Episode 1334: What Really Keeps Founders From Scaling with Khryzza Kelley and Chantelle Lisette

The biggest barrier to scaling may not be your systems, team, or strategy, but the identity you still hold onto. In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene interviews Khryzza Kelley, CEO and Founder of On Fridays, We Scale and CEO and Chief Team Architect for CoWorq, and Chantelle Lisette, CEO and Founder of She Is Worthy Community, as they discuss the connection between business growth, identity, confidence, and self-worth. Khryzza shares why scaling requires founders to evolve their mindset, team, systems, and role, while Chantelle explains how belief, visibility, and personal worth directly influence leadership, sales, and growth. Together, they discuss why founders must stop being the business hero, get comfortable being seen, and surround themselves with the right people to reach the next level. Key Takeaways: → Confidence affects how effectively leaders communicate, sell, and influence others. → The right relationships and rooms can expand a founder’s sense of what is possible. → Growth and scaling are distinct, and scaling requires changing more than just one part of the business. → A business becomes more scalable when the founder is less essential to day-to-day operations. → Vulnerability and visibility can strengthen connection rather than undermine authority. Khryzza Kelley is the founder of CoWorq and On Fridays We Scale, a team architect and scaling strategist who helps entrepreneurs build the people, roles, and structure they need for the next stage of growth. Her background spans national youth leadership in the Philippines, corporate training and leadership development, and entrepreneurship, giving her a unique perspective on how leaders evolve and organizations scale. After growing CoWorq from $3,000 in revenue to a seven-figure business, Khryzza developed her Team Architecture approach, Purpose to Profit Scaling Framework, and “Scaling Is Mental” methodology. She also created SEEN, a curated mastermind for women scaling six- and seven-figure businesses, and has been recognized as eWomenNetwork’s 2025 Emerging Leader of the Year and the Asian Business Association of Orange County’s 2024 Small Business of the Year. Chantelle Lisette is the CEO and founder of She Is Worthy Community, a global community helping women grow in confidence, connection, faith, and business. With a background in marketing, an MBA in business management, and a decade-long career in technology sales that earned her four President’s Club awards, Chantelle brings deep experience in relationships, communication, and value creation. Her work was shaped by a personal journey that challenged how she viewed identity and self-worth, leading her to build the kind of community she once needed herself. Since launching in 2025, She Is Worthy has grown to approximately 150 women across six countries, creating opportunities for friendship, collaboration, professional growth, and meaningful business relationships. Chantelle is also a speaker, host of the She Is Worthy Podcast, and a partner in SEEN, a mastermind for women scaling six- and seven-figure businesses. Her work helps women recognize their worth, step into greater visibility and leadership, and build businesses without tying their value to achievement, income, appearance, or external approval. Connect With Khryzza and Chantelle: Website: https://onfridayswescale.com/ Links Mentioned in Episode: https://onfridayswescale.com/seen Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chantelle.phillips.16/ https://www.facebook.com/khryzzamaekelley/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/OnFridaysWeScale/ https://www.instagram.com/seenmastermind/ https://www.instagram.com/chantellelisette/ https://www.instagram.com/chantellelisette/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/sheisworthycommunity/ https://www.instagram.com/khryzzakelley/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantelle-phillips-a5550158/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/khryzzamaekelley/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OnFridaysWeScale/ https://www.youtube.com/@OnFridaysWeScale/playlists?app=desktop&view=1&sort=dd&shelf_id=5

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Welcome to the Sharkpreneur Podcast with Kevin Harrington and Seth Green. Kevin Harrington is the inventor of the infomercial, one of the original sharks from the hit TV show Shark Tank, and has generated over $5 billion in TV and digital direct response sales. Seth Green is the world's first trusted authority on cutting-edge direct response marketing, a bestselling author, and the only three-time marketer of the year nominee. On the podcast, Kevin and Seth interview sharkpreneurs who share straight talk on what it takes to explode your business.

