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Jerry Colonna on the Founder’s Honest Journey
Episode 8616th February 2026 • The Startup CEO Show • Mark MacLeod
00:00:00 00:51:34

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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/

Subscribe for more founder-level conversations. Jerry Colonna - Reboot.io | LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-colonna-reboot/ Subscribe to Mark MacLeod for The Startup CEO Show Podcast, actionable insights, coaching, and strategy for CEOS. https://www.youtube.com/@MarkMacLeod-CEOCoach?sub_confirmation=1

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