Shows
The Founders' JourneyTariff Talks: A Special 3-Part Series — Part 1: Wall Street with Jacob Manoukian, Head of U.S. Investment Strategy, J.P. Morgan Private BankThe Founders’ Journey: Special 3-Part Series, Tariff TalksIn April 2025, sweeping new tariffs triggered market turmoil, shook CEO confidence, and sparked urgent questions across the business landscape. At Rallyday, we responded the way we did during COVID - by calling trusted voices on the front lines. And this time, we hit record.In just 48 hours, we captured three candid conversations exploring this moment from every angle: Wall Street (macro + markets) Main Street (operations + strategy) Your Street (mindset + leadership)All three episodes are available now — no politics, no punditry. Just clarity, curiosity, and practic...2025-05-0148 min
The Founders' JourneyTariff Talks: A Special 3-Part Series — Part 2: Main Street with Tim Van Mieghem, Co-Founder & Partner, The ProAction GroupThe Founders’ Journey: Special 3-Part Series, Tariff TalksIn April 2025, sweeping new tariffs triggered market turmoil, shook CEO confidence, and sparked urgent questions across the business landscape. At Rallyday, we responded the way we did during COVID - by calling trusted voices on the front lines. And this time, we hit record.In just 48 hours, we captured three candid conversations exploring this moment from every angle: Wall Street (macro + markets) Main Street (operations + strategy) Your Street (mindset + leadership)All three episodes are available now — no politics, no punditry. Just clarity, curiosity, and practic...2025-05-0159 min
The Founders' JourneyTariff Talks: A Special 3-Part Series — Part 3: Your Street with Brian Kight, Author of DailyDiscipline.comThe Founders’ Journey: Special 3-Part Series, Tariff TalksIn April 2025, sweeping new tariffs triggered market turmoil, shook CEO confidence, and sparked urgent questions across the business landscape. At Rallyday, we responded the way we did during COVID - by calling trusted voices on the front lines. And this time, we hit record.In just 48 hours, we captured three candid conversations exploring this moment from every angle: Wall Street (macro + markets) Main Street (operations + strategy) Your Street (mindset + leadership)All three episodes are available now — no politics, no punditry. Just clarity, curiosity, and practic...2025-05-011h 10
The Founders' JourneyTameem Hourani, Founder & Principal of RapDevIn this episode of The Founders’ Journey, Ryan Heckman sits down with Tameem Hourani, Founder & Principal of RapDev, to explore his bold journey from Bahrain to Boston and from Wayfair engineer to tech entrepreneur. Tameem shares how he launched RapDev while still at Wayfair, scaling it into one of the fastest-growing IT consultancies - without any outside funding. They dive into the realities of bootstrapping, embracing mistakes, and maintaining the mindset of “always being a startup.” Tune in for a backstage pass to true entrepreneurship.Tameem Hourani is not an investor in one or more of Rall...2025-04-0159 min
Leeds Business InsightsS4E6: Ryan Heckman - From Olympic Slopes to Entrepreneurial SuccessWhat does it look like to move from a life of intense athletic competition into the realm of business? What aspects of being an athlete translated well into entrepreneurship, and what strong career motivation can be derived from understanding a simple bell curve? Ryan Heckman is a two-time Olympian, Leeds Business School Alumnus, and a longtime entrepreneur. Ryan co-founded Rallyday Partners, an investment firm dedicated to providing holistic support to company founders and their employees, where he serves as CEO and managing partner.In this episode, Ryan discusses his uniq...2025-03-2633 min
The Happiness Squad Podcast with Ashish KothariWhy Growing Your People Is The Ultimate Growth Strategy Your Business Needs To Prioritize Now With Ryan HeckmanIf you want your company to scale, here's one question you need to ask yourself: Are you growing your people as fast as you're growing your revenue? Too many leaders obsess over business expansion but ignore the foundation that makes it possible—PEOPLE. In this episode of the Happiness Squad Podcast, Ashish Kothari and Ryan Heckman remind us that when you invest in your people’s growth, your business follows. Ryan reveals the leadership shift that can turn any stagnant company into an unstoppable force.Ryan Heckman is a seasoned private equity investor with o...2025-03-181h 10
