Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast

Ben Nemtin’s mental health unraveled under the pressure to succeed in school and rugby, until anxiety and depression left him unable to function. His recovery started with one choice: surround himself with people who inspired him. That mindset shift led Ben and three friends to create The Buried Life, a mission to pursue 100 bucket-list dreams while helping strangers achieve theirs. Along the way, he discovered how purpose, accountability, and action can move us through fear. In this episode, Ben shares the keys at the intersection of entrepreneurship, mental health, and personal fulfillment: how to uncover buried goals, pursue wh...

Entrepreneurs often assume hackers only target big companies, but small businesses can be easier targets than they realize. A weak password, compromised vendor, or poorly managed access point can expose customer data, disrupt revenue, and damage trust. In this episode, presented by Bitdefender, cybersecurity consultant, Abed Hamdan explains why your business might be an attractive target to hackers and how entrepreneurs can protect their business from today's cyber threats without needing a full-time security team.

In this episode, Hala and Abed will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

(00:00) Why Small Businesses Attract Hackers

(07:55) How Hackers T...

Despite living a health-conscious lifestyle, Dr. Will Cole found his body overwhelmed by grief after his father's sudden death and burnout from years of running a clinic, writing books, and hosting a podcast. This constant stress and loss revealed how little resilience his body had left and forced him to understand the role trauma, poor sleep, chronic stress, environmental toxins, and other lifestyle factors have in accelerating cellular aging. In this episode, Dr. Will shares how to support cellular health, reduce the stressors aging your body, and build the resilience and energy needed to keep up with your goals.<...

Lewis Howes embarked on a self-healing journey and completely shifted his mindset after realizing that childhood trauma, fear of judgment, and the need to prove people wrong were fueling his success but leaving him emotionally exhausted. Even after building a successful business and podcast, achievement could not fix what he had buried. By healing past wounds and grounding his life in service and a meaningful mission, he found a healthier path to greatness. In this episode, Lewis shares how to overcome fear, self-doubt, and unresolved pain while building success that actually feels fulfilling.

In this episode, Hala...

Jim Kwik’s brain health challenges began at age five, after a childhood injury left him struggling to read, learn, and remember. Once labeled “the boy with the broken brain,” he spent years discovering how memory, focus, and learning can be trained. Now, AI, smartphones, and constant distraction are making these abilities easier to neglect, especially as entrepreneurs increasingly rely on technology to work faster and more efficiently. In this episode, Jim shares how to strengthen your memory, protect your attention, use AI more intentionally, and keep your mind sharp in an increasingly automated world. 

In this episode...

Determined to fix her messy personal finances, Jean Chatzky built a career from journalism to investing on Wall Street and back to financial media, learning how money works. Along the way, she saw a major economic shift taking shape as women began earning, inheriting, and controlling more wealth. So she built HerMoney, a platform helping women become financially empowered. In this episode, Jean shares how this economic shift will reshape investing, relationships, and consumer behavior, plus practical strategies for spending, debt, credit, homeownership, and financial freedom.

In this episode, Hala and Jean will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

John Paul DeJoria launched his startup, Paul Mitchell, with just $700 after his investor pulled out, leaving him to convince skeptical suppliers, distributors, and clients to trust an unproven brand. Raised in poverty and hardened by years of door-to-door sales, he had already learned to expect rejection and push forward. That persistence eventually helped him build two billion-dollar businesses. In this “lost files” episode, the first recording of an episode published earlier this year, John Paul shares the business lessons he learned throughout his entrepreneurial journey and explains why he believes “success unshared is failure.”

In this episode, Hala and...

Financial freedom felt out of reach for Anthony O’Neal at 19, when he was homeless and $35,000 in debt after spending money he didn’t have to look successful. Years later, he was earning six figures but lost his job with only $400 to his name, proving that even high earners can be broke if they lack financial literacy and money management skills. That realization pushed him to stop chasing the appearance of wealth, become debt-free, and build a career teaching others to take control of their finances. In this episode, Anthony shares how to stop living paycheck to paycheck, eliminate debt...

