Hidden Gems: Meet Danielle Sprouls of Unscripted Pivots LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Sprouls.

Hi Danielle, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I began my career as an attorney and then spent 23 years in commercial real estate, closing more than $20 billion in deals. By every external measure, that was success. But I learned something important: success without fulfillment is not enough. What energized me most was never the transactions, it was leading and mentoring. When I had the chance to coach a sales team, something clicked—and that moment sent me on the path to becoming a certified executive coach.

I have always been fascinated by life’s curveballs, the unscripted pivots that force us to rewrite the script. That curiosity led me to launch a podcast, Unscripted Pivots, spotlighting women navigating reinvention. Out of those conversations, my WTF framework was born. Not what you think: Women That Flourish. And also Wake That Flame, Work That Focus, Wisdom Through Failure, Win Tiny First. Over time, people began calling me ‘The WTF Lady’, which still makes me smile because it means the message stuck.

I even wrote the book on it, WTF: Women That Flourish, to inspire others to see their pivots not as setbacks but as stepping stones. Today, I use this framework in my coaching and speaking to help leaders transform pivots into power moves and discover not just success, but true fulfillment.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, and honestly, I wouldn’t trust it if it was. I spent decades in Manhattan commercial real estate, where I was deeply established and recognizable. Moving to California meant starting fresh, but the bigger challenge came later when I left CRE altogether to build my own company, step fully into coaching, and write my book. Suddenly, the confidence I had in boardrooms didn’t automatically translate into being seen as a coach, speaker, or author.

That was disorienting. I had gone from feeling indispensable to feeling invisible. Reinventing myself meant more than a new business card; it required stripping back the old armor of titles and proving my value in a whole new arena. One of the most powerful pivots I made was choosing sobriety. It taught me presence, clarity, and how to stand in discomfort, lessons that make me a stronger leader, coach, and writer.

Those obstacles became the raw material for my WTF framework. These days, when someone calls me The WTF Lady, I hear it less as shock value and more as a compliment about resilience, reinvention, and showing up real. Women That Flourish—and my book by the same name—is not just about celebrating wins. It is about finding the wisdom, the focus, and the flame that come from walking straight through the unscripted parts of our lives.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Unscripted Pivots is more than a coaching company, it is a movement built around the idea that life’s curveballs are not derailments, they are invitations to reinvent. I specialize in executive coaching, motivational speaking, and authoring frameworks that help professionals navigate transitions with clarity, confidence, and momentum.

What I am known for is taking the phrase “WTF” and flipping it into a positive, powerful brand. In my world, WTF stands for Women That Flourish, Wake That Flame, Work That Focus, Wisdom Through Failure, Win Tiny First. Each phrase becomes a tool, a mantra, a way to transform chaos into opportunity.

What sets me apart is that my coaching is not theory. It is grounded in 23 years of high-stakes deal-making in commercial real estate, paired with the grit of building my own company from scratch. I bring boardroom credibility together with raw human experience, and I deliver it in a way that is bold, relatable, and impossible to forget.

Brand-wise, I am most proud of how WTF has caught fire. It began with my podcast, Unscripted Pivots, and grew into my book, WTF: Women That Flourish. Now it is the framework that drives my coaching practice, my speaking events, and even group programs like the WTF Circle. The brand is unapologetically real and resonates because it makes people stop, laugh, think, and then apply it to their own lives.

What I want readers to know is simple: Unscripted Pivots is here to help you use your biggest pivots as launchpads, not setbacks. Whether it is through one-on-one coaching, group experiences, or keynote talks, my mission is to make sure you never face a transition alone and that you walk away not only with strategies, but with fire in your gut to actually use them.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk is the price of admission for growth. I do not see it as recklessness; I see it as alignment. Every major pivot in my life has required risk. Leaving a secure 23-year career in commercial real estate to step into the unknown world of coaching and entrepreneurship was not a safe bet. Writing a book and putting my voice into the world was not safe either. But safety and fulfillment rarely coexist.

For me, risk is less about gambling and more about trust—trusting that even if the outcome is uncertain, the experience will stretch me into the next version of myself. Some of the biggest rewards in my life have come on the heels of risks that looked terrifying on paper.

That is why risk-taking is central to the WTF framework. Wake That Flame is about daring to move even when fear is loud. Wisdom Through Failure is about knowing that risk sometimes delivers lessons instead of trophies, and both are valuable. I teach my clients to reframe risk not as danger, but as a vote of confidence in their future self.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://unscriptedpivots.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellesprouls
• LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/daniellesproulsesq
• Twitter: https://x.com/The_WTF_Lady
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRV9cy8aZNE5p7ZkKMsYBSA
• Other: https://unscriptedpivots.transistor.fm/