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Send us Fan Mail I'll be honest, this episode is deeply personal for me.  In 2024 I went through a period where I genuinely couldn't figure out what was happening to my body. Memory fog. Digestion issues. No sleep. Some days it was hard to work because my eyeballs hurt. Literally. And I kept pushing through because that's what we do — until I couldn't anymore. And we get into all of that and more in this episode with Angela Johnson, CEO of sanoLiving, a women's digital health platform reimagining midlife care for female leaders.  If you're waking up at 3am these days, you're going to want to hear this one (and I'll venture that you're going to want a coffee to go with it too! ☕) ✨ Episode Highlights 🧬 Why your hormones might be quietly sabotaging your business  💰 The real wealth impact of perimenopause on female founders, including the data that shows women are leaving the workforce at 44 while men don't hit the same point until 55, and what that means for our net worth 👑 How Angela leads a rapidly growing organization with an inverted triangle model — putting the people closest to the customer at the top and herself at the bottom 💬 Why the 'shame can't live when we share', and why this is the conversation women need to be having out loud It is not okay that you feel s****y. If you don't feel right and you know something is wrong, keep looking until you find someone who says — I believe you and I'm listening. No one knows your body better than you do. Connect with Angela and sanoLiving: sanoliving.ai.com Connect with Lindsay: @highvoltleadership | highvoltageleadership.ca Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail Are you being too hard on yourself? The problem you've been trying to fix might need something other than the discipline. In this episode of Female Founder Unplugged, Lindsay sits down with Aja Beckett — app developer, GLP-1 user, and accidental CEO — who built her app Shotsy from a nights-and-weekends side project into the #1 GLP-1 tracking app in the Health & Fitness category. "Her story is as much about reclaiming her health as it is about building a business from scratch." ✨ Episode Highlights 💉 How Aja's own weight loss journey became the blueprint for her app, and why lived experience builds better products 🧠 Why what looks like a discipline problem is almost always a systems problem (in health and in business) 🌍 Leading a fully distributed team from across the world — and why intentional culture isn't optional when you're remote 💼 How to choose investors who bring more than money to the table Because the practices that got you here won't get you to the next level — and the real scaling challenge is always internal. About Aja Beckett Aja is the founder and CEO of Shotsy, bringing a rare dual perspective as both an iOS engineer and a GLP-1 user. Her tech career spans Apple, CNN, TED, and The New York Times/The Athletic. Find Shotsy on iOS & Android at shotsyapp.com Ready to scale without losing yourself in the process? The LPC Accelerator is coaching and mastermind for female founders. It's where scaling meets visionary leadership, empowered people strategy, and a thriving culture. There's a spot for you if you're ready: https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail You can have a successful business and still feel completely alone. A lot of founders I know are building in the dark and making decisions in isolation, without a real space to let out their thoughts (that have turned into secrets at this point) and be supported.  This episode is about what changes when you get out of that loneliness.  It features the wonderful Kristina Bartold-Sorgota, co-founder of The Social Snippet, a social media and podcasting agency, and the co-creator of High Vibe Women — a community bringing Canadian female entrepreneurs together to make magic in their businesses. ✨  She's genuine, warm, and honest. Episode Highlights 🤝 Why the women who scale fastest are the ones who build the most intentional communities around them 🧠 How to start managing the head trash that gets loudest when things get hard 🪞 What it means to be a culture champion as a leader, and why your team is always watching how you show up  💬 The difference between wanting your team to love your business the way you do, and what actually motivates people to deliver their best 👑 Why leadership in your own business feels so different from leadership inside an organization — and the identity shift that comes with running the whole thing yourself Come listen, and start finding community right here in this conversation.  🫶 You can connect with Kristina on IG @kristina.bartold And if you're ready to stop building alone: The LPC Accelerator is where we do the real work. It has the leadership, the people strategy, the culture, and the community that holds it all together when things get hard. One-on-one coaching, a mastermind of women who are building right alongside you, and a space where you don't have to carry any of this alone.  Learn more and book a call: https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator/ Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail "I don't really have anyone I can talk to who understands the business and isn't a stakeholder. It's really lonely." A founder said that to me recently, and I've been thinking of it ever since. Because it's true! And it's one of the most important things we're not talking about honestly enough in the entrepreneurship space. This episode is that conversation. Episode Highlights 📍 What makes the messy middle feel so uniquely lonely, and how founder isolation happens 🧠 Why high-achieving women are especially prone to turning inward when the isolation hits, and what that inner critic sounds like when it does ⚡ Why leadership, people strategy and culture have to work together — and what happens when you only focus on one 🤲 Why Lindsay intentionally built a mastermind into the LPC Accelerator (and why community is a MUST have) The messy middle is hard, because there are a lot of things happening at the same time: you're evolving as a leader, your team is growing and needs structure, your culture needs to be nurtured, and you're carrying all of it without a real space to share the weight. That's the reality of building something real. And you were never meant to do it alone. 