Ep#25: Scale or Shatter? Why Founders Break - Leila Lahbabi

What is the next step that I need to do? And this next step, in order to find it, you need clarity. In order to have clarity, you need to have space. In order to have space, you need to prioritize. In order to prioritize, you need to step back. So this counterintuitive thing is like, step back. I see my priorities, I evaluate my business, probably I get some coaching, I get some help, whatever, and then I see what is my next move, and then I continue moving. You go very, very much faster than if you try to fix everything else.

Welcome to Startups Decoded, where we uncover what it really takes to build and scale startups. I'm Andy Walsh, founder and strategist. Each week we will bring you actionable insights and real stories. Let's dive in. Hello and welcome back to Startups Decoded. My name's Andy Walsh, and in this podcast we look at all things startups, anything from branding to strategy, to go to market culture. And today we're doing something which is very personal to me, which is around scaling without sacrifice. And like any founder would know, starting a business is not an easy thing to do. Scaling it and growing it and trying to have some semblance of sanity while you're doing that is even harder again. So today I have a guest, as always, I've got Layla Lababi with me today. And I'm excited about today because Laila's got such an interesting mix of skills. So, first and foremost, Layla, welcome to the show.

Thank you, Andy. Really happy to be with you here.

Yeah, it's a treat. And I was looking before and doing some research, and one of the things that I've just realized is that you're out of maybe 20 guests. I think I've done now. You're the third French person that I've had on the show. Really? Yeah. Which is great. And I think for me, a global perspective is really important. And I think as we move into a global economy, as far as resource distribution, the world is very different in many ways. So I think having that perspective is really important to look at it. But to kick it off, let's go straight into a little bit about yourself as far as your backstory, where you sort of started out, and we can sort of then follow up a little bit with around what you're up to at the moment.

Sure. So. So I'm probably the third one. Third French person, but maybe the first Moroccan person as well on your podcast.

Definitely the first Moroccan. And I've. We've talked before. Yeah, I've Got a soft spot for Morocco. I went and had the best time and most amazing people at the food. My goodness, it was so good. Anyway, let's not talk about Moroccan food for too long, because it will make me hungry.

Okay. So for my backstory, I was born in Morocco. So I grew up in Morocco and started, like, until my 18, and then I moved to Paris when I did my engineering school there. And then I started working in consulting, consulting at ey, four years. And then I spent more than seven years as a strategy consultant at Oliver Wyman. And this was, like, a linear path that I started, you know, just following similarly as my two older brothers, who also are engineers and who went to similar paths, like engineering consulting, engineering. And then at some point, I was, like, not sure this is exactly what I wanted. Probably it's part of someone else. And I had a burnout, the first burnout, because I was, like, working too much and forgetting myself into the process. And at that point, I met mindfulness to start managing my own stress and then broadening my perspective. And that was really interesting for me. I went for mindfulness for stress reduction. But then I learned many other things, many other skills. And then I was like, okay, so I think I got it now. I think I know how to manage my stress. I think I know how to be efficient, how to be focused. Okay? And then I became a mom. I was like, okay, probably. Probably I haven't learned all the skills that I need to be at the same time, like, really focused on my job and being a mom. And.