Growing with Purpose
The head of Small Giants Community, Jean Moncrieff chats with business leaders about what shaped their business and life.
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David McLeod: The Wake-Up Call That Nearly Didn’t Happen
<p>What does it take to keep growing without becoming the bottleneck? <br> <br> For David McLeod, it meant changing how he led and learning to trust his team with more ownership.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing with Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with David McLeod, co-founder and CEO of Backbone, about building a business through different stages of growth and recognizing when the way you lead needs to change.</p> <p>David reflects on the pressure of carrying too much himself, the moment he realized he had become a bottleneck, and the changes that helped him step back...
Arnon Oren: Make It Delicious and Create Moments People Remember
<p>What does it mean to “make it delicious” at work? For Arnon Oren, it means giving people the trust and responsibility to make something they are proud of, while creating experiences that bring people together.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing with Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Arnon Oren, founder of Anaviv, about the lessons behind building a business that brings people together and helps its team grow.</p> <p>Arnon shares how he found his way from washing dishes to a career in food, and how working at Chez Panisse shaped his approach to respect, creativity and owne...
Jay Goltz: The Hard Truths About Growth, Hiring, and Profitability
<p>Hiring Better. Pricing for Profit. Growing with Intention.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing with Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Jay Goltz, Founder and CEO of The Goltz Group and the entrepreneur who coined the term “Small Giants,” about the hard-earned lessons behind building a great company.</p> <p>Looking back on nearly five decades in business, Jay shares how his picture-framing company grew from one employee to more than 100, despite having no mentor or roadmap to follow. He reflects on the costly mistakes that shaped him as a leader, from underpricing his services and hiring the wrong peop...
Larry Levine: The Relationships You Build Drive the Business You Grow
<p>Building Trust. Guarding Your Time. Getting Back to the Basics.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing with Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Larry Levine, Author, Podcast host, and Co-Founder of the agency Selling from the Heart, all of which speak to the issue of founder development, and how they can modernize their approach to sales without losing their authenticity and personal touch.</p> <p>Drawing on more than three decades in sales, Larry explains why nobody should be able to “out-care” you and why trust, empathy and genuine connection produce real business results. He shares how he built Sell...
Sam Adiv: The Culture You Build Is the Company You Become
<p >Building Community. Leading with Intention. Staying Human in the Age of AI.</p> <p >In this episode of Growing with Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Sam Adiv, Founder and CEO of OpenTent and the Community Builder Group, about creating a company rooted in relationships, meaningful rituals and genuine community.</p> <p>Sam shares how his original plan to become a rabbi unexpectedly led him into entrepreneurship. After teaching himself Salesforce to support a community-building nonprofit, he began helping other organizations improve their systems. What started as a side project grew into OpenTent, where Sam found a new way to...
Nenuca Syquia: Better by Design, Building a Company People Would Pay to Work At
<p>From Corporate to Founder. Navigating Growth. Building with Intention.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing With Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Nenuca Syquia, Founder and CEO of Better Organizations by Design (BOxD), about building a business that grows without losing sight of what matters most.</p> <p>Nenuca shares her journey from corporate leadership to launching BOxD just before the pandemic, stepping into entrepreneurship without a network and building a client base from scratch. What began as a desire to do more meaningful work quickly became a test of resilience, as she navigated uncertainty, rejection and the realities...
Adria Marshall: Scaling a Business While Staying True to Your Values
<p>From Side Hustle to Purpose-Driven Growth. Staying True to What Matters. Building with Intention.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing With Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Adria Marshall, Founder of EcoSlay, about building a business rooted in values, sustainability, and community.</p> <p>Adria shares her journey from engineer to accidental entrepreneur, creating her own haircare products in her kitchen after struggling to find options that truly worked for her. What began as a personal experiment quickly turned into something much bigger, with orders flooding in almost overnight and forcing her to navigate rapid growth in real time.<...
Brandon Neely: Profit, Purpose, and the Discipline to Build What Lasts
<p>Profit. Purpose. Financial Clarity.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing With Purpose, Jean Moncrieff sits down with Brandon Neely, real estate investor, entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CEO of Wealth Wisdom Financial and founder of Counterflow, for an honest conversation about money, systems, and what it really takes to build a business that lasts.</p> <p>Brandon shares the story of launching a purpose-driven coffee shop during the 2008 financial crisis, bootstrapping the business through community support, and navigating personal hardship, financial strain, and a flood that nearly wiped everything out. That season reshaped how he thinks about profit, stability, and...
Ashish Kothari: Rethinking Success, Happiness, and Leadership
<p>High Performance. High Well-Being. Redefining Success.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing With Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with Ashish Kothari, Founder and CEO of Happiness Squad, about success, well-being, and what it truly means to live and lead a meaningful life.</p> <p>Ashish reflects on his journey from a high-pressure career at McKinsey to a deeper exploration of happiness, purpose, and human connection. He shares how anxiety and burnout became powerful catalysts for personal transformation, and why redefining success is essential for leaders who want to sustain both high performance and a fulfilling life.</p> <p>This...
John Costello: Letting Go to Build a Company That Lasts
<p>Leading with Purpose. Building a Values-Driven Business.</p> <p>In this episode of Growing With Purpose, Jean Moncrieff speaks with John Costello, owner of Cherry’s Industrial Equipment Corp, about his leadership journey and the evolution of building a values-driven company.</p> <p>John reflects on aligning personal and company values, navigating the emotional challenges of ownership, and learning how to let go in order to empower others. He shares why transparency, gratitude, and employee well-being are foundational to strong business culture, and why running a purpose-driven company is harder, but ultimately more fulfilling.</p> <p>This conversation explores th...
