ISSUE – 06
10 MOST TRANSFORMATIONAL
TO FOLLOW IN 2024
IN – FOCUS
MARSHA STONE: LEADING THE WAY IN ADDICTION RECOVERY
IN – FOCUS
IN – FOCUS TRANSFORMING DREAMS INTO FRANCHISEE COMPANIES: A TALE OF RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
KEVIN KILLENS: PIONEERING ETHICAL AI WITH AHVOS
In this issue of Exeleon Magazine, we turn our focus to Transformational CEOs to Follow in 2024, a curated list that highlights leaders who are not just navigating but also shaping the rapidly evolving business landscape. As we delve into the stories of these visionary individuals, one common thread emerges as a key determinant of their success: Emotional Intelligence (EI).
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and its increasing integration into the fabric of our businesses has undoubtedly revolutionized the way we operate. However, this technological advancement also brings forth a pressing need for a balanced leadership approach, one that is as much about machines as it is about humans. In this AIdriven world, the role of a CEO extends beyond just making data-driven decisions. It is about understanding and managing emotions - their own and those of their teams.
Emotional Intelligence, the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions, is proving to be an indispensable asset for CEOs. It is what enables them to foster a positive work environment, inspire their teams, and drive innovation. In the face of challenges, a leader with high EI remains resilient, demonstrating empathy and maintaining clear communication, thereby ensuring that the organization not only survives but thrives.
The stories in this issue are a testament to the fact that while AI can provide us with insights and efficiencies, it is the human touch that truly transforms businesses. These Transformational CEOs are leading by example, showing that in an age where technology is king, emotional intelligence is the queen that completes the royal court of successful leadership.
Embracing Excellence
600 N Broad St 5 Middletown, DE 19709, United States
+1 302-907-9110
Editor-in-Chief –Art Director –Managing EditorCreative Director –
Daryl Yeung
Naomi Lam
Matt Reis
Adam Waring
Project Manager –Marketing Manager –Customer Relationship –Business Development –
Richard Dann
Sofia Brown
Natasha Green
Matt Hale, Josh Wilder, Anish Miller
For any advertising related information, please contact info@exeleonmagazine.com. Submissions as well as contributions to the magazine are welcome.
Take a moment and let us know about our magazine; whether it be about the design or a possible mistake, we would appreciate any feedback from your end. You can reach out to
daryl@exeleonmagazine.com.
DARYL YEUNG Da r y l Ye ung Editor-in-Chief
leaders are dynamic individuals who possess a unique blend of strategic foresight, innovative thinking, and the ability to inspire and mobilize their teams toward a shared vision.
These leaders are not content with maintaining the status quo, instead theyre determined to ' leave a lasting legacy, one that impacts lives and communities.
Ashley Zahabian, Founder of Integrate BPD, is an example of one such transformational leader who has dedicated her career to researching and understanding borderline personality disorder (BPD) to help individuals struggling with the disorder ind a solution that addresses the root cause of it.
As someone who formerly suffered from BPD, Zahabian felt strongly about creating a therapeutic technique founded on the same psychoanalytic literature, often not used by ordinary therapists, that helped her heal. After overcoming the illness herself, she shared the solution with hundreds of others who also showed similar results. Thus, Integrate BPD was born.
Fittingly, Ashley features on the Cover of Exeleon Magazines Transformational CEOs issue. '
From a young age, Ashley Zahabian embarked on an entrepreneurial journey that was both challenging and rewarding. At just 17, she
founded her irst business, a venture that was met with its fair share of trials and errors.
She always compared entrepreneurship to sports. "The younger you begin, the better you're going to be at it. You have to be okay with getting things wrong and falling at irst, yet still be willing to show up to practice every single day. Then one day, that persistence leads to a durable product or service – one that people are truly bene iting from and are willing to pay for. It may sound easy, but that ' s a harder outcome to achieve than most think it is.” she explains.
Throughout her journey, she has made mistakes, faced failures, and has gone through moments where she wanted to throw everything away. She describes these experiences as integral to her growth and her eventual success. "It takes years before you get it right and do it seamlessly... but it only takes one performance to change the trajectory of your entire life."
Ashley also points out that the support of her family played a crucial role in shaping her entrepreneurial spirit while growing up. Contrary to the conventional advice of securing a corporate job, her parents, both entrepreneurs themselves, encouraged her to carve her own path and create something meaningful. "They always believed in my business acumen and pushed me to be different. I remember my dad speci ically asking my brother and I why we would ever want to work for another corporation,” she remembers. This support, along with her parents' values, laid the foundation for her entrepreneurial success.
IT TAKES YEARS BEFORE YOU GET IT RIGHT AND DO IT SEAMLESSLY... IT ONLY TAKES ONE PERFORMANCE TO CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY OF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.
Personal Connection to the Problem: Someone experiencing the problem they are solving – they are intrinsically fit for the position.
Prioritizing the Problem Over
Entrepreneurship: Someone who cares more about the problem they are solving than the idea of being an entrepreneur. I ' m a researcher before I ' m a businesswoman.
Action-Oriented Execution: Someone who doesn ' t need to plan every little thing they want to do – they execute and let reality mold the rest.
Rule-Breaking with Integrity: Someone who rejoices in breaking some of the rules, but never breaking the ones that matter.
Solid Foundation: The entire ecosystem, including the founder, the team, any thirdparty partners, and the customer, must all benefit equally. It ' s nearly impossible to fix a bad business, if not entirely impossible.
Accounting Acumen: CEOs should learn accounting, but not just the kind they teach in university. Learn accounting, then apply your own common sense to it.
Personal Investment: Someone who is building something that they themselves
would pay for.
Distinctive Solution: Someone who knows, without a doubt, why their solution is different and better.
Realistic: Someone who understands the reality of their business, whether its a small and short-term business with lots of competition, a mid-sized venture with a small differentiating variable, or a long-term durable solution with little to no competition. All are okay, but a good CEO knows which bucket they ' re in and in what ways they require different management.
Independent Decision Making: They avoid trendy business decisions, relying on rational sense and their own abilities.
Customer Engagement: Someone who genuinely enjoys spending time with customers.
Reinvestment in the Business: Someone who reinvests in their business. You can always see a CEO ' s personal incentive by where they put their money.
