We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lindsay Ruiz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lindsay below.

Lindsay, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Naming a business can definitely feel like a challenge, but for me, the name of my company “human as usual” was already part of my journey long before I officially founded the company. In fact, I first wrote it down in 2020 as part of a manifesto, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, like many people, I was reflecting deeply on the world, on business, and on the kinds of changes we needed to make moving forward.

I had been imagining what a startup of my own would be about and what it would stand for, and the name “human as usual” appeared naturally in my writing. It was embedded in the text of so many things I wrote, and when I looked back at those reflections this time around, I immediately knew it was the perfect name to lead my way forward, not just as a founder but as a human being.

The inspiration behind “human as usual” comes from a deep belief that humans are the reason, the measure, and the likelihood for staying in business. Yet, somehow along the way, we’ve settled for “business as usual,” where we often focus on profits, efficiency, and scaling up without considering the human cost. My whole idea was to challenge that to create a business that would remind us of our unchangeable worth as humans, especially in a world that’s increasingly driven by technology, money, and ego.

So “human as usual” means that as leaders we have agency to reclaim a business world where success isn’t just about chasing revenue goals, but about recognizing that the future of business relies on our ability to stay connected to our humanity while we scale. It’s about saying goodbye to the old ways of “business as usual” during times of scaling so that our companies can rely on the best of what it means to be human. That’s the assignment.

As I reflected on the growing complexities of scaleups, it became clear that the need for humanity-centered business practices is now more urgent than ever. We are seeing this shift in real-time. Consumers, employees, and investors are demanding that businesses operate more sustainably and ethically. Scaleups, especially, face the challenge of balancing rapid growth with maintaining their core values. I wanted to offer a new path forward where these companies don’t just chase growth but grow in ways that reflect their transformative power to lift up their people, their communities, and the world.

The mission behind “human as usual” is simple but profound: we believe that scaling generatively, while advancing humankind, is the future of business. It’s a call to create companies that are not only economic engines but also pillars of humankind, built to deliver real value and inspire people to believe again—whether it’s in the companies they work for, the leaders they look up to, or their own potential to lead.

For me, the name wasn’t something I had to brainstorm for months. It was something I had written down in 2020 when the world felt like it was shifting under our feet. And when I revisited it, I knew it was the right name to capture the essence of what I wanted this venture to be: a reminder that at the heart of scaling, there should always be our shared humanity.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Lindsay Ruiz, and my career has been all about leading and executing complex transformational change at large scale where both the business and the people driving it can be equipped, own and deliver on that trajectory. With over two decades of leadership experience across industries like advertising, healthcare, tech, and consumer goods/ services, I’ve been instrumental for organizations looking to scale in ways that don’t just focus on profits, but prioritize the human experience.

My journey into humanity-centric transformation started through a combination of applied behavioral science, large-scale change management, and a deeply rooted conviction that people are at the core of every successful business. Over the years, I’ve worked with Fortune 500 companies, scaled startups, and growth brands to solve complex problems related to disruption, adoption, and operational challenges, but always with a focus on how to elevate the human side of business.

This conviction ultimately led me to pioneer Humanistic Generative Scaling, a blueprint capability and digital solution designed specifically to address the human complexities of hypergrowth in scaleups. It’s an approach that moves beyond traditional growth strategies, positioning companies to navigate the human tensions that often derail their scaling trajectories, while calibrating financial success with human flourishing.

I work with founders, C-suite leaders, and investors, primarily in Series B+ scaleups and mid-market businesses. They aren’t just looking for growth. They’re looking for a way to build companies that embed deep, humanistic values within their organizations. My approach helps them tackle the often overlooked human complexities that arise during scaling, from aligning team dynamics to integrating diverse technologies, all while keeping humanity at the forefront.

Unlike traditional models that treat scaling as a purely operational challenge, my work focuses on empowering businesses to scale with integrity, by building agency, self-reliance, and long-term viability to handle the ups and downs and still deliver.

I’m incredibly proud of the work we’re doing at “human as usual.” It’s a brand built on the idea that we can retire the old “business as usual” mindset and scale businesses in a way that advances humankind. We work to inspire leaders to build companies that act not just as economic engines, but as pillars of innovation and humanity, so they aren’t just successful today, but leave a lasting positive impact on the world.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Launching “human as usual” has been about making a deep personal commitment to the future I envision. I knew that if I wanted to create something that truly aligned with my values and had a meaningful impact, I’d need to make some tough decisions upfront.

So, I sold my house. It was a bold move, but it allowed me to put money in the bank, expand my runway, and invest fully in this venture. Downsizing to a space that’s about a third of what I used to live in was a deliberate choice too so I could cut costs, while ramping up agility into my life and my business. I wanted the freedom to move quickly, make smart investments, and stay lean, all while staying true to my vision for “human as usual.”

Bootstrapping has been my approach from day one, and it’s been a powerful way to stay in control of my journey. I’m not just investing in my business, I’m also making sure I can support my son through college, which was always a priority for me. It hasn’t been easy, but having skin in the game has sharpened my focus and pushed me to make every decision count.

I knew I wanted to create a company that could challenge the old way of doing things and scale in a humanistic, sustainable way. Making that initial sacrifice was the first step in building the foundation for everything that “human as usual” stands for.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Coming from a long corporate career, one of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was that leadership in a startup requires a completely different mindset that is rooted in personal agency, not just managing through systems and hierarchies. In the corporate world, there are structures, established roles, and processes that keep things moving. As a VP leading large-scale transformations, I led within defined parameters I need to often disrupt to get things done. It was about executing strategies heavily tied to a multi-faceted objective and aligning teams within a broader organizational framework.

When I started “human as usual,” I quickly realized that those same corporate methods weren’t going to work here. As a founder, I had to step into a much more fluid role making decisions with far less certainty, and embodying my own leadership in a way that merged my personal and business brand: being the driving force behind every decision, every opportunity, and every challenge. There’s no safety net, no built-in support system. I had to fully embrace my personal leadership agency and be comfortable with the fact that I was the one setting the tone, building the systems, and creating the vision from scratch.

The corporate mindset of relying on existing systems was something I had to shed quickly. My role as founder, I had to learn how to trust my own instincts, build as I went, and lead with flexibility, creativity, and heart. I had to learn that, in my new leadership capacity, my decisions need to align every aspect of my work with my values.

Unlearning the idea that structure equals stability was freeing. I found that by leaning into my own leadership and creating my own framework through Humanistic Generative Scaling, I could build a business that didn’t just reflect my experience, but also my beliefs about how businesses should operate with humanity at the center. This was a profound shift from corporate leadership, but one that gave me the freedom to truly shape the kind of impact I wanted to have.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.humanasusual.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsayruiz/
• Other: https://intro.co/LindsayRuiz