A couple of weeks ago, I read an article that got under my skin.
(Strap in, friends. Peeved LGO incoming.)
Nina Ajemian wrote a solid piece in the new MPW Daily about female founders heading back to school after their exits. It’s thoughtful. It’s well-researched. And still—it misses the mark.
Because it frames these women like they’re slinking into classrooms, heads down, chasing validation. As if their success wasn’t enough. As if they need a permission slip to start again. As if the perception gap isn’t bullshit.
Yes, women need more pedigrees, experience, certifications, champions than men. That’s a story as old as time. But going back to school because we, ourselves, think we aren’t good enough? Hard pass on that little logic flaw which is, I’m angered to say, fully perpetuated by this article.
Let’s set the record straight—for them, for me, and for you. (And even for Nina to whom I reached out, for the record, but never heard back.)
You don’t go back to school because you’re not enough. You go because you’re not done.
Yes, I sold my company. Yes, I’m going back to school. Not because I need the credentials (though let’s be real, “Dr.” sounds sexy on a keynote stage).
I’m doing it because I got bored. Because I was on autopilot. Because winning started to feel like coasting, and coasting turns into crashing if you’re not careful.
Sound familiar? It should. It’s what I call the Loop-de-Loop in Wonderhell—that wild cycle of success, restlessness, and reinvention. Whitney Johnson calls it the Beginner’s Mindset. I call it staying alive.
You hit the top of one mountain? Great. Now go find a bigger one.
Here’s what the MPW piece missed:
Founders aren’t heading back to school to impress anyone. We’re doing it because we’re already knee-deep in research, in growth, in what’s next. We’re not chasing gold stars—we’re building new engines.
A year ago I sat down with Dr. Laura Huang—yes, the same one quoted in Nina’s article—and we hashed it out over coffee. I wasn’t looking for permission. I was figuring out how to make this next step work smarter. Because that’s the thing about founders: we don’t waste time. If I’m doing the work, I might as well earn the letters.
This isn’t about proving worth. It’s about becoming more of who we already are.
And yes, I’m joining the first cohort of Babson’s Doctor of Business Administration this fall. Not because I have something to prove. But because I’m still building. Because I’m still evolving. And if that screws with someone’s outdated perception gap, that’s their problem, not mine.
The one thing I know to be true this week is this: You don’t need a second act to impress anyone. But you damn well better have one to impress yourself.
Feeling stuck at the top? Do the scary thing. Hit restart. Grab your copy of Wonderhell and dig into the Loop-de-Loop chapter. Or read that free chapter here.
Shoutout to Whitney Johnson, whose work on disruption and beginner’s mindset gives me the push every time I need to leap. Her book Disrupt Yourself should be required reading for anyone not dead inside. And to Dr. Laura Huang, whose new book, You Already Know, is a masterclass in learning to trust your gut.
If this hit a nerve, pass it on. Forward it. Post it. Hell, scream it from the rooftop. And while you’re at it, if you are enjoying my writing, leave a review for Wonderhell. Those reviews are lifeblood for authors like me.
