In short
Podcast Summary: How To Start Up by FF&M
Episode Title
Trailer: 12 Days of Christmas - Your Guide to Health & Wellness this Festive Period
Overview In this trailer, host Juliet Fallowfield introduces the upcoming 12 Days of Christmas mini-series, aimed at providing essential health and wellness support for startup founders during a typically overwhelming festive season. The series is a compilation of insights from four years of discussions with over 140 guests, focusing on mental health and self-care strategies for entrepreneurs.
Key Themes
- Founder Challenges: Acknowledges the common feelings of exhaustion and overwhelm that many founders experience as the year ends.
- Self-Care Importance: Encourages founders to prioritize their well-being amidst holiday pressures and the hustle culture.
- Expert Insights: The series offers practical advice from various experts to help founders reset and regain perspective.
Mini-Series Content Overview Each episode is designed to be digestible at about 30 minutes long and covers the following topics:
- Imposter Syndrome: Techniques to manage self-doubt with coach Hamish Mackay-Lewis.
- Mental Health & Self-Reflection: Insights from Matt Johnson on maintaining mental well-being.
- Stress Prevention: Discussions on burnout with expert Nina Nesdoly.
- Breath Regulation: Learning to use breath for nervous system control with Jamie Clements.
- Nutrition for Founders: Maintaining energy levels with guidance from Jenna Hope.
- Physical Resilience: Insights on mobility and posture from Tim Blakey.
- Sleep Health: Strategies for better sleep with Professor Russell Foster.
- Personal Branding: Managing social media pressures with Eshita Kabra-Davies.
- Emotional Intelligence: Building effective teams with Daisy Bird.
- Financial Well-Being: Navigating cash flow and emotional finance issues with Rachel Harris.
- Female Founder Health: Understanding health in relation to the menstrual cycle with LeNise Brothers.
- Redefining Success: Challenging productivity culture with Emily Austen.
Key Takeaways
- Normalizing Feelings: The episode reinforces that feelings of stress and burnout during the festive season are normal for many founders.
- Rest & Reset: It emphasizes the importance of taking time to rest and reflect, rather than succumbing to the hustle mentality.
- Expert Guidance: Each guest provides focused advice that helps address the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs.
Closing Thoughts
- Supportive Environment: This mini-series aims to create a supportive atmosphere for founders, offering calm and practical steps rather than the typical hustle culture content.
- Launch Date: The 12 Days of Christmas series will begin on Christmas Day, with standard programming resuming in January 2026.
Producer Information Produced by Juliet Fallowfield at [Fallow, Field & Mason](http://www.fallowfieldmason.com).
Call to Action Listeners are encouraged to rate and review the podcast to support its visibility and future growth. They can also engage by texting questions or feedback for upcoming episodes.
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This episode sets the stage for a thoughtful exploration of founder well-being, aiming to empower entrepreneurs with the tools to navigate the unique challenges presented during the festive season.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00As the year draws in, founders feel worn, burnt out by the days they keep pushing through till dawn. Stretch at the seams, yet told to unwind. Be present, be festive, be light of mind. But hear this now, and hear it clear. This feeling is normal at this time of year. Our how-to-start-up guests say the same. You're not alone, and you're not to blame. So lean in to rest, let the noise fall away, because something gentle starts on Christmas Day. 12 days of calm in episodes short. 30 minutes of care, not effort or sport. We cover the weight founders quietly hold. Stress, sleep, self-doubt, the stories we're told.
0:37Imposter thoughts, the voice that persists. All met with care, nothing dismissed. So take half an hour, lie down or walk slow. Let stillness arrive, let your breathing go. Expert-led guidance, steady and true. Small words, real help, just for you. The construct of the ego is going to still tell you that you haven't got there, that you're not enough. Stop and ask yourself, what do you need? Burnout happens when your demands exceed your resources. We can use our breath consciously to shift our state physically, mentally or emotionally. Your body's so focused on digesting your food that the melatonin isn't going to be as efficient.
1:15And you're just infinitely more productive. And it just shows how tied our physical health is to our mental and business health. Most people don't have a sleep problem. They actually have an anxiety and a stress problem. I don't want to feel like if I'm not feeding the monster, which is social media, that I will be forgotten. Having empathy and being able to read mood and sentiment, not just our clients, but our colleagues. Personal sacrifice has been far greater than anything I ever thought it would be. There's this girl boss, hustle mentality of like, I just need to be working. There's a negative performance of culture that exists around productivity.
1:51I think that successful and unsuccessful people have the same fucking goal.
From the publisher
As the year draws to a close, many founders feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and stretched thin - while being told to relax, be festive, and switch off, but it isn't always possible.
This trailer introduces How To Start Up’s 12 Days of Christmas mini-series: a calm, practical collection of short episodes designed to support founder health during one of the hardest times of the year.
With insights drawn from four years of conversations and over 140 guests, this special edit brings together expert guidance to help founders rest, reset and regain perspective.
What this series covers:
- Imposter syndrome and how to work with it, not against it — with coach Hamish Mackay-Lewis
- Founder mental health and self-reflection — with Matt Johnson
- Stress prevention and burnout — with Nina Nesdoly
- Using breath to regulate your nervous system — with Jamie Clements
- Nutrition and energy for founders — with Jenna Hope
- Mobility, posture, and physical resilience — with Tim Blakey
- Sleep - with Professor Russell Foster
- Personal branding boundaries and social media pressure — with Eshita Kabra-Davies
- Building emotionally intelligent teams — with Daisy Bird
- Money, cash flow, and the emotional weight of finances — with Rachel Harris
- Female founder health and working with your cycle — with LeNise Brothers
- Productivity culture and redefining success — with Emily Austen
Each episode is 30 minutes, designed to be easy to take in - whether you’re lying on the sofa, heading out for a quiet walk, or simply needing space to breathe.
This is not hustle content. It’s thoughtful, practical support for founders who need care, clarity, and steadiness as 2026 comes into view.
🎧 The 12 Days of Christmas from How To Start Up begins on Christmas Day.
Normal programming resumes in January 2026.
Produced by Juliet Fallowfield, www.fallowfieldmason.com 2025
If you enjoy the series, please rate and review the podcast — it makes a meaningful difference to the show being discovered and helps support its future.
