Lead with Focus - Mathias Ihlenfeld For founders, executives, and creators who want to lead with vision, not noise Hi My Friends and Supporters, Thanksgiving week always brings me back to gratitude—and this year, I'm feeling it more than ever. You've probably heard that gratitude is good for you, but it's worth repeating: it literally rewires your brain to think more positively. It helps you feel less stressed and anxious, boosts your mood naturally, and makes you happier overall. Plus, when...
1 day ago • 2 min read
Celebrating Women's Founders Reflecting on an Evening of Women Founders and Community Wednesday night at The Modern was one of those evenings I'll carry with me for a long time. Not because everything went perfectly. Not because we had the biggest crowd or the fanciest setup. But because of what happened when we all showed up—14 female founders, 5 brave enough to take the stage, and around 50 people who chose to spend their evening supporting something real. The Power of Showing Up I'm...
1 day ago • 2 min read
In 2019, my company hit $15M in revenue. Inc. 5000. 742% growth rate. Press coverage. The whole nine yards. From the outside, I was crushing it. Inside, I was drowning in questions I couldn't ask anyone: Should I take institutional capital or stay bootstrapped? Is my leadership team capable of scaling to $50M? What decisions am I making today that are killing my exit valuation? My team had opinions but no experience at this scale. My advisors had frameworks but no scars. My successful friends...
16 days ago • 6 min read
Lead with Focus - Mathias Ihlenfeld For founders, executives, and creators who want to lead with vision, not noise Wall Street's 50-year monopoly just ended—and if you're scaling a Texas company, this changes everything about your future For 50 years, if you wanted to take your company public, you had two choices: NYSE or NASDAQ. Both in New York. That ended September 30th when the Texas Stock Exchange got SEC approval, backed by BlackRock, Citadel, and Charles Schwab. Goldman Sachs is moving...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Join Me at the Birthing of Giants Regional Cohort Program Info Session - Austin, TX Date: January 15, 2026Location: Austin, TexasRegister Now for the Info Session If you're a business owner in Central Texas running a company in the 7-8 digit revenue range, I want to invite you to something I'm genuinely excited about—an info session for the Birthing of Giants Regional Cohort Program. This isn't just another networking event. It's an opportunity to learn about a proven program designed to help...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
I walked into the YETI flagship store in Austin tonight expecting a standard networking event. What I got instead was a front-row seat to history in the making. Jeff Karcher, Global Managing Director of the Texas Stock Exchange, laid out a vision that's been years in development but is only now coming into focus. This isn't just another stock exchange. This is about breaking a 50-year duopoly and creating real choice for companies. As a Regional Cohort Leader for Birthing of Giants, I spend...
about 2 months ago • 13 min read
Lead with Focus - Mathias Ihlenfeld For founders, executives, and creators who want to lead with vision, not noise Big Shifts in My Life I feel inspired to share a few updates on where I’m headed in my life. I have been doing a lot of soul searching and am now sharing my new direction. Think of it as a quick pulse on what’s unfolding.......... My Realization If you’ve been following me, you know I’ve been working on my next move after woom. In the meantime, I’ve taken time to reflect. I’ve...
2 months ago • 2 min read
How balancing structure and spontaneity fuels both sustainable businesses and lasting relationships When it comes to how we move through the world, most of us lean one way or the other: 👉 The Organizers – structured, disciplined, plan-driven.👉 The Go-With-the-Flow Types – spontaneous, adaptable, intuitive. If you know me, you won’t be surprised — I’m more of a go-with-the-flow type. I trust my gut, move quickly, and welcome change. That instinct has fueled much of my entrepreneurial journey....
2 months ago • 3 min read
As the founder of woom USA, I led the company from a garage startup into one of North America’s fastest-growing kids’ bike brands. The pressure was relentless. Those years were filled with stress, sleepless nights, and a nonstop pace that eventually caught up with me. That search for better sleep led me somewhere unexpected: meditation. I wrote more about those years in Bootstrapping from $0 to $20MM: What It Really Took to Build woom USA. What I didn’t share in detail there was how stress...
2 months ago • 4 min read