Subscribe to the Choose the Hard Way substack at www.alwaysthehardway.substack.com for a look behind the scenes of this episode and human-generated insights about bikes, zen and life. 

Walking away from an executive role at a high-growth unicorn to go all-in & start up your own company sounds cool. What happens when a highly promising start up with an awesome product becomes an end up and your funding and life savings are gone? 

This episode is an inside look at Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz’s journey as co-founder of the venture-backed sleep tech startup The Better Lab, how that experience spawned his new company One Real Voice & a glimpse of what’s on the horizon with his stealth consumer health startup. 

Vontz’s longtime friend & mentor Shannon Jones is the co-pilot for this unvarnished conversation about the realities of building, leading and moving forward in business in life. 

Jones is an investor, educator, and advisor with roots in private equity and entrepreneurship. He founded Halstatt Legacy Partners to acquire and grow family-owned businesses and has led ventures in fitness, media, and health. 

He coaches new CEOs through high-stakes transitions, often addressing identity and behavior. An adjunct professor at CU Boulder, he teaches acquisition and leadership, drawing on real-world experience--from co-founding a boxing reality TV startup to recruiting CEOs for investor-backed firms. Find Shannon on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/wshannonjones/ and subscribe to his Substack: transcendceo.substack.com. Being able to perform in high-stakes, long-form podcast conversations is now a mission-critical skill for senior leaders. 

Drawing on his 25 years of experience as a journalist, founder, executive & host of hundreds of podcast episodes, Andrew Vontz works 1:1 with senior executives, political leaders and pro athletes who are eager to build & practice the new skills it takes to thrive in the podcast landscape.

Are you ready to be great? DM Andrew @hardwaypod or email [email protected]. This episode is brought to you by Blockchain.com. Over $1 trillion in crypto transactions have been trusted to Blockchain.com. They’re your trusted platform for buying, selling and holding crypto, no matter your experience level. When you crypto, crypto with Blockchain.com. This episode is also brought to you by Lauf. We sought them out as a partner because they take an unconstrained and innovative approach to building that yields best-in-class results. Lauf bikes are elegant, fast and radically fun. When you ride, ride Lauf www.laufcycles.com. 

Palm Tree Pod Co. is our trusted strategic production partner. Why? Because we work with the best. Find Anthony and his crackerjack team at www.palmtreepodco.com.