Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 40: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Phillip Stucki about turning a personal passion into a business, balancing entrepreneurship and family, building systems for sustainable growth.
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Phillip Stucki was a former Adidas employee who spent the last 10 years transforming building his fitness coaching business full-time. He is the founder of Proving Grounds and content creator of FitDad Phil.

Chapters

• 00:00 Background and Introduction
• 06:50 Challenges of Entrepreneurship
• 08:45 Understanding Client Goals
• 11:29 Balancing Family and Fitness
• 18:37 Working with an Appointment Setter
• 24:00 Final Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.

Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 39: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Cecilia Arbelaez Perez (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciliaarbelaez87/) about what sales really looks like when you take the pressure, ego and stereotypes out of the equation.


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Cecilia Arbeláez Perez is a co-founder of Pulse Level Up, a fractional revenue enablement firm helping companies bridge the gap between sales strategy and day-to-day execution.

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Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Cecilia Arvelaez Perez
• 06:40 Challenges in Sales
• 23:42 Cultural Perspectives on Sales
• 25:34 Common Misconceptions in Sales
• 31:14 Integrating AI in Sales Processes
• 36:21 Team Structure and Specialization
• 46:00 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.

Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 38: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Vitalis Mutwiri (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitalismutwiri/) about building an early-stage education technology startup, navigating limited resources, assembling a team, engaging education stakeholders, and finding the balance between AI and human reasoning.

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Vitalis Mutwiri is a Kenyan entrepreneur and co-founder of Eduyetu, an AI-powered EdTech platform using 3D models and augmented reality to make STEM education more visual, interactive, and accessible.

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Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Business Overview
• 06:30 Business Goals and Hiring Models
• 23:03 Education Technology and STEM Concepts
• 27:06 AI and Education

--

Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.

Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald ) talks to Tom Simic (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-simic-66b897a0/ ) about building a business from the ground up, the financial strategies that drive profitability, scaling a virtual CFO firm, and the lessons learned from hiring and managing remote talent.

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Tom Simic is the founder of Simic Financial, a virtual CFO advisory business helping startups and ambitious businesses improve profitability, cash flow, and financial clarity.

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Chapters

• 00:00 Evolution of Simic Financial
• 24:11 Building a Network and Setting Goals
• 27:36 Expanding the Team and Operational Setup
• 28:57 Challenges of Offshore Hiring and Team Building
• 35:14 Training and Marketing Challenges

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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.

Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 36: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Iain Cahill ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/gewardzhealth/) about using AI to transform productivity, building businesses around customer needs, and strategically using offshore talent to scale during a critical growth phase

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Ian Cahill is the founder of Gewardz Health and the soon-to-launch digital healthcare platform ViscaCare, a digital health membership and workplace GP access based in Ireland.

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Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Background
• 11:06 Challenges of Healthcare Accessibility
• 21:35 Personal Journey Before Gewardz Health
• 21:49 The Entrepreneurial Journey
• 26:30 The Impact of AI on Businesses

--

Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.

Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 35: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Charles Cormier (https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlescormierfounder/) about inding product-market fit, the importance of sales and choosing the right ICP, using podcasts to generate qualified leads, building companies around AI, and his unconventional approach to recruiting partners through client relationships.

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Charles Cormier is a serial entrepreneur, ultra athlete, 3x Ironman finisher and founder building multiple ventures around lead generation, podcasts, and AI, after launching more than 100 companies and experiments over the past decade.

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Chapters

• 00:00 Entrepreneurial Journey and Product Market Fit
• 05:18 Traits of Successful Founders
• 07:34 Sales and Cold Calling
• 10:42 Lessons from Business Failures
• 16:54 Balancing Multiple Ventures
• 31:06 AI in Business Operations
• 36:10 Future Growth and Advice

Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 34: Ben Deckey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-deckey/) talks to Ravid Razak (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravidrazak/) about the impact of AI on the industry, the pivot in the business model, valuable insights into the operational structure, outsourcing, and work-life balance as a founder.

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Ravid Razak is the founder and CEO of DreamItReel, a video production company that has grown over 11 years from affordable consumer videos into work for major brands. He’s a former management consultant turned creative operator who now focuses on staying ahead of AI while keeping the business lean, high-touch, and human-centered.

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Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to DreamItReel
• 01:08 Transition from Consulting to Videography
• 03:05 Pivoting the Business Model
• 05:35 Impact of AI on the Industry
• 16:24 Operational Structure and Outsourcing
• 21:11 Challenges and Focus Areas
• 23:29 Remote Team and Work-Life Balance

--

Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.

Hire amazing offshore staff: https://cherryassistant.com
Work with South African talent: https://hirenile.com

Episode 33: Carmen Dörwald (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmendoerwald/) talks to Chris Gulotta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-gulotta/) about the misconceptions, challenges of AI and the importance of balancing efficiency and the human element.

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Chris Gulotta is the founder of NxtLayr.AI, a business helping companies understand, build, and implement AI-based systems to improve their workflows, productivity, and operations.

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Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Business Journey
• 02:38 Motivation to Start Next Layer AI
• 05:22 Consultation Services and Three-Pillared Approach
• 13:22 Misconceptions and Challenges of AI
• 22:16 AI Receptionists and Customer Care Specialists
• 27:28 Advice for Business Founders

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Behind the Founder is a Cherry Assistant Original Podcast // Brought to you by Cherry Assistant.