Podcast
Beyond the Case
Hosted by Sohin Shah · EN
A podcast where global leaders from the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM) community join in a personal capacity and share the real decisions, failures, and mental models behind building enduring companies.
This podcast is independent and not affiliated with Harvard Business School.
27episodes
Episodes
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From Water Phobia to Kazakhstan's National Water Polo Team - Kaiyr Kochshigulov
1w ago00:13:36Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailKaiyr Kochshigulov shares an inspiring story of transformation, resilience, and leadership. Unable to swim until the age of 10 due to a fear of water, Kaiyr challenged himself to learn, discovered water polo, and eventually represented Kazakhstan's national team for six years. The discipline, teamwork, and mental toughness developed through sport became the foundation for his professional life.Kaiyr later transitioned from the technology sector into BI Group, one of Central Asia's largest construction companies. What initially felt like a step backward in his career ultimately became the opportunity of a lifetime. Over a decade, he rose from a manager to shareholder, leading a business that serves hundreds of thousands of residents.Throughout the conversation, Kaiyr emphasizes the power of mentorship, continuous learning, positive thinking, and customer-centric leadership. His journey is a reminder that success is rarely about natural talent alone. It is often the result of confronting fears, learning from great mentors, and staying committed to growth over the long term. Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:The fears you confront often become the foundations of your greatest strengths.Discipline is built through daily habits long before it produces extraordinary results.The right mentor can help you see potential in yourself before you can see it on your own.Success belongs to those who can learn from losses without being defined by them.A step backward in title or status can be a step forward in opportunity and growth.The most valuable education often comes from coaches, mentors, and experiences, not classrooms alone.Every achievement should become the starting point for a higher standard, not a reason to become comfortable.Great leaders create ownership by building with people, not merely serving them.A positive mindset is not wishful thinking, it is a deliberate choice that shapes actions, relationships, and outcomes.A life of continuous growth comes from seeking diverse experiences rather than following a single path.Books: The Power of Positive Thinking
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What Do You Leave Behind Besides Money? - Koby Jones
2w ago00:31:45Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThis conversation is ultimately about the tension between achievement and alignment.Koby’s story begins as a classic success arc: high performer in global financial markets, top-ranked derivatives professional, climbing the corporate ladder. But underneath the external success was an internal conflict. He experienced severe anxiety in his early thirties and eventually realized the problem was not capability, it was misalignment. He no longer believed in the environment he was operating in, and felt his integrity was being compromised.What followed was an act of conviction: he sold the family home, used his own capital, started the business with three young children, paid himself nothing for three years, and built the company without external capital or debt. To outsiders it looked reckless; to him it felt like de-risking because he was reclaiming agency over his life.But the episode moves beyond entrepreneurship.It becomes a reflection on fatherhood, identity, and legacy. Koby speaks openly about raising children who are now challenging him, seeking their own identities, and forcing him to step back as a parent. The same man who once protected and directed now has to let go.His view of success also evolves. Early success meant performance and validation. Later success became freedom: the freedom to say no, choose clients, reject capital, create, give back, and build according to values.The episode leaves us with a deeper question: What if success is not climbing higher, but becoming more aligned with who you are?Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Achievement without alignment eventually becomes suffering.Sometimes the riskiest decision externally is the safest decision internally.Freedom begins when your identity stops depending on external validation.Entrepreneurship is not a solo journey; conviction still needs community.Bootstrapping builds patience, discipline, and long-term thinking.The highest form of parenting is preparing your children to live without you.Anxiety can be a signal that your life is out of alignment with your values.Saying no is not rejection; it is choosing what deserves your life.Legacy is not keeping your children close, it is helping them become themselves.Success is the freedom to live according to your own values and decisions.Books:Liar's PokerWhen Genius FailedThe Smartest Guys in the RoomBlack EdgeThe Wolf of Wall StreetYou Can Heal Your LifeThe 10X RuleThe Mindful Entrepreneur
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From Risk-Averse Lawyer to Entrepreneur - Lewis Ho
2w ago00:19:30Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailLewis Ho’s journey is a story of reinvention, from a 25-year legal career built on risk management to entrepreneurship, robotics, and AI. Trained as a lawyer and eventually becoming partner at major firms, Lewis spent decades advising life sciences and technology companies on IPOs, M&A transactions, and intellectual property. By every traditional measure, he had achieved success. Yet he realized he had spent his career close to businesses without truly understanding what it meant to build one.As a lawyer, his role was to identify risk and protect clients from downside. The instinct was always caution. But over time, he began questioning whether he really understood the businesses behind the transactions or only the legal structures around them.COVID became the turning point.Lewis unexpectedly founded Avalon SteriTech, a robotics and disinfection company helping address pandemic challenges. The transition pushed him from contracts into product development, engineering decisions, partnerships, fundraising, and operations. The lawyer who once advised founders was now becoming one.That experience transformed his perspective. Entrepreneurship gave him freedom but also exposed him to the realities of scaling, hypergrowth, and hard tradeoffs. It also made him a better advisor because he could finally think in the language of operators rather than only legal frameworks.The next chapter became LexGuard AI, where Lewis combined his experience across law, biotech, and entrepreneurship to focus on AI governance and helping companies adopt AI responsibly.At its core, this conversation was about moving beyond identities that once defined success. Lewis went from risk-averse lawyer to entrepreneur, from advisor to operator, and continues to reinvent himself through OPM and new ventures. His story shows that growth often begins when you stop protecting an identity and start building a new one. Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Success can become a ceiling if you stop questioning what comes next.Lawyers manage risk; entrepreneurs learn when risk is worth taking.You can spend years around businesses without ever learning how to build one.Reinvention often starts with curiosity, not dissatisfaction.Entrepreneurship gives freedom, but growth still requires discipline.Operating experience makes advisors more valuable than expertise alone.Hypergrowth amplifies both strengths and mistakes.Leaders cannot be everything; they must know what to let go of.The best career transitions build on past experiences instead of replacing them.Don’t stay trapped in an identity you have already outgrown.
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Designing an Intentional Life - Lauren Cohen
2w ago00:33:10Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailA special thank you to Professor Lauren Cohen for taking the time to join me on Beyond the Case and for continuing to inspire so many of us through the Harvard Business School OPM program. This conversation was a reminder that leadership is not only about building companies, it is also about intentionally designing the life around them.From growing up in a small farming town and discovering markets through a fifth-grade stock competition to becoming a professor at Harvard Business School, Professor Cohen reflected on a journey shaped by curiosity, meritocracy, and a love of learning. We explored one of the questions many leaders wrestle with: What does success really mean? Professor Cohen shared why he chose academia over hedge funds, while candidly acknowledging there was never a single “right” answer - only the path that aligned with the life and values he continues to choose. The conversation also centered around family and intentionality. Through work, learning, travel, and powerlifting, he shared how he creates experiences that allow his children to understand the journey behind achievement and participate in the things that matter most to him. We also discussed family offices, succession, family enterprises, and the balancing act between preserving wealth, governance, and family unity, highlighting that enduring businesses are ultimately built on people, values, and communication. The episode closed with a simple but powerful idea: say yes more often. Many defining moments in life arrive unexpectedly, and intentional living means placing yourself where those moments can happen. Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Choose environments where merit and values matter more than status. Success is not one decision—it is the life you continue to choose. Share your passions with your family so they understand the journey behind them. Introduce responsibility early; people often rise to expectations. Ideas create value only when they can be clearly communicated. Health, strength, and discipline compound over time. Family enterprises require intentional design, not inherited assumptions. Maximizing wealth and maximizing family unity are not always the same goal. Finance is evaluation—the ability to understand and improve systems. Say yes more often; opportunity favors participation.Books:Everything Is Obvious (Once You Know the Answer)
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A Resident of This Planet - Rishikkes Pawar
3w ago00:40:04Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThis conversation with Rishikkes Pawar, Founder & CEO of DigitalZone, moved far beyond entrepreneurship and into identity, curiosity, resilience, and the philosophy behind how he lives. Despite building a bootstrapped global company, Rishikkes repeatedly framed himself not as a founder first but as “a resident of this planet”, emphasizing humanity over titles.His journey is unconventional: a college dropout who left his final exams to travel, someone who spent more time with older adults than peers growing up, and a founder who built through experimentation rather than structure. He credits curiosity, learning, and taking the first step despite uncertainty as the constants throughout his life.The conversation heavily explored failure and hardship. Rishikkes openly discussed borrowing money repeatedly just to make payroll during the first 4–5 years of DigitalZone, operating without investors, and living through constant uncertainty while bootstrapping. He also reflected on shutting down a second venture after years of effort, a failure that taught him focus, the importance of saying “no,” and the need to define exit criteria before starting new initiatives.Beyond business, the discussion moved into HBS OPM learnings, leadership frameworks, defense tech, space, geopolitics, and his future aspiration to eventually exit DigitalZone and spend time studying these domains deeply through fellowships and research.The episode closed with his reflections to his younger self: stop seeking certainty and remember that clarity comes from movement, not overthinking.Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Define yourself by who you are as a human being, not by your title, company, or achievements.Growth comes from staying endlessly curious and continuously learning new things.Progress belongs to those willing to take the first step despite uncertainty.Most problems become solvable when broken down into simple parts.Failure is normal and often teaches more than success ever can.Resilience comes from solving one problem at a time instead of carrying the whole burden at once.Knowing when to stop is just as important as knowing when to start.Ambition becomes more powerful when paired with structure and frameworks.Expanding your perspective beyond your industry creates new opportunities and deeper thinking.Clarity comes from action, not overthinking. Books: Zero to OneWho Built the Moon?
