OnlyFounders: Explicitly Human Stories

Anne Gillaspie
  • 4.9 (65)
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OnlyFounders is the podcast about the HUMAN side of entrepreneurship.Hosted by global keynote speaker and truth disruptor Anne Gillaspie, OnlyFounders goes beyond startup success stories to reveal what it actually feels like to build something meaningful.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.

  1. 3d ago

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

    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/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annegillaspie/ Website: https://theannegillaspie.com/ ABOUT ONLYFOUNDERS OnlyFounders is about the real side of entrepreneurship—the messy, human, complicated reality behind building businesses, leading teams, raising families, navigating failure, and figuring out who we are along the way. If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder who needs to hear it.

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

  2. 5d ago

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

    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 therapist. I obviously should own a business.” “You can’t do it alone, but nor should you.” If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder who needs to hear it. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@onlyfounders.podcast 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/ Visit our website: https://theannegillaspie.com/ Laura Mahe / Chiron Collective Calgary: Website: http://chironyyc.com Instagram: @chironyyc Facebook: Chiron Collective Calgary

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

  3. Aug 27

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

    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’re getting new information every single day.” “My life's work will be raising three amazing people.” Building a business and raising a family will rarely follow a perfect plan. The goal isn't to make everything equal—it’s to stay curious, listen, adapt, and create a life that actually works for the people who matter most. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@onlyfounders.podcast 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/ Visit our website: https://theannegillaspie.com/ If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder, entrepreneur, or working parent who needs to hear it.

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

  4. Aug 26

    The Power of Your Second Act | Bonnie Schutz | Ep08

    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 business really work is to give it a hundred percent.” “You hire people who are not like you, who do things better than you do.” “Sometimes you have to get creative when there's not a budget.” “It's okay to say no.” The conversation ultimately comes back to a powerful lesson about entrepreneurship: you don't have to do everything yourself. Your experience, relationships, and ability to build the right support system can become some of your greatest advantages. Your second act might not be starting over. It might be finally becoming who you were ready to be all along. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@onlyfounders.podcast 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/ Visit our website: https://theannegillaspie.com/ Bonnie Schutz: Website: https://tandemresourcesolutions.com Podcast Website: https://Delegate2ElevatePodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnieschutzea/ Tandem Resource Solutions LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tandem-resource-solutions/ Delegate2Elevate LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delegate2elevate-podcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delegate2ElevatePodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delegate2elevatepodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@delegate2elevatepodcast/ If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder who needs to hear it.

    The Power of Your Second Act | Bonnie Schutz | Ep08

  5. Aug 20

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

    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: “AI should be a tool that helps you organize. It should help you with your tasks.” “Time is my greatest value. My attention is my greatest currency.” “I now use AI to be more human in my work.” “Being a human-centered leader requires you to actually be a human.” The conversation ultimately comes back to a simple idea: your humanity is your advantage. Use AI to eliminate the busywork, organize the noise, and create more space for empathy, connection, creativity, leadership, and the work that actually matters. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@onlyfounders.podcast  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/ Visit our website: https://theannegillaspie.com/  If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder who needs to hear it.

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

  6. Aug 18

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

    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/2PuNBpWpZKzCnuwmFQOPI4?si=97a26df7e350478a Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/onlyfounders/id1832541527 Sayre Blake: Website: https://skillsaige.com/ Sayre’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sayre-blake/ SkillSaige LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skillsaige   Anne Gillaspie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annegillaspie/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annegillaspie/ Website: https://theannegillaspie.com/  If this conversation resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder who needs to hear it.

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

  7. Aug 6

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

    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/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 resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder who needs to hear it.

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

  8. Aug 4

    How Saying Yes Built a Business | Elissa Zylbershlag | Ep04

    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: https://youtu.be/20jKUdIdaQ8 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 resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another founder who needs to hear it.

    How Saying Yes Built a Business | Elissa Zylbershlag | Ep04
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About

OnlyFounders is the podcast about the HUMAN side of entrepreneurship.Hosted by global keynote speaker and truth disruptor Anne Gillaspie, OnlyFounders goes beyond startup success stories to reveal what it actually feels like to build something meaningful.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.

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