Jason Shen on Giving Up to Go Forward

Jason Shen is a former national champion gymnast and an executive coach with a focus on resilience and reinvention. As CEO of Refactor Labs, he coaches entrepreneurs and teams through crucial transitions and writes about creative risk-taking in his weekly newsletter Cultivating Resilience. He has been published in TechCrunch, Fast Company, and Vox and a speaker at Grubhub, Procter & Gamble, and Pinterest.

After facing multiple setbacks including layoffs, lawsuits, company failure, and traumatic knee injuries, Jason sought to understand what it takes to adapt and overcome adversity. His skills based Resilience Rules framework has helped hundreds of founders, leaders, and professionals learn to respond, restore, rebuild and reflect in the face of change. Jason’s next book is called The Path to Pivot—a playbook for entrepreneurs who want to reinvent their business—and will be released in Fall 2023.

Prior to Refactor Labs, Jason founded Ridejoy, a Y Combinator funded longdistance ridesharing marketplace, Headlight, a technical candidate assessment platform acquired by Woven, and Midgame, an AI gaming tools company acquired by Facebook (Meta). He holds the Guiness World Record for Aztec Pushups and two degrees from Stanford University. He lives in Brooklyn NY with his wife Amanda, a multidisciplinary artist.

Connect with Jason Shen

Connect with Jason Shen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonshen/

Jason’s website: https://www.jasonshen.com/

Get a copy of Jason’s book: https://www.pathtopivot.com/

Recommended Books & Resources

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

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Episode Summary

Life changes, reinvention, and family responsibilities. (0:02)
Leadership, resilience, and entrepreneurship with Jason Shen. (3:33)
Pivoting in business and life. (9:15)
Startup journey with pivots and setbacks. (14:55)
Overcoming entrepreneurial failure and starting again. (17:37)
Prioritizing values and relationships over external achievements. (23:52)
Traditional masculinity and its impact on resilience. (29:20)
Gender roles and expectations. (32:01)
Growth, change, and uncertainty. (38:22)
The impact of a demanding coach on an athlete’s performance. (45:08)
Gymnastics training and mental strength. (47:34)
Leadership, self-improvement, and personal growth.