Anne Gillaspie

OnlyFounders

A Relationships , Society & Culture and Health & Fitness podcast Explicit

About the show

OnlyFounders shares the honestly HUMAN side of founding something meaningful. Hosted by provocative speaker and truth disruptor Anne Gillaspie, OnlyFounders goes beyond surface level stories to reveal what it actually feels like to exist in our humanity. We have radically honest conversations with founders, entrepreneurs, leaders, creators and cycle breakers about entrepreneurship, relationships, mental health, founder burnout, identity, fear, failure, leadership, parenting, ambition, authenticity, personal growth and reinvention. If you crave honest founder stories, uncomfortable conversations, human connection and the truth behind entrepreneurship, you're home. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, founder stories, founder podcast, human side of entrepreneurship, founder mental health, relationships, human connection, authenticity, vulnerability, radical honesty, truth telling, founder burnout, fear and imposter syndrome, identity, personal growth, breaking cycles, authentic leadership.

Newest episodes

The CULTure of Ai: A Series With Anne & Sayre Blake

Nov 12, 2026 54 min

Is AI really the threat we're being told it is, or are we overlooking the human decisions behind how it's being developed and used? In Episode 2 of The Culture of AI, Anne Gillaspie welcomes software engineer, artist, and entrepreneur Sayre Blake for a candid conversation about artificial intelligence, human responsibility, and the culture forming around this rapidly evolving technology. Sayre breaks down the controversial Hugging Face AI agent incident, explaining how poor security decisions, flawed testing, and a lack of human oversight contributed to a situation that was later framed as an example of AI becoming dangerous. She challenges the tendency to blame the technology without examining the people who designed, deployed, and controlled it. The conversation also explores what AI is revealing about the workplace. From creative professionals and journalists to software developers and business owners, AI is exposing questions about quality, expertise, human contribution, and the value of work that often goes unseen. IN THIS EPISODE The Hugging Face AI agent incident and what actually happenedWhy AI safety depends on proper testing, security, and human oversightHow companies can use fear around AI to shape public perceptionThe human decisions behind AI-generated content and technologyWhy quality, creativity, and craftsmanship still matterHow AI is changing jobs and exposing the value of human expertiseWhy AI can automate tasks without replacing the deeper work of software developmentThe opportunity for smaller businesses and independent creatorsHow AI can reduce administrative work and make more room for creativityWhy parents need to think carefully about children's access to AI toolsThe importance of ethical leadership, safeguards, and accountabilityWhat the future of AI could look like when humans remain involvedPULL QUOTES “A bubble isn't some force of nature, it's just people making decisions.”“It can't set itself off.”“Trust your instincts as a person of do...

Losing a Business, Ending a Partnership, and Finding a New Direction | OnlyFounders

Nov 10, 2026 1 hr 19 min

What happens when a business you spent years building becomes the thing you need to walk away from? In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with Stephen Somers, founder of Marketplace SuperHeroes, for an honest conversation about entrepreneurship, business failure, founder identity, and the personal challenges that don't always show up in the success story. Stephen shares how he went from being broke in Dublin and working a job he didn't enjoy to learning e-commerce from the ground up in a warehouse in Northern Ireland. That experience eventually helped him build a successful Amazon business and launch Marketplace SuperHeroes, an online education company. But the journey wasn't all growth. Stephen opens up about a freight business that faced enormous financial pressure during COVID, the difficult end of a 13-year business partnership, and the emotional impact of questioning whether he could succeed on his own. He also talks about working with a therapist, discovering his ADHD, overcoming his fear of the future, and learning to build a business around his actual strengths rather than trying to do everything himself. Anne and Stephen get into the realities of co-founder relationships, evolving as an entrepreneur, using AI as a practical tool, and why a successful business doesn't have to come with a flashy lifestyle. This is a conversation about the parts of entrepreneurship we don't always put in the highlight reel: the mistakes, the uncertainty, the relationships, and the work of finding your way forward. ABOUT STEPHEN SOMERS Stephen Somers is the founder of Marketplace SuperHeroes, an online education company that has helped more than 10,000 people build side incomes selling on Amazon and Whatnot. After leaving a 9-to-5 job in Dublin, Stephen built a multi-seven-figure Amazon business from scratch. He later expanded into online education, helping aspiring entrepreneurs learn how to build and grow e-commerce businesses. More recently, he led the Ma...

Identity Crisis or Midlife Awakening? Why Founders Need Permission to Change | OnlyFounders

Nov 5, 2026 19 min

What happens when the identity you've spent years building no longer feels like who you are? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie explores identity, imposter syndrome, burnout, and what she calls a midlife awakening. She reflects on how easily we become attached to titles, roles, and expectations that were often given to us by other people, and what happens when those identities no longer fit. Anne shares her own experience of moving away from a long-standing identity as a CEO, founder, and brand executive while stepping into new work as a keynote speaker, life mentor, and truth disruptor. She talks honestly about the grief that can come with changing direction, questioning your ambitions, and letting go of a business or role that once defined you. The conversation also goes deeper into childhood conditioning, faith, motherhood, and breaking generational cycles. Anne reflects on recognizing unhealthy patterns in her parenting, doing the work to change them, and creating space for a more honest relationship with herself and the people around her. Whether you're a founder questioning your next chapter, a leader experiencing burnout, or someone who no longer recognizes the life you've built, this episode is an invitation to pause and ask: Is this who I actually want to be? You have permission to change your mind. You have permission to change your identity. And you don't have to keep performing a life that no longer feels true. IN THIS EPISODE Why identity can become tied to job titles, money, and external validation The difference between a midlife crisis and a midlife awakening Letting go of an identity you've spent years building Anne's transition from CEO and brand founder to keynote speaker and life mentor The grief that comes with changing your purpose and direction Why you don't have to stay inside one professional or personal identity Childhood conditioning and the identities we carry into adulthood Breaking generational cycles and changing unhe...

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All episodes

The CULTure of Ai: A Series With Anne & Sayre Blake

Nov 12, 2026 54 min

Losing a Business, Ending a Partnership, and Finding a New Direction | OnlyFounders

Nov 10, 2026 1 hr 19 min

Identity Crisis or Midlife Awakening? Why Founders Need Permission to Change | OnlyFounders

Nov 5, 2026 19 min

Build a Multi-Million-Euro Business Without a Massive Following | Olivia Sautereau | OnlyFounders

Nov 3, 2026 1 hr 8 min

Do you really need a massive audience to build a successful business? Olivia Sautereau believes you don't. In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with Olivia Sautereau, founder of Leader d’Elite, to explore what it takes to build a successful business through influence, meaningful relationships, and focused leadership. Olivia shares how she moved from teaching yoga and meditation into online business mentoring, built a multi-million-euro business without relying on a huge following, and created a life in which she became the primary income earner for her family while her husband focused on home and family life and they chose to homeschool their son. The conversation goes beyond revenue and social media numbers. Olivia explains why serving clients and selling are both essential, why business owners shouldn't tie their self-worth to sales results, and how simplifying your business can create more room for meaningful growth. Anne and Olivia also explore feminine leadership, ambition, money, marriage, faith, personal identity, and the importance of building influence without constantly performing for an audience. Olivia shares her perspective on knowing when client relationships have run their course, letting go without guilt, and balancing a long-term vision with practical daily action. This episode is a reminder that a bigger business doesn't always require a bigger audience. Sometimes, the real work is becoming clearer about what you offer, who you serve, and the kind of life you want to build. IN THIS EPISODE How Olivia transitioned from yoga and meditation teaching into online business mentoringBuilding a multi-million-euro business without depending on a massive social media followingWhy serving clients and selling are both essential parts of businessSeparating personal worth from sales results and business performanceBuilding influence through meaningful relationships rather than chasing numbersThe role of feminine leadership, ambition, and p...

Learning to Rest Without Feeling Like a Failure | OnlyFounders

Oct 29, 2026 16 min

What happens when achievement becomes an addiction, and no amount of success ever feels like enough? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, host Anne Gillaspie gets honest about the pressure to keep achieving, earning, growing, and becoming more. She explores how performance culture can teach us to associate achievement with love, attention, acceptance, and safety, leaving us exhausted by the constant need to prove ourselves. Anne shares her own experience of navigating a difficult financial year, building a new business identity, and trying to keep moving forward while recovering from illness. Although she has experienced meaningful professional successes, including speaking opportunities and growth for OnlyFounders, she reflects on how easy it is to overlook those accomplishments when your attention is always fixed on the next goal. This conversation challenges founders and entrepreneurs to reconsider what success actually means. Is it a financial milestone, a bigger audience, or a growing business? Or could success also mean doing meaningful work, having time to rest, supporting others, and feeling content with where you are today? Anne explores the value of curiosity, play, intuition, gratitude, and giving yourself permission to pause when the future feels uncertain. She also shares why rest can create space for new possibilities and why a season of uncertainty does not automatically mean you are failing. If you constantly feel behind, struggle to celebrate your progress, or find yourself chasing the next achievement before appreciating the last one, this episode is an invitation to slow down and reconsider what you are measuring your worth against. Sometimes, the next step is not doing more. It is recognizing what you have already accomplished and allowing yourself to be enough right now. IN THIS EPISODE Why achievement can become tied to love, attention, and acceptanceThe connection between performance culture and founder burnoutWhy external success does not...

