Shop these cozy fall favorites and discover products that are better for people and planet.
Prosperous Pours: Candles Igniting Opportunity Prosperity Candle’s studio is a place of new beginnings where women who resettled in the U.S. from overseas refugee camps earn a living wage as candlemakers. The B Corp’s candles contain all-natural soy and coconut waxes, pure cotton and wood wicks, and essential oil fragrances. Promoting reuse and repurposing, the social enterprise sells candles in teacups, bowls, baking dishes, and measuring cups.
Conscious Steps: Socks That Rock Embrace slow fashion with Conscious Step’s durable, fair trade- and vegan-certified socks made from organic Indian cotton. Each purchase directly supports a nonprofit. Shop by cause, with designs inspired by the mission, such as socks that protect bison by partnering with the National Parks Conservation Association. Adult, kid, and toddler sizes are available. Eco-packing is plastic-free.
Make a Statement: Sustainable Scarves TBCo uses natural and recycled wool fibers to create statement pieces that positively impact the planet, like the Merino Wool Triangle Scarf. The B Corp reduces waste by repurposing materials, such as making blankets from used garments, as well as using fully recyclable packaging. TBCo also donates to environmental and humanitarian charities.
Wrapped in Love: Eco-Centered Comfort Bearaby employs responsible social, environmental, and chemical practices, including a plastic-free supply chain. It makes knitted, weighted blankets from 100% organic cotton to help you fall asleep faster and feel calmer, such as the chunky-knit Cotton Napper. You can also cuddle up with a weighted stuffed animal, weighted sleep mask, heated lap pad, or knot pillow.
At the 2025 Real Leaders UNITE gathering in San Diego, Hugh & Grace was awarded the Most Transformative Company Award, a recognition that highlights organizations achieving extraordinary growth while creating a lasting, positive impact on people’s lives.
Hosted at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, the event brought together 150 top CEOs and purpose-driven executives to celebrate companies reshaping industries with integrity and innovation. Hugh & Grace earned this year’s honor by posting the fastest three-year growth rate among nominees and by reaching more people with its wellness solutions and education than any other contender.
“Hugh & Grace exemplifies what it means to grow with purpose,” said Kevin Edwards, President of Real Leaders. “Their work in advancing health and well-being proves that business success and positive impact go hand-in-hand.”
Founded with a clear mission—to help people elevate their health and well-being—Hugh & Grace has become a leader in making wellness accessible, effective, and empowering. Their philosophy centers on the belief that what goes on, in, and around the body matters. By offering science-backed products that support hormone health and reduce harmful chemical exposure, coupled with expert-led education, the company enables individuals to take control of their health and lead more balanced lives.
The recognition at Real Leaders UNITE 2025 reinforces Hugh & Grace’s position as a transformative force in the wellness industry, proving that growth and purpose can—and should—coexist. As the company continues to expand, its commitment remains rooted in empowering people to feel their best while shaping a healthier, more sustainable future.
With this milestone, Hugh & Grace not only sets a standard for transformative business success but also inspires other organizations to align their growth strategies with meaningful impact.
Armanino is a B-Corp certified, top 20 accounting and consulting firm dedicated to empowering businesses through innovative solutions in audit, tax, consulting, and technology. Armanino’s purpose is to be the most innovative and entrepreneurial firm that makes a positive impact on the lives of its clients, its people, and its communities. Here Armanino CEO Matt Armanino shares his knowledge and experience with Real Leaders.
Real Leaders: How do you thrive in the impact space?
Matt Armanino: Thriving in creating and sustaining impact requires — in every part of an organization — a relentless commitment to purpose-driven leadership and a culture that encourages continuous innovation. Every day we think about how we can better embrace a mindset of continuous evolution and focus on helping clients solve their most challenging problems.