Profiles in LeadershipMichelle Collie and Nancy Phillips, Strategic Partners Who Focus on Culture, Leadership, and Communication Create Value for AllNancy is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner atRallyday Partners, a private equity firm built byfounders for founders, focused on lower middlemarket growth companies.Nancy’s experience as an entrepreneur informs her role as an investor at Rallyday Partners. Nancy and thefounding team at Rallyday wanted to build the private equity firm that they would have wanted to partnerwith on their own entrepreneurial journeys. In practice, this involves a multi-stakeholder approach and anintense focus on purpose, culture, leadership development alongside th...2025-03-1057 min
The Founders' JourneyDan Caruso, Managing Director of Caruso Ventures; Founding CEO & Chairman of Zayo GroupIn this episode of The Founders’ Journey, we sit down with telecommunications titan Dan Caruso, founder of Zayo Group and author of the newly released book Bandwidth.Known as "The Bear" for his intense leadership style, Dan shares how he built Zayo from zero revenue in 2007 to a telecommunications powerhouse with $1 billion in EBITDA, culminating in a $14 billion valuation when he stepped away in 2020 to lead Caruso Ventures.Beyond the impressive business metrics, Dan opens up about the personal side of entrepreneurship - his vulnerabilities, struggles, and mistakes. As fierce as he is in the bo...2025-03-0454 min
LeverUp™️ : A podcast on Private Equity and EntrepreneurshipFinding Success In Private Equity With Ryan HeckmanPaul Swaney sits down with Ryan Heckman, who shares how he found his way and built success in the world of private equity. He talks about the valuable lessons about leadership and culture that he has gathered along the way, which contributed a lot to him becoming Co-Founder, Managing Partner, and CEO of Rallyday Partners. Paul explains why their firm embraced innovative yet quite controversial practices, from eliminating management fees to focusing on business architecture rather than governance. He also explores why he prioritizes purpose-driven leadership and cultural development more than anything else in his career.2025-02-0539 min
The Founders' JourneySusan Reilly Salgado, Ph.D., Founder & Principal of Grason ConsultingIn this episode of The Founders’ Journey podcast, host Ryan Heckman interviews Susan Salgado who spent 15 years working with restaurateur Danny Meyer to scale Union Square Hospitality Group's magical culture. Salgado reflects on her journey from academic researcher to cultural architect, sharing how she led Meyer's hospitality-driven philosophies into systematic practices and legendary success as the company’s Director of Culture and Learning. Through stories about her early days studying Gramercy Tavern as part of her Ph.D. dissertation to catalyzing Shake Shack's explosive growth, Salgado demonstrates how hospitality-infused cultures can transform any organization into new levels of growth and e...2025-02-041h 16
The Founders' JourneyJeff Hunter, Founder & CEO of TalentismWhat if everything we thought we knew about human potential in business was wrong? In this textured conversation with Jeff Hunter, founder & CEO of Talentism, he challenges conventional wisdom about leadership, personal growth, and organizational success. Hunter's fascinating journey has taken him through multiple start-ups, Electronic Arts during its revolutionary growth phase, and Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates. Now, through his groundbreaking work at Talentism, he shares provocative insights that will transform how you think about workplace performance. He reveals why confusion might be your greatest asset and offers a revolutionary perspective on how companies truly achieve exponential growth. Whether...2025-01-071h 22
The Conscious EntrepreneurEP 70: Giving Private Equity a Human Touch“Some would say they manage people. We like to think we lead hearts, and that if we tap into the power of the heart, then the mind and the hands and the effort comes much more powerfully thereafter,” shares Ryan Heckman, Olympic athlete turned private equity investor and co-founder of Rallyday Partners, a firm transforming private equity with a deeply human-centered approach.
