Imagine you are from a foreign county and you are in the United States growing your startup. All of a sudden the city seizes your office space and a major recession hits and you have to lay off a large portion of your company. What would YOU do? Listen to what Benoit did and get a lesson you might not expect.

I share a common mistake that many Founders make and what you can do about it. Hint...it has to do with change. :)

Who among us Founders has not had one of those time periods when someone says something to us that just stops us in our tracks and makes us think more deeply about ourselves. This happened to 2 x Founder Tom Bradbury.

He not only shares how he used what he learned from his first company to create success in his second company, WorkplaceUX, but he also candidly talks about something his daughter said to him that shifted him on his journey From Founder To CEO.

Happy New Year! To kick of the New Year I wanted to help you with a problem that has increasingly made it onto my radar screen...co-founder conflict. In my experience, a large number of startups and scaleups fail because co-founders can't get along, harbor resentment, and generally engage in unproductive behavior and interactions.

I collected the most common conflict scenarios I have seen and share with you 10 actions you can take to confront and resolve conflict between and amongst YOUR co-founders.

The path from Founder to CEO is very personal. While you are growing your company, you are changing, what you focus on is also changing, and your interests are likely to change. It's very dynamic and it can be hard for a Founder to navigate this process. 

Jim knows this all to well. As he describes his journey, "I was trapped a prisoner in my own company." In this candid interview explains what this means and what you can learn too.

Jake shares a humbling story of leadership self-awareness that you'll want to listen to. He received feedback about his leadership of the company that made him stop, think, and readjust...after a roller coaster of emotions. ;)

Jay started as a Founder in his garage. Jay took orders on his cell phone while traveling around. Jay worked hard to build Blinds.com to the powerhouse it is today. I've been reading Jay's pieces on Inc.com for awhile. I truly appreciate his practical wisdom, commitment to improvement and his continuous focus on people. It was a treat for me to have an opportunity to interview such an American business icon.

Health is everything. Founder fitness is everything. Michael knows abut both. That's why he created a company that uses NASA technology to make outdoor gear warm and free of bulk. It's also why he discovered that being a Founder requires focuses on his health and prompted him to lose over 20 pounds so he could better lead his company. Hear what happened and what he did and does about it so his company can soar.

Our very first, real Irishman on the podcast for this interview. :) I could talk with Tomás for ever. He is a smart, savvy, experienced Founder who is more than willing to share his journey from Founder to CEO. He had somewhat of a unique start to his business. We talk about the unpleasant need to fire a team member and how he handled the departure of two key team members who left his company while recruiting away his customers. We even talk about my favorite butter...made in Ireland. :)

The payments industry is a beast of an industry to enter. There are a growing number of players, lots of regulation, entrenched legacy leaders, and difficulties building and maintaining trust. But, PJ Gupta saw not only a need, but has a passion for helping millions of businesses reduce their payments costs and speed up their cash flow...so he took on the challenge of sending an receiving digital checks.