Dr. Rick Hanson proves the power of positive neuroplasticity in his own journey from a teenager with an anxious mindset and deep unhappiness to an expert on positive brain change and resilience. Wanting to understand why people suffer needlessly led him to study psychology, neuroscience, and Buddhist wisdom, where he discovered that the brain can be trained through small daily practices. In this episode, Rick shares how entrepreneurs can use mindfulness and neuroplasticity to quiet mental noise, reduce unnecessary suffering, build resilience, and stay grounded when business and life get intense.

In this episode, Hala and Rick...

Before Rami Wehbi pivoted into entrepreneurship, he was stuck in a medical career he no longer wanted and $400,000 in student debt. After leaving residency, he gave himself three years to build a new path. In that time, he founded MatchDay Health, a business helping healthcare professionals pivot into non-clinical roles, which is now on track to generate nearly $2 million this year. In this episode, Rami shares how he turned his own career crisis into a profitable high-ticket coaching business and breaks down the pricing, marketing, and sales strategies that helped him scale it.

In this episode, Hala...

Dave Asprey's health was collapsing by the time he reached Silicon Valley. After hitting 300 pounds in college, he battled chronic fatigue, brain fog, arthritis, and pain, often forcing himself through work when he could barely think. He has since spent around $2.5 million to restore his wellness and upgrade his biology, learning along the way that long-term success depends on protecting energy, not pushing through with willpower. Today, having generated more than $1 billion in revenue across his ventures, he applies those principles to run a portfolio of eight companies. In this episode, Dave shares how entrepreneurs can eliminate triggers to...

Kipp Bodnar built his marketing career by spotting opportunities others missed. That instinct helped him rise to Chief Marketing Officer at HubSpot in just five years and grow HubSpot’s blog from 200,000 to 1.5 million monthly readers in one year. In this episode, Kipp shares the content marketing strategies that actually work today, how to spot overlooked opportunities, and the secrets to scaling your business through customer relationships and AI.

In this episode, Hala and Kipp will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:26) Key Strategies for Career and Business Growth

(08:22) Building Your Brand While Working in Cor...

Lisa Woodruff never imagined she’d build a multimillion-dollar business from an everyday skill. After leaving her teaching career at age 40, she started by charging clients to organize their homes before transforming that hands-on service into Organize 365, a company that now helps thousands of people run their households more effectively. In this episode, Lisa shares how she grew from charging $40 an hour for in-home organizing to building a $2 million education company. She also explains how entrepreneurs can turn hands-on expertise into recurring revenue and build a business that scales.

In this episode, Hala and Lisa will discuss: 

Tiffany Carter's self-healing journey began after she lost $1 million in three months. Although she appeared confident and successful, years of childhood trauma, people-pleasing, and low self-worth were silently shaping her relationship with  money and business. Determined to break that cycle, she rebuilt her identity and launched ProjectME, where she helps entrepreneurs discover their self-worth and create wealth. In this episode, Tiffany explains how unresolved wounds can sabotage your success and shares practical strategies for entrepreneurs to overcome limiting beliefs, stop people-pleasing, and build success without sacrificing their well-being.

In this episode, Hala and Tiffany will discuss: 

...

Regret is an emotion deeply rooted in human nature, but it may be your greatest tool for personal development. After his daughter’s college graduation prompted him to reflect on his own missed opportunities, Daniel Pink spent two and a half years studying what thousands of people around the world regret most. In this episode, Daniel explains the psychology of regret and how entrepreneurs can use it to make better decisions, take bolder action, and build a life with fewer “what-ifs.” 

In this episode, Hala and Daniel will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

(00:30) What Sparked Daniel's Regret R...

After decades of human health research, Dr. Tim Spector believed our genes largely determined why people got sick, gained weight, or aged the way they did. But 30 years of studying identical twins revealed something unexpected: people with the same DNA could respond to the same foods in completely different ways. That breakthrough led him to uncover the powerful role of the gut microbiome and co-found ZOE, a company focused on personalized nutrition and gut health. In this episode, Dr. Tim exposes the biggest diet myths and shares simple habits to improve gut health, boost energy and productivity, and support...

