We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Evans a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brandon, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I founded and led tech companies valued at nearly half a billion dollars, and built multiple eight and nine-figure startups by age 35. At age 36, I had raised $20MM for my latest startup from prominent West Coast VCs. I had built the company up to around 100 employees and revenues were rapidly growing. When my VCs came to me to raise the next round of financing, something within me sank and I knew I couldn’t do it. In that moment I felt something awaken in me, a deeper purpose. It was clear to me at that time that this wasn’t it. After I refused to raise the next round multiple times, my investors asked me to step down from the startup I had founded.
I had never been fired before, and this put me in new territory. I was “lost” and wasn’t sure what to do next. Around this time, I discovered the psychedelic plant medicine ayahuasca. Through the medicine, I started learning how to step outside my deeply analytical mind and connect with my heart and intuition. I spent the next few years really exploring myself through travel, coaching programs, and many other spiritual and personal growth modalities. After a couple years, I had shifted many aspects of my life and who I was and didn’t know how to tell those around me who I now was.
So, I wrote an article titled, Lost on Purpose. I posted in on Medium despite having no followers there. It was a long (24 minute read) but despite all that, it went viral. Tens-of-thousands read it and many responded to me. The responses were very similar, it was a lot of high performers and achievers who had done the things and checked the boxes. And, like I had been, they lacked the joy, fulfillment and meaning in their lives. They didn’t know where to turn or what to do next.
From this, 1heart was born. Through my Journey, I learned from many great teachers. My teachers included modern, science-based coaching on flow state and mindset to the ancient wisdom of plant medicines. I decided to bring all this together in a comprehensive 8-week program, which includes a 1-week retreat with ayahuasca in our eco-wonderland home in Costa Rica. The program proved so transformative that it became clear that this was my life’s work. The mission is to elevate the life, mission, and community of heart-centered leaders who together raise the collective consciousness to transform our world through love.
To date, we have brought around 1,000 leaders through the program on 23 Journeys. Each Journey unites 40+ inspirational leaders, entrepreneurs, and creators at a beautiful location in Costa Rica, featuring sacred plant medicine integrated with many other ancient and modern modalities as part of the curated experience. Our 200+ reviews are all well beyond 5-stars. In addition to the 8-week program, we’ve created a lifelong community. We now have in-person local groups in a dozen major markets as well as virtual meetups that all our alumni get free access to.
Brandon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I founded and led tech companies valued at nearly half a billion dollars, and built multiple eight and nine-figure startups by age 35. At age 36, I had raised $20MM for my latest startup from prominent West Coast VCs. I had built the company up to around 100 employees and revenues were rapidly growing. When my VCs came to me to raise the next round of financing, something within me sank and I knew I couldn’t do it. In that moment I felt something awaken in me, a deeper purpose. It was clear to me at that time that this wasn’t it. After I refused to raise the next round multiple times, my investors asked me to step down from the startup I had founded.
I had never been fired before, and this put me in new territory. I was “lost” and wasn’t sure what to do next. Around this time, I discovered the psychedelic plant medicine ayahuasca. Through the medicine, I started learning how to step outside my deeply analytical mind and connect with my heart and intuition. I spent the next few years really exploring myself through travel, coaching programs, and many other spiritual and personal growth modalities. After a couple years, I had shifted many aspects of my life and who I was and didn’t know how to tell those around me who I now was.
So, I wrote an article titled, Lost on Purpose. I posted in on Medium despite having no followers there. It was a long (24 minute read) but despite all that, it went viral. Tens-of-thousands read it and many responded to me. The responses were very similar, it was a lot of high performers and achievers who had done the things and checked the boxes. And, like I had been, they lacked the joy, fulfillment and meaning in their lives. They didn’t know where to turn or what to do next.
From this, 1heart was born. Through my Journey, I learned from many great teachers. My teachers included modern, science-based coaching on flow state and mindset to the ancient wisdom of plant medicines. I decided to bring all this together in a comprehensive 8-week program, which includes a 1-week retreat with ayahuasca in our eco-wonderland home in Costa Rica. The program proved so transformative that it became clear that this was my life’s work. The mission is to elevate the life, mission, and community of heart-centered leaders who together raise the collective consciousness to transform our world through love.
To date, we have brought around 1,000 leaders through the program on 23 Journeys. Each Journey unites 40+ inspirational leaders, entrepreneurs, and creators at a beautiful location in Costa Rica, featuring sacred plant medicine integrated with many other ancient and modern modalities as part of the curated experience. Our 200+ reviews are all well beyond 5-stars. In addition to the 8-week program, we’ve created a lifelong community. We now have in-person local groups in a dozen major markets as well as virtual meetups that all our alumni get free access to.
We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.
When I sold my first business to a major advertising holding company in New York, I remember it not feeling how I thought it would. Despite a large financial outcome, I didn’t feel different. As the business was selling, I had already spun off a separate tech company and begun raising venture capital for it. I wasn’t able to sit in the celebration of the sale for weeks let alone days. I just kept going as I had done for my 15+ year career at that point. I was always working, always on to the next goal with little time to celebrate the one just achieved.
While I gained some financial security from operating this way, I soon learned that it was unsustainable and unfulfilling. I believe this was the moment when I started really questioning the path I was on. If I wasn’t feeling the joy and meaning now, when would I? When I sold a larger company? I began to realize it would never be enough. I started to see how what I was chasing was not what would allow me to feel whole and at peace.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Throughout my career, what I am most proud of is the cultures of the companies I’ve led. My first two companies each were named Crain’s Best Place to Work in New York. At my current company 1heart, our team is a family. We have people continually wanting to work for/with us. These companies are quite different. Two were adtech companies in New York and my current is a transformational travel company which host leaders on spiritual retreats to Costa Rica.
I believe the secret in both cases was hiring people I really liked. I’ve been fortunate to have a sense for really good people. When you can look someone in the eyes and really feel who they are as a person, feel their commitment, their passion and their heart, it can set a team up for great success. By bringing people together who really like each other, like the mission of what they are doing and feel they have a strong role to play, the culture really develops itself.
While we’ve had the fun perks at the companies, it wasn’t that that kept people there. It was always their co-workers and the collaboration. It was also their ability to step into new things, to grow, and to be challenged. In all my companies, people grew fast. We often hired new grads and in years they would be running major pieces of the business. When people have those types of opportunities working alongside people they love with a shared commitment to build something great, morale is typically sky high.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.1heart.com and www.brandonevans.be
- Instagram: @1heartjourneys and @brandone
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonevans/
- Twitter: @brandone
