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Breaking Precedent

Breaking Precedent

By: Leah Solivan
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Welcome to Breaking Precedent, the podcast that dives deep into the stories of trailblazers, innovators, and game-changers who are redefining societal precedents. Join us as we sit down with extraordinary individuals who are pushing the boundaries of social norms, challenging precedents, and setting new ones in their fields. Whether it’s in technology, art, social justice, or beyond, Breaking Precedent is your source of inspiration for understanding how precedents are broken and new paths are forged.© 2026 Leah Solivan Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • Breaking the Waiting Room: Heather Fernandez on Fixing How We Find Care

    Breaking the Waiting Room: Heather Fernandez on Fixing How We Find Care
    29 Oct 2026
    Why do we accept broken systems as normal?On Breaking Precedent, Leah Solivan talks with Heather Fernandez, co-founder of Solv, about a career spent questioning the systems everyone else accepts. It started in elementary school, when she asked the monsignor at her church why she couldn't be an altar girl. The daughter of immigrant parents, Heather bought a one-way ticket to Washington, DC after graduating from Cal and landed her first job as deputy press secretary for a freshman congressman from Arizona, where she learned that even the people with the most power are figuring it out as they go. From there she moved into tech PR, Stanford Business School and Morgan Stanley before joining Trulia when it was 12 people in a room. Over ten years she went from marketing to running sales to owning Trulia's core B2B business, through its $2.5 billion acquisition by Zillow.Heather explains why she walked away from the obvious next move to start Solv as a healthcare outsider, built around three simple questions: Where should I go? When can I be seen? How much will it cost? She and Leah dig into urgent care as everyday healthcare for millions of Americans, why the industry was so unhelpful to newcomers, how naming users like Mary the mom and Faith at the front desk shaped the product, helping power COVID testing sites during the pandemic, and why she believes not knowing what care costs will soon seem absurd.Key InsightsEven the people with the most power are figuring it out as they go. Seeing that early takes away the intimidation.Startups let you try on hats no one else would hand you. Heather went from marketing to running sales by asking for the job.Equity changes who gets to take risks. Trulia's cap table is what let Heather start Solv, and why Solv opened its Captain Marvel SPV to women.In healthcare, start with a real problem you can solve and a clear path to expand it.You can't fix the patient experience without reducing friction for the front desk and the clinic.The next decade will reward the doers.Timestamps00:00 Cold Open 00:43 Welcome 02:08 The Altar Girl Question 03:25 Candor and Immigrant Grit 07:45 A One-Way Ticket to DC 11:10 Everyone Is Figuring It Out 11:20 “Even the people with the most power are figuring it out as they go.” — Heather Fernandez 15:28 From Politics to Tech 19:05 Finding Trulia 22:45 From Marketing to Running Sales 26:05 Equity and the Captain Marvel SPV 27:25 Why Healthcare 32:35 Where, When, and How Much 35:10 Urgent Care Is Everyday Healthcare 38:28 Proximity to Power 41:20 Start Small, Create a Wave 43:25 Complexity as a Moat 46:45 Mary, Faith, and Olivia 50:50 COVID Stress Test 54:15 What Stuck After COVID 56:25 Price Transparency Is Next: Zero or $800 59:25 Why She's an AI Optimist 01:04:10 Misconceptions About Scale 01:05:32 The Next Decade Belongs to Doers 01:07:55 Rapid Fire 01:08:55 Stop Waiting for Permission 01:09:55 ClosingResources MentionedSolv: https://www.solvhealth.com/ Heather Fernandez on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherfernandezThank you to our Precedent Breaking Partners!Squared Away: gosquaredaway.com/breakingprecedent?utm_source=breakingprecedent&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=breakingprecedent&utm_content=podcast TaskRabbit: taskrabbit.com/?utm_source=breakingprecedent&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=breakingprecedent&utm_content=podcast Justworks: justworks.com/?utm_source=breakingprecedent&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=breakingprecedent&utm_content=podcastLeah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah Solivan is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah Solivan has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah Solivan founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.Connect with Leah Solivan:Website: breakingprecedent.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_solivan/ X: https://twitter.com/labunleashed?lang=en
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    1 hr and 11 min
  • Break the Backboard: Festus Ezeli on Championships, Reinvention, and Life After the NBA

