D1 Athlete Built A Startup At 21—The Leadership Framework Behind His Growing Team With Walker Ferguson Catalytic Leadership podcast

D1 Athlete Built a Startup at 21—The Leadership Framework Behind His Growing Team with Walker Ferguson

1M ago 25:26

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What if you could lead a growing team, scale your startup, and stay grounded in your values—before even graduating college? In this episode of the Catalytic Leadership Podcast, I talk with Walker Ferguson, a Division 1 athlete and co-founder of the AI-driven wellness app Ascend, about what it really takes to lead without a title, manage a team without coding skills, and build a culture-first company under pressure.
Walker shares his leadership framework rooted in servant leadership, values-based hiring, time-blocking, and personal discipline—principles that agency owners and startup founders alike can implement to scale their businesses with intention. We explore how losing his lead developer became a turning point, the role faith and mindfulness play in his day-to-day, and how the GREAT team culture framework keeps his mission aligned.

Connect with Walker Ferguson:
Want to learn more about Walker's mission and how Ascend is helping people live happier, healthier lives? Connect with him directly at [email protected] and explore the app at ascendapp.ai

Books Mentioned:

Good to Great by Jim Collins
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The Bible (Proverbs, New Testament)
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Psychology of Winning by Denis Waitley
Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey

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Join Dr. William Attaway on the Catalytic Leadership podcast as he shares transformative insights to help high-performance entrepreneurs and agency owners achieve Clear-Minded Focus, Calm Control, and Confidence.

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Chapters

1. D1 Athlete Built a Startup at 21—The Leadership Framework Behind His Growing Team with Walker Ferguson (00:00:00)

2. From Football Field to Founder: Meet Walker Ferguson (00:00:53)

3. Leadership Lessons from Team Captain to Startup Leader (00:02:26)

4. Discovering Mindfulness and the Birth of Ascend (00:04:36)

5. Losing Their Developer and Learning to Lead Without Coding (00:07:31)

6. Building a Values-Based Team: The GREAT Framework (00:10:42)

7. Discipline, Time-Blocking, and Sharpening the Saw (00:13:56)

8. Learning from Hiring Mistakes (00:17:18)

9. What He’d Do Differently and Advice for Founders (00:18:33)

10. Continuous Learning and Leadership (00:24:28)

11. Advice for Entrepreneurs (00:26:42)

234 episodes