Fostering a Safe Space for Ideas by Leading with Empathy: A Talk with Sara Frasca

2191 - Fostering a Safe Space for Ideas by Leading with Empathy: A Talk with Sara Frasca

Networking & Relationship Building| Leadership| Corporate Culture| Innovation
May 26, 2025•3 min read

Fostering a Culture of Innovation with Sara Frasca of Point Northeast

Custom HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT

In this episode of The Thoughtful Entrepreneur, host Josh Elledge speaks with Sara Frasca, Innovation Keynote Speaker, CEO of Point Northeast, and founder of SaraFrasca.com. Known for her passion for creative thinking and business growth, Sara brings a powerful perspective on how leaders can build a culture of innovation, empower teams, and shift workplace mindsets around failure.

Leading Innovation from the Ground Up

Sara opens the conversation with a down-to-earth personal anecdote—sharing her love for gardening and spring yard clean-up. That connection to growth, curiosity, and creativity mirrors her professional mission: helping organizations build stable foundations that allow innovation to flourish.

Sara explains that many businesses operate in a state of overwhelm. When systems are chaotic, it becomes nearly impossible for teams to think clearly, creatively, or strategically. Her first step when working with a client? Stabilize. Once a business has reliable systems and operational clarity, the space for ideation, experimentation, and innovation naturally opens up.

She also emphasizes that leaders must model the behavior they want to see. If leaders don’t take creative risks, their teams won’t either. A culture of innovation requires a safe space for failure, experimentation, and continuous learning.

About Sara Frasca

Sara Frasca is a global innovation expert, positive disruptor, and award-winning entrepreneur. A former General Mills leader turned business coach and CEO, Sara empowers organizations to embrace transformation, creativity, and bold leadership. Her experience ranges from working at startups to leading inside major corporations, giving her unique insights into how to challenge the status quo and unlock innovation. Through her work, Sara teaches companies how to build strong foundations, cultivate accountability, and create environments where people thrive by embracing experimentation and risk.

About Point Northeast

Point Northeast is a boutique consulting firm led by Sara Frasca. It specializes in helping companies remove operational bottlenecks, empower their teams, and build a culture of innovation. From strategic growth planning to leadership workshops, Point Northeast equips companies with the systems and mindset they need to scale successfully.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Episode Highlights:

  • Why overwhelmed companies struggle to innovate

  • How strong systems create the space for creativity

  • The role of leadership in modeling experimentation and trust

  • Why celebrating failure is essential to long-term growth

  • How Sara helps mid-sized businesses scale with clarity and confidence

Conclusion

Sara Frasca delivers a powerful reminder: innovation doesn’t start with flashy ideas—it starts with clarity, leadership, and a safe space for failure. Her work helps organizations build the systems and cultures needed to unlock creative thinking and achieve real, lasting growth. If your business is ready to scale and evolve, Sara’s insights and consulting frameworks offer a roadmap to make it happen.

Apply to be a Guest on The Thoughtful Entrepreneur: https://go.upmyinfluence.com/podcast-guest

More from UpMyInfluence:
We are actively booking guests for our The Thoughtful Entrepreneur. Schedule HERE.
Are you a 6-figure consultant? I’ve got high-level intros for you. Learn more here.
What is your #1 Lead Generation BLOCKER? Take my free quiz here.
Want to learn more about all the podcasts managed by UpMyInfluence? Opt in here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!

innovation consulting for mid-sized businesseshow to build a culture of innovation at workleadership strategies for creative teamsbusiness systems for scaling companiesembracing failure to drive growth
Josh Elledge is U.S. Navy veteran who became a serial entrepreneur who builds the companies he needs most in the world. In 2014, He launched UpMyInfluence to help entrepreneurs like himself attract the perfect audiences and grow their authority and influence. However, while growing their better-than-PR agency, UpMyInfluence discovered that building 7-figure B2B Sales Systems for consultants and agencies (with zero paid advertising) is actually what they do better than anyone else on the planet. UMI was the natural outgrowth of his first startup, SavingsAngel.com which had grown to more than 50 employees and grossed more than $6 million in sales with zero paid ads. He did it all through building authority and serving audiences in the media. Josh is a frequent speaker at business and startup conferences including Social Media Marketing World and a Tony Robbins event for his Business Mastery grads. He’s a weekly consumer expert on Fox 35 Orlando and News 13, writes a syndicated column for nine newspapers (with total readership above 1.1 million readers), and regularly appears on more than 75 TV stations across the country. All told, Josh has appeared in the media more than 2500 times. Passionate about his family, physical fitness (an avid fitness geek and 5K to marathon runner), and breaking out of Escape Rooms, Josh now lives in Orlando with his wife and three children.

Josh Elledge

Josh Elledge is U.S. Navy veteran who became a serial entrepreneur who builds the companies he needs most in the world. In 2014, He launched UpMyInfluence to help entrepreneurs like himself attract the perfect audiences and grow their authority and influence. However, while growing their better-than-PR agency, UpMyInfluence discovered that building 7-figure B2B Sales Systems for consultants and agencies (with zero paid advertising) is actually what they do better than anyone else on the planet. UMI was the natural outgrowth of his first startup, SavingsAngel.com which had grown to more than 50 employees and grossed more than $6 million in sales with zero paid ads. He did it all through building authority and serving audiences in the media. Josh is a frequent speaker at business and startup conferences including Social Media Marketing World and a Tony Robbins event for his Business Mastery grads. He’s a weekly consumer expert on Fox 35 Orlando and News 13, writes a syndicated column for nine newspapers (with total readership above 1.1 million readers), and regularly appears on more than 75 TV stations across the country. All told, Josh has appeared in the media more than 2500 times. Passionate about his family, physical fitness (an avid fitness geek and 5K to marathon runner), and breaking out of Escape Rooms, Josh now lives in Orlando with his wife and three children.

LinkedIn logo icon
Instagram logo icon
Youtube logo icon
Back to Blog