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Every episode
Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid Ahmed
30 episodes
Global Credibility Expert on Why Credibility Starts With Clarity (and the 3‑Circle Framework That Changes Everything)
Ep 39 · Aug 13, 2026 · 41 min
5 bullet takeaways Credibility = Trusted + Known + Liked: credibility is relational, measurable, and actionable — not just reputation. Integrity lives in two places: what you say (external) and what you do (internal). Incongruity kills trust. Clarity is a superpower: define who you serve in <10 words (your CPOP) and you join the 2% who cut through noise. Respect is tactical: show up early, come prepared, and bring your heart — small rituals compound into enormous credibility. Asynchronous presen…
The Advisor to Icons on Breaking Orbit and Finding the Genius Inside You
Ep 38 · Aug 11, 2026 · 31 min
5 Big Takeaways Your gift is not a talent; it’s who you are when you’re fully alive. Frederick breaks down why your genius is less about skill and more about identity. Comfort can become a cage. How “zones of comfort” and “discomfort zones” silently dictate your life – and why staying in discomfort is the doorway to growth. Acceptance is the first key to discovering your gift. Before tactics, strategy, or niche, you have to uninstall the belief that you’re “not special.” Purpose vs success: why…
How Billy Turned Small-Batch Bacon into a National Cult Brand (Without Losing Its Soul)
Ep 37 · Aug 6, 2026 · 24 min
You’ll Learn How a single late-night phone call revealed Billy’s bacon had gone from local love to a national movement. What really changes first when you scale – demand, storytelling, or team – and how to stay in control. The “small batch” philosophy: how Billy protects quality, culture, and craft as demand explodes. The biggest mistake artisanal founders make when scaling – and how to avoid being “sold the shiniest penny.” Why marginal people create marginal products, and how to build a team o…
William “Bill E.” Stitt: How Serenaded Bacon, Soulful Hospitality & Storytelling Built a National Food Brand
Ep 37 · Aug 4, 2026 · 22 min
Top 5 Takeaways: Brand starts with identity, not product. “Bill-E’s” was born in a college speech class long before the first slice hit a smoker. Serenaded bacon is brand magic, not marketing fluff. Live music, visible craft, and ritual turn a commodity into an experience. Let the product be the star. A blunt bar regular forced Bill to redesign his menu so the bacon could finally take center stage. People are the secret ingredient. From dishwashers to managers, Bill builds systems where his team…
The Secret Playbook Behind Million-Dollar Domain Deals (Sex.com, AI.com & the Future of Domains)
Ep 36 · Jul 30, 2026 · 33 min
Five key takeaways: Domains behave like real estate: due diligence, legal terms and the buyer pool determine true value — not just a price tag. Payment-over-time deals are risky — courts, bankruptcy and defaults make cash often king in high-stakes sales. The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make: underspending on the domain that will carry their brand — it erodes trust and costs more later. Valuation blend: commercial demand, industry CPC, comparable sales and how many extensions/variants are regis…
Empowered Podcasting CMO on Turning Followers into a Year‑Round Community (How EPC3 Makes Belonging Stick)
Ep 35 · Jul 23, 2026 · 43 min
5 key takeaways: Community ≠ audience: community is recurring, reciprocal, and built through shared experiences, not metrics. The magic happens in the hallways: stages teach, corridors create opportunities (collabs, podcasts, books). Design with belonging in mind: workshops, interactive journals, visible staff, and pre-event touchpoints turn attendees into contributors. Make introverts powerful connectors: be interested, not interesting — ask great questions and invite people in. Start local, kn…
Podcast Strategy Coach: Why Small Conferences Change Careers (and How to Network Without the Awkwardness)
Ep 34 · Jul 21, 2026 · 51 min
Five key takeaways Stop collecting business cards: bring an agenda and one concrete follow-up goal per event. Small, intimate conferences often deliver deeper ROI than massive industry shows—if you show up with intention. Replace “What do you do?” with questions about passion and problems to spark memorable conversations. Use simple systems (journals, one friend covering another track, session recordings) to convert a firehose of info into usable action. Strategy-first podcasting (VIP planning,…
Financial Planner, Podcast Host & Founder of Portis Wealth Advisors: How Embracing Failure Became His Greatest Growth Engine
Ep 33 · Jul 14, 2026 · 41 min