We leverage technology and data to uncover new ways to drive efficiencies, but we also recognize that impact starts with human connection. Building a culture that empowers teams to think boldly, take ownership, and pursue initiatives that align with our broader mission allows us to stay ahead of the curve and deliver impactful results. Success in this space is about balancing growth and purpose and being unwavering in your commitment to both.
RL: What milestones have you achieved this year?
Armanino: Armanino celebrated its 16th annual Great Give day of service in May 2024. A firmwide day of community service, we had record-breaking participation with 20,512 volunteer hours in support of 158 unique organizations across the globe. Our team members took a day off to participate with service projects of their choice to make an impact in their communities and beyond. Over 16 years Armanino team members have contributed over 92,320 hours in support of various nonprofit organizations and community projects — the equivalent of more than 44 years of full-time work. In 2024, 2,155 Armanino team members participated in activities ranging from environmental cleanups and food packing to educational programs and social support service.
Armanino also completed its second annual Treedom Canopy Challenge, a firm-wide fundraising effort to plant as many trees as possible by Earth Day. This partnership was in collaboration with Treedom, a certified B Corp that engages in tree-planting projects worldwide. Thanks to the generosity of Armanino employees, friends, and the Armanino Foundation’s matching contributions, the initiative surpassed its goal, supporting the planting of 2,794 trees, which removes nearly 700 tons of carbon dioxide this year alone.
RL: What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
Armanino: One of the most significant challenges we faced was adapting to rapid technological disruptions while maintaining a human-centric approach. The pressure to innovate can overshadow the importance of staying connected to the needs of your people. We tackled this by integrating robust feedback loops and educational processes within our teams, ensuring that our adoption of tech advancements, specifically AI, was directly informed by those on the front lines — our in-house experts of AI leaders.
RL: What is your best strategy for finding investors?
Armanino: We also reimagined our talent development strategies, recognizing that to keep pace with industry change, our people need more than just technical skills; they need to think critically and lead confidently in dynamic environments.
RL: What is your long-term, mission-oriented dream?
Armanino: Armanino’s long-term mission is to lead the accounting and consulting industry into a new era where impact and innovation go hand-in-hand. We envision a future where our firm isn’t just a service provider but a strategic, trusted advisor that empowers businesses to achieve their highest potential. This includes being mindful of the impact we have on our environment and local communities.
Our goal is to expand our influence beyond traditional services, leveraging our expertise to create differentiated platforms, tools, and partnerships that drive systemic change in how businesses operate when tackling their biggest challenges.
RL: What is your best advice for fellow impact CEOs?
Armanino: Stay anchored to your purpose and be fearless in your pursuit of it. Lead with empathy, and empower your people to think like owners. Cultivate a team that’s skilled and deeply invested in the mission; their passion will drive innovation and resilience in ways that no strategy document ever could. And remember, impact doesn’t happen in isolation — engage with your community, listen to your stakeholders, and build partnerships that amplify your efforts. Never hesitate to seek out others who can help turn your vision into reality.
Priority Power is a leading independent energy solutions provider focused on lowering energy costs, meeting sustainability goals, and removing growth impediments for large corporate and industrial customers. Priority serves over 10,000 clients, totaling approximately $1 billion in energy spend across 40 states. Its team of subject matter experts has a long history of successfully working together, along with deeply embedded relationships with its broad base of customers. To date the company has reduced over 10 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Here Priority Power CEO Brandon Schwertner shares his knowledge and experience with Real Leaders.
Real Leaders: How do you thrive in the impact space?
Brandon Schwertner: To thrive in the impact space, a business must achieve profitability and scale. The two are interrelated and co-dependent. To truly set an example of a lasting impact platform, scale must be achieved in order to be noticed, inspired, and replicated.
RL:What milestones have you achieved this year?
