Ever wonder what happens when someone actually builds operations around people instead of the other way around?

Today, Charlene sits down with someone who's not just building better companies—he's rethinking how people experience work itself. Max Trudel is the COO and co-founder of Evolia, a company reshaping how businesses approach scheduling, time management, and the human side of operations.

Beyond the title, Max is a university lecturer and radio host, and what sets him apart isn't just what he does or what he builds, it's how he builds it. With heart, with intention, and with a deep respect for the humans behind every metric.

They chat about everything from Max's early days saying yes to random opportunities, to the hard conversations that come with scaling a team, to why he still visits customers in person.

If you've wondered what it really means to design a workplace that puts people first, this conversation is for you.

Meet Max Trudel — In 5 Fun Facts

• The Corner Office Kid - While other kids played with toys, Max grew up literally in the corner of his dad's entrepreneurial office. This explains why spreadsheets and business plans feel more natural to him than most people's childhood bedrooms. DNA-level entrepreneurship is real, folks.
• The Pandemic Radio Rebel - When COVID locked everyone behind screens, Max's solution? Start a radio show to meet "real people in real life." Because apparently Zoom fatigue hits different when you're used to being a people person. His cure for digital isolation was going analog.
• The Side-Gig Professor - Most university lecturers tell students to focus on studies. Max actively encourages his students to launch side businesses—then sometimes hires them later. It's like career matchmaking but with extra homework and entrepreneurial chaos.
• The ‘Yes Man’ Evangelist - Max took the Jim Carrey movie "Yes Man" as a life philosophy, not entertainment. He says yes to opportunities first and figures out how they connect later. Spoiler alert: they always connect, just not how you'd expect.
• The SaaS Field Trip Leader - While most SaaS founders worship metrics from their desks, Max actually visits customers to watch them use his product in real life. He wants to see people's faces when they interact with his software, not just their usage statistics.

[00:02:30] - Max's entrepreneurial DNA: Growing up in his dad's office and the natural pull toward entrepreneurship that shaped his entire approach to business.

[00:06:45] - The power of saying yes: How saying yes to seemingly disconnected opportunities creates unexpected career connections and growth.

[00:12:20] - Finding balance as co-founders: The natural division between product and sales that allowed Evolia to grow in a balanced way from the start.

[00:18:10] - Operations as human empowerment: Max's unique perspective on operations being fundamentally about removing friction for people.

[00:23:40] - The empathy of difficult decisions: How firing people with empathy can actually be an act of care for both the individual and the team.

[00:28:15] - Scaling without losing innovators: Keeping problem-solvers and creative thinkers engaged as your company specializes and grows.

[00:35:20] - Partnership communication secrets: Why most agency relationships fail and how to build true partnerships with external...