Why It’s Never Too Late to Start Over and Help Others | OnlyFounders

Oct 27, 2026 1 hr 12 min

What happens when the people who help you rebuild your life inspire you to become that person for someone else? In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with Michael Morgan, founder and CEO of Magical Journey Network, a nonprofit connecting adults facing difficult life transitions with mentors who have walked a similar path. Michael’s journey into mentorship is deeply personal. After years of struggling with addiction, difficult choices, and the consequences of his past, he began rebuilding his life through recovery, accountability, and service. He shares how the people who stood beside him helped him keep going, and why he believes people facing major life changes need more than advice. They need someone who understands what they’re going through. Michael explains how those experiences inspired Magical Journey Network, which supports people navigating recovery, grief, isolation, career upheaval, and the challenge of reinventing their lives. The conversation explores the power of sharing the truths we once kept hidden, taking responsibility for our choices, and learning to offer others the kind of support that made a difference for us. Anne and Michael also discuss the mentors who shaped his life, the complicated experiences that influenced his path, and the surprising ways one person’s support can change another person’s future. Michael reflects on starting a new chapter later in life and why meaningful work doesn’t have to follow a conventional timeline. This is an honest conversation about recovery, personal reinvention, mentorship, and the importance of having someone beside you when life gets difficult. IN THIS EPISODE Why Michael created Magical Journey NetworkHow mentorship helped Michael rebuild his lifeThe connection between recovery, accountability, and serviceWhy people need understanding and support, not someone telling them how to liveSupporting adults through grief, isolation, career changes, and major life transitionsHow sharing dif...

The CULTure of Ai series with Anne & Sayre Blake

Oct 22, 2026 22 min

What if the biggest risks surrounding artificial intelligence have less to do with machines taking over and more to do with the people building, directing, and marketing the technology? In this episode of OnlyFounders, host Anne Gillaspie sits down with Sayre Blake, CEO and Technical Founder of SkillSaige, for the first conversation in a new recurring series, The Culture of AI. Together, they challenge popular narratives about artificial intelligence and explore what happens when technology, corporate decisions, human behavior, and public fear collide. With a background spanning art, electrical engineering, software systems, and video game AI, Sayre brings a different perspective to the conversation. She explains why she views today's large language models as a new kind of computer processor rather than the independent intelligence many companies promote. She argues that human choices, system design, instructions, and oversight play a central role in how these tools behave. Anne and Sayre discuss the fear surrounding AI, the role of corporate marketing and media narratives, the importance of human oversight, and why people should be cautious about treating AI tools as experts. They also explore how everyday users can work with these technologies more effectively by asking specific questions, refining instructions, and staying curious about the results. Rather than telling people to stop using AI, Sayre encourages them to understand the technology as a tool they can explore, question, and learn from. This is a candid conversation about AI, human responsibility, technology, and the importance of looking beyond the headlines to ask better questions. IN THIS EPISODE Introducing The Culture of AI, a new recurring OnlyFounders series Sayre Blake's background in art, engineering, and video game AI Why Sayre describes large language models as a new kind of computer processor How human decisions shape the way AI systems are designed and used The difference between AI marketi...

The Real Work of Building and Scaling Consumer Businesses | OnlyFounders

Oct 20, 2026 1 hr 20 min

What does it really take to build a consumer brand? It's more than a great product, a beautiful package, or a clever marketing campaign. It's the strategy, relationships, sourcing decisions, and behind-the-scenes work that make a business function. In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with multi-brand entrepreneur and operator Danniele Fernino for an honest conversation about building consumer businesses, turning consulting relationships into partnerships, and creating brands with a long-term vision. Danniele shares how she moved from service-based consulting into operating and owning brands, working across beauty and wellness businesses including SubLuna, JoyWell, and Sun & Moo. She takes us behind the scenes of product development, formulation, manufacturing, and the challenges of finding ingredients that meet the standards she wants for her products. The conversation also explores why brand strategy has to go beyond making something look good. Danniele explains why founders need to think about where their brand is today, what it could become in five or ten years, and who it might be competing with on the shelf. Anne and Danniele also get candid about building a business with your spouse, hiring friends, working through uncertainty, and the unconventional decisions that can shape an entrepreneurial life. From building Visions from Neptune during the pandemic to working long hours alongside people she genuinely enjoys, Danniele shares a refreshingly honest perspective on entrepreneurship. This is a conversation about the real work behind consumer brands, the relationships that help build them, and what it takes to create a business that works beyond the surface. IN THIS EPISODE How Danniele moved from service-based consulting to brand ownershipBuilding Visions from Neptune with her husbandWorking across beauty, wellness, and consumer product businessesThe difference between graphic design and long-term brand strategyWhy founders should think...

Why Every Founder Needs a Space to Be Themselves | OnlyFounders

Oct 15, 2026 27 min

What happens when you stop waiting for the perfect plan and start building something that feels true to who you are? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, host Anne Gillaspie shares the story behind her Truth Tribe Coffee Club, a growing community created for people who want deeper conversations, honest connection, and a space where they can show up without pretending to have everything figured out. After speaking at the She Speaks CEO leadership summit, Anne realized that the meaningful connections happening after her keynote didn't have to end when the event was over. People wanted to keep talking, connect with fellow truth seekers, and continue exploring the personal changes that come with telling the truth. But how could she create that kind of community when she didn't yet know exactly what it would become? Anne gets candid about being a recovering perfectionist and the discomfort of putting something new into the world before every detail is finalized. She explains how her own experiences with burnout, personal growth, and the exhaustion of performing different roles helped shape her mission to create spaces for honest conversations. She also shares the deeply personal story behind the coffee club's name, reflecting on how her husband's simple, consistent act of making her coffee became a meaningful reminder of love and acceptance during some of her hardest years. This conversation explores the importance of community, curiosity, truth-telling, and learning to become a safe space for your own truth. Anne discusses how community can complement therapy and why meaningful connection matters when you're working through difficult experiences and changing old patterns. At its heart, this episode is about building something meaningful before you have all the answers, letting go of the pressure to perform, and finding people who make it easier to show up as you are. IN THIS EPISODE The founder story behind the Truth Tribe Coffee ClubWhy Anne decided to build a commu...

Who Takes Care of the Person Leading the Business? | OnlyFounders

Oct 13, 2026 1 hr 2 min

What happens when your business is thriving, your team is growing, and success still doesn't feel the way you expected? In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with longtime friend Brett Weinstein, owner of Guide Real Estate, for an honest conversation about leadership, entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence, and the complicated reality of building a successful business. Brett shares how he found his way into real estate, built a brokerage that grew organically through relationships and word of mouth, and learned to lead through an unpredictable market. The conversation goes beyond real estate strategy to explore the pressure leaders carry, the importance of putting people first, and why a thriving company doesn't automatically mean the person running it feels fulfilled. Anne and Brett discuss what it means to build a human-centered business, create a culture where people can show up without constantly performing, and make decisions based on facts rather than assumptions. They also get candid about the messy middle of entrepreneurship, the loneliness that can come with leadership, and the challenge of finding people who understand what you're building. Because success isn't one universal number. It might be income, freedom, happiness, meaningful relationships, or a team that genuinely wants to be there. The question is whether you've decided what success actually looks like for you. This is an unfiltered conversation about the person behind the business, the responsibility of leadership, and learning to keep going when life and work aren't perfect. IN THIS EPISODE Building a real estate business through relationships and word of mouthWhy a thriving company doesn't always mean a fulfilled founderThe difference between business success and personal happinessHuman-centered leadership and emotional intelligenceCreating a workplace where people don't have to performWhy data and facts matter when navigating an unpredictable marketThe pressure and res...