Mindset matters just as much as communication skills when speaking under pressure. Up to 85% of people report feeling nervous in high-stakes communication situations, but Stanford communication expert Matt Abrahams teaches that confident communicators aren't born; they're trained. In this episode, Matt shares practical strategies to manage communication anxiety so entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals can think faster and speak smarter in every business conversation.

In this episode, Hala and Matt will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:43) Navigating the Fear of Spontaneous Speaking 

(07:36) The Key to Better Small Talk

(10:46) Why Mediocrity Improves Communication

...

Scott Hickle built Throne Science around a startup idea most investors thought was too unconventional: a device that transforms your toilet into a health tracker, monitoring your health as effortlessly as a smartwatch. After nearly 100 investor rejections, he and his team kept refining the product, driven by a mission to detect early signs of diseases like colorectal cancer before symptoms appear. That persistence helped them raise $4 million in seed funding. In this episode, Scott shares how entrepreneurs can validate unconventional products, raise capital despite rejection, and build demand in a market consumers don't yet understand.

In this...

Having generated over $2.5 billion in product sales, hosted nearly 200 infomercials, and built a multimillion-dollar online business, Forbes Riley has spent decades mastering the psychology of getting people to say "yes," earning her the title "Queen of Pitch." In this episode, Forbes shares the Ultimate Pitch Formula that helped her make billions, teaching entrepreneurs how to confidently communicate their value, build instant credibility, and win people over in seconds.

In this episode, Hala and Forbes will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:10) Pitching Mistakes That Keep Entrepreneurs Broke

(08:42) How to Speak With Confidence and Credibility

Ryan Holiday's approach to leadership was shaped through patience and years of unglamorous work. After dropping out of college at 19, he apprenticed under bestselling author Robert Greene, learning writing, research, persuasion, and human nature before becoming the marketing director of American Apparel at just 21. Those experiences laid the foundation for his rise as a bestselling author and one of the world's leading voices on Stoicism. In this episode, Ryan shares how Stoicism can help entrepreneurs strengthen leadership skills, sharpen decision-making, and maintain a resilient mindset during tough times.

In this episode, Hala and Ryan will discuss: 

Starting a business was never part of Luna Aziz's plan. After struggling with low milk supply as a new mom, she began experimenting with her own herbal formulations and sharing them on Etsy. She had no investors, no marketing budget, and no plan beyond helping other moms. Then one customer's recommendation in a Facebook breastfeeding group generated dozens of orders overnight, turning her side hustle into Legendairy Milk, a $50 million wellness brand. In this episode, Luna shares how entrepreneurs can build a trusted consumer brand through education and community, choose the right sales channels, and scale without losing customer...

Ryan Hawk learned one of his most important leadership lessons the day his college football coach told him another player gave the team a better chance to win. The moment stung, but it reshaped his mindset about success and taught him that hard work only matters when it creates real value. That truth shaped his career and became the foundation of his latest book, The Price of Becoming. In this episode, Ryan shares leadership skills that help entrepreneurs improve every day, build trust, lead through discomfort, and become leaders others want to follow.

In this episode, Hala...

Brandon Dawson scaled his business from zero to $75 million, but behind the success, he was losing control. After taking the company public at 29, he watched investors sell it out from under him and learned that growth is not sustainable without the systems and leadership to support it. He started over with a new playbook and has since built multiple nine-figure businesses, including Cardone Ventures, which he co-founded. In this episode, Brandon reveals why 97% of businesses fail and shares how entrepreneurs can beat the odds to scale massively. He also discusses his core leadership principles and the key traits of...

John Paul DeJoria is proof that entrepreneurs can build extraordinary businesses without extraordinary resources. After experiencing poverty, homelessness, rejection, and the collapse of the funding he needed to launch John Paul Mitchell Systems, he kept going with just $700, selling door to door and creating products so good people wanted to reorder them. Those hard-earned lessons helped him build two billion-dollar brands and inspired his new book, Success Unshared Is Failure. In this episode, John Paul shares how entrepreneurs can turn limited resources, rejection, and early setbacks into companies built on exceptional products, customer loyalty, and lasting success. 

