Episode 48

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Published on:

29th Jul 2025

From the Yoga Studio to the Boardroom: My Evolution as a Founder

In this deeply personal solo episode, Ashley Deland pulls back the curtain on the parts of her story most people never see.

Before the awards, exits, and advisory work, she was scrubbing yoga studio floors at night, cold-pressing juice by hand, and running a vegan restaurant on four hours of sleep. From launching her first business off a yoga mat to building and exiting multiple ventures—including Canada’s first soy-free vegan restaurant—Ashley shares the raw, unfiltered evolution that shaped her into the founder she is today.

She walks you through:

  • The three businesses that built her foundation
  • The lessons each venture taught her about leadership, grit, and strategy
  • Why your messy middle matters more than you think
  • And how to honor the version of you that built everything no one clapped for

This episode is a powerful reminder that no empire is built overnight. Every founder has a beginning—and this is hers.

If you’re in the early stages of your journey, or navigating a season where nothing seems to be clicking yet, this is the one to press play on.

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To work with Ashley, visit ashleydeland.com

Remember, stay confident, stay focused, and keep wearing those pants with pride.

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Grab Ashley’s free 5 Day Podcast Series, “The Unstoppable CEO Mindset”, https://ashleydeland.com/unstoppable-ceo-mindset 

Follow Ashley on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ashleydeland/ 

Schedule a Consultation: https://ashleydeland.com/inquire 

Mentioned in this episode:

VIP Weekend Experience

https://ashleydeland.com/vip-weekend-experience

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About the Podcast

She Wears the Pants
She Wears the Pants is the podcast for the women building more than businesses—they’re building identities, empires, and legacies.

Hosted by globally recognized business advisor, multi-business founder, and start-up investor Ashley Deland, this show lives at the intersection of strategy, structure, and self. Each week, Ashley pulls back the curtain on what it truly takes for women to scale companies that are financially sound, spiritually aligned, energetically sustainable, and structurally unshakeable.

This is where high-growth women founders come for boardroom-level strategy, identity evolution, feminine leadership, and the inner work required to hold the success they’re building.

Because strategy means nothing if the woman behind it can’t hold it.

Continue the Work with Ashley:

Step into your next level: Explore Private Advisory, high-touch strategic partnership, and fractional leadership support for women scaling with precision and power.
→ https://ashleydeland.com/inquire

Experience a full-business transformation in one weekend: Apply for Ashley’s Executive VIP Experience — an immersive, in-person strategic overhaul designed to collapse timelines and accelerate growth.
→ https://ashleydeland.com/inquire

Stay in proximity: For daily strategy, identity expansion, and behind-the-scenes insight, connect with Ashley on Instagram.
→ https://www.instagram.com/ashleydeland/

She Wears the Pants is where high-growth women come to build companies that match their calling. If this episode resonated, follow, rate, and review so more women can find these conversations.

About your host

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Ashley Deland