Welcome back to Life from Within. In this episode, I chat with Lara O'Connor Hodgson, the CEO of ROXWrite. We talk about her journey as a contrarian thinker and how her background in aerospace engineering shaped her unique approach to solving complex problems in startups.

We also discuss how to foster innovation, the importance of doing something different and how she is currently using AI to revolutionize risk assessment in the lending world. If you’ve ever wanted to challenge the status quo in your organization, this episode is for you.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• How to navigate business challenges that feel overwhelming.
• How to create a safe space for teams to experiment and ideate without fear.
• How ROXWrite is leading the lending industry by using AI to look at risk through a completely different lens.
• How to build the muscle for navigating uncertainty in your own career.

Chapters

00:00 | Introduction to Engineering Mindset and Liberal Arts Personality

04:40 | The Strengths and Weaknesses of Compassionate Leadership

06:34 | Hiring for Mindsets vs. Skill Sets

11:55 | Navigating Team Dynamics and Cultural Fit

18:05 | Developing Comfort with Conflict in Leadership

24:09 | The Importance of Intentional Culture

26:09 | The Difference Between the Collective Person and Individuals

31:40 | Introducing ROX Write: A New Venture

38:30 | The Role of a CEO in Team Building

Guest

Lara Hodgson currently serves as the CEO of RoxWrite, an innovative, AI-enabled underwriting platform to enable lenders and businesses to assess the risk of their customers. She is a rocket scientist, a contrarian and a serial entrepreneur with an engineering mind and a liberal arts personality, having founded 3 companies, Insomnia LLC, Nourish and NowAccount, prior to Rox. Before starting her first company, she worked at startups such as Dunk.net, founded with Shaquille O'Neal and at iXL where she learned she thrived in the ambiguity of start-ups. Lara is co-author of the best-selling book, "Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding your Business Back" and has served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School. She serves as a Trustee at Georgia Tech where she studied Aerospace Engineering and was a member of the Varsity Track and Field Team.

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

X: @laraohodgson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/level.up.2day/

Level Up Book: https://www.amazon.com/Level-Up-Hidden-Holding-Business/dp/0593539826

Host

Kelly Dwyer is an executive coach and facilitator. Through her podcast Life from Within, she opens up real conversations about personal growth, career crossroads, and the inner work of leadership. She created the show to explore the moments of courage and clarity that spark inner shifts and lead to meaningful outer progress.

In her coaching and facilitation practice, Kelly partners with thoughtful, influential leaders, including founders, C-suite executives, and rising leaders who shoulder significant responsibility and want to lead with grounded clarity and self-trust. She helps them return to what matters most, cut through the noise, and navigate inflection points with aligned conviction.

Kelly is a graduate of the University of Colorado and holds an MBA from Cornell...