No writing block needed. In this episode of Conversations with SuE, Jesse sits down with Farrah Mitra—executive coach, former Bain consultant, and one of only 15 certified Radical Candor facilitators globally.

Farrah shares her unique career journey from strategy consulting to building people and culture functions in hypergrowth tech companies, and now coaching leaders on how to communicate with clarity and empathy.

The conversation explores her Communicating Challenges and Change Framework, designed to help leaders deliver difficult messages in a way that is both kind and clear—especially in today’s fast-changing, high-pressure environments.

You’ll learn:

• How to balance empathy with directness in leadership communication
• Why mindset matters just as much as skillset
• A practical approach to navigating tough conversations with confidence
• Real-world examples of delivering feedback and driving change
  

If you're a leader, operator, or manager navigating constant change, this episode offers actionable insights you can apply immediately.

In this episode of Becoming Better, Jesse sits down with Meica Hatters — Talent Strategy & Senior Program Partner at Restaurant365 and VP of Member Experience at StartupExperts.

Meica shares what drives her passion for building meaningful communities and why she chose to invest her time in StartupExperts’ leadership team. From growing membership engagement in past organizations to leading a team of 40+ volunteers today, she offers a behind-the-scenes look at how SuE structures the member journey — from onboarding to leadership circles to social impact initiatives.

The conversation explores:

• Why relationship — not programming — is the true point of community
  
• How the Go-Giver philosophy shapes SuE’s culture
  
• What it takes to move from passive membership to active participation
  
• How StartupExperts is building systems to scale without losing connection
  
• The importance of designing touchpoints for both in-person and virtual members
  

Meica also shares how her team is reimagining onboarding through a “gifts conversation” approach — asking members what they want to contribute, not just what they want to receive.

If you care about leadership, community-building, and creating spaces where operators genuinely support one another, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe for more conversations with leaders from the StartupExperts community!

In this episode of Becoming Better, Jesse sits down with Clay Steele from HiBob for a candid conversation about trust, authenticity, and what it really means to build relationships in sales.

Clay shares the personal experiences that shaped his approach to connection — from teaching English in rural Thailand to fostering dogs to learning from his mother that real success is measured by impact on other people’s lives.

Together, he and Jesse explore why so few buyers fully trust sales reps, how great sellers earn credibility, and what both buyers and vendors can do to run a better process.

They also discuss:
- How authenticity shows up under pressure
- Why honesty matters more than hype
- What separates a strong HR buyer from a weak one
- How to give and receive feedback in a sales process
- The questions HR leaders should ask when evaluating technology partners
- Why great sales is really about helping people make the right decision — even when it doesn’t benefit you directly

This conversation is thoughtful, practical, and deeply human — a strong listen for anyone who works in partnerships, HR tech, or trust-based selling.

In this episode of Becoming Better with StartupExperts, Jesse Freese sits down with Maggie Ruvoldt, Chief Human Resources Officer at LEARN Behavioral and one of StartupExperts’ 25 Leaders to Follow in 2025.

With over 30 years of experience in HR, Maggie shares her journey from aspiring social worker to becoming a seasoned people leader who believes that HR sits at the heart of every great business. She opens up about the power of feedback, the importance of courage in difficult moments, and the subtle ways our language shapes how we lead.

Together, Jesse and Maggie explore what it means to stay truly open to learning — even when we think we already are — and how to navigate the evolving intersection between human leadership and AI. Maggie also reflects on the art of building genuine relationships, offering timeless advice: “Treat your network like a bank account — make deposits when you don’t need it.”

It’s a thoughtful, grounded conversation about growth, humility, and the strength that comes from leading with empathy and intention.

In this episode, we chat with the team at ApplyAI about how they’re making AI more approachable and actionable for professionals. From common misconceptions to real-world use cases, we explore how teams can confidently integrate AI into their workflows—and what leaders need to know to stay ahead.

In this “25 Leaders to Follow in 2025” edition of Becoming Better with StartupExperts, Jesse Freese spotlights Patrick Sutton—his pivot from film to people leadership, two decades across Fortune 500, public sector, startups, and back again, and the people-first philosophy that anchors his work. Patrick opens up about the habits that shaped him (including his “1% better every day” lens), hard-won lessons on balance, and his forthcoming book inviting leaders to trade the unicorn myth for legendary leadership—with a teaser from the chapter “The Seduction of Complacency.” This conversation is all about Patrick’s story, his craft, and how he’s helping leaders show up with empathy and intention.

In this episode of Becoming Better with StartupExperts, we sit down with Adriana Asdourian, a purpose-driven leader at Sequoia Social Impact, to explore how companies can embed social good into their core strategies—not just their CSR decks.

Adriana shares her perspective on what it means to build cultures that align performance with purpose, how impact initiatives can drive business growth, and why intention matters more than perfection. Whether you're leading People, Ops, or Finance, her insights will challenge and inspire you to lead with greater clarity, conviction, and care.

Tune in for a thoughtful, practical conversation on building better companies—inside and out.

This is the first episode of our new Becoming Better with StartupExperts podcast and we're excited to host the amazing Payal Maheshwari. Payal is a People Leader with many years of experience, an infectious energy, yet what intrigues us most is her background and how she arrived at becoming an HR Leader and Coach. Over the least few years, Payal has made a meaningful contribution to the StartupExperts Community as a member of our Executive Leadership team, she helped build and support our Portfolio Support Program, and now she's focused on a special project that we will announce soon. We also have her to thank for us being on Slack. In short, she's amazing and an obvious choice to be our first guest.