Nobody Talks About This Part of the Founder Journey | Shona Beats on Identity, Burnout & What Comes Next

What happens after you step back? After the raise? After the exit? In Part Two of our conversation with Shona Beats — ex-Founding COO of Headspace and now a coach to high-growth founders — we explore the emotional cost of building a company… and what’s waiting on the other side.

We talk about identity loss, burnout, ego, and why even the most successful founders can feel totally unprepared when the hustle stops. If you’ve ever asked “what now?” — this one’s for you.

📍 CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro – The part of the journey no one talks about

01:10 Why stepping away is harder than people think

03:00 When success still feels empty

04:45 Coaching founders through identity collapse

06:30 Why founders struggle to rest, even after exit

08:15 Learning to detach self-worth from metrics

10:30 When ego gets in the way of growth

12:00 How to rebuild identity post-startup

13:50 The link between meaning, purpose and mental health

15:15 What real founder support looks like

17:00 Why founder journeys don’t have clean endings

18:45 Advice for anyone feeling stuck or lost

21:00 Final reflections – it’s okay not to know what’s next

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

🔗 Follow Shona on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shonamitchellbeats/

💬 Book a free 1-hour commercial advisory session with host Greg McCallum:

https://meetings-eu1.hubspot.com/meetings/gmccallum?uuid=c8f5cecd-0222-4c6e-92d1-ea9f224a60fd