Alicia McKenzie(00:00.046)

We have very strong opinions, especially when it comes to like raising your children in technology. How do you even, how do you navigate that? I think we've learned the hard way. And we're trying to just share a little bit about what we've done, what's worked, what hasn't worked. How do you navigate artificial intelligence and 10 year olds? Welcome to Married to the Startup. I'm Alicia McKenzie, a wellness entrepreneur and digital creator.

you

Alicia McKenzie(00:27.776)

Alongside me is my amazing husband, George, the CEO who's always ready for a new challenge. We've been navigating marriage and running startups for over a decade, and we're here to share the real, unfiltered journey with you. Join us for insights and candid conversations about integrating love, family, and entrepreneurship. This is Married to the Startup, where every day is a new adventure.

Welcome to episode 57 of Married to the Startup. I'm the host, Alessia McKenzie.

and I am the co-host. I don't know if co-host is the right term. I'm the color man, George McKenzie.

I don't think that's the right term either.

Like in sports, there's the one that does the play by play, kind of runs it. And then there's the color man, the one that kind of just injects humor. You're called the color man. Yeah. Cause you add color to the broadcast.

Alicia McKenzie(01:15.51)

Is that his official term? It is.

Alicia McKenzie(01:22.806)

of the two of us.

It's not a literal term, dear. It is a figurative.

Which one do you think adds?

I add the comedic value for sure.

Today's episode is going to be a little bit of an intro in the sense that we've transitioned to video. So there's a lot more production going into this podcast. And we kind of came to the realization that nobody knows who the fuck we are.

George McKenzie (01:54.604)

I heard that video killed the radio star.

Yes, dear. Yeah, I said yes, dear. said yes, But I think what's really unique about the two of us is not only the longevity in our relationship, but also the sheer amount of careers we've managed to squeeze into it.

Can't just give it to me.

George McKenzie (02:21.484)

Yes, we've lived a lot of lives.

We have lived a lot of lives, but let's go ahead and like, who are you? What do you do? What's your background? What do you do now? What did you do in the past? Where did you get your start? Start from the beginning.

start from the beginning. Well, I'll do my normal thumbnail sketch. Okay. Thumbnail sketch on me. So I've been in cyber security for probably almost 30 years now. Yeah. Yeah. I started out really technical. So I was a computer science major and then transitioned to business decision sciences and management information systems as a major.

So you're a tech bro.

George McKenzie (03:02.538)

my college career. So I was already working while I was in college. I do not. do not. Okay. And then I was, yeah, I was working in technology while I was in college. So I was a full-time student and I was also a full-time employed person. Yeah. So I started my career in PKI, which was at the time, the four star public key infrastructure. So it's a way of authentication and,

You have an MBA. Do you think they're necessary?

George McKenzie (03:32.718)

I did an access management kind of solution and it was the wave of the future back then and we did a lot of smart cards and digital signatures, stuff like that. And this was in the late 90s. Okay. And then, or mid 90s. And then I transitioned to, it was an MSSP at the time, Managed Security Services Provider, but that wasn't really a term. So we were doing security operations, managed security, firewall, IDS stuff for.

What year was this though?

George McKenzie (04:01.036)

like JP Morgan, IMF and some of the other large financial institutions. you know, back then there was a lot of smart guys and you know, we, the technology really wasn't there yet. So there was no such thing as a SIM or log management. So we kind of rode our own. And then, yeah, in the DC area, when the dot-com bubble was bursting in the late nineties, early two thousands, I decided I was going to get a safe job in the government.

in the public sector and got a job with SAIC and was doing security engineering for immigration and naturalization services. And then 9-11 happened and I was part of the team that built the first DHS network and you know, the DHS security operations center incident response center, and then focus operations. And I ran that program and transitioned to a different component when the work moved. But I ran that program, was working for a couple of the big integrators and decided.

I didn't like that and I didn't like the way they kind of saw cybersecurity. So I started my own company and we bootstrapped that with the goal of being 12 people and we're going to have a fun, cool company and just run it the way we want it to run it.

This was like circa 2007, 2008. Yes. Right. So.

And I had met you about that.

Alicia McKenzie(05:17.144)

Yeah. Yeah. And it feels like so, it feels so recent yet so far.

