Join a community of ambitious CEOs who are looking to build market-leading companies without sacrificing health and happiness. Check out: https://limitless.ceo

What if the fastest way to scale your startup is to stop pretending you’re “crushing it”? In this episode of The Startup CEO Show, I sit down with Jerry Colonna, legendary CEO coach, former VC, and author of Reboot, for a raw conversation about the founder’s inner journey: the anxiety, the bravado, the “should,” and the quiet suffering that often hides behind high growth. Jerry challenges the startup ecosystem’s obsession with spinning a story and reframes “vulnerability” as something simpler and harder: honesty.

We unpack why founders feel pressured to perform, how hustle culture disconnects leaders from clarity and compassion, and why building a company is often a personal development journey disguised as a business. We also explore meditation, purpose, equanimity, and why poetry can cut through the monkey mind when nothing else will.

If you’re a founder, CEO, or investor who wants to build something big without burning out, this is one of those conversations that sticks with you.

Connect with me: My website: https://limitless.ceo/ Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/themarkmacleod/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markmacleodcoach/

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Want to unlock your limits as CEO? Come join us: https://limitless.ceo/

In this episode, I sit down with Justin Mares, co-founder of TrueMed and Founder Health, to unpack a topic most founders ignore until it’s too late: your health is part of your business model. Justin shares how he built companies around prevention instead of reaction and why founder energy, clarity, and resilience directly compound into better decisions, stronger leadership, and long-term business growth. We talk about the hidden costs of burnout, why traditional healthcare fails entrepreneurs, and how treating health like infrastructure changed the way Justin builds. If you’re scaling a company, leading a team, or feeling the weight of constant decision-making, this conversation reframes health not as self-care, but as a strategic advantage. Watch now to learn how elite founders protect their most undervalued asset: themselves.

Justin Mares

Connect with me: My website: https://limitless.ceo/ Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/themarkmacleod/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markmacleodcoach/

Join a community of ambitious CEOs who are looking to build market-leading companies without sacrificing health and happiness.

Check out: https://limitless.ceo

What no one tells you about scaling is that the “big milestones” usually aren’t revenue numbers; they’re philosophy shifts, focus decisions, and how you build a company that can outgrow its founders. In this episode of The Startup CEO Show, I sit down with Vitaly (StackAdapt) to unpack how StackAdapt scaled to 1,600 people, crossed $500M+ in revenue, and stayed Virtual-First without letting culture collapse into chaos. We talk about what changed when Vitaly stepped into the CEO seat after nine years of founder-led leadership, why they delayed early fundraising and later brought in growth-stage investors (for credibility, maturity, and long-term category leadership), and what it takes to build systems that don’t depend on a few heroic decision-makers. We also get into a powerful insight Vitaly doesn’t hear enough in marketing conversations: a great product makes marketing easier. If you’re building in a crowded market, scaling a remote team, or trying to grow without losing your soul as a company, this one’s for you.

Connect with me: My website: https://limitless.ceo/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/themarkmacleod/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markmacleodcoach/