    Break the Backboard: Festus Ezeli on Championships, Reinvention, and Life After the NBA
    22 Oct 2026
    What happens when the kid who scored his first basket on his own team becomes an NBA champion, and then has to start over again?On Breaking Precedent, Leah Solivan talks with former Golden State Warrior Festus Ezeli about a journey nobody could have scripted. Festus grew up in Benin City, Nigeria, finished high school at 14, and moved alone to Yuba City, California, to live with his uncle and chase a dream of becoming a doctor. Strangers kept asking the 6'4" teenager if he played basketball. He didn't, until he scored his first basket on his own team and got cut from his high school team. With a mentor who believed in him before he believed in himself, he embraced being a beginner, turned down Harvard for Vanderbilt, switched from pre-med to economics, and became a first-round NBA draft pick. He shares what he learned from Steph Curry's early-morning work ethic and a Warriors team where nobody cared who got the glory.Then came the injury: early retirement and six months in a wheelchair, a year after playing in the NBA Finals. Festus opens up about his mom's lesson on moving mountains, finding his voice again in media and storytelling, and the work he's building now: schools in Nigeria and Sacramento, leadership and basketball camps in Africa, Festus Feasts and The Vision Table supporting local restaurants, and his push to rewrite what life after sports can look like.Key InsightsBeing a beginner can be a superpower when it makes you listen and do whatever it takes to improve.Sometimes you have to believe in someone else's belief in you until yours kicks in.Greatness lives in small daily habits that nobody sees.It's amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the glory.A career-ending injury doesn't have to be a life-ending one. The skills transfer.Privilege comes with a responsibility to create opportunity for others.Timestamps00:00 Cold Open: “God Gave You Your Mountains” 01:10 Leah’s Introduction 02:40 Welcome and Reunion 03:10 Ballet Night Backstage 04:20 Bread and Tea in Nigeria 05:55 Growing Up in Benin City 08:15 The Tortoise and the Hare 09:40 The Meaning of Ifeanyichukwu 11:10 Moving to America Alone at 14 15:40 “Do You Play Basketball?” 17:20 Scoring on His Own Team 18:40 The Mentor Who Believed First 20:40 Being a Beginner as a Superpower 22:40 Turning Down Harvard for Vanderbilt 24:45 Choosing Basketball over Medicine 26:40 Two-Time Most Improved 27:45 Trusting Your Intuition 28:40 Steph Curry's Work Ethic 31:05 Nobody Cares Who Gets the Glory 32:00 Injury and Early Retirement 32:55 Finding Joy in Storytelling 36:15 Six Months in a Wheelchair 37:10 “This life is short, and it's our job to take advantage of the moment while it's here.” — Festus Ezeli 38:50 Mom's Mountain Lesson 40:55 A Podcast About Comebacks 41:45 Schools and Camps 44:50 The Kid Who Showed Up Early 47:10 The Ripple Effect 49:25 Festus Feasts 52:25 The Vision Table 54:15 Rewriting Life After Sports 54:50 Why Kids' Education Is Urgent 55:35 Women's Sports 58:30 Legacy and Final TakeawaysThank you to our Precedent Breaking Partners!Justworks: justworks.com/?utm_source=breakingprecedent&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=breakingprecedent&utm_content=podcast Squared Away: gosquaredaway.com/breakingprecedent?utm_source=breakingprecedent&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=breakingprecedent&utm_content=podcast TaskRabbit: taskrabbit.com/?utm_source=breakingprecedent&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=breakingprecedent&utm_content=podcastLeah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah Solivan is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah Solivan has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah Solivan founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.Connect with Leah Solivan:Website: breakingprecedent.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_solivan/ X: https://twitter.com/labunleashed?lang=en
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    1 hr and 10 min
  • Breaking Up the Boys' Club: Stephanie Cartin on Building the Entreprenista Movement

    Breaking Up the Boys' Club: Stephanie Cartin on Building the Entreprenista Movement
    15 Oct 2026

    What does it take to quit your job, skip venture capital entirely, and build two seven-figure businesses on relationships alone?

    On Breaking Precedent, Leah Solivan talks with Stephanie Cartin, co-founder of Socialfly and Entreprenista, about the day she and co-founder Courtney quit their jobs, May 4, 2012, after ten months of building a social media agency on nights and weekends. Stephanie traces the thread from performing as a child actress in the Washington, DC area, to a Disney Vacation Club presentation at age 11 that led her to Cornell's hotel school and a career at Marriott, to spotting social media's business potential as an early Facebook user. She explains how one networking group, mentor Carrie Kerpen, and the book Built to Sell shaped a fully bootstrapped, all-women agency that grew to seven figures without outside funding.

    Stephanie then shares why she split from the agency in 2021 to build Entreprenista into a media company and membership community, the Entreprenista League, now 4,500 members strong, focused on connection, resources, and visibility. She and Leah dig into what still holds women founders back, alternative paths to capital, why AI is leveling the playing field for small businesses, and why she believes real human connection, and in-person community, is the opportunity AI can't replace.

    Key Insights

    • A calculated leap is different from a reckless one: Stephanie and Courtney built for ten months on the side and made a plan before quitting.
    • Relationships compound. A contact from age 11, a friend's mom's old client, and one networking group opened nearly every early door.
    • You don't need to be the smartest person in the room. Learn from people who have already built businesses, even in other industries.
    • Bootstrapping is a real strategy. Most women-owned businesses are not venture-funded, and debt can work when it funds real growth.
    • Build a sellable asset, not just a job for yourself.
    • AI can level the playing field on operations, but it can't replace human connection.

    Timestamps

    00:00 Welcome To Breaking Precedent

    00:47 Meet Leah And Stephanie

    02:59 Broadway Dreams To Hospitality

    05:01 Disney Spark And Cornell Path

    07:09 Spotting Social Media Early

    10:29 Gut Instinct And Trend Timing

    11:40 Theater Skills In Business

    13:39 Going All In On Socialfly

    16:01 First Clients Through Networking

    18:30 Bootstrapping And Women Led Agency

    20:36 Mentorship With Carrie Kerpen

    22:56 Selling Socialfly Tease

    23:17 Building to Sell Mindset

    24:49 Why EntrepreNista Started

    25:47 Pandemic Pivot and Split

    27:32 League Solves Founder Gaps

    29:31 Writing a Credibility Book

    32:13 What Still Holds Women Back

    36:47 AI Tools and Human Connection

    39:54 Future Vision and IRL Growth

    43:38 Next Gen Rules to Break

    45:52 Closing Reflections

    Resources Mentioned

    Entreprenista: entreprenista.com

    Thank you to our Precedent Breaking Partners!

    TaskRabbit: taskrabbit.com

    Justworks: justworks.com

    Squared Away: gosquaredaway.com/breakingprecedent

    Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah Solivan is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah Solivan has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah Solivan founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world.

    Connect with Leah Solivan:

    Website: breakingprecedent.com

    Instagram: instagram.com/leah_solivan

    X: twitter.com/labunleashed
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    47 min
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