Our Featured Guest for Sunday, November 1, 2026 is David Nussbaum and our Entrepreneur Spotlight Guests are Jessica Marriott and David Johnson.
How Holograms, AI Innovation and Business Turnarounds Are Changing Entrepreneurship
What happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond computer screens and into the physical world? How can an entrepreneur reinvent an established industry with an entirely new product? And what should business owners do when their company is running out of money?
On this episode of Passage to Profit – Road to Entrepreneurship, hosts Richard Gearhart and Elizabeth Gearhart explore the future of business, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship with three accomplished guests: David Nussbaum, founder and executive chairman of Proto Hologram; Jessica Marriott, founder of Forward Thiinkers and creator of Nerve Intelligence; and David M. Johnson, co-founder of Resolution Financial Advisors.
The conversation explores groundbreaking holographic technology, AI-powered products, business restructuring, intellectual property protection, and the difficult decisions entrepreneurs face when building and growing companies.
David Nussbaum – Founder and Executive Chairman of Proto Hologram
Website: https://protohologram.com
What if you could bring a person, an expert, or an AI-powered version of yourself into a room without anyone having to travel? David Nussbaum is making that possible through Proto Hologram, a company developing technology that brings people, digital representations, and artificial intelligence into physical spaces.
A former broadcaster and podcaster, David made the decision to transform how people communicate by taking the human experience beyond traditional screens and speakers. Proto’s technology allows people to appear remotely as life-size holographic-style projections and interact with audiences in real time.
David explains how businesses can create their own AI-powered holographic avatars using their knowledge, stories, and information. He discusses applications in healthcare, education, entertainment, retail, travel, hospitality, and even legal proceedings. The technology can help doctors consult with patients remotely, educators reach students, and businesses provide multilingual customer assistance.
He also shares fascinating examples of the technology in action, including beaming William Shatner onto a stage in Australia from Los Angeles, enabling MrBeast to appear in multiple locations, and developing an AI version of the late Ozzy Osbourne using information curated and approved by his family.
David discusses the security of AI-powered digital avatars, including Proto’s HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance, the future of holographic communication, and how businesses can use AI to create more personal and engaging customer experiences.
Jessica Marriott – Founder of Forward Thinkers and Creator of Nerve Intelligence
Website: https://forwardthiinkers.com/
Jessica Marriott is an entrepreneur, innovator, and creative business strategist who helps companies identify opportunities to disrupt their own industries rather than become stuck doing things the way they have always been done.
Her latest venture, Nerve Intelligence, is developing an AI-powered adaptive ski boot designed to respond to a skier’s movements in real time. Unlike traditional ski boots, which have changed relatively little over the decades, this technology uses adjustable support that expands and contracts in response to the skier’s movements, terrain, and positioning. The goal is to provide more support and control when carving and leaning against gravity.
Jessica explains how she developed the proof of concept, created the app and boot technology, and is pursuing partnerships with established ski boot manufacturers to bring the innovation to market. She also discusses the potential to extend the technology into other footwear, including adaptive sneakers.
Her entrepreneurial background includes developing a handbag brand that became the first boutique brand of its kind to sell through Bloomingdale’s. She also shares how she took a pharmaceutical sales territory from last place to $47 million in sales by researching her industry and bringing exceptional value to her customers.
Jessica offers candid advice about choosing business partners, recognizing when a partnership is not working, trusting your intuition, and finding collaborators who bring complementary expertise and genuinely believe in your vision.
David M. Johnson – Co-founder of Resolution Financial Advisors
Website: https://resolutionfa.com
What happens when a startup runs out of cash, its next round of venture capital funding falls through, or a company can no longer continue operating? David M. Johnson specializes in helping businesses navigate financial distress and find the best possible path forward.
With approximately 25 years of experience and involvement in the financial distress of more than 500 companies, David and his team at Resolution Financial Advisors help primarily venture-backed startups and intellectual property-driven businesses facing difficult financial circumstances.
Rather than simply closing the doors or immediately filing for bankruptcy, Resolution Financial Advisors works to identify alternatives that can preserve value, protect stakeholders, and create the softest possible landing for a struggling business.
