In this episode of Transformational Thinkers, Sara Sheehan welcomes Balki Kodarapu, a fractional CTO, Gen AI advisor, and SaaS scale-up expert. Balki shares how he helps startups grow from $100K to $40M ARR, avoid the “feature factory” trap, and build outcome-driven engineering teams. His specialty is creating clarity out of chaos—turning bottlenecks, missed deadlines, and organizational confusion into scalable systems and high-performing teams. He explains his strategies and insights to Sara.

Balki reveals why every startup needs a clear engineering roadmap, how to use OKRs and scorecards effectively, and why focus is the most underappreciated growth lever. Balki also discusses modern hiring practices and breaks down how his four pillars of engineering excellence - modular architecture, automated testing, compliance, and observability - help teams create the necessary focus on the right things.

To shift teams from a “feature factory” mindset, Balki encourages leaders to focus on impact rather than just outputs. Balki shares his leadership philosophy: first building trust with teams by working alongside them and even shipping code himself as a CTO. He sees the fractional CTO role growing in importance and advises founders to seek leaders with both hands-on technical depth and strategic understanding across multiple company stages. This episode shines a light on how to effectively lead through change.

About Balki Kodarapu:

Balki Kodarapu is a fractional CTO who helps SaaS and GenAI startups scale from $100k to $50M ARR—without burning through budgets or momentum. He has led six startups through hyper-growth, raised over $160M, delivered multiple exits, and built GenAI products that power pharmacists, care navigators, and Fortune 100 tech-support teams.

Balki specialize in stepping into chaos—engineering bottlenecks, missed ship dates, org confusion—and turning it into clarity, velocity, and meaningful business results. Over the past 9 years, he’s led engineering at six companies (including two successful exits), often wearing every hat: hands-on EM, coach of other engineering leaders, and strategic Head of Engineering.

He has a relentless focus on developer effectiveness and scalable systems, plus a firm belief that high-performance starts with human performance. He pushes every team he works with to carve out 15+ hours/week for learning, reflection, and growth. He wakes up excited about what mission-focused engineering teams can create with the right clarity, culture, and autonomy.

Outside of work, Balki mentors engineers, engineering leaders, youth nonprofits, jokes around with his golden retriever Finn, and devours an unreasonable number of podcasts and books. If you care about building better teams, scaling smarter, or surviving the startup trenches— he has stories, scars, and context-rich lessons to share.

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

Contact Balki Kodarapu:

• Website: YourCTOin.us
• LinkedIn: Balki

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In this episode of Transformational Thinkers, Sara Sheehan welcomes Eduardo Briceño, a keynote speaker, behavior change partner, and co-founder and CEO of Mindset Works, to the show to discuss the performance paradox. Eduardo explains this as being so focused on performance that we lose sight of learning and asking questions about what makes our performance effective. He discusses his book “The Performance Paradox” and the differences between the learning zone and performance zone with Sara.

Great performers, according to Eduardo, give the best performance they can on stage, but behind the curtains, they are doing hours of experimenting, trying new strategies, soliciting feedback, and learning. Performance without integration of learning leads to stagnation. Eduardo’s TED Talk “How to Get Better at the Things You Care About” highlights the need to alternate between the learning and performance zones for true improvement.

Sara’s conversation with Eduardo explores many of his teachings and strategies, including creating a safe space to experiment, the value of not just preaching continuous improvement, but creating an authentic learning culture, and why there is a need to reframe mistakes and errors into essential progress steps. Eduardo uses many examples of devoted high performers like Beyonce to illustrate the benefits of re-watching one’s performance to learn from it, and explains why learning and performing are not opposing forces but ones that should be integrated. This episode will change the way we view growth and mindset as related to our performance output.

About Eduardo Briceño:

Eduardo Briceño is a keynote speaker, facilitator, and behavior change partner who guides many of the world’s leading companies in developing cultures of continuous improvement, innovation, and high performance. His TED talk, “How To Get Better At The Things You Care About,” and his TEDx talk, “The Power of Belief,” have been viewed more than ten million times. His book, The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset into Action, won multiple awards. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Big Think, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Forbes, Inc., Quartz, and others.

Earlier in his career, Eduardo was the co-founder and CEO of Mindset Works, the pioneer in growth mindset development services, which he started with Stanford professor Carol Dweck and which he led for over a decade. Prior to that, he was a venture capital investor with the Sprout Group and served on several for-profit and non-profit boards. Before that, he was an investment banking analyst with Credit Suisse. He is a Pahara-Aspen Fellow, a member of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network, and an inductee in the Happiness Hall of Fame.

