Big Business Tiny Team

Each week I share deep-dive breakdowns and playbooks on building a big business with a tiny team.

Founder & Writer

The 20 Hour CEO

Named "Top 100 Course" by Maven. Entrepreneurs master the frameworks to turn their business into a machine that runs without them.

Founder

Christine Carrillo

Exclusive partner to top percentile CEOs helping them build resilience while leading successful big businesses.

CEO Coach

Alice

We help CEOs hire vetted executive assistants specifically trained to help CEOs scale.

Butlr Health

We match people with highly vetted therapists using a dating app framework.

JOANY

Alum Techstars NYC 2015. JOANY helps consumers buy and use health insurance.

Humanize Health

Kaiser Permanente

Director, Medicare Business Excellence

DestinationRx

Director of Professional Services

Capital Group Companies

Senior Business Consultant

You don’t have to burn yourself out to build a successful business.

I learned that the hard way.

On paper, everything looked great.
✔ Built three businesses to $200M in revenue
✔ Bootstrapped a service business to $25M with 25 people in five years
✔ Scaled a VC-backed tech company to $28M ARR in under two years with just 12 people
✔ Made a double-sided consumer marketplace profitable in three months with a five-person team
✔ Raised $30M in venture capital

But behind the scenes, I was exhausted, constantly putting out fires, and convinced the business would fall apart if I stepped away.

So I pushed harder, thinking that was the only way.

Then life forced me to stop.

I ran headfirst into a glass window. A concussion took me out for eight weeks. No emails, no meetings, no problem-solving. For the first time, I couldn’t step in to fix things.

And when I came back, I was shocked. The business hadn’t just survived. It had thrived.

That moment forced me to question everything.

I always thought the key to scaling was working harder and building better systems. And systems did help. But what really made the difference wasn’t the business. It was me.

I had built a company that depended on me, not because it had to, but because I didn’t know how to let go. I believed that stepping back meant losing control. That if I wasn’t involved in everything, things would fall apart.

That belief had to change.

Learning to trust my team, step back, and stop being the bottleneck wasn’t easy. But once I did, everything changed.

The systems worked because I let them. My team thrived because I gave them space. And the business grew faster than ever, not because I was in every decision, but because I wasn’t.

Now, I help founders do the same.

Most founders come to me because they feel stuck. They’re scaling, but at the cost of their time, health, and freedom. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If you’re ready to build a business that grows without you being in the weeds, join me for daily insights on scaling, leadership, and personal growth.

Let’s get started.
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⚫️ 1:1 CEO Coaching – If you want direct guidance to break free from the grind, let’s talk. 

Let’s connect:
Email: hello@christinecarrillo.com
Twitter: @ChristineCarril

Growth isn’t about being ready.

It’s about doing what scares you.

Listen, I've been there.

It's hard to believe in yourself at first.

I chased external validation and it was driven by fear.
→ "What if I lose control?"
→ "What if I let down the people counting on me?"
→ "What if I let myself down?"

I was so focused on doing things the right way I was holding myself back.

Then I realised: No one is ready.

The ones who grow fast:
→ Say yes before they have all the answers.
→ Trust that action beats overthinking.
→ Figure it out along the way.

The biggest risks don't come from failing.
They come from never starting.

What's one move you're making today that scares you? Share it below.

♻️ If this hits home, share it with your network.
🔔 Follow Christine Carrillo for more growth insights.
💡 Get my best insights weekly: https://lnkd.in/gQCveimB

The 20 Hour CEO. Built 3 businesses to $200M in revenue. Now helping entrepreneurs scale themselves, and their business, with less effort.

VMP (Vinyl Me, Please)

Interim CEO

Chairman Of The Board, Co-Founder

CEO, Co-Founder

UNBRKBLE

Strategy and innovation consulting with a specific eye towards building relationship-based products, services, or offerings.

Founding Partner

Syne Research

Leveraging my entrepreneurial experience in the music industry to help the Syne team bring their product to market.

Advisor

Belmont University

Entrepreneur In Residence

University of Colorado Boulder

Advisory Committee Member (Customer Experience Certificate Program)

HILOS

Using my entrepreneurial experience to help the HILOS team effectively scale their business.

Tango Group

Product

See Music

See Music is a venture led by former lead composer at Leo Burnett, Chuck Bein.  I work on both the business and creative sides by:
- Developing online presence (web and other)
- Creating content marketing strategy
- Brand creation/development
- Client relations
- Assisting with music searches

Marketing Assistant

CMScentral.net, Inc.

Project Manager

OptionIt

Oversaw all day-to-day activities at SmartOptions and OptionIt.  I worked in the areas of:

- Project management (large-scale eCommerce website)
- Idea generation/execution
- Business plan/model development
- Client relations
- Customer service
- Marketing, advertising, branding
- And anything else that needed to get done

General Manager, Business Development

Matt is a passionate builder of innovative companies, creator of new experiences, and aggregator of talented people and teams. 

Matt is the co-founder of record-of-the-month club Vinyl Me, Please (VMP). Since launching VMP in 2013, through the end of 2020, Matt served as the CEO of VMP, successfully taking it from a passion project to a business with more than 30k active subscribers in more than 40 countries around the world. Today, VMP is one of the most admired and respected brands within music, and a shining example of a successful membership-based business. 

During his tenure as CEO, VMP was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list in the Music category, and was twice listed to the Inc. 5000 list (peaking at #342), while Matt himself was awarded Runner up Entrepreneur of the Year award by CO Biz magazine. 

While he remains Chairman of VMP, Matt’s endless curiosity and drive to push the boundaries of what’s possible has inspired him to found UNBRKBLE with business partner, Dave Cobban. UNBRKBLE develops and delivers consumer-centric tools and strategies for companies to deepen their relationship with their customers. 

In addition to his work at VMP and UNBRKBLE, Matt serves as an advisor and mentor to several early stage companies. 

Matt is a graduate of Belmont University, where he received his BBA, Cum Laude, in Music Business and Entrepreneurship. He currently lives in Arvada, CO w/ his wife, Ester, and three kids (Kinzie, Audrey and Rhett). He enjoys running, watching (and talking about) professional sports, and reading endlessly.

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