Doug Miller’s journey from energy trading at Enron to entrepreneurship in the distilling industry is a powerful story about resilience, mentorship, leadership, listening, and giving back.

In this episode of The Dona Kapp Show on Business Life and the Ripple Effect, Dona Kappmeyer sits down with Doug Miller, Chief Executive Officer at Wildcat Brothers Distilling, to explore the lessons behind his entrepreneurial journey and the relationships that have shaped his life and leadership.

Doug shares what it was like to leave a successful career in energy commodities trading and enter an unfamiliar industry just months before the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. He discusses the challenges of launching a distillery during one of the most difficult periods for businesses, adapting when the original business plan no longer worked, learning from mistakes, restructuring leadership roles, and building a smaller but more productive team.

The conversation also dives deep into the importance of mentorship and continuous learning. Doug explains why one of his core philosophies is “two ears, one mouth, used proportionately,” and how listening can help leaders make better decisions, discover new ideas, and build stronger relationships.

Doug also shares lessons from more than three decades of involvement with Theta Chi, including his experience mentoring college-age men and passing forward the guidance he received from his own mentors.

Other topics discussed include:

• Entrepreneurship and taking a leap of faith
• Leadership lessons from business challenges
• Learning from mistakes and adapting during uncertainty
• The importance of listening as a leader
• Finding and building meaningful mentor relationships
• Why great mentors give more than they receive
• Developing the next generation of leaders
• Collaboration instead of competition
• Building relationships within the distilling industry
• Supporting Louisiana’s distilling community
• Giving back through business
• Supporting veterans and military communities
• Building a business with purpose
• Creating a lasting ripple effect through leadership and mentorship

Doug’s message is simple but powerful: keep learning, stay curious, listen to others, build genuine relationships, and pass forward what others have given you.

What ripple effect will you create?

Subscribe to The Dona Kapp Show on Business Life and the Ripple Effect for more conversations with entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers about the experiences, relationships, and decisions that shape their impact.

Guest: Doug Miller
Chief Executive Officer at Wildcat Brothers Distilling
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougmillerenergy/

#TheDonaKAPPshow #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Mentorship #BusinessLeadership #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneur #DistillingIndustry #BusinessGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment.

I hope you enjoy this episode!
Please like, share, and subscribe so more business owners and leaders can discover the show.
— Dona and The Dona KAPP Show Podcast Team

Connect with Dona

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donakappmeyer
Website: https://donakapp.com/

Listen to The Dona KAPP Show

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033XgUlw2dBzh9QNyRzKFW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-dona-kapp-show/id6795499632
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5590e534-faeb-4afd-a5bc-35989833696f

The Dona KAPP Show features honest, engaging conversations with business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and community leaders about business, life, and the ripple effect created by the choices we make.
Hosted by business coach, consultant, speaker, author, and entrepreneur Dona Kappmeyer, each episode goes beyond job titles and accomplishments to explore the experiences that shaped her guests, the challenges that tested them, and the lessons they learned along the way.

What does it take to break barriers, build a business in a male dominated industry, and create opportunities for the people coming behind you?

In this episode of The Donna Cap Show on Business, Life and the Ripple Effect, Dona Kappmeyer sits down with Marsha Hendler, Founder & CEO of TerraFina Energy, to talk about entrepreneurship, leadership, women in energy, ownership, investment, and the lessons that come from taking risks and refusing to quit.

Marsha Hendler shares her journey from hospitality into the oil and gas industry, where she became an owner and operator despite not having a traditional petroleum engineering, geology, or energy background. She explains how her hospitality experience helped shape the way she approaches relationships, investors, business operations, and leadership.

In this conversation, Marsha and Dona discuss:

• Breaking into industries where women have traditionally been underrepresented
• How Marsha's mother influenced her approach to career and leadership
• Making the transition from hospitality to oil and gas
• The hard lessons and risks of entrepreneurship
• Why learning from failure is essential to business growth
• Building relationships and finding unexpected opportunities in the energy industry
• Why ownership and decision making matter for women
• Creating opportunities for women to become owners, operators, investors, and decision makers
• The importance of taking action even when you do not feel fully ready
• Marsha's vision for helping more people participate in the oil and gas industry
• Energy, natural gas, and the growing power demands of AI data centers
• Building a lasting business legacy and preparing the next generation
• The ripple effect of opening doors for women and future leaders

Marsha's story is a powerful reminder that you do not need to have every qualification or every answer before pursuing a dream. Sometimes you have to step into unfamiliar territory, learn along the way, take the risk, and keep going.