Building a Moat: Someone who knows how to create and continues to build the competitive edge and moat.
These traits, as outlined by Ashley Zahabian, paint a picture of a CEO who is not only effective in their role but also transformative in their approach to leadership and business management.
Integrate BPD is a self-analysis platform administered to those suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The platform allows individuals to obtain the bene its of psychoanalysis in a more independent, affordable, and timely manner.
Rather than spending more years in therapy trying to reduce or completely suppress her symptoms, she wanted to ind the real problem – the variable that was causing all of those symptoms. Current therapies for BPD tend to begin in the present, focusing on symptom management, while the Integrate BPD approach addresses the root cause of the disorder— disordered object relations — an inability to see and interpret the self versus others clearly.
According to Integrate BPD, there is always a cause to what creates the disruption in one's object relations. Ashley explains, “ After this moment is pinpointed, the individual learns how this trauma in childhood can create a split between reality and fantasy, and how their personality (personal reality) was formed from that split. The individuals fantasy, however, feels ' completely real to them; so rather than rejecting it, Integrate BPD encourages them to acknowledge it and then slowly grieve it.”
She continues, Once a person grieves and “ lets go of what they formerly believed to be ' real, actual reality is integrated. Their personality then roots itself in reality, which alleviates symptoms of the disorder, rendering absolutely no need for symptom management.”
By helping individuals identify and grieve their fantasy, Integrate BPD facilitates a deeper and more lasting healing process than current therapies created for BPD, which fail to identify, let alone help with the grieving of, the fantasy created in the mind of the individual with BPD.
As the CEO of Integrate BPD, Ashley's life is characterized by focus and discipline. Her days are illed with a blend of product development, sales and marketing, team management, research, and direct engagement with customers.
According to her, during the early stages of her recent venture, she maintained a more relaxed schedule, prioritizing the creation of the best product without rushing the process. Her days were spent immersed in reading, researching, and writing, either from the comfort of her couch or at a local coffee shop. However, as the company progressed from development to launch, her responsibilities expanded signi icantly.
Today, Ashley's routine begins much earlier, with mornings dedicated to physical exercise or a long walk, followed by a healthy breakfast. Her workday includes a blend of product development, sales and marketing, team building, capital allocation, and most importantly, her research and analysis. She takes pride in having a hands-on approach, directly engaging with customers to continue serving and learning from them.
Summing up her daily routine and life as an entrepreneur, Ashley mentions “Focused is probably the word I would use to describe what my life is like – it ' s very narrowly focused. I know what I want to do, so I con idently say no to everything that isn ' t that without second guessing or feeling like I ' m missing out on much.”
For Ashley, the motivation behind starting Integrate BPD was driven by her own experiences with BPD and the desire to offer others the chance at healing.
Having suffered from BPD for nearly her entire life, Ashley was determined to ind a solution that would heal her disorder. She realized that the split between her personal reality and actual reality was causing all her symptoms, thus perpetuating the disorder. This realization allowed her to ind the real problem that was causing all of her symptoms.
Inspired by the same method she used to heal, she started Integrate BPD. Her approach begins in the past, focusing on identifying when and how one's object relations, or lens of reality, became disordered, and then guiding individuals through the process of grieving their fantasy and integrating true reality.
Ashley cautions aspiring entrepreneurs about the inancial challenges of starting a business.
“ Most people want to become an entrepreneur because of the inancial upside, and although that is one bene it from entrepreneurship, it ' s not a good primary reason to become one. I ' d say that most people don ' t take into consideration that even with the upside, everything is more expensive than you think, takes longer than you think, and your piece of the pie is always smaller than you think. Costs are everywhere, and they ' re always rising,” she points out.
Entrepreneurship, according to Ashley, will never work for someone who solely goes into it for the inancial gains. It's about being willing to invest a lifetime of effort into creating something useful and impactful. She advises entrepreneurs to understand that the journey is often more costly and timeconsuming than anticipated, but if you love the problem you're solving and enjoy the process of solving it, the world will naturally reward you for it.
Ready to fuel your ambition and receive your dose of inspiration directly to your digital doorstep?
Subscribe to Exeleon Magazine today, and enjoy the following perks:
Convenience at Your Fingertips
Access each issue on your preferred digital device anytime, anywhere.
Dive deeper with bonus content, behind-the-scenes interviews, and special features reserved for our esteemed subscribers.
Join a network of likeminded individuals, share your story or interview, and be part of a thriving entrepreneurial community.
SIMPLY SCAN AND SUBSCRIBE
s the CEO of the Foundation Stone Family of Programs, Marsha Stone shares her personal journey through addiction and recovery, shedding light on the challenges she faced as a single mother of three while navigating law school.
As a leader in this male-dominated sector, Marsha also discusses the unique challenges and opportunities she has encountered in her leadership role. Through her candid re lections and advice, Marsha offers hope and guidance to individuals currently facing addiction and mental health challenges, while outlining her future aspirations for the Foundation Stone Family of Programs.
Can you share a bit about your personal journey with addiction and recovery, especially during your time in law school and the challenges you faced as a single mother of three?
Re lecting on my law school days as a single mom with three kids, I felt like I was
constantly in the eye of a storm. A glass of wine here and there seemed harmless at the time. Everyone around me was doing it, and I was trying to keep up with my studies while raising my kids. I didn't really know much about alcoholism, the genetics of it, or how stress and trauma could make things worse. I kept telling myself, "It's not a big deal. I'll get it under control once I'm done with school."
Before I knew it, I was caught in this cycle where any excuse was good enough for a drink, whether I was having a bad day or celebrating something. I didn't see the trap I was walking into until I was already in too deep, drinking daily and watching it mess up my work and my relationships with people.
My real wake-up call came after a series of tries and failures. Starting in 2002, it was like I was on this merry-go-round of treatment, detox, and then falling right back into it. It was rough, dealing with the shame and seeing how my struggles were wearing on everyone around me.
But something clicked in 2008. I was just fed up with the whole cycle and realized if I didn't make some serious changes, it was only going to get worse. That's when I decided to give the treatment another shot, and this time, it stuck. I haven't touched a drink since coming out of that last treatment, and while I'm super proud of how far I've come, it was just the start of a whole new journey for me in understanding and working within the treatment industry.