How Hidden Parts of Yourself Can Change Your Life Part #2 | OnlyFounders

Oct 9, 2026 1 hr 19 min

What if some of the biggest lessons about leadership, trust, boundaries, and human connection can be found in the places we are most afraid to talk about? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie gets radically honest about her experience exploring dominance and submission—and the unexpected lessons it taught her about human behavior, emotional safety, boundaries, consent, communication, and leadership. Anne explains how creating a safe container requires clear boundaries, consistent communication, emotional regulation, and respect for another person’s “no.” She connects those principles directly to the workplace, showing how leaders can create cultures where people feel safe enough to share difficult truths without shame, manipulation, or fear. The episode also explores identity, self-expression, ethical non-monogamy, family patterns, shame, and the process of becoming more comfortable with the parts of ourselves we once tried to hide. Anne reflects on how learning to create safety for others ultimately taught her how to create that same safety for herself. At the heart of this episode is Anne’s Share Your Fear philosophy: acknowledge the truth, get curious, and create enough safety for honest conversations to happen without forcing the outcome. IN THIS EPISODE What Anne learned about human behavior through dominance and submissionWhy boundaries are essential to creating psychological safetyHow leadership and dominant energy show up in the workplaceWhy clear time boundaries can make people feel saferThe difference between consent and manipulationWhy respecting a “no” builds trustHow leaders can create space for uncomfortable truthsEmotional regulation and leading without reactingHow shame can prevent honest communicationThe connection between authenticity and leadershipWhy trust cannot be demanded—it has to be earnedAnne’s Share Your Fear frameworkCreating a safe container for yourself and othersIdentity, self-expression, and breaking old conditioning...

You Can’t Control Everything—Learn to Let Go | OnlyFounders

Oct 6, 2026 1 hr 0 min

What happens when you realize that no amount of hard work, planning, or control can guarantee the outcome you want? In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with Geoff Eliason, CEO and Principal of SDR Ventures, for an honest conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, loss, leadership, and learning to let go of control. Geoff shares how losing two babies became one of the experiences that fundamentally changed the way he thought about control, surrender, and life. He connects that lesson directly to entrepreneurship, explaining why business owners eventually have to accept that they cannot control every outcome—and why learning to be at peace with that can create real freedom. The conversation also explores the messy middle of business and life. Geoff explains how breaking enormous challenges into manageable pieces—one step, one mile, or one day at a time—can help you keep moving when the finish line feels impossible to reach. Anne and Geoff talk about defining the “why” behind the work, especially when motivation disappears. Geoff shares the personal reason behind his half-Ironman training and how major family losses changed his priorities around health, longevity, and being present for the people he loves. The episode goes deeper into mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, the importance of creating flow states, and why business owners need intentional space to step out of fear, anxiety, and constant adrenaline. At the heart of the conversation is a simple reminder: you may not be able to control what happens, but you can choose how you respond—and sometimes success is simply putting one foot in front of the other. IN THIS EPISODE What entrepreneurship teaches us about controlLearning to surrender when life doesn’t go according to planHow loss can reshape your leadership philosophyBuilding resilience through difficult seasonsThe “one foot in front of the other” approach to hard thingsWhy every founder needs a strong “why”Findin...

How Hidden Parts of Yourself Can Change Your Life | OnlyFounders

Oct 1, 2026 37 min

What happens when you stop performing the version of yourself that makes everyone else comfortable? In this deeply personal solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie opens up about a part of her identity she has been afraid to share publicly: her experience as an online dominatrix and the unexpected lessons it taught her about boundaries, consent, power, shame, communication, and human connection. Anne reflects on how much of her life was shaped by control, suppression, people-pleasing, religion, and the pressure to be the “good” version of herself. She explores what happened when she began peeling back those layers through therapy, self-development, and the courage to share her fear instead of continuing to hide. The conversation goes beyond sexuality. Anne talks about founder identity, authenticity, ethical non-monogamy, marriage, family estrangement, boundaries, pleasure, emotional safety, and what it means to create relationships and communities where people can finally be seen and heard as they are. She also connects these experiences to her work as a speaker, mentor, and truth-telling leader—and explains why the human being behind the business cannot separate themselves from the work they are here to do. At the heart of the episode is a simple challenge: stop performing, face the truth, and make space for every part of yourself that needs to exist. IN THIS EPISODE Why Anne decided to publicly share a hidden part of her identityWhat her experience as an online dominatrix taught her about boundaries and powerThe connection between identity, shame, and authenticityHow childhood conditioning can lead to people-pleasing and performingLearning to share your fear instead of hiding itFounder identity and becoming more fully yourselfBoundaries, consent, safety, and trustEthical non-monogamy and honest communication in relationshipsFamily estrangement, forgiveness, grief, and protecting your boundariesHow marriage can evolve through individual self-developmentThe r...

The Power of Truth When Everything Goes Wrong | OnlyFounders

Sep 29, 2026 1 hr 1 min

What do you do when everything goes wrong and everyone is looking to you for answers? In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with Alyssa Burns, CEO of Alyssa Burns Communications and a communications strategist specializing in crisis management and resolution, for an honest conversation about what happens when leaders, businesses, and organizations are under pressure. Alyssa shares how resilience shaped her career, how she left a toxic workplace to build her own business, and how she discovered that crisis management and resolution were at the center of her zone of genius. Together, Anne and Alyssa explore why trust is so important during a crisis, why effective communication starts with listening, and how asking the right questions can uncover what is really happening beneath the surface. The conversation also goes deeper into transparency, reputation, leadership, human connection, and the importance of creating a safe space where people can tell the truth. Alyssa explains why crises often have warning signs long before they become public and why leaders need to address what is actually happening instead of simply reacting to the emotional fallout. At the heart of the conversation is a powerful message: when things go wrong, clear, honest, and purposeful communication can help leaders find a way forward. IN THIS EPISODE What crisis management really looks likeWhy trust matters when everything goes wrongHow resilience shapes entrepreneurs and leadersLeaving a toxic workplace and starting your own businessFinding your zone of genius through experienceWhy crises often start long before they become publicThe power of asking better questionsListening for what people are not sayingHow leaders can create safety for honest communicationTransparency and truth in crisis communicationManaging emotions without hiding themWhy in-person connection can build trustCommunication as a relationship-building toolThe connection between truth, leadership, and reputa...

What Happens When You Finally Feel Safe to Be Yourself? | OnlyFounders

Sep 25, 2026 38 min

What if the dreams you had as a child were never random—and some of them are finally showing up in your life today? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie goes back to the little girl she used to be: the dancer, actress, performer, and deeply curious kid who wanted to be seen, heard, and felt. She reflects on how those childhood desires were once treated as flaws—and how, at 42, she is beginning to recognize them as part of her purpose. Anne gets deeply honest about identity, performance, childhood conditioning, boundaries, mental health, and the process of learning to feel safe enough to stop performing for other people. She shares how dance became a form of expression, connection, and healing, and how movement eventually became part of the work she brings to audiences today. The conversation also explores her journey through depression, suicidal thoughts, family trauma, estrangement, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and the identity crises that came with becoming a different version of herself. At the center of the episode is a powerful question: Are you actually living your truth, or are you still performing the life you learned you were supposed to want? Anne connects her childhood dreams to her current work as a speaker, performer, movement maker, and truth disruptor—and shares why she believes living more authentically can change not only our own lives, but the culture around us. IN THIS EPISODE What Anne’s childhood dreams reveal about her identity todayThe difference between performing and being fully yourselfReclaiming traits that were once labeled “too much”Childhood conditioning and the habit of performing for safetyFounder identity and major midlife transformationBoundaries and learning to feel safe in your own bodyHow dance became Anne’s form of expression and connectionMental health, depression, and the journey out of a dark seasonFamily trauma, forgiveness, estrangement, and healingWhy authenticity can disrupt the life you builtThe connec...

Founder Identity: When Your Business No Longer Fits Who You Are | OnlyFounders

Sep 22, 2026 58 min

What happens when the business you built no longer feels like the business you’re meant to lead? In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with Abby Bradetich Nash, a visibility strategist, embodiment mentor, business coach, web designer, and former professional dancer, for an honest conversation about founder identity, business evolution, visibility, and what it means to become the next version of yourself. Abby shares her journey from professional dance and freelance design work to building a six-figure business, growing a team, and eventually making the difficult decision to let go of major services that no longer felt aligned. What looked like a risky business decision became part of a much deeper identity shift—from service provider and technician to business leader, coach, and community builder. The conversation explores the messy middle of entrepreneurship: financial uncertainty, limiting beliefs, perfectionism, self-trust, changing your mind, and learning to sit in discomfort when you don’t yet know what comes next. Anne and Abby also talk about personal branding, showing up authentically online, building community through podcasting, and why the human behind the business cannot be separated from the business itself. Abby opens up about her retreats, embodiment work, movement, and the power of creating spaces where women can feel seen, supported, and safe enough to grow. IN THIS EPISODE The identity shift from service provider to business leaderWhat happens when a successful business no longer feels alignedBuilding a six-figure business and later letting parts of it goKnowing when it’s time to change your offersFounder identity and the evolution of your businessWhy the human behind the business mattersStrategy, mindset, energetics, and embodimentVisibility and showing up authentically onlinePersonal branding and becoming the brandPerfectionism and the fear of getting it wrongGiving yourself permission to change your mindLearning to sit in u...

