Choosing My Fight: Redefining Confidence, Redefining Success
- Oct 2
- 3 min read
By Erin Renzas
Author and Founder of Fight Co.Lab
I spent nearly two decades climbing the corporate ladder. I did everything I thought I was supposed to and eventually became a senior executive at some of Silicon Valley’s most high-growth, high-stakes companies. I led marketing and growth organizations at companies like Square, Zillow, and Checkout.com. Later, I became an operating partner at one of the world’s largest tech investment firms, advising more than 80 startups across the globe.
In many ways, I had made it, at least when it came to my career. I had the big title, the compensation, and the high-profile teams and outcomes that were supposed to mean I’d arrived. It was the kind of career people said I should be grateful for.
Then, I realized that somewhere along the way, I had lost the thread.
I was still fighting hard—but I no longer knew what I was fighting for. For me, there was no single dramatic breaking point. Instead, it was a feeling that emerged that told me that even if my success looked great on paper, it wasn’t the thing that made me really satisfied..
My breakthrough didn’t happen in a boardroom. It started in a boxing ring. I didn’t go looking for transformation, I just needed something that pulled me out of my head – and into something new. Somewhere in the rhythm of footwork, breath, and impact, something shifted. The ring gave me a new kind of intelligence and confidence—one rooted in presence, strength, and precision. I learned how to hold my ground under pressure and how to move with intention. I got better at protecting my energy, and I learned how to swing when it actually mattered. Then, just as I was about to turn 40 years old, I stepped into my first amateur fight and won. That victory mattered, but the real win was what it taught me: I didn’t have to keep living someone else’s definition of success. It unlocked an entire new type of confidence. That confidence told me that I could choose a different fight.
So I did.
I left the executive track I had spent decades building. I launched EBB Strategic to help fast-growing companies scale in smarter, more sustainable ways. I began writing a book about ambition, embodiment, and what it costs to chase a version of success that was never designed with many of us in mind. Then, I founded Fight Co.Lab—an executive leadership program where women step into the boxing ring, not to trade punches, but to reconnect with their power and clarity.
At Fight Co.Lab, we work with women from some of the most iconic names in tech, media, finance, and the nonprofit world. The work we do is both physical and strategic. It’s about learning to take up space, to see the full landscape before you move, to choose your moment—and your mission—with intention. Boxing is just the metaphor. The real fight is for presence, clarity, and alignment.
Of course, choosing a different path didn’t magically dissolve the barriers.
They just changed shape. Everyday, I have a moment where I think, “Can I actually do this?” But now, I meet the pressure differently. I know how to lower my chin, pull my guard high, and keep fighting forward.
For me, confidence didn’t come from titles or promotions—it came from that moment in the ring when I realized I could fight for something that truly mattered to me and for me. Confidence came from knowing that that I had a choice and that I always had a choice.
I see so many high-performing women stuck in similar places—asking themselves if this version of success is all there is. My message is: it doesn’t have to be. You can rewrite the script, you can choose your fight, and you can build a version of success that feels like yours.
About the Author
Erin Renzas is a veteran tech executive and the founder of Fight Co.Lab, a leadership consultancy helping high-growth leaders redefine success on their own terms. She served as a marketing lead at Square during its IPO scale, led global growth and brand at Zillow and Checkout.com, and later became an operating partner at Prosus, one of the largest tech investment firms in the world, where she advised more than 80 startups across five continents.
Erin has led teams through IPOs, hypergrowth, international expansion, and full-cycle performance reviews. Through Fight Co.Lab and her forthcoming book, she helps executives lead with clarity, resilience, and authenticity—inside and outside the boardroom.
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