# Julien Smith

> Julien Smith is a Montreal-based serial entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, and one of the earliest Twitter users (handle @julien). He co-founded Breather, an on-demand private workspace platform that raised $122M+, and later Practice, a coaching management platform backed by a16z. His 2011 free Kindle book 'The Flinch', edited by Seth Godin, remains one of the most-read Kindle books ever, and his viral blog post 'The Complete Guide to Not Giving a Fuck' is widely credited as the inspiration for Mark Manson's multi-million-copy bestseller. Today he coaches first-time CEOs.

- **Role:** Executive Coach (First-Time CEOs)
- **Organizations:** Breather, Practice, In Over Your Head (podcast/blog)
- **From:** Montreal, Canada
- **Nationality:** Canadian
- **Known for:** Secured Twitter handle @julien as one of the first ~10,000 users, NYT and WSJ bestselling author with 'Trust Agents' (2009), One of the first people in the world paid to podcast (Sirius Satellite Radio, 2006)

## Career timeline

- **Early 2000s** — Launched inoveryourhead.net, an early influential personal development blog; organized online communities and flashmobs
- **2004** — Launched 'In Over Your Head' hip-hop podcast, growing to 150+ episodes
- **2006** — Podcast picked up by Sirius Satellite Radio (Channel 102) - became one of the first people paid to podcast
- **2009** — Co-authored 'Trust Agents' with Chris Brogan - instant NYT and WSJ bestseller
- **2011** — Published 'The Flinch', edited by Seth Godin, released free on Kindle - became one of the most-read Kindle books ever
- **2012** — Co-authored 'The Impact Equation' with Chris Brogan
- **2012** — Co-founded Breather, on-demand private workspace platform
- **2013** — Breather raises $6M seed round led by RRE Ventures
- **2014** — Published viral blog post 'The Complete Guide to Not Giving a Fuck' - widely credited as inspiration for Mark Manson's bestselling book
- **2015** — Breather raises Series B, total funding reaches $28.5M
- **2018** — Breather raises $45M (Menlo Ventures, CDPQ), total funding $122.5M+
- **2018** — Stepped down as CEO of Breather; remained as Chairman
- **2019** — Founded Practice, business management software for coaches and consultants
- **2020** — Breather's US and UK subsidiaries file for insolvency; Industrious acquires assets for $3M
- **2021** — Practice raises $12.4M CAD seed round led by Andrew Chen at a16z, with investors including Tony Robbins, Andrew Wilkinson, Lenny Rachitsky, Nikita Bier, Sahil Bloom
- **2025** — Practice shuts down; Smith pivots to executive coaching for first-time CEOs

## Achievements

- Secured Twitter handle @julien as one of the first ~10,000 users
- NYT and WSJ bestselling author with 'Trust Agents' (2009)
- One of the first people in the world paid to podcast (Sirius Satellite Radio, 2006)
- 'The Flinch' remains one of the most-read Kindle books ever
- Raised $122.5M+ for Breather across multiple rounds
- Viral blog post credited as inspiration for Mark Manson's multi-million-copy 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck'
- Practice seed round backed by a16z's Andrew Chen and 40+ notable angels
- Consulted for Google, Microsoft, American Express, and Heineken International
- 9 published works with 3.95 average Goodreads rating across 16,000+ ratings

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Practice.do shuts down after raising $12.4M CAD in 2021; farewell message sent to community
- **2025** — Pivoted to executive coaching for first-time CEOs
- **2021-11** — Practice raises $12.4M CAD seed round led by a16z's Andrew Chen with 40+ angel investors

## Links

- Website: https://www.inoveryourhead.net
- LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/juliensmith
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/julien
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliensmith/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/julien-smith
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-26