Founders' Fears & Failures

Lessons on Resilience & Growth from a Tech Startup Ecosystem Expert with Ian Massingham

• Dr. Melissa Parks • Season 1 • Episode 6

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‌No matter how far you get in your career, how visible your role is, or how many career wins you have under your belt, none of us are immune from experiencing fear, self-doubt, or anxiety.

However, because so many leaders don’t share this more vulnerable part of their story, there remains a pervasive myth that successful leaders are exempt from experiencing these feelings.

This is why I’m so grateful that this week’s guest on the show is helping to bust this myth by sharing some of the mental and emotional challenges he’s faced throughout his career and what’s helped him overcome them.

Ian Massingham is a leader in the tech startup ecosystem who has helped hundreds of thousands of startups around the globe. He is VP, Developer Relations & Community at Aiven, a series-D open source data infrastructure startup headquartered in Helsinki Finland. Prior to Aiven, Ian held a similar role at MongoDB, and before that he spent almost 8 years at Amazon Web Services. His final role at AWS was Global Director, Worldwide Solutions Architecture for Startups. Before the pandemic, Ian was a very frequent traveler and public speaker in his roles at AWS, traveling and speaking on behalf of AWS at customer and developer events across the globe.


In this episode you’ll get a glimpse at Ian’s career successes, but not without a look at some of the challenges that he’s faced along the way. He’s also sharing some of his tips for creating boundaries between work and personal life, overcoming fears and self-doubt, and making the most of receiving critical feedback. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

Find Ian Online:

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Connect with your host, Dr. Melissa Parks, elsewhere:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissacparks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissaparksphd

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissaparksphd/

Website: https://melissaparks.com/

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If you’d like additional support for your mental and emotional well-being as a founder please visit Melissa’s website for a list of resources to help you find a coach, therapist, or peer support.