I believe that Founders are artists; deeply creative and innovative. Their business is their canvas. Their brand is their album. Their product is their masterpiece.
My philosophy is simple. It places founder health, happiness and joy at the absolute epicentre of everything. The Founder is the source, therefore your vibrancy and vitality is of critical importance in your own life but also in the success of your business.
My Founder Philosophy
The Founder is the source of the company’s life force.
The Founder’s health, happiness and enjoyment is the most critical priority in the company.
The Founder must feel empowered to do whatever they want.
The Founder must serve the company’s purpose
The Founder’s needs must be met by the company
The Founder is the brand.
The Founder is the source of the company’s life force.
The founder is the company. The company does not exist without the founder. The company does not grow without the founder. If the founder has a bad month, the company has a bad month. The founder’s energy gives the company energy. The founder’s values give the company their values.
There is too much theory about letting go and delegating. Most of this is misunderstood. Legendary companies are built by legendary, ever-present founders. There is delegation and there are teams of people who do the jobs that you no longer do, but there is never ever a replacement for the founder. The founder continues to breathe life into the company forever. This fact and acknowledgement is the underpinning of everything.
The Founder’s health is a critical priority.
If the founder gives the company life. Then the founder must feel alive. Without this, the company will die because the spark of the founder will go out. The spark of the founder must be maintained as a roaring flame. If this does not happen, the company stagnates or it dies. Eventually it certainly dies.
The physical health of the founder is critical. The founder must prioritise their own health so that they can stay in service of the company and bring it to life. They must also shape the company in a way that over-time allows them to stay energised and in good health. Periods of stress and long working hours are typical yet they must never break the founder. The founder must be strong enough to not let the company break them.
The mental health of the founder is critical. The founder must work on their own mental health to remove any limiting beliefs or unconscious patterns that hold them back from making good decisions. The company will continue to test and push the founder to new frontiers within themselves and the founder must be able to attend to this psychological impact. The company must be set up in a way to work alongside the founders innate psychology and must be structured in whatever way works best for the founder.
The Founder must feel empowered to do whatever they want.
The founder cannot feel constrained. If the founder feels constrained then their creativity is dying, their magic is not flourishing. The founder must not be stopped by checks and balances, rules cannot get in the way of the founder being innovative. If this happens the company has lost its way. The founder always knows what to do and the founder must always be able to implement this.
The founder creates the company to serve a purpose and to serve their life and meet their needs. Therefore the founder must be able to shape the company in whatever way they want to for their needs to be met. If this is not happening then the founder has lost their freedom and their power and they will eventually lose their energy and health.
The Founder must serve the company’s purpose
The founder exists in the context of the company to serve its purpose. If the founder is not doing this then they are not doing their job, they are doing something else. Everything the founder does, is not for the company, it is for the higher purpose of the company, it is for the why, or for the soul. If the founder is not doing this then they will begin losing their way and will be out of alignment. They may begin feeling bored, or tired, or depressed or uninspired. The founder must always serve the higher purpose.
The Founder’s needs must be met by the company
The founder gives everything to the company, the founder gives the company life. This is very tiring and draining. Sometimes the founder goes a long time without receiving anything back, they do it out of love or because they had no choice. At some point, the founder must begin to be rewarded from the company, they must receive the benefits of their hard work. This is not just money but many other things. This is critical to the health and longevity of the founder.
The Founder is the brand
The founder is the brand and the company culture. The brand is created in the founder’s image. What the founder values, the company will value. What the founder cares for, the company will care for.
This is important. The company must wear the mark of its maker. Without this, there no soul, or no identity and no personality.
This philosophy is at the heart of my work with Founders.
I support all the founders I work with to find health and joy in their work.
I help you get you power back.
Founder Coaching
I dropped out of University to build a startup. Since then, I’ve spent 15 years building companies; 1 failure (MatchChat), 2 successful exits (Sanctus & The Knot) and coached 100+ founders to flourish.
