The High-EQ Founder With Renita Kalhorn

In this episode, I break down the Founder State Matrix — a diagnostic tool that maps the four states founders cycle through, from fear-driven burnout to vision-driven flow. You'll learn which state you're actually in, why most burnout advice doesn't work, and what's really driving your decisions and your team's behavior. Plus, real examples of founders who've made the shift from running on fear to...

Deep tech now accounts for 25% of new unicorn startups — but building a sustainable deep tech business is one of the hardest things you can do. So what separates the founders who go the distance from those who burn out? In this episode, I’m speaking with Chris Reichhelm, founder of Deep Tech Leaders, who’s spent 30 years in executive search working with the most ambitious companies on the planet —...

Most people don't associate empathy with the Special Forces. But in this episode, a Green Beret Captain shows us exactly what strategic empathy looks like in practice — and why it might be the most powerful leadership tool you're not using. Learn what it actually means to have empathy and three moves you can start using today — in your 1:1s, town halls, and board meetings. Get full access to The H...

In this episode, I break down two reframes that will change how you think about giving feedback. You'll learn why most feedback creates resistance instead of change, what continuous feedback actually looks like in practice, and how to give critical feedback without triggering a defensive reaction. Plus, real examples from founders who've made the shift. Get full access to The High-EQ Founder by Re...

In this episode, I’m speaking with Sarah Fleischer , co-founder and CEO of battery recycling startup tozero . With global lithium demand set to quadruple by 2030, Sarah and her team are on a mission to recover critical raw materials from lithium-ion batteries and reintroduce fresh raw materials back into the supply chain. Sarah and I talked about: * making fast decisions based on first principles...

Today, I’m speaking with Deepak Shukla , serial entrepreneur and CEO at Pearl Lemon Group, a diverse portfolio of 10+ companies, some of them very brick and mortar, like pet transport and event catering. We talked about: * why going into business with old friends often doesn’t work * what the sweet spot for finding business partners and co-founders actually is, and how to align expectations upfron...

In an age of AI, self-awareness will be a meta-skill. In this episode I zoom out and take a broader look — not as a fluffy “nice-to-have,” but as a practical operating system for how you lead, make decisions, and navigate hard conversations. Links mentioned in this episode: Schedule a call to get acquainted and let's see if the High-EQ Founder group coaching program is a fit. Want to get to Level...

What if the key to game-changing partnerships isn’t strategy but emotional mastery? Too many founders enter negotiations armed with data and ambition but unprepared for emotional dynamics that make or break deals. In this episode you’ll learn: ✅ Renita Kalhorn’s practical system (FASTT) to anticipate emotional landmines in deals ✅ How to reframe “practice” as the most underused leadership advant...

Today, I’m speaking with Raman Ramalingan, a Partner at TalentX,who helps tech founders and their leadership teams hire the right people at the right time so they can scale through critical growth phases — the more complex or borderline impossible the assignment, the better . We talked about: * the difference between hiring a “talent investor” versus a “talent trader.” * the “affordability paradox...

There's a lot of hype around disruption and building a "blue ocean" business: Where you create new, uncontested market space rather than competing head-to-head in existing markets. But here’s a reality check: 90% of startups fail and 42% of those fail because they create something nobody wants. Meanwhile, savvy startups are looking for a "purple ocean" — taking proven ideas and applying them to sp...

Did you know companies 'lose' 10-15% of their physical assets every year? That's thousands of chairs, computers, mobile devices and specialized equipment that just get moved around or disappear. So what happens? Operations managers end up buying replacements for stuff they already have. No wonder the asset tracking market is on track to hit $55.1 billion by 2026. On the latest episode of The High-...

Ever been on a cruise? If not, no doubt you know someone who has. Because the global cruise industry is big business and growing steadily: There are about 323 cruise ships out there right now, and each one is serving over 20,000 meals a day. That's a ton of food on board these floating cities. And with all that food comes a serious question: how do you manage the supply chain and minimize waste? O...