• 0:38Speaker 01

  Forty-nine faces looked to him in triumph. Over the last 12 months, they had each taken turns and promoted his business for a week at a time, driving over $987,342 in revenue. What if you had a network of 50 centers of influence who promoted your business every week for a year? Grab your copy of the number one Amazon bestselling book, The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Business with a Podcast. It's 33% off the Amazon price by going to ultimatenpodcastbook.com. Again, that website for 33% off the Amazon price is ultimatenpodcastbook.com. Welcome to the Sharkpreneur Podcast. This is your co-host Seth Green. Today, I've got the good fortune to be doing a dual threat. I am here to interview Krissa Kelly and Chantel Lisette Phillips.

• 1:22Speaker 01

  Krissa is the CEO and Chief Team Architect of Cowork, founder of On Fridays, WeScale, and the visionary behind-scene mastermind. Chantel is the CEO and founder of the She Is Worthy community, a four-time President's Club winner who ranked in the top 1% of a 1,000-person technology company. And we are going to unpack both sides of the scaling equation. Krissa, Chantel, thank you so much for joining us.

• 1:45Speaker 02

  Thank you. We're happy to be here. We're looking forward to this interview with you.

• 1:51Speaker 01

  Awesome. So you've each worked with entrepreneurs who are already successful. Why do so many businesses hit a ceiling just when it looks like they should be taking off?

• 2:02Speaker 02

  I can take that. I think it's because we have such an archaic view, outdated view of scaling. We think about scaling in terms of putting more money, putting more capital, investing more in your business. And in some ways, it's true, but you can give an entrepreneur a business a million dollars, and they're not going to scale. Because scaling is mental first, before it becomes operational, and before its impact can be financial. So this is why me and Chantel has been, this has been a good marriage of our initiatives and businesses, because I take care of the scaling part, which is on the business side, but also believing that scaling is mental.

• 2:43Speaker 02

  Chantel gives us that deeper mental dive in terms of what does it really take before we can scale our business?

• 2:52Speaker 01

  Chantel, you've been in the top 1% of a major technology sales organization. What did that experience teach you about the difference between being a high performer and being a confident leader?

• 3:02Speaker 03

  It's a great question, because I feel like you have to have both in order to actually be successful. The reason I've been able to scale so much in my sales business, my technology company, is because there's only one thing that changed, and the one thing that changed was I believed I was worth it. I believed that I could do it. And once I changed my mental, once I changed my self-worth, and I started to speak more confidently, I started to become more confidently. It's kind of like when you fake a smile, you actually become happier. It's the same thing where you start to walk the walk, and then it translates into sales. If you don't believe what you're talking about, then the customer won't believe what you're talking about.

• 3:42Speaker 01

  Krissa, you grew Cowork from $3,000 to $300,000, past seven figures. What had to change about the business, and I think more importantly, about you personally, to make those big jumps possible?

• 3:56Speaker 02

  Being in the right room. I think from zero to $3,000 to our very first six figures, it was all about organic outreach. Like, hey, I'm doing this, this is my business, maybe you know some folks. It has been that. But then from 100K to mid-six figures, it was going to networking, building relationships, having a sales engine through that, because I sell based on trust. But then from there to hitting seven figures, it's all about, it's not about the volume, how many events you go to, how many rooms you're part of, but the right rooms that is for you and for your business. Because the right rooms can make you believe what's possible, and can make you rethink about what you think was impossible.

• 4:40Speaker 02

  And I think that was the biggest pivot for me. Yes, the tools, the AI and all that, the marketing, the investments that we did within our systems and all, but it's the right rooms really that made the difference for me and my business.

• 4:57Speaker 01

  That makes a lot of sense. And you alluded to something that I'm going to use to segue into the next question. Chantel, what's more likely to hold a successful business back? The broken systems or the founder's belief system?

