Disruptive Influence: The Storytelling, Communication & Executive Presence Podcast
If you know what you do but struggle to talk about it in a way that lands — this podcast is for you.
Most founders, creators, and leaders have the expertise…but not the story, clarity, or communication skills to express it with confidence, conviction, and influence.
Disruptive Influence is the storytelling, communication, and executive presence podcast for founders, solopreneurs, and LinkedIn-era leaders who want to communicate with more clarity and power - in meetings, in pitches, in content, and in everyday conversations.
Learn how to:
- turn lived experience into clear, compelling stories
- communicate with clarity, confidence, and executive presence
- build a strong POV that attracts the right people
- sell your ideas, your value, and your vision with conviction
- unlock the mindset shifts behind real influence and high-performance communication
Hosted by Jeff Abracen - executive storytelling coach, former agency creative director, and creator of the Disruptive Influence™ system - each episode reveals how exceptional thinkers shape narratives, build presence, and communicate in ways that create opportunity.
Through a mix of solo tactical episodes and deep conversations with founders and creators who are disrupting and influencing their industries in their own way, you’ll learn how real leaders think, speak, and tell stories that move people.
If you're building a company, growing a personal brand on LinkedIn, leading a team, or simply want to communicate with more confidence and conviction — this podcast gives you the tools and perspective shifts to become the most influential person in the room.
➞ Subscribe and learn how to tell stories that sell - and speak with clarity, confidence, and conviction.
➞ Connect with Jeff Abracen on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.
Disruptive Influence: The Storytelling, Communication & Executive Presence Podcast
How to Thrive Through Business Burnout with Louis Butterfield
This is a conversation about what it really takes to build a business, stand out in a sea of sameness, and recover when the hustle turns into burnout.
Louis Butterfield is the co-founder of Awesome Business Videos & Video Heroes, an agency, program & community helping founders create videos that actually get watched on LinkedIn. Known for his playful “videos in the park” format, Louis has carved out a reputation for making content that’s ungeneric, entertaining, and rooted in values. Alongside his wife Jenna Sipponen, he’s built a six-figure business and a fast-growing community - while also confronting the realities of burnout and balance.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- How Louis went from living in a yurt and failing five businesses to launching a thriving video company
- Why ungeneric videos beat polished but forgettable content every time
- The park video formula: mix silly settings with serious value
- How partnerships and podcasts became rocket fuel for authority
- The hidden cost of 70-hour weeks and the truth about burnout
- Why stories that sell are really about shared values, not just hooks
- The mantra Louis lives by: Punch above your weight class
Takeaways
- Stand out by changing the setting - not watering down the message
- Trust compounds when you borrow audiences through collaboration
- Community brings accountability and consistency
- Shared values build stronger bonds than formulas ever could
Chapters
00:00 – The role of story: why we’re drawn to people like us
00:25 – Welcome to the Disruptive Influence Podcast
00:40 – Meet Louis Butterfield: ungeneric videos for ungeneric brands
01:10 – From yurts to five failed businesses → stumbling into video
02:00 – Why high-end video no longer works & the shift to LinkedIn
03:45 – The rise of “videos in the park” (and why they work)
07:20 – Behind the scenes: outtakes, swings, and slides
09:15 – From client work to community → launching Video Heroes
13:20 – Building authority: showing wins & stacking trust through partnerships
17:30 – Podcasting as rocket fuel for growth
23:00 – The hard truth: burnout behind the six-figure launch
27:30 – Guardrails, recovery, and avoiding future burnout
31:30 – Purpose & fuel: love vs. fear, family, and the housing dream
36:40 – Finding Ikigai & designing the long game
39:20 – Crafting stories that sell: values over hooks
46:20 – Imposter syndrome, client pain points & the mantra: Punch above your weight class
Connect with Jeff Abracen on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffabracen/]
If you are or know a disruptive influencer who would make a great guest, we'd love to hear from you.
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Cover art by Daniel Devoy
Music by Stephen Voyce
©2024 The Disruptive Influence Podcast - Jeff Abracen