Elena became the CEO in her head before the proof ever arrived. CEO Week is where you build the operating system to back it up: 5 FREE days of live training to get you out of the execution seat and into the role. Save your seat: https://accelerator.theceoschool.com/ceo-week
Welcome back to CEO School! In this powerful and deeply inspiring episode, Suneera Madhani sits down with billionaire entrepreneur, mother, and visionary leader Elena Cardone for a candid conversation about mindset, partnership, success, and the journey from founder to CEO. Elena Cardone built a billion-dollar empire alongside Grant, raised two self-determined daughters, and did it by deciding who she was long before the bank account caught up. She hands Suneera the actual mechanics: how to assume the beingness of the CEO you're becoming, why your reactive brain keeps rerunning old survival decisions, and the be-do-have order most founders get backward.
We also get into the rules that protect an empire: why you stop venting about your partner and your team, how "one team, sky is black" keeps a marriage and a company aligned, and how to raise kids who own their own choices. Grab a pen. This one moves fast and hits identity, money, and motherhood in the same breath.
Time Stamps:
(00:00) Sitting down with a rare billion-dollar powerhouse
(05:27) Punk rock, loss, and leaving New Orleans behind
(11:35) Marrying at 30 and unlearning "I need no one"
(15:04) Why old survival decisions secretly still run you
(24:19) Surviving 2008 by turning marriage into one team
(27:23) "Sky is black": having your partner's back publicly
(31:45) Redefining success beyond your own accomplishments
(37:56) Be, Do, Have: living from your future self now
(47:47) The three freedoms every founder is really chasing
(51:45) Why you stop venting about your partner and team
(58:35) Firing fast and making decisions like a CEO
(1:10:36) Raising self-determined kids who own their choices
Share this with a founder who's still waiting for her bank account to give her permission to act like a CEO.
Connect with Elena at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenacardone/
Website: https://elenacardone.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenacardone/
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Elena built 10X Ladies because women kept getting left out of the rooms where the real bonding happens. That's exactly why the Millionaire Founders Club exists: a high-proximity room of 7-to-8-figure women who get the whole picture, not just the P&L. Apply: https://bit.ly/MFCApplication
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Only 2% of female founders ever break $1 million in revenue. We're on a mission to change that. Subscribe to the CEO School and join the movement.
Watch and listen to us at:
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Learn more about CEO School because nothing bad ever happens when women make more money:
Website: https://theceoschool.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceoschool/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ceo-school
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theceoschool
Learn more about how Suneera Madhani is paving the way for powerhouse female CEOs like you to take center stage, not just in your industries but in your whole life.
Website: https://suneeramadhani.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suneeramadhani/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suneeramadhani/
This episode was produced by Hi Hello Labs: https://www.hihellolabs.com/.
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