Why Deep Self-Awareness is the Blueprint for Career Success | Anthony Hughes
From Innerspace: Deep, Meaningful Conversations with Brett Kaufman by Brett Kaufman
May 25, 2026 · 1h 23m
About this episode
Anthony Hughes shares his journey from struggling with dyslexia to becoming a successful entrepreneur and CEO of VITALS.
Anthony Hughes struggled with dyslexia from an early age, often living in the shadow of his twin brother, who seemed to excel at everything Anthony found difficult. Fast forward thirty years, and Anthony had built Tech Elevator, a company that placed 6,000 people in software development careers. This conversation explores his winding path to entrepreneurial success, from getting rejected by Formula One racing to the mentor who pushed him to take the leap. Prior to his current venture, Anthony was a two-time edtech entrepreneur with two successful exits: Tech Elevator (acquired by Stride) and The Software Guild (acquired by Wiley). Before that, he partnered with MIT at JumpStart to found a mentoring program that helped over 100 early-stage companies raise $45M in capital. Today, Anthony is the Co-founder and CEO of VITALS. VITALS is a personality-powered self-awareness platform that helps you make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and find work that actually fits. It starts with a deep assessment across six dimensions (Values, Interests, Temperament, Action Style, Learning Style, and Social Style) and translates what you learn into highly actionable guidance. Sign up…
People in this episode
Host: Brett Kaufman
Guest: Anthony Hughes
Topics covered
- self-awareness
- entrepreneurship
- career success
- mentorship
- dyslexia
- software development
Keywords
- self-awareness
- entrepreneur
- dyslexia
- career
- mentorship
- Tech Elevator
- VITALS
- software development
- assessment
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Tech Elevator, Stride, The Software Guild, Wiley, MIT, JumpStart, VITALS
Products: VITALS
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