As a founder, you probably know the feeling when stress feels like it is steering the wheel. I know it. And so does Andrea Cristancho.
She built her life across Shanghai, South Africa, and Switzerland. And somewhere along the way, she learned something simple and hard. If she is not feeling it, she cannot sell it. Not to her team. Not to her clients. Not to herself.
That realisation changed how she leads. And it’s where our conversation starts.
We talk about the pressure founders put on themselves. The routines that fall apart when life changes. And the idea that stress can become a tool instead of a weight you carry.
When you are ready to turn stress into a superpower, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. Or scroll down for more about the episode.
3 Lessons From This Conversation
Founders hear a lot of noise about what it takes to build a company. Sleep later. Push harder. Get up no matter how many times you fall. These mantras sound motivating, but often break the people who try to live by them. Andrea cuts through that noise and offers three lessons that show a different way to lead.
1. Wellbeing is a business foundation
Andrea learned early that you cannot build a company on empty fuel. When founders push through without checking in with themselves, the team feels it, the work suffers, and the business pays the price. She sees wellbeing as the starting point of leadership, not a bonus you earn at the end of the week. Something to be integrated into your routines and business plans. It is a reminder that how you feel shapes how you lead and how others follow.
2. The old “fall down, get up again” mantra becomes false leadership
The startup world loves the idea that strength means getting back up no matter how many times you fall. Andrea calls this false leadership. After her second burnout, she realised that muscling through everything might look heroic, but breaks you faster than it builds you. Sustainable leadership requires honesty about limits, not blind persistence. It is a call to replace toughness with long-term thinking.
3. Stress can become a tool when you know how to work with it
Andrea reframes stress as something you can learn from rather than fight. Pattern interrupts help you notice the moment when you still have capacity or when you have hit your edge. With that awareness, stress shifts from a threat to a signal that helps you lead with more clarity. It is a lesson in treating stress as feedback instead of a force to resist.
Each of these lessons points to the same idea. You lead better when you stop fighting stress and start understanding what it is trying to tell you.
Share the episode with someone who needs to hear this.
And if you want more lessons like this? Subscribe to updates for a weekly dose of female founder inspiration.
Or scroll down for magical moments, practical takeaways, and my own observations.
- 3 Lessons From This Conversation
- Highlights and timestamps
- 3 Magic Moments In The Episode
- Practical Takeaways for Founders and Allies
- The Quote From The Episode
- 3 Things That Changed The Way I Think
- A Question for You 🤔
- Coming up on Women Disrupting Tech
- Listen to Episode 130 on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube
- Other ways to amplify the voices of Women Disrupting Tech
- About Andrea Cristancho
- Events that Women Disrupting Tech Must-Attend
- What I Want To Leave You With
Highlights and timestamps
| Time | Highlight |
|---|---|
| 03:45 | Andrea’s Journey to Entrepreneurship and Health Coaching |
| 06:50 | The Impact of Burnout on Leadership |
| 09:35 | Well-being as a Foundation for Success |
| 13:16 | Integrating Well-being into Leadership |
| 17:47 | Managing Guilt and Prioritizing Self-Care |
| 24:57 | The Role of Pattern Interrupts in Daily Life |
| 34:37 | How Leaders Can Support Teams in Building Routines |
| 38:56 | Breathing Techniques for Better Focus |
| 41:28 | The Breathing Exercise |
| 45:28 | Stress as a Friend, Not the Enemy |
| 51:00 | The Role of Men in Supporting Women in Leadership |
3 Magic Moments In The Episode
If you allow your mind to believe that self-care is only earned after work is finished, you’re on the wrong track. It’s something Andrea found out while recovering from her second burnout. Where powering through worked the first time, she needed to recalibrate how she wanted to build her business. These magical moments tie her ideas together in a way that is impossible to ignore.
1. “If I Can’t Feel It, How Can I Sell It?”
Already in her twenties, Andrea learned that if she cannot feel well, she cannot lead well. And if she treats self-care as something she must earn, she breaks the foundation she is trying to build her company on. It is rare to hear someone speak this honestly about the cost of ignoring your own limits. This felt like a truth every founder needs to hear.
