Layoffs hit creatives differently.When your identity is tied to what you make…When your voice is your product…When your worth is constantly judged, critiqued, iterated, and reimagined…losing a job isn’t just losing income. It’s losing an anchor.In this episode of League of Laid Off Legends, we sit down with Tré, an Aussie designer / videographer / creator whose layoff didn’t break him — it unlocked him.Instead of spiraling, he used unemployment as a creative runway.Instead of chasing virality, he built a 10,000+ person community by being radically human.This episode is a roadmap for any creative trying to understand:“How do I handle a layoff when my art, my identity, and my income are all tangled together?”In this episode, creatives will learn:🎨 How to stay grounded when your creative identity gets shaken🛠️ Why layoffs can sharpen your artistic voice if you let them🧘 How to listen to your inner creative compass when external validation disappears⏳ Why Tré now "creates like he's running out of time" — and why you might need to tooWho this episode is for:Creatives navigating layoffsFilmmakers, videographers, artists, editorsContent creators trying to find their voiceAnyone who feels the fear of being “replaceable”Creative leaders trying to support impacted team membersTré’s story is a reminder that a layoff doesn’t diminish your talent. Rather, it helps you to rediscover it.If you’re a creative who’s been laid off, or fears you might be, this episode will challenge you, comfort you, and give you a path forward.

You got laid off. Or you’re watching AI and “re-orgs” quietly erase your role.

You can either pray for the next two-week paycheck…or you can start owning the thing that prints the paychecks.

In this episode of Laid Off Legends, I sit down with Greg Ugwi, a Princeton-trained mathematician, former Goldman Sachs quant, founder of a multi-million dollar data startup (Thinknum) with a successful exit, and now CEO of WeFranch, a platform helping people buy into iconic franchises the way PE firms do.

Greg went from growing up in Lagos watching his mom get laid off over and over…to valuing billion-dollar businesses on Wall Street…to realizing that the real unlock for generational wealth is owning a piece of an iconic brand... think Wingstop, McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, youth education, coffee, spas, and more. And he’s now bringing that playbook to regular people, especially those coming out of corporate layoffs.

We dig into:

Why franchising creates more millionaires in the US than tech or finance

How PE firms evaluate franchises vs. how “regular” people do it — and how to close that gap

How to use data, FDDs, and SBA loans to de-risk your first franchise instead of YOLO’ing your life savings

The mindset shift from employee to owner: intelligent risk, agency, and living with “24/7 liability” without burning out

The biggest myths about “passive income” and franchising that keep corporate high performers stuck

If you’ve been laid off, are tired of playing corporate musical chairs, or just want to stop renting your talent and start building equity, this conversation is a masterclass. It’s not fluff. It’s the actual playbook Greg’s using to help operators step into ownership.

🔗 Connect with Greg & WeFranch

Learn more / book a consult: wefranch.com

Email Greg: gregory.ugwi@wefranch.com

🚀 For more Laid Off Legends

If today’s episode sparked something, don’t keep it to yourself:

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts

Share this with one person who’s been laid off or is “quietly quitting” and needs a bigger vision

Join our community of legends who are rewriting what’s possible after a layoff

What do you do when your work ends up in a White House press briefing, your brand is at the center of a national boycott, and then you’re laid off in the first wave?In this episode of League of Laid Off Legends, Monk Inyang, co-founder & CEO of First Street Partnerships and President of the Montclair Board of Education, walks us through his journey from:Leading influencer & entertainment partnerships for Budweiser and Bud Light at Anheuser-BuschBeing laid off in the fallout of the Bud Light/Dylan Mulvaney controversyWrestling with identity, ambition, and “big brand” statusTo building an AI practice focused on practical, culturally relevant AI for Black and Brown communities and everyday workersIf you’ve been laid off from a big-name company, are watching AI reshape your industry, or feel like your career has drifted away from what really moves you, this conversation is a playbook, not a pity party.You’ll hear Monk talk about powerful themes: The day of the layoff, & how he realized he was “pushing a stone uphill” inside a system that wasn’t built for his kind of creativity, Why working with Black creatives (Issa Rae, Ryan Coogler and more) felt more powerful than any Super Bowl party, and How a single workshop with fashion designers flipped his path from “marketing consultant” to “AI for the culture”The mindset shift: forgiving yourself after a layoff, separating your worth from your title, and designing the life you actually wantHow to think about AI as your “highly competent intern” — and why reading about AI is useless unless you use itIf you’re a laid-off legend in the making, this is your reminder: The brand was never the magic. You were.Resources: Website: https://1ststreet.co/Monk's Books on Amazon: Nightmare Detective: The Skeleton King: https://a.co/d/9xoaYEGNightmare Detective: The Oracle's Blessing (Book II): https://a.co/d/h822bKs

When Ashish was laid off from Microsoft while on an H-1B, he was on a ticking clock.

