Driven: Unscripted Success

In this powerful episode of Driven: Unscripted Success, hosts Mike Mannino Sr. and Nareman Hamdan sit down with technologist, boardroom strategist, and podcast host Andrew Chrostowski. From his early days as a research physicist in the U.S. Air Force to leading innovation at global companies like Schick Wilkinson Sword and Tyco, Andrew shares stories of transformation, leadership, and adapting to disruption.
We explore how culture trumps strategy, how failure tolerance drives innovation, and why the systems you build ultimately determine your organization’s performance. Andrew also unpacks his thoughts on the AI revolution, what it means for the frontline workforce, and how he’s using podcasting to highlight voices shaping the future of work.
Whether you're in leadership, tech, or just navigating your own success story—this episode is a blueprint for growth, resilience, and forward thinking.
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
Why people—not tech—are often the real challenge in innovation
The power of failure tolerance in organizational risk-taking
What AI means for the future of frontline workers
Andrew’s unique take on passive income and lifelong learning
How he balances board service, blacksmithing, and building the future
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

In this insightful episode of Driven: Unscripted Success, co-host Nareman Hamdan sits down with Vlad Popovic, Regional Vice President at Ntech, to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity and the growing role of AI. From his humble beginnings in Montenegro to navigating snowstorms in NYC, Vlad shares the bold leaps and calculated risks that led him to Southwest Florida and to building a thriving career in tech leadership.
Discover how empathy, humility, and curiosity have been cornerstones of Vlad’s success, both in managing teams and developing meaningful client relationships. He opens up about his leadership style, why mentorship matters, and how being open to new ideas can shape better outcomes.
Listeners will also get an inside look at:
The realities of AI in business today
Strategies to build trust and autonomy in sales teams
The importance of local community education around cybercrime
Passive income and real estate investment tips for tech professionals
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

In this powerful episode, Mike Mannino sits down with Ralph Laughton, CEO of a highly awarded senior home care agency based in Southwest Florida. Ralph shares his entrepreneurial journey from starting with little industry knowledge to becoming a nationally recognized leader in Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s care.
You’ll hear how Ralph and his wife Pearl built a home care business that puts caregivers first, built on a foundation of in-depth training, employee benefits, and a culture of empathy. Discover how this people-first approach dramatically reduced turnover and raised care standards across the board.
They also discuss Ralph’s shift from active income to long-term investments, including real estate and commercial property ownership. Plus, hear his advice on learning from mentors, joining mastermind groups, and being a lifelong student of your industry.
What You’ll Learn:
Why caregiver retention is the backbone of exceptional service
How national training and certification can elevate your business
Tips for growing a home care agency through strategy and empathy
The critical role mentorship and mastermind groups play in success
What it takes to win national recognition in a competitive field
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

Michael McCahey, a former Olympian turned tech industry powerhouse, shares how lessons from fencing shaped his approach to high-stakes business. From his early struggles in sport to breaking records in corporate sales, Michael offers a masterclass in preparation, resilience, and execution. In this wide-ranging chat, Michael and host Mike Mannino cover topics like:
The discipline and mindset it takes to win—on the field and in the boardroom
How mastering the rules (and sometimes the loopholes) can become a strategic advantage
The story behind a major deal with Adobe—and why McCahey had to fight his own company to close it
Life after retirement: traveling, reflecting, and still mentoring the next generation
Whether you're a young athlete, a sales professional, or just someone who wants to understand the psychology of winning, this episode delivers powerful takeaways and real-world wisdom.
Guest Bio:Michael McCahey is a former Olympic fencer and senior enterprise sales executive with a long career at top firms like Salesforce and Adobe. He's built sales teams, closed multimillion-dollar deals, and led with integrity. Now retired, he mentors others and enjoys a well-earned life of travel, golf, and giving back.
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.
 

Think your business can’t be sold? Think again. Sergio DeCesare joins us to share the surprising truth about building a business that's ready to sell—and how most owners never realize it's even an option.
Description:In this episode, we sit down with Sergio DeCesare—Certified Profit & Growth Expert, business coach, broker, and founder of Max Business Profits. Sergio shares how his career began by accident and evolved into helping entrepreneurs scale and sell their companies successfully. From crafting magnetic messaging to knowing your financials cold, Sergio outlines the pillars every business owner needs in place before planning an exit.
He breaks down:
Why messaging matters more than marketing
The financial blind spots holding most business owners back
What systems and mindset shifts create true business value
The rise of “consulting for equity” and how he's using it to partner in businesses before helping them exit
Why many business owners don’t realize their company has real sellable value
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