It was, it was, it feels like yesterday from like the excitement and what we did, but then, you know, it feels like forever ago where the industry was. Yeah. So I was working at kinetic North America and I'd worked at Northrop Grumman and all of them had taken cyber and it was kind of like help desk adjacent. was like an IT thing and, you know, we just hire people and put them in there and they'll figure it out. And I didn't like that. So I took a different approach, started at the fence point and we operated that as a bootstrap company for.

Yeah.

George McKenzie (05:54.942)

Seven, eight years. And then we were acquired by Accenture and post acquisition, was a managing director at Accenture federal and I ran the federal cybersecurity horizontal, that portfolio 250 or so million when it was just getting started. I think that portfolio is over a billion and a half now, but it start was the DPS acquisition. Then after doing that for a few years, I realized that

The big company thing wasn't really for me. And I wanted to do the small company thing again, because I like to be able to have an idea and run that idea to fruition and be able to make change and do things quickly rather than, you know, have a meeting to prep for a meeting, to have another meeting, to eventually talk to someone who everyone was worried to talk to. anyway, fast forward to that. I acquired operating control of a company with a buddy of mine.

got operating control of a company stage two security in January of 2020, which I always say best time ever to buy a company because shortly thereafter COVID kind of shut the world down. So we were like, what the fuck did we just do? Like spend all this money and now we're gonna, you know, worried about churning revenue and, and, you know, we got through it. We were a virtual company, really didn't have a lot of onsite folks anyway. So it worked out okay for us. We didn't really have any significant.

didn't have any significant blowback from COVID. So that was more of an offensive company, like really around, you know, continuous penetration testing and autonomous red teaming. And then operated that for about two years before we exited to private equity. And then, you know, I was CEO of the private equity company that was a roll up of four companies that we put together and integrated in rapid fashion over a year.

I learned a lot of lessons there having never really integrated companies before. I had some principles that I should have stuck to harder, I think. So anyway, I stepped away from that about two and a half years ago. And now this is what I'm doing until I figure out what I want to do when I grow up.

Alicia McKenzie(08:09.995)

He's under non-compete. And we have to tread lightly on what you can and can't get into.

Yeah. Yeah. So now, you know, I'm, you know, just figuring out what it is I want to do. And there's a lot of things in the industry that excite me and things that I want to pursue. it's just, getting the timing right and getting everything going.

I think what's unique about you though is that when you are the head of a company, you have your hands in everything.

Yeah, I'm very hands-on. And was probably the best advice I ever got was when I was in high school, actually. So was in high school. I was playing football. I was also working full-time, played baseball, football. And I was also working full-time. And I was working at the Foodline in Culverburg, Virginia. I think it's, can't remember, his name was Wayne, Mr. Wayne. I don't remember his last name, but he was the manager. And his goal for me was, hey, you could be a manager of Foodline one day. That's what he was telling me. And he said to do that,

You've got to know how everything in the store works. So he rotated me every six weeks or so into a different department. was running, I was up there as a heading the cashiers and then I was doing in the meat department and then I was stocking and then I was doing produce and I was, so I got my hands in understanding everything of how it all worked. And I liked that approach and he said, you can't run it if you don't understand it. And I kind of still love that approach. like when I'm

George McKenzie (09:35.178)

In a company, I want to know how all of it works. how the financials work, the accounting, the delivery, and then deliver from all the multiple aspects of what we have.

You don't want to be an expert in it, but you need to know how.

You gotta be able to smell bullshit. Yeah. And be able to ask intelligent questions and know what's happening. If you don't understand every aspect of the business, then how can you run? Yeah. How can you lead?

And you and I met when I was working, I think I was a systems analyst for, was it kinetic or? Was I, I...

I think you were Connecticut. You might, I think it was after you were at.

Alicia McKenzie(10:13.6)

It was so long ago, and it was also not what I wanted to do in my career. So was kind of just a landing place, right? I got into cybersecurity, or not cybersecurity, I got into the government as an executive assistant. And then I made my way as a systems analyst, and I actually helped with a lot of the border installs on the Mexico border and the Canadian border for US Customs and Border Protection. But it is not what I wanted to do at all. It was just a paycheck.

