Endurance is not
a growth strategy.

Paige McPheely is the Founder and Executive Chair of Base and the author of Built to Breathe. She speaks and advises on leadership, burnout, and the trap of being the strong one.

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Built to Breathe publishes October 27, 2026. See the book →

About Paige

I started Base in 2013 with my best friend Casey, right as we were each having our first babies. Over the next thirteen years I ran it through venture funding, led an acquisition, and moved my own family from the US to Spain. Base builds the executive support that keeps leaders and companies running, which gave me a close view of how the most capable people operate, and where they break down.

The pattern I kept seeing became the book. The most reliable person on a team slowly becomes the one everything depends on. It looks like strength, right up until it turns into the organization's biggest risk and a cost the leader pays alone. I wrote Built to Breathe to name that trap and offer a way out that doesn't ask anyone to lower their standards.

I believe endurance is not a growth strategy, and that rest and support are leadership decisions, not rewards for surviving. I write, speak, and advise on it now, and I work from Valencia, Spain, where I live with my husband and our three sons.

Built to Breathe, publishing October 2026.

Speaking

Paige spent thirteen years building a company. She raised venture capital, led acquisitions, and moved from CEO to executive chair. Her talks come from that experience, and the pattern that became the book.

Signature talk

The Cost of Competence

The most reliable person on the team slowly becomes the one everything depends on. It looks like strength right up until it becomes the organization's biggest risk and the leader's private cost. This talk names the pattern, shows how to spot it in your own team, and lays out what to release first.

Best for: Leadership offsites, senior manager cohorts, founder communities, keynote on sustainable performance.
Formats: Keynote (45 min) · Workshop (90 min) · Fireside chat

Additional talks

Releasing Without Lowering the Bar

Most delegation fails because you handed off the task but kept the ownership. What it takes to transfer real ownership.

What Leaders Should Put Down First

AI raised what gets expected of everyone instead of lowering the load. A frank look at what a leader should release first.

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Advisory and board work

Paige advises founders and executive teams on the leadership patterns that make growth sustainable. She takes on a small number of engagements each year, plus selective board work. Inquiries welcome through the contact form.

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Recent conversations

A LOT with Audra

Ep 46: Balancing Act | Redefining Leadership and Ambition

Ambition, burnout, and the permission to put things down.

November 2025

The Ripple: A Podcast from Wednesday Women

Putting Down the Backpack with Paige McPheely

How stepping out from behind the company changed her relationship with thought leadership.

December 2025

Sales Talk for CEOs with Alice Heiman

Ep 176: How Base Grew Beyond Referrals

Building Base from a niche EA service into a tech-enabled platform.

September 2025

What people say

I've sat across the board table from her and marveled at how she runs hard without running herself into the ground. The tenets in this book aren't self-care platitudes. They're the working methods of leaders who want to build a life that allows them to go the distance.

Kristian Andersen Co-founder & General Partner, High Alpha

It has been inspiring over the last 8 years to watch Paige remain so committed to the unforgiving, slow progress of building a world-class company. As an entrepreneur myself, I am aware of how difficult it is to build a culture in which the entire team not only shares your mission, but can steward it with the clarity and simplicity of a Founder. Paige has a gift to not only attract talent, but to empower them in a way where they own the message and in turn, part of the culture, which leads to an amazing catalyst for growth. She's a badass in doing this work while raising three kids and ensuring her team feels energized by being a part of the business. Her team members use words like privilege and honor to work with her. I can think of no better barometer of a culture and team.

Brian Ferguson Founder, Arena Labs

Paige is one of the rare leaders who can speak with both strategic clarity and real humanity. She knows how to connect with an audience and articulate the 'why' behind her work in a way that stays with you.

Leslie Greenwood Co-Founder of Wednesday Women · Startup Advisor

We are exhausted. The better we get at our calendars, the more our calendars win. Paige knows the gauntlet and shares a calmer way through.

Max Yoder Author of Do Better Work and Co-founder of Lessonly

For press and event organizers

Bios below are ready to use as written. For the book cover, hi-res headshots, and publication details, the book's press page has them.

Short bio

Paige McPheely is the Founder and Executive Chair of Base and the author of Built to Breathe: The Art of High-Performance Leadership Without Burnout.

Fifty words

Paige McPheely is the Founder and Executive Chair of Base and the author of Built to Breathe. She spent thirteen years building a company in executive support, which showed her how the most capable leaders become the people everything depends on. She writes and speaks on leadership, burnout, and sustainable performance.

One hundred fifty words

Paige McPheely is the Founder and Executive Chair of Base and the author of Built to Breathe: The Art of High-Performance Leadership Without Burnout. She started Base in 2013 with her co-founder Casey Putschoegl and led it as CEO through venture funding, an acquisition, and a family move from the United States to Spain. Built to Breathe draws on thirteen years of working alongside founders and executives to name the trap of being the strong one and to offer a way out that does not ask ambitious leaders to lower their standards. Its Inhale, Hold, Exhale framework and Five Levers are used by executive teams and coaches to redistribute the weight of leadership without slowing the work. Paige speaks internationally on sustainable performance and lives in Valencia, Spain, with her husband and their three sons.

Cover art, headshots, and book details are on the Built to Breathe press page.

Endurance is nota growth strategy.