Inspired By Example is a podcast about the heart of leadership — revealing conversations with leaders across business, public service, education, and the military, asking five essential questions about who shaped them, what tested them, and what values ground them. In this episode, Will and Rich's guest is Amish Jani, a top-tier venture capitalist and founding partner at FirstMark Capital, one of New York’s most respected early-stage investment firms. Amish has played a key role in shaping the modern tech landscape, backing companies like Shopify, Frame.io, Pendo, and Gravie, among many others.

Recognized by CB Insights and the New York Times as one of the top 100 venture capitalists globally, Amish has also been named to Business Insider’s Seed 100 and 50 Most Important VCs in New York lists.

Beyond investing, Amish co-founded CloudNY, a premier summit for cloud CEOs, and leads the FirstMark Founders Guild, a private community of the city’s most promising entrepreneurs. His career reflects not just a sharp eye for innovation, but a deep commitment to founder development, long-term thinking, and principled leadership.

About the hosts:

Rich is co-founder of Alignd, an intuitive SaaS platform that simplifies how teams turn strategy into action. He's also a podcaster (The Age Old Question), a musician (The Sweet Remains) and a husband and father of five boys.

Will is founder of Next Frontier Capital, a VC-firm headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. He’s passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to create companies of impact, utility and value. He's an outdoorsman, a soccer fan, husband and father of two sons.

This podcast is presented by Alignd and Next Frontier Capital.

Inspired By Example is a podcast about leadership — purpose, passion and pivotal moments that change a life of meaning. In this episode, Will and Rich's guest is Casey Sheahan, a renowned outdoor industry executive, someone who has had an uncommon impact on how we play in nature and how business can work to protect it. As CEO of Patagonia, Casey led the company through its most successful period and cites the company's founder, Yvon Chouinard, as his biggest mentor and influence in leadership.

Casey has held leadership roles at other influential outdoor brands including SIMMS, KEEN, Kelty, Merrell, Wolverine, and Nike.

Casey has dedicated his career to leadership and conservation in the outdoor industry, including through his work with the Conscious Global Leadership Institute.

We recommend our listeners check out a TED Talk that Casey delivered in 2011 on the links between responsibility corporate transparency, responsibility and profitability.

About the hosts:

Rich is co-founder of Alignd, an intuitive SaaS platform that simplifies how teams turn strategy into action. He's also a podcaster (The Age Old Question), a musician (The Sweet Remains) and a husband and father of five boys.

Will is founder of Next Frontier Capital, a VC-firm headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. He’s passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to create companies of impact, utility and value. He's an outdoorsman, a soccer fan, husband and father of two sons.

This podcast is presented by Alignd and Next Frontier Capital.

Inspired By Example is a podcast about leadership — purpose, passion and pivotal moments that change a life of meaning. In this episode, Will and Rich's guest is Lawrence K. Fish, former Chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group, someone with a remarkable record of leadership in business, philanthropy, arts, education and more.

During his 17 year tenure in charge of Citizens, CFG grew 30 fold and became one of the 10 largest commercial bank holding companies in the US.

Outsideof banking, Larry recently retired as Chairman of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the largest educational publishing company in the US, and sits on the board of trustees of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an honorary trustee of the Brookings Institute, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he is a retired board director of the iconic luxury brand Tiffany and Co. and of Textron, a leading global multi-industry company with brands including Cessna, Beechcraft and Bell Helicopter.

Larry also chairs Bridge Over Troubled Waters, a Boston-area nonprofit providing services to runaway, homeless and high-risk youth, and the Fish Family Foundation, which administers the Japan Women’s Leadership initiative founded by Larry’s wife, Atsuko

About the hosts:

Rich is co-founder of Alignd, an intuitive SaaS platform that simplifies how teams turn strategy into action. He's also a podcaster (The Age Old Question), a musician (The Sweet Remains) and a husband and father of five boys.

Will is founder of Next Frontier Capital, a VC-firm headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. He’s passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to create companies of impact, utility and value. He's an outdoorsman, a soccer fan, husband and father of two sons.

This podcast is presented by Alignd and Next Frontier Capital.