📝 Reflection Question from this Episode: Do you currently have anyone who understands you and your business — and isn't directly connected to any of the daily decisions or the strategic outcomes? If your answer is no, that's a gap worth closing. If this episode landed somewhere specific for you, the LPC Accelerator is where the leadership, the people strategy, the culture work and the community all come together, so you don't have to keep carrying this in isolation. Learn more and book time with Lindsay directly at the link below. Learn more about the LPC Accelerator: https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator/ Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail There's no shame in the game, but if you've thought at least one of these thoughts very recently... "I just need one more person." "If we just hire someone who's good, this will all come together." "I don't know if we can afford to hire, but I don't know what else to do." ...Then it sounds like you're in the messy middle of your business. And like most founders in this stage, you don't have a people strategy at all — yet! And that's what this episode is all about.  ✨ Episode Highlights: 😰 Why reactive hiring gets you into trouble, and what happens when you hit that tipping point 💸 The real cost of waiting too long to hire, or hiring without structure 🗺️ How to reverse engineer your vision into a people strategy that actually connects your team to your business goals 📋 The difference between hiring from fear and hiring from strategy — and how one of the LPC Accelerator clients turned her people strategy into a living roadmap that now drives every hire, every decision and every stage of growth A people strategy that connects every role in your business directly to the vision you're actually trying to build means the decisions get clearer, the team understands what they own, and you stop asking "can we afford this?" and start asking "does this drive our next stage of growth?" ✨ That's the CEO move I hope you begin to make.  If you're already feeling the burn, running flat out, and you know a people strategy is what's been missing, the LPC Accelerator is where that work gets done. We build your talent roadmap, connect every role to the outcomes, clarify ownership and accountability, and design a structure that supports your culture so that when the growth really starts to come, you're ready. ⚡Check out the LPC Accelerator here: https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator/ Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail This conversation is a direct challenge to the nice girl trap, and is fire from start to finish. 🔥 In this episode, Lindsay sits down with Sarah Khan — leadership strategist, empowerment coach, and the woman who has built a career out of turning quiet excellence into out loud power. If you've ever found yourself shrinking to keep the peace, leading from a place of people-pleasing, it's the hot conversation you need to hear today, my friend. ✨ Episode Highlights 🎙️ Why "if you argue with reality, you're always going to have problems" — and what leading from reality actually looks like in practice 🚫 The cut-and-paste success myth that's running rampant in the online coaching space 🔥 What happens when a team member gains leverage over a leader, and how to make sure that never happens in your business 👑 How to be a powerful, impactful leader and still be completely, authentically yourself This is your encouragement to lead from who you really are! Ready to build a powerful leadership identity that holds — so your business can too?  The LPC Accelerator is where we go deep on exactly what we talked about in this episode: The internal leadership work, the people strategy, the culture and the clarity that holds everything together when things get hard. Book a strategy session to figure out if this is your next step! https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator 📲 Find Sarah on Substack: sarahkhanoutloud Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail What do you do when your own wiring (your 'get $h*t done' attitude) starts to work against you? Until you directly look at the hyper achiever energy that got you to this point in your business, and do the internal work to separate your identity from your output, no amount of hiring, restructuring or strategic planning is going to move the needle the way you need it to.  That's what this episode is really about: The internal work that actually has to happen first. ✨ Episode Highlights: 🧠 Why the drive and ambition that built your business might be capping your growth right now 🪞 The hyper achiever saboteur — what it is, how it shows up, and the ripple effect it has on your team and your culture 👥 The story of a founder who was softening every piece of feedback, and hoping things would just sort themselves out ⚡ Why your leadership is the lever you can control the most — and what changes when you finally do Most people don't need a softer leader. They need a steadier one.  