Schwertner: Priority Power builds electrical infrastructure that covers over $1 billion of energy spend a year — and that is the OPEX portion. Violent weather impacts our customers directly. During winter storm Uri, over 80% of the natural gas processing plants in Texas were Priority Power clients. As the ice fell over north and west Texas, these facilities began to fail, and the power plants failed due to lack of fuel. Our teams worked 24-hour shifts that week — hand in hand with customers, the public utility commission, and the governor’s office — to restore power in the field and get fuel to the plants. The grid was within minutes of a complete failure where the entire state would have lost power for multiple weeks. Without our impact during this and other storms, things would be much worse.
Also, in July 2024 I Squared Capital (“I Squared”), a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, entered into an agreement to acquire Priority Power.
RL: What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
Schwertner: Our biggest challenges have been a six-year, 45% compound annual growth rate during the pandemic, inflation, and rising interest rates. Energy prices are more volatile — and the grid is less reliable — but the demand for power has risen significantly, driven by the growth in data centers and manufacturing. Priority Power helps businesses and institutions manage their energy costs and accelerate their expansion plans by delivering innovative solutions that marry data, market expertise, infrastructure, and sustainability while reducing emissions.
RL: What is your best strategy for finding investors?
Schwertner: Profitability at scale while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
RL: What is your long-term, mission-oriented dream?
Schwertner: To automate the economic consumption of power across the planet, including bringing electricity to every human on the planet.
RL: What is your best advice for fellow impact CEOs?
Schwertner: Put yourself in uncomfortable situations, and outwork everyone around you.
DLP Capital is a private real estate investment firm focused on transforming lives by building thriving communities. Through its sponsored funds comprised of accredited investors, DLP finances, develops, constructs, and operates safe, attainable rental housing communities for those priced out of homeownership. Here DLP Capital Founder and CEO Don Wenner shares his knowledge and experience with Real Leaders.
Real Leaders: How do you thrive in the impact space?
Don Wenner: It takes grit, dedication, drive, and discipline to make meaningful change in anything — especially the world. It’s not enough just to want to make an impact, no matter how strong that drive is. Grit is the passion and perseverance to wake up each day and continue progressing toward the big picture, even when it feels out of reach or when you must pivot in an unexpected direction. Grit is born from clarity and fueled by authenticity. Before you can make an impact, you need to know the what, why, and how — that’s the clarity. These elements of clarity are something you can turn to again and again when you feel off course. Authenticity and truly believing and caring about the work you do are crucial to thriving in the impact space. It keeps you going. True authenticity and passion can be felt by others, drawing them in to join you and magnify your impact.
RL: What milestones have you achieved this year?
Wenner: For the 12th consecutive year, DLP was recognized by the Inc. 5000 annual list of America’s fastest-growing companies. The funds that DLP sponsors had a range of successes, including surpassing $1 billion in assets under management in the DLP Lending Fund as of June 2024.
RL: What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
Wenner: Amid the interest rate hikes and other market distress, it was challenging over the last year to source and find deals that the firm was confident would make sense for investors, which is paramount in the decision to invest or not invest in an asset. Despite these challenges, the firm has continued its track record of exceeding return targets in all funds since inception.
RL: What is your best strategy for finding investors?
Wenner: When you’re passionate about what you’re doing, when you do what you say you are going to do, when you believe in how powerful the work you are doing is, people are going to be drawn to that. The world is full of people who want to do good; they just don’t always know where to start. People lose sight of just how valuable — actually, let me go stronger with that — essential it is to create relationships. We don’t just talk to investors from behind a computer or a phone. We talk to them over dinner, in workshops, and live on webinars. The reason investors stay with DLP isn’t just about returns; it’s about the team support they feel on everything from investments to building extraordinary families and financial legacies.
RL: What is your long-term, mission-oriented dream?
Wenner: It is to make an impact on 10 million lives through the funding and building of 5,000 thriving communities.
RL: What is your best advice for fellow impact CEOs?
Wenner: Don’t lose sight of why you started. There will be pivots, challenges, and people who don’t believe in what you’re doing. Keep going. Stay true to your mission with an open mind about new opportunities that could potentially magnify your impact.
