Anne and Matt break down the founder’s most dangerous illusion: trying to be the visionary, the operator, and the technician all at once. From E-Myth’s three roles to the brutal drain of execution on future energy, they map out why “10X thinkers” burn out unless paired with “10X doers.” Matt argues founders should stop wasting tomorrow’s energy on today’s tasks, while Anne highlights how most small businesses fail when technicians try to play CEO. This episode is part therapy, part blueprint—and a reality check for anyone still equating hustle with growth.

🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember:

• Visionary energy dies when execution eats tomorrow’s bandwidth.
• Most businesses collapse when technicians try to run the company.
• A “10X thinker” needs a “10X doer”—otherwise nothing ships.
• Focus isn’t doing more, it’s choosing who does what.
• Hustle ≠ growth. Direction is the founder’s real job.

💣 Sh*t Only Founders Say:

• “Every time I execute, I’m losing money and tomorrow’s energy.” — Matt
• “I’m the visionary—but still playing ops manager and technician.” — Anne
• “If you want 10X, stop trying to do 10X yourself.” — Matt
• “Most small businesses fail because the technician thinks they can be the entrepreneur.” — Anne

💬 Lines That Slap:

• “Busyness is not progress. It’s a founder trap.” — Matt
• “The visionary’s real job is to protect tomorrow’s energy.” — Anne
• “Focus isn’t about tasks. It’s about who does them.” — Matt

📡 Where to Find Us:

• Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn
• Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

Anne and Matt kick off with a weekend disaster—Anne’s dog, Noodles, gets caught in a bark-collar meltdown that spirals into chaos (and a bite). From there, they pivot hard into founder psychology: why crises hit hardest when you’re already stretched thin, and how business partners balance between empathy and bluntness. They cover everything from the hidden costs of “founder guilt” to why resilience isn’t about toughness but about designing better defaults. Along the way, Matt argues that failure is a signal to re-engineer systems, not yourself, while Anne pushes back with the reality of emotional fallout. It’s raw, messy, and unusually human—an episode that proves startups aren’t built by logic alone.

🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember:

• Burnout isn’t cured by grit; it’s cured by structure.
• Founder guilt is real—but often misplaced.
• Fix the system, not just the symptom.
• Empathy doesn’t mean softness; it means calibration.
• The dog will forgive you. Customers might not.

💣 Sh*t Only Founders Say:

“Every founder has a bark collar story. Different trigger, same panic.” — Matt
“I wasn’t mad at him. I was mad at me.” — Anne
“You don’t get bonus points for suffering.” — Matt
“Crisis isn’t a test of willpower. It’s a test of systems.” — Matt
“Sometimes resilience looks like quitting for the night.” — Anne

💬 Lines That Slap:

“Startups break founders before founders break startups.” — Matt
“Every problem feels personal until you realize it’s structural.” — Anne
“Guilt is the tax you pay when your system fails.” — Matt

📡 Where to Find Us:

• Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn
• Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn

Anne and Matt ask a question most founders dodge: is this still fun? They dig into what “work” even means when your job is building ideas, making money for others, or just thinking alone on a walk. Anne wrestles with whether Fix & Form is her forever company, while Matt reframes the CEO role as “just helping people make money.” From hotel lobby productivity hacks to removing emotion from poker (and startups), this one’s for founders reevaluating how—and why—they work.

🚨 Stuff You’ll Want to Remember:

• If business ownership feels like a job, it might be time to pivot—or quit.
• CEOs don’t execute. They think, connect, ideate, and sell.
• "Work" happens where thinking happens—on hikes, in cars, in coffee shops. Claim it.
• Founders who over-emotionalize stall out. Move fast, break FUD.
• Growth goals can drown doubt. Just aim higher and keep going.

💣 Sh*t Only Founders Say:

• “Do you even work?” — Anne
• “I’m not a CEO. I just help people make money with tech.” — Matt
• “Procrastination is just emotion in disguise.” — Anne
• “Remove emotion. You’ll move faster.” — Matt
• “If I didn’t exist, none of this would exist. That’s the part I love.” — Anne

💬 Lines That Slap:

📡 Where to Find Us:

• Anne → Fix & Form - LinkedIn
• Matt → ChipBot - LinkedIn