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Eduardo holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MBA and M.A. in education from Stanford University. Most importantly, he continues to enjoy lifelong learning every day.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• “The Performance Paradox: Turning the Power of Mindset Into Action” by Eduardo Briceño

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

Contact Eduardo Briceño

• Website: briceno.com
• LinkedIn: eduardo-briceno

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Sara Sheehan welcomes guest Mark Gordon, Founder and CEO of Integrated Go-To-Market Solutions, to the show for a conversation about blending psychology into scaling companies and how he positively re-energizes relationships with clients. Through his company, IGTMS, Mark helps startups and mid-market companies align scattered sales into one revenue-generating machine. He talks with Sara about his career journey, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and how lessons learned from playing rugby have stayed with him.

What motivates people is a foundational interest of Mark’s, and that fascination with people and his college psychology major drove Mark to the philosophies that guide his company today. How can we create a place where people will do the best work they’ve ever done? Mark pulled lessons from sports and from business school in addition to psychology to answer that question. People are generally trying their best, which is a belief Mark uses in his coaching techniques. Finding people who want to get better every day and creating an environment where they can do their best is the essence of his principles.

Mark’s history with rugby has informed his life in and out of work, and he shares stories that illustrate some of the lessons learned. Sports teams teach us to understand leadership, according to Mark, and people’s trust in the aptitude of their leader is what compels them to follow. Sara finds out which books inspire Mark, his thoughts on entrepreneurship, and client success stories that illustrate how he achieves significant results. He shares his Core Four foundational views and how he guides salespeople to greater revenue in this compelling episode about motivation and successful business scaling.

About Mark D. Gordon:

Mark Gordon is a veteran sales coach, growth strategist, and founder of Integrated Go-To-Market Solutions (IGTMS). Known for blending psychology with practical GTM strategies, Mark has helped thousands of sales professionals and scaled multiple companies into eight-figure successes. He specializes in cutting through misalignment to build high-performing, revenue-driving systems for B2B founders.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Jim Collins books
• “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

Contact Mark Gordon

• Website: igtms.com
• LinkedIn: MarkDouglasGordon
• Instagram: @MarkDGordon

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Sara Sheehan welcomes guest Rashesh Doshi, Managing Director of Talent Corner, to the podcast to explore his HR business and the fantastic growth his business has experienced. Rashesh details the growth in numbers and explains how their franchise partners add to the growth and are supported. They also discuss how the Stanford Seed Transformation Program is positively impacting Talent Corner as a team and Rashesh personally. It’s due to this reinvigoration that Rashesh is looking to expand Talent Corner out of India into nine other markets with the assistance of Stanford. Sara finds out part of the scaling plan for such an aspirational goal and talks about many of Rashesh’s guiding principles.

The franchise partners Talent Corner that brings in are welcomed into a robust training program, and are supported by a 27-member in-house team. Rashesh further explains that franchise partners are focused on servicing, not generating new business, so they are taking care of existing clients, which has helped the company’s growth in referrals. The Stanford Seed Transformation Program is also a key part of Rashesh’s scaling strategy, as their support has added to the team’s understanding of their company’s capabilities and is supporting the goal of expanding into nine new areas.

Sara discusses Rashesh’s transformation plan for balancing the company’s scaling goal with caring for partners and employees, and Rashesh stresses that the entire team has a part in the journey; it isn’t just him leading from the front. As he moves into this new chapter, Rashesh says he’s been learning to listen better and how that’s incorporated into the coaching within the company. His passion for networking has been a key motivator for his success as well, and the sharing of insights is something he cherishes.

About Rashesh Doshi:

He joined the company in 2004 and expanded the recruitment and business development teams. He came up with a Franchise Model which is extremely strong & effective. Today, Talent Corner is one of the Companies which has run the franchise business expansion plan for many years & has brought loads of success to its partners and to Talent Corner.

He is focused on being responsible for the strategic growth of the company.

He believes in the Philosophy of “Plan More, Think Longer & Once Decided Act Fast”.

Rashesh is a Member of BNI (Business Networking International), Round Table India and Mr. Harsh Mariwala’s (Marico Industries) PSR Project – Ascent.

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

Contact Rashesh Doshi

• Website: TalentCorner.in
• LinkedIn: RasheshDoshi
• YouTube: @TalentCorner

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Sara Sheehan welcomes guest Jim Carlough, a business strategist, author, and speaker with over 30 years of leadership experience, to the podcast for a conversation about how leaders are developed. Jim talks about his career journey and what makes for good leadership, highlighting insights from his book “The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership: A Roadmap to Success”. Sara and Jim focus on specifically discussing the two pillars of integrity and empathy as they relate to powerful leaders. Jim’s philosophy on empathy includes an obligation to lead employees and teams with compassion and camaraderie.