In this engaging episode of Laid Off Legends, we dive into how he turned a 120-day immigration deadline into a structured, high-velocity campaign: building a peer cohort with daily “standups,” treating job search like a product sprint, using AI and mock interviews to rebuild 19 years of lost interview muscle, and leveraging LinkedIn with radical openness instead of playing it safe. Ashish shares how he managed the emotional crash, leaned on his family’s belief, handled multiple rejections in a single day, and still landed an impactful role on Amazon’s Audible team. If you’ve been laid off and are on an urgent time crunch, or if you feel like your confidence has been shaken, this conversation is a masterclass in systems, support, and self-belief.

Watch, share it with someone who needs it, and if you want more support and

and stories like this, connect with us on YouTube, LinkedIn, and inside the Laid Off Legends community!

Loyalty without leverage? That’s how high-performers get blindsided.

In this Season 3 kickoff, Dr. Angela Justice, a former biotech exec, McKinsey alum, now C-suite coach, joins us to unpack The Loyalty Trap: why good people get stuck, and how to rebuild momentum with the Three Horizons framework.

If you're a high performer, this episode is for you!

You’ll learn

* How to separate mission from employer (and keep your purpose intact through any transition)

* The Three Horizons: 1) what you need now, 2) the next version of you, 3) the bridge in between

* Exactly how to treat recruiters as relationships, not transactions

* A simple habit to narrate your projects so your story writes itself (and interviews get easier)

And much more!

Why loyalty to self isn’t selfishness—it’s solid strategy.

Resources:

Dr. Justice's website: https://www.justicegroupadvisors.com

The Loyalty article we referenced: https://www.biospace.com/career-advice/loyalty-is-a-flawed-strategy-and-it-can-cost-you

Link to her monthly neewsletter: https://pages.justicegroupadvisors.com/practical-perspectives

Her LinkedIn profile is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelajusticephd/

If you’ve been laid off, stuck in the job hunt, or sending out hundreds of applications with no response...this episode is your reset button.

I sit down with Sam Wright, Head of Operations & Partnerships at Huntr, the platform that helped over 100,000 job seekers last year track their applications, build stronger resumes, and finally get traction in today’s brutal job market.

Sam pulls back the curtain on:

🚫 The 3 biggest resume mistakes job seekers make

📊 Data-backed proof that tailored resumes are 2x more likely to land interviews

🤖 How AI can supercharge (or sabotage) your application

🔗 Why LinkedIn isn’t the only job board that matters

💡 Networking & persistence strategies for a fractured job market

This is more than generic advice. it’s real insight from thousands of resumes, applications, and job searches Huntr has analyzed. If your job hunt feels broken, this conversation will help you fix it.

👉 Join the League of Laid-Off Legends community for more resources, coaching, and peer support: www.leagueoflaidofflegends.com/

👉 Connect with Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samwri321/

👉 Explore Huntr: www.huntr.co (Use code LEGENDS10 for 10% off for the next 3 months!)

Do you go above and beyond behind the scenes working on things that aren’t in your official job description? Do you have ideas on how to serve others while still working on your full time job? If you get laid off, would you still be able to lean on that work and passion and build what’s next for yourself? Corporate friends thinking about if you could be next in a layoff – this one is for you. 🎯As global marketing leader at Salesforce, Rebecca worked on building billion-dollar product go-to-market strategies, while also going the extra mile to help people find their voice and grow as confident communicators.When layoffs hit, and even where she lived was suddenly no longer an option, Rebecca’s foresight paid off. She had already been building her own platform, and that brand gave her momentum, options, and confidence for the next chapter.In our conversation, she shares gems around :• How to nurture your hidden entrepreneurial ideas inside the corporate community• A playbook for creating content on LinkedIn without fear of rejection• How to handle rejection and get better at it by putting yourself out there. This isn’t just a layoff story…it’s a blueprint for career sovereignty.

Rebecca's Resources: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwmackenzie/

Website: https://www.theconfidentcommunicationcoach.com/

Habits App Recommendation: Coming soon!

When Kristol was laid off, she didn’t just lose a job — she lost a world she had built over decades. Instead of hiding, she shared her story online… and 74,000 people showed up 👏🏽
In our latest Laid Off Legends conversation, Kristol opens up about:

· What it’s like to lose your career’s “home” after 2+ decades

· How going public with her layoff brought connection and kicked off a healing journey

· The hard truths about overworking and corporate loyalty

· The advice she wishes she had before it happened

· How she’s building a new chapter on her terms

Her viral story is raw, real, and deeply relatable for anyone who’s faced or fears a layoff.

💡 Whether you’re navigating uncertainty now or want to be ready if it comes, Kristol’s insights are a must-hear.

Resources:

Her Viral video that started it all: https://www.youtube.com/@KristolClear

Kristol’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B03wXIFV0b8

Unemployment resources:

These vary per state, but searching your local state resources is a great place to start!