And I think during that time is when I found CrossFit, health and wellness and started as a kid. And the love of my life. Yes. But that like the cybersecurity, the analytical side, that's just that's not what I... Yeah, yeah. And it's just it wasn't fun. It was like just going in there pushing buttons, hoping I didn't fuck anything up and and then going home. Right.

love of you.

George McKenzie (10:52.577)

Side note.

George McKenzie (10:59.758)

Yeah, you and I are the sofa welter.

Alicia McKenzie(11:08.938)

You and I actually met, I was 19 years old. So I got into the industry pretty early, right? Like my mom, you knew my mother before me. I did. She was a program manager. Yes. She was a program manager for Network Operations Center. You were a security operations center. So you two used to work really close together. And she was able to get me in with CBP as an executive assistant. So I got in that way. And then.

People figured out that I had a brain, so they gave me little bit more responsibility, even though I didn't want it. And then, when I decided that this was not what I wanted to do, I opened up a gym. was around 2010. Right, so 2010, we opened up a CrossFit gym. I got certified in all the things, all the Olympic lifts.

think it was an interesting story too, how you started, how we came upon the CrossFit. Like we were working out in CrossFit and then we had ideas of wanting to do one maybe at some point. And then I think the catalyst was you were, we were working out at a CrossFit gym and then you were like, hey, I'm just gonna run home. And I was like, well, I'm not doing that. So I'll meet you at home. Which was like what, a mile, two miles?

It was like a mile and a half, right? So I'm like, I'm just gonna run from the gym. I'll meet you at the house. See you there. Right? So he drove. I'm running. And just bad luck. I stepped on a curb and I completely snapped my ankle. And I had to call him and he had to come pick me up off the side of the road and take me to the emergency room. And there I was six weeks in a cast.

And that's when you said, hey, I'm going to start a gym. So in those six weeks, it went from an idea to where the gym is about to open.

Alicia McKenzie(12:55.904)

Yes. So while I may not like the analytic side, I can get shit done really quickly. Right. And I think that's where you and I work really well together because if I truly know that it's something you want to do and like you're not just waffling because you're not sure, like I will make sure it happens. Right. I think we talk about the beach house all the time. That's how we ended up with a beach house. Because you wanted it. I knew we could afford it. And you didn't want to pull the trigger.

because you don't like spending money.

Yes, and I like to overanalyze everything. Yes. So has to be absolutely perfect.

Yeah. Has to be absolutely perfect, whereas I'm like, okay, I'm like 90 % sure, let's just move on it and see what happens. So during that six weeks, I was able to get a gym off the ground. I got a little bit of funding, ordered all the equipment, found the space, and then we were up and running. And then I would say during that peak time, that was like the heart of my athletic career.

I just so happen to be really good at weightlifting. I was competing at the 75 kilo weight class, which was right around 165 pounds, which whenever I tell somebody that now, they look at me and they're like, really? I think the illusion of weight and women is just so...

George McKenzie (14:14.126)

of what 165 pounds looks like yeah 165 pounds of pure muscle

Yeah, like 100, they're like, can't imagine you as 165 pounds. I'm like, it's not that hard. It's only 20 pounds more than I weigh right now.

Yeah, and it wasn't like 20 pounds of fat.

Yeah. So that's the reaction I've been getting a lot. It's like, whoa, really?

Yeah. And you were also competing in CrossFit Games.

Alicia McKenzie(14:39.146)

Yeah, I was competing. We were training together. It was probably like six hours a day training. For me, you were a little less because you were running a big company.

two and half hours a day, but six days a week for.

Yeah, I was running the gym. You were running the companies. We also had what? Two kids during this time, right? We had Ava and we had Michaela. Then when we had Maddox, I think in 2015, is that when we sold the gym? Yeah, we sold right around that time, 2015, 2016. Because it was just, it was too hard. I didn't want to train as much.

But during that whole competitive time, like I qualified for the American Open, I was lifting weights on the floor of Madison Square Garden. Like we were able to do some really

Yeah, you're part of the original professional CrossFit.

