Authentic Leadership for Everyday People

Matei Zatreanu is the CEO and founder of System2, a data science firm that helps institutional investors make better decision. His family immigrated from Romania, but for the first few years, his parents had to leave him and his brother temporarily behind as they settled themselves in their new country.In our conversation, we explored how early hardship, like growing up separated by your parents, builds a “figure it out” mentality, why storytelling is one of the most underrated leadership skills, and how something as simple as sharing a meal can become the foundation of culture and trust inside an organization.We went deep into the meaning of profit, the tradeoffs entrepreneurs face when considering outside capital, and the importance of understanding your own motivations before chasing growth, money, or status.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:sstm2.comal4ep.comAdditional Guest Links:Podcast: on SpotifyOn YouTube: youtube.com/@system2podLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matei-zatreanu/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edpPodcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Eric Stone is the CEO and founder of Clear Path Ventures and the author of Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture.Eric started as a management trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and spent more than 25 years rising through the ranks to become a senior executive in one of the company’s top-performing regions. Along the way, he led large teams across retail and administrative environments, built high-performance cultures, and developed leaders who went on to succeed at every level of the organization.In this episode, we talk about:What you learn from building a career inside one organization for decadesHow to hire and develop great salespeopleWhy belief is the foundation of effective sellingHow to build “culture carriers” inside your organizationThe sequencing of communication during major changeContact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:clearpathventures.comal4ep.comAdditional Guest Links:Website ericdstone.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eric-stone-clear-pathFacebook ProfileIntagram: @clearpathventures_YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ericdstone1Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edpPodcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is Lily Zheng, a strategist and consultant who has spent the last decade working with organizations of every size — from small nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies — helping them build workplaces that actually work for everyone. In a field often clouded by ideology, misinformation, and polarization, Lily brings something refreshingly different: data, systems thinking, and practical results.They were a guest on the podcast before, so today we just focus on their new book, Fixing Fairness: Four Tenets to Transform Diversity Backlash Into Progress for All , Lily argues that the conversation around DEI has gone off track — not because fairness doesn’t matter, but because we’ve failed to communicate and implement it effectively. Instead of slogans or superficial programs, they offer FAIR - a framework built around measurable outcomes, systems change, coalition-building, and true win-win solutions.In this conversation, we explore:Why being “pro-diversity” isn’t the same as creating fair systemsThe surprising data gap between support for diversity and belief in DEI programsWhat actually works — and what has failed — over 60 years of workplace reformHow leaders can build coalitions across differenceAnd why fairness may be the language that can move us forwardContact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:lilyzheng.coal4ep.comAdditional Guest Links:Lily on AL4EPLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lilyzheng308Instagram: @lilyzheng308Lily on SubstackBooks:Fixing FairnessReconstructing DEI DEI DeconstructedAuthentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram –...

This is part 2 of our conversation with Thiago Da Costa, serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of a Datagrid AI, a company that creates agent and connectors to help companies work more efficiently.In part one we explored Thiago’s journey as a serial founder, and what it takes to scale companies from zero to meaningful revenue.In this second part, we go deeper into what truly separates great CEOs from dangerous ones. We talk about transparency, capital discipline, customer obsession, and the growing risk of the celebrity CEO—leaders who master distribution and attention before they build real products. Tiago shares candid perspectives on motivation, resilience, and why founders who aren’t deeply anchored to the problem they’re solving will eventually burn out.We also shift into a broader discussion on AI—why this moment is fundamentally different from past technology waves, where real opportunities still exist, and why so many AI startups are destined to fail.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comdatagrid.aiAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thiagocosta2Corporate LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/datagrid-ai/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edpPodcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is Thiago Da Costa, a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits and decades of experience building deeply technical companies. His latest venture, Datagrid AI is an enterprise agentic solution that connects data and automates workflows across tools, files, and systems, Thiago brings a rare combination of technical depth, founder instinct, and hard-earned perspective on what it really takes to start, scale, and survive as an entrepreneur. We talk candidly about the realities of founder-led growth, why most early hires fail, how scaling actually works in practice, and why instinct—tempered by experience—often matters more than advice.We also dig into the employee side of the equation: how to evaluate a founder before joining a startup, what questions really matter in interviews, and why effort, ownership, and clarity are the ultimate differentiators in today’s market.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comdatagrid.aiAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thiagocosta2Corporate LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/datagrid-ai/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edpPodcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

