Rachel Marano
Managing Partner & Founder, Pivot Point Consulting
I’m Rachel Morano, founder and managing partner of Pivot Ponk Consulting, and once I and my sales team got trained, we saw improvements across the board. These skills helped in high-stakes negotiations with executives and strategic partners and changed how my leaders and I communicate. Overall, it’s improved the way I lead and how my business communicates.
Michelle DeSantis
Mediator
I’m Michelle DeSantis, a full-time mediator, and I’m expanding my work to help people navigate difficult conversations more effectively. This is for other mediators or anyone who’s constantly stuck in hard dynamics and has to have tough talks. If that’s you, you need to be in the room—because you’re losing money by not being there.
Raymond Mieszaniec
COO & Co-founder, EvenUp
I’m Ray, co-founder and COO of Even Up, and what mattered most for me was learning how to truly connect with people and understand them deeply. Now I use the Black Swan and Never Split the Difference tools so naturally that it’s really about uncovering the other person’s needs and problems to bring back better solutions and products. My whole team applies these principles daily to deliver better services and outcomes for our customers.
Emily LeVasseur
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Waypost
I’m Emily La Vassard, and I run a supply chain consulting business in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I think anyone who needs positive outcomes in human interactions should be in the room at this negotiation summit. I’d absolutely come back next time to practice my skills and learn new ones.
Christopher Sands
CEO, Hannon De Palma
My name is Christopher Sands, and I’m the CEO of a divorce law firm serving New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. I love being in the room with masters at work, hearing their techniques firsthand, and having real conversations where I can label and mirror what they’re doing. You can learn from books or videos, but in-person energy hits different and something shifts.
Dr. Rohan Agarwal
Founder & Managing Director, UniAdmissions
I’m Dr. Rohan Agarwal, founder and CEO of Uni Admissions, and I came here to get fresh eyes and new training to update how our sales team communicates with each other and with clients. We’ve already trained with Cialdini and the Black Swan method, but I wanted a refresh. I was pleasantly surprised by how excellent and accomplished the other instructors were, beyond what I expected.
Ray Baynard
CEO & President, Carriff Engineered Fabrics Corporation
I’m Ray Baynard, president and CEO, and this summit helped me become more collaborative in negotiations. By sharing my thinking and concerns instead of being cutthroat and overly direct, I get better outcomes with customers, suppliers, and my company. We find win-win ways to move forward that help both sides without harming either business.
Perry W.
Director of Business Operations

As a first timer and someone new to the Black Swan methodology, this course did a good job laying out the foundation and making it approachable. The guidance has been really helpful in understanding everyone’s motivations and building trust.

Christian W.
Managing Director

I spent quite a lot of effort, time, and money to come all the way from Japan for these two days. It was really a good spend. Since coming back, I am working on implementation. BSG skills look simple, yet need work to implement, and the Summit helped connect the dots.