From CMO to Care Homes: Rich Williams on Purpose, Burnout, and Scaling the Hard Way

In this very first episode of Scaling Up, Not Giving Up, I’m joined by Rich Williams – a former CMO who walked away from a high-paying global role (while his wife was seven months pregnant) to start again with just a paintbrush, a gut instinct, and a business idea he couldn’t shake.Today, Rich leads a group of companies focused on changing the lives of young people across education, care, and training – all built from the ground up.We talk about:🎯 Why he walked away from the “perfect job”🧠 How ADHD became his hiring superpower🚩 The costly impact of one bad hire🔥 What burnout taught him about scaling sustainably🤖 How he’s using AI to match young people to tutors, mentors – even care plans💡 And why letting go is the only way to growIt’s raw, reflective, and packed with lessons for any founder trying to build something real – without losing their mind, their mission, or their sense of self.