My guest today is an old friend, Nicolas Darveau-Garneau. We met in business school a long time ago, and he went on to become Google's chief evangelist. In that role he advised over a thousand CEOs. He condensed all that wisdom in a brand new book that's called Be A Sequoia Not A Bonsaoi. The book explains how the top 5% of companies beat their competitors.Before becoming Google's chief evangelist, Nick also started and sold 4 companies. In this conversation, we talk about how to figure out if you want to be an entrepreneur and how to assess your own strengths to find the right path, what truly differentiates exceptional leaders, why culture is one of the most underestimated strategic assets.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comnicolasdarveaugarneau.comAdditional Guest Links:Be A Sequoia Not A Bonsai on Amazon - Barnes and Noble Books A Million Book ShopLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nickdgAuthentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edpPodcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Cat Holt is a marketer, brand strategist, and business consultant whose path has woven together creativity, psychology, digital innovation, and a relentless curiosity for how people think and behave. She is also the CEO of Coologee, the marketing firm I co-founded with her.Cat started out as a painter, a musician, and a psychology major fascinated by human behavior. That combination eventually took her into the world of advertising during the dot-com boom, where she became the rare strategist who could bridge brand storytelling with data-driven digital performance. Over the years, she had senior roles at major agencies and Fortune 50 company, building a reputation for connecting emotional insight to measurable business impact.In our conversation episode, we dive into her leadership journey — from the mentors who shaped her, to the philosophy that guides her today, and we discuss our own partnership, the evolution of our business, and the core belief that drives our work: Brand Is Business — the idea that brand isn’t a logo or a campaign, but the full 360-degree expression of how a company operates, behaves, and makes decisions.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comcoologee.comAdditional Guest Links:Substack: Brand Is Business: catholtcoologee.substack.com/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catkolodij/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is is Miles Veth, a fourth-generation entrepreneur, founder of the Veth Group, a marketing ans sales services firm. After starting his career at EMC and learning how large companies can scale while still keeping a culture of warmth, he used that influence to shape the ethos of his own company: love your people, serve your customers well, and reinvest in the community.In our conversation, Miles shares how he integrates faith and business, what it means to build a company that tithes 10% of profits to causes his team cares about, and how he navigated both the highs of rapid growth and the challenges brought on by seismic changes in technology and sales.We also go deep into his views on what makes a great salesperson, the importance of transparency and honesty in business, and the unconventional tactics he has used to get attention and grow his company.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comvethgroup.comAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/milesveth/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is Sasha Schrode, CEO of FEMSelect, a women’s health company on a mission to improve quality of life for women around the globe. Sasha survived a cancer diagnosis at age 31, and that crisis pushed her to leave corporate comfort and embrace entrepreneurship. She described in brutal honesty what being diagnosed with cancer at such an early age felt like and how that experience changed her priorities and her life. We talked about how that experience reshaped her leadership philosophy, the lessons she learned building and selling her first company, and how she thinks about building investor relationships as both a founder and an angel investor.Finally, we discussed the importance of elevating women’s health — an area long underserved — and how Sasha and her team are bringing innovative solutions to market, starting with their breakthrough treatment for pelvic organ prolapse.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comFEMselect.comAdditional Guest Links: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sasha-schrode-28589a13/Instagram: @fem.selectFacebook: facebook.com/FEMSelect Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Neri Karra Sillaman is the embodiment of what it means to blend intellectual rigor with entrepreneurial grit. A refugee-turned-entrepreneur, she’s the founder of Neri Kara, a luxury leather goods brand celebrating its 25th year—and she’s also an academic with a PhD from Cambridge.In our conversation, Neri shared her incredible journey: from building a business with her family using discarded Italian leather, to walking away from it to pursue her true calling in academia. We talked about what it takes to run a successful family business, the importance of structure and clarity in leadership, and how the values of compassion and integrity shaped her leadership—largely inspired by her father.Neri discussed her experience as an immigrant and refugee, and how that shaped both her worldview and her work ethic. She made a powerful case for the unique contributions that immigrants bring to business and society—resilience, creativity, and an unmatched drive to build something better—not just for themselves, but for others.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comnerikarrasillaman.comAdditional Guest Links:nerikarra.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/neri-karra-sillamanInstagram: @prof.neriAuthentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is is David Price, founder and CEO of the David Price Group, a virtual insurance agency that sells high volumes of insurance across all 50 states. But David’s story is about much more than entrepreneurship—it’s a story of reinvention and resilience.David grew up on welfare and spent many years in jobs that didn’t fulfill him. In his mid-thirties, he realized he needed to make a bold move to pursue the freedom and success he had always dreamed of. What followed was a powerful personal transformation—including overcoming a 20-year drug addiction—that shaped him into the leader he is today.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comtpglife.comAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidpriceofficial/Instagram: @davidpriceofficialYouTube: youtube.com/@DavidPriceOfficialFacebook: facebook.com/DavidPriceOfficial/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Greg Morley spent almost 30 years as an HR leader for major global companies like Disney, Hasbro and Moet Hennessy. He’s lived and worked on three continents and currently calls Paris home. He is also the author of BOND: Belonging and the Keys to Inclusion and Connection a book aimed at helping organizations reframe how they approach diversity, equity, and inclusion by opening up the conversation to everyone—especially those in the majority.In our conversation, Greg shared powerful insights about what makes a great leader, including the importance of learning to listen, the mindset shift that comes with being in a role for a limited time, and how his identity as a gay man and a global citizen shaped his leadership journey.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comgregmorley.comAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gregcmorley/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