2. The breathing exercise at 38 minutes
We paused the conversation, and she took me through a simple practice. Hands on the stomach. Inhale until the ribcage expands for seven seconds. Then exhale through the nose. Ten seconds of presence that change the entire tone of your workday. I felt it immediately. It’s a simple exercise that you can do in between replying to emails. It shows how small moments can reset a founder’s mind.
3. Her message to men at the end of the episode
Andrea ends with something both gentle and firm. Do not expect women to lead the way men do. Let them work in their own rhythm. Honor the cycle they are in. When men give that space, they get the best out of the women they work with. It is one of the clearest allyship lessons I have heard.
Each of these moments shows a different side of what conscious leadership can look like.
💬 What was your favorite moment from the episode? Let me know in the comments.
Or scroll down for practical tips that will fuel your own journey as a founder or ally.
Practical Takeaways for Founders and Allies
A lot of founders still hear the old mantra that you can sleep when you are dead, but Andrea shows there is a better way. Stress can become a friend when you learn how to work with it.
1. Use pattern interrupts to catch stress early
Stress becomes harmful when it slips below your awareness. Pattern interrupts help you notice the moment when healthy pressure turns into overload. A one-minute walk. A break between tasks. A pause before you reply. These small signals make stress workable instead of overwhelming.
They teach you to listen before your body starts yelling.
2. Use breathing as a fast reset when stress spikes
Breathing is the quickest way to regulate your nervous system. One deep inhale until your ribcage expands. A slow exhale through the nose. Ten seconds that calm the mind and bring your focus back. It is simple enough to do between emails and powerful enough to shift your entire afternoon.
It reminds you that clarity is only a breath away.
3. Design your own stress recovery rhythm
Turning stress into a friend means recognising when you are still in your zone and when you have reached your edge. Build routines that fit your life today and update them each quarter. Some seasons need movement. Others need rest. Founders who adapt instead of forcing old habits protect their resilience.
It helps you work with your limits rather than fight against them.
These tools shift stress from something that derails you to something that guides you.
💬 Know a founder who should hear this? Use the share button below to tell them.
Or scroll down to discover an inspiring quote and learn about my own takeaways.
The Quote From The Episode
“The more we focus on our wellbeing as leaders, the better we do in everything we touch, but mainly in the business.”
Andrea Christancho
Andrea said this early in our conversation, and it framed everything that followed. She was not talking about wellness as something nice to have, but as the core of how she leads, decides, and builds. It is a simple line that cuts through a lot of noise in founder life.
3 Things That Changed The Way I Think
This episode held up a mirror in an unexpected way. Each reflection made me look at stress, work, and routine with more honesty.
1. I treat time as a constraint and forget what it does to the quality of my work
I often edit these episodes late at night, long after my focus has faded. Andrea made me see the real costs. Pushing through does not make me productive. It makes me sloppy. And it turns the craft of podcasting into something it should not be. Her view on stress made me rethink when to stop and when to return with a clear mind. It reminded me that quality needs space, not speed.
2. The Tuesday workout moment showed my real dilemma
During the episode, we talked about how I feel guilty when I step away for a workout if my to-do list is not complete. I had forgotten that part of the conversation. Hearing it back felt like watching my own habit from the outside. The tension between self-care and meeting my own expectations is still there. Andrea helped me see that this is not about discipline. It is about belief. It pushed me to question why finishing the list feels more important than feeling well.
3. Stress only becomes manageable when you understand your own patterns
Andrea’s approach to pattern interrupts made me realise how often I let stress decide the pace of my day. I move from task to task without noticing how my mind shifts or how my body reacts. Her way of naming these moments, and using tiny pauses to catch them, gave me a new way to think about stress. It taught me that awareness is the first step to resilience.
So what did I change? I use pattern interrupts to see if I’m focusing on the lack of time instead of the quality of my work. And I have since stopped editing late at night. In fact, I stopped editing this blog post at 9pm instead of continuing until about 11pm just to finish it. And I ditched the feeling of guilt when biking to my Tuesday evening workout.