Watch the full conversation for an inspiring discussion about women in energy, entrepreneurship, business ownership, leadership, resilience, and creating a positive ripple effect.

Subscribe to The Donna Cap Show so you never miss an episode.

Connect with Marsha Hendler on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marsha-hendler-86b3525/

#TheDonaKAPPshow #MarshaHendler #TerraFinaEnergy #DonaKappmeyer #WomenInEnergy #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #OilAndGas #EnergyIndustry #BusinessLeadership #WomenEntrepreneurs #BusinessOwnership #Leadership #Entrepreneur #RippleEffect

I hope you enjoy this episode!
Please like, share, and subscribe so more business owners and leaders can discover the show.
— Dona and The Dona KAPP Show Podcast Team

Connect with Dona

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donakappmeyer
Website: https://donakapp.com/

Listen to The Dona KAPP Show

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033XgUlw2dBzh9QNyRzKFW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-dona-kapp-show/id6795499632
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5590e534-faeb-4afd-a5bc-35989833696f

The Dona KAPP Show features honest, engaging conversations with business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and community leaders about business, life, and the ripple effect created by the choices we make.
Hosted by business coach, consultant, speaker, author, and entrepreneur Dona Kappmeyer, each episode goes beyond job titles and accomplishments to explore the experiences that shaped her guests, the challenges that tested them, and the lessons they learned along the way

AI is changing the way businesses work, but is AI really the solution to every business problem?

On this episode of The Dona KAPP Show, Dona Kappmeyer sits down with Alex Romero, Chief Executive Officer of Sentientinfo, for a thought-provoking conversation about AI, leadership, business strategy, innovation, and the future of work.

Alex shares why businesses should focus on solving the right problem before turning to AI and explains how strong fundamentals, better processes, and thoughtful decision-making can often create more value than simply adopting the latest technology.

The conversation explores why broken processes can become even more problematic when technology is layered on top, how businesses can avoid the pressure and fear of AI hype, and why leaders need to focus on growth and value creation rather than relying only on cost-cutting and layoffs.

Dona and Alex also discuss the importance of bringing together younger generations and experienced professionals, the value of institutional knowledge, and why leadership is not about having a title. Alex introduces his Four Cs of leadership: courage, competency, credibility, and compassion, and explains why developing more leaders at every level is essential for the future.

In this episode, discover:
• Why businesses should solve the problem before choosing the technology
• Why AI is not always the right solution
• How better processes can deliver significant business value
• The connection between AI, layoffs, and leadership
• Why strong leaders need courage to pursue growth
• How companies can turn automation into opportunities for employees
• Why experience and younger talent need to work together
• The Four Cs of leadership
• Why leadership exists at every level of an organization
• How technology can support people rather than replace humanity
• The importance of creating value instead of simply cutting costs
• What the future of work and leadership could look like

Alex Romero is the Chief Executive Officer of Sentientinfo, where he brings together business, operations, engineering, data, technology, and AI to develop technology solutions across industries.

The Dona KAPP Show explores business, life, leadership, and the ripple effect created by every decision, relationship, and action.

Connect with Alex Romero on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jalexromero/

If you enjoyed this conversation, like, subscribe, and share this episode with someone navigating AI, leadership, technology, or the future of business.

#TheDonaKAPPshow#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Leadership #BusinessLeadership #FutureOfWork #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #Technology #AILeadership #Entrepreneurship #DigitalTransformation #BusinessGrowth #FutureOfBusiness #TheDonaKAPPShow #DonaKappmeyer

I hope you enjoy this episode!
Please like, share, and subscribe so more business owners and leaders can discover the show.
— Dona and The Dona KAPP Show Podcast Team

Connect with Dona

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donakappmeyer
Website: https://donakapp.com/

Listen to The Dona KAPP Show

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033XgUlw2dBzh9QNyRzKFW
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/the-dona-kapp-show/id6795499632
Amazon Podcasts: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5590e534-faeb-4afd-a5bc-35989833696f

The Dona KAPP Show features honest, engaging conversations with business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and community leaders about business, life, and the ripple effect created by the choices we make.
Hosted by business coach, consultant, speaker, author, and entrepreneur Dona Kappmeyer, each episode goes beyond job titles and accomplishments to explore the experiences that shaped her guests, the challenges that tested them, and the lessons they learned along the way.