Zen Founder: Startup. Family. Life.

Sherry interviews Tony Perez about the transition from running his own business to becoming an employee of a larger corporation.  Tony talks about some of the benefits he has experienced in the corporate setting but also talks about how the desire to start something from the ground up still exists in him. Want more content […]

Change is in the air. In today’s episode Sherry and Rob talk about Rob’s recent departure from Drip.  He discusses his emotional journey and reflects back on all that Drip has accomplished. Want more content like this? Check out our book.

Sherry talks about the subject of grief. As part of business life you will experience losses, could be the loss of a key business partner or a failed product. Grief is an emotional response to loss and Sherry talks about ways to deal with it in a healthy way. Want more great content like this? […]

What secret sauce can make or break you as a founder? The ability to write. The ability to communicate your ideas is a key part of establishing yourself in any business space. In this episode of ZenFounder, we think about how to cultivate a love of writing in our kids. Rob and Sherry talk about […]

Continuing the founders in nature series, a series about the value of being in the outdoors, Sherry interviews Mendel Kurland. Mendel started the group: Hiking with Geeks, and he shares his inspiration for the groups creation. Adventures with Geeks

Sherry interviews Chris Badgett of LifterLMS about the value of nature for entrepreneurs.  He shares how he has integrated nature into his life and how it supports his success as an entrepreneur. Support ZenFounder

Sherry and Rob talk about the benefits of spending one on one time with your children. How mixing up typical family interactions can allow for more in depth conversations with less distractions. Support ZenFounder

How do you help someone who is struggling with depression, burnout, loss or anxiety? It isn’t always easy to know how to help, especially if you’re not a trained professional. In this episode, Sherry talks with Boston-area founder, Dale Bertrand, about how to help friends and fellow-founders who are struggling. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping […]

Sherry and Rob talk about mental illness. Sherry defines the basics of what mental illness actually is using the 3 D’s (dysfunction,deviant, distress). They discuss how in the short term it can be founder of everyone’s founder experience at some point in time. Support ZenFounder The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together: How to […]

Sherry interviews Rand Fishkin, co-founder of Moz, and SparkToro about the mental struggles of running a business. He talks about the importance of de-stigmatizing depression among the founder community and his own struggle to fight his way back after a severe bought with depression. Rand’s book Lost and Founder pairs wonderfully with the Entrepreneur’s Guide […]

Sherry interviews Kim Witczak about the loss of her husband Woody. He was in the early stages of a startup and began to experience trouble sleeping. The story unfolded in the worst possible way. Kim talks about what she wished she had known about the mental health challenges common to those in the early phase […]

Sherry announces the release of the ZenFounder Book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together: How to Run Your Business Without Letting It Run You. Thank you for the support and look forward to the feedback. Support ZenFounder ZenFounder Book

Inspired by his blog post about depression, Sherry interviews Zach Holman about life as a founder struggling with mental illness. They talk about what depression felt like and how he finally recognized the severity of his situation. Zach also shares about what has helped him recover. ZachHolman.com Episode Transcript Sherry: Woo-hoo, next Wednesday is the big […]

Sherry talks about the challenge of maintaining a healthy, happy sexual connection in the midst of the founder life. It is easier said than done. Much of sex is about psychology–the activities of your brain rather than the action in your pants. Sherry describes some recent science about the dual control model of sexual response. […]

Sherry and Rob reveal their plans for their first course (FounderFamily: Date Night Bootcamp) and talk about some of the ups/downs and unique challenges entrepreneurial couples face. Support ZenFounder Episode Transcript Rob: So the book The Entrepreneurs Guide to Keeping Your [beep] Together currently in the process of being converted to Kindle and we already […]

Rob does a solo episode talking about productivity. Specifically how to have more output without more effort. The episode surrounds three books he recommends on the topic as well as some bonus  book recommendations on investing. Support ZenFounder Sleep Smarter Deep Work The Productivity Project

Sherry and Rob talk about the importance of having hard conversations and how to do it well. They break down the process and discuss how to prepare to have these conversations, things to be mindful of during these kinds of conversations, and how to end the conversations. Support ZenFounder Episode Transcript Sherry Walling: So, I […]

Sherry interviews Ryan Tansom of Life After Business podcast about the experience selling of his business. They discuss the process and pain he went through and the way those tough experiences spawned his new business. He’s built a second act aimed at helping entrepreneurs make their exit a success. Ryan’s website, My Solidity Support ZenFounder Episode Transcript […]

Sherry talks with Renee Warren of The Family Academy, about how she and her husband, Dan Martell, have structured their two-founder family. With two on-fire careers and two kiddos, it takes some strategizing to create space for everyone in the family to flourish (and also stay connected). Episode Transcript Sherry Walling: Hi everybody, Happy New […]

Sherry and Rob talk about some of their favorite parts of 2017 and some not so favorite parts. The topics include things they’ve learned, goals accomplished, Apps and technology, and books/TV shows. Support ZenFounder