Alicia McKenzie(15:25.74)

Yeah, when they tried to take it into a professional league, was named Grid. And I was one of the founding teams, the LA Reign, and I was going back and forth from D.C. to LA. And it was it was a fun ass experience. Yeah, I'm sure. Right. But it was too much. So in 2015, we sold the gym, had Maddox. In 2017, we had Maverick. And then 2022, we had Maya. So if you lost count, that's five kids.

We have three dogs

We've only had two. We just recently added a third to the mix. Yes.

Why do you have to say it like that?

He is definitely not.

Alicia McKenzie(16:09.484)

Right. So, but once we sold the gym, I took my coaching practice online. So I was a nutrition and wellness coach helping high functioning women try to figure out how to be healthy and maintain a lifestyle that's realistic, not Instagram worthy. It's not like you're perfect. I'm going to do this, this and this, and I'm going to be shredded. it's like, no, we have big girl jobs and big girl families. So how can we

live a life that not only makes us feel good, but also makes us look good because they both matter.

And I think that was the genesis of the lift like a mother when you were working out because everyone knew you as the, you know, the crossfit strong woman who also had all these little babies.

Yeah.

Alicia McKenzie(16:59.05)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was I think I was one of the few women.

yeah, that was, had babies and was also still competing at that kind of level.

Yeah, highly competitive, but also had small children. I remember during what was it a weightlifting competition or a CrossFit competition? It was one or the other, but Maddox, one of the babies was still really small and I was breastfeeding and then I would like hand off the baby and then

I was at the CrossFit Games regionals with his Maddox.

Yeah. So it was an experience, but it's also just a testament to the fact that I'm very stubborn and that if I want to do something, I'll figure out a way to make it happen.

George McKenzie (17:37.164)

Yeah. And then I think we almost forget, but during that time we also had a real estate company. So we owned probably five rental properties that we had. then, you know, we decided to buy a farm basically.

God.

Alicia McKenzie(17:53.006)

Yeah, yeah, we ended up with eight acres.

And a million dollar fixer upper that we kind of went room by room and fixed up and transitioned some of the rental properties we had to liquidate to get enough capital to do it.

So we've done a lot. We've dabbled in a lot. We understand different industries, maybe not to the full extent, but enough to not lose all our money. And then now I would say I'm currently, I founded a nonprofit in 22. No, no, no. What year are we in? We're in 25.

Yeah, about to be 26.

Yeah, so we founded a nonprofit. I founded a nonprofit called Next Chapter in 24. I founded it with three friends of mine. And we curate lunches and events in the Washington, DC area for women navigating life's transition. So whether you're going from a corporate lifestyle to a nonprofit, or if you are interested in entrepreneurship, but you don't know where to start, we just curate lunches and we put really...

Alicia McKenzie(19:02.414)

like-minded and powerful women in the room, great thought leaders in their industries, and we just bounce ideas off of each other, and we just create an in-person community because I was really sick of doing the online virtual thing, and I wanted a way to connect with other females in person. That was really important for me. So now I'm doing that, writing a couple of books here and there.

and then raising all of these small children who are now big.

And also, you know, we are very involved in youth sports here in McLean. Yeah.

Yeah, he's on the board of the McLean Little League.

coach baseball, our kids play pretty much all the rec sports.

Alicia McKenzie(19:50.402)

Yeah. But I think this podcast was really, we decided to do it together. A, because I actually do shit that needs to get done. Yes. And B, he likes to talk.

Yes. And during the, yeah, when I was on sabbatical, she just wanted me to have an outlet for all the words that I normally have. Yeah. And I always find it interesting. Like I like having theoretical discussions and talking about, you know, things in the news and businesses and dissecting what went wrong. Why not do it and record it for others to hear? Weird conversations we always.

for all the words that nobody would listen to.

Alicia McKenzie(20:24.033)

Right and this

Alicia McKenzie(20:30.03)

And I feel like we tame, like we temper ourselves on this pod. Way more opinionated. That's okay. Probably slightly more offensive. Yeah. But this is, we do this together because I think our relationship is really unique in the sense that it's been 20 years. It hasn't been easy. And there's been a lot of ups and downs and you can probably even pick it up on this podcast on like what weeks were like.

way more opinionated outside of this.

George McKenzie (20:41.966)

A little bit, a little bit.