Entrepreneur Mindset: What If You Don’t Actually Want What You “Should” Want? | OnlyFounders

Sep 17, 2026 21 min

What if the things you think you should do aren’t actually aligned with what you want? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie gets honest about the expectations that can quietly shape our businesses, careers, families, and identities. Anne shares the personal realization that made her step back from aggressively pursuing a TEDx talk. After being told that successful speakers should have a TED talk, a book, and certain credentials, she finally asked herself a deeper question: Do I actually want to do the work, or do I just want the shiny result? That question becomes a bigger conversation about founder identity, entrepreneur mindset, burnout, truth-telling, and making decisions from alignment instead of outside expectations. Anne reflects on her journey through motherhood, burnout, theater, entrepreneurship, and building her speaking business around her deeper mission. She also explores how “shoulds” can influence the way we lead teams, parent, build relationships, and make decisions in business. The reminder is simple: pause, question the “shoulds” running your calendar and choices, and check them against your own truth. Because sometimes the most aligned business decision is saying no to something everyone else says you should want. IN THIS EPISODE How “shoulds” can quietly control your decisionsThe difference between wanting the work and wanting the resultWhy Anne is saying no to pursuing a TEDx talk right nowHow outside expectations can shape founder identityWhat burnout taught Anne about living from truthThe connection between truth-telling and human-centered leadershipHow old family patterns can influence the choices we makeWhy Anne’s book feels aligned while a TEDx talk does notBuilding a business that is deeply connected to your personal missionKnowing when something is a “f**k yes” and when it’s a no PULL QUOTES “Does Anne Gillaspie actually want to do the work, or does she want the shiny result?” “Truth-led leadership starts with the one pe...

Can Your Partner Make or Break Your Founder Journey? | Jenn & Craig Smith | Ep14

Sep 15, 2026 1 hr 7 min

Can the person closest to you make or break your founder journey? Jenn Moyer-Smith and Craig Smith are entrepreneurs, storytellers, and partners in both business and life. Together, they've spent decades building businesses, helping brands connect with people, and learning what it really means to grow alongside someone you love. Jenn is the co-founder of Alice & Albert, a creative agency focused on helping organizations clarify their story and connect with the audiences that matter most. Craig is a professional speaker, television host, live commerce expert, and media consultant who has conducted more than 4,500 live broadcasts and generated over $1 billion in product sales. In this episode, Anne, Jenn, and Craig get into the realities of building a business while navigating marriage, family, career changes, leadership, and the relationships that shape your founder journey. In this episode, we get into: How having the right partner can influence your founder journeyBuilding a business while building a life togetherJenn's support when Craig made a major career transition into television and QVCKnowing when it's time to close one door so another can openThe difference between supporting your partner and trying to run their businessWhy money and success don't always equal meaningful workCraig's decision to leave a higher-paying career in search of purpose and impactJenn's experience navigating major changes inside Alice & AlbertThe grit and resilience it takes to keep going when entrepreneurship gets hardWhy human connection still matters in business, leadership, and relationshipsMentoring younger generations and giving people access, opportunity, and a voiceBuilding a more human-centered approach to leadership and businessJenn and Craig also open up about the realities of marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, and knowing when to support, when to step back, and when to let each person lead their own path. The conversation ultimately becomes a deeper look at relations...

Who the F**k Are You? When Your Purpose, Identity & Brand Start to Feel Wrong | Anne Gillaspie | Ep13

Sep 10, 2026 10 min

What happens when you wake up one morning and suddenly question everything you thought you knew about yourself? In this raw and deeply personal solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie opens up about a morning when she felt completely overwhelmed — as a mother, entrepreneur, brand strategist, movement maker, and founder trying to build the next chapter of her life. After getting pulled into social media instead of doing the morning movement that normally helps her reset, Anne found herself comparing her vision to women who seemed years ahead of her. Suddenly, the things she had been building started to feel crowded, outdated, or even completely wrong. Her brand. Her messaging. Her identity. Her purpose. Instead of trying to immediately problem-solve her way out of the discomfort, Anne decides to sit in it. Because sometimes the uncomfortable moments aren't a sign that you're failing. They may be a signal that you're being challenged to level up again. In this episode, Anne gets real about: What it feels like to question your identity and purposeThe emotional reality of raising children while building businesses and movementsHow social media comparison can completely derail your mindsetWhy surrounding yourself with people who are ahead of you can be both powerful and uncomfortableThe importance of finding your “truth tribe”Why founders need people who can hold space for them when they're strugglingThe connection between taking care of yourself and showing up for your familyWhat happens when your brand or messaging no longer feels alignedWhy you don't always need to immediately “fix” a difficult emotional seasonHow uncomfortable seasons can be invitations to evolveThe pressure of building something meaningful when you feel like the market is already crowdedWhy being fully seen and heard starts with fully expressing who you areThe question every founder should be willing to ask: Who the f**k are you?This isn't a polished motivational speech. It's Anne sitting in th...

The Truth About Aging, Hormones, Sex & Building a Business | Kimberly Cunningham | Ep12

Sep 8, 2026 1 hr 1 min

What if your body isn’t broken — and you’ve just never been given the right information? In this episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie sits down with Kimberly Cunningham, founder of Cunningham Clinic, nurse practitioner, entrepreneur, and author of Great Sex Never Gets Old. Kimberly shares the personal and professional journey that took her from a devastating injury and years of limited mobility to building a thriving healthcare practice focused on hormones, longevity, functional medicine, and helping people feel better in their bodies. Kimberly and Anne get real about what changes as we age — especially for women — and why hormones, sexual health, brain health, energy, and longevity deserve a much bigger conversation. In this episode, we get into: Why hormones can affect so much more than menopause Kimberly’s journey from severe injury to building Cunningham Clinic How she grew a business organically without taking out loans The hardest part of growing a company: knowing when and who to hire Why “maybe” is always a no when hiring Building a human-centered team where patients feel seen and heard Negotiating with vendors while protecting the patient first What women need to understand about testosterone, estrogen, and aging Why sexual health is part of healthcare Brain health, heart health, muscle, bone health, and healthy aging Kimberly’s book Great Sex Never Gets Old Why women entrepreneurs need to stop getting in their own way Learning to change your mind when new information becomes available Kimberly’s approach is ultimately about looking at the whole system, not treating one symptom in isolation. And her message for women is powerful: it’s not always about whether you can do something — it’s about deciding whether you want to. GUEST Kimberly Cunningham, NP Founder of Cunningham Clinic and author of Great Sex Never Gets Old: Health, Hormones And Having It All After Forty. Kimberly has spent more than two decades in healthcare and built Cunningham Clinic from a...

You’re Your Own Boss. So Who Holds You Accountable? | Ep11

Sep 3, 2026 29 min

You’re your own boss—but who holds you accountable when nobody is watching? For founders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, freedom can be both the best part of building a business and one of its biggest challenges. Without a boss, structure, or someone telling you what to do, it’s easy to lose your boundaries, overbook your calendar, and eventually feel like you’re drowning. In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie shares what she’s learning about creating “containers” instead of rigid rules—structures that provide accountability while still giving you the freedom to follow your energy, creativity, and real life. In this episode, Anne talks about: Why being your own boss can create loneliness and a lack of accountabilityCreating flexible “containers” instead of rigid schedulesWhy simply blocking “Anne’s time” wasn’t enoughGiving yourself permission to rest and do nothingProtecting your calendar and controlling who gets access to your timeWhy your time and energy are more valuable than moneyBreaking big projects into smaller, manageable stepsUsing procrastination and last-minute pressure to your advantageBalancing business, parenting, personal life, and mental energyWhy founders need grace, flexibility, and permission to pivotOne of Anne’s biggest reminders in this episode is simple: your resources start with your calendar, your boundaries, and where you choose to put your time and energy. And sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is absolutely nothing. PULL QUOTES “You are your own boss. So who holds you accountable?” “We have to schedule rest time.” “Your time is greater than money.” “The container has to have room to swim.” “Give yourself permission to pivot.” CONNECT WITH ANNE YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onlyfounders.podcast Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PuNBpWpZKzCnuwmFQOPI4?si=97a26df7e350478a Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/onlyfounders/id1832541527 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annegillaspie/ Li...

