Keep It Brief
Every week, host Natalie Dawson sits down with CEOs, investors, and founders to distill the most important business and market insights into a single episode. She reads reports, watches markets, and listens to other podcasts so you can stay informed without doing all the work.
Episodes
Great Customer Service Is Simple & Almost Nobody Does It | Drybar Founder
If you own a salon or know someone who does, DM “SALON” to @nataliedawson on Instagram and I’ll send you the details on what we’re building and how to get involved.Drybar grew from one salon to 150 locations. She sold $35 blowouts and scaled it to a $255M exit. Alli Webb says demand was never the hard part.Alli is the founder of Drybar and the creator of Messy, a new hair care line.Her rule was si
Viral Brand Expert: Going Viral Won't Grow Your Business (Doing This Will) | Camille Moore
Camille Moore's first viral video hit a million views in a weekend. It brought in just three leads. She says that gap between attention and actual business is exactly what most founders get wrong about branding.Camille Moore is the founder of Third Eye Insights and host of The Art of Brand podcast, and companies like Nike, Red Bull, and Harvard pay her to teach branding.She breaks down the rea
Why You Should Never Start a Business You’re Passionate About
Most people want to build a business around what they love. I believe that can be one of the fastest ways to fail.Recorded during the first live edition of Keep It Brief, this audience Q&A covers money, scaling, wealth, and the decisions that separate a profitable business from an expensive passion project.I explain why I turned down a $250,000 investment opportunity from a clothing brand I lo
50 Years of Leadership Knowledge in 59 Minutes | Bestselling Author John Maxwell
John Maxwell has written more than 90 books, sold 38 million copies, and spoken onover 14,000 stages. After 50 years teaching leadership, he says the hardest lessonis still learning to confront yourself before you confront anyone else.The New York Times bestselling author of "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership"breaks down the mistakes he made as a young leader, starting with the hardc
Grant Cardone Built an $5B Empire & Still Feels Like He's Failing
Grant Cardone does not believe success makes life easier. It gives you bigger problems, higher stakes, and fewer people you can trust to make the decision for you.In this episode, Grant breaks down how he developed the certainty to act before he had all the answers. We talk about why he still considers himself an underachiever, why doing everything right can still take you backward, and why being
Elena Cardone: The Mindset That Turned Our 2 Worst Years Into $5B
Join the "Clear Club" for free and get the book: clearbuilders.com/ElenaDianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health: https://www.amazon.com/Dianetics-Modern-Science-Mental-English/dp/140314446XMost people are told to pick one. The marriage, the family, or the empire. Elena Cardone built all three at once, and she says the thing that finally made her powerful was giving up her independ
How A Simple Google Doc for Friends Built an 8-Figure Brand | Dianna Cohen
Most founders hold onto the CEO title for as long as they can. Dianna Cohen gave hers up after five years, and she did it after turning a Google Doc she wrote for her girlfriends into Crown Affair and the number one dry shampoo at Sephora.The Crown Affair founder explains why she refused to over-raise, how she got her first $2 million on a 10 page deck with no financials, and why she has raised in
86% Of People Are Using AI Wrong, Here's How To Get Ahead | Chris Workman
89% of small businesses say they use AI. Only 14% have actually built it into how they operate. Chris Workman explains the gap and why the businesses that close it in the next five years will pull away from everyone else.Chris is the Head of Technology at Cardone Ventures and the person who embedded AI into every function of a $225 million company. He didn't just buy tools. He redesigned how t
$30T Will Move Into the Hands of Women, Watch This Now
$30 trillion is shifting into women's hands and most people are getting the story wrong. This isn't just about women building wealth. It's about women outliving their partners and being handed the financial wheel with zero preparation.In this episode, I break down what the great wealth transfer actually means, why money moves twice inside most families, and why it wasn't until 1974
$700M Lawyer: The Workers’ Comp Lie Nobody Talks About | Tina Odjaghian
Most business owners think workers comp is handled because they pay the premium. Tina Odjaghian says the hardest cases are the ones nobody can see, and she has recovered more than $700 million proving it.The Odjaghian Law Group founder explains why California’s workers’ comp system is broken, how invisible traumatic brain injuries get denied, and what employers miss in the first hours after an inj
$15M CEO: The Owner Trap that Keeps Your Business Small | Terra Harvell
Terra Harvell reveals why most salon owners have built an expensive job, not a valuable asset. The founder of Harper Ellis Hair Co. and Strata Salon Systems explains how better pricing, high-ticket services, team incentives and financial systems helped her salon reach a 28% net margin. Learn how stylists can raise their income, owners can reduce dependency on the chair, and salons can build scalab