• 5:10Speaker 03

  I fully believe it's the founder's belief system. Because when you believe in yourself, and you believe in your vision, your passion, what you're trying to accomplish, nothing will stop you. Even if you have a quote-unquote "broken" system, your belief will overcome that. Your belief will get you to the end goal of trying to figure out the right system, trying to figure out, and the system is your people. And I believe when you instill belief in your people, I always say, borrow my belief until you have it on your own. When you instill that belief in your people, your people become a stronger organization and a stronger system. And that is the foundation to growth. Kind of like when you have a tree, you want to make sure the roots are really strong, because the leaves don't matter until the tree grows.

• 5:54Speaker 01

  That should be a business bumper sticker. Krissa, you can build the perfect team around a founder. Chantel, you can help that founder develop incredible confidence. What happens when one changes and the other doesn't?

• 6:07Speaker 02

  They're not going to scale. It's just not possible. I think it's always, you need to have both, right? And I think there is a reason why any business can grow, but not every business can scale. Those are very different things. And it's always because we try to shortcut our growth. We try to think like, oh, if I download this new AI tool, my business will scale. Or, oh, if I just offer this product and just focus on the low ticket. Or maybe the opposite, oh, I'll just focus on the high-ticket products, and then my business will scale. It's a combination. I always say that if you want to 10x your profit, you got to 10x all the different parts of your business first. Yourself, your people, your product, your process.

• 6:51Speaker 02

  And then the 10x-ing of your profit becomes inevitable. So you got to have all the right things at the right time, in the right place.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  Chantel, you talked about team. Why does some founders start feeling threatened when their team starts becoming capable of doing things without them?

• 7:07Speaker 03

  I think that's also a common thought of, you know, bringing AI into the picture, things that could be done without us. The thing is, community and being surrounded by people is strength. And a company can only grow and scale as strong as their weakest link. So I think the biggest thing is to continue to know that we need people to grow. Someone can't grow without somebody else. So that fear is almost invalid, because it's not what actually scales a business.

• 7:38Speaker 01

  I'd love for both of you to give your take on this. Are some entrepreneurs unconsciously keeping their businesses smaller because growing them would require them to like, stop being the hero of their own company?

• 7:50Speaker 02

  Yes, definitely yes. I learned from one of my mentors that if you really want to scale, the question is, are you ready to let 80% of your old identity die with you? Because it's only going to be the 20% of your identity, your process, your systems, the identity of you as a CEO and you as a business, that will get you to the next level. So yes, you're not going to be the superhero anymore. You're not going to be the know-it-all anymore. And actually, for me, that's my goal. The less needed I am in my business, the higher my barometer for success is.

• 8:24Speaker 01

  That's a really good point. So if our old identity, if we have to let go of it, it has to die, what's the new identity that has to be born to take us to the next level?

• 8:35Speaker 03

  Yeah, go ahead, Krista.

• 8:38Speaker 02

  Go ahead.

• 8:39Speaker 03

  No, go, go. I was gonna say, you know, comfortability is what keeps us with that old identity. And I think it's super easy to stay there because it's comfortable. We're making the money, we have the sales, everything's good. But good isn't great and great isn't scaling. And I think that's the, we have to lose our old mindset in order to rebirth this new mindset. And the scariest part of this new mindset or this new identity is that it's gonna be in front of people that you're, you might be uncomfortable to be seen, which is why this mastermind is called Seen, because we don't realize that subconsciously we are staying in this place because there might be a deeper fear and it might be the fear of actually

• 9:23Speaker 03

  being seen, whether that's our numbers or whether that's our physical.

• 9:28Speaker 01

  Wow, that is very, very introspective. So what is the first thing you look at when you have a conversation with a business leader? You know what, let me back up one second. Let's, let's not assume anything. What is your, you mentioned that growing and scaling are two different things. How are you defining both?