I...

Tom Bilyeu faced failure long before he achieved business success. After his senior thesis film fell apart, the future he had imagined for himself suddenly felt out of reach. Instead of letting that moment define him, he rebuilt his belief system around learning, feedback, and skill-building, a shift that later helped him build Quest Nutrition into a billion-dollar business and launch Impact Theory. In this episode, Tom shares how entrepreneurs can use failure as feedback to make better decisions, build businesses around meaning, and stay adaptable as AI reshapes the creator economy.

In this episode, Hala and...

Chandler Bolt built a $10 million business by challenging one of the biggest myths in publishing: that authors can only make money from book sales. As the founder of SelfPublishing.com, Chandler has helped many entrepreneurs use books to generate leads, attract high-value clients, and scale their businesses. In this episode, Chandler breaks down how one of his books generated $7 million in revenue for his business and reveals how to choose a profitable book idea, launch it successfully, and turn it into a driver of real business growth.

In this episode, Hala and Chandler will discuss: 

(00:00) I...

Entrepreneurship often begins with the goal of making money, but Naveen Jain believes chasing money is the worst way to get rich. After losing his father to stage four pancreatic cancer while building Moon Express, he realized success means little unless it helps solve the real problems causing people to suffer. That mindset led him to build Viome and reshape his life’s work around human health. In this episode, Naveen shares how entrepreneurs can think counterintuitively, solve bigger problems, and build businesses that create wealth by improving lives at scale. 

In this episode, Hala and Naveen wil...

Mel Robbins spent years stuck in a controlling mindset, trying to micromanage the people and moments around her. Then, at her son’s prom, her daughter gave her the blunt reality check she needed: stop trying to manage everyone and simply “let them.” Those two words became The Let Them Theory, a practice for releasing what is outside your control and putting your energy back where it belongs. In this episode, Mel shares how to stop reacting to everyone else, take action before motivation shows up, and build a business and life with more peace and ownership. 

In this...

Most people see artificial intelligence as a threat to humanity, but Zack Kass believes we're worried about the wrong things. As a former leader at OpenAI, Zack has spent years studying how technological breakthroughs reshape society and why every major innovation is met with fear and resistance. In this episode, Zack explains why people are wired to fear AI, why society may be blaming the wrong forces for many of today's problems, and how artificial intelligence could transform the future of work, education, healthcare, and human potential.

In this episode, Hala and Zack will discuss:

(00:00...

Leila Hormozi mastered self-leadership early, parenting herself through her mother's addiction as a child. That struggle spiraled into alcohol abuse and six arrests in eighteen months, until her father's warning that she could die forced her to rebuild her life through deliberate behavior change. Today, she runs a portfolio of companies that generate over $250 million in annual revenue. In this episode, Leila shares her secret to acting despite fear and anxiety and the leadership skills that help founders and entrepreneurs achieve ambitious goals, build exceptional teams, and create lasting success.

In this episode, Hala and Leila will...

Too many aspiring entrepreneurs spend years saving for business ownership, only to invest in an opportunity that was never the right fit. Alex Smereczniak has seen buyers focus on passion, hype, or income potential before asking whether a business matches their skills, lifestyle, and financial reality. In Part 2 of this How We Profit episode, Alex shares his five-step framework for evaluating franchise opportunities and breaks down real business models that can help entrepreneurs build wealth through franchising. 

In this episode, Hala and Alex will discuss:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:15) Franzy’s Business Model

(12:27) The Fiv...

Entrepreneurship gave Natalie Ellis the success she had always wanted, but behind the scenes, BossBabe started to feel like a business she could not step away from. When motherhood, burnout, and a difficult co-founder split forced her to slow down, she realized the freedom she built the company for was no longer reflected in how the business ran. So she rebuilt BossBabe into a business designed for freedom; one that could scale without needing her at the center of it all. In this episode, Natalie reveals the systems that allowed her team to generate $2.2 million during her maternity leave...