Jim shares advice from his current role as a Chief Sales Officer and offers a glimpse into the future of growth he envisions for his company. His other focus is leadership and helping people become better leaders, which is the impetus for writing his book “The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership”. Sara learns that while Jim envisioned the book as being written for corporate America, he’s had a great deal of success with the book being popular among superintendents and teachers in schools. Of the six pillars, Jim claims integrity is the non-negotiable pillar because transparency and integrity are vital for building trust with teams and organizations.

Better leaders are developed in part by getting in among the team being led. Jim notes that true camaraderie and integrity can’t be built “if you sit behind a closed door and sit behind a computer and just send emails to people all day”. He discusses stories from his own leadership experiences with Sara, highlighting the necessity of connection and empathy as cornerstones of effective leadership. Jim’s insights inspire thought on how leadership can be developed with people as the focus, and offer sound advice on what can be done to see greater success.

About Jim Carlough:

Jim is a graduate of Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey, with a degree in Psychology. He is an accomplished executive with experience in the C-suite and EVP/VP with over 30 years of expertise in driving explosive growth and profitability for healthcare and healthcare technology organizations ranging from start-ups to large-scale enterprises. With a demonstrated history of success in building high-performance teams, revitalizing struggling portfolios, and leading successful M&A integrations. A strategic leader capable of energizing and transforming any organization.

Jim is also a professional public speaker and published author. Speaking has been part of his professional responsibilities for a large portion of his career.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• “The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership: A Roadmap to Success” by Jim Carlough
• “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

Contact Jim Carlough

• Website: JimCarlough.com
• LinkedIn: JimCarloughMS
• Email: Jim@JimCarlough.com
• Facebook: JimCarloughMS

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In this solo episode, Sara Sheehan offers a message on unlocking the power of customized change management training, a strategic investment for CEOs. Success hinges on the ability to effectively manage business change, so investing in a private, customized version of a Mastering Change Management course is a key step for leadership teams. Sara breaks down all the ways in which customized training is an essential part of a successful transformation and details exactly how a private course would work.

There are six reasons, explained by Sara, on why a change management course is so essential for CEOS navigating complex projects. One, it is tailored specifically to suit the company investing in it. Two, it enhances leadership alignment and capability. Three, it builds organizational capacity for change, even in this era of constant disruption. Fourth, it speeds up change adoption and reduces employee resistance. Five, it’s scalable for long-term growth. And sixth, it cultivates a stronger organizational culture.

What does such a customized course look like? How is it built? Sara breaks it down into steps: 1. Initial consultation, 2. Customized content development, 3. Interactive workshops, and 4. Ongoing support. In navigating complex projects, change, and business transformation, there’s no greater toolkit to invest in than a carefully-tailored course designed to keep the leadership and team on track and engaged while key growth happens. Sara makes a compelling case for using this long-term strategy to achieve a business advantage.

About Sara Sheehan:

Sara’s professional career includes working with leaders in Fortune 100 companies and top-tier firms. She offers expert change management strategies to help businesses navigate complex transformations. Through her 25+ years of experience, she supports executives in developing change capability, in developing more leaders at more levels of the organization, and in creating high-performing teams. Sara’s knowledge spans change, organization design and effectiveness, talent development, training, marketing, business building, and business development.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Sara Sheehan Calendly

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

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Sara Sheehan’s guest in this episode is R.T. Custer, co-founder and CEO of Vortic Watch Company and Colorado Watch Company. R.T. transforms antique American pocket watches into one-of-a-kind wrist watches through Vortic Watch Company, and with Colorado Watch Company, will be building the most American-made watches at scale available today. Sara talks with R.T. about how he identified his calling in converting pocket watches, surviving a crippling lawsuit early in his entrepreneurship, loyal customers, and where he’s headed next.

R.T. discusses launching on Kickstarter and shipping watches to customers a year and a half later. Vortic scaled from shipping 100 watches to 200, and R.T. realized due to how the restoration of antique pocket watches works, he would face a maximum capacity of roughly 400 watches a year. This led to the formation of his Colorado Watch Company brand to address the ability to create quality American-made watches at scale. He and Sara talk about sourcing the antique watches, the market for wrist watches, and the triumph of surviving the 2017 lawsuit that he calls the hardest thing he’s ever done.

The lessons R.T. has learned from his entrepreneurial ventures are many and varied. He shares how he learned that people want to invest in momentum and how he realized that momentum and being the visionary for his company can only come from him. Sara learns about R.T.’s Angel investing, plans for the Colorado Watch Company scaling, why R.T. feels such a connection to military service, and the intricacies of antique pocket watches. This episode is a fascinating glimpse into a very niche entrepreneurial venture that is being scaled through an additional brand without sacrificing the original vision. Sara takes listeners deep into R.T.’s inspirational journey.