• 9:51Speaker 02

  Any business can grow. On average, a business can grow three percent to thirty percent, but a scaling business grows three hundred percent to three thousand percent. It's a very different mindset. A growing business, you can just do the things that you're already doing and maybe ten percent better, improve it, tweak it a little bit, and it's fine. Any business can, and honestly, it's not a bad thing. But a scaling business is a business that challenges its previous beliefs and its current beliefs, because they know that what got us, what got them there won't be the things that's gonna get them to where they wanna go. So for example, for me, one of the things that I was able to do in my business is that we used to have this service that was ninety percent of our clients were, were availing of this service.

• 10:36Speaker 02

  But we also understand that if we really want to grow and deliver the best possible solution to our clients, even though it's the most popular service at the time, it's not gonna get us to where we wanna go. So challenging the beliefs that we have, challenging what we thought was right, the assumptions that we had, so that we can go to the next level is super important in a scaling business.

• 10:57Speaker 01

  Chantel, if our net worth is a function of our self-worth, how does that become an operational problem for our business and how do we kind of transcend that?

• 11:06Speaker 03

  Yeah, I'll take it from a sales perspective, because sales is communication. It's sales psychology, essentially. If I'm gonna sell you a pen, if I, if I say it in a way that's like, oh, I, I hope you buy this pen, it's pretty good, that's not gonna get across to someone being convinced or feeling like you're filling a gap that they need, that they want to buy the pen. But if I come to you with conviction, passion, and I'm genuinely trying to fill a gap, you're gonna feel that and I'm transferring my belief of this pen over to you, which is gonna translate into the sale, which equals the number. So I think it all stems from knowing your worth and knowing that you're capable of getting that across. It's kind of like, if you wanna be a millionaire, you have to accept that's capable for you.

• 11:50Speaker 03

  If you don't believe that that's in your realm, it's never gonna meet you.

• 11:54Speaker 01

  Why are so many female entrepreneurs uncomfortable being visible as the face of their business?

• 12:03Speaker 02

  I think it's, number one, not a lot of people wants to be seen. Not everybody wants to be seen, because being seen is, is you literally welcoming everybody in your, in, in your life, right? Both personal and business. Anything in the age of social media where one wrong tweet, one wrong post, you can get canceled in a minute, it's, it's becoming not just a personal risk, but a business risk as well. And we see it a lot these days, right? But the thing about it is that if you really wanna scale your business, you gotta embrace it. You gotta do the hard thing, because it's not, it's not easy. I mean, if it's easy, everybody's scaling. Everybody's becoming millionaires or billionaires, right? But we gotta do the hard thing. And guess what?

• 12:46Speaker 02

  We can do hard things too, but you gotta believe in it, you gotta be in the right room where you can believe and where you, where they can show you that it's actually possible and doable and easier than you think.

• 12:57Speaker 03

  And I also think it's very vulnerable to be seen for female entrepreneurs. And I don't think a lot of women really understand that vulnerability is magnetic. The more vulnerable you are, the more magnetic you become.

• 13:10Speaker 01

  Man, you are filled with bumper, business bumper sticker today. I think that is awesome. I love the writer downers. What are the most common mistakes you see female entrepreneurs making when it comes to trying to be seen, be heard, and get their businesses to the next level?

• 13:26Speaker 02

  Do you wanna take that, Chantel, that this is your realm?

• 13:30Speaker 03

  I think the biggest hurdle I see is women feeling like it, it, it's based on their numbers or based on, they're trying to prove their worth in numbers or prove their worth in different areas, when you don't have to prove it, you don't have to earn it, you just are it. And I think that's what stems with my business of She Is Worthy, is helping women truly know that it's not based on the amount of likes you get or followers you have, or the amount of money that you're actually making. It's based on how you handle yourself, how you communicate with someone. When you shake someone's hand, are you looking them in the eye? Are you feeling worthy of that conversation? If you are, everything else falls into place, it becomes the backbone.

