What if the hardest year of your life became the reason you could handle anything after? Today’s guest is a builder who turned a personal breaking point into the blueprint for a growing business. Introducing Dan Mosko, CEO of Altura Performance and founder of Elevation Everest. Dan partners with host Gregory McDonough to share how he built a high-altitude endurance race company while working 85-90 hour weeks at his corporate sales job, all while his home fell apart around him, foundation, roof, and plumbing failing at once. He also delves into what it really takes to leave a stable career and build something of your own, one problem at a time.
Takeaways:
Dan describes the “endurance mindset” as the ability to consistently deal with pain and keep moving forward. He credits this to having “proof points,” past hard experiences that prove you can handle whatever life throws at you next.
While building Elevation Everest and working 85-90 hour weeks at his day job, Dan’s house experienced simultaneous major failures, foundation, roof trusses, and a sewage backup, all at once. He got through it by leaning on the memory of finding his breaking point at mile eight of an Ironman marathon and breaking the crisis into smaller, manageable pieces.
Elevation Everest was born from Dan’s own transformational Ironman finish-line experience and a gap he saw in the market for a more accessible high-altitude endurance event. He and his team cold-called resorts until they found the right partner in Winter Park, Colorado.
Running a large-scale endurance event involves far more behind-the-scenes complexity than athletes typically realize, including venue partnerships, sponsor sourcing, aid station logistics, and contingency planning for the unexpected, like a moose that chased participants through the woods during last year’s race.
To grow the athlete community, Dan’s team has added race-weekend engagement, monthly community calls on gear and training, and guest speakers like 18-time Everest summiter Tendi Sherpa, all offered at no additional cost to registered athletes.
Looking ahead, Dan plans to expand Elevation Everest to new locations, explore new race formats, and grow Altura Performance, his supplement company focused on helping people acclimatize, perform, and recover in the mountains.
For anyone considering leaving a corporate job to chase an entrepreneurial dream, Dan advises building a financial runway, validating the plan with people who’ve done it before, and finding an accountability partner. He reminds listeners that entrepreneurship is simply an endless stream of problems to solve, one at a time.
Quote of the Show:
“Don’t be surprised if it’s harder than you expect, but also don’t be surprised when it’s more fulfilling than you expect.” - Dan Mosko
Links:
Dan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-mosko/
Altura Performance’s Website: alturaperformance.com
Elevation Everest Website: elevationeverest.com
Discount Code: CHIEFENDURANCE
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Chief Endurance Officer is produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/
