5 lessons from an executive coach on how to build a successful startup

Founding a startup can be a risky business, often requiring founders to juggle multiple roles. 

So, many entrepreneurs will take all the advice they can get to navigate these challenges — and spread it to other up-and-coming leaders, too. 

Events like Fireside Chat: How to Build a Startup, hosted by nonprofit InnovatePGH on Wednesday, showcase just that, gathering entrepreneurs to share their insights on the startup ecosystem.

As an entrepreneur and executive coach, Max Polec spoke at the event about the many different hats he’s worn in the startup world, hence the title of his recently published book “Many, Many Hats: The Ceo Strategy’s Guide to Startups.” 

“A founder shifts constantly,” Polec previously wrote in a guest post for Technical.ly, “switching in what can feel like every minute from running operations to pitching an investor, troubleshooting a customer issue, managing their team… the list goes on, and on and on and on.”

Here are Polec’s five pieces of advice for other founders on how to balance those duties.  

The people you know can make or break the business 

Polec often likens entrepreneurship to football. 

“You can read all the books you want on football, but unless you throw the pigskin, you’re not actually going to be able to play,” he said. 

The best way to learn how to build a business is to go out there, try and potentially fail, Polec advised.

The metaphor also extends to the other people in the startup ecosystem, who could be considered the other players on the field. 

From Polec’s experience, the most successful and resilient founders have had a strong support system. He advises founders to build a personal board of directors, a group of people that a founder can turn to for advice and guidance. 

One of the biggest decisions a founder can make is selecting who to go into business with. Bad partnerships is one of the leading reasons why startups fail, according to Investopedia. 

Selecting a business partner should be like dating, Polec said. Most people don’t skip straight to marriage after meeting someone, so founders shouldn’t do that when selecting a business partner. If a founder meets someone they could potentially start a business with, they should work with them more and more over time, testing whether the co-founder relationship could last. 

When the going gets tough, which it inevitably will, founders can rely on their network because “relationships are all we have in the end,” Polec said. 

Prepare yourself and your business for the risk 

There’s no way to know whether building a startup will pay off. After all, about 90% of startups fail, and only 1.5% of startups produce a successful exit of $50 million or more, according to Startup Genome research. 

It’s a risky business, so founders should start businesses with “eyes wide open”, Polec said, meaning founders must fully understand the risks involved and clarify their expectations from the beginning. 

“I think every founder needs to identify what success is to them,” Polec emphasized. 

To mitigate risks, Polec encourages startup founders to fully assess the value of their projects and take steps to de-risk their ventures. This could mean saving a year’s worth of emergency finances before starting a business, which Polec did before becoming an executive coach, or doing extensive market research before launching. 

Set boundaries between work and personal life to avoid burnout 

Like many in the startup world, Polec has dealt with burnout, a state of complete mental exhaustion caused by chronic stress and overworking. 

Before starting his executive coaching business, Polec worked 80-hour weeks for 11 months as a COO for a consumer electronics company. 

“I was stressed, I was exhausted and I was probably 35 pounds heavier than I am now, and it took a toll on my health, my relationships and everything else,” Polec said. “I knew I had something I wanted to change.” 

Approximately 72% of founders report mental health impacts from working on their startup, including anxiety, burnout and depression, according to a recent report from research organization Startup Snapshot. 

The impact can extend to physical health as well, with 59% of founders reporting they got less sleep since launching their startup and 47% reporting a decrease in exercise. 

Today, Polec follows a few simple rules to support his mental well-being: He avoids working on weekends and dedicates 30% of his time to activities that aren’t his primary business. He advises founders to establish boundaries that can help them prevent burnout and maintain their passion for their work. 

“If you’re trying to do everything, you’re going to end up doing nothing and it’s just going to be a waste of time, sadly,” Polec said. “Figure out what flavor of that works for you and give it a try.” 

Build a test model, and talk to customers, before launch

Founders should also put theories to the test before taking the leap on a startup, Polec said. 

In his book, Polec discusses the idea of a growth loop, a way for founders to test assumptions to de-risk their startup. These are often assumptions about customers that if proven untrue, could fundamentally undermine the success of the startup. 

For Uber, a risky assumption would be that people would be willing to get into a stranger’s car. Or for Zappos, a risky assumption would be that people are willing to buy shoes online that they can’t try on first. 

Risky assumptions should be tested in real life, allowing founders to gain valuable insights from real-world data, Polec said. 

For example, in the case of Zappos, its founders built a mock website that would crash right before customers could click the buy button. Seeing how many customers were willing to get all the way through checkout on the mock website showed the Zappos founders that their risky assumption was correct. 

“You can’t build a startup in a vacuum,” Polec said. “You have to go out and build and talk to your customers, especially early on.” 

Show up to in-person events 

Polec said attending in-person events can be one of the best ways to connect with people in the startup ecosystem. 

For example, seeing familiar faces across multiple events can help founders learn who they should connect and potentially add to their team. 

“I think there’s a lot of events going on,” Polec said. “And if you’re looking to learn or get plugged into the network, just showing up, asking questions and meeting other folks [is important].”