The Horton Hangout — Laura Horton & Leanna Best

The tables turn this week as Payman hangs out with Laura and Leanna on The Horton Hangout. 

What starts as a chat about the challenges of being interviewed rather than interviewing quickly evolves into something deeper—an honest exploration of ambition, sacrifice, and what it means to build something meaningful whilst trying to hold onto the people you love. 

From managing business partnerships and navigating the tension between legacy and presence, to the surprisingly simple power of just showing up, this conversation touches on the parts of success no one really talks about until they're living through it.

In This Episode

00:01:25 - Hosting versus guesting

00:02:55 - How Laura and Leanna met

00:06:40 - Having it all as ambitious women

00:10:50 - Balancing work travel with family life

00:14:30 - Partnership dynamics and business relationships

00:19:45 - The Enlighten story and business evolution

00:28:15 - Marketing philosophy and brand building

00:35:20 - Working with your best mate

00:41:10 - The reality of business partnerships

00:47:25 - Managing conflict and difficult conversations

00:52:40 - Learning to say no and setting boundaries

00:58:15 - Legacy versus being present

01:03:30 - Parenting and guilt

01:09:45 - The immigrant work ethic

01:16:20 - Competition in dentistry

01:21:35 - Advice for younger dentists

01:25:00 - Meeting strangers from the internet

01:28:20 - Remote teams and South African operations

About Laura Horton & Leanna Best

Laura Horton is a dental hygienist, educator, and founder of multiple dental businesses including Brush, whilst Leanna Best is a treatment coordinator and educator who worked alongside Neil and Fiona Gerrard before launching her own training ventures. 

Together they co-host The Horton Hangout—a podcast that strips away the polish and gets into the real conversations about life, work, and everything in between within the dental world.