And if you're constantly hustling for your self worth and you know that has to change, if you need to create clarity and actually lead like a CEO — the LPC Accelerator is where that work gets done. There's a space for you, and the first step is simply seeing if it's the right fit.  https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator/ Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail Let me paint you a picture. Your revenue is solid, your calendar is full, your inbox is buzzing, and even your accountant is happy. And yet you're lying awake at 3am thinking — how does this feel successful and like it's flying apart at the same time? My friend, welcome to the messy middle. And if that question feels uncomfortably familiar, this episode was made for you. ✨ Episode Highlights: 📍 What the messy middle actually is, and the five questions that will tell you whether you're in it right now 💬 Why you cannot hustle, market, or mindset your way out of this stage — and what actually moves you forward 👥 The story of the "everything is fine" founder, and what was really happening behind the scenes 🏗️ The leadership identity evolution from expert to architect Most scaling advice was built for someone who looks nothing like you. You have decades of experience, a team you genuinely care about, clients you're deeply committed to, and a business you poured your life into. The messy middle is what happens when all of that growth starts to expose every crack and crevice, and the way you've always shown up stops being enough to hold it together. The good news? This stage has nothing to do with how capable you are, and everything to do with what your business is ready for next. Structure that creates freedom. Leadership that fits the business you've actually built. A people strategy that moves you forward with intention rather than peanut butter and duct tape. That's exactly what we get into today. If you're in the messy middle and you're tired of holding it together with grit and good intentions, the LPC Accelerator is where we do the real work. Not tactics, not quick fixes, but a strategic talent roadmap that connects your people directly to your business plan, so that your team is actually driving your success rather than depending on you to hold it all together. Learn more about the LPC Accelerator: https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator/ Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail You have a marketing plan. A financial plan. Maybe even a product roadmap. But a people strategy? That's the one most founders skip — until things start falling apart. In this episode, Lindsay is calling out one of the most damaging myths in business: that you can figure out your team later, once you've grown. Because your people are your growth strategy. And waiting until you have 15 or 50 people isn't strategic. It's just reactive. If you've ever felt your shoulders tighten at the words "I need to grow my team" — this conversation is going to change something for you. What we dig into: ⏳ Why the "we'll figure out the team later" approach is keeping you stuck 🔄 The difference between reactive hiring and intentional growth 🔭 How to reverse engineer your vision into a phased, calm, doable people plan ✨ What a people strategy actually gives you: clarity, relief, and permission to let go 🧱 How to build it in layers, without blowing up what's already working And if this one landed, let's keep the conversation going. Find me on Instagram at @highvoltleadership or head to highvoltageleadership.ca to book a Spark Session and explore what's possible.  Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail There are moments when someone’s story doesn’t just move you, it changes you.  This episode is about leadership, but not the kind you’ll find in a business course or book. It’s about the courage to lead with your whole story. Fallon Farinacci is a proud Red River Métis woman, mom of three, speaker, survivor, and advocate. Through unimaginable grief, she chose to speak and to call people in with her story.  This conversation is about truth, the power of personal experiences, and impact.  It explores: 🤝 How a story creates connection (in life and in leadership) 📉 Why transactional businesses struggle to build loyalty 🫴 The difference between calling people out vs. calling them in 📖 Why women have been conditioned to separate their stories from their success ❤️ The courage it takes to ask for help ✨ How your lived experience shapes your leadership  If you are building a business and trying to compartmentalize your life from your leadership… this episode will gently challenge that. Because you are not your brand strategy, you are the sum of your experiences. And your story belongs in the room. Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail You’ve built the business. Your team is growing, and opportunities are expanding! Your success means more visibility, more responsibility, and more people depending on you. But all of this happening can actually make you feel quite lonely and unsupported... You can’t vent down, and you don't want to worry your team, your family. Because everyone assumes you’ve figured it out by now. In this episode of Female Founder Unplugged, I’m talking about this stage of growth — when your business has evolved, but your leadership support hasn’t. ✨ Episode Highlights:  🏔️ Why scaling can feel isolating, even when things are going well  🤍  The quiet pressure high-performing women carry  👑 The shift from founder to true CEO This is exactly why I created the LPC Accelerator. But because at this level, you need a place to think clearly, lead intentionally, and build the kind of team and culture that actually supports you. The Accelerator is for women who are scaling and realizing that growth requires more than strategy. It requires support. Real conversations. Strong leadership foundations. A room where you don’t have to carry it all quietly.  If your business is growing but it feels heavier than it should, you don’t have to navigate that alone.   Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail So… your business is growing, your team’s stronger than ever, and for the first time, things are running without you in every detail. That should feel like freedom, right? But instead, you’re feeling lost. Maybe a little guilty. Maybe even… useless. In this episode, I’m getting real about the identity shift that happens when you finally move out of operator mode and into your CEO seat. The weird in-between, the grief, the guilt, the “who even am I now?” moments. I’ll walk you through the four roles your business actually needs from you now (because “visionary” isn’t the full picture), and how to start owning them in a way that feels aligned and real, not like you’re faking it 'til you make it.  What You’ll Hear: 🌿 Why stepping out of the weeds can feel harder than staying in the 🎢 The emotional rollercoaster of letting go (and why it’s totally normal) ⭐ The 4 CEO roles every founder needs to step into: Visionary StewardCulture KeeperStrategic LeaderDecision Architect📖 Two client stories of what redefining your role actually looks like If you’ve delegated well, but now you feel disconnected from your own business, if you’re caught between “I’m not needed anymore” and “I don’t know what my job is now... This is the real work of becoming the CEO—not just in title, but in how you lead every day.  When you've listened to this episode, I want you to think and ask yourself, what kind of strategic thinking does this business need for me right now? This is where the CEO shift comes from. And this is why I've created a CEO Shift Map for you to start asking the questions and reflecting on being a CEO who leads every day. You can download your CEO Shift Map here: https://go.highvoltageleadership.ca/resource-library Want More Help Making This Shift? Inside the LPC Accelerator, we do this work together. We’ll redefine your role, build leadership systems that actually support you, and help your team rise with you. Cohort starts in March. DM me @highvoltleadership or check this link to grab your spot: https://highvoltageleadership.ca/lpc-accelerator/ If this episode made you feel seen, share it with a business bestie who needs it too. 🫶 And if you haven’t yet, please subscribe and leave a quick review. It means the world.  Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail You’re not new to running a business—but lately, it feels like the weight of every decision, deadline, and deliverable is landing on your shoulders. Even with a solid team, you’re still stuck in the middle of it all. But that can change! In this episode, I’m walking you through what I call the invisible architecture—the behind-the-scenes systems that keep your business moving without burning you out. We’ll talk about what’s missing in most growing businesses, and how to finally shift out of overwhelm and into your role as CEO. Inside this episode:  ✨  Why so many founders feel like they have to be “on” all the time  🧠 What decision fatigue looks like, and how to reduce it  🧱 Three key elements your business needs to grow without chaos  📖 Real stories from clients who’ve made these changes and are now leading with clarity (not scrambling to keep up) If you’ve been telling yourself, “I’ll just figure it out,” or “It’s easier if I do it myself,” this one’s for you.  Want to go deeper?  📄 Download: The Rhythm & Resilience: Leadership Worksheet This practical guide will help you spot the structural gaps in your business and start building the clarity and rhythm you need to lead with less stress and more impact.  Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail She downsized, reset, and rehired... And what she learned about people strategy will change how you build your team.  In this episode, I sit down with social media strategist  Rachel Pedersen to unpack the real and raw lessons behind scaling a team, downsizing with intention, and rebuilding. From “panic hires” to people-pleasing to over-collecting team members out of guilt, Rachel shares how her business hit a breaking point—and how a better people strategy helped her reclaim clarity, culture, and calm. ✨ Episode Highlights 🚫 Why panic hiring and people-pleasing can quietly wreck your business 🎯 The importance of leading with your core values (and Rachel's "core values filter") ❤️ Being kind, while still being a strong leader 💬 Cutting out the workplace drama 🧠 How self-reflection can become the foundation of your leadership Your people strategy should be evolving, just like you are as a leader.  Connect with Rachel: IG: @themrspedersen https://rachelpedersen.com/ 👉 Check out the LPC Accelerator Here Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence. 

Send us Fan Mail You’ve built the team. You’ve tried delegating. But somehow, you're still making the final call on every. single. thing. Sound familiar? Then this episode is a must-listen. We’re digging deep into the “Final Decision Maker Trap”—that sneaky leadership dynamic that keeps you stuck as the bottleneck, even when your intentions are good. This episode is all about bringing you clarity, ownership, and a structure that actually supports your team to lead alongside you. Because delegation without decision rights isn’t leadership. It’s just another form of overwhelm. ⚡️ Episode Highlights 🧠 The real reason your team keeps bringing you options but no decisions 🔁 How unintentionally “re-deciding” is keeping your team stuck 🫶 The surprising connection between people-pleasing and burnout 🧭 How to shift from a helpful boss → high-impact leader 🧰 Simple, scalable steps to create ownership without micromanagement This episode is packed with practical insights and real client stories straight from the LPC Accelerator. If you're ready to scale your business without being “on” 24/7 (or sacrificing the culture you love)—this one’s for you. 👉 Ready to finally lead like the CEO your business needs? Join the LPC Accelerator. This high-touch program is designed to help you step out of the weeds, build a high-performing team, and scale with clarity, confidence, and culture at the core.  🎧 And if this episode hit home, share it with a fellow founder, and don’t forget to subscribe so you catch next week’s follow-up: building a leadership structure that fuels growth and frees you. Support the Show Our mission at Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1,000 female entrepreneurs every season—and we need your help to do that. Please subscribe, leave a review, and share your favorite episodes with your business besties. Together, we’re paving the path for more women to lead boldly, grow sustainably, and build lasting impact. Support the show Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.  Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.