Not the kind of burnout you see coming - Will Pearson, Founder of Ocean Bottle.

When you’re still performing, still hitting targets, but your identity has become so intertwined with your company that you can't see where you end and the business begins.

This is the story of Will Pearson and how stepping down as CEO saved both his sanity and his relationship with the company he'd built from nothing.

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ How to build a company that works around your lifestyle, not against it

▪️ Why prioritising happiness actually made Ocean Bottle more successful

▪️ Co-CEO structures often create exhaustion, not efficiency

▪️ Understand how to decouple your self-worth from company performance

▪️ Avoid the "everything depends on me" trap that destroys founders

▪️ Build a regenerative business model that gives back 15% of revenue to impact

📖 Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

00:28 - "I Intertwined My Identity With the Company"

01:02 - A CEO Shake up

04:12 - What Works in Co-CEO Leadership (and what doesn't)

09:45 - Co-Founder Coaching That Changed Everything

12:11 - The 5-Step Pearson Plan

14:08 - Crafting Business Around Lifestyle. Not the Other Way Around

17:09 - "We've Come So Far But We're Just Getting Started"

22:07 - "My Life Would Be Over" - The Toxic Early Mindset

23:49 - How Perspective and Meditation Changed Everything

25:10 - "Every Minute Should Be Work" - The Burnout Point

26:31 - The Happiness Advantage: Success vs Happiness

28:00 - Staying Grounded When the Rocket Ship Takes Off

30:35 - Decoupling Identity From Company Performance

31:23 - "What Are You Insecure About?" - Megs' Question

36:03 - Key Lessons From Board Member Peter Ward

38:00 - Ocean Bottle's Impact Model: 15% Revenue to Impact

40:34 - Building a Coalition of Impactful Companies

48:28 - Triple Bottom Line: Balancing Profit, People, and Planet

52:35 - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Open Communication

54:10 - Why People Join Mission-Driven Companies

56:09 - Reinventing Capitalism: Measuring Success by Good Done

🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too (Youtube):

How 120 Seconds Changed My £7.6M Startup | Laura Fullerton

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🔗 Will's Links:

Ocean Bottle

LinkedIn

Instagram

🚀 Affiliates:

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From burnout to community leadership.... After 18 months of Long Covid, perimenopause, and complete breakdown, Emmie Faust channelled her recovery into creating one of the UK's most impactful founder communities - Female Founders Rise.

🧠 What You'll Learn

• What does burnout actually look like and how to bounce back
• The surrender mindset that turned a passion project into an 8,000-member community
• The people-pleasing trap that keeps founders stuck and how to break free
• Turning her breakdown into an 8,000-member community - Female Founders Rise
• How to build sustainable founder communities while prioritising mental health
• How to monetise a community without compromising your mission or accessibility

📖 Chapters

00:00 - The breaking point

01:05 - Rising from the ashes

04:59 - "Founder burnout is huge..."

06:30 - The Founder's Dilemma: Pushing Until You Break

08:21 - Early Warning Signs You're Approaching Burnout

11:39 - The Surrender Experiment: Letting Go While Taking Action

14:58 - From Self-Doubt to Self-Confidence

17:15 - The People-Pleasing Trap

23:28 - Building Female Founders Rise: From 10 to 8,000 Members

28:47 - The Art of Gut-Based Decision Making

33:14 - The Community Monetisation Challenge

38:29 - IMPACT first - INCOME second

41:55 - Why Everything Should Cost Something

47:02 - The Two Questions That Changed Everything

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Scale with Soul - The home of Connected Scaling - how to build businesses without breaking yourself

This is his unfiltered story of how founder martyrdom, ego-driven decisions, and the relentless pursuit of “productivity” can kill everything you’re trying to build.

