How to Build a Great Startup Board of Directors (Hint: Your Board Is Not Your Boss)
A founder's guide to board member roles and responsibilities, how to choose board members, and how to turn your startup board into a high-trust team.
The CEO Morning Routine That Carried Me Through My Hardest Year
In 2014, I was facing the loss of a child, a messy divorce, and single-parenthood while leading a fast-growing startup. This CEO morning routine helped me survive that year, and it still serves me today.
Hustle Culture and Hard Days: Stop Grinding, Get Back Into Flow
We applaud grit, long-hours, and blowing through walls. But great entrepreneurial work tends to come more from creative insights and thoughtful reflection.
Why CEOs should work 40-hour weeks
If the data is correct, you are not doing yourself any favors by grinding it out after 5 o'clock.
Distraction is Killing Your Business (and Stealing Your Joy)
Startup founders obsess over growth hacks, fundraising strategy, and product iteration. But when it comes to how to stay focused at work, most leaders miss the simplest and highest-leverage move available to them. Here is what I see in nearly every startup I work with, and what to do about it.
CEO Self-Doubt: Mindfulness & Emotional Regulation When You Lose Your Shit
A lot of CEO’s I work with carry questions of self-worth. This morning, I found the same questions exploding in my own head. Here is my effort in my own journal to coach myself back to center.
Founder Relationship Problems: The Unspoken Pain of Co-founder Relationships
Cofounder relationships are at the heart of most startup stories. But like most marriages, there’s as much pain and struggle as joy and collaboration. Often more. Why is no one talking about this?
The Question That Helped Me Discover My Purpose in Life
I thought it would be just another casual Saturday brunch with a friend. Instead, that morning became a turning point in my life. One question, asked on a street corner in Los Angeles, changed the way I understand myself, my work, and the relationships I care about.
Are You Feeling Guilty for Resting? Your Value Is Not Your Output
This time of isolation and slowness has me facing a lifelong message I carry: that my value is tied to my productivity. If I work hard and have output to show for it, I matter and deserve to exist. That message no longer serves me. It might not be serving you either.
Handling Layoffs with Grace
In 2016, we laid off 80% of our staff. The remaining team stuck together, scaled the business, and sold it three years later. Here's how we got through the layoffs and how you can too.
