Episode #54 The Brutal Truth About Scaling, Burnout, and Exit Plans with Mariana Polic

In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Mariana Polic from Shift Intelligence. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because I interviewed her husband Ivan last year, and now, we’re bringing things full circle with Mariana. We dug into the evolution of their business from "Jumpstart Your Exit" to "Shift Intelligence," and why that change reflects a much deeper shift in the way they serve high-growth founders and 7- to 8-figure business owners.

We explored how critical it is to remove yourself from the daily weeds of operations if you ever want to sell, scale, or just breathe again. Mariana and I are perfectly aligned in our belief that most business owners wait too long to automate and systematize their business, and by the time they’re ready to exit, it’s a hot mess behind the scenes. We talked candidly about burnout, leadership development, and the very real signs you’re too deep in your business to see clearly (like crappy sleep, cranky kids, and the creeping feeling that you’re running yourself into the ground).

Mariana broke down what the Shift Intelligence framework actually means, why it was born out of their own exit from a legacy manufacturing business, and how it now helps founders future-proof their companies before "shift hits the fan." We touched on how her and Ivan’s roles balance each other out, what it really takes to build a team that can run without you, and why preparing for an exit should be something you're thinking about long before you're ready to walk away.

If you’re a founder who’s stuck in the ops and you’re craving real work-life integration, this episode will hit home. Because spoiler alert: balance is a lie, we all have one life, and the sooner you build systems to support it, the better.

Connect with Mariana on LinkedIn and get inspired to make your next move smarter, not harder. Because when your business is finally running without you, you can actually get back to running your life.