In episode 36 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Landon Lynch, founder and principal of Motive, to explore what it really takes to build high-performing leaders and scalable organizations.

Landon shares his unconventional path from nonprofit leadership into executive coaching and consulting, where he now works with founder CEOs, investor-backed companies, and leadership teams to strengthen their “people infrastructure.” The conversation dives into the realities of leadership development—why defining your personal version of success is foundational, and how effective coaching goes beyond frameworks into real behavioral change.

A major theme throughout the episode is the intersection of leadership and AI. Landon explains why AI adoption is less about technology and more about change management, and how leaders can use it to enhance decision-making, streamline operations, and even improve personal relationships—like using AI to facilitate better financial conversations at home.

Laurie and Landon also unpack:

• The challenges of scaling a service-based business beyond the founder
• How to build and position a high-impact team
• Why executive assistants can become profit centers when paired with automation
• The power of weekly automation thinking (“What are you automating this week?”)
• Risk-taking in business, including when it makes sense to work below market rate for the right opportunities

Landon closes with a powerful leadership insight: the importance of embedding consistent feedback loops into everyday operations—not as a formality, but as a core system for growth, accountability, and performance.

This episode is a deep dive into building companies that scale through people, not just processes—and how the best leaders combine strategy, self-awareness, and adaptability to win long-term.

QUOTES

• "If you can lead volunteers, you can lead anybody, because you don't get to hang a paycheck over their head." - Landon Lynch
• "At the heart of the AI question, it's not primarily a tech question. It needs to be reframed first and foremost as a leadership and a change management question." - Landon Lynch

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Landon Lynch

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landonclynch/

Motiv People Strategies: https://www.motivstrat.com/our-team

WEBSITES

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

In episode 35 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen talks with Anekha Sokhal, founder of Moshi, an AI startup building an “AI super analyst” for financial investors. Anekha shares how her path from J.P. Morgan trader to machine learning researcher at Rice University led her to raise venture capital and launch a company at the intersection of finance, data science, and AI. They discuss how Moshi is using both classical machine learning and generative AI, why AI safety and data governance matter so much in enterprise environments, and what it takes to build a startup team that is truly bought into the mission. The conversation also dives into Anekha’s refreshing philosophy on risk: that the real danger is not taking the leap, but settling for a life that feels mediocre or misaligned. It’s an inspiring conversation about ambition, intuition, innovation, and building the future on your own terms.

Tune in to discover insights from a trailblazing female founder and her vision for the future of financial analysis.

QUOTES

• "For me, a risk is staying in something that you're frustrated in, and you're unhappy in." -Anehka Sokhal
• "Taking venture capital money has a different type of progression for the company and opens so many more doors compared to just running a company and bootstrapping it." -Anehka Sokhal

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Anekha Sokhal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anekha/

Moshi Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moshi-space/

WEBSITES

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

In episode 34 of Built by Margin, Laurie sits down with Jennie Lopez, Founder and CEO of Intentional Unicorn, to talk about what it really means to bet on yourself, build in alignment, and make decisions rooted in authenticity rather than fear. Jennie shares her journey from a 23-year corporate career spanning chemical engineering, operations, and global talent leadership into entrepreneurship, motivational speaking, and authorship, explaining how intuition, intentionality, and bold risk-taking shaped her path. Together, Laurie and Jennie explore the realities of leaving stability behind, writing a book, scaling a coaching business, using AI as a modern entrepreneur, and defining success on your own terms — all through the lens of growth, impact, and building a life that feels fully aligned.

Tune in for an inspiring discussion on how Jennie Lopez built an Intentional Unicorn, from chemical engineer to motivational speaker and founder, and leaving a favorite job to build a business.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01:05] Leaving a favorite job to build a business.

[00:02:04] Chemical engineer with a dual career.

[00:04:42] Memoir exercise inspires Intentional Unicorn.

[00:08:13] Authenticity plus intentionality equals impact.

[00:09:35] Turning corporate truth into a book.

[00:10:32] Writing every Saturday at Starbucks.

[00:15:26] Risk of leaving corporate as a Latina.

[00:18:23] There is no right or wrong decision.

[00:21:04] Proof of concept before going all in.

[00:24:31] App idea sparked during hospital wait.

[00:30:19] Using Manus for deep research.

QUOTES

• "I wanted to see how I can reach out to more and more people." -Jennie Lopez
• "Authenticity plus intentionality equals impact." -Jennie Lopez
• "You just create an ecosystem, a family, a community, a relationship that is so powerful that you want the person to choose to stay with you." -Jennie Lopez

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Risk Worthy: https://www.riskworthy.co/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Jennie Lopez

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intentionalunicorn/

TEDx Talk: The Lie of Fitting In

Website: https://www.jennielopez.com/