Fearful Giants

Most venture capitalists talk solely about exits and valuations. Mark Phillips talks about founder mental health.

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with Mark Phillips, Managing Partner of 11 Tribes Ventures, a VC firm that's actively reshaping the venture capital model to prioritize founder resilience alongside business outcomes.

Mark's journey began with failure. A failed diabetes device startup, an identity crisis, and the realization that his marriage, health, and faith were all in shambles. That rock-bottom moment became the foundation for something radically different: a venture firm where "capital and care" aren't competing values.

What You'll Hear:

• How Mark's startup failure led to an identity crisis that changed everything

• Why 70% of the market laughs at the idea of founder wellbeing

• The hidden cost of tying your worth to your company's success

• How meditation changed the way Mark's brain processes the world

• What happens when a founder has the courage to kill a major partnership

• The truth Mark whispers to himself when fear shows up

If you're a founder grinding yourself into the ground, or a leader who's forgotten why you started, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Mark Phillips:

Website: https://www.11tribes.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markphillips11t/Email: [email protected]

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

Email: [email protected]

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Most leaders don't talk about the fear underneath their success. And in philanthropy, that silence shows up in questions no one wants to ask out loud: Am I giving enough? What if I'm doing this for the wrong reasons? What will my wealth do to my kids?

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay sits down with Julie Hoffmann, founder and CEO of JH Philanthropy, a firm that helps high-capacity families navigate the complexities of charitable giving and create meaningful impact through philanthropy.

With over two decades in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Julie has become a trusted advisor to families wrestling with questions most people never have to face and the fears that come with them.

What You'll Hear:

• How fear shows up for high-wealth families navigating philanthropy
• The difference between healthy and unhealthy legacy
• Why "clarity is kind" when working through family dynamics
• Julie's own inner critic: "She has no idea what she's doing"
• What it means to learn out loud instead of staying small
• The responsibility that comes with wealth and leadership

If this conversation resonates, share it with a leader who needs to hear it. And don't forget to subscribe to Fearful Giants for more honest conversations about the human side of leadership.

Connect with Julie Hoffmann:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hoffmannjulie/ 

Website: https://www.jhphilanthropy.com/juliehoffmann 

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Clay:

Website: https://15sixty.com/ 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer 

Email: [email protected]

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Most leaders muscle through pressure without ever asking what their body is trying to tell them. 

In this episode, Brad Lande-Shannon, Chief People Officer at Madison Reed and founder of Awake Ranch, sits down with Clay for a raw, grounded conversation about conscious leadership, fear, presence, and why the pace we carry shapes the organizations we build.

From leading 1,200 people to learning leadership lessons from horses, Brad brings an honesty most leaders avoid.

What You'll Hear:

- How conscious leadership actually works inside a fast-growing company

- Why "above the line / below the line" matters, and how to recognize your own reactivity

- The hidden fear underneath HR emergencies and high-pressure leadership moments

- How horses reveal the truth about presence, pace, and leadership dynamics

- What Brad needed to let go of to create an easeful next chapter for Awake Ranch

- The mantra Brad returns to when fear drags him down

If this conversation challenged you or helped you see your own leadership a little more clearly, share it with someone who needs it.

Connect with Brad:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.awakeranch.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradlande/

Connect with Clay:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://15sixty.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/claystelzer

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Navigating fear as the founder of a tech startup is something few leaders talk about openly, yet almost every founder experiences it.

In this episode of Fearful Giants, Clay Stelzer sits down with Liza Gurtin, an early employee at Robinhood, a product leader at Slack during its run to IPO, a former venture capitalist, and now a venture-backed tech startup founder. 

In this episode we explore: 

• How fear shaped Liza’s early career and how it shows up for her as a tech startup founder

• The power of naming your inner “judge” and learning to work with it instead of fighting it

• How founders and leaders can create cultures where authenticity is safe and expected

If this episode resonates, share it with a founder or leader who could benefit from this conversation. And don’t forget to hit follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening for more empowering conversations about the human side of leadership. 

Connect with Liza Gurtin:

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizagurtin/⁠ 

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠. 

Website: ⁠https://www.adverb.vc/team/liza-gurtin⁠ 

X: ⁠https://x.com/LizaGurtin⁠ 

Connect with Clay:

Website: ⁠https://15sixty.com/⁠ 

LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/claystelzer⁠ 

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Resources Mentioned:

– The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron)

– Morning Pages practice

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Fear is the hidden driver of most leadership decisions. In this inaugural episode of Fearful Giants, I share why this podcast exists - and why silence, fear, and unspoken truth quietly erode leaders, teams, and cultures. This isn’t a show about tactics or performance hacks to become a better leader. It’s about the internal pressure leaders carry, the fear that drives bad behavior, and the courage required to tell the truth.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why fear- not incompetence - is behind most leadership breakdowns

• The three fears that quietly control leaders

• How silence creates “Groundhog Day” cultures and burned-out teams

• Why “pushing through fear” doesn’t work, and what to do instead

• The role leaders must play in modeling vulnerability and honesty

I spent years achieving what looked like success while struggling internally. Anxiety, panic, and exhaustion were signals I ignored - until I couldn’t ignore them any longer. In my own coaching journey I learned something simple and confronting: I wasn’t telling the truth. This show exists to tell those truths, and create the conversations most leadership spaces miss.

If this resonates, subscribe to Fearful Giants, and share it with a leader who needs to hear this!

Connect with Clay:

Clay Stelzer is the founder and CEO of 15sixty, an executive coaching firm working with senior leaders and teams worldwide.

Website: ⁠https://15sixty.com/⁠ 

LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/claystelzer⁠ 

Email: ⁠[email protected]

Fearful Giants is a raw, honest exploration of how fear silently limits even the most successful leaders. 

Hosted by executive coach and 15sixty founder Clay Stelzer, each episode explores the quiet, internal struggles behind big titles and bold decisions. Clay invites founders, CEOs, and executive leaders into real, unfiltered conversations about the fears they rarely name: fear of failure, vulnerability, irrelevance, not being good enough.

With a mix of humor, depth, and coaching insight, each episode reveals what becomes possible in leadership – and in life – when we stop performing, start telling the truth, and remember who we really are: giants.

Connect with Clay:Clay Stelzer is the founder and CEO of 15sixty, an executive coaching firm working with senior leaders and teams worldwide.

Website: ⁠https://15sixty.com/⁠ 

LinkedIn: ⁠linkedin.com/in/claystelzer⁠ 

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