In entrepreneurial life there’s the nuts and bolts of the daily business grind. The operations. The dealing with suppliers, the pricing of products, the release of new products, hiring people, letting people go, project management. Whatever sector you’re in and whatever product or service you’re putting out to market, the daily decision-making list goes on.
But there’s another aspect to consider. The way that you, as the founder, the captain of the ship, lead and operate. How do you maintain composure when things get tough? How do you process setbacks and learn from them? How do you keep yourself mentally healthy to deal with the tasks of being a founder?
Managing yourself as a founder is just as important as how you and your team manage your firm’s operations, and here is how these founders do it. Below, they share their lessons in leadership.
Burnout is data, not failure – Am Golhar, global speaker, business mentor and founder.
I started my first business at 22, a global knitwear manufacturing company supplying brands and retailers including Harrods. By 25, I had pioneered the UK Christmas jumper boom, manufacturing over one million units into the British market. I now work globally with business clients across the UK, UAE and globally helping founders and leaders scale.
But the journey hasn’t been linear. At 29 I hit burnout, something I now speak about on the global TED platform in my TEDx talk, Success, Sacrifice and Balance. That experience became the turning point that shaped everything about how I now build and run businesses, and what I help others do differently.
“Boundaries are a business strategy, not a wellness buzzword; the clearer your boundaries, the more sustainable and profitable your business becomes.”
Scale fast, but know your limits. By 25, I was manufacturing over a million units into the UK market, but nobody tells you what happens to your body and mind when growth outruns your foundations.
Burnout is data, not failure. Hitting rock bottom at 29 was the most important business lesson I ever received; it forced me to rebuild with structure, boundaries and self-awareness at the core and understand that health is a key priority. Back then I didn’t even know what burnout was.
Know yourself before you build your team, training in DISC psychometric profiling transformed how I hire and structure teams; understanding personality types means putting the right people in the right seats from the start.
Boundaries are a business strategy, not a wellness buzzword; the clearer your boundaries, the more sustainable and profitable your business becomes.
Going global requires cultural intelligence, not just ambition, operating across 15+ industries and multiple markets taught me that understanding people is the real currency of international business.
Your personal brand is your business brand, especially as a founder. How you show up, what you stand for and how you’re perceived directly impacts every opportunity that comes your way.
Build a support network outside your company – James Barrington-Madders, co-founder, incentifi.
Hire slower than feels comfortable. Hiring the wrong person can cost you more in time, money, and morale than an empty seat ever will, even when you’re desperate to fill a role.
Your pitch deck isn’t for investors, it’s for the room. As the best decks are built to prompt conversation, don’t answer every question upfront. If it’s too polished, people stop asking questions and questions are how you build trust.
“An imperfect version delivered this week beats a perfect version delivered in three months, markets and competitors don’t wait for you to feel ready.”
Revenue forgives a lot of mistakes. Founders tend to spend an enormous amount of energy perfecting their strategy when the fastest way to learn what actually works is getting in front of a paying customer, even an imperfect one, as early as possible.
Know your numbers better than your investors do. Nothing can kill credibility faster in a fundraise than fumbling your own metrics. Founders who can recite their unit economics cold build instant trust.
Build a support network outside your company. Connecting with other founders, mentors, or a peer group who understand the specific loneliness of the job matters more than most people admit, as this journey is hard on your mental health in ways that are easy to hide.
Momentum matters more than perfection. An imperfect version delivered this week beats a perfect version delivered in three months, markets and competitors don’t wait for you to feel ready.
Don’t build your strategy around today’s political weather – Sarah Bone, co-founder, YEO Messaging.
Every founder’s journey looks different, but a handful of lessons have shaped how we’ve built YEO. If I were starting again today, these are the five I’d hand to myself. First, solve a genuine problem, not just an interesting one. The businesses that succeed are the ones solving a real customer problem, not the ones with the cleverest technology.
It’s so easy to fall in love with your own innovation, but if your product isn’t addressing a genuine business need, growth will always be an uphill fight. Listen to the customer’s problem rather than talking tech at them, and stay willing to adapt as their needs shift.
“The biggest lesson, perhaps, is that events well beyond your control can upend your plans overnight.”
Hire people who believe in the mission. Skills can be taught; but belief in the mission can’t. Every early hire shapes the culture of the business, for better or worse. The people who genuinely bought into what we were trying to achieve are the ones who built us a team resilient enough to survive the inevitable highs and lows of company-building.
Build a business that can survive political upheaval. The biggest lesson, perhaps, is that events well beyond your control can upend your plans overnight. Founders in recent years have had to navigate changing UK governments and their shifting policy ambitions. We opened our HQ in the heart of London as part of the UK’s AI innovation zone, though with hindsight, who knows, perhaps we should have picked Manchester. Add to that shifting AI regulation, reordered investment priorities, and an international landscape that won’t sit still, with the growing isolationism of US Big Tech just one example. Technology businesses in particular have to be ready for changes in the priorities of major economies: shifts that touch everything from investment and procurement to cross-border expansion.
Don’t build your strategy around today’s political weather. Build a business flexible enough to survive tomorrow’s, because markets change, governments change, policies change, and it’s the organisations with clear purpose and real agility that come out the other side.
Stick to your values – Rita Kastrati, CEO, Pioneering People.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, the worst thing mentors and people around you can say is no.
No matter what industry you’re in, people are the most important factor. Your team can make or break your business. Invest in them, their skills and their experience with you.
“Know your weaknesses more than your strengths and find people to fill in the gaps, whether that’s temporary event staff for a busy day or somebody to do your social media one day a week.”
Being a founder will test you in every way possible, stick to your values, no matter the situation or circumstance, as that will keep you going.
Know your weaknesses more than your strengths and find people to fill in the gaps, whether that’s temporary event staff for a busy day or somebody to do your social media one day a week. It’s worth the cost if they’re great at it and you’re not, and it will save you mental space and lots of time.
Pivots and changes are natural as your business grows, lean into them as long as they align to your overall mission.
