Episodes

  • When a Market Disappears Overnight

    When a Market Disappears Overnight
    Dec 24 2025
    One day you're running a thriving business, and the next, a global event, a new technology, or a sudden shift in culture makes your entire market obsolete. Your phones stop ringing, your orders dry up, and the demand you built your life's work on has vanished into thin air.

    It's the ultimate business nightmare, and for many, it's a reality.In this episode, we examine the stories of businesses that survived the apocalypse. From distillers that switched to making hand sanitizer during COVID-19 to companies that navigated the death of their industries, we're uncovering the playbook for resilience. You'll learn the strategies for a rapid pivot, the importance of a diversified business model, and the psychological fortitude required to lead a team when your market disappears overnight.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    40 mins
  • What Cashflow Ignorance Looks Like

    What Cashflow Ignorance Looks Like
    Dec 21 2025
    You can have the best product in the world, a brilliant team, and record-breaking sales, but none of that matters if you run out of cash. It's the silent killer of more businesses than any other factor, a slow-moving crisis that often goes unnoticed until it's too late.

    A profitable business can go bankrupt every day, but a business with positive cash flow is immortal.In this episode, we're diving headfirst into the messy, terrifying world of cash flow mismanagement. We'll explore the catastrophic mistakes that cause founders to stare at an empty bank account despite having a "profitable" company. You'll learn the difference between profit and cash, the practical steps to forecast your finances, and the emergency levers you can pull to rescue your business from the brink of collapse.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    36 mins
  • The Pivot That Failed

    The Pivot That Failed
    Dec 17 2025
    In the startup world, the "pivot" is glorified as a brilliant, company-saving maneuver. But what happens when it's the pivot itself that kills the company?

    For every Slack that rose from the ashes of a failed video game, there are countless others that pivoted straight into a wall, burning their last dollars on a desperate, untested idea.This episode is a post-mortem on the pivot that failed. We're dissecting the stories of companies that made things worse by abandoning their core mission without a life raft. You'll learn the difference between a strategic pivot and a panic-driven lurch, how to test a new direction for less than the price of a fancy dinner, and the critical signs that tell you when to persevere instead of pivot.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    35 mins
  • Scaling Mistakes: We Hired the Wrong VP

    Scaling Mistakes: We Hired the Wrong VP
    Dec 14 2025
    You've finally reached the stage where you need to bring in the "adults"—the experienced VPs who will help you scale. You hire a star with a flawless resume from a FAANG company, but within six months, your culture is in ruins, your best people are quitting, and you're burning through cash.

    You've just made the single most expensive mistake a scaling startup can make: you hired the wrong VP.This episode is a post-mortem on the catastrophic executive mis-hire. We'll break down why a great resume can be a red flag, how to distinguish between a "scaler" and a "maintainer," and the painful but necessary steps to recover after a key leadership hire goes toxic. This is an essential guide to building your leadership team and protecting the culture that got you here in the first place.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    39 mins
  • Founder Fraud & the Aftermath

    Founder Fraud & the Aftermath
    Dec 10 2025

    There's a fine line between "fake it 'til you make it" and outright fraud. But what happens when a charismatic founder crosses that line, taking billions in investor money and the careers of hundreds of employees with them? From Theranos's non-existent technology to Wirecard's fabricated billions, the story of founder fraud is a dark and cautionary tale of ambition curdling into deception.

    This episode goes beyond the headlines to explore the anatomy of a catastrophic founder fraud. We'll look at the psychological tactics used to deceive sophisticated investors, the high-pressure culture that silences whistleblowers, and the devastating human cost for the employees and customers left in the wreckage. This is a story about ethics, accountability, and what it takes to rebuild trust after the ultimate betrayal.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    26 mins
  • When PR Collapses a Company Overnight

    When PR Collapses a Company Overnight
    Dec 7 2025
    It takes years to build a trusted brand, but in the age of social media, it only takes a few hours to burn it to the ground. One bad tweet, one viral video, one disastrous event can unleash a firestorm of public outrage that no amount of marketing can fix.

    From the sandy beaches of the Fyre Festival to the aisles of a United Airlines flight, the evidence is clear: how you handle a crisis is your brand.In this episode, we open the crisis management playbook by dissecting the most infamous PR disasters in recent memory. We’ll analyze the fatal mistakes made in the first critical hours and contrast them with the gold-standard responses that saved companies from ruin. You'll learn the three things you must do immediately when things go wrong, why a lawyer’s first advice is often the worst, and how transparency, not silence, is the only way to survive.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    26 mins
  • The Regulatory Trap: When Laws Kill Great Products

    The Regulatory Trap: When Laws Kill Great Products
    Dec 3 2025
    Your product is brilliant. Your team is world-class. Your customers love you. But you've just received a cease-and-desist letter from a three-letter government agency, and your business is about to be wiped out.

    This is the regulatory trap—the sudden, brutal reality check for innovators who believe a great product is enough to win.In this episode, we explore the stories of promising companies that were brought to their knees by laws they didn't see coming. From the TV streaming service killed by the Supreme Court to the genetics company halted by the FDA, you'll learn how to spot regulatory risks early, the difference between disrupting a market and breaking the law, and how some companies turn regulatory hurdles into their greatest competitive advantage. This is a crucial lesson in why your first hire shouldn't always be an engineer, but maybe a lawyer.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    32 mins
  • When Brilliant Ideas Become Bad Businesses

    When Brilliant Ideas Become Bad Businesses
    Nov 30 2025
    We've all heard the pitch for a world-changing idea and thought, "That's brilliant!" But what happens when that brilliant idea raises $120 million and still goes bankrupt? The startup graveyard is filled with incredible products that were destined to fail from day one, not because of the team or the tech, but because of the math.

    In this episode, we're conducting a business autopsy on brilliant ideas that became bad businesses. Forget the glamour of the launch; we're diving into the unsexy but critical reasons for failure: fatally flawed unit economics, a market size that was never big enough, and solving a problem that nobody was willing to pay for. You'll learn the diagnostic questions to ask before you write a single line of code, so your brilliant idea doesn't become another cautionary tale.

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-unfiltered-pivot--6743504/support.
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    38 mins