Most of the news you hear about startups is about how much VC funding they raised. But what if VC rejection is exactly what your startup needs to succeed? That’s what happened to one of the biotech startups launched by CAOS Focado , a venture builder that helps deep tech founders survive the brutal early days of building a business. In the latest episode of The High-EQ Founder, I dive into the bac...

The next cohort of The High-EQ Founder will be starting soon. If you’re ready to level up your leadership skills, sign up for the waitlist here . Want to find out your Founder EQ? Take the 3-minute assessment here (it’s free). Get full access to The High-EQ Founder by Renita Kalhorn at renitakalhorn.substack.com/subscribe

The audio version of The High-EQ Founder newsletter. Get full access to The High-EQ Founder by Renita Kalhorn at renitakalhorn.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Nearly 2 million tons of microplastic end up in our oceans every year. Not from bottles or bags—from paint. Think about it: Every massive structure in the ocean—oil rigs, wind turbines, bridges—needs regular repainting to prevent rust. When workers blast off the old paint, guess where it goes? Straight into the water. And those tiny paint particles are ac...

Today, I'm speaking with San Kim, CEO and founder of Swing, the largest shared micromobility operator in Asia - and that’s saying a lot because Asia is one of the world's largest shared micromobility markets, expected to reach nearly $24 billion by 2031. We talked about: * How he went from having three co-founders to being a solo founder in the first 12 months . * How being sued by a competitor an...

Property development has long been a lucrative vehicle for investment. But it’s an exclusive club, traditionally accessible only to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. As a hobbyist investor in Bitcoin with a 27-year career in construction operations, Gary Woodhead saw an opportunity with potential for huge societal impact. What if working-class people – nurses, taxi drivers, t...

Jehiel Oliver is changing the lives of smallholder farmers in 18 countries. It started 10 years ago in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 60% of crops are plowed by hand. That means there’s a 90% gap between what Africa’s smallholder farmers could be producing and what they’re actually producing. But what if, Jehiel thought, you could connect Africa’s small-scale farmers with tractor owners — in the same w...

Kuan Yen Tan has a high tolerance for risk. Back in 2017, he was working as a senior research scientist at Microsoft and quantum computing was barely attracting VC attention. But, despite having a young, growing family, Kuan took a big leap of faith:He left Microsoft to be CTO and co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers .Fast forward to today:Global investment in quantum computing has grown to $55+ bi...

Europe is often cited for its world-class scientific talent and research universities. And yet, so much potential for innovation remains untapped due to IP ownership rules that can make spinout companies un-investable and hard to scale. Riam Kanso, Ph. D, wants to change that. As founder and CEO of venture program Conception X, she's on a  mission to accelerate the commercialization of scientific...

People don’t quit bad jobs, they quit bad bosses, goes the saying. And yet, a majority of managers — nearly 6 out of 10 according to one CareerBuilder study — are expected to build and grow high-performance teams without any formal management training. Darja Gutnick, psychologist gone rogue, wants to change that. As CEO and co-founder of leadership coaching app bunch.ai , she’s on a mission to hel...

"When we talk to end users, they are so emotional about the fact that this is my job and I really want to make this happen but I can't because the status quo is just making my life miserable. And so it's a mindset shift, more than a technology shift."   These are the words of Bianca Cefalo, the CEO and cofounder of SpaceDOTS , who’s working to accelerate innovation in space by reducing the develop...

I often say founders are like the Navy SEALs of business: They're both leading small, agile teams, in stealth mode, through uncertainty and chaos. And because the stakes are high, their success relies on a culture of psychological safety and trust.   Retired Navy SEAL Dave Cooper built some of the best teams in the Navy SEALs — he's the one who oversaw the training for SEAL Team Six in preparing f...

"I mean, it was beautiful, with loads of nuances and touches to make it user-friendly but we should have built an MVP way quicker. We should have just gotten a box, shoved some LED lights in it, built 10 of them, put them in a net [and asked potential users], does this work for you?” This — the pitfalls of spending too much money and time over-designing their first product — was one of the first l...