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Tenacity with Sonia C.: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Sonia Couto
A top 2% globally ranked podcast about what it takes to build in business, leadership, and life. Tenacity is the discipline to keep building when the path is unclear, refusing to let fear, pressure, or uncertainty make your decisions for you. Every conversation digs into the pivots, failures, restarts, and the growth that came from them. Guests share what happened when things fell apart, what they did next, and what they learned the hard way, with actionable takeaways founders can apply to shape long-term success. Our guests are founders and leaders who have built and rebuilt after failure, started over after major life disruption, or built success in rooms not built for them. Hosted by Sonia Couto, a Toronto-based tech founder who has been starting over her whole life, rebuilding failed products, leading three companies through a breast cancer diagnosis, and turning every restart into something stronger.
Latest Episodes
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- 3 days ago32 min
Earning FAA Drone Certification When Underfunded with Beth Flippo
Beth Flippo, CEO of Drone Express, shares the real story behind building a drone delivery company and earning FAA drone certification with limited funding. She explains how a five year regulatory process, intense competition, and major setbacks became the very things that built a more resilient company. In this episode: • The personal problem that inspired the creation of Drone Express. • How Beth landed Kroger as her first customer by targeting a massive market. • Why she viewed strict FAA regulations as a collaborator, not an obstacle. • The leadership strategy she used to keep her team focused during long periods without obvious progress. • How the company navigated a critical parachute testing phase while running out of money. • The challenges of raising capital as a female founder in a male dominated industry. • Why she believes having it harder ultimately builds a stronger, more successful company. #founderstory #dronetechnology #entrepreneurship #faacertification #startuplife #womenintech #leadership #fundraising #businessstrategy #resilience #tenacitypodcast Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
- 1 weeks ago56 min
How to Intentionally Design Trust with Shawn Gibbs
Becoming a leader people naturally trust starts with becoming a stable, consistent presence who is confident in who they are. In this conversation, founder and medical provider Shawn Gibbs explains why the most trusted leaders are like cruise ships, not dinghies: steady and unwavering because they have done the internal work. Shawn shares lessons from his journey building companies, including GiveGowns, which redesigns hospital gowns to restore patient dignity. Drawing on his experience in both healthcare and entrepreneurship, Shawn explains why outcomes are determined long before a meeting or sale ever begins. He provides a clear framework for building trust intentionally, not just with customers, but within your team and in your leadership. Listeners will learn practical methods for improving communication, clarifying expectations, and creating a culture where people feel valued and understood. In this episode, you will learn: - The power of defining your desired outcome before any meeting or negotiation. - The story behind GiveGowns and how it restores confidence for patients. - A simple communication technique to ensure clear expectations and build trust. - Why intentionality is the key to designing trust into your company's culture. - How to help your team members grow, even if their goals are outside your company. - The one thing to start doing to become a leader people are naturally drawn to. This episode offers a clear guide to building trust with customers, patients, and your team. Follow Tenacity with Sonia C. for more honest conversations and practical lessons for founders. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
- 3 weeks ago35 min
Building Brand Authority in the Age of AI with Laurens Tijssen
Building brand authority in the age of AI requires a marketing ecosystem built on sustainable systems, not chasing the latest tools. In this conversation, branding and ecosystem strategist Laurens Tijssen explains how founders can create lasting market presence. He shares insights from his journey, which started with an online payment at age 14 and led to working with over 150 clients, including high profile entrepreneurs and global brands. Laurens explains why the fundamentals of business and branding still matter more than ever. Listeners will learn: - The marketing ecosystem framework of Attention, Interaction, and Transaction. - Why resourcefulness and strong fundamentals are more important than any single AI tool. - How to earn trust with high profile clients and build reputational capital. - The difference between strategic shortcuts and deceptive tactics that break trust. - Why Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is a critical focus for brands today. This episode offers a clear perspective on how to build a brand that grows stronger over time. If you are a founder working to build a more resilient and visible business, follow Tenacity with Sonia C. for more honest conversations and practical guidance. If you enjoyed this conversation, follow Tenacity with Sonia C Follow Our Socials: Website: https://soniacouto.com/podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TenacitywithSoniaC Host IG: https://www.instagram.com/soniactech Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
