Estil Wallace went from addiction and jail to building a multimillion-dollar recovery center—by applying the same 12-step grit to entrepreneurship.
What started with 10 beds and a mission has grown into one of Arizona’s leading behavioral health agencies. But it didn’t happen by playing it safe. Estil had to stop doing $10 tasks, hand over control, and become the kind of CEO his company actually needed.
The result? Exponential growth, a rock-solid culture, and a leadership style rooted in radical ownership—not ego.
In this raw, unfiltered conversation, Estil shares:
The exact moment his team told him to stop being the bottleneck
Why clinical outcomes and cash flow are his north stars
How trying to help everyone at once led to mass client dropouts
The 2 filters every decision at Cornerstone must pass through
The one business book he reads like a textbook—not just once
How moving furniture for $8/hr taught him more than school ever did
Why recovery and business are both messy, nonlinear, and worth it
Key Lessons:
Step Back to Scale: Why the best founders eventually fire themselves from the weeds
Outcomes Over Optics: How Estil measures real success—and fixes what’s broken
Hire for Heart: Why degrees matter less than mission-alignment
Own the Mess: Leadership starts with radical responsibility
Program-Led Growth: Why service expansion beats property expansion every time
Host: Tyler Martin, Think Business Podcast
Ready to build something resilient? Let’s talk:
📅 Book a Strategy Call
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