In this episode, Ryan joins Alex Raymond to discuss how Rallyday Partners is challenging the traditional stigma of private equity as a necessary evil. Ryan explains how his experiences as both a CEO and a...2025-01-0638 min
The Founders' JourneySamantha Citro Alexander, Co-Founder & CEO of BitewellJoin host Ryan Heckman and Samantha Citro Alexander, CEO and co-founder of Bitewell, as they discuss her journey from theater major to stints at Bridgewater Associates and Estée Lauder to founder of a groundbreaking nutrition technology company. Samantha shares how Bitewell is revolutionizing healthy eating through their innovative "food health score" and online ‘farmacy’ while building a thriving business leveraging an emerging concept, ‘food as medicine’. The conversation offers candid insights into both the business challenges and personal toll of being a start-up founder, including valuable lessons on maintaining mental health and building support systems while pursuing audacious and somet...2024-12-171h 00
The Founders' JourneyRobert Wolfe & Edward Norton, Co-Founders of ZeckIn this episode of the Founders’ Journey podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Robert Wolfe and Edward Norton (yes, the legendary actor, director, and producer), co-founders of Zeck. Zeck is on a mission to revolutionize board meetings through its online workspace, which cuts preparation time by over 50%, enhances collaboration before and after meetings, and provides a transformational experience for both board members and executive teams alike.Half of this episode is devoted to framing the need for a tool like Zeck with laughable stories of traditional PE firms torturing executive teams in board meetings and en...2024-11-201h 04
The Founders' JourneyHaley Rushing, Co-Founder & Chief Purposologist of The Purpose InstituteIn this episode of The Founders' Journey podcast, we welcome Haley Rushing, Co-Founder and Chief Purposologist of The Purpose Institute. Haley shares her insights on how purpose-driven businesses outperform their peers, drawing from her work with companies including Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, and Southwest Airlines.We explore the "purpose paradox" - how focusing on purpose for profit sake does not actually work - and discuss Rallyday's own purpose journey. Haley's passion for helping leaders articulate and activate their purpose is infectious, reminding us why we started Rallyday and our commitment to empowering leaders.This conversation isn't...2024-10-241h 01
The Founders' JourneyFrank Corvino, Co-Founder, Vice Chairman, & Former CEO of Genesis Research & Managing Partner of Rallyday PartnersIn this special episode of The Founders' Journey podcast, we welcome Dr. Frank Corvino, an exceptional entrepreneur who partnered with Rallyday as our first portfolio company in our first fund, and has now recently joined us as our newest managing partner.Frank's journey from a young, ambitious kid from Yonkers, N.Y. to a successful healthcare leader is a story of resilience, adaptability, and innovation. He leveraged his unorthodox childhood, his physics Ph.D, and numerous mentors to eventually co-found Genesis Research with a vision to revolutionize healthcare research. Over fifteen years Genesis Research transformed from a b...2024-09-261h 28
The Founders' JourneyKip Tindell, Co-Founder & Former Chairman/CEO of The Container StoreIn this episode of The Founders' Journey podcast, the founder of the Container Store and author of the book “Uncontained”, Kip Tindell, shares his 30 year journey of building a new category in retail, challenging the very foundations of modern management principles while leading an emerging movement called, "Conscious Capitalism". You will enjoy listening to this inspired leader as he challenges us to step up to a higher calling in service to others as we pursue our entrepreneurial dreams.Kip Tindell did not receive any cash or non-cash compensation for participating in this podcast.To nominate a fo...2024-08-291h 00
The Conscious CapitalistsEpisode #86: Ryan Heckman: The Blue-Collar PE guyFrom Olympian to a backdoor entry into private equity, Ryan Heckman shares his story as a blue-collar PE executive aiming to elevate the industry. He began his career in private equity and, after nearly 20 years, transitioned to leading a successful startup. He later sold this business to a private equity firm.Now, as a co-founder of the groundbreaking private equity firm Rallyday, Ryan describes how they began by identifying everything wrong with the private equity world and then developing innovative approaches to address these issues. At Rallyday, they focus on being business builders rather...2024-08-0556 min
The Founders' JourneyPoornima Ramaswamy, Founder & CEO of PivotX AdvisorsOn this episode of the Founders’ Journey Podcast, we welcome Poornima Ramaswamy who is a veteran of digital innovation and founder of Pivot X Advisors that brings strategic data wisdom, including AI, to the middle market. A native of India, Poornima rose through the ranks during a 20-plus year career at of Cognizant, the global consulting firm specializing in IT services, digital transformation, and business process outsourcing with over 300,000 employees worldwide.Like many founders, Poornima wanted to go big her own way and founded PivotX Advisors in 2023 after being part of the leadership team to grow the dat...2024-07-301h 05
