When You’re No Longer Who You Were

or "finding yourself post exit."

You sell the company.

The integration is done.

You’ve delivered on the mission.

And then… you wake up one morning and realize:

You have no idea what’s next.

Nick Gould found himself there. After building a respected UX firm, selling it, then selling again, he had done everything “right.” But what followed wasn’t relief. It was disorientation.

I’ve seen this before in my career and now in coaching—especially with founders. When the work ends, the identity you’ve wrapped around it starts to unravel. And what you’re left with isn’t clarity. It’s space.

Here’s the truth:

We’re not taught how to just be in that space.

We’re taught to achieve. To climb. To move forward.

But when the old path ends, the next one doesn’t appear on command.

Three things Nick’s story reminded me:

1. Titles are a trap.

You’re not your role. But it’s easy to forget that when the work has defined you for decades. Letting go of a title isn’t just about a job—it’s about releasing old versions of yourself.

2. The in-between is where the growth happens.

Transitions aren’t clean. They’re messy, emotional, and disorienting. But if you can sit in the discomfort and do the inner work, the clarity that emerges will be stronger and more authentic than any resume refresh.

3. Your next chapter probably won’t look like your last.

Trying to recreate your old success in a new wrapper rarely works. Reinvention means going deeper—figuring out what truly drives you now, and building from there.

Nick didn’t just find a new job.

He found a new way of working. A new kind of leadership.

One rooted in purpose, presence, and truth.

After months of deep reflection, he stepped into a product leadership role at 2U, a high-growth edtech company. It wasn’t a carbon copy of his past—it was a pivot that honored the parts of his experience that mattered most. His curiosity about what makes a product truly work. His desire to build. His ability to navigate complexity and lead with clarity.

But what really made the difference wasn’t his resume. It was how he showed up.

Nick brought with him the sensibilities of a founder—accountability, urgency, adaptability—but paired it with something quieter and more powerful: executive presence. The ability to walk into a room, listen, and instill confidence. Not with noise, but with calm. Not with ego, but with conviction.

And over time, that way of being—rooted in service, reflection, and intentionality—became the foundation of his coaching work.

Today, Nick helps other leaders navigate their own critical moments. Not by giving them a playbook, but by helping them write their own. He’s proof that your next chapter doesn’t have to look like your last to be meaningful. It just has to be real.

Listen to our conversation here: https://mbj.im/pod and wherever you get your podcasts.

#careertransition #identity #executivecoaching #CriticalMoments