Hey friend,

It's been a minute. Taking Back Monday went quiet because life got busy (the good kind of busy). Client work, my team, all the things with someone chasing me for them. This show didn't have anyone chasing it but me... so it slipped.

But I miss it. So I recorded this one on my phone while doing my makeup. No fancy mic. Just me, thinking out loud about where this show could go next.

I have two ideas, and both are about entrepreneurship.

The first is Failure Fireside Chats. I'd bring on successful founders, but they don't get to tell the shiny version. They tell the real one. What went wrong. When they almost quit. What they learned the hard way. And I want to do these live, so you can be part of the conversation.

The second is a pay-it-forward series for people just getting started. You come on, pitch your business in plain words, and we work on it together. Who do you serve? Who don't you serve? What are you really trying to do? If you're not ready to pitch out loud yet, you can listen in and learn right along with them.

I also get into why starting a business can feel so lonely, why I "bully" my friends into starting their own, and how my dad cheered me on when I took a big risk on a startup.

Now I need your help. Is this a good idea? A dumb idea? Would you come on the show, or do you know someone who should? Tell me what you really think. "Maybe someday" and "maybe never" are fair answers too.

Thanks for letting me ramble. I appreciate you.

Alyssa

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte

Substack: alyssanolte.substack.com

Website: alyssanolte.com

You can’t build great AI on top of bad customer behavior. And sometimes… businesses are the ones creating the behavior.

After a frustrating moment in a dentist waiting room, Alyssa unpacks how outdated systems, unnecessary friction, and “required” fields are quietly training customers to give incomplete, inaccurate, or fake information.

Because when the process feels like busy work, people stop trying to help you.

This Field Note explores the connection between customer experience, operational design, and the future of AI powered businesses.

What happens when the systems designed to collect better data are actually making your data worse?

This is not a rebrand. It is a reset.

Alyssa Nolte is changing the direction of Taking Back Monday. What started as conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, and people strategy is becoming something more raw. Less theory. More action. This next phase pulls you into the messy middle of building a business in real time.

If you are tired of polished advice and want to see what it actually looks like to build, pivot, and figure things out as you go, this episode is for you. This is about doing the work, not just talking about it.

Alyssa shares why she stepped back, what she realized after clearing her interview backlog, and why now is the time to move from post corporate therapy to real execution.

She is still hosting interviews on The Growth Signal, but Taking Back Monday is becoming a behind the scenes look at entrepreneurship in motion.

3 Key Takeaways:

1. Clarity comes when you pause. Clearing the backlog created space to rethink the future of the podcast.
2. Talking about change is not the same as making change. This next chapter is about action, not theory.
3. The messy middle matters. Growth does not happen in highlight reels. It happens in the uncertain in between.

If you want to build something meaningful, lead better, and truly take back your Monday, follow along.

Resources and Links:

1. alyssanolte.substack.com
2. linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte
3. https://rss.com/podcasts/thegrowthsignal/