Jeff Johnston: Brightn isn't a startup, it's a legacy

In the span of four and a half years, Jeff Johnston lost his son Seth to a fentanyl overdose, his wife Prudence to alcohol, and his mother three months after that. Out of that unimaginable grief, he found a mission. And three weeks after Seth died, Seth's daughter and Jeff's granddaughter Brighton was born, the brightest thing to emerge from the darkest season of his life. She gave the platform its name.

Most people who lose what Jeff lost don't come back from it. He did, and then he made a promise to spend the rest of his life making sure other families don't have to go through what his did.

In this episode:

Jeff takes us through the trajectory that started with a parent-teacher conference and an Adderall prescription, the hiding in plain sight that followed Seth's death, the Christmas Eve moment that led to sobriety, three days alone in a closet that became the greatest test of his life, and why he refuses to call Brightn a startup.

Jeff told me that surviving those three days in the closet is the greatest accomplishment of his life, more than his kids, more than his marriage, more than anything else he's ever done.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and welcome to The Founder Exhale
01:45 Jeff responds to his intro and the synchronicity of both our wives being named Prudence
02:25 Jeff's chapter in Burn Bright Not Out and the person who cried reading it
04:55 Seth's fentanyl overdose, the Adderall prescription, and what Jeff has to carry
08:23 How he would do it differently if he could
10:25 Hiding in plain sight after Seth died
10:31 Christmas Eve 2017 and the moment sobriety began
12:25 Prudence's death on June 29, 2021
13:18 What kept Jeff going through losing Seth, Prudence, and his mother
15:05 Three days alone in a closet at Christmas 2021
17:15 Back from the break
18:58 Brighton, Jeff's granddaughter, and how she came into his life
22:46 Why Jeff refuses to call Brightn a startup
25:36 What Brightn is and why he built it upstream
30:00 The Founder Exhale Walks and the Barcelona connection
32:13 What Jeff wants people building companies to take away from his story
35:22 The transition to the dad joke and why laughter matters
36:21 The dad joke showdown
39:15 How to connect with Jeff
40:00 Outro

Resources and links:

Brightn: https://www.brightn.app/

Living Undeterred: https://www.livingundeterred.org/

Jeff Johnston on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-a-johnston/

James' book, Burn Bright, Not Out: https://a.co/d/a5PHUjD

Kabila Founder Mental Health Fund: kabilamentalhealth.com

The Founder Exhale website: thefounderexhale.com

Support the work:

The Kabila Founder Mental Health Fund has awarded nearly 90 mental therapy grants to founders who need support but can't afford it. If this episode moved you, please consider making a donation at kabilamentalhealth.com. Every dollar helps a founder get the support they deserve.

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Be well, y'all. 🤠