Alex Stewart didn’t raise a round. He didn’t move to San Francisco. He didn’t “grind” 100 hours a week. He built Teamtown, a growing design agency, by doing things differently.

This week on Founders & Empanadas, Joshua Eidelman sits down with Alex to unpack how he built a profitable, people-first business without losing his mind in the process.

They dig into how he:

• Used SEO as his first growth engine (and why founders shouldn’t hire an agency too early)
• Thinks about leadership energy transfer and building team culture remotely
• Keeps his mental health strong through community, self-reward, and better boundaries
• Rethinks hustle culture and why starving yourself as a founder is self-sabotage
• Built Teamtown without chasing a “massive” problem, but by solving a simple one really well

If you’re building a remote team, bootstrapping a business, or just tired of pretending burnout is a badge of honor… this episode is for you.

Listen now to Alex’s story, and take away grounded lessons on growth, leadership, and mental health that actually scale.

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