The AZEK Company is an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of beautiful, low-maintenance, and environmentally sustainable outdoor living products. Recognized as a leader in innovation, quality, aesthetics, and sustainability, its products are made from up to 85% recycled material, providing a long-lasting, eco-friendly, and stylish solution to consumers. Here, The AZEK Company President and CEO Jesse Singh shares his knowledge and experience with Real Leaders.
Real Leaders: How do you thrive in the impact space?
Jesse Singh: We thrive by staying true to our core purpose, which is to revolutionize outdoor living. Our decisions are centered on creating long-lasting products that reduce environmental impact, while enhancing the beauty, functionality, and resilience of outdoor living spaces. By transforming waste into opportunity, we use up to 85% recycled waste and scrap materials to manufacture products across our portfolio, which enhances our commitment to sustainability and circularity.
RL: What milestones have you achieved this year?
Singh: This year we set a new industry standard by becoming the first to earn an Ignition Resistant designation from California’s state fire marshal. Our products offer top-rated fire resistance and are made with an increasing amount of recycled waste and scrap material.
RL: What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
Singh: Historical biases around synthetic materials still exist in the built environment. As we continue to expand and engage the market in a broader way, we are increasingly optimistic about the long-term opportunity for growth and material conversion away from wood and toward our types of materials. Our success is evidenced by a 10-year track record of delivering double-digit compound annual growth in net sales. This positions us to capitalize on the growing demand for sustainable materials.
RL: What is your best strategy for finding investors?
Singh: Communicate your vision clearly and demonstrate tangible results. Building strong relationships and maintaining transparency helps attract the right investors. Getting your story out there — whether at conferences, trade shows, virtual webcasts, or in-person meetings — creates valuable opportunities to engage with new potential investors.
RL: What is your long-term, mission-oriented dream?
Singh: Our long-term dream is to lead the building products industry toward a fully circular economy, where waste is eliminated and most of our materials come from recycled or renewable sources. We aim to inspire a broader shift across industries toward sustainable practices that positively impact both people and the planet.
RL: What is your best advice for fellow impact CEOs?
Singh: Stay focused on your big ambition while creating a maniacal focus on execution. Hold fast to your mission and values, especially when challenges arise; authenticity resonates with customers, employees, and investors. Prioritize delivering real, measurable impact and embrace innovation. Do not be afraid to take calculated risks. Building a strong, purpose-driven team is also crucial; surround yourself with passionate, experienced individuals who share your vision and are committed to delivering results and making an impact.
Cymbiotika is a wellness company that revolutionizes health through advanced supplements that support optimal vitality and well-being. With a focus on holistic wellness, Cymbiotika is leading a movement toward improved quality of life by offering science-backed solutions for enhancing internal health. Here, Cymbiotika Founder and CEO Shahab Elmi shares his knowledge and experience with Real Leaders.
Real Leaders: How do you thrive in the impact space?
Shahab Elmi: As a rapidly growing company Cymbiotika integrates cutting-edge supplements and holistic wellness practices to enhance the well-being of its community. Cymbiotika is a movement dedicated to improving lives and making a meaningful impact in the wellness industry.
RL: What milestones have you achieved this year?
Elmi: Cymbiotika launched six innovative products and achieved a significant retail expansion in The Vitamin Shoppe and Sprouts. Cymbiotika was recognized by Inc. Magazine as No. 31 on the Pacific Region’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies list and secured a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.
RL: What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
Elmi: Cymbiotika’s greatest challenge has been navigating the significant demands and product shortages that have heavily impacted its cash flow. The company’s rapid, triple-digit growth year over year has created overwhelming demand. As a result, the company has completed a first round of external funding to sustain its growth.
RL: What is your best strategy for finding investors?