What does it take to leave a long career in law enforcement and reinvent yourself in the world of wellness, coaching, and leadership? In this episode, we sit down with Stephen Scrobe, a former police officer turned wellness entrepreneur and coach, who shares the lessons he learned from over 16 years in law enforcement and how those experiences laid the foundation for his next chapter.
Now serving as a Municipal Account Executive with O2X Human Performance, Stephen is deeply passionate about helping tactical teams and first responders unlock peak physical and mental performance. He’s also the founder of the nonprofit Knights Armor, and co-owner of Heart & Soul, a holistic wellness company launched with his wife.
Stephen talks about transitioning out of public service, embracing a growth mindset, the power of consistency, and the value of putting people before systems. He offers transparent insight into his entrepreneurial journey, balancing family life, and cultivating leadership that’s rooted in example, empathy, and resilience.
📌 Key Takeaways
Why “self-care isn’t selfish” in high-stress professions
How K9 training taught Stephen the power of communication and trust
His mindset shift from a fixed to a growth perspective
How his family-run business promotes sustainability and holistic living
The “Rule of 5” for surrounding yourself with the right people
The importance of creating time freedom and long-term impact
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

In this powerful and heart-led episode, Dr. Dawn Belamarich, CEO of Collaboratory in Fort Myers, shares how she leads a community foundation focused on solving some of society’s toughest issues—housing, education, health, and more—with a strategic, data-driven mindset.
Dr. Belamarich unpacks her journey from leading addiction treatment centers to guiding philanthropic investments for systemic change. She opens up about the importance of feedback, leadership in high-stress environments, and the role of vulnerability and accountability in success—both personally and professionally.
Whether you're a nonprofit leader, entrepreneur, or someone seeking inspiration from a woman who's walked through real challenges and made a difference, this is a must-listen conversation.
What You’ll Learn:
The role of data in nonprofit impact
How to build resilient teams through adversity
Why surrender is the first step to recovery
How endurance sports relate to mindset
Dawn’s passion for leadership, therapy, and social transformation
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

In this insightful episode of Driven: Unscripted Success, Mike Mannino Sr. sits down with Keith Daubmann, the charismatic co-founder of My Architectural Glass, a niche business disrupting Florida’s interior and exterior glass design scene. Broadcasting from beautiful Naples, Keith gets real about business growth, emotional intelligence, and why “ego is not your amigo.”
Keith opens up about how his company carved out its niche—focusing on modern, high-end installations like all-glass wine cellars and glass railings—and how the power of natural light and design psychology transformed their business. He shares how emotional intelligence, empathy, and smart delegation revolutionized his leadership approach and created a thriving, empowered culture within the company.
The conversation takes a deep dive into sales strategies, social media leverage, and long-term vision—highlighting Keith’s perspective on moving from founder-led hustle to creating sustainable, scalable success through trust, empowerment, and mission-driven leadership.
Key Takeaways:
Why specializing in a niche transformed My Architectural Glass
The truth behind glass design’s cost and perceived value
How empathy and emotional intelligence reshape negotiations
Building rapport through podcasts and social media content
Why giving trust up front builds culture and drives retention
Keith’s game plan for securing high-rise railing projects
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

In this powerful episode, Theresa Miulli shares how movement—both physical and metaphorical—is the secret ingredient that makes her talks unforgettable. Whether she's speaking to college presidents or cosmetology students, Theresa makes sure no one is sitting still for long. Get ready for a real, raw, and inspiring conversation about what it takes to stand out, overcome obstacles, and bring energy into every room you enter.
🎧 Episode Summary
Theresa Miulli is an engaging public speaker, educator, and founder of multiple educational platforms, including a popular review program for cosmetology students. In this episode, she dives into:
Why movement is key to learning that sticks
How growing up on stage shaped her fearless speaking style
What sets her apart from other keynote speakers
Overcoming the challenge of self-promotion and building a business from scratch
The importance of reinvesting into your mission and business
Creating practical educational resources rooted in real-world data and experience
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.

In this compelling episode, Lisa Zimmer joins Mike Mannino Sr. and Nareman Hamdan for an unscripted, insightful conversation about intuitive coaching, energetic awareness, and the deep power of integrity. Lisa, an experienced intuitive coach, opens up about how she helps people tune into their inner compass to make aligned decisions in their personal and professional lives.
She discusses why reading energy is more than just a spiritual buzzword, how intuition works even in high-stakes areas like real estate, and why integrity is non-negotiable in a field flooded with inauthentic voices. Lisa also shares how pausing—yes, something as simple as a pause—can change the way we communicate and connect.
Mike brings his trademark curiosity and energy, offering a rare mix of humor and vulnerability as he digs into topics that bridge the gap between spiritual insight and entrepreneurial hustle.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
How intuitive coaching works and who benefits most from it
Why "reading energy" isn't mystical—it's practical
How Lisa’s intuition guided her in helping others find homes, relationships, and even lost pets
The role of integrity in intuitive and entrepreneurial professions
Why women often tap into intuition more naturally, and what men can learn from it
Lisa’s exciting new course offerings and how she’s helping people develop their own intuitive skills
 
---------------------------------------------------------- Be a Guest: Are you a successful Naples-area business owner, entrepreneur, or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest at Driven: Unscripted Success and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.