198 - The Humane Startup with Ashlie Collins

I’m so excited for today’s conversation with a beautiful human being, a client, a friend and an amazing mom and wife. She has made HUGE quantum leaps in her life and has made some bold moves to devote her career to changing the startup world and the sales world to be a champion of the mental health and wellbeing of everyone involved within the organizations she supports, as well as to really change the way we do sales to be far more ethical and inclusive. Ashlie Collins has over 15 years of sales and startup experience and she witnessed firsthand that the role of a leader is lonely and riddled with mental health landmines that affect every area of the business. She is on a mission to heal the way we work and shift the entire scene from the top down. After serving as a 2 x founding team member, living through life after exit and launching a platform to self sustainability in Europe, there isn’t much she hasn’t seen or experienced the aftermath of. She founded Humane Startup, a coaching, training, and consultancy organization where she combines her in-field experience and therapeutic training to empower leaders to achieve hyper growth, be the force of change they want to be, and feel good doing it. Show Notes: [2:47] - Welcome to the show, Ashlie! [3:58] - Ashlie shares how she started on this journey. [5:40] - What is Gold Medal Syndrome? [6:47] - The journey wasn’t always easy and Ashlie made a lot of discoveries about herself and others. She navigated leaving this startup and made changes. [8:41] - Everyone’s startup journey is very different, but Elyse shares how easy it is for everyone doing it to put aside other important aspects of life and become off center. [10:22] - When you play such a huge role in the success of the startup, there is so much pressure and it is easy to make conflicting decisions. [12:02] - Stay the course when stakes are high. [13:06] - Society is demanding more of leaders right now. [14:12] - One of Ashlie’s most powerful tools was Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. [16:15] - As a leader, the impact of your decisions is huge. Your internal world reflects out into the external. [18:08] - Prevent workaholism from creeping into your team. [19:38] - Ashlie wanted a therapeutic environment available no matter where founders are in their startup journey. [20:41] - There are free communities to join on the Startup Therapy app. [21:51] - Ashlie sees the power of coaching even as a coach herself. [22:54] - What does Ashlie’s life look like when she’s celebrating one million users? [27:04] - Self trust is a problem sometimes. [29:24] - Ashlie’s inner child has the worry of not executing perfectly. [31:16] - If little Ashlie leads the startup, so many of her fears will be projected onto others. [33:28] - Who is on your board of advisors? [34:45] - Little Ashlie needs the reassurance that everything is okay and that everyone will still love her when things don’t turn out perfectly. [36:40] - Elyse and Ashlie do an activity to connect with her inner child. [38:14] - One of Ashlie’s concerns is people losing respect for her when mistakes are made. [40:20] - You may understand something, but your brain might need evidence. [41:56] - People don’t respect perfection. They respect realness. [45:51] - It is okay to bring the same love that you have at home with your family to your work life. It shows up differently, but you can have it. Connect with Ashlie: Humane Startup Website Instagram | Linkedin Links and Resources: Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube She Sells with Elyse Archer Home Page