You might think that founder coaching saves you time but not exactly money. When you are a VC-backed startup, this is one of those questions you don’t know how to ask. What would they say?
In reality, having a founder coach next to you has a real impact on your mental sanity and the health of your startup.
Clients reported ROI of coaching falls between 340-700%. A Metrix Global study found that executive coaching has a 788% return on investment (ROI).
Experienced investors highly value founder coaching, especially if you are the founder CEO. YC, for example, has a permanent, dedicated coach for it.
Let’s see how startup founders can benefit from coaching.
Essential Benefits of Coaching
- Don’t be lonely
Founder coaches know that one of the most frequently used words when working with clients is: lonely.
Founders have no one to talk to because their position is unique, and everyone around has a specific interest, including other co-founders.
Refusing to seek help for any difficulties you encounter is never a sign of strength. Unaddressed problems can snowball into startup disasters.
A coach has a unique role no one else can fulfill better because you can talk about everything without withholding the truth.
- Get back into balance
This includes creating a new fitted work-life balance and better sleep. Simply put, your overall health and stamina will improve. A coach will know how to guide you and assemble the parts of your life in a way that works. The increase in your mental health with a good founder coach is priceless.
- Get clarity about what to do next
A founder CEO faces problems every day and must put out fires. At some point, this gets reflected in poor decision-making. This is something you cannot afford as a founder. Making the wrong decision can cost you a lot more time and money than paying for a coach.
Gaining clarity is like breathing. Suddenly, everything will seem different, and you’ll have fresh air to enjoy what you do.
- Know how to deal with difficult conversations and conflicts
A coach many times acts like a role-playing buddy. Besides gaining clarity, you can discuss sensitive people’s issues where your communication and negotiation skills will make a difference.
Rehearsing such scenarios in advance will give you the confidence to win conversations with any stakeholders.
- Increase performance
A big reason why CEOs and founders seek coaching is because of this factor. The performance increase is a highly rewarded skill for any business and mandatory for a VC-backed, fast-growing startup.
A founder is an athlete that needs endurance and high-stress resistance. Only mastering these can be performant.
- Learn how to delegate
Delegation is a frequent topic in coaching. Once your startup reaches series A or above, you as a founder CEO will have to switch duties quickly. One is to find an efficient way to delegate most of your tasks.
This is hard for most founders. It feels very uneasy. Having a coach, on the other hand, will guide you through this process and can be a life-changer.
- Strengthen your people skills
Being kept accountable will be like an active practice of communicating with someone. Your coach will make sure to work those muscles related to people. It will be your guide in pointing out your weaknesses and strengths.
There’s no need to tell you how essential people skills are. A company would be nothing without people. There is hardly anything you cannot solve with this skill.
- Maintain your vision
With so many things on your plate, it will be easy to get sidetracked and lost. Many founders find themselves further away from their vision with each day their startup grows.
When you lose sight of the vision for your startup, not only will you be demotivated, but you will also create internal turmoil. In your startup, you are the gatekeeper of the vision.
A role like that should never be taken for granted.
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