Talk to us about Foundation Stone Family of Programs. How did your experiences in the treatment industry shape the vision for this organization?
Foundation Stone began after I had a 10+ year career of developing programs for substance use disorder. Over time, my team and I began to recognize that mental health, trauma, personality disorders, etc., were becoming more and more prevalent in cases where someone was also suffering with substance use disorder. The term for this is co-occurring disorders, and over time we began to be more aware of the complexities, the clinical complexities of cases.
And when we made the decision to start a new program, we decided that from the very beginning we were going to collaborate more and not look at different diagnoses or different behavioral issues in a silo. I think it's important that as our understanding of substance use disorder and mental health continues to develop over time, that we become accustomed to evolving and updating our programs and our policies.
Being one of the few female CEOs in the recovery industry, what insights can you share about your experiences and challenges in this leadership role?
Navigating the male-dominated behavioral health industry as a female CEO has its challenges, but it's also opened a lot of doors that were once closed to me. It's so important for women to recognize their potential to lead, especially as personal experiences may uniquely position them to excel in certain areas.
My approach has been to stay true to my values and insights into business dynamics and relationships. The journey to leadership as a woman can be long and at times isolating, but inding and nurturing a supportive team is key. Building loyalty within these relationships is essential, as it can be tough being one of the few women in the room.
Re lecting on your entire journey, what advice would you give to individuals currently facing challenges with addiction and mental health?
One of the main principles involved in the recovery process is honesty. Honesty can be especially dif icult when you're dealing with intimate parts of your life and people close to you, because prior to recovery, most people spend a lot of time making excuses, de lecting, or trying to hide their struggles from people that are up close and personal with you every day. So, to really begin to live a life that is based in authenticity and honesty and transparency, being able to be honest about your own desire to
participate in recovery, is something that I would recommend early on.
You also need to remember that your recovery and your sense of self is safe and supported, whether it is completely applauded by everyone. I think that the most important thing that I would suggest, based on the people who I have seen to be the most successful over time, is to ind a support system and process that works for you. There are as many ways to recover and as many ways to do relationships as there are colors in the rainbow. Some people that are in long-term
recovery never go to 12 steps. Instead, they go to yoga ive days a week, or they go to church, or run marathons. I'm not a person that would ever fault someone for inding a different path that helped them to get into recovery and to really have a better relationship with themselves and their families.
Having created the Foundation Stone Family of Programs, what are your future aspirations in terms of helping individuals struggling with mental health and addiction?
When we opened our Foundation Stone Family of Programs, we always knew that we wanted to be in the business of helping people. At both Amend Wellness and The Pearl, we continue to expand our services and evolve our offerings to include holistic practices and wellness programs.
Since opening last year, our Foundation Stone family has expanded, and the bonds we've formed with our clients, partners, and the broader community have become the cornerstone of our mission. We are eager to expand our network of programs to become
not just treatment centers, but a community dedicated to transformation and recovery.
From being a corporate HR executive to empowering leadership consultant, Kate Walker has positioned herself as an expert in workplace transformation. Read this interview, wherein she shares her thoughts on building effective communication, helping managers, and fostering inclusive workplace cultures.
Your corporate exit in 2021 marked a signi icant transition. What motivated you to leave your seniorlevel corporate Human Resources roles and establish Kate Walker Consulting?
My transition out of a corporate career was due to a culmination of many things including a desire for greater time freedom, location freedom, lexibility in how I help my clients, and
the opportunity to generate greater income.
I wanted to niche my vast HR experience toward helping leaders navigate their complex, high level workplace and employee issues.
Although important, I'm not as interested in HR policy projects. I'm passionate about teaching managers how to implement ninja-level skills. Employees are quitting and outing bad managers every day on social media. Managers need help, and I want to help them.
In your consulting work, you focus on helping leaders build powerhouse skills that impact company culture and the bottom line. Can you share some key
strategies you advocate for enhancing leadership and team dynamics?
70% of organizational programs fail and the most likely cause is often a lack of communication. I have witnessed many points of failure in organizations due to poor communication planning, skill, and tactics.
Providing our teams clear, concise, and frequent communication cannot be underrated. Much of my consulting is in support of helping leaders foster stronger skills toward communicating their vision, mission, delivering feedback, navigating dif icult conversations which all point toward elevating employee performance and engagement.
What advice would you give to aspiring leaders on fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture?
Active listening is critical. My advice is to maintain ongoing authentic dialog with team members and ask open ended questions. I encourage leaders to schedule employee brainstorming or ideation sessions because these interactions foster creativity and collaboration among team members, leading to innovative ideas and solutions. This can help people feel heard and included.
Brainstorming provides an environment for everyone to
Your book, 'A Candid Conversation' combines memoir and a guide to re lection and empowerment. What inspired you to write this book, and what key lessons do you hope readers take away from it?
I've experienced many transitional and transformational situations both personally and professionally. I couldn't seem to ind the right book or resource to provide me guidance or comfort while navigating personal challenges.
After years of re lection, I wondered if I could ind the courage to share my own stories and experiences by writing a book in service to helping others
who might be looking for a resource. I began reviewing my journals and developing some of that material into what became the book. I published the book from a place of service, appreciation of life's journey, and the beauty of looking forward.
Key lessons that I'd like readers to take away from the book are:
1.Big decisions are scary and take courage but can lead you to more ful illing places.
2.People will show you who they are, and we should believe them the irst time.
3.Key tips and advice about my career trajectory including how I left corporate and launched a business.
contribute their perspectives and expertise, ultimately helping to improve decision-making, problemsolving, and ensuring many voices are heard. Creating space for employees to feel seen and heard can help promote greater inclusiveness within an organization.
What is your vision going forward for Kate Walker Consulting? What are you most excited about?
My vision is to help companies improve their workplace culture. Managers urgently need help; they need a roadmap. I'm excited about providing game-changing tools for managers
I've developed a curriculum (New Manager Academy) to help companies modernize and improve how managers engage with and coach employees. It's about coaching leaders in a new and actionable way. New Manager Academy is both a digital on-demand program plus regular LIVE group hot seat coaching that's designed for positive interactive conversation and transformation.