• 14:12Speaker 01

  Why do entrepreneurs often confuse being busy with being valuable?

• 14:17Speaker 02

  I think right now, I mean, the very fact that our, we are, even though we're now in a service-based industry, we still operate as if we're in a manufacturing economy, right? So we measure our successes by the number of hours that we work or the, in, I think it's in some ways and in a lot of ways, it is outdated. But again, if the goal is to scale your business, you gotta get out of the way. You gotta let the good people in so that they can grow your business alongside you. You gotta stop being the superhero. You gotta stop being the, the best person out there, because the more valuable you are to your business, the less valuable your business becomes. So you gotta stop being busy, you gotta stop being needed.

• 15:00Speaker 02

  Let, you hire these people for a reason, let them do their magic and be the visionary, because that's the only job in a scaling business, that's your only job as a CEO or business owner. If you don't have the time to develop the vision, protect the vision, sell the vision, there's no business to be had. So stop being busy, focus on the vision, and let others, bring people into your mission.

• 15:20Speaker 03

  I think it's also, I just wanna piggyback on that real quick. I think it's also normal to feel that way too, because growing up, what were we taught in kindergarten and first grade and elementary school? We do something right, we get a sticker. And so that's been ingrained in us since childhood. And so we have to now relearn and unlearn some things that we don't have to get that physical sticker, we already had it growing up.

• 15:44Speaker 01

  Can you eat, you're both serial entrepreneurs. Can you each talk a little bit about the businesses that you have and what you're working on in terms of the Seen Mastermind as well?

• 15:54Speaker 02

  Absolutely. I own Cowork, which is a team architecture company. We basically build the teams that businesses need so that they can ten X or that they can scale their business. And then I also just recently founded On Fridays We Scale, which is a scaling lab and mastermind for women in their season of scaling. And partnering that with Chantel before we go dive deep into Seen. So Chantel, tell us about your business.

• 16:18Speaker 03

  Yeah, so I'm a speaker, a podcast host as well, and the founder of She Is Worthy Community, which is a global women's sisterhood for all women, all ages, there's no cap. And it's really for women to mix their personal development with professional development. I've noticed that you could be really good at business but low on self-worth, or you could have high self-worth and not really have a business to put it. And so when we have both of them, that where we can connect with women on a both networking level, but also on a friendship level, we need women to do life with, we need community. And the most success comes when we do it, we're better together. And so that's where She Is Worthy, it was founded about a year and a half ago. We have a hundred and fifty women worldwide. The goal and where we're going with She Is Worthy is to continue growing chapters and

• 17:03Speaker 03

  create a scalable community.

• 17:06Speaker 01

  That's awesome. Can you tell us both about the Seen Mastermind?

• 17:10Speaker 02

  Seen Mastermind is really the marriage between business and identity, so you can scale your business. I mean, don't get me wrong, even though we, you know, we invite all the amazing women founders out there, the goal and the mission of this event is really to help them scale their business before they even leave the room. I mean, we've been into all of these events, conferences with a thousand people, mixing goals, networking and all that. And while it is good to grow your business, grow your influence, if you really wanna scale, it's gotta be in the right room, with the right people that can show you like, hey, that could be done, or can help you pivot if you need to pivot. And can also help you believe what is possible and what could, what could we do to make this bigger, so your impact can be greater.

• 17:54Speaker 02

  So that's really what Seen is all about, understanding what it takes, what it costs, and who are the people who already did it, so they can collapse decades into one day for us in that room.

• 18:06Speaker 03

  Yeah, and one thing that sets us apart too is we are sending out a questionnaire to all attendees, so they could fill out what they're currently making, where their pain points are, what their goals are. That way, when they get inside the room, we are gonna intentionally match them with people that could either fill those gaps or speak to their issues and, and help them scale, help them fill those gaps. That way, they walk out with intentional networking and intentional partnerships.

