Founder and advisor Shawn Johnston opens up about the realities of entrepreneurship—from what pushed him to build his own business to the hard lessons he learned leading “by habit” before shifting to leadership by design. He shares how building systems transformed his company’s scalability and profitability, and why clarity is the key to removing bottlenecks and empowering teams.

Shawn also dives into the personal side of leadership, discussing how ADHD hyperfocus can be both a powerful driver and a risk for burnout, and the strategies he’s developed to manage load, find balance, and lead more intentionally.

Whether you’re building a business, leading a team, or navigating work with a neurodiverse brain, this conversation is full of practical takeaways on how to grow with purpose and sustainability.

On this episode of Fintrepreneur, Dave and Eli sit down with Sahil Hasan, founder and CEO of Dots, a fintech startup helping companies pay contractors across the globe. Sahil’s career spans Google and X (the Moonshot Factory), and he shares how those experiences shaped his leap into fintech entrepreneurship. We explore his founder journey, how Dots scaled to multi-million revenue in under three years, and the lessons learned from raising nearly $6M from Y Combinator and top-tier investors. The conversation also looks ahead to the rise of fractional work, the challenges of cross-border payments, and the role fintech will play in building the infrastructure for the future of work. This is a must-listen for anyone interested in fintech, startups, or the changing landscape of global payments.

In this episode, Dave and Eli sit down with Cameron Burke, Partner at Fort Capital Partners, to explore what’s really driving today’s tech and fintech deals. From his journey as an operator to becoming a trusted advisor on capital raising and M&A, Cameron shares his perspective on what founders need—and what they don’t—when navigating high-stakes decisions.

The conversation spans the current state of tech and capital markets, the evolving M&A landscape in 2025, and what buyers are really looking for. Plus, a deep dive into fintech trends, sustainable business models, and how companies can stand out in an increasingly competitive and compliance-heavy space.

Whether you’re a founder, investor, or just curious about what’s next in fintech, this episode offers a front-row seat to the thinking behind today’s biggest deals.