Driven: Unscripted Success

From the dugouts of professional baseball to the high-stakes world of real estate syndication, Chris Caffrey brings a story of grit, reinvention, and growth. In this candid conversation with host Nareman Hamdan, Chris opens up about the transition from athlete to investor, the mindset needed to overcome personal and professional setbacks, and how strategic relationships shape his success.
Listeners will hear how a double shoulder surgery changed his outlook on life, why emotional intelligence and consistency matter more than talent, and how Chris turned adversity into a platform for coaching others through commercial real estate. He also shares what excites him most in today’s market, and the key habits that fuel his continued growth—like early morning routines, health investments, and mentorship.
Whether you’re an aspiring investor or someone seeking a powerful reminder of how life’s detours can create new roads, this episode delivers value, authenticity, and insight.
 
 
---------------------------------------------------------- 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 drives someone to run a marathon in every single U.S. state? Meet Elizabeth Simon, a marathon enthusiast, author, compliance executive, and adoptive mom, who shares her powerful journey of grit, perseverance, and purpose. In this episode, Elizabeth opens up about how a single 5K sparked a decade-long goal that ended with her running 50 marathons across all 50 states—even doing two in one weekend!
She also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her professional career as VP of Compliance and Risk, her challenges and joys as an adoptive parent, and how her experiences have inspired her creative work—including her newly published novel, Barren, available now on Amazon.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
How Elizabeth trained for back-to-back marathons across the country
What the running community means to her
The emotional challenges of parenting adopted children
The intersection of compliance, ethics, and risk management in her career
Her debut novel and what inspired its modern take on biblical characters
 
--------------------------------------------------------- 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 thought-provoking episode, Mike Mannino and Nareman Hamdan dive into the trillion-dollar world of procurement with Keith McFarlane, CTO of Globality. Keith breaks down how AI is transforming enterprise spending, helping companies make smarter purchasing decisions, and optimizing supplier relationships at scale.
Listeners will get an insider's look at how Globality’s AI-driven platform is reshaping the future of procurement—from reducing inefficiencies to driving value with intelligent automation. Keith also shares his personal career journey, lessons from overcoming setbacks, and what excites him most about the rapid advancements in AI.
What You’ll Learn:
Why procurement is the next big frontier for AI
How automation is enhancing—not replacing—procurement teams
The biggest challenge Keith faced in his career and how he overcame it
Creative insights on passive income, including AI-driven business models
The future of engineering and work in an AI-first world
--------------------------------------------------------- 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 episode, Mike sits down with Benjamin Macgowen, Chief Operating Officer at Hi ABA, to dive into the world of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. Ben shares how his extensive business experience led him to this impactful field—one that’s helping children on the autism spectrum manage behavioral challenges and lead more independent lives.
Ben unpacks how ABA works, from diagnosis to treatment, explaining how insurance funding has broadened access to therapy. He discusses the growing autism spectrum, industry challenges like staff burnout, and what makes a truly effective clinician. Ben also provides advice for aspiring COOs, emphasizing strategic prioritization, organizational balance, and long-term vision.
The conversation also touches on passive income, side hustles, and how organizations can empower employees to build careers while supporting personal growth. Ben closes with insights into Hi ABA’s evolving vision and how listeners can reach out if they’re curious to learn more.
 
 
--------------------------------------------------------- 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 episode of Driven: Unscripted Success, Mike and Nareman sit down with Jennifer Ann Johnson, the powerhouse behind True Fashionistas, Florida’s largest lifestyle resale store. A former model and actress turned serial entrepreneur, Jennifer shares how her humble roots shaped her passion for fashion and entrepreneurship.
You’ll hear how she went from a bridal shop in her house to launching a multimillion-dollar resale brand, all while juggling motherhood, leadership, and coaching other entrepreneurs. Jennifer opens up about the betrayal that forced her to rebuild from scratch, how “Founder’s Time” keeps her focused, and the lessons she’s learned from taking big risks.
Plus, she dives into building passive income through her coaching academy and shares her favorite mindset-shifting books for entrepreneurs.
 
