Stress, Panic Attacks, Debilitating Anxiety, and a $170M Exit: iContact Founder Aaron Houghton

Aaron Houghton is a serial entrepreneur, having launched more than 10 companies in his career, with the most famous arguably being iContact, an email and marketing automation tool that he sold for $170M prior to his 30th birthday. Among countless other accolades, Aaron was selected as an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008, and was listed to Inc Magazine's 30 Under 30 list in###-###-#### He now spends his time running Dory, a company that helps high performers under high levels of stress optimize their performance. In Aaron's words, his "success came with the hidden costs of long-term stress including panic attacks, debilitating anxiety, burnout, and mental breakdown”. We dig into the psychological realities of entrepreneurship quite deeply in our discussion today, and discuss how his struggles led to a five-year study of how entrepreneurs manage stress, and the tools & techniques they can utilize for achieving high performance while maintaining mental and physical health. This was a vulnerable, moving, and inspiring discussion with a truly impressive person. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed creating it. Link is below: https://mineolasearchpartners.com/2025/10/16/stress-panic-attacks-debilitating-anxiety-and-a-170m-exit-icontact-founder-aaron-houghton/