Alicia McKenzie(20:59.5)

I kind of want to kill him. He's kind of annoyed with me. And the little, like, real-time debates and disagreements and all the decisions we have to make as a family. But what it looks like to actually build something while being very involved in your family, because you can do both. And I think, like, you have some friends that run companies and then aren't quite as involved with the family aspect. And I think that's...

something that you're very intentional about.

Yeah, it all depends on, I think we have the discussion all the time. My view is, you know, life is a balloon and there's air in it. And yeah, you got to be able to do everything with that amount of air. And if you squeeze one side, like let's say you're really focused on your work at the time, right? Then your family life gets squeezed. You have less air for that because all the air is going the other way.

And you have to just do a good job of trying to figure out, where is the air going to go today? And not even, it doesn't have to be all or nothing like a whole day. could be, all right, for these two hours, where's the air? Where am I focused?

Yeah. Who do you think the listener is for this podcast?

George McKenzie (22:11.862)

God, don't know. think anyone, I mean, I think it would be good for people, especially people that are trying to, or entrepreneurs at heart and want to get out of the W2 lifestyle and the corporate life and get into kind of, you know, running a business or if you're an early founder and you're trying to navigate the waters. if you're, you know, starting a family or have a family and have a career and you want to try these things and...

if you had to narrow it down.

George McKenzie (22:41.174)

You know, just trying to get a basic understanding of how capital markets work or how businesses thrive or don't thrive. you know, I think some of the stuff we do are kind of like MBA little like vignettes on companies dissecting what happened, but not from a Jack Welsh, like how do you run a business perspective? And let me teach you the Rockefeller habits. It's more of real world, just talk it out. And what do you think about and why? Yeah.

But yeah, I think it's good for anybody. hopefully there's enough comedic value that people can listen and not have to be educational. Yes. That's my goal, is to add levity.

Yes.

Alicia McKenzie(23:21.74)

Yeah, so going over like what we cover in this podcast and what you'll see going into 2026, right? This is the last day of 2025. And I think we've figured out a good balance of, like you said, some cautionary tales, but also hot takes on just current events and our opinions on them. Because we have very strong opinions, especially when it comes to like raising your children in technology. How do you even...

How do you navigate that? think we've learned the hard way. Yeah. And we're trying to just share a little bit about what we've done, what's worked, what hasn't worked. How do you navigate artificial intelligence and 10 year olds?

I'm excited then and I think that's where you're like talking about AI. think we talk about that a lot. One, because I'm just really excited about it. Yeah. To see where it goes.

versus me on the other side, I'm a little more cautious about it.

Yeah, and I like to pontificate about what the world's going to be in 20 years, 10 years, and how things today are going to change it and what does it mean for society.

Alicia McKenzie(24:25.484)

But then we also get into money and equity and teaching our children about money.

Finances is a big one. And think that's it's one that you know, I think these be taught more in schools understanding money and how to use it

Or even setting goals around money, right? Like we just did our 2026 goals yesterday. Yes. And we break it down into.

It became quite the argument, I guess. Not really argument, I just get cranky.

You get cranky. You get absolutely cranky when we talk about money. I do. And you make it not fun sometimes. I enjoy it.

George McKenzie (24:57.048)

Sometimes.

George McKenzie (25:00.672)

Talking about money is never fun.

I enjoy talking about investing and growing money. don't like, I don't enjoy talking about spending money.

my gosh. But we break our 2026 down into four different goals, right? We have our travel goals. Yep. Then we have our financial goals, like personal family financial goals. Then we have our house goals, right? Like we own two or three, I think we own three properties right now. Five properties. But looking into 2026, like what house is going to need capital investment? What house is going to need...

four, five, five, five.

Alicia McKenzie(25:39.83)

let's say we need to bring in another real estate management team, so on and so forth. What are we doing to our primary home? Like, is there any area that needs maintenance, like projects?

I'm a builder, tinker. I like to build things. It's constant for me. The house is a constant and constant state of project.

Yes. And then our final is what business goals? Business goals. Right. So goals for each of the family businesses, right? We have one, two, three, four different businesses that we're operating out of this household. Yes. Yes. So each business has certain goals tied to it. And then we will meet either quarterly or monthly depending on

what we're talking about. If it's financial goals, we'll meet monthly. If it's business goals, we'll meet quarterly. And it's just, it's like a board meeting, right? You sit around the table, you have big pieces of paper out and you start listing shit.

