Charlie Hartwell is the Managing Director at Bridge Builders Collaborative, an investment group supporting early-stage companies focused on mental wellness, consciousness, and spiritual well-being. A Harvard Business School graduate, he has led, founded, or served in leadership roles across more than a dozen industries — from corporate marketing at H.J. Heinz and Pillsbury to founding innovative ventures.
Before Bridge Builders, Charlie was President of Ideas to Go, an innovation consulting firm, and founded the first for-profit US expedition company, launching a high-impact Antarctic expedition. He also serves on boards such as Insight Timer and advises or invests in companies like Interaxon and The Shift Network.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [2:56] Charlie Hartwell shares his journey growing up in Minnesota and early influences from his grandfather
- [6:02] Founding a for-profit expedition company to support Antarctic explorers
- [8:40] Creative problem-solving and generating global media attention
- [10:55] Why Charlie entered the mindfulness and mental health investment space
- [14:02] What's so special about the Insight Timer business model?
- [18:33] How partnering with Prialto supports his work and energy
- [24:30] What positively amplifying people means in building global movements
In this episode…
Organizations often struggle to build cultures that endure beyond their founders, ensure sustainable growth, and genuinely empower their people. Many leaders want to amplify their teams’ potential but get stuck when balancing profitability with purpose. How can organizations create movements that thrive, scale, and positively impact humanity?
Charlie Hartwell, an investor and expert in mindfulness, mental health, and organizational growth, shares his journey of building global movements and supporting companies shaping human well-being. He highlights lessons from founding a nonprofit in Kenya, creating a groundbreaking expedition company, and investing in over 30 companies in the mindfulness and digital therapeutics space. His insights emphasize aligning mission with business models, fostering authentic connections, and amplifying others through systems that empower leaders, entrepreneurs, and communities.
In this episode of Amplify People, Eric Taussig interviews Charlie Hartwell, Managing Director at Bridge Builders Collaborative, about scaling impact through mindfulness and conscious leadership. Charlie also discusses how his nonprofit work in Kenya shaped his mission-driven approach, why Insight Timer’s community model is a game-changer, and how having the right support systems frees leaders to focus on their strengths.
Resources Mentioned in this episode
- Eric Taussig on LinkedIn
- Prialto
- Charlie Hartwell: LinkedIn | TikTok
- Bridge Builders Collaborative
- Insight Timer
Quotable Moments
- “What I'm passionate about is really building global movements, and I do that through building organizations.”
- “We helped these two women cross the continent of Antarctica, a 1500-mile journey pulling £250 sleds.”
- “We became the first professional investors in the mindfulness space 13 years ago.”
- “Insight Timer is a community with 20,000 teachers teaching in 55 languages to 30 million people.”
- “Our goal is to find entrepreneurs that want to help improve the human condition.”
Action Steps
- Align mission with business models: Ensuring financial sustainability allows purpose-driven organizations to scale impact without losing integrity.
- Invest in emerging wellness innovations: Exploring mindfulness apps, digital therapeutics, and sound technologies helps organizations stay ahead of cultural shifts.
- Foster authentic global connections: Building networks across regions, sectors, and communities helps amplify ideas into lasting, impactful movements.
- Delegate tasks outside your strengths: Freeing up time from draining responsibilities allows leaders to focus energy on vision and innovation.
- Amplify others to co-create change: Supporting passionate entrepreneurs with resources and networks enables collective impact greater than money alone.
Sponsor for This Episode
This episode is brought to you by Prialto, the Virtual Assistant Service for Busy Professionals and Enterprise Teams.
Founded in 2010, Prialto has provided over 1 million hours of professional support experience for a range of companies.
We offer executive, sales, operations and administrative support and other virtual assistant services.
We work with enterprise and midmarket companies like Compass, the Graham Company, little Spoon and Rapid 7.
Our managed service ensures consistently strong and proactive support.
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