Finding Purpose Out of Pain: Shawn Lesser on Mental Health & Entrepreneurship

Shawn Lesser, Cofounder of The Real, shares how burnout, depression, and identity tied to business shaped his journey and inspired a platform helping entrepreneurs find purpose through shared challenges.⭐ My guest today is Shawn Lesser, Cofounder of The Real (current role) and Cofounder of Big Path Capital (prior role).The Real is helping entrepreneurs deal with burnout and depression by connecting with others going through those same mental health challenges.Big Path Capital is, according to Barron’s, “The Impact Investment Bank.” Their network of 2,500+ limited partners (investors) and 200+ impact-focused private equity firms led to billions of dollars flowing into companies that prioritize both profit and positive environmental or social impacts.---🎙️ In this episode, we talked about:What triggered his depressionThe impacts of having too much of his identity tied up in his businessWhy a fish bowl being shaken up relates to where he wasWhat he learned after spending three stints in centers to boost his mental healthThe speaking tour that he and his cofounder, Brent Herd, are onWhy The Real is about finding purpose out of painWhat an Uber driver and a post-exit entrepreneur with $800M in cash have in commonAnd lots more---👍 Quick favor: Please leave a review or 5-star rating on your podcast player. This helps more listeners discover the climate CEOs and investors I interview here. 🙏---🌎 Entrepreneurs for Impact is on a mission to help climate founders, CEOs, and investors scale faster via the #1 peer group community in North America. Our invite-only cohorts grow through monthly meetings, annual retreats, and 1:1 coaching calls. Today’s highly vetted members represent over $8B in market cap or assets under management. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Programs are led by Dr. Chris Wedding — 4x founder, $1B of investment experience, and Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill professor, with 70,000+ professional students taught, 25 years of meditation, an obsession with constant improvement, and far too many mistakes to keep to himself.And here's our weekly newsletter — A 2-minute summary of climate tech startups, impact investing, and leading with purpose (and a sense of humor). ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