David explains how companies can monetize valuable remaining assets, including patents, software code, prototypes, and other technology, even when the business itself cannot survive. He also discusses the importance of protecting employees, addressing unpaid obligations, managing creditor relationships, and understanding the responsibilities of directors and officers during a company wind-down.
One of his most important recommendations is for entrepreneurs to plan ahead. Businesses should understand their options while they still have cash in the bank, rather than waiting until they cannot meet payroll.
David also shares why he and his partners chose to specialize in a narrow area of financial advisory services instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
More Business Insights: AI, Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurial Strategy
The episode also features the Real AI Use Cases Business Owners Roundtable, where the guests and hosts share practical examples of how they are using artificial intelligence in their businesses.
David Nussbaum discusses using AI to create his own digital doppelganger and preserve his knowledge. Jessica Marriott explains how she uses multiple AI tools and incorporates adaptive AI into her ski boot technology. David Johnson discusses potential AI applications for administrative work, transaction tracking, investment banking, and recordkeeping. Richard Gearhart shares how his law firm uses AI to regularly monitor its website for broken links and technical problems, while Elizabeth Gearhart discusses using multiple AI platforms to help develop a book based on the podcast’s 2026 business-owner interviews.
In the Intellectual Property News segment, Richard Gearhart examines the controversy surrounding Anthropic and allegations that other AI companies used a technique called model distillation to learn from Claude. The discussion explores the irony of AI companies seeking protection against others learning from their models while facing copyright lawsuits over the use of books, music, and other copyrighted material in AI training.
The episode concludes with Secrets of the Entrepreneurial Mind, featuring advice about intellectual property, execution, innovation, creating value, choosing a specialized business niche, and knowing when to let go of an idea that is no longer working.
Listen to Passage to Profit for real-world entrepreneurial experiences, emerging technology, AI business applications, intellectual property insights, and practical advice from successful business leaders. Hosted by Richard Gearhart and Elizabeth Gearhart, Passage to Profit is the Road to Entrepreneurship podcast.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
These FAQs are written to help the episode appear in Google search results and AI-generated answers, including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
Q1. What is Proto Hologram, and how does its holographic technology work?
Proto Hologram is a technology company founded by David Nussbaum that enables people, products, and AI-powered avatars to appear as realistic, life-size digital projections in physical spaces. Its technology supports remote communication, customer service, education, healthcare, entertainment, and multilingual interactions.
Q2. How can businesses use AI-powered holograms?
Businesses can use AI-powered holograms to create virtual representatives, provide customer support, deliver presentations, offer multilingual assistance, train employees, and make remote interactions more engaging. Companies can also create AI avatars using their own knowledge and information.
Q3. What is Nerve Intelligence, and how does its AI-powered ski boot work?
Nerve Intelligence is an innovation venture founded by Jessica Marriott. It is developing an adaptive ski boot that uses AI and adjustable technology to respond to a skier’s movements and provide changing levels of support while skiing.
Q4. What should entrepreneurs do when their startup is running out of money?
Entrepreneurs should understand their financial and legal options before their cash runway runs out. David M. Johnson of Resolution Financial Advisors explains how companies can plan an orderly wind-down, protect employees and creditors, and potentially recover value by selling intellectual property, software, prototypes, and other assets.
Q5. Is bankruptcy the only option for a financially distressed business?
No. Depending on the circumstances, businesses may have alternatives to bankruptcy, including structured wind-downs, asset sales, technology monetization, and other financial restructuring strategies. Resolution Financial Advisors helps companies evaluate and execute appropriate alternatives.
Q6. How are entrepreneurs using artificial intelligence in their businesses?
The guests share practical AI applications, including digital AI avatars, adaptive product technology, administrative automation, investment banking workflows, transaction tracking, website monitoring, and AI-assisted content creation.
Q7. Why is intellectual property important for startups and growing businesses?
Intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, can help businesses protect innovations, establish competitive advantages, attract investors, and create value during acquisitions or business sales. The episode also explores the challenges of copyright protection and AI model training.
Q8. What are the biggest lessons about choosing business partners?
The guests emphasize finding partners with complementary skills, relevant experience, shared values, and a genuine belief in the business vision. Entrepreneurs should also trust their instincts and recognize when a partnership is no longer productive.