• 18:30Speaker 01

  You've both helped so many people. What are your biggest challenges now?

• 18:37Speaker 02

  My biggest challenge is, I think it's very common for a lot of businesses too. My next level definitely entails my company being able to grow without my face on it. And I think I wanted, I want my business to move from a founder-led sales to enterprise sales. And really being vulnerable here, I think I don't want my business to start and end with me. I'm looking at my business to survive even after me. So if we can pivot and get there now, so we can build, build on it, that would be perfect. But that's basically the challenge that I have and a challenge that I hope to solve learning from others in that room.

• 19:15Speaker 01

  Chantel, what's your biggest challenge?

• 19:17Speaker 03

  Yeah, I totally agree. I think the Seen Mastermind is gonna help us both, which is great. It's not just, you know, us putting on, it's us helping each other out, which is what the goal is, we wanna help each other out. For me, my biggest challenge is similar. I want to be able to put myself in front of more women, get She Is Worthy in front of more women, because when a woman sees what we're about, she immediately wants to join, be a part of it. So it's just reaching one million women and beyond, that's the goal.

• 19:40Speaker 01

  Your, your passions are obvious. What do you both like about, best about what you're doing?

• 19:46Speaker 02

  I think for me, it's the shifting of mindset. I think for me, that's super, super important because we can do training on AI. We can do training on marketing, sales. We can do scripts, prompting and all that stuff. But if we cannot shift our mindset, I always say you cannot be a million dollar entrepreneur. If you have a thousand dollar mindset, we can't get there. So seeing our members, seeing the women in the room shift their mindset and rethink what they thought was impossible and what now they think is possible is always the best thing for me. Because once they can do that, oh my goodness, the world is, the world is there playing out from there.

• 20:26Speaker 01

  Chantel, what about you?

• 20:27Speaker 03

  Yes, I love, love, love seeing women redefine success, what that means to them and look at it from a point of helping them build that confidence, know their worth, love themselves again from the inside out. I love when I see a woman come to one of our events and be the shyest one in the room and leave with five new friends and maybe start her own business, build her income. And I love seeing the growth in her just from a communication standpoint and from a worth standpoint.

• 20:55Speaker 01

  Well, we know you're both incredibly busy. We greatly appreciate your very valuable time. Can you tell our viewers and our listeners where they can go to learn more about each of your ventures and about the Seen Mastermind?

• 21:08Speaker 02

  Absolutely. So on FridaysWeScale.com, we are also on YouTube because we do have a podcast. It's called On Fridays We Scale the Show and on Instagram as well. For Seen, we are on Instagram at Seen Mastermind or OnFridaysWeScale.com/Seen. If, you know, we have some viewers or listeners here who can join us in November 11, 2026. It's a Colony House in Anaheim, California. We only open this for 75 women founders and registration closes in October 30 or when that 75 seats are gone. So register as soon as possible. Chantel?

• 21:47Speaker 03

  Yes, you can find me at Chantel Le Sette on Instagram or at She's Worthy Community on Instagram. And you could also find me at the Seen Mastermind where I will personally give you a big hug and give you my information.

• 22:00Speaker 01

  Awesome. Well, we'll accept the hugs. This has been Seth Green for Sharkpreneur with Chris A. Kelly and Chantel Le Sette Phillips. Chris, there's Chantel. Thank you so much for joining us.

• 22:09Speaker 03

  Thank you so much.

• 22:11Speaker 01

  Thank you, everybody, for watching or listening. We will talk to you or see you next time.

• 22:16Speaker 04

  Why do so many businesses struggle while others seem to explode overnight? Do you wish you had the secret to this type of exponential growth? Now, I've scaled more than 20 businesses to over $100 million and it's not just luck. In my new book with Mark Tim, Mentor to Millions, you'll learn the repeatable framework I use in all my business ventures for massive success. Order at KevinMentor.com and get over $1,000 in bonuses. Head to KevinMentor.com.