make your personal story a profitable brand | i help high-potential women understand & share their stories to effortlessly sell themselves & their work | +15 years building brands for NBA All-Stars, founders, VCs | ADHD

i was broke for 8 years. had my card declined buying medicine for my toddler. lost $80K when my tech startup failed. now...


i help overthinking high-achievers turn their "mess" into money.

because after 11 jobs in 8 industries, i discovered something nobody talks about

your weird career path? 
your brain that won't shut off?
that thing everyone says makes you "too much"?

that's not your weakness. that's your f*cking edge.

listen, most "personal brand experts" want you to pick a lane. follow a formula. sound like everyone else.

meanwhile... 


you can't explain what you do in one sentence.
"just be authentic" makes you think, "but how??"
and you've got 47 drafts in your notes app that you'll never publish.

i get it. because that was me. 

which is my i turned the way i think and work into a methodology that could help more people than just me. 

through StoryEQ™, i help you:
• turn your overthinking into strategic advantage
• build a brand that actually feels like you AND makes money
• stop "performing professionalism" and start being profitable
• decode your story to find what actually makes you different (hint: it's in the mess)

my clients? NBA All-Stars. Olympians. VCs. Artists.

Founders who've raised $30 million.
Artists who sold $300K of art in 72 hours. 
Creators who went from "I can't monetize" to 
"it's hard to express how much opportunity is crossing my desk these days"

they don't hire me because they need confidence.
they hire me because they're sick of being overlooked despite knowing deep down that they have more to offer. 

fair warning(s): 

i swear. a lot.
i'll call out your bullsh*t (lovingly).
i don't do "mindset work" without strategy.
and if you're afraid of Queer people? we're not a fit.

—

don't believe me, believe them:

"I built a multi-million dollar company in 18 months. If i'd had StoryEQ™ early on, we could have done it in 9. It's so powerful I license the methodology." 
— Amanda Northcutt, Founder + CEO @ Level Up Creators

"StoryEQ™ is better than DISC or StrengthsFinder. What kristina's doing is so impactful — it's a gift, and it's going to save lives." 
— Jon Giganti, USA Today Bestselling Author

—

follow me for how to 

- turn your weird into wealth
- finally put words to why your valuable + different

kristina flynn

Power Up Your Leadership | Adam W. Barney Energizes Executive Leaders | Dynamic Coaching for Peak Performance & Enhanced Skills

🚀 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 - 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴?

Most high-impact founders and executives aren’t lacking ambition.
They’re lacking 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲.

You’ve stepped into a bigger role.
The stakes are higher.
Visibility increased. Decisions compound faster. Consequences last longer.
And the systems that used to work…don’t anymore.

This isn’t a motivation problem.
It’s a 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

⸻

I work with transitioning leaders, founders and executives navigating inflection points, to install structural support that still works on their worst week, not just their best one.

My work is not 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
It’s 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

We build:
	• Operating rhythms that hold under pressure
	• Clear decision rules when everything feels urgent
	• Energy systems that prevent work from bleeding into everything else
	• Real-time support so momentum doesn’t stall between sessions

The goal isn’t optimization.
It’s 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: calm, repeatable, and effective when the calendar explodes.

⸻

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀
	• Cleaner priorities and faster decisions
	• Fewer second-guesses when stakes rise
	• Leadership presence that matches your responsibility
	• Systems you can rely on without willpower

⸻

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗺𝗲

I bring 20+ years inside high-pressure environments (global agencies, hyper-growth tech, Fortune-level clients) and 300+ leaders coached through moments where clarity mattered more than the perfect plan.

I’ve lived the burnout patterns, the leadership misalignment, and the cost of systems that collapse under stress.

That experience is now codified into a practical, human operating system we install together - 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆𝗢𝗦 - customized to how you actually work and the season you’re in.

⸻

📌 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯: IBT, Economic Journal, CEO Weekly, USA Today, Rising Authors

🎙 Host of "𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹?": conversations on what actually holds under pressure (and what’s just noise)

📖 Author of 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘖𝘸𝘯 𝘎𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭

⸻

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁

If you’re navigating a transition and the old playbook isn’t holding, start with a 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹.

You’ll leave with clarity and next steps, whether we work together or not.

👉 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Adam W. Barney 👋🔌

Boston's startup scene runs on women operators.

But how often do we actually say that out loud?

The operators holding this ecosystem together? Mostly women.

The headlines celebrating it? Mostly not.

Stephanie Roulic and her team at Startup Boston just spotlighted builders who are moving Boston forward. And looking at that list, I count at least seven women I've learned from, leaned on, or watched build infrastructure that matters:

• Lily Lyman
• Jess Lynch
• Isabella Mandis
• Bobbie Carlton
• Allison Byers
• Lily Volper
• Shweta Agrawal

These aren't token mentions.

They're the people founders call when things break. When strategy needs pressure-testing. When you need someone who's seen the pattern before and knows what actually works.

If you're building in Boston and you don't know these names yet, fix that.

Not because it's the right thing to do.

Because your company will be stronger when you do.

The best founders I know in Boston all have at least one of these operators in their corner. That's not coincidence. That's infrastructure.

Who else belongs on this list? Drop names below.

#BostonStartups #WomenInTech #StartupEcosystem #StartupBostonWeek

Adam W. Barney

Transition Leadership Coach | Operating Rhythms That Hold Under Pressure 🎯 | Author & Podcast Host

Got bumped from a meeting today. The reason? A music journalism legend is about to sit down with Tom Morello.

Mari Fong B. didn't just start a podcast.

She's spent 30 years as a music journalist: real work, real access, real relationships in an industry that doesn't hand out credibility for free.

And now she's using every bit of that to build CHECK YOUR HEAD: Mental Help for Musicians Podcast, a mental health platform for musicians. Not a side project. Not content for content's sake. A 501c3 nonprofit partnered with #MTV and Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, hosting the largest online directory of mental health and addiction recovery resources for artists.

This morning, she rescheduled our Zoom because she got word Tom Morello might meet with her today.

Tom Morello.

Rage Against the Machine. Audioslave. An artist who's spent decades at the intersection of music, activism, and resilience: exactly the kind of voice that belongs on a platform addressing the mental cost of making art.

This isn't hustle theater. This is what it looks like when someone spends 30 years earning a seat, then uses it to build something that actually helps people.

As a massive music fan, I'm not just rooting for Mari to land this interview.

I'm watching someone use legacy for leverage...and that's rare.

Who else are you seeing do this? Someone taking decades of credibility and pointing it at a problem that matters?

Learn more about CHECK YOUR HEAD: checkyourheadpodcast.com

#RageAgainstTheMachine #Audioslave #TomMorello #MentalHealth #MusicIndustry #MissionDriven #Leadership #ArtistWellness

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