April Mora shared her remarkable journey, from launching a financial literacy mission in 2007 to help individuals and business owners understand money, to shifting toward health and wellness after witnessing aging family members struggle with chronic wounds and limited continuity of care. She explained how Wound Menders MD addresses a growing but underserved problem; millions of seniors nationwide suffer from chronic wounds, yet many lack access to consistent, high-quality wound care, often relying on urgent care visits or untrained family members. April described how their mobile wound care clinic brings specialized care directly to patients’ homes, assisted living centers, and communities, offering services from traditional wound care to advanced stem-cell patches that are Medicare-reimbursed and can speed healing by up to 62%. She highlighted major challenges such as lack of awareness, limited mobility among seniors, and the burden placed on families, especially when wounds worsen due to delayed treatment. April also explained the importance of partnering with home care agencies, home health companies, and assisted living centers to provide proactive care that prevents wounds from progressing to more serious stages. She discussed insurance coverage, how Medicare Parts A and B impact wound care options, and the growing need to serve not only seniors but also diabetics, surgical patients, and veterans. As we concluded, April offered her biggest business lesson: success requires a strong team. Instead of trying to fix your weaknesses, she advises doubling down on your strengths and surrounding yourself with people whose strengths complement your own. Her mission, and that of Wound Menders MD, is clear, to educate, empower, and deliver accessible, high-quality wound care that truly improves lives.

Despite a successful career in tech and healthcare, it was Brian's own family’s difficult experiences with inconsistent caregiving that ultimately redirected him toward home care. This personal connection fuels his mission today: to raise the standards of reliability, caregiver training, and compassion for families who need support the most.

Brian explained that families typically reach out when they are overwhelmed or burned out, especially when caring for a loved one with dementia. While some people start with private caregivers, he shared how that route often leads to challenges such as last-minute cancellations, lack of backup support, and no liability protections. Agencies like ComForCare, by contrast, offer fully vetted caregivers, strong training programs, and the peace of mind that comes from backup coverage, workers’ compensation insurance, and ongoing oversight.

Brian also highlighted ComForCare’s standout differentiators. Their nationally recognized DementiaWise program, endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association, equips caregivers to support clients through all stages of dementia with confidence and empathy. He also discussed the advantage of being part of more than 260 ComForCare offices across the U.S. and Canada, which allows his team to tap into shared best practices and nationwide expertise provided by the corporate. Additionally, his East Bay office is fully vendorized with the VA, a status no longer available to new agencies, enabling them to guide veterans through the benefits process and provide specialized support.

On the business side, Brian shared two pieces of advice for entrepreneurs: pursue work you are passionate about, and surround yourself with a strong team you trust. Home care, like many service-driven businesses, demands long hours and emotional investment, and passion is what sustains you through the tough days. He also emphasized the importance of listening to clients first and offering guidance based solely on their needs, not on selling a service.

You can reach ComForCare East Bay at 510-538-2273 or visit comforcare.com/alameda to learn more.

Melissa shares her 25+ years in recruiting and business development. She describes how ZRG Partners (a global talent advisory with a deep interim/fractional bench) steps in when stakes are high, say IPO prep, leadership turnover, audits/compliance, transaction readiness, and rapid scale. She touched upon uncertainty in the market, the cost of a wrong hire, and why speed, precision and culture fit matter. Typical process is to listen, assess, tailor a mix of interim, fractional, embedded recruiting, or exec search and deploy vetted consultants (often within a day). Tech/AI help, but relationships, trust, and ongoing partnership do the real heavy lifting. Melissa’s advice to leaders is to invest in relationships and stay flexible.

Fractional COO Guy Beretta, explains how small businesses can stop firefighting and scale with structure.The COO guy shares a practical playbook; start with your P&L, clarify the owner’s vision, run dual SWOTs (owner and business), and set a weekly 90-minute execution rhythm. We cover picking the right fractional leader, common franchise/real-estate ops pitfalls, and why fundamentals beat AI hype. Walk away with steps to streamline operations, grow revenue, and build toward a succession or exit.

Breanna shares her inspiring journey from receptionist to founder of a multi-state HR consulting firm. She discusses the most common HR challenges small businesses face; compliance gaps, employee-relations issues, and why clear expectations and professional guidance are essential. Breanna explains how her personalized, people-first approach combines technology with genuine human connection. She also offers practical advice for business owners: seek mentorship, set expectations early, and focus on long-term relationships. Her firm helps businesses nationwide build compliant, sustainable, and employee-centered workplaces.

Eric is a former videographer who turned his creative eye toward marketing and went on to found Solid House Marketing. Today, he works as a fractional CMO for small businesses, helping them scale by building the foundations that make marketing truly work - optimized websites, CRM and lead capture systems, data tracking, SEO, aligned channel strategies, and a clear sales process. His approach blends AI automations with authentic storytelling, ensuring both efficiency and a human touch. Many of his clients are referral-driven companies eager to grow but lacking the systems to consistently capture and convert high-quality leads. What sets Eric apart is his holistic, consultative style. He ensures email, ads, and messaging all reinforce the same story, while also organizing founders’ scattered ideas into actionable roadmaps that he personally implements. His advice is simple but powerful - if you’re aiming big, don’t shy away from investing heavily in what works to build long-term enterprise value. If you’re just starting out, get a coach, say yes to opportunities to learn, then niche down and start saying no to scale.

Aashi Arora specializes in helping practices and health organizations turn difficult dynamics into aligned, high-performing teams. Most business problems are people problems. If you don’t define your culture and values, they get defined for you, creating conflict, misaligned expectations, and stalled decisions. Some of the key takeaways are:

• Culture first, not last: Clarify mission, vision, and a few lived values before problems arise.
• Recruit for fit, not just skill: Screen for soft skills and emotional intelligence against your stated values.
• Name the right problem: Surface issues (billing, EMR burden, payer mix) often mask root causes (misalignment, unclear expectations, unsafe communication).
• Strengths-based change: Focus on what’s working, using positive psychology to reach outcomes faster.
• Structure matters: Build measurable Individual/Team Development Plans.
• Leaders must thrive to lead: Invest in well-being across financial, career, physical, community, social; poor emotional regulation from burnout cascades to teams.
• Even top performers need help: Like elite athletes, great leaders surround themselves with complementary support and asking for help is a strength.

Nathan Jines is a 5th-generation real estate professional with family roots back to the 1870s (great-great-grandfather sold Texas land for $2/acre). He attributes his success to relentlessly focusing on clients’ real needs, demonstrating genuine care, and bringing deep expertise, rather than chasing shortcuts. He emphasizes that empathy and competence are essential when guiding clients through one of the most significant financial transactions of their lives.

To ensure positive outcomes, Nathan leverages a full bench of professionals; estate planners, family-law attorneys, CPAs, wealth advisors, and more—so that every detail is handled with precision.

He also shared practical tips for choosing the right realtor:

• Interview multiple agents to compare experience and style.

• Look for a broker’s license and top-tier performance (e.g., top ~1–1.5% nationally).

• Confirm a dedicated team, not just a large brokerage headcount.

• Seek a fiduciary mindset, with the ability to identify and fill blind spots (estate plan reviews, tax implications, property tax considerations, etc.).

• Avoid focusing only on the lowest commission, since saving a few thousand may cost you $100k+ in lost value.