# 160. She Built a $100M Freedom-Based Business and Realized Outer Freedom Was Only Half the Story with Natalie Ellis

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/plenty-with-kate-northrup-6618641/160-she-built-a-100m-freedom-based-business-and-realized-outer-freedom-was-only-half-the-story-with-natalie-ellis
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/plenty-with-kate-northrup-6618641/160-she-built-a-100m-freedom-based-business-and-realized-outer-freedom-was-only-half-the-story-with-natalie-ellis.md
Podcast: [Plenty with Kate Northrup](https://stenobird.com/podcast/plenty-with-kate-northrup-6618641)
Published: 2026-05-26T06:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/207a96f0
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/207a96f0/f254879a.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/plenty-with-kate-northrup-6618641/episodes/160-she-built-a-100m-freedom-based-business-and-realized-outer-freedom-was-only-half-the-story-with-natalie-ellis
Duration seconds: 3730

## Resource

What if success isn’t actually freedom? And what if the business you built to give you more life slowly became the thing consuming it? In this deeply honest conversation, Kate sits down with entrepreneur, author, and BossBabe founder Natalie Ellis to talk about ambition, motherhood, nervous system healing, identity, and what it really means to build a freedom-based business. Natalie opens up about the hidden cost of chasing external validation, the pressure of maintaining a personal brand, and the surprising realization that even after “making it,” she still found herself craving permission to feel chosen. She shares how becoming a mother reshaped her relationship with ambition, success, and even her own identity—and why she no longer believes in building a business that demands everything from the person behind it. Together, Kate and Natalie explore the tension so many ambitious women feel between growth and presence, career and motherhood, expansion and enoughness. They talk about the emotional reality of entrepreneurship, the influence of social media on our desires, and the subtle ways status and validation can quietly become the thing running the show. Natalie also shares the behind-the-scenes story of stepping away from BossBabe, buying the company back, and rebuilding it in a way that aligned with the actual life she wanted to live. The conversation moves into nervous system regulation, healing from chaos and functional freeze, navigating marriage and partnership while building a company, and learning how to create success without abandoning yourself in the process. This episode is a powerful reminder that freedom is not just financial. It’s emotional. It’s relational. It’s nervous system deep. And ultimately, it comes from building a life and business that genu…

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## Transcript

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