In this interview excerpt, a founder (Speaker A) reflects on the damaging effects of hustle culture, describing severe mental and physical burnout after years of relentless work. He questions how to build a daily life and business he truly loves, expressing uncertainty about feeling successful. The conversation explores the moving goalpost of success, the tension between perpetual growth and contentment, and a deep love for progress despite its costs. Melanie Balki, a retention‑marketing expert, is introduced but contributes minimally in this segment. The dialogue probes why the speaker is drawn to progress and what advice his former hustle‑addicted self would receive now.
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I think hustle culture is so dumb. And I had bought into this thing that if I just hustle for 3 years, then I can just like relax for the rest of my life.
You were all in on hustle culture. You were going to— Yeah, you were going to ride the rocket ship. When did you realize that was a limitation and how did that start to play out for you?
I was so burned out and my health was in the gutter. Mentally, I'm wrecked. Physically, I'm wrecked. Like, this is not working. How can I build a life that I love every day? How can I build a business that I love so much that I don't want to sell it?
Melanie Balki is a retention marketing expert based in Los Angeles with a 7-figure agency helping e-commerce brands turn buyers into lifelong fans. She's the founder of The Email Marketers and creator of The Retention Lab, a community helping DTC teams master retention in-house. How did you grow up with money and how did that drive you to become successful?
I don't know if I yet feel successful as a founder.
Tell me about that.
I think my goalpost, quite frankly, keeps moving. When's it gonna be? When are you gonna be fine with not growing? Like, when are you gonna be fine with not growing further? Like, when are you just gonna be happy with what it is? And I'm like, probably never, because I, I love the growth. What I love is the getting better piece.
What about it do you love?
I love the progression. Progress. I love progress.
Why? I feel like progress means For that version of yourself that was addicted to hustle and grinding, what would you go back and tell her now?