All the answers to the question: "What business jargon drives you crazy?" from the 6 months of the podcast. These are the featured guests:Jay SapovitsJolynn LedgerwoodRon BrowningGreg LarkinRobyn BoltonJustin BuonomoDelaney WilliamRicardo RegaladoJennifer LangtonNeta WeinerElitzur Bar-Asher SiegalDina Denham SmithJoseph RainoneNatasha Braginsky MournierRick CulletonHaley ForestRishad TobaccowalaAudrey WischContact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comAdditional Guest Links:Contact at: LinkedIn: Instagram:Twitter: Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn:

Jay Sapovits is the founder and CEO of Ink’d Stores. Jay started his career behind the counter of a dry cleaner’s in Las Vegas, where he learned some of the most important lessons of his life. From there, he moved through a string of unlikely but formative roles—radio engineer, sports talk host, golf course cart manager—that ultimately prepared him for a career in entrepreneurship.In our conversation, Jay shares how betting on relationships (instead of gambling) changed his life, how a dry cleaner and a college radio station led to traveling with the UNLV basketball team, and how a one-day event with Sergio Garcia launched his business career. We also go deep on how defining yourself through your job can be both a trap and a motivator—and how Jay finally found the balance that defines who he is today.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.cominkdstores.comAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jaysap/⁠Twitter: ⁠@Jay_Sapovits⁠Podcast JaySapChats on YouTube and SpotifyAuthentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today’s guest is Audrey Wisch, a Gen Z founder who is a great example of why I have so much confidence that the world will be in great hands with this generation. She is the CEO of Curious Cardinals, an education tech company that matches students K-12 with college mentors and tutors.. Audrey started Curious Cardinals as a pandemic passion project while still a student at Stanford. Since then, she’s scaled it into a fast-growing business with a global footprint, and a network of over 700 college mentors helping thousands of K–12 students discover their passions.In our conversation, Audrey shares how she learned to lead while building a company from scratch, the growing pains that come with scaling fast, and what it means to embrace authenticity when you don’t look like the typical Silicon Valley founder. We also talk about her vision of democratizing mentorship and building a company rooted in both purpose and bold ambition.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comcuriouscardinals.com Additional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/audrey-wisch/Instagram: @audreywischInstagram: @curiouscardinalsAuthentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Memorial Day Week edition - Part 1 of Best of Business Jargons That Drives you Crazy. This includes excerpts from episodes published between July and December of 2024. Here are the featured speakers.Maggie OlsonPatrick HeronDavid WestGiovanni VacchiLily ZhengBryan AdamsChristian MunteanDamon LembiClaudia ScottJesse FriedmanMarques OgdenAli CoxCarlos WilliamsJohn TorrensJim SchleckserKathryn ValentineContact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comAdditional Guest Links:Contact at: LinkedIn: Instagram:Twitter: Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook:

