Built by Margin
Built by Margin is the podcast at the intersection of risk, numbers, and decision-making for founders, CEOs, and high performers. Hosted by CPA, fractional CFO, and author of the upcoming book Risk Worthy, Laurie Chen, CPA, MBA, the show explores how better decisions create better businesses, stronger leadership, and more meaningful long-term outcomes. From financial strategy and entrepreneurship to intelligent risk-taking and growth, each episode helps you think sharper and build with intention.
Episodes
46 episodes
Lessons in Fitness Entrepreneurship with OC Fit’s Phil Fortin
In episode 45 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Phil Forin, Founder of OC Fit, as he shares how he built a vibrant, loyal client base, grew a passionate coaching team, and overcame the steep learning curves of entrepreneurship with rel...
The Numbers, Systems, and Decisions That Scale a Business with Jaramogi K. Adams
In episode 44 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Jaramogi Adams, founder of Jarkara Strategies, to discuss his journey from dot-com consulting to an 18-year career at American Express, global finance leadership,...
From Coffee to Code: Building an AI Startup That Predicts Customer Churn with Alisha Esmail
In episode 43 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Alisha Esmail, founder and CEO of Latch, an AI-native customer retention platform helping founders detect churn before it happens. Alisha shares her unexpected jo...
Building Trust for the Agentic Future: Decentralized Identity, Healthcare Fraud, and Startup Growth with Javier Casado-Cocero
In episode 42 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Javier Casado-Cocero, Duke MBA graduate and founder working on Valyd, an identity infrastructure company using decentralized identity technology to fight fraud in health...
Scaling With Depth: Risk, Numbers, and AI in Healthcare Leadership with Gunjan Vermani
In episode 41 of Built by Margin, Laurie sits down with Gunjan Vermani, physiotherapist, entrepreneur, mentor, and founder of PhysioCare Physiotherapy, to talk about the risks, numbers, and decisions behind building a healthcare b...
Building by Margins, Not Constraints: How Basil Khan is Turning Limitations into Leverage
In episode 40 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Basil Khan, founder of Rev Trinity and LifeOS Technologies, to explore what it means to build an AI-driven startup from a constraint-heavy environment. Basil shares how ...
How Autyn Is Reimagining Mortgage Lending with Myra D'Souza
In episode 39 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Myra D’Souza, founder of Autyn, an AI-native mortgage origination platform built for mortgage brokers. Myra shares how her background in software engineering, data scien...
Risk, Tax AI, and the Modern CPA Firm with Johnny Terra, CPA
In episode 38 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Johnny Terra, CPA, Partner at LPT CPAs and Advisors, for a conversation about tax strategy, risk management, AI, leadership, and the personal growth that co...
Building Compass Health: Access, AI, and the Future of Patient Care with Rafael Fernandes
In episode 37 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen speaks with Rafael Fernandes, Co-Founder and CEO of Compass Health, a membership-based healthcare company launching in Tampa, Florida. Rafael shares how his background in operat...
Building Leaders, Not Just Businesses: Strategy, AI, and the Human Side of Growth with Landon Lynch
In episode 36 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Landon Lynch, founder and principal of Motive, to explore what it really takes to build high-performing leaders and scalable organizations. Landon shares h...
The Real Risk is Staying Stuck with Anekha Sokhal
In episode 35 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen talks with Anekha Sokhal, founder of Moshi, an AI startup building an “AI super analyst” for financial investors. Anekha shares how her path from J.P. Morgan trader to machine learning researcher at...
From Corporate Leader to Intentional Unicorn with Jennie Lopez
In episode 34 of Built by Margin, Laurie sits down with Jennie Lopez, Founder and CEO of Intentional Unicorn, to talk about what it really means to bet on yourself, build in alignment, and make decisions rooted in authenticity rather t...
Beyond the Book: Audience, IP, and the Author Ecosystem with Jynafer Yanez
In episode 33 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with Jynafer Yanez to explore what it really takes to turn a book into a business. Jynafer shares how she built Archimedes Books by thinking beyond publishing and focusing on audi...
The Power of Intuition in Entrepreneurial Decision-Making with Won Choi
In episode 32 of Built by Margin, Laurie sits down with Won Choi to talk about burnout, alignment, entrepreneurship, and the kind of decision-making that blends both strategy and inner knowing. We unpack how burnout is often less about w...
How AI Gives Founders Their Time Back with Andrea Palacio
In episode 31 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen sits down with AI strategist and founder Andrea Palacio to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way service-based businesses operate, grow, and make decisions. Andrea...
How Decisions Compound - Risk Worthy Insights with Laurie Chen
In episode 30 of Built by Margin, Laurie Chen shares key insights from her upcoming book Risk Worthy - decisions compound. Most people think of compounding only in financial terms, but the same principle applies to the choices...
Start Small and Iterate Fast - Risk Worthy Insights with Laurie Chen
In episode 29 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen shares key insights from her upcoming book Risk Worthy. — bold outcomes are rarely built through reckless leaps. Using startup failure data as the backdrop, Laurie breaks down why fo...
Why Numbers Matter - Risk Worthy Insights with Laurie Chen
In episode 28 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen shares key insights from her upcoming book Risk Worthy. — Why Numbers Matter — numbers don’t drive the decision—but they absolutely protect it. If Risk Worthy is ...
Building a Sellable Asset with Dr. Greg Pursley
In episode 27 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Dr. Greg Pursley, a business coach, author, and CEO, who discusses the pivotal moment that led him to transform his business into a sellable asset and how he now helps entrepreneur...
Real Estate Investing: Insights with Jaben Makings of Onnix Investments
In episode 26 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Jaben Makings, the founder of Onnix Investments, as he shares his journey of disrupting the real estate investing world by redefining how agents and investors collaborate. Risk Wor...
Navigating Corporate Finance and AI: Insights with Fahim Talukdar
In episode 25 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Fahim Talukdar, VP of Finance at Praetorian, as he shares his unique career journey, starting from commercial and personal banking to his current role in a cutting-edge cybersecuri...
Best Possible Future - Risk Worthy Insights with Laurie Chen
In episode 24 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen shares key insights from her upcoming book Risk Worthy. — In this episode, Laurie breaks down one of the core ideas from Risk Worthy: your Best Possible Future — and ...
The Power of Mindset and Strategy: Scaling an E-Commerce Brand with Sean Travis
In episode 23 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Sean Travis, a former firefighter-paramedic turned entrepreneur and founder of Ecom for Heroes, based in Hermosa Beach, California, as he discusses the challenges he faced, includi...
Building Trust and Community: The Secrets Behind Let Kelly's Success with Kelly Jedele
In episode 22 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Kelly Jedele, the owner of a multi-million dollar residential cleaning company based in Austin, Texas, as she discusses her company's growth, her financial A-team, the importance o...
Unlock High-Performance in Business and Life with Fraser Bayley
In episode 21 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Fraser Bayley, the founder of Elite Nutrition, as he shares his incredible journey from struggling with mental health issues to becoming a sought-after performance strategist...