The intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence isn't just a buzzword for today's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight guest, Chad Sanderson. As the founder of DeepHumanX (DHX), Chad is pioneering a new approach to leadership in our AI-driven world, challenging the status quo of how organizations and individuals navigate technological transformation. Through DHX's AI-augmented immersive training and the proprietary DHX Relevance Model™, Chad and his team are helping leaders not just adapt to change, but actively shape the future of human-AI collaboration. And here's a bonus for our dedicated readers: stick around until the end of the interview for an exclusive surprise that our community won't want to miss!
Hi, Chad! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?
More Human. More Relevant. More Impact.
The future of work is here, demanding a new kind of leader. At DeepHumanX (DHX), we equip individuals and organizations to think differently, lead boldly, and remain relevant in an AI-driven world.
Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace—AI, quantum computing, and automation are reshaping industries and redefining leadership. The question is no longer if you should adapt, but how fast you can. Those who master the balance of human + machine will outpace competition, drive innovation, and shape the future of work.
Relevance is a State of Being
Leadership isn’t about hierarchy; it’s about adaptability, leveraging AI while amplifying what makes us human, and activating your unique strengths to stay ahead.
Through AI-augmented immersive training, coaching and consulting rooted in the DHX Relevance Model™, we help leaders implement a new, repeatable thinking model while innovating solutions to critical business challenges and:
Future-proof their organization with human + AI synergy
Increase creativity, agility, and strategic impact
Develop adaptive leadership skills to navigate complexity
Unleash your team's superpowers to accelerate innovation
AI-Augmented, Human-Enhanced, Purpose-Driven™
The world doesn’t need more passive executives or employees—it needs leaders who challenge assumptions, embrace new possibilities, and create what’s next.
We’ll help you activate the opportunities you haven’t even imagined yet.
Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.
December 12th, 2023... although I don't remember the exact time of day. For more than a decade I have worked with organizations on transformative change initiatives and have seen how outdated thinking and overreliance on the past have hampered individuals, teams, leaders and organizations from achieving goals. The pandemic made it obvious that work as we knew it was broken, then ChatGPT captured the world's attention and understanding the mind-blowing acceleration of this technology, combined with advances in other fields, made me realize few were equipped for success in this new business reality because the human skills necessary to be successful have long been ignored in business.
So I started talking to people... experts, friends, business owners, clients... probably so much they were annoyed if I'm being honest. Some were intrigued by the technology, some were scared, and some hopeful. There were those who could see the possibilities, some who couldn't. In January of '23 I was getting laughed out of rooms - "AI won't replace humans" seemed to be the refrain everyone fell back on, but what I was saying was that humans with AI will replace those without it, but more importantly, there is a massive opportunity for those who can effectively activate and balance that AI-augmentation to amplify human skills. A huge opportunity to innovate the future of work and do it in a much more human-centric way. But yeah, not many were seeing it.
Then in Feb of '23 I reconnected with Lori Kirkland, and turns out she was thinking and seeing the same thing. We both had a passion to drive humanness in business, to empower and enable others to take control of their approach and use of technology... so we got to work and founded DeepHumanX officially in March of '23.
Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.
I don't know that it was a moment or a period in my career...more like the culmination of experiences watching human beings treated as cogs in a wheel, seeing the divide and lack of teamwork most organizations create without knowing, and seeing the frustration of people not being able to be purpose-driven or feeling helpless. Maybe it's being a GenX'er - being skeptical of those who over-exert authority, embracing and even enjoying hard work, knowing the world owes us nothing, and blaming others is a cop-out that leads me to see hoping for change isn't gonna work... so if I wanted to see the change, I had to stop with the excuses and realize I had agency and a choice to make. I wanted to help those who wanted to help themselves... so what was I waiting for?
Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?
Generative AI. Sure I could probably name a handful of SaaS tools I like, or point to things like LinkedIn...but that term...."game-changer" is what stops me. I haven't found a tool, service or software that wasn't basically a re-hashing of something that came before it before GenAI. Most services are retelling the same stories. Most software falls short of its promise. Most tools have finite use cases. But GenAI, when approached and leveraged correctly, makes me think differently, innovate differently, automate differently... it challenges me and aids me because it requires MORE of me to be used responsibly and effectively.
We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.
Great question....is there a character limit in this field? ;-). I've failed many times in many ways both personally and professionally. Some are funny today, and some are still sad and sting. For me, there were a couple of lessons that got me to this point...
1. It's a harsh reality I think many forget, but the world does not owe you anything. Period. You have to earn your expectations.
2. Failure can hurt, but it's a temporary state experienced only as long as you choose to stop moving. Action beats anxiety.
3. "Fear is the mind-killer." - Frank Herbert.
4. No one person has all the answers. Be respectful enough to listen. Smart enough to learn. Humble enough to hear. Driven enough to change yourself.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?
"Lessening the Define". This is part of our thinking model - The DHX Relevance Model™ - but has also proven to be a state of mind and has become part of the DNA of our company. Consistently leveraging it has allowed us to open up doors and opportunities we never thought of or predicted. It has impacted everything we do - from marketing to partnering, to executing, to selling and more.
What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?
Don't wait. When I took the leap with my first business I didn't have a financial cushion, it was simply I had to find a way to succeed. I used to tell people I'll either find a way to be successful or end up wandering the earth. I believed it was possible but I also wasn't sure how it would happen. I wish I had done it sooner because my life is now unimaginable to the person I was when I took that first step.
Enjoy these DeepHumanX limited-time offers for our W2E community!
- Sign Up to the AI Opportunity and Your Time Accelerator Course and Get 50% off using the code DHX-W2EL (coupon expires June 30th, 2025)
- Sign Up to the AI-Augmented Self-Leadership: Fundamentals Certification Course and get 50% off using the code DHX-W2EL (coupon expires June 30th, 2025)
Want to dive deeper into Chad's work? Check out the links below:
- Connect with Chad on LinkedIn: Chad Sanderson
- Visit DeepHumanX's website deephumanx.com
- Explore DeepHumanX's online courses at academy.deephumanx.com
- Check out DHX AI-Readiness Assessment
- Check out DHX AI-Augmented Training
- Find DeepHumanX on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to DeepHumanX's YouTube channel deephumanx
- Follow DeepHumanX on Instagram @deephumanx
- Find DeepHumanX on Facebook
- Follow DeepHumanX on TikTol @deephumanx
