Aaron Houghton

Founders First

Founder and CEO

Aaron Houghton believes it is possible for entrepreneurs to be healthy and happy while they build great companies that change the world. Since starting his first business at age 17, he’s built and launched more than eleven tech startups, scaling one from conception to 350 employees and $50M in annual subscription revenue. Aaron sold two companies to private buyers and one to a publicly traded company for $169M before his 30th birthday.

Aaron was selected as an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008 and was listed to Inc Magazine's 30 Under 30 list in 2010. He’s shared his story and his thoughts on personal growth, digital marketing, and startup leadership with hundreds of audiences, including Harvard University, Entrepreneurs Organization, and StartupNation.

Looking back, Aaron can see his success came with the hidden costs of long term stress; including panic attacks, debilitating anxiety, and a cancer diagnosis in 2009. He had a habit, like many of us, of pushing himself to the absolute limit. He was trading sleep to hit deadlines, trading nutrition to save pennies, and enduring chronic stress year after year so he could chase his dreams.

Aaron knew there must be a better way. He spent five years studying how entrepreneurs manage stress, and personally tested techniques for achieving high performance while maintaining mental and physical health. Aaron then created Founders First (https://app.foundersfirstsystem.com) the personal wellness and performance app for entrepreneurs, manifesting two decades of experience and years of research into a simple self-awareness and personal optimization framework designed to improve the experience of founders and business leaders around the world.

Aaron Houghton

Monday, May 10, 2021

Mental Health and Resilience in Boulder and Beyond

events.revnt.io 4

Development Community

Dave Mayer

Aaron Houghton

Dr. Camille Sinclair

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