- 4 weeks ago31 min
The Science of Better Founder Decisions with Kylee Ingram
Making better founder decisions requires intentionally designing the process to include cognitive diversity and counteract common biases. In this episode, Sonia C. speaks with Kylee Ingram, a former international television producer who is now the CEO and co-founder of Wiser, a technology company focused on decision science. Kylee shares what she has learned about the science of group decision making from her work with clients like the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation and from her time inside technology accelerators. Kylee explains how founders can improve the quality of their choices by structuring the conversations that lead to them. She offers practical advice for building stronger, more effective teams. Listeners will learn: - The difference between personality and cognitive diversity, and why a mix of thinking styles leads to better outcomes. - Warning signs that your decision making process is flawed, including instant agreement and the influence of the loudest voice. - Why leaders and influential team members should speak last in a decision meeting. - How to find the right people to help you decide, even if you are a solo founder. - Common patterns from technology accelerators, including the dangers of mentor whiplash. For more honest conversations that provide practical insight for founders, follow Tenacity with Sonia C. on your favorite podcast app. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
- Aug 27, 202642 min
Your Brand Story Is Your Best Sales Asset
Our brand's authentic story is its most powerful sales asset because it builds human-to-human trust before the first sales call. In this episode, video strategist Graham Kuhn explains how founders can use strategic video, specifically a "brand story video," to shorten the sales cycle, escape the noise of AI-generated content, and connect with customers on a deeper level. Graham and Sonia discuss why so many founders struggle with video, confusing visibility with trust and hustle with clarity. Graham shares his framework for creating videos that don't just get views, but build credibility and drive revenue, even in complex B2B industries. He explains that you are always selling to a human, and your story is your biggest differentiator. In this conversation, you will learn: - Why your unique story is your most effective sales and marketing tool. - The difference between a generic "About Us" video and a high-impact brand story video. - A simple, practical technique to overcome the fear of being on camera. - How to use video to shorten the sales cycle and warm up potential clients. - Why authentic human connection is your best advantage in an age of AI. - How to identify and overcome imposter syndrome as a founder. If you enjoyed this conversation, follow Tenacity with Sonia C Follow Our Socials: Website: https://soniacouto.com/podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TenacitywithSoniaC Host IG: https://www.instagram.com/soniactech Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
- Aug 14, 202644 min
How Long Are You Going to Keep Calling It a Startup?
At some point, being scrappy stops being a strength. You have customers. You have a team. Maybe you've raised capital. Revenue is coming in. But you're still making every decision, solving every problem, chasing every task, and holding the company together yourself. So when does your startup actually become a company? In this episode of Tenacity with Sonia C., Sonia sits down with entrepreneur, investor, author, and business operator Scott Abbott for a candid conversation about what founders often get wrong when they try to scale. Scott has raised more than $35 million, built and led companies generating billions in sales, invested in startups, and learned some of his hardest lessons by making the mistakes himself, including being fired from his own company. Together, Sonia and Scott unpack the uncomfortable transition from startup hustle to operating discipline and why the habits that helped you survive the early days can eventually become the very things holding your company back. They get into why scrappiness has an expiration date, what happens when a business becomes too dependent on its founder, why founders need to understand cash flow and their numbers, and how better systems can actually create more freedom instead of more bureaucracy. They also talk about founder ego, coachability, burnout, AI as an operating tool, the responsibility that comes with taking outside capital, and why working harder isn't always the answer to a company that has stopped scaling. In this episode: • When scrappy startup culture starts hurting growth • Why some businesses stay stuck in “startup mode” for years • The difference between building a business and building a scalable company • Why founder dependency can become a liability • The financial numbers founders can't afford to ignore • What investors notice about founders who aren't as coachable as they think • Why systems and processes can give founders more freedom • How AI can support better operations without replacing leadership • Why hustle culture eventually catches up with founders • What Scott learned after being fired from his own company If your company is growing but everything still depends on you, this conversation is worth hearing. Because starting a company takes hustle. Building one that can survive without you takes something else. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