Ex-SVB COO Explains the True Story No One Reported - Phil Cox
Most executives run from a company that's about to collapse. Phil Cox ran toward it. He was the COO of Silicon Valley Bank the day $42 billion left in a single afternoon, and the bank was gone by morning.The former Silicon Valley Bank COO breaks down how a bank built on safe government bonds became the fastest bank failure in U.S. history, why 93% of its deposits were uninsured, and what it wa
9x Founder Was Fired & Broke But Never Quit - Kim Perell
Most founders think they need investors to build something big. Kim Perell says it's really about betting on yourself first, a lesson she learned by turning a $10,000 loan from her grandmother into a $235 million exit.The 100.co founder and 9x entrepreneur explains why she had to fire her entire team the same day she got fired herself, why there is no such thing as job security, and why reject
Inside the Strategy We Used to Scale Cardone Ventures (with Brandon Dawson)
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with my husband and Cardone Ventures co-founder Brandon Dawson to break down how he sold his last company, Audigy, for 77 times earnings after almost losing a $150 million deal the night before it closed.We unpack why 97% of small businesses never make it, and the one mistake that turned into an $800 million win.Comment KEEP IT BRIEF 9 on my latest Inst
$9B COO: People Pay Premium For ONLY One Thing - Jeff Zwiefel
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with Jeff Zwiefel, former President and COO of Life Time Fitness, to break down how he helped grow the company from $139M to $2.3B in revenue over 27 years. We unpack why charging too little almost capped their growth, why he walked away from a company now worth $9B, and the leadership rule he says separates good businesses from great ones...Comment KEE
Ex Wall Street: The Lie Keeping Women Out of Finance - Tiger Sisters, Cherie Brooke Luo & Jean Luo
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with Jean Luo and Cherie Brooke Luo, your Wall Street and Silicon Valley big sisters. Harvard MBA, Ex Goldman Sachs, Stanford MBA, Ex LinkedIn, these two are here to break down why women score lower than men in every single financial literacy category after a decade of tracking. We unpack why the gap has nothing to do with intelligence or access, why th
Self-Made Millionaire: The Funding Trap Nobody Mentions - Allison McNamara
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with Allison McNamara, founder of Mara, about the moment a celebrity accidentally made her product sell out globally. We unpack why bootstrapping beats every funded competitor and why she didn't copy what already existed on the market.Comment Brief 6 on my latest Instagram post for a PDF of my notes and takeaways from this episode!FOLLOW KEEP IT BRI
$8B Founder: What AI Founders Know That You Don't - JD Ross
In this episode of Keep It Brief, we sit down with JD Ross, founder of Opendoor and now WithCoverage, to break down why domain expertise plus AI tools is the formula winning in the next five years. We unpack why he turned down Sam Altman's offer to run OpenAI's business side, why traditional operators beat young tech founders at building AI businesses, and the simple philosophy that got hi
The Worst Business He Bought Made Him Rich - Ken Goodrich
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with Ken Goodrich, The entrepreneur who acquired over 200 businesses, and turned around some of Americas longest running companies.We break down how a $500K acquisition turned into a multi-million dollar exit. He walks through his 1,000-day plan and why most service businesses will never attract a serious buyer. And he shares the one reframe that change
How This Single Mom Sold Her Business With Zero Investors - Ashley Tyrner-Dolce
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with Ashley Tyrner-Dolce, founder of Farmbox RX and Operating Partner at HLM Investment Partners, to break down how she built and sold a healthcare company without taking a single dollar from outside investors.She created a category that didn't exist until a single policy change made it possible. She makes the case that no matter how fast you're
Longevity CEO: Taking Risks and Building a $100M Empire - Sarah Lomas
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with Sarah Lomas, founder and CEO of REVIV Global, to break down how she raised $75M and built a $100M precision health empire after being rejected 53 times in the UK. We unpack why she eventually left the country to find investors, why she says the first 40 rejections were her own fault, and the simple piece of homework that would have saved her years.
Negotiation and Closing, with former FBI hostage chief Chris Voss
In this episode of Keep It Brief, I sit down with Chris Voss to break down the negotiation frameworks every business owner should actually know. We unpack why chasing “yes” kills deals, and how one simple shift, getting the other side comfortable saying “no”, helped a recruiter cut 300 cold calls down to 75 while producing the same results.Chris also explains tactical empathy, why phrases like “it
Keep It Brief with Natalie Dawson
Keep It Brief Podcast With Natalie Dawson. New Episodes Every Monday!
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