Best of 2025: Jolene Levine on How Education Founders Can Turn Betrayal, Burnout, and Chaos Into a Blueprint for Credibility, Alignment, and Lead Flow That Converts

Some episodes don’t just start conversations, they shift how education founders think about credibility, leadership, and lead generation. This one did.

When Jolene Levin, entrepreneur, innovator, and founder of NorvaNivel, shared how she built a global company, scaled too fast, got fired from her own business, and rebuilt from the ground up, it became one of the most replayed and quoted episodes of the year.

Her story hit home for education founders who’ve seen their pipeline stall or partnerships implode. Because behind every funding round or fast scale-up lies a tougher truth: you can’t generate consistent leads when your culture, mission, and credibility are out of sync.

Josh still remembers the moment that stopped him cold: “I built the company that would fire me.” That line didn’t just reveal a mistake, it revealed a mindset shift. Jolene’s comeback became a blueprint for rebuilding trust, alignment, and the kind of reputation that naturally attracts the right clients and partners.

Originally streamed as a LinkedIn Live in August 2025, this replay dives deep into how loss, burnout, and broken systems can actually become the foundation for stronger pipelines and more predictable deal flow.

Here’s the truth for education founders:

🚨 Growth without alignment kills credibility, and credibility is what closes deals.

In this Best of 2025 series of Breaking the Grade, Josh and Jolene unpack how founders can rebuild from chaos, restore trust with their teams and investors, and turn that clarity into consistent lead flow and sustainable sales growth.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

1️⃣ When Growth Outpaces Control
How scaling too fast can disconnect your culture from your mission, and stop leads before they start.

2️⃣ The Day She Got Fired from Her Own Company
Why losing control forced Jolene to rebuild from first principles, and how that reset reignited both her purpose and her pipeline.

3️⃣ Rebuilding with Belief, Not Burnout
How focusing on energy, values, and alignment keeps leads flowing without sacrificing your health.

4️⃣ Investor Alignment That Actually Works
The key questions that filter out the wrong capital, and attract investors who expand your reach, not your risk.

5️⃣ Credibility as a Lead Strategy
Why founders who lead with honesty, transparency, and mission consistency close more of the right deals faster.

If you’ve ever scaled too fast, watched your lead flow dry up, or lost control of your mission, this episode is your reset button.

📩 DM me “REBUILD” and I’ll show you how education founders inside the EdSales Elevation Experience rebuild clarity, credibility, and closed contracts after chaos.

📤 Know an education founder stuck between burnout and stalled deals? Share this episode, it might be the shift they need.

✍️ Love the show? Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so more education founders can turn breakdowns into breakthroughs and credibility into conversions.

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