Why founders often build businesses they can’t escape.

As founders build more, many feel more trapped. In this episode of Unscriptd, Will Abel and Michael Grier sit down with Nicholas Kirchner - Founder of Hydra and Co-Founder of Howl Campfires, to unpack the truth behind burnout, scale traps, and the subtle ways entrepreneurs accidentally create jobs they can’t walk away from.

Nicholas opens up about the pain points of growing an agency, the ceilings many founders hit at 15K per month or 250K per year, and why hiring the wrong way is often worse than not hiring at all. The conversation cuts deep into the systems myth, the early reality of AI adoption, and how to build businesses that don’t just scale but actually last.

From navigating high-trust partnerships to building his DTC brand from scratch, Nicholas drops insights that challenge surface-level success. Whether you’re at zero or scaling past seven figures, this episode pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to lead well.

Key Topics Covered:

• The hidden traps of scaling too fast

• Why systems alone won’t save your business

• Building a sustainable agency model

• Hiring strategies that actually work

• Early lessons from AI and automation

• Partnership trust, burnout, and balance

• The difference between growing and enduring

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Connect with Nicholas Kirchner & Hydra:
Hydra: https://workwithhydra.com
Howl Campfires: https://howlcampfires.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirchner1/

Connect with the hosts:
Will Abel: https://linkedin.com/in/will-abel-396a21152
Michael Grier: https://linkedin.com/in/michaelgrier