80. Very Scary Things

Boo. It's the Halloween edition of Age Blind, and the SLTbox is haunted. A CPA dressed as a data vixen, a horror filmmaker, and a marketing agency founder who will flee any patio the second a bird shows up join Nancy to confess what scared them as kids, what still gives them the heebie-jeebies, and the one fear they plan to kill off before 2027. Spiders. Ventriloquist dummies. Clowns (not all of them). Birds. Silence. The unknown. And a confession from Nancy's childhood that she has never said out loud on a podcast before. What you'll learn in this Haunted House: why the shyest kids in the room grow up to run the room, how one guy made an award-winning horror film with zero crew, why founders should talk about their failures way more than their wins, and the question an executive coach once asked Nancy that she still uses today. Turn the lights off and press play. If you dare. Jump to the Good Parts • 00:00 Boo. Welcome to the Halloween edition (meet Brittany Bones) • 00:47 Halloween is back, and so are the witches • 01:24 Meet the data vixen, Melissa Diaz • 02:13 Korbin Christie and his wall of horror comics • 04:14 Sondra Connor vs. the birds • 05:56 The fearless shy girl • 06:46 Nancy's most mortifying childhood moment • 07:32 Spiders, clowns and one very specific irrational fear • 08:04 The horror filmmaker who used to hate horror movies • 09:44 One man, 48 hours, and a monster in the mirror • 11:20 Why founders need to share their failures • 13:12 "Is this real or is this Nancy shit?" • 14:15 The fears we're taking down in 2027 (and where to find the crew) • 17:47 Late bloomers, rejection and Grandma Moses • 19:27 One last scary thing before we say goodnight **This Week's Guests** **Melissa Diaz, CPA** Founder of HappyTaxx and co-owner and partner at High Rock Accounting. Melissa spent the last 10 years as a CPA in the cannabis industry, and now she's launching a company where tax prep gets a little spicy. Also known as Age Blind's Chief Vice Officer. • HappyTaxx (join the waitlist): happytaxxx.com • High Rock Accounting: highrock.co • LinkedIn: Melissa K Diaz **Korbin Christie** Founder of K27 Media, an Arizona production company that makes commercials, branded stories and horror films. His films have won awards on the festival circuit, including Best Actor and Best Film at a 48-hour film challenge he shot almost entirely by himself. • Site: k27media.com • Instagram: @korbin.christie27 • (He's not on LinkedIn. Nancy is working on it.) **Sondra Connor** Founder of The Cheeky Rooster, a Phoenix fractional marketing agency that helps high-tech and regulated industries lighten up a little. Host of the Women \[In]... podcast. • Site: cheekyrooster.com • LinkedIn: Sondra Connor • The Cheeky Rooster on LinkedIn: The Cheeky Rooster • Podcast: [Women \[In\]...](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8a98c9dd-8edc-416c-b889-bfb29253d3e8/women-in) **Mentioned in This Episode** • What does AI think Nancy should be for Halloween? Find out in What's in My Costume Closet? on Substack • Your Nerve, Nancy's serialized self-help graphic memoir: nancyashenker.substack.com **Follow Age Blind + Nancy AF** • Site: nancyaf.com • Substack (my digital memoir, Your Nerve, plus weekly content on AI and humanity): nancyashenker.substack.com • Instagram: @nancyaf\_ • Facebook: Nancy Shenker • YouTube: @NancyShenker • LinkedIn: Nancy A. Shenker • Apple Podcasts: Age Blind • Email: [nancyashenker@gmail.com](mailto:nancyashenker@gmail.com) Want to be a guest? Apply at bit.ly/AgeBlindGuest or hit me up on any link above. And remember: the date on your birth certificate means nothing. Sex, life, and tech are what count. #AgeBlind #NancyAF #ProAging #Halloween #Fear #HorrorFilms #Entrepreneurship #WomenFounders #Ageism #Humor