Yeah, or in the financials, it's kind of like dissecting your personal P &L. Yeah. Like what's happening? Where do we spend money? Where did we go with our budget? Where did we go in our budget?

Alicia McKenzie(26:43.982)

We spent an insane amount of money last year, but I guarantee you if I went and looked at our credit card right now, like there's probably some fraudulent charges on there that we just haven't looked at.

Yeah, zero-based budgeting, like we talked about it for the government and for companies, but companies doing a zero-based budget is no different than a personal, like you have to do a recalibration sometimes. And it's very easy to look at last year's budget, start from there and add or subtract a percentage versus starting at zero and going, okay, how much do I really need to spend on subscription services? Let me go through, look through all of them.

How much do I really need to spend on electricity, gas, whatever, and then you budget from there versus let me look at last year and just tackle on something.

If you get nothing out of this podcast today's episode, please just go look at all of your subscription services going into 2026 and cancel them. I guarantee you, you've probably got like two Amazon subscriptions. I think we're paying for like three different Disney Plus accounts. Like it is just stupid.

Yeah, I think the credit card companies have figured it out now. So it used to be people would, hey, it's the new year. I'm going to change my credit card number, which will then cancel all of my subscription services. And then I'll re apply for the ones that I want. Yeah. And it was a really easy way to do it. And now the credit card companies have just worked with all these SaaS subscription services and say, hey, when the number changes, I'll just automatically update it. And that way it doesn't, doesn't expire. And I get it for some people that's a

George McKenzie (28:21.334)

It could be a time saver because you don't want to lose that service. But it's interesting how that all worked now that they shared that information and it's able to roll over.

It's really annoying, like, I lost my credit card this past year and I was like, great, I'll get to, like, wipe out all my subscriptions and only pay for the ones that I want. Nope, they're all still there.

Yeah. And now there's companies with apps that do this particular thing. Like, was it Rocket Money or some of these? actually going to download it and check, but you got to upload all your credit card charges to the app. Because it just analyzes your credit cards. Yeah. How else would...

Is that what it does? I feel like our credit card statement would break some of these apps.

Yeah, I'm just not sure I want to give all that personal shopping data to somebody who can then use it to sell me more shit that I don't need.

Alicia McKenzie(29:09.614)

I don't know. I don't know. Where do we go from here? Let's do some rapid fire. Yes, rapid fire. I know. That's why it's called rapid fire. ding. Ding ding. All right. Coffee or espresso?

Boo, no. Well, that got to be quick.

George McKenzie (29:26.222)

95 % espresso. I'm normally always espresso, but I'll do coffee sometime.

Early morning or late night work.

early morning. I'm not a late night guy. I can't like I yeah, the things I do when I have something really I need to get done is I try to do it.

The

Alicia McKenzie(29:43.916)

Okay. First job you've ever had. Really? Yep. You were a paperboy?

Paperboy.

George McKenzie (29:51.022)

I used to deliver it with my dad and then I took over the route and was I did it on foot

Did you have like a bicycle in a basket and you were like throwing shit over your head and like getting lost in the bushes?

I didn't have a bicycle, but I had a bag and I would chuck the papers. Yeah, I was, how old was I? geez. This was in the, probably late eighties. Okay. Boomer. Early nineties, maybe.

What year is this?

Alicia McKenzie(30:17.679)

one word I would use to describe you.

My heart wants to say hot, but probably anxious.

you

I would never describe you as anxious. One word you'd use to describe me. Hot. Really?

Sexy.

Alicia McKenzie(30:43.318)

Not intelligent. Rude.

Those things are all, I'm a base level man. Very primal.

biggest myth about entrepreneurship.

That it's for everybody?

Yes, I was going say that everyone can do it.

George McKenzie (30:59.008)

Yeah, exactly. It's not ratatouille. Everyone can't cook.

That's not true. It's not true. I would love it to be true, but it's best business decision you've ever made.

starting defense points.

worst business mistake you've learned the most from.

exiting the private equity.

Alicia McKenzie(31:19.276)

Hahahaha

Alicia McKenzie(31:23.406)

corporate life or founder life? meetings or execution? as in we're gonna execute somebody or? money buys freedom or stress?

execution.

that's I thought you meant.