The Founders' JourneyJonathan Vaughters, Founder & CEO of EF Pro CyclingJoin us for another inspirational founder’s journey interview with Jonathan Vaughters, Founder and CEO of the EF Pro Cycling Team, a US-based Tour de France cycling team with approximately 200 employees and represented by athletes from 21 countries worldwide. “JV” shares his adventures beginning with riding his bike as a young 12-year-old to visit his first love, winning a stage of the Tour de France in 2001, his calling and resolve to eliminate the infamous doping culture personified by Lance Armstrong and his quest to humanize professional cycling with a maniacal culture focused on honesty, inclusion, sportsmanship and, of course, winning. You wi...2024-06-201h 12
The Founders' JourneyDr. Geoff Smart, Founder & Chairman of ghSMARTThe Founders’ Journey podcast welcomed Dr. Geoff Smart, the celebrity executive recruiting thought leader and founder of ghSMART. In this episode, Geoff tells his story that began with submitting his business plan to the ‘father’ of management performance, Peter Drucker, and the 30 year overnight success of his extraordinary organization.Geoff shares some pearls of wisdom relating to how to hire the best and his own growth and development as a founder and CEO along the way.Dr. Geoff Smart did not receive any compensation for his participation in this podcast.To nominate a founder...2024-05-241h 11
The Founders' JourneyCindy Jordan, Co-Founder & CEO of Pyx HealthIn this episode of the Founders' Journey podcast, we will dive deep into conversation with Cindy Jordan, the high-profile founder and CEO of Pyx Health. Inspired by Cindy’s daughter who chronically struggled with loneliness until her tragic passing, Pyx is the nation’s leader in providing a tech-enabled care model to solve the growing loneliness epidemic. Cindy shares her gripping story as a DC cop to becoming the PE-backed CEO of one of the hottest companies in the HealthTech industry.Cindy Jordan, Pyx Health's CEO, did not receive any compensation for his participation in this podcast.T...2024-04-291h 02
The Founders' JourneyKenny Goldman, Co-Founder & CEO of KicksawJoin us for Rallyday’s inaugural 60-minute interview with Kenny Goldman, Co-founder and CEO of our newest portfolio company Kicksaw. Kenny shares his textured upbringing with an immigrant’s mindset, his dreams for Kicksaw and how his company is changing the rules in consulting as a Salesforce implementation partner.Kenny Goldman, Kicksaw’s CEO, did not receive any compensation for his participation in this podcast.To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please submit your nominations here. www.RallydayPartners.com2024-03-251h 05
Saucy Sibz55. Imposter Syndrome with Ryan HeckmanThe Sibz guest this week is truly a rabbit hole of a person. The more you learn about him, the more you want know. Ryan Heckman is a two time Olympic skier, cancer survivor, and private equity badass who is flipping the industry on its head– making money work for the people in a significant and impactful way. The Sibz and Ryan have an in-depth conversation about how failure is important, financial success isn't everything, and how a healthy amount of delusion can be the key to getting what you want. Ryan co-founded Rallyday Partners and sits as...2023-03-021h 19
The Beer Mighty Things Podcast# 146 - On Answering the Call with Brian KightThis episode features a mentor of mine who brings wisdom and leadership to my email inbox every day. Today, I chop it up with entrepreneur, global keynote speaker, advisor to the Fortune 500, high-growth businesses, pro and college sports teams, Founder of Daily Discipline, and Leader of Culture at RallyDay Partners - Brian Kight.
He's extremely passionate about helping others and you can hear that passion in this episode. He recently dared something mighty as he moved his family across the country to pursue a dream job.
We dive into decision making, how leaders instill courage in th...2022-07-121h 12
Gobble De-ClutchGobble De-Clutch Podcast Ep 6 - Diesel In A Fish Tank & An Ultimate 3 Car GarageWelcome to Episode 6 of the Gobble De-Clutch Podcast, with Sion Ellis and Tom Magnay.Sion and Tom chew the fat on all things automotive, with a massive dose of motorsport.In the sixth episode, the boys are on Zoom for a chat, with travel disrupted due to no diesel at the pumps! Tom and Sion chat F1, WRC, BRC, streetparked cars in London, Goodwood Revival, Rallyday, idiots stockpiling fuel and a three car garage with a twist! ASK A QUESTION: gobbledeclutch@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See...2021-10-041h 05
Gravel Notes - Rallying NewsLegends Entertain At Rallyday 2019 and Rally GB PreviewDavid talks about the legends stage of RallyDay 2019 last weekend. Plus, the calendar for 2020 and looking ahead to Wales Rally GB next weekend.2019-09-2717 min