Jesse Pujji reveals how he builds wildly successful companies from scratch by doubling down on talent, distribution, and the power of bootstrapping.
In this episode, Sarah Lockwood sits down with the serial founder and investor behind Gateway X, a venture studio that launches and scales high-performing companies without venture capital. Jesse shares how he went from Goldman Sachs and McKinsey to building Ampush, one of Facebook’s earliest and most effective performance marketing agencies, which grew to manage over $1 billion in ad spend for top brands like Uber, Peloton, and Dollar Shave Club. That experience became the foundation for how he now builds high-performance teams and scalable businesses through bootstrapping.
Jesse breaks down the core principles that drive his companies: hiring exceptional talent, obsessing over sales and distribution, and staying rooted in profitability from day one. He shares the origin stories of ventures like GrowthAssistant, which connects startups with offshore marketing talent, and explains how each business at Gateway X is shaped by a unique unfair advantage and the right operating partner, not a VC-funded roadmap. From his two-farm model for sourcing ideas and people to his frameworks for knowing when to walk away from a failing project, Jesse offers a rare look into what it really takes to scale without VC.
This is a must-listen for founders ready to trade the unicorn myth for real traction, culture-driven leadership, and sustainable growth on their own terms.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 Jesse Pujji’s Entrepreneurial Journey from Ampush to Gateway X
05:01 Core Principles for Bootstrapping and Scaling Without VC
08:48 How GrowthAssistant Scaled to $20M in Revenue
13:32 The Two-Farm Model: Matching Ideas with the Right People
15:00 Knowing When to Kill an Idea and Move On
16:02 Inside Aux: Translating Marketing for Private Equity
21:09 Why Sales and Distribution Matter More Than Product
22:14 The Power of High Performance Teams
27:02 Building Profitable Companies with Operational Rigor
34:30 Managing Attention, Energy, and Leadership Across Startups
38:48 Conscious Leadership and the Value of Coaching
Links
Dave Kashen - Startup CEO Coach
Book - The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: https://a.co/d/j4uKz9A
Connect with The Conscious Entrepreneur:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conscious-entrepreneur/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conscious_entrepreneur_summit/
Website: http://www.consciousentrepreneur.us
Connect with Jesse Pujji:
Website Gateway X: https://www.gateway.xyz/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessepujji/
Connect with Sarah Lockwood:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lockwoodsarah/
Website: https://hivecast.fm
HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.