founder psychology

How to overcome imposter syndrome and kick more ass

Practical steps for moving through the fear that you are not enough

press

New Sanity Pod Episode - Inc’s Lindsay Blakely

Lindsay has spoken with hundreds of founders over her years as a reporter and is in a unique position to help us normalize parts of the founder experience that can be hard to see clearly in our own heads.

founder psychology

The dangerous cycle of tying your self-worth to your company

What if your deep care that your company succeed is actually the greatest impediment to such success?

board management

How to build a great startup board (hint: your board is not your boss)

How to turn your board into your greatest ally, get more support, feel less alone, and do your damn job.

habits

A powerful morning practice for imperfect leaders

In 2014, I was facing the loss of a child, a messy divorce, and single-parenthood while leading a fast-growing company. This is the morning routine that helped get me through. It has served me to this day.

founder depression

An argument against gutting it out on the hard days

We applaud grit, long-hours, and blowing through walls. But great entrepreneurial work tends to come more from creative insights and thoughtful reflection.

ceos

Why CEOs should work 40-hour weeks

If the data is correct, you are not doing yourself any favors by grinding it out after 5 o'clock.

productivity

Distraction is Killing Your Business (and stealing your joy)

Startup folk are renowned for geeking out on productivity hacks and innovating on the future of work. But most miss the easiest gain of all.

ceos

I am a professional CEO coach. And sometimes I lose my shit too.

A lot of CEO’s I work with carry questions of self-worth. This morning, I found the same questions exploding in my own head. Here is my effort in my own journal to coach myself back to center.

cofounder issues

The Unspoken Pain of Cofounder Relationships

Cofounder relationships are at the heart of most startup stories. But like most marriages, there’s as much pain and struggle as joy and collaboration. Often more. Why is no one talking about this?

purpose

This Question Unlocked My Life's Purpose

I thought it was going to be just another casual meetup with a friend for Saturday brunch. But that ended up being the morning I discovered my life’s mission. And it has changed everything. Here’s the question that changed it all.

burnout

Are You Valuable if You Don't Get Shit Done?

This time of isolation and slowness has me facing a lifelong message I carry: that my value is tied to my productivity. If I work hard and have output to show for it, I matter and deserve to exist. That message no longer serves me. It might not be serving you either.

ceos

Handling Layoffs with Grace

In 2016, we laid off 80% of our staff. The remaining team stuck together, scaled the business, and sold it three years later. Here's how we got through the layoffs and how you can too.

leadership

Founders and Leaders: feeling alone? You aren’t.

It it common in a time like this for leaders to feel uniquely alone in their situations. Fear, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome can come up big in times of crises. You aren’t alone.

ceos

The Weightiness Every Leader Knows

You aren't alone. One of the defining experiences of being a startup founder was the heaviness I carried at every waking hour. And I see and hear it in every other founder I speak with.

fundraising

Struggling to Raise Venture Capital? The step you may be missing.

Most founders I meet have a missing step in their plan for raising capital. The result is frustration and isolation.

entrepreneurship

Get More Done and Enjoy Happier Weekends

Your day driven by fires and your weekends overrun by rumination on work? Here’s a weekly ritual that might help.

cofounder issues

10 Questions Every Cofounder Team Should Discuss

Most early-stage companies fail because of cofounder conflict. Here are 10 questions to help create alignment early.

ceos

$17M raised, and I was fried.

I realized in October of 2016 that I was burned out and wanted a path out of the CEO role. Here’s my own story and the secret internal dialogue I’m hearing as a coach to other founders.

entrepreneurship

How to Price Your B2B Product

One of my clients emailed today for guidance on what to charge her first customer. Here’s the advice I gave.

leadership

The Away Debacle: Is Judgment the Answer?

While the leaders are culpable, might our mob mentality reaction be inhibiting us from changing the systemic issues that encourage this kind of behavior?

sales

How to Get Your First Customers So Your Company Doesn’t Die

Our company almost died in 2015. Most B2B companies with good products struggle because they don’t find predictable, scalable methods of acquiring customers. If you’re exploring a sales-driven acquisition strategy, here’s how to test, validate, and scale your engine. Because death sucks.

startups

So You Wanna Advise Startups? Here’s How to Do More Good Than Harm.

The advisory relationship is one of the most helpful and misunderstood relationships in the startup world. Here’s how to get involved if you’re a domain expert and a mensch and why to stay the fuck away from founders if you’re not.

startups

How to find great advisors for your startup (and avoid the shit ones)

The advisory relationship is one of the most helpful and misunderstood relationships in the startup world. Here’s my personal take on how to get the best out of an advisory relationship from either side.

entrepreneurship

Can an Entrepreneur Have a Creative Life?

A few months ago, I was walking into my office and felt overwhelmed with a sense of anxiety and dread. A realization hit me. The building that was supposed to be my ‘place’ for creative work had become anything but. 7 years in, I’d lost the creative spark of my work entirely. And I wanted it back.