The curriculum is intended for smaller companies (50-300) who would greatly bene it from training built upon a foundation of globalcompany best practices shared by an HR expert. I'm excited to help managers accelerate and quantum leap.
In a recent EY CEO Outlook Pulse survey, global CEOs have expressed optimism for their companies' revenue growth and pro itability in 2024, despite facing a challenging global economic environment. The survey, which included responses from 1,200 CEOs across 21 countries, revealed that 64% expect an increase in revenue growth, and 63% anticipate higher pro itability.
This optimism persists even as three-quarters (76%) of the CEOs expect the global economy to continue experiencing low or no growth. Additionally, 78% are preparing for higher interest rates to persist due to ongoing in lationary pressures, and over half (57%) foresee an increase in the cost of doing business.
Andrea Guerzoni, EY Global Vice Chair – Strategy and Transactions, highlighted that CEOs are demonstrating resilience and con idence, actively seeking opportunities for business transformation and growth. Many are revisiting their business transformation plans and exploring smart investments and potential alliances.
The survey also indicates a positive outlook for the deals market in 2024, with 79% of CEOs predicting an uptick in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) megadeals above $10 billion. The manufacturing sector is identi ied as the top sector for M&A deals, followed by banking and capital markets, insurance, consumer products, and mobility.
CEOs are also accelerating their transformation plans, with 58% now speeding up their agendas, a signi icant increase from 21% in July 2023. Key focus areas include ef iciency enhancements and cost management strategies, with 41% looking to adopt arti icial intelligence (AI) to drive ef iciency and bolster business performance.
However, geopolitical risks are a major concern for CEOs, especially with over half of the global population heading to the polls in
the next 12 months. Seventy-eight percent of CEOs are worried about the rise of populist movements, and 76% are concerned about the political misuse of AI in major 2024 elections. As a result, 98% of CEOs and private equity leaders are making alterations to their investment plans to navigate through the volatile geopolitical landscape.
Guerzoni emphasized the importance of integrating geopolitical turbulence into
strategic plans and re ining risk management processes to navigate through the challenges ahead.
In summary, global CEOs are optimistic about driving revenue growth and pro itability in 2024, despite economic headwinds and geopolitical risks. They are actively pursuing business transformation and preparing for a rebound in the deals market, while also remaining vigilant about the potential impacts of political uncertainty and AI misinformation.
Meet Liviu Tanase, a visionary entrepreneur and the mind behind ZeroBounce, a leader in email validation, deliverability, and email- inding.
With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for opportunities in the B2B tech space, Liviu has founded ive companies, each contributing to his reputation as a serial entrepreneur.
As an email marketing thought leader, Liviu's insights and expertise are highly sought after, leading him to contribute to renowned publications such as Inc. and Entrepreneur. His entrepreneurial spirit and contributions to the tech industry have not gone unnoticed, as Forbes magazine honored him on their Forbes Next 1000 list, celebrating "entrepreneurial heroes rede ining the American dream."
Read this exclusive interview with Liviu Tanase for more insights into his
journey and about ZeroBounce.
What according to you makes one transformational? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?
You become transformational in business when you push for better. As I like to remind myself, your strengths aren't your problem; rather, it's your weaknesses .
When you're willing to conquer your weaknesses, you'll create dramatic changes in your organization and in the people around you.
You integrate that into your leadership by always leading by example. If you see that someone is missing the mark, try to ind out if the cause is
something you personally need to improve on. I don't think you can be transformational or innovative until you start assessing progress and deciding on direction. It's so important to calibrate. You don't want to exert your operation in the wrong direction.
Can you share the story of how you ventured into entrepreneurship, and what motivated you to establish ZeroBounce?
I can't ever remember not having an entrepreneurial heart. I can recall seeing movies early on that depicted businessmen. They traveled around and got to be a part of exciting things.
Also, I've always been fascinated by technology. I loved staying abreast of all things tech and was always wondering about technology's evolution and its impact on the world.
My irst business? I was just a kid. I was selling computers, but it was an of line business. Then, everyone seemed to have internet access and I wanted to move with the times. I got involved in telecommunications and worked with some talented people. I was always learning and thinking about ways in which I could bring my contribution to the tech space.
I irst got the idea for ZeroBounce about eight years ago. By then, I had already grown an email marketing business in Europe and knew the many facets of email and what goes into running successful campaigns. Connecting with real people is where it all begins – and to do that, you need genuine, valid email
addresses.
Email contacts decay fast – about 23% of an email list dies yearly. There were a few services out there that could check the validity of email addresses. Although I was impressed with the technology of these platforms, I couldn't help but envision some alternative approaches. The idea of improvement is a huge driving force for me, so I gathered a small team of experts and got to work.
Then, the excitement of a new venture started feeding me with energy. We were going to build our own email validation service and improve the way poor-quality data is detected. Our goal was to give
email senders a more reliable manner to reach their customers.
Congratulations on being a Forbes Next 1000 honoree. How has this recognition impacted your work and your position as a thought leader in the tech space?
Being a Forbes “Next 1000” honoree was a real achievement. I look at awards and other public recognitions as an indicator that you're doing a good job, but the thing I always take from them is to try and work harder. You'd think that it would make me feel like it's time to coast, but it goes back to the desire to be innovative. You won't get anywhere if you become complacent.
The Forbes award also solidi ied our hard-earned trust with our audience and got the attention of more businesses looking to boost their email results. That only motivated me and my team further to continue being pioneers.
Please highlight some key milestones and achievements of ZeroBounce that you are particularly proud of.
It was a milestone to launch, which anyone who has started a business can testify. Through the years, there have been a few things that stand out in my mind. When we validated our irst billion email addresses. Every billion since then is exciting. We're at 24 billion now – three
times the population of our planet.
It was thrilling when we made the Inc. 5000 list for four consecutive years in a row. Forbes “Next 1000” was a milestone. Anytime someone recognizes you, it's a reason to be happy. But the number one source of pride comes from our customer reviews. That's really what it's all about for us. We've got a lot of satis ied customers – more than 300,000, including brands like Amazon, Net lix, and Sephora.
What advice do you have for businesses looking to optimize their email marketing strategies, considering the dynamic nature of the digital landscape?
