Independence by Design™ #442: Alex McClafferty | What Happens When You Can't Outwork the Truth Anymore
What happens when the business you built no longer protects you from the parts of yourself you've been avoiding? Alex McClafferty co-founded and sold WP Curve to GoDaddy—but it wasn’t until after the exit that he found himself face-to-face with an identity crisis, emotional collapse, and a brutal confrontation with his shadow self.
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In this raw and wide-ranging conversation, we talk about what it means to lose your sense of self after a big win, why so many entrepreneurs use their businesses to avoid personal pain, and what it takes to rebuild meaning, discipline, and alignment from the ground up. Alex opens up about the cost of constantly chasing validation, what really drove his burnout, and how he’s since redefined success by giving, not proving.
We also dive into the addictive energy that fuels many high performers, the hidden danger of unresolved ambition, and the path toward true integration—not just surface-level wellness. If you’ve ever felt like your business is both your escape and your identity, this one will hit deep.
Alex McClafferty is the co-founder of WP Curve, which was acquired by GoDaddy in 2016. Post-exit, he went through a full-on personal breakdown that became a catalyst for deep transformation. Today, he coaches founders to scale without losing their marbles—bringing sharp insight, deep compassion, and zero bullshit. With firsthand experience of what it means to lose your identity to your business (and rebuild from the inside out), Alex helps entrepreneurs find clarity, integration, and purpose on the other side of success.
Chapters:
- (00:00) Introduction - Alex McClafferty
- (07:00) Facing the shadow: psychedelics, identity, and emotional breakdowns
- (15:00) Why you can't skip steps in personal transformation
- (24:00) Burnout, validation, and chasing pressure for its own sake
- (32:30) Coaching, impact, and redefining work around giving
- (41:10) Integration, timing, and compassion for self and others
- (49:00) Dopamine, addiction, and noble aims
- (57:00) Control, ego, and how goals can either heal or harm you
- (1:04:00) Truth, timing, and the slow process of rebuilding from the inside out
- (1:12:00) What Alex would tell his 2016 self—and what he's learned since
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Resources:
Alex McClafferty LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-mcclafferty/
IBD Owner’s Scorecard: Time, Cash Flow, Equity trade-offs https://ryantansom.com/clarify-goals
Independence by Design™ Workshop: https://ryantansom.com/independence-by-design-workshop
Independence by Design™ Ownership Coaching: Ryan Tansom’s Ownership Accelerator programs and coaching https://ryantansom.com/coaching
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/
Ryan Tansom LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryantansom/
Ryan Tansom Twitter https://twitter.com/RyanTansom
Ryan Tansom YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@ryantansom
Ryan Tansom 30-Minute Ownership Strategy Call https://calendar.app.google/tsKk7z6ohugDchWq8