Reboot Podcast Episode #7 – Depression and Entrepreneurship – with Rand Fishkin
The Reboot podcast showcases the heart and soul, the wins and losses, the ups and downs of startup leadership. On the show, Entrepreneurs, CEO’s, and Startup Leaders discuss with Jerry Colonna the emotional and psychological challenges they face daily as leaders.
Episode 7 // DEC 15, 2014
Guests
Rand Fishkin
Founder of Moz
Rand Fishkin
Founder of Moz
Rand Fishkin is the former CEO of Moz, a software startup focused on making marketing tools primarily for SEO folks. He is based in Seattle, WA and started his blog in 2004 and founded Moz in 2007. He stepped down as CEO in January of 2014 into a new role as individual contributor and promoted longtime COO, and Bootcamp alumni, Sarah Bird, as Moz’s CEO.
Episode Description
After years of rapid growth and expansion, followed by a serious year of depression, Rand Fishkin, founder and former CEO of Moz, found himself in a room surrounded by VC backed CEO’s and entrepreneurs where the question was posed: “How many of you struggle seriously with depression or severe anxiety or emotional issues?” He watched almost every person raise their hand. It’s shocking how universal depression is in startups. For anyone struggling with depression, it’s helpful to know you’re not alone.
In this podcast, which is slightly different than past episodes, Jerry converses with Rand about his experience – his “loop,” how shame and guilt are at times his driver, the importance of understanding one’s emotional state, and how he’s made progress in coming out of depression, including his one piece of advice for entrepreneurs or anyone dealing with their own depression.
Rand’s post on his year of depression | Rand’s post on getting caught in “the loop” | Rand’s post about his Mixergy interview on burnout | A post from Jerry on his own struggle with depression