If you want to optimize your email marketing, you must be willing to put in the time and effort. But thankfully, there are so many aspects you can automate. For instance, the easiest way to engage your customers right away is to send a welcome email. These emails tend to perform well and help you create an immediate connection with your audience.
Also, segmenting your email list allows you to create more relevant emails and increase your click rates. The average person receives about ten dozen emails daily. So, before you send an email, ask yourself if you would want to open it. How will you stand out? By making sure every email speaks to a speci ic audience and its needs. Personalization is a must.
Finally, keep an eye on your metrics. If it's been more than six months since you checked your list, chances are many of your emails are bouncing. An average bounce
rate of 2% is acceptable, but if it's higher, your email list isn't healthy, and your campaigns may be going to spam. It takes only minutes to remove that invalid data and help your emails get to the inbox.
Once you become familiar with email validation, look into other email optimization tools. For instance, you no longer have to wonder where your email ends up. You can use an inbox tester to determine if your email will land in the inbox. If you ind out that it's going to spam, you can make changes so it can go to the inbox.
What are your future aspirations for ZeroBounce, and how do you envision the company evolving in response to the evolving needs of the market?
Global email usage has seen exponential growth. More than half of the people in our world currently use email. It's astonishing to me that we can all communicate so easily. And we don't take being a part of the email industry lightly.
Our ultimate goal is to continue building ZeroBounce into the best email optimization platform. We've made ZeroBounce a place where businesses can ind everything, they need to accomplish their email communication goals. There will be even more services on our platform, one of which is launching soon.
With the proliferation of AI, businesses will try to preserve and strengthen their human connection with their audiences. The irst step toward that is to be in people's inboxes – and all our tools work together to help our customers accomplish that goal.
ZeroBounce is an awardwinning email veri ication, deliverability, and email inding platform helping 300,000+ customers achieve email success.
Its 99% accurate email validation service removes obsolete and risky email addresses to help senders prevent bounces and maintain a good reputation. ZeroBounce's email deliverability toolkit –including inbox testing and DMARC monitoring – further
supports companies in their quest to reach the inbox. Activity Data, one of ZeroBounce's most popular features, offers subscriber activity insights, allowing marketers to target their most active audiences. Email Finder is ZeroBounce's latest tool that provides professionals with valid business email addresses to enhance their email outreach efforts.
ZeroBounce has validated 24+ billion emails and
serves companies of all sizes, from solo business owners to Amazon, Disney, Net lix, and Sephora. The platform ensures military-grade security and is GDPR, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO-27001-certi ied, and India DPDP-ready.
In 2022, ZeroBounce founded Email Day (April 23), now an international holiday honoring email inventor Ray Tomlinson.
In the realm of entrepreneurship, one often faces pivotal moments that demand a leap of faith. For me, that moment arrived when I decided to leave a stable job, where I earned a guaranteed income of $600k and enjoyed high regard. The choice to embark on a journey of selfemployment, despite a tempting double salary offer, seemed audacious, especially with my wife eight months pregnant and relying on COBRA for healthcare coverage.
This gamble was not just about pursuing my dream but about inding the right business that could be franchised responsibly, scaling rapidly while maintaining integrity. My chosen path led me to
the power washing industry, a domain I knew little about but aligned seamlessly with my franchise checklist. By building a franchise around a single location's successful business model, we achieved remarkable growthexpanding to 128 units across 24 states within just 12 months.
This bold move not only transformed my life but also opened entrepreneurial opportunities for others, empowering them to take the leap into business ownership. What made this risk pay off was not just the speed of expansion but the impact we were making. I prioritized what I term 'Responsible Franchising,' ensuring
fairness and support for all involved. Today, we are more than just a successful business; we are a franchisee company, prioritizing the well-being of our franchisees above all.
Beyond personal success, I irmly believe in the fundamental role entrepreneurship plays in driving economic growth. Entrepreneurs are the architects of genuine economic expansion, creating job opportunities, fostering innovation, and stimulating market competition. By encouraging individuals to take the entrepreneurial lead, we contribute not only to our success but also to the prosperity of society as a whole.
In my journey, I've witnessed the transformative power of a single entrepreneurial venture executed responsibly. By supporting aspiring entrepreneurs, we contribute to the prosperity of individuals, families, and communities. As we set our sights on becoming the largest powerwashing franchise in the world by 2025, I am con ident that our commitment to responsible franchising will continue to positively impact lives.
The essence of my journey lies in building a business that goes beyond inancial success, creating a ripple effect of positive change.
While the decision to leave a stable job was undoubtedly challenging, the positive outcomes have far exceeded my expectations. As we forge ahead, I am excited about the future we are building, not just for Rolling Suds but for the countless individuals inding their entrepreneurial path through responsible franchising.
In conclusion, responsible entrepreneurship is not just about inancial gains; it's about building a legacy of positive impact and empowering others to realize their dreams. Aspiring entrepreneurs should consider not only the potential for inancial success but
also the transformative impact their ventures can have on individuals and communities.
You can learn more about Rolling suds at www.rollingsudsfranchise.com and follow Aaron's journey in real-time where he shares valuable insights on his Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X.
Aaron Harper's journey from the competitive world of ilm and television led him to franchising, driven by a passion to empower others and simplify the path to business ownership. After a successful period with Patch Boys, where he opened over 400 territories in only a few years, Aaron decided to build something similar on his own, venturing out to transform Rolling Suds, a successful family-owned power washing business, into a franchise.
His approach, rooted in Responsible Franchising, emphasized transparent communication, and tailored solutions. He focused on an adaptive, solution-driven methodology, particularly in areas like technology, scaling, and marketing support, ensuring that Rolling Suds continues to remain agile and responsive to the evolving needs of its franchisees. By focusing on individual growth and rejecting applicants misaligned with their values, Aaron has rapidly expanded Rolling Suds, selling over 100 units in less than a year.
n the dynamic world of business, I transformational leadership stands out for its ability to inspire change, foster innovation, and cultivate a culture of empowerment.
This leadership style, characterized by the ability to motivate and encourage followers to exceed their own expectations, is essential for me in any business that I personally operate, and vividly illustrated in my book. Transformational leadership can not only drive business success but also profoundly impact personal growth and community development.
