🔥 Excerpt

“I want everybody to have that moment—where they take the first bite of the thing that lights them up, and just close their eyes and go… wow. That’s what I live for.”

⚡ TL;DR

Rachel Petzold—founder, storyteller, and self-proclaimed Product Whisperer—joins me on the RPOW podcast to talk about how intuition, storytelling, and soul-aligned business can transform not just your brand, but your life. From corporate trauma to startup healing, we unpack the power of voice, vision, and vulnerability in a world desperate for meaning, while exploring the power of letting go as a catalyst for growth and authentic success.

📄 Show Notes

Let’s face it—most founders talk about storytelling like it’s another checkbox on the marketing plan. Rachel Petzold lives it.

In this conversation, we dig into what it means to really find your voice and use it to drive both profit and purpose. Rachel shares her journey from corporate product leader to founder of Laborious—a community built to help the laid off, overlooked, and burnt out rediscover what lights them up.

But what really sets Rachel apart is her ability to see what’s unspoken. She doesn’t just build brands—she tunes into your energy, finds the core of your value, and helps you whisper that story back to the world in a way that sticks.

We talk about:

• Her journey from layoffs at Nike and Starbucks to launching her own practice
• How intuition and emotional intelligence give her a competitive edge
• The difference between a product and a person—and how the story connects them both
• Why people avoid their gifts (and what it looks like when they finally claim them)
• The origin story of Laborious and the unemployment epidemic no one’s addressing
• What it means to “delight” people in business—and why it’s non-negotiable for her

If you’ve ever struggled with owning your voice or explaining your value, this is the episode you didn’t know you needed.

✅ Key Takeaways

• Your story starts where your intuition lights up.
• We often avoid the thing that will bring us the most joy—start there.
• Don’t just chase roles—chase resonance. If it doesn’t light you up, it won’t light up anyone else.
• The job market isn’t broken; our systems of access and storytelling are.
• The magic is in the moment people feel something. That’s what makes stories memorable.
• Helping others isn’t always about money—it’s about presence, attention, and meaningful action.

🧭 Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Product Whisperer
02:42 The Journey to Becoming a Product Whisperer
07:11 Intuition and Emotional Intelligence in Product Development
10:41 The Importance of Storytelling in Business
15:55 Claiming Your Superpower: The Product Whisperer Journey
20:46 Transitioning from Corporate to Entrepreneurship
22:04 Navigating Life’s Challenges
23:52 Building a Supportive Community
26:05 Understanding Unemployment Trends
29:46 Finding Unique Job Opportunities
33:48 Creating a Safe Space for Healing
37:53 Engaging with the Community