Five key takeaways Failure-as-feedback: The faster you fail, the faster you learn — in business and in the gym. Client-first transitions: How white-glove execution turned a custody crisis into long-term retention. Co-founder (or partner) dynamics: Why complementary temperaments multiply results and reduce catastrophic mistakes. Resilience as strategy: Progress is non-linear; endurance and iteration beat perfectionism. Tangible vs. abstract work: Woodworking (and other hands-on hobbies) gives the…
Asgardia Minister of Equity & Resources on Building a Digital Nation, Space Ethics, and the Moment Her Legacy Reached the Moon
Ep 32 · Jul 9, 2026 · 27 min
5 key takeaways: Moonshot as legacy: Digital assets on the moon turned an improbable idea into a deeply emotional milestone for a global community. Entrepreneurs as nation-builders: Startup mindset and product thinking accelerate governance — but require new leadership skills. Space needs law now: Without regulation, space activities risk large-scale harm; lawyers and business leaders must shape policy. Ethical, inclusive design matters: A digital nation must embed equity and transparency to avo…
Founder of The Flow Group on Reinventing Hearing Tech, Accessibility & Turning Trauma into Purpose
Ep 31 · Jul 9, 2026 · 20 min
Key takeaways: How personal crisis (vision loss + addiction + financial collapse) can be reframed into a purpose-driven business mission. Why traditional hearing aids fail many users — and how open-ear, bone-conduction designs reduce stigma and cost. The front-line work: what door-to-door trust-building with seniors taught Michael about product adoption. The Flow Group’s product features that matter: noise reduction, dual-volume control, indoor/outdoor modes and comfort under $300. How assistive…
Trial Lawyer, AI & Privacy Pioneer: How Courtroom Storytelling Builds Attention, Trust & Influence
Ep 30 · Jul 7, 2026 · 1 hr 5 min
5 key takeaways Tell better stories: Use courtroom-tested structures (the hero’s journey + a 5-step persuasive framework) to make listeners care. Context > content: Give AI the right context (audience, brief, constraints) so it generates usable ideas — not canned scripts. Newsjacking done right: React quickly to breaking news with unique perspective to get media attention and platform amplification. Substack as a growth engine: Repurpose audio, offer perks, and convert readers into paid subscrib…
High‑Performance Coach on Why “Surface‑Level Success” Fails You (and How to Reclaim Real Fulfillment)
Ep 29 · Jul 2, 2026 · 26 min
Five key takeaways Surface‑level success is often a default script — define success on your own terms before you spend years chasing it. Big wins can create new misalignment; after achievement, pause and re‑redesign your life around what actually matters. Use environment and community deliberately: put yourself where your desired norms are already the norm. Identity signals attract support — show up as the person you want to become so others will meet you there. Live in 90‑day sprints to create…
High-Performance Coach & Author of Uncomfortable Either Way: Why Choosing Easy Is Making Your Life Hard
Ep 29 · Jun 30, 2026 · 20 min
5 key takeaways: Discomfort is inevitable — choosing the hard path often leads to deeper, lasting growth. We habitually value immediate comfort over long-term benefit ("swipe now, pay later") — awareness is the first step. Confidence is domain-specific: preparation, repetition, authenticity, and courage are the practical levers. Make "win-win" micro-decisions that feel good now and compound into long-term wins. Regret is a different kind of pain; ask which discomfort you want at 80 — growth or r…
From Forensic Nurse to Global Mindset Strategist: The Uncomfortable Truth Leaders Must Face to Scale
Ep 28 · Jun 25, 2026 · 22 min
5 Bullet Takeaways Mindset is the foundation, not the fluff: unaddressed limiting beliefs sabotage even the best strategies. Motivational interviewing is a powerful, non‑confrontational tool to surface blind spots and elicit the answers people already hold. Small, visible rituals (affirmations, journaling, grounding) wire new neural pathways and make confidence habitual. Authentic leadership and modeled vulnerability reduce burnout, increase retention, and improve ROI. Real resilience isn’t just…
From Forensic Nurse to Global Mindset Strategist: The Mountaineering Mindset That Turns Survival into Peak Performance
Ep 28 · Jun 23, 2026 · 21 min
5 Key Takeaways The mountaineering mindset: break big goals into micro-steps, celebrate small wins, and keep momentum through mini-rewards. Reframe “failure” as information — use consequences and curiosity to iterate, not to shame. Forensic nursing sharpened rapid decision-making, de-escalation, and crisis leadership skills that translate directly to high-stakes business situations. Recognize survival mode: exhaustion, disengagement, and “quiet quitting” — and use motivational interviewing to el…