At its core, transformational leadership
involves four key components: in luence, inspirational motivation (make it fun), intellectual stimulation (also make it fun), and individual consideration (put yourself in their shoes, always).
It's extremely important to embody these elements through your journey as a leader and to offer a blueprint for those within your organization to follow as well. As visionaries, we often have a very clear picture of what we are trying to accomplish but fall-short when it comes down to communicating that vision. As a young entrepreneur, I often experienced confusion and frustration when dealing with employees that just “didn't get it” which was rather annoying until I realized what was missing- a motivationally charged, clearly de ined objective.
Take the time to explain exactly what you're trying to accomplish and why it's important to them, you, the organization as a whole and your mission. Getting your team's direction and culture in order before making any attempts at growth is paramount. When everyone clearly understands what the objective is and how they play a part in it, growth becomes easy, effortless even.
In luence, the component that embodies the leader's ability to act as someone they respect. Someone they can talk to if they need help or guidance. Someone who will be proud of them and acknowledge all the hard work they've put in. And lastly, someone they wouldn't want to let down. As a leader myself, I always do my best to earn the respect and trust of those around me. The culture needs to gel. If I fall short, I correct it. If there's a team member that continually becomes disagreeable, maybe it's time to replace that person. Don't let a sourpuss take up too much of your time, affect your energy or that of your team. Remember, rebels will drain your energy and impede whatever you're trying to create, regardless of what their role is or what level they are at in your organization. So, above all else- protect your culture!
INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION THROUGH PROBLEM-SOLVING
Intellectual stimulation can be achieved by challenging the status quo and giving your team the freedom and faith to experiment with their own creative problem-solving. I love this approach to business. Transform
challenges into fun projects for your team to work towards and through. When you have breakthroughs, and you will have breakthroughs, make it a point to celebrate those wins together! Have an impromptu huddle-up to share the good news and clap it up for those involved or maybe buy pizza for the entire staff on Friday and before anyone takes a slice, say a little something to the whole team and demonstrate your pride and appreciation for the work being done.
INDIVIDUALIZED CONSIDERATION: UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY
Attention to the needs, aspirations, and personal development of everyone in the organization. Fostering a nurturing environment where individuals feel valued, understood, and acknowledged. I try my absolute best to make everyone know and feel that they are an important part of our success.
From the CEO to the janitor, let everyone know how important they are and that you've noticed their hard work. i.e. To the janitor: ”Hey John, I've noticed how spotless the loors have been lately and how clean and streakfree the windows are. I can't thank you enough for doing such a great job with that. It's important because it makes us look really good whenever we have visitors here and gives the employees a sense of pride to work at such a clean and professional place. So, thank you for doing such a great job with that!
Lastly, always have something for them to look forward to. I think we can all resonate with that.
Max Lewis is an American entrepreneur, investor, and author with over 20 years of business experience and an excess of $100 million in cumulative sales.
In 2002, Max began exchanging propane barbecue tanks as a startup business. By the age of 23, he was a millionaire through his startup and his investments in real estate. As the sole owner of his company, Max grew his exchange business into the largest independent operation of its kind in the state of Florida. He sold it for $37 million in 2017.
After retiring at the young age of 36, Max set roots in the Florida Keys, where he shares a home with his girlfriend and fourlegged fur-children. In his free time, he enjoys racing cars, traveling the globe, and ishing.
Kevin Killens
What according to you makes something transformational? How do you integrate the same thought into your leadership?
AHvos at heart is an R&D company that creates products as a natural outcrop of our furthering AI technology and our efforts to transform how our clients solve their everyday challenges.
Being transformational is to work within the process and to determine what the true needs are versus addressing broad generalities. By complementing human effort with AI, we empower people to focus on tasks that are most important.
In my leadership approach, I prioritize business value and ensure AI solutions are contextually relevant to those values. Our engines don't rely on scraping the web for data to train our models. This ensures our AI solutions are customized for our customers' unique needs, enhancing ef iciency and privacy, while augmenting, whenever possible, the people and processes in place.
As the CEO of AHvos, you're leading the charge in rede ining the boundaries of AI technology. Can you share the vision behind AHvos and how it aims to transform the AI landscape?
At AHvos, our vision is grounded in the idea that AI technology can and should be leveraged to solve real-world problems, many of which are overlooked or underserved by the mainstream tech industry. Our journey began with a personal mission to address medical issues that large pharmaceutical companies often ignore due to the rarity of the condition and limited commercial appeal. This mission evolved into AHvos, where we aim to democratize AI technology, making it accessible, affordable, and tailored to solve speci ic challenges businesses and individuals face.
Our approach to transforming the AI landscape is deeply rooted in privacy and ethical use of data. The power of AI should not come at the expense of individual privacy or data security. Hence, our proprietary technology is designed to work with data in a way that respects privacy, ensuring that the data remains within the control of its rightful owners and is not misused or exploited.
AHvos stands out by focusing on contextually responsive intelligence, which allows our AI solutions to act upon a business's private data without the need to store that data or to potentially dilute their data with a competitor's. This not only addresses privacy concerns but also ensures AHvos provided solutions are highly relevant and tailored to
the speci ic needs identi ied for each business. By integrating this philosophy into our products and services, AHvos is not just offering AI solutions but is also advocating for a more ethical and responsible AI ecosystem that prioritizes human values and privacy.
AHvos uses a unique approach to AI architecture, sidestepping biases and providing transparent rationale through CRI and IRP. How does this approach enhance the reliability and explainability of AI responses?
Our unique approach at AHvos, through Contextually Responsive Intelligence (CRI) and Identi ied Response Path (IRP), signi icantly enhances the reliability and explainability of AI responses. By implementing CRI, we ensure that our AI solutions are acutely aware of the context within which they operate. This means that instead of providing generalized answers that may be irrelevant or inappropriate, our AI engines are trained to understand the speci ic context of each query, ensuring that the responses are directly applicable and valuable to the situation at hand.
The AHvos IRP framework allows us to trace the logic path our engine used to arrive at the answer. This is crucial for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it provides the ability to understand the engine's “thought process” behind each decision or response. This level of explainability is vital for trust, especially in critical applications where understanding the why behind an AI's decision can be as
important as the decision itself.
