You don’t have to burn yourself out to build a successful business.

I learned that the hard way.

On paper, everything looked great.
✔ Built three businesses to $200M in revenue
✔ Bootstrapped a service business to $25M with 25 people in five years
✔ Scaled a VC-backed tech company to $28M ARR in under two years with just 12 people
✔ Made a double-sided consumer marketplace profitable in three months with a five-person team
✔ Raised $30M in venture capital

But behind the scenes, I was exhausted, constantly putting out fires, and convinced the business would fall apart if I stepped away.

So I pushed harder, thinking that was the only way.

Then life forced me to stop.

I ran headfirst into a glass window. A concussion took me out for eight weeks. No emails, no meetings, no problem-solving. For the first time, I couldn’t step in to fix things.

And when I came back, I was shocked. The business hadn’t just survived. It had thrived.

That moment forced me to question everything.

I always thought the key to scaling was working harder and building better systems. And systems did help. But what really made the difference wasn’t the business. It was me.

I had built a company that depended on me, not because it had to, but because I didn’t know how to let go. I believed that stepping back meant losing control. That if I wasn’t involved in everything, things would fall apart.

That belief had to change.

Learning to trust my team, step back, and stop being the bottleneck wasn’t easy. But once I did, everything changed.

The systems worked because I let them. My team thrived because I gave them space. And the business grew faster than ever, not because I was in every decision, but because I wasn’t.

Now, I help founders do the same.

Most founders come to me because they feel stuck. They’re scaling, but at the cost of their time, health, and freedom. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If you’re ready to build a business that grows without you being in the weeds, join me for daily insights on scaling, leadership, and personal growth.

Let’s get started.
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⚫️ 1:1 CEO Coaching – If you want direct guidance to break free from the grind, let’s talk. 

Let’s connect:
Email: hello@christinecarrillo.com
Twitter: @ChristineCarril

Christine Carrillo

Kiersten (Parsons) Hathcock

Kiersten Hathcock is no stranger to taking risks. As founder of Mod Mom Furniture, she left a marketing career with A&E and The History Channel in 2003 to spend more time with her kids and built an internationally-known furniture company out of her garage. The self-taught carpenter and furniture designer braved ABC’s Shark Tank, won an angel investment deal, and grew the Mod Mom brand internationally for almost two decades. Kiersten's designs have been featured in TV shows, People Magazine, New York Times, LA Times, and international design books. Her award-winning furniture has been sought after by celebrities like Christina Applegate and Matthew McConaughey, interior designers, and retailers from 17 different countries. 

In 2021, Kiersten and retired NYPD Detective Mark Pucci co-founded The National Institute for Law and Justice (NILJ), a non-profit that helps families of crime victims in search of missing loved ones and answers in homicide cases. 

In 2022, Kiersten's debut memoir LITTLE VOICES was released into the world (Post Hill Press/Simon and Schuster). Detective Pucci penned the foreword for her book. Kiersten has spent the past 20 years as a professional public speaker talking about her entrepreneurial journey and how she healed from childhood sexual abuse. 

In addition to heading up NILJ and working with Hollywood producers to adapt her memoir for the screen, Kiersten is the Chief Marketing Officer for Moonshot—a 24-year-old nonprofit that helps entrepreneurs across Arizona and beyond. She currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, Scott, and pup, Scout.

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