Scaling Impact: Scot Chisholm on Evolving from Founder to Leader

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, Neal Bloom sits down with Scot Chisholm, the founder of Highland and co-founder of Classy, to discuss what it truly takes to scale leadership alongside a growing company. After leading Classy from a small startup to its acquisition by GoFundMe, Scot saw firsthand that scaling a company is only possible if you scale its leaders.That insight led to the creation of Highland—a community-driven leadership experience designed for high-growth founders to navigate the challenges of leadership, build better teams, and sustain long-term success. Scot shares the key inflection points in his own journey, the biggest lessons learned, and how founders can avoid the leadership pitfalls that stall growth.🔥 In This Episode, We Cover:• The hardest challenges Scot faced as a founder and how they shaped his leadership.• Why scaling a company is impossible without scaling leadership.• How Highland is redefining leadership development for high-growth founders.• The “Founder Mode vs. Leader Mode” framework and how to transition effectively.• The mindset shift from running a company to empowering teams to run it with you.• And of course, his favorite taco spots! 🌮🚀 Resources & Mentions:🔗 Scot Chisholm’s Website🔗 Classy🔗 Highland🔗 How to Scale Your Company in Founder Mode🔗 The article Scot mentions getting good PR during the hard times🔗 Previous Tacos & Tech Episode with Scot Chisholm🌮 Tune in to hear how Scot turned leadership challenges into a playbook for growth—and why Highland is the community every founder needs. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe