and digital process transformation, has recently been working in cybersecurity for the AI appl...
555. Cheryl Lim Tan: AI Project Case Study
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Cheryl Lim Tan discusses her experience working with a financial wellness product powered by AI. The client was early in their journey and...
554. Barry Saunders: AI Project Case Study
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Barry Saunders, a digital expert at McKinsey, discusses his background in the firm and his experience in AI-related projects. He worked in...
553. Phil Bellaria: AI Project Case Study
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Phil Bellaria shares a case example of building a Chat GPT using open-source large language models. The clie...
552. Diane Flynn, Coaching a Growth Mindset
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Diane Flynn, a multi-talented professional and author of two books and two popular courses on Udemy, Growth Mindset and Communicating with Confidenc...
551. Making Aid Count: Terry Roopnaraine on Development Consulting
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Terry Roopnaraine, a technical consultant for international development projects, has been working in the field for about 25 years. He pro...
550. Jared Simmons, Design to Value
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman talks to Jared Simmons, business consultant, coach, and speaker, on design to value. Jared defi...
549. Chad Oakley, The Current State of the Consulting Job Market - January 2024
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Chad Oakley, CEO at the executive search firm at Charles Aris, discusses the current state of the consulting job market. He kicks off the ...
548. Adam Braff, Business Analytics Diagnostic
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: The Umbrex Business Analytics Diagnostic Guide that is discussed in this episode can be downloaded at no cost here: https://umbrex.com/res...
547. Tyler Cowen, Author of Talent
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler Cowen, author, economist and philanthropist, talks about the inspiration for his new book and the importance of talent identification in busines...
546. Tiago Forte Author of Building a Second Brain
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this session, Will Bachman and Tiago Forte discuss Tiago's new book Building a Second Brain. They discuss how the concept provides value and work t...
545. Melanie Espeland Shares Tips from a Voice Coach
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Unleashed, Melanie Espeland talks about the importance of using one's voice to make a powerful first impression. Melanie, an execut...
544. Ron Lumbra, How to Join a Corporate Board
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this live event hosted by Umbrex in November 2023, Ron Lumbra, a member of the CEO & Board of Directors Practice and Partner at Heidrick and Strugg...
Episode 543. Jill Stoddard, Author of Imposter No More
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this interview, author Jill Stoddard and Will Bachman discuss the concept of impostor syndrome. Jill defines the experience as a state where indi...
542. William Magnuson, Author of For Profit: A History of Corporations
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
William Magnuson, a professor at Texas A&M Law School and former Harvard University professor, discusses his book For Profit: A History of Corporation...
541. Scott Ratliff, Commercial Leadership Roles in Professional Services Firms
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman talks to Scott Ratliff, who is a principal at the search firm Beecher Reagan. Beecher Reagan is a special...
540. Ammad Ahmad, How Expert Networks Can Add Value to Primary Research
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: Will Bachman talks to Ammad Ahmad, founder and managing director of Atheneum, a top global expert network that works with management consu...
539. Nancy MacKay, Founder of MacKay CEO Forums
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman interviews Nancy Mackay, founder of MacKay CEO Forums (MC ACO), a peer advisory group that prov...