Not the kind of burnout you see coming - Will Pearson, Founder of Ocean Bottle.
When you’re still performing, still hitting targets, but your identity has become so intertwined with your company that you can't see where you end and the business begins.
This is the story of Will Pearson and how stepping down as CEO saved both his sanity and his relationship with the company he'd built from nothing.
🧠 What You'll Learn:
▪️ How to build a company that works around your lifestyle, not against it
▪️ Why prioritising happiness actually made Ocean Bottle more successful
▪️ Co-CEO structures often create exhaustion, not efficiency
▪️ Understand how to decouple your self-worth from company performance
▪️ Avoid the "everything depends on me" trap that destroys founders
▪️ Build a regenerative business model that gives back 15% of revenue to impact
📖 Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - "I Intertwined My Identity With the Company"
01:02 - A CEO Shake up
04:12 - What Works in Co-CEO Leadership (and what doesn't)
09:45 - Co-Founder Coaching That Changed Everything
12:11 - The 5-Step Pearson Plan
14:08 - Crafting Business Around Lifestyle. Not the Other Way Around
17:09 - "We've Come So Far But We're Just Getting Started"
22:07 - "My Life Would Be Over" - The Toxic Early Mindset
23:49 - How Perspective and Meditation Changed Everything
25:10 - "Every Minute Should Be Work" - The Burnout Point
26:31 - The Happiness Advantage: Success vs Happiness
28:00 - Staying Grounded When the Rocket Ship Takes Off
30:35 - Decoupling Identity From Company Performance
31:23 - "What Are You Insecure About?" - Megs' Question
36:03 - Key Lessons From Board Member Peter Ward
38:00 - Ocean Bottle's Impact Model: 15% Revenue to Impact
40:34 - Building a Coalition of Impactful Companies
48:28 - Triple Bottom Line: Balancing Profit, People, and Planet
52:35 - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Open Communication
54:10 - Why People Join Mission-Driven Companies
56:09 - Reinventing Capitalism: Measuring Success by Good Done
🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too (Youtube):
How 120 Seconds Changed My £7.6M Startup | Laura Fullerton
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🔗 Will's Links:
🚀 Affiliates:
Monk Ice Bath
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Heights Supplements:
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