Episode Summary: Ep. 460 - Lumati COO, President & Co-Founder, Ashley John Heather
Podcast Information:
- Title: Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold
- Host: Cameron Herold
- Guest: Ashley John Heather, COO, President & Co-Founder of Lumati
- Release Date: March 25, 2025
Introduction to Ashley John Heather and Lumati
The episode begins with host Cameron Herold introducing Ashley John Heather, the COO and President of Lumati—a wellness company focused on longevity and increasing individuals' health spans. Ashley shares a comprehensive overview of Lumati's mission to enhance health and prevent diseases through innovative tools and technologies. The company operates clinics in Encinitas, San Diego, and Tijuana, Mexico, and licenses its methodologies globally with the ambitious goal of impacting one billion lives in the next decade.
Ashley Heather [03:50]: "Lumati is focused on longevity within the wellness category, essentially increasing the health span of people so making them avoid pain, disease, and other issues."
Journey Through Entrepreneurship and Scaling
Ashley delves into his entrepreneurial journey, highlighting his extensive experience of over 25 years in building and scaling companies. He recounts his role during the COVID-19 pandemic with Cleared4, a platform that skyrocketed to $100 million in revenue within two years by managing health information for large organizations. However, as the pandemic waned, the platform's relevance diminished rapidly, leading to its closure in 2024. This experience provided Ashley with invaluable insights into scaling rapidly and navigating high-pressure environments.
Ashley Heather [17:21]: "Experience is one. I've had six startups to successful for failures, right? So I've learned a lot. As they say, you learn more from failure and sometimes than you do from success."
Key Skills and Strategies for Rapid Growth
Ashley outlines the critical skills that enabled him to scale Cleared4 so swiftly. These include:
- Experience and Learning from Failure: Understanding the nuances of business operations through multiple startups.
- Leveraging Relationships: Utilizing a robust network to expedite processes and secure trusted partnerships.
- Building a Reliable Team: Maintaining a consistent technology team across ventures to ensure seamless project execution.
- Frugality: Efficiently managing resources and funding, exemplified by raising $2.5 million through angel investments and achieving profitability swiftly.
Ashley Heather [17:51]: "Speed, nimble, having the team, having the resources. ... years of that has trained me to understand where to put money, where not to put money, how not to waste money."
Leadership and Team Empowerment
A significant portion of the conversation centers on leadership dynamics, especially between a COO and CEO in a fast-growing company. Ashley emphasizes the importance of:
- Trust and Clear Culture: Establishing a culture of trust and setting clear organizational expectations.
- Effective Communication: Implementing daily check-ins to ensure alignment between the COO and CEO.
- Empowerment Over Micromanagement: Delegating responsibilities to build an autonomous team, allowing leaders to focus on strategic growth rather than getting bogged down in daily tasks.
- Balancing Conflict and Collaboration: Viewing disagreements as strengths that lead to better decision-making when handled constructively.
Ashley Heather [27:28]: "Trust. Without trust, everything else, there isn't time to build all the processes and the machines and all the stuff."
Managing Stress and Maintaining Calmness
Ashley shares personal strategies for staying grounded and calm in high-stress situations:
- Physical Practices: Regular exercise, cold plunging, and maintaining a healthy diet to reduce the body's fight-or-flight response.
- Mental Techniques: Meditation, breath work, and practicing "mind over matter" to control thoughts and emotions.
- Experience-Based Resilience: Learning from past challenges to build a resilient mindset that can handle future stresses.
Ashley Heather [31:34]: "I think it's a combination. Never one secret, you know, one magic pill. ... meditation, all those great things and breath work."
Personal Insights and Advice
Towards the latter part of the episode, Ashley offers profound personal insights and advice, reflecting on his journey and experiences:
- Follow Your Passion: Encourages listeners to pursue what excites them and to build something that positively impacts others.
- Embrace Growth Through Discomfort: Highlights that true growth often comes from stepping out of comfort zones and tackling challenging tasks.
- Value Long-Term Journey: Advises against rushing life’s milestones and emphasizes measuring personal progress against one's own journey rather than external comparisons.
Ashley Heather [41:50]: "Follow your heart, listen to the universe. Don't think you have all the answers. Have great people around you, trust them."
Future Plans and Excitement
In the concluding segments, both Cameron and Ashley discuss their future aspirations. Ashley expresses excitement about:
- Expanding Lumati's Reach: Aiming to put Lumati on the national agenda and solidify its presence as a known brand.
- Personal Growth and Family: Balancing professional responsibilities with personal life, particularly spending more quality time with his three children.
- Community Building in Austin: Recently moved to Austin, Texas, and looks forward to creating events and fostering community engagement in his new environment.
Ashley Heather [45:45]: "I'm excited to be doing more, you know, kind of more of that and... more team members, more process and. And so that we can kind of not quite be pivoting quite as quickly."
Closing Remarks
As the episode wraps up, Ashley invites listeners to reach out via email for further discussions on wellness and share Lumati’s mission with their networks. The episode concludes with Cameron encouraging listeners to engage with the podcast and join the COO Alliance for more insights from top-level COOs.
Ashley Heather [50:55]: "My email is ashleyumati.com so more than happy to take emails from people on either the topics we've talked about here or what we're doing, the work at Lumati."
Key Takeaways
- Leadership Balance: Effective COO-CEO partnerships are built on trust, clear communication, and complementary skill sets.
- Scaling Strategies: Rapid growth requires experience, strong relationships, frugality, and the ability to leverage existing teams.
- Personal Resilience: Maintaining calmness through physical and mental practices is crucial for handling high-stress environments.
- Growth Mindset: Embracing discomfort and continuous learning fosters personal and organizational growth.
- Long-Term Vision: Balancing ambition with personal well-being ensures sustainable success and fulfillment.
Notable Quotes
- Ashley Heather [03:50]: "Lumati is focused on longevity within the wellness category, essentially increasing the health span of people so making them avoid pain, disease, and other issues."
- Ashley Heather [17:21]: "Experience is one. I've had six startups to successful for failures, right? So I've learned a lot."
- Ashley Heather [27:28]: "Trust. Without trust, everything else, there isn't time to build all the processes and the machines and all the stuff."
- Ashley Heather [31:34]: "I think it's a combination. Never one secret, you know, one magic pill. ... meditation, all those great things and breath work."
- Ashley Heather [41:50]: "Follow your heart, listen to the universe. Don't think you have all the answers. Have great people around you, trust them."
Conclusion
Episode 460 of the "Second in Command" podcast offers a deep dive into the multifaceted role of a COO in a rapidly growing company. Ashley John Heather’s experiences provide valuable lessons on leadership, scaling businesses, and maintaining personal well-being amidst the pressures of entrepreneurship. His insights are particularly beneficial for COOs, CEOs, and aspiring leaders navigating the complexities of growing a successful organization.