Rick Culleton is a serial entrepreneur who built multiple businesses across industries, from electronics to hospitality, and is currently splitting time between Austin and Costa Rica. Rick shared how growing up watching his father transform from a struggling employee to a happy entrepreneur shaped his own journey. He talked about building businesses out of necessity, learning tough lessons from adversity, and how he evolved from a solo hustler into a leader responsible for his team’s families and mortgages.We also dug into his leadership philosophy—how he creates freedom and trust for his employees—and how the definition of success has changed for him over the years. Plus, we got a sneak peek into his upcoming book which aims to help readers find their own happiness, flaws and all.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.commymorningstack.comAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rickculletonInstagram: @rickculletonYouTube: youtube.com/@Rick.CulletonAuthentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Jolynn Ledgerwood is the founder of Elevate Your Talent and host of the Play for Performance podcast. When she was diagnosed with a learning disability in nursing school, she made a courageous pivot to build a thriving career in corporate learning and development, moving from hospitality to cybersecurity and eventually launching her own business.In our conversation, we explored how her early challenges shaped her approach to training. Jolynn is passionate about making learning accessible and effective for everyone, and she brings a refreshing level of creativity into her work — including a powerful, hands-on methodology called LEGO® Serious Play®. Yes, she uses LEGO® bricks to unlock deeper thinking, enhance team collaboration, and drive strategic breakthroughs.We talked about how to design truly inclusive learning environments, how sensory tools can deepen engagement and retention, and what it takes to sell a transformative — but unconventional — approach to skeptical business leaders.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comelevateyourtalent.coAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jolynnledgerwoodInstagram: @elevateyourtalentAuthentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Today's guest is is Delaney William, the founder of Elevated Tech, a company that helps people grow their remote income through job search automation and career strategy within the framework of the controversial but increasingly relevant concept of job stacking.In our conversation, we talked about what it means to build a career — and now a company — that challenges the norms of corporate loyalty, productivity, and compensation. We had a philosophical discussion on the relationship between companies and employees, on the expectations we set, how we are treated by our employer and what we owe them.Delaney shared how he scaled his corporate income from $80K to $390K in less than a year, the philosophy and structure behind holding multiple jobs simultaneously, and how he built a 7-figure business helping others do the same.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.com elevatedtech.us  Additional Guest Links:Instagram: @delaneywilliam_Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com

Paige Lopez, is CEO and founder of Awaken 180, a weight loss company. In our conversation, Paige shared her journey from aspiring neurosurgeon to entrepreneur, the emotional challenges of pivoting from a traditional career path, and how she built a business with intentionality and deep connection to her mission. We also explored her transition from hands-on coaching to CEO leadership, how she and her husband successfully work together as co-founders, and her insights into leading with both heart and data.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:al4ep.comawaken180weightoss.comAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/awaken180-weightlossInstagram: @awaken180weightlossFacebook: facebook.com/Awaken180 Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicSusan Cattaneo: susancattaneo.bandcamp.com