In a candid conversation, Jeff Radwell reflects on stepping down as CEO of Camouflet amid a late-stage cancer diagnosis, the weight of leadership, and the unexpected ways support, and absence, shape life’s defining moments.
Uzair Hasan: Running a startup can be hectic, chaotic. How have you balanced the pressures of building Camouflet with everything else in your life?
Jeff Radwell: I don’t know if anyone in this position ever finds balance, but I carve out moments of stillness where I can. Music has been one of those for me. I’m generally a grounded man, not easily rattled.
Uzair Hasan: Has that been true for a long time?
Jeff Radwell: Yeah, I’d say so. When I was sixteen, my aunt took me to see the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd on Broadway, with Patty LuPone as Mrs. Lovett. That was a formative experience for me that deepened my appreciation for music and theatre in a way that’s stuck. There’s something about Sondheim, the way his music carries emotion and tension, that has always resonated. He actually went to the George School, which is where I went, so there’s a bit of that connection too. Not While I’m Around has always meant something to me. It’s one of those songs that holds different meanings depending on where you are in life. I actually did an overdub of it recently on my Aubert Lutherie that I finally brought out of storage. Uzair Hasan: That’s a beautiful song. Does music feel like an escape from the weight of running a company?
Uzair Hasan: Not While I’m Around has always meant something to me. It’s one of those songs that hold different meanings depending on where you are in life. I actually did an overdub of it recently on my Aubert Lutherie that I finally brought out of storage.
Uzair Hasan: That’s a beautiful song. Does music feel like an escape from the weight of running a company?
Jeff Radwell: More of a counterbalance. There’s no real escaping it, especially leading a startup like Camouflet. Tech moves fast, and if you’re not keeping up, you’re falling behind. There’s no such thing as coasting in this space, you’re either building or you’re losing ground. And we’ve built a lot, and scaled considerably in a short time. It’s been an exciting challenge, but it’s also meant constant pressure.
Uzair Hasan: And now, you’re stepping down from that role.
Jeff Radwell: I am. It’s not an easy decision, but it’s the right one. I was diagnosed with late-stage bladder cancer, and as much as I’ve tried to manage both my health and company, there comes a point where you have to accept that some things need space to grow without you. Camouflet deserves leadership that can give it everything, and right now, my focus has to be on my health.
Uzair Hasan: You’ve built Camouflet from the ground up. What was it like reaching the decision to step down?
Jeff Radwell: It wasn’t an easy choice, but it was a necessary one. When you create something, you convince yourself that no one else can steer it the way you can. But the reality is, sometimes the best thing you can do for what you’ve built is to step back and let it evolve without you.
Uzair Hasan: Was there a specific moment when you realized that?
Jeff Radwell: It was a gradual recognition that my energy needed to be elsewhere. Running a company at this level requires complete commitment, and facing my diagnosis forced me to confront what that meant for both myself and Camouflet. I’ve spent so much time making sure it was strong enough to scale, and now I have to trust that it can stand on its own.
Uzair Hasan: That must have been an incredibly difficult realization.
Jeff Radwell: It has been. But letting go isn’t about giving up. It’s about recognizing when something has outgrown you and being at peace with that. I want Camouflet to thrive, and right now, that means putting it in the hands of people who can give it everything.
Uzair Hasan: That perspective takes a lot of strength. What’s next for you?
Jeff Radwell: Right now, I’m taking things day by day. I’ll always be invested in what Camouflet becomes, just in a different way. And I’ll keep turning to the things that have always brought me stability, music included.
Uzair Hasan: Have you found that your support system has taken on a different role during this transition?
Jeff Radwell: Definitely. I’ve always been someone who prefers to handle things on my own. And for the most part, I still do. But stepping back from Camouflet, facing my health challenges, it’s forced me to let people in. Not everyone, just the right ones. And I’ve learned those who truly belong in your life will show up, without being asked.
Uzair Hasan: Has that been a difficult shift for you?
Jeff Radwell: In some ways, yes. I’m used to being the one people turn to, not the other way around. But I’ve realized that allowing people to step up isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s just a different kind of strength. But seeing someone you love be sick, watching their strength deteriorate, having to confront their mortality, well, unfortunately, not everyone is built for that. And if they aren’t, they remove themselves.
Uzair Hasan: That must be a painful realization.
Jeff Radwell: It is, but it’s also clarifying. You don’t always know who people really are until they’re faced with something uncomfortable, something they can’t fix, control, or escape. And when that moment comes, some people disappear. Others prove themselves. And you don’t chase the ones who leave. Because if someone can’t stand beside you when things are hard, then their presence when things are easy was never real to begin with.
Uzair Hasan: That’s a hard-earned perspective.
Jeff Radwell: Everyone goes through it in some way. Illness just speeds it up. It strips everything down to what’s real. And I’ve always believed that the people who are meant to be in your life will prove it, not through words, not through half-measures, but through consistency. And the ones who don’t? Well. It’s not really a loss. Just an answer.
Uzair Hasan: Thank you for sharing this, Jeff. Wishing you strength and good health.
Source: A Candid Chat with Camouflet's Jeff Radwell on Letting Go