---------------------------------------------------------- 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 eye-opening episode, we sit down with Brian Bass, founder of Bass Global, Inc., to explore the world of medical communications—a field many don’t even know exists. From writing educational content for healthcare professionals to developing patient-facing materials seen in doctors’ offices, Brian’s journey into medical writing is as surprising as it is inspiring.
Brian shares how he transformed a freelancing gig into a full-blown business, assembling a team of top-tier writers and editors. He opens up about risk-taking, bad career moves that led to amazing outcomes, and how flexibility and honesty have shaped his leadership style.
We also dive into the challenges currently facing the medical writing field—from disappearing data on trusted government sites to the cautious adoption of AI—and why the stakes are higher than ever when it comes to delivering factual, science-based content to patients and professionals alike.
You’ll hear about:
How Brian built his business from scratch after a career pivot
What it takes to be successful in medical writing today
How AI is disrupting the industry—and what to watch out for
The importance of flexibility in entrepreneurship
How Brian leverages passive income through smart business and real estate strategies
 
---------------------------------------------------------- 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 happens when a high-powered economist ditches Wall Street to dive into philanthropy in the Galapagos Islands? In this compelling episode, Mike Mannino sits down with Francisco Zalles—a world-traveling professor of economics, serial entrepreneur, and passionate conservationist. From leading undergraduate programs in Spain to conducting deep-sea dives in Cozumel, Francisco shares his insights on reinvention, failure, global economics, and the future of money.
Francisco’s journey winds through the dollarization of Ecuador, the stresses of high-stakes leadership, and his current mission: bringing autonomy and conservation funding to the Galapagos Islands. Whether he's lecturing on macroeconomics or exploring marine ecosystems, Francisco’s story is full of rich lessons on resilience, innovation, and purpose.
In this episode:
Why the Galapagos Islands are a unique case study in both ecology and economics
What hypomania, ADHD, and entrepreneurship have in common
The failures that taught him the most—and how he rebounded
Insights into the future of money, AI, and trade on Earth (and Mars)
Why conservation must be led by the people who live it
 
 
--------------------------------------------------------- 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 eye-opening episode, Mike sits down with real estate investor and mobile home park expert Mario Dattilo to uncover a high-cash-flow asset class most people overlook. From flipping homes to building a mobile home park empire, Mario shares how he shifted his mindset, structured his team, and built a consistent, scalable acquisition system that delivers long-term wealth.
You’ll learn why mobile home parks are among the most tax-efficient and recession-resistant real estate investments—and how you can break into the game. Mario gets real about his past failures, including a financial collapse in his early 20s, and how he turned it into fuel for a stronger, more intentional business.
Whether you're new to commercial real estate or a seasoned investor looking to diversify, this episode is packed with golden insights.
Key Takeaways:
Why mobile home parks offer unmatched stability and ROI
Mario’s "consistency × volume = results" business formula
How professionalization is changing the mobile home park industry
Why Mario avoids brokers and goes direct-to-owner
Advice for building complementary partnerships and scaling smart
The critical difference between being an investor vs. building an investment business
 
--------------------------------------------------------- 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.

JD walks us through his journey from garden-side sales to launching a national nonprofit teaching kids how to turn ideas into real money. He and host Mike Mannino explore topics like:
Why rejection builds resilience
How dyslexia and ADHD helped JD think differently
The power of mentorship—and why most kids don’t get it
Why entrepreneurship is a mindset, not just a job
The failures that made him stronger
Plus, hear about Biz Kids Expos, a Shark Tank-style experience where young entrepreneurs pitch their ideas, sell their products, and walk away with real cash.
 
 
--------------------------------------------------------- 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 happens when a Boston native trades the city bar scene for a Fijian-rooted plant and an entrepreneurial mission in Florida? In this episode, Michael Hamwey shares his transformation from skeptic to pioneer in the world of kava and kratom, two herbal alternatives gaining traction in modern wellness.
Michael walks us through his journey from visiting a kava bar on a whim to co-founding Kava Luv, a fast-growing social lounge concept built around herbal relaxation and human connection. He breaks down what kava and kratom really are, how they work, and why they’re sparking a wellness movement in Southwest Florida—and beyond.
We dive into:
The community-first culture of kava bars
The misunderstood reputation of kratom
Building a business from scratch (and turning it around!)
Scaling to multiple locations and launching a national franchise
Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and wellness seekers alike
 
---------------------------------------------------------- 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.