About R.T. Custer:

R.T. Custer is a multi-passionate entrepreneur, speaker, and guide supporting founders through community, connection, and mentorship. As the CEO of Vortic Watch Company, the Chief Revenue Officer of Carter & Custer Agency, and the co-host of Fast Foundations Mastermind, he knows what it takes to build a successful business and drive impact. He wholeheartedly believes that you can live a life of wealth and freedom when you’re not afraid to take risks, and he uses his platform to empower founders to step into their worth.

R.T. is also deeply passionate about his work as an Angel Investor and Advisor in consumer product companies through his video podcast, “Products Worth Talking About”. He is a sought-after speaker and podcast guest, especially after launching a 2nd YouTube show called “Custer & Wolfe, Building a Watch Company” with his business partner, Tyler Wolfe, to document everything that goes into building an American manufacturing company. R.T. has proven that it is possible to enjoy life to the fullest while building wealth, and he wants to share everything he’s learned so that you can enjoy the same freedom.

Most importantly, R.T. is a partner to Lindsay Roselle and the father of two boys, Sawyer and Wesley. They live in Fort Collins, Colorado, where they run their collective 5 businesses, chase their kids and two dogs around, and spend their (minimal) free time golfing, working out, drinking whiskey, and hanging out with friends and family.

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

Contact R.T. Custer | Vortic Watch Company / Colorado Watch Company:

• Vortic Website: VorticWatches.com
• Colorado Website: ColoradoWatchCompany.com
• R.T. Custer: Website: RTCuster.com
• LinkedIn: RTCuster
• Instagram: @rtcuster

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Sara Sheehan’s guest in this episode is Dr. Kerriann Greenhalgh, CEO and Chief Science Officer of KeriCure Medical. Kerriann shares the story of how she fell in love with chemistry and came to a place where she developed her own wound barrier and infection care skin spray, KeriCure. KeriCure is a revolutionary medical product and contains a nanopolymer technology that Kerriann worked to develop for topical wound care. Sara learns the history of its development and how Kerriann is using her knowledge and KeriCure to change the lives of children, adults, and pets everywhere.

When Kerriann discovered she had a natural aptitude for and enjoyment of chemistry, she obtained her PhD working in a lab focused on a nanoparticle, nanopolymer drug delivery system. While the lab focused on internal applications, Keriann focused on topical usage, and KeriCure was born. KeriCure spray is an acrylate polymer, which means it has the same elasticity and stretch as skin. It works to seal wounds, scrapes and rashes while disinfecting, reducing pain, and keeping bacterial infection at bay while the wound heals.

Sara and Kerriann discuss the varied use cases for KeriCure, from kids to sporting events to military packs, and explore both how portable the spray is and how easy it is to use. The difficulties inherent in FDA approval, marketing, online sales, and everything else entrepreneurs face are part of Kerriann’s story as well. She talks about expansion, creating a prescription-strength formula of KeriCure, as well as a pet and animal formula and what her plans are for the future of her creation. This is a fascinating look into a woman-led and created business that has a profoundly helpful impact on everyday lives.

About Dr. Kerriann Greenhalgh:

Dr. Kerriann Greenhalgh is a wife, mom and the inventor behind KeriCure Medical’s technology. Dr. Greenhalgh received her Bachelor’s in biochemistry and a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of South Florida. She was an initial member of MiMedx Inc. (later MiMedx Group) as lead of R&D and product development, and successfully submitted the company’s first 510k to the FDA for a collagen surgical mesh. Her experiences working on projects at the FDA, Homeland Security, US Army Medical Research Center, and with industry leaders, including Battelle and Constellation, have given her the insights on how to successfully develop and launch critical need products. She has been an invited reviewer for multiple NIH grant review panels, scientific journals, and is an established author and contributor to many medical and scientific journals and publications. Dr. Greenhalgh has over half a dozen patents, including many for the KeriCure technology, and is a frequent keynote and guest speaker at symposiums and conferences. Dr. Greenhalgh brings unique expertise to KeriCure as the CEO and Chief Science Officer and has dedicated her life to bringing safe, natural, and effective skin and wound care products to the world.

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Contact Sara Sheehan | Sara Sheehan Consulting:

• SaraWSheehan.com
• Sara Sheehan on LinkedIn
• Meet with Sara

Contact Dr. Kerriann Greenhalgh:

• Website: KeriCureMedical.com
• Store: KeriCure.com
• LinkedIn: kerriann-greenhalgh-548b7813

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