🧠 Critical Founder Insights

▪️ How to identify what work actually moves the needle

▪️ The difference between being bold versus being rash

▪️ The psychological traps that make founders optimise for ego instead of reality

▪️ The art of creating psychological safety that transforms company culture overnight

▪️ Why putting yourself first isn’t selfish - it’s the only way to truly serve your team

▪️ The “martingale system” trap that destroys even the most promising startups

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:45 - From university reject to startup head of growth

05:00 - “95% of work is a complete f**king waste of time”

08:11 - How to spot busywork vs needle-moving activities

10:24 - The ego test: when rationalisation becomes poison

12:20 - Breaking down founder ego and fear of failure

16:01 - The other side: why you still need some ego to succeed

20:22 - The secret to good research (Amos Tversky’s game-changing quote)

22:08 - Reality vs perception: mental models for startup success

23:13 - Mould toxicity: when founder martyrdom nearly killed him

28:04 - The subtle signs that compound into disaster

30:39 - Why your energy ripples through everything

35:05 - The Elon paradox: when 100-hour weeks actually work

41:33 - Bold vs rash: the Napoleon trap every founder falls into

45:25 - Richard Branson’s secret: understanding the rules before breaking them

52:11 - The barbell theory: how to take asymmetric bets

58:44 - First principles of hiring: why companies are just people breaking bread

01:04:39 - Leading through change: communication as the ultimate leverage

🍿 WATCH NEXT (YOUTUBE)

How 120 Seconds Changed My £7.6M Startup |...

📧 Get exclusive insights, timeless frameworks & founder tools in my newsletter: https://the-aj-connection.kit.com/e2d...

Visit discovermonk.com/SCALEWITHSOUL for a £100 Discount

Most founders don't talk about this... but the pressure of "it all depends on you" doesn't just create stress - it creates an impossible choice between succeeding and surviving.

Laura built a £7.6M company while discovering why that choice is actually killing founder performance - and how 2 minutes of discomfort changed everything.

Use our affiliate link for your £100 discount with MONK https://discovermonk.com/SCALEWITHSOUL

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ Why the "founder pressure paradox" sabotages both your health and your business results

▪️ How to optimise cold therapy based on your gender, cycle, and specific goals (not just "jump in when you can")

▪️ The $2.7M fundraising lesson: Why saying no to money can be your smartest business decision

▪️ How to disconnect your identity from your business without losing your drive

▪️ The "3-day rule" that prevents founder burnout before it starts

▪️ Why leading with "feminine energy" might be your biggest competitive advantage

_ _ _

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_ _ _

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:24 - "Mother nature doesn't screw up" - What we've forgotten about being human

04:01 - The science behind strategic cold therapy (not just "jump in")

06:00 - Why your menstrual cycle changes EVERYTHING about ice baths

10:30 - The 120% autophagy increase that changes your cells

13:10 - From ancient Greeks to modern biohackers: 5000 years of cold

15:02 - When your identity IS your business (and why that's dangerous)

19:27 - The founder pressure paradox: Why "it all depends on you" KILLS performance

23:42 - The 3-day rule that saved her mental health

27:44 - Using AI as your co-CEO and therapist

34:19 - Masculine vs feminine energy: when to tap into each

39:36 - Why female founders get "protection" questions (and how to flip them)

43:17 - Turning down money: the $2.7M fundraising lesson

48:58 - How to stress-test investors before they stress-test you

53:02 - The ROI of founder networks (and when they're worth 10k)

57:18 - Values that actually work: solutions-focused, health-first, innovate always

01:05:00 - The uncomfortable truth about building hardware without being technical

01:09:55 - What's keeping me up at 3am (and why sleep scores decline)

01:12:23 - How to ask for support when you're used to giving it

🍿 Watch Next On Youtube

One Of Europe's Largest EdTech Exits - Busuu €436m | Bernhard Niesner

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

Raj Dey is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Learnerbly, a workplace L&D platform at Series A.

Raj has stared some dramatic health crises in the face while building and has come out more optimistic than ever.

_ _ _

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_ _ _

In this interview, Raj shared very openly about...

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

00:52 - Ego-Minimising Practices

06:33 - Where Are Founders At Risk

09:14 - Who is Raj?

16:21 - Butterfly Effect Moments

20:43 - Solo Founder Mindset

24:10 - Founder Communities

30:21 - Extreme Positivity

40:34 - Leading Indicators To Stress

45:10 - Advisors & Investors

52:22 - How To Maintain Relationships

56:21 - Learnably

01:00:44 - Justifying L&D Spend

01:05:22 - Talent Activation over Acquisition

01:09:45 - Entrepreneur's Characteristics

01:12:41 - Who Impacted Raj Most?

01:18:48 - Where Raj Needs To Grow

01:22:22 - How Can We Help Raj?

🍿 Watch Next On Youtube

One Of Europe's Largest EdTech Exits - Busuu €436m | Bernhard Niesner

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ Who am I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast, my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

Mel Murray-Serter was Ops Director for Vice Media in Europe before it collapsed, she is the Executive Chair of Foundrs, the community of 400 entrepreneurs that I previously ran, and she's generally a startup weapon.

_ _ _

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_ _ _

I visited Mel in her home in London where she shared a tonne of lessons on how to be a great manager, running Foundrs, motherhood and many others including...

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:35 - Who is Mel?

12:29 - Mel's Career

14:52 - Vice's Downfall

20:03 - Great Maternity Leave

25:25 - Foundrs, the community

45:24 - Hiring & Managing A Board

52:21 - Management Comms & Team Charters

01:06:24 - Impact Of Motherhood

01:11:20 - Relationship OKRs

🍿 WATCH NEXT ON YOUTUBE

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ Who am I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast, my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

Bernhard Niesner is the founder of Busuu, which sold to Chegg for €436m in 2021, making it the largest EdTech Exit in Europe. However, the company almost died 7 years in which marked a pivotal moment for Bernhard, specifically with how he approached startup culture.

_ _ _

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_ _ _

Bernhard was kind enough to share his incredible story and lessons from the rollercoaster ride of Busuu!

_ _ _

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:19 - Culture Crisis

17:30 - Culture Exercises

21:42 - Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast

32:02 - Team of A Players

38:55 - 100 Rejections From VCs

47:56 - How much to raise?

50:37 - Relationships with investors

58:05 - Evolving our internal chatter

01:02:12 - Success is the struggle

01:05:50 - M&A Learnings

01:17:43 - Post-exit life

01:20:11 - Family : Work Harmony

01:24:10 - What's impossible?

01:28:55 - Unconventional Opinion

01:30:04 - How we can help Bernhard

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

📧 Subscribe to my newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for people-centric company building

Katy Turner is a serial startup founder, investor and advisor. She's wise, cool and also incredibly silly.

_ _ _

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_ _ _

Katy and I have been close friends since I started running Foundrs and we had so much fun in this conversation with topics ranging from...

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro (sillyness)

12:18 - The Human Experience

14:02 - Work Isn't A Family

22:56 - Overcoming conflict aversion

29:06 - Creativity in business

37:14 - Culture

48:04 - How To Solidify Values

53:48 - Foundations Of Stories

01:06:31 - Different 'Why's

01:09:35 - Soren Kierkegaard

01:15:21 - Katy's Best Friend

01:17:44 - What's under your bed?

01:18:52 - Katy's influences

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

📧 Subscribe to my newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for people-centric company building

Julian Metcalfe founded both Pret A Manger and Itsu, which are together worth over $3 billion! That speaks for itself really...

_ _ _

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_ _ _

I visited Julian in the Itsu offices in London where we broke down what it takes to be a unicorn entrepreneur and the operating principles behind building Pret A Manger and Itsu.

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:20 - The Truth

06:29 - Itsu

09:23 - Innovation

13:55 - Being demanding

16:55 - Passion

20:58 - Beauty

23:06 - What's itsu missing?

26:24 - How Pret changed

27:50 - Pride

30:06 - Trust

34:26 - Itsu's values

35:17 - Evolving

38:51 - Awareness

44:32 - Itsu as a startup

46:53 - Butterfly Club

47:55 - Julian's Drive

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail At Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

📧 Subscribe to my newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for people-centric company building

Monika Holod has been Head Of Brand for unicorns like BlaBlaCar and Ankorstore as well as VP of Global Brand for OYO (after their $1bn Series E). Since then she has founded a therapy startup called OMA.

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

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_ _ _

In this zen conversation we cover founder wellbeing, startup branding, and scaling culture.

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:50 - What makes a great brand?

07:07 - What questions to ask?

12:03 - Scaling a brand (AirBnB)

15:14 - Hiring cultures

23:50 - Scaling culture internationally

34:04 - Story of OMA

42:55 - Founder therapist matching

53:13 - Psychology of founders

01:01:13 - Pre-therapy work

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

📧 Subscribe to my newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for people-centric company building