The Problem Isn't Always Where It Hurts | Laura Mahe | Ep10

Sep 1, 2026 41 min

What if the place where you feel pain isn't actually where the problem is? Laura Mahe is a manual osteopath and body worker based in Calgary, Alberta, with more than 25 years of experience in the health and wellness industry. After starting her career in massage therapy, Laura found her way to manual osteopathy—and discovered a completely different way of looking at the body, pain, and healing. What she loves most about her work is the impact it can have on someone's life. Her goal is simple: help people with chronic conditions relieve pain, improve mobility, and get back to doing the things they never thought they could do again. In this episode, Anne and Laura get into the fascinating connection between the body, chronic pain, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and the importance of asking for help. In this episode, we get into: Why pain isn't always coming from the place where you feel itLaura's journey from massage therapy to manual osteopathyWhy she says her clients can “get their life back”Building a business around meaningful, life-changing workThe reality of reaching your personal capacity as a service-based founderWhy learning not to do everything yourself matters in both motherhood and businessDelegation, virtual support, and finding the right people to help you growLaura's experience with social anxiety, networking, and stepping outside her comfort zoneHer vision for multidisciplinary sound-healing centers around the worldThe fascinating world of tuning forks, frequencies, and sound-based wellnessLaura also opens up about being a mom of three, the challenge of balancing family with entrepreneurship, and the moment she realized that getting help wasn't a failure—it was actually better for everyone. The conversation ultimately becomes a fascinating exploration of healing, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and what happens when you stop trying to do everything alone. Pull quotes: “They get their life back.” “The problem is not where the pain is.” “I’m a great thera...

The Truth About Building a Business While Raising Kids | Anne Gillaspie | Ep09

Aug 27, 2026 34 min

What if work-life balance isn’t actually the goal when you’re building a business and raising a family? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie gets honest about the reality of being a founder, a mother, and a partner—and what happens when the carefully planned systems of work and family simply stop working. After a summer filled with changing schedules, childcare challenges, unexpected setbacks, and difficult decisions, Anne realized something important: maybe balance was never the goal. Maybe it’s harmony. She shares what went wrong, what she learned from it, and how becoming more flexible, listening to her family, and being willing to change the plan helped her find a better way forward. In this episode, we get into: Why Anne believes there is no such thing as perfect work-life balanceThe difference between balance and harmonyThe reality of running a business while raising three childrenWhat failed during Anne’s summer—and what those failures taught herWhy childcare and support systems are critical for working parentsLearning to listen to your children instead of forcing a plan that isn't workingHow family meetings created more space for honest conversationsWhy great leaders—and great parents—need to be willing to change their mindsThe importance of admitting when something isn't workingWhy Anne considers raising her children her number one projectAnne also opens up about the emotional side of trying to be present for her family while building a business, including fear, resentment, guilt, and the pressure to make everything work. The conversation ultimately comes back to a simple idea: you don't need to get everything right the first time. Sometimes the failure is simply new information showing you what needs to change. Pull quotes: “F**k balance. It’s harmony.” “Family comes first and your work comes second.” “Our emotions matter when we have really hard moments.” “A great leader, which is also a great parent, changes their mind often because you...

The Power of Your Second Act | Bonnie Schutz | Ep08

Aug 26, 2026 56 min

What happens when nearly 30 years of supporting executives leads you to realize that your biggest career chapter might still be ahead of you? Bonnie Schutz is the founder and CEO of Tandem Resource Solutions, a US-based remote support and administrative recruiting firm helping founders stop being the bottleneck in their own business. After nearly three decades as a corporate Executive Assistant, Bonnie turned her experience into a second act built around entrepreneurship, delegation, and helping business owners get the support they need to grow. She is also the host of the Delegate2Elevate Podcast, where she has conversations with business owners about delegation, leadership, and what it really takes to build something sustainable without carrying everything yourself. In this episode, Bonnie shares the unexpected moment that pushed her out of corporate life, the identity shift that came with becoming a founder, and what she has learned about confidence, boundaries, networking, and building a business through relationships and support. In this episode, we get into: Bonnie's transition from a long corporate career to entrepreneurshipWhy your “second act” can become one of the most powerful chapters of your lifeThe unexpected experience that pushed Bonnie to finally leave corporateLearning to step into her identity and confidence as a founder and CEOWhy founders need to stop trying to do everything themselvesThe power of delegation, support systems, and “creative delegation”How networking and finding the right people helped Bonnie growOvercoming imposter syndrome and recognizing your own valueWhy boundaries and self-care matter when building a sustainable businessHow virtual assistance, remote work, and AI are changing the support industryBonnie also gets honest about building businesses later in life, authentic branding, the pressure to grow, and why sometimes the biggest step forward is simply letting other people help you. Pull quotes: “The only way to make a busi...

Stop Fearing AI. Start Using It to Be More Human | Anne Gillaspie | Ep07

Aug 20, 2026 36 min

What if AI isn't here to replace the human part of your work—but to finally give you more time to actually be human? In this solo episode of OnlyFounders, Anne Gillaspie takes on one of the biggest fears surrounding AI: “Is AI going to replace my job?” Her answer is blunt: f**k no. Anne explores what human-centered leadership looks like in the age of AI, and why the qualities that make people valuable—thought, emotion, empathy, care, creativity, judgment, and the ability to make other people feel seen and heard—aren't things leaders should be trying to automate. Instead, Anne argues that AI should function as a support tool: handling administrative work, organizing information, speeding up repetitive tasks, and giving humans more space to focus on the work only they can do. She shares how she uses AI in her own branding business to transform a process that once took 6–8 hours of intensive brain work into roughly 1–2 hours, while keeping the human judgment and emotional meaning at the center. In this episode, Anne gets into: Why fear of AI replacing your job can actually limit how you use the technology What human-centered leadership really means in an AI-driven workplace Why AI should supplement your brain—not replace it How Anne uses AI to turn 40–60 pages of brand therapy notes into organized, usable brand insights: Why the human meaning behind a founder's story can't simply be automatedHow AI helped Anne reduce a 6–8 hour brand guidebook process to around 1–2 hoursWhy time and attention are more valuable than money for a founder and momHow AI can help leaders become better listeners by removing the need to take notes during meetingsWhy leaders should focus less on generic bonuses and more on actually making their employees' lives easierWhat “surprise and delight” can look like in leadership, culture, and customer experienceWhy founders need to stop giving away their ideas and expertise for freeAnne's philosophy on using AI for good—and for humanity Pull quotes: “...

Enshittification Explains Everything Wrong With Tech Right Now | Sayre Blake | Ep06

Aug 18, 2026 1 hr 16 min

What happens when a classically trained illustrator and electrical engineer decides the answer to AI's biggest problems isn't more data, it's less? Sayre Blake is the CEO and technical founder of SkillSaige, a soft-skills training platform that reimagines corporate learning as an actual video game, built by someone who's directed shipped titles, built enterprise VR training, and helped brands escape "five stock illustrations from 2019" territory. Her AI-powered trainer, Sage, runs a 15-minute conversation on a fraction of the compute most chatbots burn, using less power, she says, than streaming 15 minutes of Netflix, while being explicitly designed to never remember you, bond with you, or pretend to be more than a character in a story. In this episode, we get into: Why "enshittification" isn't inevitable. It's a choice companies keep making anywayThe theater training principle Sayre used to build AI boundaries that actually holdWhy "good-ish" AI might be more dangerous than AI that's just badThe real math behind AI's power problem, and why she thinks the current data center boom won't survive contact with realityRunning a lean, remote-first company without a "corporate culture" clauseWhy she calls most public vulnerability "performative honesty," and why that's a problemSayre also gets brutally honest about the state of SaaS, the video game industry's identity crisis, and why she's not "socially digestible" enough to run for president (her words), but might be building something more useful than a campaign anyway. Pull quotes: "It's almost more dangerous than being outright bad, because it encourages you to keep trying." "We could do this with twelve people instead of twelve hundred." This is a conversation about building tech that knows its own limits, and why that restraint might be the most radical business strategy in the room. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/t7rvmfvYE_I Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PuNBpWpZ...