Secondly, the IRP allows for rapid and precise adjustments. If the engine or a user detects an anomaly or error, we can pinpoint precisely where the deviation occurred and perform a lobectomy, of sorts, to correct the engine's “thought process”. This capability to identify and correct speci ic issues without overhauling or retraining the entire model from scratch saves signi icant time and resources. It ensures that our AI systems can adapt and improve continuously with minimal intervention.
By integrating these approaches, AHvos is setting a new standard in the AI industry, where reliability and explainability are not just aspirational goals but foundational elements of our technology. This commitment to traceable and contextual intelligence sets us apart and drives us forward in our mission to transform the AI landscape.
Your background includes eight years of service in the US Navy, where you served as an AW (Aviation Anti-submarine Warfare Operator). How has your military experience in luenced your approach to leadership and technology?
My time in the US Navy profoundly in luenced my leadership style and approach to technology. In the Navy, I was trained as a helicopter aircrewman, which involved diverse roles, including locating submarines, being a rescue swimmer, and operating various sensors. We were depended upon
to make decisions and execute those decisions. This experience taught me the importance of versatility, adaptability, and the ability to work effectively under pressure.
Transitioning from military to civilian life, I found that the technical skills I developed in the Navy, such as understanding complex systems and operating sophisticated equipment, provided a strong foundation for my later work in technology. However, the soft skills and leadership qualities honed during my service have had the most signi icant impact on my career in technology and leadership at AHvos.
Leadership in the military is about leading by example, being accountable for your team, and making critical decisions under pressure. These principles have been integral to my approach as CEO of AHvos. I strive to foster a culture of teamwork, accountability, precision, and excellence within the organization, drawing directly from my military experience.
Moreover, the military instilled in me a deep sense of mission and purpose, which I have carried over to my work at AHvos. Our mission to rede ine the boundaries of AI technology and provide solutions that address real-world problems is driven by a similar sense of duty to impact society positively.
How do you balance the technical aspects of your role with the strategic vision needed to drive innovation and growth?
The greatest achievement any person can obtain as a leader within an organization is to ind and hire people who are smarter than they are themselves. While I have a solid foundation in technology and its application, I trust the experts we have at AHvos to create and advance our technology down the paths we travel as a company. Balancing the technical aspects of my role with the strategic vision required to drive innovation and growth at AHvos involves a constant interplay between detail-oriented problem-solving and big-picture thinking. On the technical side, while I rely on the minds and expertise of our team, I immerse myself in the discussions, planning, and development of our products. We then determine how our approach to AI provides products that not only drive cutting-edge technology but also remain practical and user-friendly for our clients. This deep technical involvement with our team enables me to stay grounded in the realities of what's possible now and what will be possible in the future, which is crucial for making informed strategic decisions.
My focus on the strategic front is expanding to encompass market trends, customer needs, and potential growth avenues for AHvos. This involves envisioning where the AI industry is headed, identifying opportunities for AHvos to lead in new or underserved areas, and guiding the company in a direction that aligns with our core values and strengths. To do this effectively, I rely on a collaborative approach, engaging with my team, partners, and clients
to gather diverse perspectives and insights.
Integrating these technical and strategic facets requires a lexible mindset and the ability to shift gears rapidly. It's about knowing when to dive deep into technical challenges and when to zoom out to ensure those challenges align with our broader goals. Regular communication with my team and stakeholders ensures that our technical efforts are always in service of our strategic objectives and vice versa. This dynamic balance helps AHvos stay agile, innovative, and aligned with our mission to rede ine the boundaries of AI technology.
What are your future goals for AHvos, and how do you envision the company evolving to meet the evolving needs of the AI industry?
For AHvos, our future goals are ambitious yet clear-cut. We aim to push the boundaries of AI technology further, ensuring that our solutions address current market needs and anticipate future trends and challenges within the AI industry. The evolution of AHvos is closely tied to the evolving needs of the AI landscape, which is rapidly advancing and diversifying.
We plan to continue our commitment to privacy and data security, recognizing these as foundational pillars in developing and deploying AI technologies. As the industry grapples with ethical concerns and regulatory pressures, AHvos aims to lead by example, demonstrating how AI can be powerful and responsible.
Innovation remains at the heart of our vision. We're exploring new AI architectures and methodologies that promise greater ef iciency, lower energy consumption, and enhanced capabilities. Our focus on Contextually Responsive Intelligence (CRI) and Identi ied Response Path (IRP) will expand, ensuring that our AI solutions remain explainable and trustworthy.
Moreover, we're keen on extending our reach into new sectors and applications, particularly those underserved by mainstream AI developments. By doing so, we aim to democratize AI technology, making it accessible to a broader range of businesses and individuals, thereby fostering a more inclusive digital future.
Our vision for AHvos is not just about being at the forefront of AI technology; it's about rede ining what it means to be a leader in this space. It's about setting new standards for ethical AI, driving innovation that matters, and creating a legacy of positive impact across industries and societies.
Chipmaking has become one
of the world's most critical technologies in the last two decades. The main driver of this explosive growth has been the continuous scaling of silicon technology (widely known as the Moore's Law). But these advances in silicon technology are slowing down, as we reach the physical limits of silicon. For this reason, the industry has been investing heavily in nanomaterials like carbon nanotube, graphene and TMDs, which are expected to enable chips with unprecedented functionality. However, making electronic devices with these extremely small materials at speed, with precision, and without compromising on quality has been a long-standing obstacle.
Nanotechnology company Chiral is today announcing a $3.8m funding round to address this challenge head on, innovating the way nanomaterials are integrated into devices. Its expertise in nanotechnology, automation, and high-precision robotics will be pivotal in the industry's move beyond silicon to the next generation of electronics. The preseed funding round was co-led by Founderful (formerly Wingman Ventures) and HCVC and includes grants from ETH Zurich and
Venture Kick.
Research has evidenced the use case and impact of nanomaterials across a range of electronics including high-performance transistors, low-power sensors, quantum devices, and many more. However, existing production methods, mostly based on chemistry, are not controllable, which has thus far prevented commercialization of these devices.
