Our Featured Guest for Sunday, July 6, 2025 is Dan J. Berger

In this episode, visionary entrepreneur Dan J. Berger shares how his journey from building multimillion-dollar startups to raising a miracle baby reshaped his view of success. He dives into the power of belonging—at work, at home, and in the businesses we build—and why today’s entrepreneurs need more than just hustle to thrive. From launching Assemble Hospitality to empowering immigrant founders, Dan reveals how meaning, purpose, and connection fuel true growth.

Dan J. Berger is an American-Israeli entrepreneur, investor, author and the Founder and CEO of Assemble Hospitality Group, a boutique lodging concept designed for corporate retreats and offsites. Dan creates spaces where teams step away from their day-to-day to build trust, strengthen culture, and truly connect—because belonging isn’t built in boardrooms, but in the right environments. His flagship location is in Boise, ID. 

Dan is the author the book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 (ForbesBooks) – a customized no-nonsense self-help guide is designed to help readers discover and continually nurture their sense of belonging. The cover represents the summit readers will reach through the quest, with the light around it symbolizing the joy it unlocks. The markers along the trail show the distinct stages of the journey. 

Dan is also the Founder and Chairman of the Idaho Israel Alliance, which is dedicated to combating antisemitism and anti-Zionism across the state of Idaho through a variety of proactive initiatives. Our mission is to foster understanding and strengthen the connection between Idaho and Israel by educating the public about the importance of a safe, secure, and thriving Jewish state. 

Dan is also the Founder and former CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Social Tables, which was acquired in October 2018 by Cvent (NASDAQ: CVT), a Vista-backed company, for $100mm. Founded in 2011, Social Tables is an event planning SaaS platform used to execute over 1.5 million events per year. The award-winning company is used by over 50% of all full-service hotels in North America. At the time of sale, the company had $20M in bookings, 120 employees, and over 6,000 customers. Backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, QuestMark Partners, Thayer Venture Partners, 500 Startups and other investors, Social Tables raised a total of $27mm. The company was ranked 1,221 in 2018’s Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America (7th in DC).

Dan has been recognized as a hospitality industry leader by BizBash, Catersource, Washingtonian, MeetingsNet, and other publications. He is the recipient of the Pacesetter Award from the Events Industry Council, and was named one of the most influential leaders in the meetings industry in Successful Meetings for two years in a row. Read more at: https://www.danjberger.com/

Our Entrepreneur Presenter:

When Sophie McGown launched her jewelry brand EAR SASS during lockdown, she never imagined the Princess of Wales would one day wear her designs—let alone on World Mental Health Day to honor Sophie’s late cousin. In this emotional and inspiring episode, Sophie shares how her passion for handmade jewelry turned into a booming business, the powerful story behind the “Izzy Star” earrings, and the marketing lessons she’s learned while standing out in a fiercely competitive industry.

EAR SASS is Sophie’s a jewelry line born from her love and obsession of big bold and beautiful colour earrings! EAR SASS has a large US customer base and offers various design collections which include necklaces, bracelets and rings. EARSASS blends style with purpose, creating beautiful statement jewelry that places mental health awareness and initiatives at its core. EAR SASS’ ethos is “Get Your Sass On”, encouraging you to be proud of your sassiness, whatever shape, size, gender, and form, both physically and mentally and our passion for working on our mental health.

During lockdown in 2020 Sophie had the time to be creative and started making earrings for friends to bring a little joy and sass to endless zooms, homeschooling and lockdown life. EAR SASS was born from her love and obsession with colour!

Sophie’s earring design The Issy Star was worn by Princess Catherine on Mental Health Awareness Day last year in honour of Sophie’s late Cousin Issy.Issy unfortunately took her own life on the 29th April 2023. What an incredibly beautiful soul she was. Issy spent a lot of time with Sophie designing and making earrings back last summer, she was incredible and will always play a massive part in EARSASS and its future.

To remember Issy, Sophie has dedicated a pair of earrings just for her. £5 from every pair sold will be donated to BRAVE MIND charity who are moving mountains in the rugby, universities, school and college mental health world. Issy was a rugby player and coach at Maidenhead RFC and even played for England under 18’s, what a girl! Read more at: https://earsass.com/