Success Unleash'd

By: Shawne Merriman and Zack Ellison
  • Summary

  • It's inspiring to hear people's success stories. Their breakthroughs and triumphs motivate and empower us to work hard toward our own goals. However, these success stories are not without difficulties and challenges. Before reaching their current positions, successful people had to navigate a challenging path full of obstacles. If you want to achieve great things, unlock a better version of yourself, and secure the life you desire, you must approach the road to success differently.

    Welcome to Success Unleash’d, the podcast packed with valuable advice on building your career and living your life to the fullest. Join Zack Ellison and Shawne Merriman as they explore the most important takeaways on navigating the hurdles along your journey, cultivating the right business mindset, and ultimately achieving all of your goals.

    This is the best podcast to listen to if you need up-to-date, tried-and-true, and data-backed business advice. Tune in to hear well-respected guests from different industries and professions share their career stories—highlighting both the good and the bad. These are everyday people who achieved the American Dream through perseverance, grit, and determination. By never giving up in spite of their setbacks, they were able to unleash their success. They offer actionable insights that you can apply immediately to your own business, giving you that much-needed push towards unleashing your own success.

    In each episode, guests reflect on their journeys and share the secrets to their success. Learn the specific steps they took, the processes they followed, and the positive habits that shaped their mindset and personality. Discover how they built their networks, forged lasting relationships with other business owners, and established their brands. Above all, be inspired and empowered as they recall the challenges they overcame and how these experiences helped them become more strategic in their business plans, more careful in their transactions, and more mindful of their connections.

    Your hosts, Zack Ellison and Shawne Merriman, both share a relentless pursuit of success and growth. Both came from humble beginnings, struggled with low incomes, and had to overcome many hardships to unleash their fullest potential. They are now reputable names in their chosen career paths.

    Zack is the Founder, Managing General Partner, and Chief Investment Officer of Applied Real Intelligence, an investment management firm focused on providing growth credit to North America's top VC-backed technology companies. He also hosts the 7 in 7 Show, a podcast featuring the world’s most renowned technology investors. Shawne, a former NFL linebacker with an impressive track record, founded the Lights On Foundation and currently works as an analyst for Fox Sports.

    Zack and Shawne also found themselves lost in their careers over 20 years ago. In this podcast, they reflect on their long and challenging journey to share the many career lessons they've learned. Find out how they overcame the hurdles in their path and unlocked tremendous success—and discover how you can too.

    There is no single path to success. If you want to make it to the top, you have to get ready for the trials ahead. This journey requires hard work, determination, and a resilient mindset. Otherwise, you will never see growth or improvement in your chosen career. Join Zack and Shawne in uncovering stories of real-life business owners who overcame adversity and rose to the top. Learn the secrets to their success and apply them to your own business so you can unleash your own success.

    Listen to Success Unleash’d at https://successunleashedshow.com/.

    Copyright 2025 | All Rights Reserved | https://successunleashedshow.com/
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Episodes
  • From Athlete To Angel Investor: Evan Dreyer’s Journey of Risk, Resilience, And Building Success
    Jan 17 2025

    What does it take to transition from a Wall Street powerhouse to one of the rising angel investors shaping the West Coast startup scene? In this episode of Success Unleashed, Shawne Merriman and Zack Ellison sit down with Evan Dreyer, a former NYU classmate of Zack’s turned investor and operator, who shares his journey from Credit Suisse to angel investing at Halo Labs to supporting small business innovation through supply chain financing at TOLA. Hear how Evan’s unique blend of risk management expertise and entrepreneurial spirit landed him a full-time role at one of his own angel investments. Plus, Evan opens up about how his athletic mindset—honed during his grueling college football days—has been a game-changer in the high-stakes world of startups. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or just curious about the grit it takes to succeed, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.


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    50 mins

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