Hey Reader,
The Austin Business Review just featured me in their latest edition but this wasn't your typical founder interview.
Ethan Brooks asked the questions that make you uncomfortable:
The dishwasher question: "You are doing $15M a year in sales but doing dishes by hand. What's that about?"
The abandoned belief: "What did you get wrong about entrepreneurship?"
The transformation moment: "What $500 purchase changed your life?"
and more....
The kind of interview where you say things you don't usually say publicly.
You can read the full Q&A here - I shared some things I've honestly never talked about publicly before.
But there's one moment from that conversation that keeps coming back to me:
Running a $15 million business in 2018. Couldn't afford to fix our dishwasher.
11 PM. Hands covered in soapy water. I'd maxed out credit cards, sold my condo, emptied my retirement accounts - all to bootstrap the business. I wore that sacrifice like a badge of honor.
That's when it hit me: Something's off here.
I thought bootstrapping as long as possible was what "real entrepreneurs" did. I believed taking outside capital meant giving up control or taking the easy way out. I was so committed to proving I could do it myself that I'd lost sight of whether I was actually building something sustainable.
The problem wasn't my work ethic. It was my approach. There's a difference between being resourceful and being unnecessarily stubborn.
Which brings me to something I want to share with you as we kick off 2026...
Before I tell you what actually works, let me ask you something:
Do you have a goal right now that you've been "working on" for 6+ months?
Not making progress on it doesn't mean you're lazy or undisciplined. It means you don't have a system.
Here's what's actually happening...
The Resolution Trap
(And Why You Keep Falling Into It)
You know the pattern.
January 1st rolls around and the excitement hits. New gym membership. Fresh start. This year feels different.
By mid-February? Things have quietly slipped back to normal.
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. And here's the thing: it's not about willpower or discipline.
The traditional resolution approach is designed to fail.
Here's why: We set goals when motivation is sky-high but our understanding of what it actually takes is practically zero.
We don't realize that the first month of any new habit shows minimal visible results. We underestimate how long it takes before things start clicking.
So we start with genuine enthusiasm. Then reality sets in around week 2-3.
The work is still hard, but the results are still small. And that gap-between effort and outcome-is where most of us lose steam.
The irony? That's usually right before the breakthrough.
What Actually Works
Working with my coach Michael Mackintosh from the Awakened Academy, I discovered why most New Year's resolutions fail-and more importantly, what actually works instead.
It's not about motivation. It's not about willpower. It's about having a system.
I've been using this framework with my coaching clients. Some finally make the hires they've been planning for months. Others break through patterns they've been stuck in. The common thread? They realize they were never the problem - the approach was.
If you're tired of setting goals that go nowhere, I wrote the complete solution here:
Are You a "New Year's Resolution Person?" →
The article breaks down exactly why resolutions fail, what's happening in your brain when you quit, and the specific framework that gets results. It's the same system I use with clients-and now you can use it too.
Why This Matters to Me
That dishwasher moment taught me something important: There's a difference between being resourceful and being stuck in a mindset that doesn't serve you anymore.
I thought bootstrapping as long as possible was the right path - and for a while, it was. It taught me discipline, creativity, and how to do more with less. But at some point, what got me to $20M wasn't going to get me to $100M.
My job wasn't to prove I could do it all myself. It was to build something that lasts. That meant getting strategic about where I focused my energy - and knowing when to ask for help, bring in capital, or change my approach.
Once I made that shift, everything opened up. I started coaching and mentoring other founders. I created The RECLAIM Code. And I found my true calling in helping others navigate these transitions without the unnecessary struggle.
Here's what I've learned: Whether you're running a business, climbing the corporate ladder, building something on the side, or just trying to make meaningful progress on something that matters to you - the principle is the same.
Doing more doesn't create sustainable results. Doing the RIGHT things with focus does.
That's true whether you're:
- A professional trying to get promoted or transition careers
- A parent balancing work and family while pursuing personal goals
- An entrepreneur at any stage
- Anyone with a goal that keeps getting pushed to "next year"
For the Business Owners in the Audience
Now, if you are running a business - especially if you're in that $5M+ range - there's something else I want to share with you.
Even if you're not at this stage yet, you might know someone who is. Or you might just find the perspective valuable for thinking about your own career trajectory.