Elmi: Thanks to the company’s viral success, high-profile celebrities and athletes have become advocates for the products, which has naturally attracted inbound investor interest. Building and nurturing these relationships has been key to Cymbiotika’s growth.
RL: What is your long-term, mission-oriented dream?
Elmi: Cymbiotika’s dream is to help as many people as possible live longer, healthier lives. Central to this mission is creation of a powerful hub for learning, empowering individuals with the tools they need to make informed decisions about their health.
RL: What is your best advice for fellow impact CEOs?
Elmi: Instead of running from failure, embrace it. It’s an integral part of the journey to success. Confidence in your mantra and purpose is crucial; it’s what will guide you through tough times. Embrace those challenges — remember, resilience is what builds champions.
Crusoe Energy Systems is a vertically integrated AI infrastructure company dedicated to sustainably powering computing. Here, Crusoe CEO and Co-Founder Chase Lochmiller shares his knowledge and experience with Real Leaders.
Real Leaders: How do you thrive in the impact space?
Chase Lochmiller: To minimize the environmental impacts of computing-led innovation, Crusoe takes an energy-first approach to providing a sustainable and cost-effective AI cloud platform. Since our inception in 2018, we’ve dedicated ourselves to driving change in advanced computing by utilizing wasted, stranded, and clean energy sources to sustainably power our data centers and AI-focused cloud computing infrastructure. Crusoe leverages cutting-edge technology to catalyze human progress across the globe while mitigating the ecological consequences typically associated with large-scale data processing.
RL: What milestones have you achieved this year?
Lochmiller: Crusoe avoided over 680,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by scaling Digital Flare Mitigation® (DFM) technology in the U.S. We expanded to 33 sites across six states, including 12 new deployments. Our company prevented over 5.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas from being flared and avoided over 8,500 metric tons of methane emissions. We generated over 635,000 megawatt-hours of electricity by harnessing stranded energy. We expanded internationally through a partnership with Unblock Computing. Lastly, Crusoe licensed our technology to enable a reduction in flaring by over 85 million cubic feet across two sites in Argentina.
RL: What is your best strategy for finding investors?
Lochmiller: None of this would be possible without the lasting commitment and dedication of our employees, investors, energy partners, cloud customers, and other key stakeholders — many of whom have been with us from the beginning. We cannot begin to express our appreciation enough for the many people working tirelessly to bring our mission to life. The key is finding the right people, partners, employees, and stakeholders who not only believe in our mission but can help us grow and succeed.
RL: What is your long-term, mission-oriented dream?
Lochmiller: Crusoe is working to transform the system of computing infrastructure — from the energy that powers it, to the data centers that serve it, to our purpose-built AI computing stack that supports the work of innovators using our technology. Through our vertically integrated approach, we are reimagining how large-scale AI computing should operate from the ground up. Our mission is to align the future of computing with the future of the climate, and that drives us day in and day out.
RL: What is your best advice for fellow impact CEOs?
Lochmiller: We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue to shape and scale the computing industry as we strive to always do more and do better, and that is the advice we would pass on: Strive to always do more and do better.
After 15 years of Army-crawling in the dirt, as she puts it, she recently erupted on the scene as one of the more followed and sought-after experts in mindset, behavior change, and life improvement; and her media company, 143 Studios, has worked with some of the biggest companies on earth.
Photo Credit: Mel Robbin’s Team
In this exclusive interview with Real Leaders, Robbins unpacks insights from her new book and its wildly popular, research-backed The Let Them Theory. Plus, she gives a crash course on ChatGPT for business, explains why you need to get on TikTok Shop now, and gets real about her gravest mistakes as CEO.
Real Leaders: How do the ideas in The Let Them Theory apply to business founders and CEOs?
Mel Robbins: The Let Them Theory is a simple mindset tool that shows you in any moment in your business and your life what’s in your control and what’s not — and lets you take the power back and lead. It is particularly important in business because when you get yourself obsessed with the things about your business or your team that you can’t control, it’s going to stress you out. The more you’re stressed, the more you bring that tight, micromanaging, narrow-focused energy to your team and business, the worse your team is going to do, and the worse your business is going to do.
Let them is a recognition that this issue that’s bothering me is not where my power is. Therefore I’m going to recognize that and say, “Let them.” The thing that your team did, the nasty review that the customer left online, the deal that you didn’t win, the interest rates that you can’t control — already happened. The power is not in getting upset about what’s going on in the markets or about how hard it is to hire talented people. Your power is in your response, and that’s the second part of the theory.
After you say, “Let them,” you’re going to say, “Let me — let me remind myself at all times that I have three things I can control: what I think about this, what I do, and what I don’t do.” One of the major mistakes that I’ve made as a CEO is I often feel the need to do something and react out of panic, fear, or anger. All that does — because leaders bring the weather — is it spreads more panic, fear, and anger through your organization and team.
The third thing you can control — and this is where it changes you as a leader and trickles down into your organization — is the let me part. It’s also about let me manage my response to my feelings about this thing. Let me show up as a CEO instead of showing up like an 8-year-old inside a big body who’s constantly reacting to things and sending shock waves through an organization that needs something different from me.
Listen to the full interview with Mel Robbins only on the Real Leaders Podcast.
RL: What inspired you to create a bonus chapter on leadership?
Robbins: There are two big topics that require and deserve more attention and detail: One of them is parenting, and the other is how to use The Let Them Theory at work. As a CEO I can’t just let my team do whatever the hell they want. I can’t just let things play out. I have to lead. So I wanted to lean more into those two specific applications of The Let Them Theory.
“Leading With Let Them” is a guide to remind you what you know to be true and give you some principles to use The Let Them Theory to be more effective. It’s about using the science of influence instead of trying to manage top-down. It’s about activating the motivation, skills, and interest of people who work for you to rise up. You’re doing it through people rather than feeling like you have to be the one directing everything. It’s a very different management approach.
Let’s talk about operations. Operations are people. A company is nothing without its people. I know everybody is extraordinarily nervous and excited about AI, but people are also concerned about AI and how we’re going to use it. At the end of the day, it’s still all about the people. Are the people who work for you excited to work for you? There’s a simple way you can tell. Ask yourself when you pull into work in the morning, do you think the people who work for you are excited to walk into the building? Are they excited when your name shows up on an email? Do you think people are generally open to what you have to say, or they roll their eyes at you because you’re a nightmare?
The Let Them Theory forces you to understand that you will get better results when you empower and influence people, not when you micromanage them. One of the hardest aspects of using The Let Them Theory, at least for me, is making sure I’m the one: Let me be focused on outcomes, and let me be clear about my expectations and what it means to deliver these outcomes for success. Nine times out of 10 if something is not going well in a business, if you use The Let Them Theory and let them know what the outcomes are, let them know what success looks like, let them have the resources they need to get what you have asked done, and then let me get out of the way and focus on how to nudge people along and lift them up inside a very clear container — that’s the winning formula.
The biggest mistake I’ve made is not being clear in my communication. If there’s a breakdown, it’s almost always about a lack of process, clarity, or skill set in a particular seat. It’s almost never about somebody’s desire to succeed.
If you take time to make this shift and you’re willing to go, “It’s on me. Let me lead the way, define the way, and then get out of the way and go into a supporting role,” it’s pretty incredible how things change.
PhotoCredit: Jenny Sherman
RL: Where have you landed on leadership for yourself?
Robbins: It would be way easier if I were just the CEO. It is very challenging to be the person creating the content and the face of the brand and the company behind the microphone and in front of the camera — and do a good job as CEO.
