Dear Wholegrain Wisdom Community,
"You can work hard, but at the same time surround yourself with people who make you feel good." Samuel Frey's philosophy after building two companies and learning that suffering isn't required for success.
Building in preventive healthcare, Samuel practices what he preaches. When we spoke, he was taking calls from Sardinia at 6:30 AM—proving hard work and beautiful surroundings aren't mutually exclusive. But this isn't about exotic locations. It's about the internal transformation every founder must go through.
In his early twenties, Samuel slept 4-5 hours nightly, smoked, drank daily. His first company optimized so much for culture they forgot revenue. The lesson: you can't have impact if you burn out, and your self-worth shouldn't equal company success.
Today, Samuel schedules workouts as non-negotiable blocks. He shows up to friends' weddings. And he refuses 11 PM calls that compromise his 8-hour sleep target.
My Personal Reflections and a quick update on the podcast:
This, dear reader, is the very last episode of the Founder Bible for Resilience 😱
But before you cry out because you were so addicted to my weekly interviews with founders sharing their "pain story behind their success," let me tell you what Wholegrain Wisdom is becoming from next weeks onwards.
First, we're digging even deeper into the convergence of ancient wisdom and science. I now publicly dare to state that science and spirituality are the same truth expressed in different languages. Through my work and YouTube channel, we'll explore how physics, neuroscience, and more reveal what shamans already knew.
Second, to explore and develop a new level of consciousness for all of us aspiring Quantum Founders, my video and interview formats will vary significantly. I'll be creating solo videos, which will allow me to go even deeper on certain topics that were becoming too tight for the email format alone. I'll also start inviting scientists and experts across more disciplines so we can all learn from their wisdom.
Let me close this update with a reminder of what we're all about here at Wholegrain Wisdom: We're building the next generation of entrepreneurs—Quantum Founders who will lead the evolution of entrepreneurship into a new era where founders no longer build from trauma, but from a state of higher consciousness.
Hope you’ll love it as I do! And of course, if you don’t resonate anymore with this work, remember to unsubscribe in the footer👇. No hard feelings 😉
Key Highlights from Our Conversation:
The First Company Wall: Culture Without Economics
Samuel's first startup taught him a painful lesson about founder priorities. "We optimized a lot for creating the company and creating the right environment for the people to work there. And I still believe that this is really important, putting a lot of emphasis on creating a good culture." But culture alone doesn't pay salaries. "You need to pay the people who work for you. No matter how good the time is they have, in the end they also have to pay their rent. And I think this is your highest responsibility as a founder first and foremost and everything else has to come second."
The Transformation: You Are Not Your Company
The shift that changed everything came when Samuel stopped identifying his self-worth with company success. "I certainly developed a certain level of healthy distance to the company I'm building and the role I'm in. Of course I work hard and I will try everything to make it a success. But I think I stopped defining myself through the company's success." He watches other founders suffer because "they identify themselves and their self worth so much with the success of the company. And I think this is where really the stress and the pressure and the emotional drain comes from."
Working Hard While Refusing to Suffer
Samuel challenges the assumption that high performance requires misery. "A lot of founders have this really, really strong drive and discipline and they're very strict with themselves and they have to be in order to be successful. But that doesn't mean you need to suffer." He points to his friend sitting next to him in Sardinia: "Probably one of the hardest working people I've ever met. And I got up yesterday at 6:30 and he was already sitting outside having his first call. You can work hard, but at the same time surround yourself with people who make you feel good."
The Prevention Mindset: Optimize Your Most Important Asset
Samuel's perspective on fitness shifted from competitive to preventive. "I don't need to go to the gym to look good for anybody. I go to the gym to build muscle because if I'm stronger, my health spend will be longer and I will lead a longer life in good health." This preventive mindset extends to everything. "If you're in it for the long term, and I think founders always have to think about being in it for the long term, you also have to optimize that the most important asset you have, which is yourself, is in a really good state."
How to Actually Schedule Self-Care (Not Just Talk About It)
Samuel doesn't hope to find time for workouts—he blocks them first. "Typically Sundays, I sit there and plan my workouts for the week. I think about maybe I want to attend this class, that day I want to go to the gym and I just put it in my calendar and then the space is not free in my calendar anymore. Nothing else can go there. And then everything else comes." This sounds simple, but requires the foundational transformation: accepting you're not defined by company success. "That is the foundation also for being very kind to yourself and gentle with yourself and giving yourself the right to take time for yourself."
Setting Boundaries That Actually Stick
When asked about compromising on sleep for late-night calls, Samuel is clear. "If I say I don't have time at 11 PM because I want to make sure I sleep eight hours, if it's something really important, I'm also eager to compromise. But I never was put in a place where I had to compromise too much." His secret: working with people who respect boundaries. "I work with people around myself who also respect my boundaries. And honestly, I don't think they even have a right to ask what exactly I do during this time. It's my life in the end and they should judge me by the outcome."
The Support System: Friends as Your Professional Team
When asked about his support system, Samuel's answer reveals everything. "I have such a team as a professional athlete. It's just basically the people close to me. My partner, my friends. And I think they fulfill a very similar function." But maintaining this team requires investment. "If there's something that's important to a close friend of mine, their wedding, their birthday, and they invite me, I typically show up because I know this is how you nurture the relationships in your life. And if you don't invest time and you always deprioritize it, I think you will fail having such a meaningful support system."