Stress, Panic Attacks, Debilitating Anxiety, and a $170M Exit: iContact Founder Aaron Houghton

This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boulay, the industry standard for Quality of Earnings, tax, and audit services, serving search fund entrepreneurs for 20+ years⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

*

This episode is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Oberle Risk Strategies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Insurance Broker and Insurance Due Diligence Provider for Search Funds and Other Small-to-Medium-Sized Businesses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

*

Aaron Houghton is a serial entrepreneur, having launched more than 10 companies in his career, with the most famous arguably iContact, an email and marketing automation tool that he sold for $170M prior to his 30th birthday. Among countless other accolades, Aaron was selected as an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008, and was listed to Inc Magazine's 30 Under 30 list in 2010. He now spends his time running Dory, a company that helps high performers under high levels of stress optimize their performance.

In Aaron's words, his "success came with the hidden costs of long-term stress including panic attacks, debilitating anxiety, burnout, and mental breakdown”. We dig into the psychological realities of entrepreneurship quite deeply in our discussion today, and discuss how his struggles led to a five-year study of how entrepreneurs manage stress, and the tools & techniques they can utilize for achieving high performance while maintaining mental and physical health.