The Real Reason Most Founders Never Plan Their Exit with John Taylor | Ep05

Aug 6, 2026 1 hr 2 min

What happens when the guy who built a podcast marketing agency also builds the AI tool designed to make that agency obsolete? John Taylor isn't afraid of the answer. He's already got a number in mind, and the day someone hits it, he's gone. John is the CEO of Act3 Agency, a San Francisco based podcast marketing agency, and the founder of PodAgain.ai, an AI powered podcast promotion and content platform launching in weeks. Act3 already serves podcasters directly; PodAgain scales that same intelligence, including content repurposing, competitor gap analysis, cross show networking, and analytics driven episode ideation, into a self-serve SaaS built to turn static back catalogs into constantly working assets. In this episode, John and host Anne Gillaspie go far beyond the pitch: Why John calls PodAgain his own "self-destruct button," and is fine with itBuilding a company you can sell on purpose, with a life already planned on the other sideWhat 7 months a year on tour (MTV Music Awards included) teaches you about partnership and absenceMarriage, divorce, and being a "cycle breaker" after watching parents make it work for 66 yearsWhere AI should sit in a founder's workflow, as leverage for a human, not a replacement for one John's blunt take on relationships lands just as hard as his take on building: "An affair is not the problem, an affair is a symptom of a problem." And on the exit he's already building toward: "When anybody offers me this number... I will retire, and you will not see me again." This one moves fast between founder strategy and hard-won personal truth, sometimes in the same sentence. Resources and links (John Taylor) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtnorcal/ Website: https://podagain.ai/ Agency: http://act3agency.com/ Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/-b0BMvv3YRE Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PuNBpWpZKzCnuwmFQOPI4?si=97a26df7e350478a Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us...

How Saying Yes Built a Business | Elissa Zylbershlag | Ep04

Aug 4, 2026 53 min

She built a mentoring program before she knew it was her business. What happens when the thing people keep pulling you aside to do quietly becomes the thing you can't stop building? Elissa Zylbershlag, M.Ed., is the Founder of Work Wise Labs, helping new leaders build the confidence to lead, manage, and hold a room. She's spent 20+ years in professional development, with leadership roles at the Anti-Defamation League, the NJ State Bar Foundation, and the NJ Division on Civil Rights, and she's Certified in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She built her own IP-rich curriculum from scratch and grew her practice from 3 paid programs in 2023 to 7 the next year, all while working full-time. Now she runs monthly public workshops and coaches leaders through the exact confidence gap she's had to close herself. In today's episode, we talked about: • Pricing yourself for the first time, and why "I don't know what to charge" isn't a character flaw, it's a rite of passage • Why every discount should cost the client something too ("that value is the value") • The moment she blurted out a service she hadn't built yet, and landed a six-month contract anyway • Bombing a 250-person keynote after crushing the same room two years earlier, and what that taught her about the difference between a facilitator and a speaker • Her framework for confidence as a fundraising thermometer: insecurity first, then the skill, then the stumble, then the win Pull quotes: "We are all in the same business, and that is the business of making money." "Facilitation is guide on the side. Speaking is sage on the stage." She still doesn't have a will. But she's got a company, a client list, and a keynote she's determined to nail, Toastmasters and all. Resources and links (Elissa Zylbershlag) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissazylbershlag/ Website: www.workwiselabs.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workwiselabs/ Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: ht...

The Founder Mindset Nobody Talks About | Paige Arnof-Fenn | Ep03

Jul 28, 2026 1 hr 11 min

"I don't believe in failure. You either learn something, or you're successful. There's no third option." That's the mindset that took Paige Arnof-Fenn from Wall Street burnout to Coca-Cola boardrooms to founding her own branding empire. Paige Arnof-Fenn is the founder & CEO of Mavens & Moguls, a global branding and digital marketing firm based in Cambridge, MA. Her clients include Microsoft, Virgin, venture-backed startups, and nonprofit organizations. A Stanford University and Harvard Business School grad, she serves on several boards and is a popular speaker and columnist for Entrepreneur and Forbes, but long before the bylines and board seats, she cut her teeth at P&G and Coca-Cola, the two most brand-obsessed companies on the planet, before betting it all on the dot-com wave and never looking back. In today's episode, we talked about: The two-week gut check that told her Wall Street's paycheck wasn't worth its lifestyleWhy P&G is "marketing boot camp", and why the same rigor that trained her also frustrated herDitching a corporate corner office to become the oldest person in a startup full of skateboards and piercingsRunning guerrilla market research on the beach, same-day data, same-day website changes, decades before "move fast" was a sloganThe hardest lesson of running her own company: knowing when loyalty to early hires becomes a ceiling on growthWhy she uses LinkedIn as a background-check tool, not a highlight reelSeparating self-worth from outcomes, "you either learn something or you're successful"Pull quotes: "What makes a great movie doesn't necessarily make a great career path." "I don't actually believe in the concept of failure. You either learn something or you're successful." From backing out of a Wall Street office building in the '80s to backing herself into an ampersand-branded firm that's outlasted Facebook, Paige didn't just study marketing. She became her own longest-running case study. Resources and links (Paige Arnof-Fenn) LinkedIn: http...

“I Taught Empathy for Years Before I Used It on Myself” | Rob Volpe | Ep02

Jul 20, 2026 59 min

What happens when the "soft skill" everyone tells you to hide turns out to be the thing that built your business? Rob Volpe spent nearly two decades running Ignite 360, a consumer insights and strategy firm he bootstrapped, self-funded, and grew without ever missing payroll — before exiting through acquisition. Along the way he became known as the Empathy Activist, author of the award-winning Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. His work is built on a simple, contrarian bet: empathy isn't a personality trait for the soft-hearted, it's an underused strategic tool that most leaders have talked themselves out of using. In today's episode, we talked about: • From qualitative researcher to founder, and the "old tapes" that told Rob empathy was a weakness, not a superpower • The contract that said "EMPLOYEE" in all caps, and the full body "no" that ended his path to ever working for someone else • Building Ignite 360 on relationships, not job postings, and why he hired for his own weaknesses first • The clients who wanted empathy in the work but not in the title, and what that says about the current cultural moment • His midlife crisis, the day the acquisition finally closed, and learning his business and his identity were never meant to be the same thing • Letting go of "should" on newsletters, talk titles, and recovery, and trusting his own timing instead "Don't let 'should' get in the way of good." On empathy at work: it's not a bug in the system, it's a feature we were literally born with. Rob spent his career teaching brands to notice what people actually feel underneath what they say. Turns out the hardest person to read that way was himself — and it took a contract, a cat named Domino, and one very loud "no" from the universe to get him there. Resources and links (Rob Volpe) Website: https://www.robvolpe.expert/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmpathyActivist Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Cr...

My Founder Story: Anne Gillaspie on Dying (and Being Reborn) as a Founder | Ep01

Jul 14, 2026 43 min

What if the version of you that built your first business had to die for the next one to exist? Anne Gillaspie doesn't think that's a metaphor; she thinks it's happened to her three times. In this first-ever solo episode of OnlyFounders, host Anne Gillaspie steps out from behind the mic and into the story herself. She's the founder and CEO of Fix & Form, a Denver branding firm that's quietly rebuilt itself twice in 12 years, and a keynote speaker whose talks on truth-telling and burnout have started drawing crowds who want more than a business card exchange. This episode marks a reset for the show itself, a pivot from co-hosted banter to raw, unfiltered founder testimony, starting with Anne's own. In today’s episode, we talked about: • From brand manager to solo founder, and her "happy divorce" from her old identity • The three-month depression that accidentally launched her business • Why Fix & Form killed retainer marketing for one-time transformations • Miscarriage, motherhood, and rebuilding herself, more than once • Launching Anne's Coffee Club for founders who want real access "I believe that we have many rock bottoms. I believe that we have to die several times to reinvent ourselves and be reborn in this lifetime." She closes the episode with a story about a single birthday candle — and why, at 41, it was the first birthday she'd ever actually had. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ELCol0jHRKg Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PuNBpWpZKzCnuwmFQOPI4?si=97a26df7e350478a Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/onlyfounders/id1832541527 Follow Anne Gillaspie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annegillaspie/ Follow Anne Gillaspie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annegillaspie/ Join Coffee Club: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevT9HVr57sn4fFUVpsWpcO-ZMeQKgftrg19tdVXPPrM5xQIQ/viewform Visit our website: https://theannegillaspie.com/ If this conversation res...

