#90: From Startup to Grown-Up: Jeff Byers, Co-founder and CEO of Momentous — Transitioning from NFL player to CEO, managing cultural clashes during a merger, and navigating the high-pressure world of growth-stage leadership
Description
Jeff Byers is the co-founder and CEO of Momentous, a high-performance wellness company delivering science-backed products used by elite athletes, military operators, and high-performers worldwide. A former NFL player and two-time USC football captain, Jeff brings both personal and professional insight to optimizing performance and building values-driven companies.
What you’ll learn:
- Why Jeff says effort and attitude are the only things you can control—and how they ground him in tough moments
- The cultural clash behind merging two wellness companies
- How “speed over consensus” became a core value at Momentous
- Why returning to in-person work cost talent but aligned culture
- How EOS helped reset their operating rhythm
- Building high-integrity partnerships with leaders like Huberman and Starrett
- Lessons from Pete Carroll on consistency and energy
- Why growth-stage CEOs must “reset the scoreboard” and stay curious
Takeaways:
- Control what you can: Effort and attitude define how you show up
- Merge carefully: “Equals” often clash without clear direction
- Culture lives in person: Jeff prioritized cohesion over convenience
- Decide fast on people: Delays around misfits create drag
- Earn trust: Authenticity attracted elite advisors
- Balance roles: EOS clarified vision vs. execution
- You define you: Not your title—your choices
Find Jeff:
In this episode:
(00:00:00 ) Expectations in growth-backed companies
(00:00:23 ) Intro to Jeff
(00:02:00 ) NFL to CEO journey
(00:03:52 ) Life as a pro athlete
(00:05:28 ) Teamwork, rhythm, winning
(00:09:10 ) Athletic mindset in startups
(00:11:06 ) Stress rituals, effort & attitude
(00:14:02 ) Purpose-driven leadership
(00:19:15 ) Founding Momentous
(00:30:51 ) Merger lessons
(00:35:25 ) Cultural alignment
(00:42:27 ) In-person work benefits
(00:48:38 ) Standing out in supplements
(00:54:20 ) Partnering with leaders
(00:57:59 ) Co-founder dynamics
(01:02:23 ) Imposter syndrome
(01:10:22 ) Curiosity = leadership growth
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