Mark MacLeodFounder, Limitless.ceo · The Startup CEO Coach | Helping ambitious CEOs & founders scale world-changing companies without sacrificing their health, happiness, purpose, or humanity

You are not your business

25 Aug 2025 · 1 min

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In this brief monologue, Marie (the speaker) recounts the intense final three months of running her startup while heavily pregnant and caring for a newborn. She describes the physical and emotional strain, the fear that the business might not survive, and the moment she decided she had done everything possible—communicating transparently with investors and fulfilling her responsibilities. The next day she felt relief and embraced the prospect of a new personal chapter beyond the company. Marie’s core message to other entrepreneurs is that a person’s identity is not defined by a single business; there are multiple future chapters—second, third, fourth—that can be exciting and fulfilling.

Chapters

you are not your business. Like to the point of the story you said about like how I came out and just was very open about it. I think that was my biggest lesson is the last 3 months of the business were so difficult. I had a newborn baby. In fact, I was very late in my pregnancy when I learned about the business, like probably not surviving. And it was really, really difficult. But I can tell you that the day that I told myself, okay, I did everything I could, I made sure to be, do right by my investors, to be communicative, everything. The next day, I truly was relieved and I truly was ready for a new chapter of like, of who Marie could be. I want entrepreneurs to know that you are not your business and you will have a second, you will have a third, you will have a fourth chapter. And in fact, it could be quite exciting.