A Founder's Life
Join me as I explore the powerful intersection of entrepreneurship, health & wellness, and parenthood. In each episode, I’ll be interviewing inspiring individuals who excel in one or more of these areas, sharing their stories, insights, and lessons. My goal is to provide valuable takeaways that can help you thrive both personally and professionally.
A Founder's Life
Freedom Over Hustle: How This Founder Did It - Courtney Kehl - Ep #22
In this episode of A Founder’s Life, we sit down with Courtney Kehl, founder of Expert Marketing Advisors, to uncover what it really takes to build a business rooted in freedom, flexibility, and purpose. If you’re an entrepreneur navigating the rollercoaster of growth, self-doubt, and personal evolution, this is the episode for you.
Courtney shares her journey from Silicon Valley acquisitions to running a 40-person B2B marketing agency built on trust, partnership, and adaptability. We discuss the realities of leading during life’s toughest seasons—like the loss of a parent—and how she created a business that supports both high performance and personal well-being.
You’ll learn:
• The mindset shift that led Courtney to start her agency
• How to build a team culture rooted in ethics, trust, and flexibility
• The unspoken power of saying yes (and when to say no)
• The reality of mental health and PTO in fast-moving companies
• How family—blood and chosen—shapes her leadership
• What balance actually looks like for high-performing founders
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro & Courtney’s Background
02:30 – From Side Projects to Full-Time Founder
05:00 – Building a Scalable, Flexible Team
07:00 – Leadership, Loyalty & Life Transitions
10:00 – Mental Health, Self-Care & PTO Culture
13:00 – Living a Full Life Outside of Work
16:00 – Personal Loss & Business Beginnings
18:30 – What Balance Means in 2025
19:30 – Where to Find Courtney
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