This Product Leader Changed Herself to Please Her Boss—Then Reached a Breaking Point (Mackenzie Hughes)

Mackenzie Hughes, Co-Founder of GoldHue and former Product Ops Leader, shares how she navigated career pivots, overcame self-doubt, and ultimately built a business rooted in purpose.

From knocking on doors as a political canvasser to leading product teams at high-growth startups.

Mackenzie reflects on the pressures of leadership, the identity shifts that come with climbing the corporate ladder, and the moment she realized she had been contorting herself to fit an environment that was never built for her.

Mackenzie opens up about:

- The gut feeling she ignored when stepping into a leadership role

- Why corporate “professionalism” often reinforces bias and how she stopped playing the game

- The hard-won lesson that success isn’t about making more money, it’s about aligning with what actually matters

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Changing yourself to fit in

(02:06) Why Mackenzie values vulnerability and honest conversations

(08:45) Early career: Political and nonprofit campaigns

(09:10) Thanks to our sponsor, Fullstory

(14:30) Overcoming fear of public speaking

(23:35) A career low point: Feeling disillusioned in her last role

(29:19) A coach’s insight that helped Mackenzie find authenticity

(32:32) Enabling the patriarchy vs. staying true to herself

(36:29) The challenge of under-resourcing and lack of support

(46:38) Losing herself in a money-driven mindset

(51:00) Creating a vision board and defining her ideal state

This episode is presented by:

Fullstory: Surface User Sentiment with Behavioral Data - https://fullstory.com/value

Resources:

Connect with Mackenzie::

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

GoldHue: https://www.goldhue.co/

Connect with Andrew:

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

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