067: Why Not Me? Orly Zeewy on Female Entrepreneurship, the Bubble Wrap Story, and Redefining Failure

Mar 24, 2026 37 min

In this episode, Anne and Matt sit down with Orly Zeewy, brand strategist and author of the upcoming book Why NOT Me? The Female Guide for Entrepreneurship, to unpack the unique challenges women face when building a business. Orly shares the story of her book's title—born from the universal imposter syndrome of "Why me?"—and explains why female founders need to embrace failure as feedback rather than a reflection of their self-worth. They also explore the dangers of "ugly babies" in business, including the surprising origins of bubble wrap. The group discusses why over-coaching can paralyze your progress and the flawed pricing mentalities that hold so many female entrepreneurs back. Whether you are navigating product-market fit or learning how to stand firmly in your zone of genius, this conversation is a masterclass in pivoting with purpose and finding your community. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "Perfection is the enemy of good. This is what I hear from women all the time." — Orly"Do not let coaching stall the doing." — Anne"Failure is the whole, is the backbone of entrepreneurship. Because if you don't fail, you don't grow." — Orly"Just because it comes easily to you does not mean it has no value." — Orly📡 Where to Find Us Orly Zeewy → Zeewy Brands - LinkedInAnne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

066: Is AI Killing SaaS? The Builder Bug and Why Execution Beats Planning

Mar 19, 2026 41 min

In this episode, Matt and Anne dive deep into the rapidly shifting landscape of software development and how AI is empowering non-technical founders to build their own bespoke solutions. They discuss the current headwinds facing the SaaS market , the addictive nature of the "builder bug" , and why relying on common sense and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can bridge the coding experience gap. Finally, they explore the ultimate dividing line in business today: why those who execute and ship quickly will outpace those who get stuck in endless loops of overthinking and planning. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "For the folks that know what they're doing, AI is is an accelerator. And for the folks that have no no idea, AI is a detriment to their future." — Matt"At the core minimum, you need common sense to build up the experience gap that you have." — Matt"Don't let coaching stall the doing... you don't need coaching. You don't need more thinking. You need to just go do and go execute." — Anne"That information value is gone now. So what is remaining? Your ability to execute." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

065: The Real Silver Tsunami, AI Mentorship, and the Future Workforce

Mar 17, 2026 24 min

In this episode, Matt and Anne debate the looming impact of the "silver tsunami" and what it actually means for the future of business and the workforce. While Anne argues that older generations provide irreplaceable human mentorship, culture, and relationship-building skills that AI cannot replicate, Matt contends that task-based AI tools and video tutorials are already replacing the need for traditional corporate guidance. They explore whether the real generational business opportunity lies with the tech-savvy, well-capitalized 45-to-55 demographic, and how declining birth rates will force a massive shift in corporate productivity over the next two decades. Oh, and they also compare their coffee routines and how they use caffeine for peak productivity versus socializing. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "The generation between 45 and 55. In my opinion, that's the silver tsunami wave..." — Matt"What you can't get when you type in a prompt to AI... is the mentorship from a human being that has personal stories and lived experiences." — Anne"I argue that promotions and excelling in your career happens from relationship building skills, which I don't believe you can learn on AI." — Anne"It's not exiting, there's less people entering. That's actually more scarier than the people exiting." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

064: Battle Wounds and Boardrooms: Mojo's Evolution from Solo Hustler to Production Agency CEO

Mar 12, 2026 31 min

In this inspiring episode, Anne and Matt are joined live from Los Angeles by Mojo, the founder and executive producer of Rainbow Creative. Mojo opens up about his incredible founder's journey, tracing his roots from customer service at Apple and marketing at Disney to launching coworking spaces for WeWork during their hyper-growth phase. He shares the raw truth about the physical and mental toll of scaling a mission-driven podcast agency to 25 shows while surviving on just four hours of sleep a night. Realizing he couldn't do it all, Mojo breaks down his crucial pivot to hiring a CFO, embracing executive coaching, and learning the true mechanics of profit and sustainable growth. Packed with lessons on leveraging your Rolodex as an "unfair advantage," this episode is a masterclass in rebounding from setbacks, owning your role as a true CEO, and leading with radical empathy. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "What's a 10 in your life? Imagine if that's a 1—how do you make that into a 10? That 10, I try to make into another 10." — Mojo"...failing is, is an end successes are just metrics on a line." — Matt 📡 Where to Find Us Mojo → Rainbow Creative - InstagramAnne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

063: The Power of Experience, Adapting to AI, and Building Your Next Chapter with Adrienne Arieff

Mar 10, 2026 48 min

In this episode, Anne and Matt sit down with PR veteran and brand strategist Adrienne Arieff to discuss her journey from running a successful firm for a decade to launching a brand-new, mission-driven venture. Adrienne gets real about the harsh realities of industry shifts and job loss, sharing why she firmly believes that age and experience are actually professional superpowers rather than liabilities. The group dives into how Adrienne successfully integrated AI into her consulting workflow to stay highly competitive, the compounding value of a strong professional network, and she gives an exclusive first look at her "Next Chapter Shift" program—an eight-week cohort designed to help midlife women navigate major personal and professional transitions to build their ultimate "life resume." 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "If you're coming from a place of fear, you are not going to be as creative and you are certainly not going to be as productive." — Adrienne"The older you are, I do feel that you have the ability to say no comfortably, which allows you to filter out the things that you are more aligned on." — Anne "Anytime you're going zero to one, it's impossible to figure out where you're going in one year anyway, right? Because you don't even know if your hypothesis is right." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedInAdrienne → Instagram - YouTube

062: The 2-Month Go-to-Market Cycle, AI Coding Tools, and Why "Live" is the New SEO

Mar 5, 2026 30 min

In this episode, Matt and Anne dive into how AI is drastically accelerating the founder's journey, cutting the traditional six-month software go-to-market cycle down to just two months. Matt shares his insights on using AI tools to build a fully functional MVP in mere weeks, shifting a founder's focus from heavy development to rapid distribution. They also explore the changing landscape of SEO in the age of AI search and why showing up "live" to interact with your audience is becoming the ultimate differentiator to prove your brand's human authenticity. Finally, Matt drops a reality check on why soundboarding with the actual market—through sales or cancellations—beats relying solely on early supporters. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "Showing up live is actually a bigger signal than anything because you can't AI-fi being live." — Matt "So instead of SEO, right, you're actually backing into the actual content of the website to make sure that AI can crawl it. And then also it's keyword rich for exactly what those search terms are that you want AI to find." — Anne"I like soundboarding with the market. That's the best way. Cause it's not, there's no better feeling than a sale or, or people even canceling the service..." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

061: Vanity Metrics vs. Reality: The Ethics of Buying Followers and Beating the Algorithm

Mar 5, 2026 22 min

In this episode, Matt and Anne tackle the murky world of social media vanity metrics, debating whether a high follower count is a valuable business asset or just a digital mirage. Anne shares her temptation to artificially inflate her audience to serve as a resume for her speaking career, while Matt strongly cautions against the ethical and algorithmic consequences of buying bot followers. They also explore the strategic differences between B2B and personal branding, why boosting top-performing organic posts works for some but not others, and how understanding platform "buckets" can help you predict a video's virality. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "If you're not posting every day, someone else is. And social media is a numbers game. It eats data. So you have to feed it." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

060: The Work-Life Boundary: Why Your Business Shouldn't Be Your Family

Feb 26, 2026 32 min

Matt and Anne kick off this episode debating the merits of the "mental health day" versus the classic grit of powering through an illness. Anne shares her philosophy on working intuitively and trusting your energy to get tasks done faster , while Matt questions how that fluidity applies to the rigid demands of a startup. The conversation then takes a sharp turn into the realities of leadership and control. Matt passionately explains why he believes equal partnerships and co-CEOs are a recipe for a standstill , and why trying to run your company like a family can actually be a disservice to both your team and your bottom line. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "I think that there is no separation between work and life. And I think work-life balance, you are the same person, whole person." — Anne "If everyone has equal equity, you don't have authority on paper. You can only persuade. You can never enforce." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

059: The Power of Constraints: Designing Joy, Navigating TV, and Reinventing Retail with Shannon Kaye

Feb 24, 2026 1 hr 12 min

In this episode, Anne and Matt sit down with color specialist, artist, and former DIY Network TV host Shannon Kaye to explore her unconventional and highly creative career path. From starting as a decorative painter focused on making others' work shine to being unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight as a reality TV host, Shannon unpacks the hidden complexities of the design and television industries. She shares profound lessons on how tight constraints fuel creativity, why avoiding trends in favor of "personal joy" creates timeless appeal, and how she transitioned her artistic skills into a corporate role as a Color Marketing Manager. Through stories of painting stripes on 200 feet of molding to revolutionizing how a 75-year-old paint brand sells its color samples online, Shannon proves that genuine connection and an unyielding focus on the end-user are the ultimate drivers of brand success. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "Well, I mean, that's the end goal of every business exchange, every sales journey, every brand strategy, right, is for the end user to make a confident decision." — Shannon"If you think about the genuine connection between you and the end user, then you're going to come up with something that not only identifies the need of that end user... but you're going to start to see more opportunity within that need." — Shannon📡 Where to Find Us Shannon → Website - LinkedInAnne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

058: The "People-First" Playbook: Ben Whitehair on Creative Scaling and Acquisition

Feb 19, 2026 1 hr 18 min

In this episode, Matt and Anne welcome guest Ben Whitehair, a unique "actor-preneur" who has mastered the art of building businesses alongside a career in Hollywood. Ben shares the journey of his college-founded startup that saved students $30 million and discusses how his current role at the feminist nonprofit Calling All Crows utilizes the same "CEO mindset" required for creative success. The trio explores the counter-intuitive power of "intentional procrastination," the reality that 86% of jobs come from personal referrals, and Ben’s upcoming shift toward entrepreneurship through acquisition. Whether you are balancing a side hustle or leading a major organization, Ben’s insights on why the who always matters more than the what provide a powerful framework for sustainable growth. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "The specific job or what our company was doing mattered almost not at all compared to who we were working with." — Ben"It's only procrastination if you actually don't fulfill your goal... if you did finish, the idea of procrastination never existed." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedInMatt → ChipBot - LinkedInBen → Website - Working Actor - Calling All Crows - Socials (@BenWhitehair)

057: The Wedding Industry Reality Check: Pricing, Boundaries, and the "Vibe Check" with Carly Rae

Feb 17, 2026 1 hr 12 min

Everyone thinks wedding planning is just pretty flowers and cake tasting. In this episode, industry veteran Carly Rae (founder of Carly Rae Weddings & High Noon Floral) joins Anne and Matt to reveal the gritty reality of managing high-stakes events, from "burning" medical records to burning the midnight oil for Hollywood celebrities. Carly breaks down her journey from undercutting the competition to commanding luxury pricing, sharing why "raising your prices" is often a test of nerve rather than value. We discuss the critical role of a "Bridal Concierge" to protect your sanity, why video "vibe checks" are the new standard for hiring vendors, and how to maintain margin without blowing up your business. Whether you’re in events or SaaS, this conversation is a masterclass in evolving your business model before you burn out. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "I really struggled with my creative identity and someone else's business and their portfolio. So I rebranded it to be High Noon Floral." — Carly"If you're not physically there, then chances are they're upset. It's like the minute you walk out the door... it's like a baby crying." — Carly"There's no nervous, not nervous, they're just stressed... So if you look at it the other way, what if you only win? It's kind of boring." — Matt"I think that’s why I’ve tried to understand you, Matt... because when you say, 'Well, I like to fail and I like struggle,' I am still healing and recovering from a very conditionally formatted home where performance equals love." — Anne📡 Where to Find Us Carly → Carly Rae Weddings - High Noon Floral - InstagramAnne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

056: The Death of the Specialist: Why Your "Time vs. Money" Mindset is Failing

Feb 12, 2026 29 min

The duo explores the critical shift from billing for time to billing for impact, with Anne explaining how she now ruthlessly deletes tasks that don't directly serve her top three yearly goals. Matt argues that the job market is evolving into a landscape of "mini venture capitalists," where employees are hired not for a specific role, but to own an outcome entirely using AI tools. The episode wraps with a reality check on perfectionism: you have the right to change your mind personally, but in business, the market—and your revenue growth—are the only things that get to decide if you're right. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "I measure marketing in a very simple metric. Did revenue grow or not? ... I don't think [AI] made us necessarily better marketers... it just made us fulfill the work that was already required." — Matt 📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

055: Living in the Gray: Why Political Rigidity Kills Business Growth

Feb 10, 2026 32 min

Matt and Anne explore the argument that politics is often just a "metagame" that distracts founders from the hard work of building a business. They discuss the dangers of rigidity—suggesting that if you are inflexible in your political beliefs, you are likely inflexible in your business strategy as well. Anne shares her perspective on overcoming a "people-pleaser" mentality to find a middle ground , while Matt breaks down why alienating half your customer base is rarely a winning strategy for survival. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "The game of business is already really hard... Then you add politics in business and both games are destructive." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

054: Changing Rooms: Pivoting to M&A and The Sales Pipeline Reality Check

Feb 5, 2026 1 hr 14 min

Matt and Anne discuss the delicate balance of founder energy and the obligation to "show up" for clients, even when Friday feels like a Sunday. The conversation moves to Anne's strategic pivot with Fix & Form, targeting high-stakes M&A and healthcare companies rather than solopreneurs. Matt identifies a dangerous gap in her focus: prioritizing operations and fundraising over active selling. They break down the sobering timeline of enterprise sales—where "starting today" means getting paid in nine months—and why Anne needs to stop networking in startup circles and start "changing rooms" to find the right decision-makers. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "I need to change my room. I need to keep talking to people, but the rooms I'm talking to aren't working." — Anne 📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

053: Avoiding Product Bloat & The "Gun Range" Approach to Content

Feb 3, 2026 27 min

In this episode, Matt breaks down the discipline required to manage technical debt, explaining why ChipBot rejects nearly 90% of feature requests to prevent the product from becoming bloated. The conversation shifts to the rapid evolution of AI video, where Matt highlights how open-source models are beginning to challenge restricted platforms like Sora. Finally, Anne and Matt discuss the strategy of "flooding" social media with experimental content, using a gun range analogy to illustrate why "pulling the trigger" repeatedly is the only way to eventually find your target. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "You got to pull the trigger. And the expectation is you're not going to hit a bullseye. There's no way... But you got to pull the trigger anyway." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

052: The Content Gatekeepers: Deepfakes, Platform Responsibility, and Digital Parenting

Jan 29, 2026 25 min

In this episode, Anne and Matt discuss the fallout from X’s Grok and the disturbing rise of AI-generated exploitation. They argue that while the tools themselves—like Photoshop before them—are just instruments, the true burden of safety lies with the social media giants who control distribution. The discussion covers the futility of federal regulation in the US, the potential for state-based solutions, and the overwhelming challenge parents face in teaching children to discern real from fake in an unregulated digital world. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "Parents have to do so much regulating with children nowadays in all of the access that we give them to really dangerous things... we have to use our logic to discern what kind of content we're allowing to affect and impact us." — Anne "If you want to use it ethically, you already have ethics in mind. If you are using it with no ethics, you are going to continue using it with no ethics." — Matt "It's up to the gatekeepers that enable distribution to actually say, should we distribute this or not? Why should the responsibility be on you?" — Matt 📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

051: The North Star Metric: One Million Websites & The "Work Family" Myth

Jan 27, 2026 22 min

In this episode, Matt and Anne explore how to kickstart momentum when the team is lagging behind the founder's energy. While Anne emphasizes the importance of social connection and viewing the team as a "second family" to build identity and engagement , Matt pushes back, arguing that viewing business as family is a mask that hides the reality of business mechanics. The two compare their personal drivers for 2026: Anne’s service-focused goal of delivering 12 deep brand makeovers versus Matt’s product-led "North Star" of powering one million websites. They discuss how having a singular, massive goal simplifies decision-making and makes it easier to wake up "ready to go" every morning. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "You just need one North star and you just go for it, whatever it takes to hit that North star, whatever... It's very easy to wake up... and that's easy to control." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

050: The 10X Revenue Trap & Why Founders Should Focus on Boring Inputs

Jan 22, 2026 35 min

Matt and Anne return from the holiday break battling "January brain fog" and a wave of post-vacation sickness to tackle the myth of the "10X Revenue" goal. They discuss why setting revenue targets is often a recipe for failure because revenue is a lagging indicator you cannot control. Instead, they argue for 10Xing the "unsexy" inputs—activity, outreach, and product quality—that actually drive growth. The conversation explores how this mindset applies to everything from weight loss to parenting and concludes with a nostalgic look back at their early jobs in banking, from cleaning cash to automating reconciliation. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "If I just say all the boring things I did day to day that made me where I am today, no one would listen to me. It's not sexy... Everybody wants results. They don't want to do the work." — Matt📡 Where to Find Us Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

049: Holiday Boundaries: How Saying "No" Unlocked a Record-Breaking Week of Productivity

Jan 20, 2026 23 min

In this episode, Anne reveals how saying "no" to traditional holiday travel unlocked her most productive week of the year. While Matt joins from the road in Chicago, the two discuss the power of "breaking the cycle" of family obligations and the necessity of advocating for your own schedule—introducing the non-negotiable concept of "Anne's Time". From drafting a new book to finalizing a full company rebrand, listen in to learn how setting hard boundaries can drastically transform your work-life output and protect your peace during the chaos of the holidays. 🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember: "The best flight is the one you don't even know you were flying." — Matt "I didn't advocate for the time I wanted and needed away from the home to use my brain in work, which actually fulfilled me more in motherhood." — Anne "There's more intentionality in the work that you're doing as you age." — Anne📡 Where to Find Us: Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

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Podcast details

Created by: Anne Gillaspie
Status: Active
Latest episode: Nov 12, 2026
Episodes: 98
Release period: Several times a week
Avg. episode length: 42 min
Explicit: Yes
Language: English

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