Chiral has built high-speed, automated, robotic machines that integrate nanomaterials into devices. These machines can robotically place micrometer-sized (or even nanometer-sized) materials on small chips. Repeating these motions in a fast and automated manner requires a very high level of engineering, which, when done right, ensures the precision and control that conventional chemistry-based methods lack.
The development of Chiral's technology started as a national research project conducted at the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Zurich, EPFL, and Empa), in which the company's cofounders, Seoho Jung, Natanael Lanz, and Andre Butzerin participated as PhD students. After
4 years of R&D, the research team inished its irst prototype machine, which was 100 times faster than the other systems available at the time. The immediate reaction of the market to the prototype, which quickly led to the company's irst batch of pilot customers, convinced the co-founders that they should continue their activity as a company. They incorporated Chiral in June 2023 as a result.
Seoho Jung, Co-founder and CEO at Chiral commented: “At Chiral, we are pioneering the next generation of electronic devices across industry. Chipmakers are aware of the potential of nanomaterials and we're bringing that potential to life. This funding will accelerate the development of our next machine, which will unlock new market opportunities with its versatility and performance. We are also excited to scale our team to keep up with the growing demand and customer base."
The global nanotechnology market size is projected to grow from $79.14 billion in 2023 to $248.56 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 17.8% (Fortune business insights research). One of the largest chipmakers in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) presented its
development roadmap showing nanomaterial-based transistors as its future architecture.
Pascal Mathis, Founding Partner at Founderful, commented: “We're thrilled to join forces with Chiral alongside HCVC. Chiral's AIand robotics-based technology lets us envision a future where nanomaterial-based chips are being produced at the scale needed for commercialization – a major bottleneck up until now. We look forward to supporting Seoho, Natanael and André in their journey
to introduce a new paradigm of chips beyond silicon.”
Alexis Houssou, Founding Partner at HCVC, commented: “With the current boom in AI applications, we stand at a pivotal moment where the slowdown of Moore's law threatens to decelerate the pace of technological progress signi icantly. The team at Chiral has embarked on a critical mission to pave the way toward a groundbreaking post-silicon era, promising to transcend current limitations and unlock new
possibilities for advancement. We couldn't be more excited to support their mission, in collaboration with Founderful, as they build the future of computing infrastructure.”
Seoho Jung added : “In the future, it will be normal for electronic devices or chips to contain nanomaterials. The development roadmaps of the world's leading chipmakers like TSMC, Samsung, and Intel all share our vision. We are con ident that Chiral technology will empower the industry to make this transition faster.”
In the polarizing landscape of
arti icial intelligence, a new frontier is emerging at the intersection of robotics and AI agents. This synergy, long overlooked, is now gaining traction as industries worldwide push for an AI-integrated workplace. A recent report by Goldman Sachs in 2023 highlights the potential of this market, predicting the replacement of 300 million jobs by AI agents.
Leading the charge in this revolution is the AI unicorn, Figure.ai, which has recently closed a staggering $675 million Series B funding round, valuing the company at $2.6 billion. With heavyweight backers including Microsoft, OpenAI, Nvidia, Intel, Jeff Bezos, ARK, Align, and Parkway VC, Figure.ai is making waves with its LLM-based humanoid robot AI
agents. These robots are designed to tackle heavy and manual labor in industries such as warehousing and retail, promising to transform the way we work.
Figure.ai's collaboration with OpenAI to develop new robotics LLMs is a signi icant step towards realizing the vision of 'AI Agents' and Arti icial General Intelligence (AGI). Brett Adcock, CEO of Figure, believes that robotics is the key to solving the AGI puzzle, stating, "LLMs are good at semantics but poor with geometry/physics." He further asserts that Figure's humanoid robot is the ultimate deployment vector for AGI, a claim underscored by the robot's ability to learn tasks like being a barista in just 10 hours by observing humans.
Meanwhile, another player, Newo.ai, is making strides in the realm of LLM-powered digital employees. The Silicon Valley startup is blurring the lines between digital and human workers by integrating AI agents into the physical world of robots. Newo.ai's lexible, WordPress-inspired platform allows for the rapid development of AI Agent models, making it a versatile option for various applications, from humanoid robots to purely digital agents.
As the race for AGI heats up, the role of robotic AI agents in the workplace is becoming increasingly apparent. With companies like Figure.ai and Newo.ai leading the way, the future of work is poised for a transformation that will rede ine the boundaries between human and machine.
In a recent webinar, marketing
guru Neil Patel declared that in the SEO world, content is no longer king. Instead, the crown now belongs to content that is amazing, engaging, authoritative, and heavy with proprietary data. However, this revelation may not provide much comfort to marketers who are already under pressure to create more with less.
A survey by PhotoShelter involving over 600 marketing, brand, and communication professionals revealed that 85% are feeling the heat to produce content more rapidly, leading to challenges in their content creation work lows. Economic luctuations are adding to the pressure, with 76% citing the need for strategic work low pivots and 71% expressing ongoing concerns about budgets.
The struggle to stand out is also real, with 45% of respondents inding it dif icult to differentiate
themselves from competitors. "Marketing and creative professionals have identi ied content creation as the stage of their work low with the most friction," the PhotoShelter study notes, adding that 65% believe this friction negatively impacts revenuedriving functions.
Enter arti icial intelligence (AI). PhotoShelter's report suggests that AI tools and digital asset management (DAM) platforms are being used to enhance ef iciency and productivity. A signi icant 69% of respondents believe AI can help their companies expand into new markets, while 71% think that those not adopting these tools will fall behind.
For users of AI, the bene its are clear: 82% report streamlined processes and manual tasks, 39% see signi icant bene its in content reporting campaign optimization, and 35% have experienced reduced
expenses. Perhaps most importantly, 88% say AI has increased the ROI of their work and freed up time for more meaningful tasks.
Looking to the future, 82% of creative and marketing professionals believe that AI will rede ine the branding and marketing landscape. PhotoShelter CEO Andrew Fingerman emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology to meet rising content creation demands.
"The creative industry is facing a pivotal moment as AI allows creative professionals to work in new and innovative ways," he says.
As the industry evolves, it's clear that AI will play a crucial role in shaping the future of content marketing. Brands and marketers must adapt to these changes to stay competitive and relevant in an increasingly digital world.