💬 What changed your thinking? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
A Question for You 🤔
💬 What’s a pattern interrupt that you want to start trying in your work?
👇 Share your thoughts in the comments. Let’s keep this conversation going and make dealing with stress easier for everyone.
Coming up on Women Disrupting Tech
Once in a while, you have those conversations that you’d wish would continue forever. My conversation with Dorit Roest is one of those.
We started talking about how she designed Strategy Sprints to help founders align their business goals with who they are and how they want to run it.
It ended up being a conversation about purpose, the power of thinking big, and why your strategy should fit on a post-it.
So stay tuned for more episodes of Women Disrupting Tech.
And until the next episode, as always, keep being awesome.
Dirkjan
PS. Want to be the first to learn about new episodes? Subscribe to updates or follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
Listen to Episode 130 on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube
The Founder Guide to Turning Stress into a Superpower with Andrea Christancho | Ep. 130 – Women Disrupting Tech
Other ways to amplify the voices of Women Disrupting Tech
Want to make inclusion in tech the new normal by 2032? Here’s how you can help:
Follow the Women Disrupting Tech Podcast
Follow the podcast on your favorite platform. Every follow brings these stories to more people.
Give the show a rating or review on Spotify or Apple.
It only takes a moment, but it tells others this podcast is worth listening to. And helps the voices of my guests carry further.
Share the stories that move you.
Send this episode to a friend, a colleague, or someone who needs to hear it. Every share helps to build a more inclusive tech future and supports my guests in getting the stage they deserve.
So when you know someone who should hear it, pass it on when you’re done.
About Andrea Cristancho
Andrea Cristancho is an international entrepreneur, certified health coach, breathwork instructor, and founder of the wellness initiative behind her name. She has built businesses across Asia, Africa, and Europe, from Mainland China to South Africa and now Switzerland, which gives her a deep, lived understanding of what founder life demands.
At the heart of her work is a simple conviction. Wellbeing is not a reward. It is the foundation of sustainable leadership. Through breathwork, holistic coaching, and mindful routines, she helps startup founders and teams turn stress into a guiding force instead of a burnout risk.
When she is not coaching, you might find her in nature with her family, camping under the stars, or exploring ways to bring restful rituals into everyday life. In Andrea’s world, success does not come at the cost of balance. It comes from building a business that respects the human rhythm behind it.
You can connect with her through her website or on LinkedIn.
Events that Women Disrupting Tech Must-Attend
The fall is loaded with great events, and I’ve found some cool ones. Below is one event you definitely want to check out. For a full overview of all events, including links to buy tickets, please check the events page.
Featured Event: That’s What She Said
Looking for an event to start your new year off right? Well, Impowr and Boom Chicago have got your back. They’re starting on 14 January with an event where networking meets comedy. You can get your early-bird ticket (a €10 discount until 30 November) on the Boom Chicago website.
This is the last week you can get that early bird, and the last time I spoke with the ladies of Impowr, they had sold 70 tickets already.
Diverse Leaders in Tech Events
If you like being in the know about what is happening in the DEI space, Diverse Leaders in Tech is the place to be.
Every last Thursday of the month, they have monthly in-person meetups for tech people, HR leaders and supporters of diversity to exchange insights, tackle challenges, and take action. It’s a vibrant, safe space where diversity is celebrated.
You can register for events on the DLiT website. Did I mention that joining your first event is free?
Equals Events
Equals is on a mission to shape a society where women and men stand on equal footing. At their home base in Amsterdam, they regularly organize events, but you can organize yours there too (like the 3mbrace Health events). You can find the events on Luma.
What I Want To Leave You With
What stayed with me after this conversation was Andrea’s calm clarity. She knows stress will always show up, but she refuses to let it run her life. She listens to her own rhythm and leads from there.
And the way she names it is disarming. Women should not be expected to lead the way men lead. Founders should not treat self-care as something they must earn. Stress can be a guide instead of a burden.
Andrea told me that recording the episode was the highlight of her week. It reminded me why these conversations matter. They give us a different way to build, one that lasts.
Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 