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Trust Yourself, Trust the Process - Pablo Murra-Farrus
3w ago00:20:57Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailPablo Murra-Farrus is a second-generation Mexican entrepreneur and CEO of Grupo Artec, a diversified automotive and paint distribution company based in Torreón, Mexico. The conversation blends operational wisdom with emotional honesty.Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Legacy businesses still require entrepreneurial thinking: Although Pablo inherited parts of the family automotive business, many of Grupo Artec’s newer growth areas - Audi dealerships, Chinese automotive brands, trucks, and the paint distribution business - were ventures he personally initiated and scaled.The automotive dealership business is relentless: Pablo emphasized that great leaders must know their numbers and stay deeply connected to the day-to-day realities of the business. In an industry driven by constant KPIs, manufacturer expectations, and operational pressure, success comes from balancing strong relationships with disciplined execution, customer responsiveness, and the ability to perform consistently under scrutiny from global brands.Leadership maturity means learning to say “no”: One of Pablo’s most honest reflections was realizing he needed stronger boundaries. After years of leading multiple boards and organizations, he now sees focus and balance as critical leadership skills.Physical discipline creates mental clarity: His daily routine of waking at 4:50 AM for cycling or gym sessions is not just fitness, but a framework for focus, humility, and emotional stability. Sports serve as an anchor amid business chaos.Turning 50 triggered a period of reinvention: Pablo described age 50 as a “balance sheet” moment where he questioned his trajectory and realized he needed to evolve mentally and professionally. That introspection directly influenced his decision to attend Harvard OPM.Harvard OPM was more transformational personally than academically: While he valued the professors and curriculum, Pablo emphasized that the biggest impact came from relationships, humility, and realizing he belonged among other accomplished global leaders despite initial imposter syndrome.Authentic leadership comes from self-awareness and humility: Pablo spoke candidly about experiencing imposter syndrome during his time at Harvard OPM, but ultimately realizing that growth comes from trusting yourself while remaining humble enough to learn from others. He emphasized that leadership is not about always being the smartest person in the room, but about continuously evolving your mindset and staying open to transformation.Great decision-making requires emotional calm: Pablo believes important decisions should not be made from anger, anxiety, or external noise. He values decisiveness, authenticity, and listening to intuition, while remaining emotionally stable during difficult moments.Mentorship matters more than most people realize: When asked what advice he would give his younger self, his first instinct was: “Talk less, listen more.” He emphasized the value of mentors and learning from experienced people earlier in life.Success is not only achievement. It is peace with your path: One of the strongest closing reflections was Pablo’s belief that every person has their own timing and journey. His philosophy today is about trusting the process and understanding that not everything is meant for everyone.Books:From Strength to StrengthThe Ride of a LifetimeShoe DogPaths of Glory
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The Quiet Principles Behind Building Businesses That Outlast You - with Zsolt Nagy
4w ago00:37:54Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailTruly enjoyed this conversation with Zsolt Nagy where beneath all the businesses, acquisitions, and scale was a much quieter philosophy about life and entrepreneurship. Zsolt spoke less about chasing growth and more about building things that can endure, through uncertainty, changing cycles, personal setbacks, and time itself. What stood out to me was his belief that real wealth is built patiently, through reinvestment, discipline, strong people, and the ability to stay grounded even as opportunities multiply around you.Coming from a multi-generational agriculture business and later expanding into automotive, real estate, hospitality, energy, and investing, Zsolt reflects on how many of his biggest lessons came through periods of pressure rather than success. From surviving COVID disruptions in Australia to learning the dangers of chasing too many opportunities too early, he shares an honest perspective on how focus, resilience, and operational discipline become more important as businesses grow.What I appreciated most was how often the conversation returned to humility. Whether speaking about his father’s habits, leadership culture, or his own evolution as an entrepreneur, there was a consistent emphasis on staying teachable, continuously improving, and building businesses that are bigger than any one individual.Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:A business is truly valuable only when it can grow and operate without the founder being involved in every decision.Reinvesting profits into productive assets creates long-term wealth more reliably than spending on visible success.Growing up in agriculture teaches patience because meaningful outcomes are built over years, not quarters.Crises often force operational clarity and can ultimately strengthen a business if leaders adapt quickly.Entrepreneurs create the best opportunities when they solve real customer frustrations they personally understand.Fast decision-making only works when it is supported by high-quality information and constant awareness of changing conditions.Using little debt creates resilience during uncertainty, even if it slows down expansion.Continuous learning through books, mentors, coaches, and peers is essential for staying relevant as a leader.Strong cultures are built when people feel like trusted team members rather than replaceable employees.Asking for help is not a weakness but a sign of maturity, self-awareness, and leadership growth. Books:Rich Dad Poor DadBorn RichThink and Grow RichThe Millionaire Next DoorThe Richest Man in Babylon
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From Trauma-Driven Hustle to Purpose-Driven Leadership - Saleema Vellani
4w ago00:30:47Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailSaleema Vellani shares the deeply personal story behind her entrepreneurial journey, from childhood trauma and feelings of rejection to building a life rooted in purpose, impact, and leadership.Saleema reflects on losing her mother at 16, growing up constantly feeling “not enough,” and how those experiences unconsciously fueled her relentless drive as an entrepreneur. She opens up about building businesses across multiple countries, working with institutions like the World Bank, and realizing that external success alone did not create fulfillment.The conversation explores the darker side of entrepreneurship: burnout, scaling too fast, emotional exhaustion, and the identity crises many founders silently carry. Saleema candidly shares how rapid growth nearly broke her company and how recovery required rebuilding not only the business, but herself.She also discusses how Harvard Business School’s OPM program transformed her mindset, teaching her to embrace uncertainty, think beyond black-and-white decisions, and evolve from trauma-driven ambition into purpose-driven leadership.At its core, this episode is about reinvention, healing, resilience, and learning how to lead from clarity rather than fear.Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Many entrepreneurs are unknowingly driven by unresolved trauma.Saleema shares how feelings of abandonment, rejection, and needing to prove herself fueled her ambition for years.Pain can create resilience, but it can also create burnout.The same emotional drive that helped her succeed eventually pushed her toward exhaustion and imbalance.Entrepreneurship is often an identity journey before it’s a business journey.Her story reveals how founders are constantly reinventing themselves alongside their companies.External success does not guarantee internal fulfillment.Even after achieving prestigious goals like working with the World Bank, she still felt disconnected from meaningful impact.Your greatest strengths may live in your blind spots.During the pandemic, feedback from others helped her realize her true gift was helping leaders build authority and trust.Scaling too fast can quietly destroy a business.After rapidly growing her company into the seven figures, operations, culture, and her health began collapsing under pressure.Healing personally is essential to leading effectively.Therapy, coaching, peer groups, and self-awareness became critical parts of her leadership evolution.Harvard OPM changed the way she thinks about leadership.The program helped her move beyond rigid black-and-white thinking and embrace the “gray space” where innovation happens.The best founders combine intuition with data.Some of her biggest wins came not from overanalysis, but from trusting her instincts and acting decisively.Purpose-driven leadership creates sustainable success.Saleema’s evolution was ultimately about shifting from proving herself to genuinely serving others and creating meaningful impact.Books: Give and Take
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The Mindset That Turned Rejection Into Opportunity - Gevorg Shahbazyan
May 800:37:49Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailIn this episode, Gevorg Shahbazyan shares a story shaped by rejection, resilience, and relentless ambition. Despite earning a master’s degree, speaking multiple languages, and completing internships in Washington D.C., he was rejected by nearly 60 employers before pivoting into real estate. One of the most defining moments in his journey came after closing a major deal early in his career - instead of maximizing his own commission, he voluntarily offered his broker a larger share than expected. That act of fairness earned deep trust and mentorship, accelerating his growth dramatically. Rather than becoming comfortable once the commissions started flowing, Gevorg dreamt bigger, teaching himself development from scratch and eventually building Starlife Group into one of the world’s top 100 development companies with over 2,000 units and 5 million square feet under development.The conversation also explored his philosophy around risk, leadership, and lifelong learning. Gevorg spoke about constantly choosing growth over comfort - from walking construction sites to learn development firsthand to later joining Harvard’s AMDP and OPM programs to continue evolving as a leader. He emphasized the importance of optionality in business, strong capitalization, surrounding yourself with exceptional people, and never becoming complacent. More than anything, his story reflected the belief that persistence matters most: when life feels like walking through fire, the only way out is to keep moving forward.Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Rejection doesn’t define your ceiling - Gevorg was rejected by nearly 60 employers before finding his path in entrepreneurship.Long-term trust matters more than short-term gain - offering his broker a larger commission share created a mentorship that changed his life.Mentorship compresses time - the right mentor can teach you in years what may otherwise take decades to learn.Don’t become comfortable too early - even after earning significant commissions, he pushed himself toward bigger goals.Curiosity compounds - Gevorg taught himself development by studying projects, reading extensively, and walking construction sites.Success is about optionality - every real estate project he takes on has multiple exit strategies to reduce risk.Strong businesses are built conservatively - he emphasized high equity positions and disciplined financing over excessive leverage.Exceptional talent is worth paying for - he believes great people create disproportionate value inside an organization.Lifelong learning is a competitive advantage - despite major success, he continues investing in programs like Harvard AMDP and OPM.Persistence is everything - his advice to his younger self: “Never give up. If you’re walking through fire, keep walking.”Books:The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son The Art of War The Prince Why Nations Fail
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Gratitude, Growth & the Pursuit of Freedom - with Caio Zapata
May 600:26:17Tap to summarizeSend us Fan MailThis conversation with Caio Zapata was particularly refreshing because it blended entrepreneurship with deep introspection and philosophy. Beyond discussing business growth and leadership, Caio spoke thoughtfully about freedom, gratitude, adventure, and personal growth. His reflections on purpose being tied to independence, and his belief that happiness is often the outcome of pursuing adventure, stood out as especially meaningful perspectives.Caio shared his journey from growing up in a fourth-generation Mexican family business to becoming the solo founder of Enestas, an infrastructure and logistics company focused on fuels and raw materials. In 2016, he made the difficult decision to leave the security of the family business and commit fully to building Enestas from scratch. He spoke candidly about the loneliness of being a solo founder, the uncertainty and failures encountered early on, and the discipline required to scale a business sustainably.A particularly compelling aspect of the conversation was Caio’s approach to self-education. Despite coming from an engineering background, he deliberately studied marketing, sales, compensation, finance, leadership, and organizational behavior through books and continuous learning. His philosophy was clear: entrepreneurs cannot effectively lead areas they do not understand at a foundational level.Caio also reflected on how his definition of success has evolved over time. Earlier in life, success may have been associated more with achievement or growth, but today he views it primarily as independence: the ability to control one’s time, choose meaningful work, and pursue life intentionally. Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the conversation:Success means independence: Success was defined not as wealth alone, but as freedom, owning one’s time and choosing one’s path.Adventure creates happiness: Human beings are built for adventure and challenge, and happiness often emerges as the result of meaningful pursuit.Gratitude brings presence: One of the strongest reflections was the importance of appreciating the present moment rather than constantly chasing the next milestone.Passion can be developed through work: Passion for LNG was not immediate, but developed through immersion, learning, and experience.Trust is foundational in business: In infrastructure and fuels, reliability and trust are critical because customers depend on uninterrupted operations.Continuous self-education is essential: Leadership growth came through intentionally learning every major business discipline.Solo entrepreneurship is rewarding but lonely: Building alone offers freedom, but also comes with emotional isolation and decision-making pressure.Growth without discipline can destroy companies: Rapid expansion without budgeting and operational discipline can become dangerous for a business.Hire people who challenge you honestly: One of the most valuable leadership lessons was the importance of surrounding oneself with truth-tellers rather than people who simply agree.OPM reinforced strategic thinking through “adjacencies”: A major takeaway from Harvard Business School’s OPM program was learning how to expand intelligently into related business opportunities.Books:12 Rules for Life The Art of Spending Money Work Rules! The 1-Page Marketing Plan
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