George McKenzie (31:39.884)

I think, you know.

is what Diddy said.

know Diddy had it right, you more money, more problems, but no, I think that...

But Jay-Z said he's got 99 problems.

but I you ain't won. think, no, I think it's both. That's not either or.

Alicia McKenzie(31:59.143)

See, I think for me it's freedom. Freedom of choice.

Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is time. So if you have money that gives you back time, then yeah, that's freedom.

What keeps you up at night right now?

I'm always stressing about money. No, but I think mostly right now the thing that I am more worried about the fate of humanity and of our country.

the fate of humanity. Way to keep it light, What excites you most about the next chapter? Not my non-profit. Your next chapter. I mean, you're

George McKenzie (32:32.821)

I think there's a lot of shit going on.

George McKenzie (32:39.661)

Um, I know. it's like, really? My next chapter, what excites me most? I think I'm going to use, you know, I'm in a position right now where I think I want to build something that lasts, not something that I sell. So that excites me.

Interesting. One habit that's made the biggest difference in your career.

Betting on myself, always.

Risk adverse or risk tolerant? book every founder should read.

Biscuit verse for sure.

George McKenzie (33:06.606)

there's a billion of them. Scaling up for me, think is great. I mean, the lean startup, there's a ton of great ones.

Which one do you find yourself referring back to the most?

I think mostly scaling up or travel leadership. One of those two are great.

I thought you'd say tribal leader.

what people misunderstand about success.

George McKenzie (33:28.472)

That it's linear?

Yes. Marriage and business together. Is it an advantage or a liability?

I think for us it's an advantage. It can be a liability for some people though. It depends on how you handle stress and how you handle disagreement.

I think so.

Alicia McKenzie(33:47.146)

You and I have a unique relationship, really unique in the sense that like we can talk about a lot. Yes. And then separate it and then go have sex. Keep it separated. One thing you're still working on personally.

That's right.

George McKenzie (34:03.618)

There's a ton I'm still working on personally, but I think the what's the biggest one not over analyzing Being able trying to be more, you know kind of immediate and say say what you feel

They say anxiety is because you're living too much in the future. Yeah. Vision or discipline? What's more important?

Exactly.

For me, this one. I think you have to have a vision of where you're going, but you have to be able to stay the course. Everybody has great ideas and can say, this is where I want to be. But if you can't execute that idea, then you're just like everybody else.

OK, most people fail because of this. What would it be?

George McKenzie (34:47.711)

execution. Yeah.

Yeah, definitely. think the inability to pick a lane and stay in that lane.

Yeah. When times are hard and be able to set a goal and KPIs around the goal and say, Hey, I'm going to stay the course versus, yeah, this, this quick win happened. We should pivot to the quick win versus, yeah. Like I tell some, some people like, yeah, luck is not a strategy, right? Where you're like, I'm going to try these 10 different things and continually cast the net out and hopefully something will win. then when you, something does win.

via that method you're like, see it works. Like no, that's luck. Luck's not a strategy.

And I absolutely believe in manifestation, but it can only carry you so far. Like your vision board, great. I love that for you. That you have to consistently work towards that.

George McKenzie (35:39.854)

And that's what I think a lot of the manifestation is just executing a vision. Right? Is you say it to yourself enough and then you start doing the things that are required to make that become reality.

And with that, we are going to end, but this is married to the startup. Please do me a favor, like, subscribe, leave us a review.

that like button. just like saying that. have no idea what... Pound that thumbs up button. I don't know. I have zero... have zero...

think it's pound that subscribe button.

Alicia McKenzie(36:07.032)

clue. Penny, hit any of the buttons.

10 buttons, just fucking tap the keyboard. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

All right, we're out. Have a great night. Yes, hopefully. All right. We're out.

Last time you'll hear us describe ourselves. I hope so.

Alicia McKenzie(36:25.378)

Thank you for tuning in to Mary to the startup. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you did, please take a moment to like, rate and subscribe to our podcast. Your support helps us reach more people and keeps the conversation going. If you have any questions or topics you'd like us to cover, drop me a message. I love hearing from you guys until next time.

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