I think about my business like we’re on a bus, and I’m driving the bus, and we’re going in a certain direction, and I’m the person as the CEO and the face of the business who defines the direction we head in, but I have to understand what seat in the bus I’m actually sitting in because I shouldn’t be driving it — that’s the COO. I should look at the GPS because I’m defining strategy. One of the most important things about leadership is understanding what is the best seat on the bus for you to sit in. (Jim Collins’ book Good to Great lays out the metaphor about having the right people in the right seats on the bus, aka the correct employees in the correct roles.)
As a leader, I have to recognize the things I do well, and if I’m not the best person to do some other job in this company, I need to get out of that seat and get somebody in it who can.
A major, major breakthrough for me was to understand that being a great leader requires self-awareness. The first step of self-awareness is that you manage your emotions and you are not bringing rain clouds and storms and dysregulation to your team because you’re stressed and fearful. The second step is self-awareness of your unique genius. It takes founders too long to replace themselves. The reason why is you don’t actually think about what is your unique genius — that only you can do in this company — and that’s the seat you should be in. Once you define the vision, what the outcomes should be, and what success looks like — and you have an organization where everybody knows the one thing that matters most today for their seat — things run very smoothly. The hardest person to get out of the way when it comes to an organization is yourself.
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Gary Vee to Real Leaders: “We’re All Playing the Same Game Now”
What if you had the same shot at going viral as Gary Vaynerchuk—today? According to Gary, you do.
In a candid conversation with Real Leaders, Gary Vee pulls back the curtain on what actually works in leadership, branding, and business growth today. It’s not hype. It’s not smoke and mirrors. It’s creative merit. And for the first time in history, that matters more than followers, legacy, or budget.
Listen or watch the exclusive interview with Gary Vaynerchuk.
Here’s what he had to say:
1. The New Branding Era: Merit Wins
Forget waiting for permission. Gary made it clear: today’s content economy is built on “interest media,” not follower counts. You could be on your fourth LinkedIn post, and if it hits, it’ll outperform his.
“We are now in the era of interest media… You have six followers. It’s your fourth day. But if your stuff is better than mine? It gets more views. That’s never existed before.”
Translation? Stop overthinking. Start creating.
2. Impact Without the Ego
Gary didn’t shy away from talking about doing business with meaning. He emphasized that how you make money matters more than how much—and not for PR reasons, but for personal peace.
“Between 40 and 90, the dollars don’t bring happiness. If you want to be joyful, align your business with your values.”
The impact space, he said, has matured. Snake-oil altruism is fading. And thoughtful entrepreneurship is finally mainstream.
3. Live Shopping is the Next Big Wave
Gary lit up when asked about live shopping. If you sell anything—product, service, even SaaS—his message was clear: get in now.
“Stop reading this article and spend 25 hours researching live social shopping. I’m not kidding. This is big.”
From TikTok Shop to Whatnot, the platforms are in place. The attention is there. And if Amazon misplays this? It could dethrone them.
4. Day Trading Attention
Gary coined the phrase “day trading attention” to describe the speed and skill required in today’s marketing. The old model—set it and forget it—is dead.
“Don’t get romantic about how you got here. Be obsessed with where it’s going.”
His advice? Watch where attention shifts. Move fast. And experiment often.
5. Choosing Between Your Personal Brand or Company Brand?
One of the most common questions CEOs ask: Should I post from my own account or my company’s?
Gary’s answer? Both.
“Humans over-index humans. But if you’re doing both, you can push traffic between them. And collab posts make that easier than ever.”
If you’re overwhelmed, he adds, just start somewhere. The algorithm doesn’t care how famous you are—it cares how relevant you are.
Closing Words: Real Leadership Starts With You
If you’re waiting for permission to lead online—you’ve already lost. But if you’re willing to hit “publish,” you’ve never had a better shot.
“It’s not about how you got here. It’s about what you do now.”
Whether you’re building your brand, growing your business, or leading with purpose, Gary Vee’s insights are a must-hear for today’s impact-driven CEOs. To dive deeper, listen to the full conversation on the Real Leaders Podcast.
