“You Haven’t Built Anything”: The Feedback That Triggered Imposter Syndrome (Amaan Nathoo)

Amaan Nathoo is a former VP of Growth turned fractional growth advisor, with deep experience navigating fast-growing startups and the emotional rollercoaster of career transitions. In this episode, Amaan opens up about how a founder’s offhand remark early in a new role shook his confidence, how imposter syndrome shows up in subtle ways, and why he ultimately chose to walk away from a full-time leadership role to build a consulting practice from scratch.

Amaan opens up about:

- What happened when a founder questioned if he’d ever “built anything”

- Why unchecked frustrations almost cost him his job—and how he turned it around

- How childhood dynamics and survival mindsets shaped his risk tolerance

Things to listen for:

(00:00) A founder’s surprising comment and redefining what it means to build

(00:22) Meet Amaan: from durable growth roles to going solo

(07:14) Learning empathy and resilience through door-to-door sales

(09:26) Thank you to our sponsors, Navattic & Appcues

(12:24) A failed startup and the founder who believed in him anyway

(15:56) The moment Amaan realized his work environment wasn’t working

(20:12) Building is subjective—so is value

(24:29) Dealing with imposter syndrome and second-guessing yourself

(28:50) A recurring early-career mistake: letting frustration fester

(43:36) Navigating the decision to leave a role

(52:44) Knowing when discomfort is productive and when it’s not

(56:06) Time, autonomy, and the dream of doing work you love

(59:03) The value of perspective and what makes a truly great leader

(01:00:52) Book recs: Trillion Dollar Coach and Principles by Ray Dalio

This episode is presented by:

Navattic: Interactive Product Demo Software - https://navattic.com/value

Appcues: User Engagement for SaaS - https://appcues.com/value

Resources:

Connect with Amaan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amaannathoo/

Website: https://revenuegrowth.tech/

Connect with Andrew:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcapland/

Substack: https://media.deliveringvalue.co

Hire Andrew as your coach: https://deliveringvalue.co/coaching