The Rapid 2x Protocol: How He Reclaims Attention and Doubles E‑commerce Revenue
Jun 18, 2026 · 31 min
Timestamps: 0:01 — What is the Rapid 2x Protocol? Sabir’s 25‑year engineering experiment that became a system 3:12 — Attention economics: the 1.7‑second rule and why ads aren’t the problem 7:28 — Mobile truth: 72% of your buyers are on phones — are you designing for them? 13:53 — The first action step: run GTmetrix on your best‑selling product page (TTI explained) 18:31 — Dangerous illusion: most of your database are one‑hit wonders — how to measure RFM 22:50 — Shortcut mistakes founders make: c…
The Engineer Who Turned Data Into $1B for Brands (and Why Your Shopify Store Is Dying in 2025)
Ep 27 · Jun 18, 2026 · 35 min
5 key takeaways Growth is an engineering problem: opinions don’t scale — data does. Single-channel dependency (Meta ads only) is the fastest route to bankruptcy. Time-to-interact matters: every second above ~1.7–2.0s costs ~7% conversion. Rapid, repeatable sprints + AI can compress multi-year growth into weeks. Stop chasing “magic bullets”; focus on quality strategy, product differentiation, and execution. Timestamps 0:00 — Intro: Why this episode matters (Junaid’s warning for 2025) 1:47 — The r…
Serial Entrepreneur & Coach on Turning Bankruptcy into a Reboot (Resilience, Rituals & Radical Self-Love)
Ep 26 · Jun 16, 2026 · 41 min
Key takeaways: Bankruptcy as a pivot, not a full stop — how Marianne framed the filing day as “the moment I could move forward.” Two daily practices that change everything: journaling (gratitude + “I love myself”) and meditation/Kundalini yoga. Practical rebuild moves: leverage people skills into new careers — banking, mortgages, recruiting, real estate. Self-care as a strategic asset: boundaries, sleep, and scheduled unplugging to protect creative energy. Get a coach — why an external guide fas…
Scaling With Purpose: How to Protect Your War Chest and Lead Without Losing Yourself - Michael Haskell
Jun 15, 2026 · 23 min
When the funding hits the bank, everything changes — your team, your decisions, your sleep. In this raw, curious conversation, Michael Haskell pulls back the curtain on the moment every founder either becomes a leader or gets eaten by growth. He explains how to spend with discipline, hire with rigor, and keep the sense of urgency that made you successful in the first place. In this episode of Hacks and Hobbies, Michael and I dig into the fragile period after fundraising: the temptation to hire f…
The Finance Architect Helping Founders Raise Smart Capital (and Why Patience Beats Panic) - Michael Haskell
Ep 25 · Jun 15, 2026 · 25 min
This episode made me rethink everything I believed about fundraising — not as a sprint for cash, but as a discipline of integrity, patience, and business hygiene. Michael Haskell walks us through two decades of building finance teams across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the US — and the exact playbook he uses to help founders raise capital without selling their soul. From the early bootstrap choices to the 1–5M sweet spot and the scary truth about VC term sheets, Michael strips away the…
Author of The Mentorship Edge on Midlife, Legacy & Why Storytelling Is the Leadership Superpower You’re Missing - Dr. Deborah Heiser
Jun 10, 2026 · 24 min
A raw, hopeful conversation about growing up into yourself. In this second part of our deep dive with Dr. Deborah Heiser, we move from the neuroscience of aging into the practical — mentorship, storytelling, and the day-to-day legacy you can build now. This episode turns the fear of midlife into a toolkit for purpose: how emotional maturity becomes your secret power, why some stories should be retired, and how a single conversation can ripple into life-changing impact. We cover the science and t…
The Mentorship Edge: How Midlife Becomes a Second Act, Not a Crisis - Dr. Deborah Heiser
Ep 24 · Jun 8, 2026 · 25 min
Midlife isn’t a downhill spiral — it’s a calling. In this episode, Dr. Deborah Heiser reframes aging, mentorship, and legacy so you can turn what feels like a ‘crisis’ into a catalytic second act. Short description Dr. Deborah Heiser (applied developmental psychologist, CEO & founder of The Mentor Project, TEDx speaker and author of The Mentorship Edge) joins Junaid to dismantle myths about midlife and reveal how mentorship, generativity, and small experiments can reignite purpose after 40. This…
1,400-Episode Podcasting Veteran on How One Interview Can Fuel a Month of Marketing - Robert Plank
Jun 3, 2026 · 23 min
What if one recorded conversation could power an entire month of visibility? In this episode Robert Plank — the relentless creator behind Marketer of the Day with over 1,400 episodes — walks Junaid through the exact mindset and workflow that turns a single podcast into a month’s worth of magnetic content. This is less about perfection and more about systems, small wins, and the emotional grit of showing up. Robert breaks down practical, platform-first moves (YouTube, LinkedIn, syndication), the…
Marketer, 1,400-Episode Podcaster & The Quiet Engine Behind Visibility Without Burnout - Robert Plank
Ep 23 · Jun 3, 2026 · 29 min
Robert Plank didn’t start podcasting to chase fame — he started because he felt invisible. What followed was 1,400 episodes, a business built around conversation, and a systems-first way to stay visible without burning out. Description: Robert walks us through the slow-burn alchemy of building a podcast into a platform: how podcasting taught him social skills, why guests rescued him from creative exhaustion, and the mindset shifts that turned grind into sustainable craft. This episode is about m…
Founder of Suka on Reclaiming Focus: The One Daily Habit That Quietly Changes Your Life - Steven Puri
Jun 1, 2026 · 38 min
Short description If you keep waking up and losing the morning to scrolling, this episode is for you. Steven Puri — from IBM and Hollywood sets to building Suka — walks Junaid through the exact mental switches and tiny systems that turn distraction into sustained, creative output. This is not fluff about productivity hacks; it’s a candid, emotional conversation about intention, environment, and the quiet cost of “zero-effort dopamine.” In part two of our conversation, Steven gets tactical: how t…
From Hollywood VFX to Flow: How the Founder of Suka Rebuilt Focus, Beat Distraction, and Helped Creators Win Back Their Time - Steven Puri
Ep 22 · Jun 1, 2026 · 41 min
A filmmaker turned software founder shares the inciting moment when Hollywood craft collided with personal focus, sparking an app built to help creators reclaim deep work and meaning. In this episode Steven Puri — visual effects producer (Independence Day, Transformers), serial builder, and CEO of Suka — walks Junaid through the pivots, creative rituals, and real-world constraints that shaped his quest to protect productive, meaningful time from attention economies. In 40 minutes of candid story…
Style Strategist on Using Story, Color & Three Truths to Show Up with Unshakable Confidence - Elaine Johnston
May 27, 2026 · 15 min
You don’t need perfect to be magnetic — you need one story, one palette, and the courage to practice. In this intimate, practical conversation, Elaine Johnston — a storytelling and style strategist — walks Junaid through a simple, repeatable framework for turning the mess of self-doubt into a confident, memorable public presence. This episode is part how-to, part therapy: the kind of tactical coaching that changes what you say, how you look, and how you feel when you hit record. Elaine strips br…
Style Coach & Storyteller: How Dressing with Purpose Builds Trust - Elaine Johnston
Ep 21 · May 27, 2026 · 29 min
Style is more than clothes — it’s the first sentence of your story. In this emotional, curiosity-driven conversation, Elaine Johnston traces a lifetime of fashion and writing that led her to help people translate presence into trust. From journaling outfits in high school to co-founding a podcast production company and launching a cryptid storytelling show, Elaine shows how constraints, practice, and playful creativity can shape a magnetic professional identity. Elaine and Junaid dig into the in…
From Investment Banker to Cancer Thriver: How She Rebuilt Her Body, Mind & Spirit by Design
Ep 20 · May 26, 2026 · 33 min
5 key takeaways Surviving ≠ thriving: Zoraida explains the crucial mindset shift from getting through life to intentionally designing it. The three pillars: mental, physical, spiritual — how each pillar rebuilds energy and anchors daily practice. Devotion to self: practical daily rituals (hydration, breathwork, journaling, midday appointments with yourself) that restore capacity to give. Spiritual reclamation: a raw account of losing and rediscovering spiritual trust in the middle of divorce, jo…
Serial Entrepreneur & Marathon-Minded CEO on Building Businesses That Fuel Life (Not Consume It) - Leo Gestetner
Ep 19 · May 25, 2026 · 21 min
What if success didn’t mean sacrificing your health, family or sanity? In this episode Junaid sits down with Leo Gestetner — founder, CEO, and late-blooming endurance athlete — to unpack how to build thriving companies without burning out. Leo recounts starting as a 13‑year‑old selling secondhand computers, transforming his life from “couch potato” to marathoner and triathlete, and reframing entrepreneurship as a long race, not a sprint. This conversation blends practical routines (what gets sch…
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