The true engine of business growth is customer loyalty, and Fred Reichheld has spent decades proving it. While working at Bain & Company, he noticed that businesses with obsessive customer focus were crushing their competitors, yet no one was measuring the loyalty behind those results. So he created the Net Promoter Score (NPS), giving entrepreneurs a way to measure customer loyalty and retention. In this episode, Fred shares how companies like Costco, Apple, and Chick-fil-A create lasting loyalty and why enriching your customers’ lives is one of the most powerful drivers of business growth and endless referrals.

In th...

Starting a business from scratch is not the only path to entrepreneurship, and Alex Smereczniak learned that through franchising. After building and exiting his first franchise business, he saw how confusing, outdated, and commission-driven the franchise-buying process could be. Spotting those gaps led him to build Franzy, a data-driven marketplace that helps aspiring entrepreneurs buy franchises with more transparency. In part 1 of this How We Profit episode, Alex breaks down the realities of raising capital for an unsexy business, why franchising creates more millionaires than most people realize, how he sold 118 franchise locations in a year, and the lessons...

One leadership decision helped Will Guidara transform Eleven Madison Park from the lowest-ranked restaurant on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list into the number one restaurant in the world. While most businesses competed on products, pricing, and technology, Will became obsessed with something most companies overlook: how people feel. In this episode, Will shares his philosophy of unreasonable hospitality and reveals why customer experience is a powerful business advantage. He explains the leadership skills, strategic planning, and team-building principles that empower employees to create unforgettable moments and build the kind of customer loyalty that drives business growth. 

In t...

Steven Kotler once believed physical and mental health decline was an inevitable part of aging, until peak performance science challenged his assumption. To test the research, he learned to park ski at 53 and discovered that the right training and mindset can dramatically improve brain health, creativity, and performance well beyond midlife. In this episode, Steven unpacks the science behind  cognitive decline and shares how entrepreneurs can stay sharp, motivated, and high-performing at any age. 

In this episode, Hala and Steven will discuss: 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:11) The Myth of Aging Decline

(07:08) How Movement Keeps You...

Entrepreneurship became Tara LaFerrara’s way forward after she got laid off from her corporate job and had to decide whether her fitness and content creation side hustle could become a real business. With a small online following and plenty of uncertainty, she learned the ins and outs of business operations, ultimately scaling her $99 programs into a seven figure fitness brand. In this episode of How We Profit, Tara shares the realities of building a coaching business from scratch, how she bounced back after a six figure mistake, and the strategies that helped her generate multiple income streams as a...

Mental health care has a silent crisis, and Dr. Chris Palmer has spent 30 years watching patients exhaust medication after medication with little relief despite world-class treatment. His search for answers became the foundation of his brain energy theory, a framework that proposes an entirely new way of understanding and treating mental illness. In this episode, Dr. Chris breaks down the science of mental health and metabolism, explaining how the brain's ability to produce and use energy may be at the root of psychiatric conditions. He also shares practical tips to support better brain health and overall wellness. 

I...

Dr. Mark Hyman’s health broke down in his thirties when chronic fatigue syndrome and heavy metal toxicity left him struggling to function. Conventional medicine, the very system he was trained in, had no real answers for him. Forced to search deeper, he discovered functional medicine, used it for self-healing, and later reversed his biological age by more than two decades. In this episode, Dr. Mark shares how entrepreneurs can take control of their health, slow aging, and use small daily habits to boost performance and live a longer, more fulfilling life. 

In this episode, Hala and Dr...

Starting a business from scratch is hard enough, but Rebel Cheese co-founder Kirsten Maitland did it by borrowing against her home, only for COVID to hit three months later. With no outside investors and everything at risk, she pivoted from a physical restaurant to an online business, learning e-commerce, logistics, and marketing on the fly. Years of relentless work eventually led to a Shark Tank deal with Mark Cuban that fueled massive business growth. In this episode of How We Profit, Kirsten breaks down how she scaled Rebel Cheese into a $20M+ business with over 60% profit margins while retaining 90...