- Jul 30, 202624 min
I Went to Bed a Millionaire and Woke Up $800K in Debt
Every founder loves talking about the win. Very few talk about what it actually cost to get there. In this episode of Tenacity with Sonia C, entrepreneur, investor, and bestselling author Ari Rastegar shares the stories most founders never tell. From borrowing $3,500 while still in law school to believing he'd become a millionaire overnight, only to wake up $800,000 in debt, Ari opens up about the failures that shaped how he builds businesses today. This conversation goes beyond startup success. Ari explains why failure isn't the opposite of winning, it's the process that makes great founders. He shares how unexpected setbacks taught him to prepare for uncertainty, why every entrepreneur should stress-test their business before a crisis hits, and how rebuilding his health became just as important as rebuilding his companies. If you're building a startup, navigating uncertainty, recovering from a setback, or questioning whether the grind is worth it, this episode offers practical lessons from someone who's lived through both the highs and the lows. In this episode, you'll learn: -Why failure is one of the greatest advantages a founder can have -How Ari went from a $3,500 loan to building a multi-billion-dollar real estate business -The startup mistake that turned a million-dollar win into an $800,000 loss -How to prepare your business for black swan events and unexpected crises -Why hustle alone isn't enough to build a sustainable company -The mindset shift that helped Ari rebuild both his business and his health -What resilience actually looks like when you're under pressure If you've ever wondered whether you're the only founder struggling behind the scenes, this conversation is for you.
- Jul 22, 202645 min
I Let Go of the Business I Loved to Build the Company That Survived with Nick DAmbrosio
Every founder starts with a vision. Very few end up building the company they originally imagined. In this episode of Tenacity with Sonia C, Sonia sits down with Nick Damiano, Founder and CEO of Nomad GCS, to unpack what it really takes to keep a business alive through nearly two decades of change. Nick shares how his company unexpectedly evolved from an environmental consulting firm into a defence engineering and digital intelligence company after landing a government contract by accident. What followed wasn't one dramatic pivot, but years of adapting, building credibility, making difficult decisions under pressure, and letting go of the identity he originally built the company around. Together, they discuss why trust takes years to earn, how founders make decisions when the stakes are high, what it takes to work with government agencies, and why resilience matters more than having the perfect business plan. The conversation also explores one of today's biggest topics: AI. Nick explains why founders should think of AI as a tool, not a replacement for human expertise, and why building the next generation of talent still matters. If you're navigating uncertainty, considering a pivot, or trying to build a company that lasts, this episode offers practical lessons from someone who's led a business through recessions, COVID, major industry shifts, and constant change. In this episode, you'll learn: • Why successful founders eventually outgrow their original business model • How to build trust in industries where mistakes aren't tolerated • What founders misunderstand about government contracting • How to make better decisions under pressure • Why AI should support your business, not replace your people • How to build a company designed for long-term resilience If you're an early-stage founder, a scaling CEO, or an entrepreneur facing difficult decisions, this conversation will challenge the way you think about growth, leadership, and staying relevant over the long haul. Watch Episodes: https://soniacouto.com/episodes
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About Tenacity with Sonia C.
A top 2% globally ranked podcast about what it takes to build in business, leadership, and life. Tenacity is the discipline to keep building when the path is unclear, refusing to let fear, pressure, or uncertainty make your decisions for you. Every conversation digs into the pivots, failures, restarts, and the growth that came from them. Guests share what happened when things fell apart, what they did next, and what they learned the hard way, with actionable takeaways founders can apply to shape long-term success. Our guests are founders and leaders who have built and rebuilt after failure, started over after major life disruption, or built success in rooms not built for them. Hosted by Sonia Couto, a Toronto-based tech founder who has been starting over her whole life, rebuilding failed products, leading three companies through a breast cancer diagnosis, and turning every restart into something stronger.
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