The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship
I'm bringing Birthing of Giants to Central Texas, and hosting an information session on January 15th at 5:00 PM at Indeed Tower In Austin with Lewis Schiff, Chairman of Birthing of Giants, bestselling author (Business Brilliant, The Middle-Class Millionaire), and Forbes.com columnist.
This isn't a program pitch. Lewis and I will be discussing the Golden Age of Entrepreneurship - why we're in the most opportune time in history for middle market business owners, and how to capitalize on it.
What you'll get from the session:
- Lewis's Golden Age of Entrepreneurship presentation - why this is the most opportune time in history for middle market business owners
- The 4-lever framework (strategy, leadership, capital, operations) that's helped hundreds of businesses scale from $5M to $50M+
- Why ambitious owners who move strategically now will dominate their markets
- Connections with 15-20 other growth-oriented business owners navigating the same challenges (many solve their most pressing problem from the pre-event conversations)
This is valuable content for any ambitious middle market business owner - not just a pitch for the program.
About Birthing of Giants:
It's a two-year executive education program for owners of rapidly scaling businesses ($5M+ in revenue). Quarterly sessions focus on strategy, learning from practitioner-experts, and peer collaboration with other carefully selected local owners.
I'm a BOG graduate myself. It transformed how I approached scaling woom - the insights, connections, and frameworks were worth exponentially more than the investment.
The worst that happens? You spend an evening learning about the Golden Age of Entrepreneurship, meeting other ambitious founders, and gaining strategic insights you can implement immediately.
Register for the Info Session →
What's Your Next Move?
If you want to work on your personal or professional goals:
Read my article on what actually works when resolutions fail.
Read the article →
If you're a business owner ($5M+) who's ambitious about growth:
Join us January 15th for an informative session on the Golden Age of Entrepreneurship and strategic scaling.
Register for the info session →
If you want 1-on-1 coaching:
I work with a small number of clients each quarter on both business strategy and personal goals.
Schedule a call →
Pick one. But don't pick nothing.
The next 90 days are going to pass either way.
You can spend them the way I spent those dishwasher months-working hard but without a real system, hoping things will magically click.
Or you can be ruthlessly focused on the 3 things that actually matter.
Your move.
Mathias Ihlenfeld
(737-600-6142)
mathias.ihlenfeld@birthingofgiants.net
P.S. - Four things:
- My dishwasher works now (best $600 I ever spent)
- The article on New Year's resolutions is free. The info session is free. The only thing that costs something is not using them. Read the article | Register for BOG
- If you're not reading the Austin Business Review, you're missing out. Ethan Brooks curates the best local events and founder stories every week. My feature is in this week's edition-including some things I rarely share about my divorce, my relationship with Doralicia, raising my two kids full-time, and book recommendations that shaped my journey
- Want to work together 1-on-1? I work with a small number of clients each quarter using this framework. Schedule a free strategy call
Key Links:
About Mathias
Mathias Ihlenfeld is father of Luca (13) and Sofia (11) and an award-winning entrepreneur and the Austin, TX Cohort Leader and Coach for the Birthing of Giants Regional Cohort (birthingofgiants.com/regional-cohorts), a selective fellowship program for growth-focused founders and CEOs building high-impact companies. He is also the creator of The R.E.C.L.A.I.M. Code (Elite Personal Optimization Framework for divorced high performers). His proprietary 6-stage framework helps divorced founders rebuild identity, attract aligned love, and ignite purpose-driven business performance.
As the founder of woom bikes USA, Mathias built one of North America’s fastest-growing direct-to-consumer kids’ bike companies, earning multiple Inc. 5000 honors—including a 742% three-year growth rate in 2020—and recognition as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. In 2021, he played a pivotal role in merging the U.S. and European operations, leading the combined $100M global business as CEO in 2022 and 2023. His leadership has been recognized with honors such as Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist and the Vistage Impact Leadership Award.
A graduate of the Birthing of Giants Fellowship Program, Mathias brings decades of expertise in entrepreneurship, business transformation, and conscious leadership. Through his coaching practice, he works with founders, executives, and high-achieving men navigating personal reinvention, guiding them through identity rebuilding, emotional mastery, business growth, and relationship alignment.
Today, Mathias mentors with SKU, invests in purpose-driven brands, and writes on his Substack—sharing hard-earned lessons, strategic insight, and stories from his journey building global brands and leading life transformations.
