Sari Azout on Building Emotional Capital

Specifically for founders, our identity is often tied to our company’s success. But that’s just buggy code in our systems. You have to actively work to debug that and do whatever you can to decouple your self-worth and your identity from your achievements.

It’s taken me a while to warm up to the idea that thinking is working, and that what is actually work can at first look lazy. I love Naval [Ravikant’s tweet], “Be too busy to do coffee while keeping an uncluttered calendar.” More often than not, spending two hours thinking about a problem is a much better use of my time than taking two calls withou... See more

I was forever changed by Clay Christensen's book, "How Will You Measure Your Life?" and the idea that the source of deepest joy in our lives comes from intimate, loving, and enduring relationships, not from our achievements. The quality of our relationships is the single metric that matters and yet it's inconsistent with how most of us spend our ti... See more

Companies need financial capital. But they also need emotional capital—good energy, positivity, and resilience. Ironically, being surrounded by close friends and having a strong support system is the best source of emotional capital for founders.

Being honest also helps. Every time I’ve shared the burdens and realities of what I’m going through with others, either 1:1 or publicly, the universe finds mysterious ways to help. People are tired of filters and polished stories of overnight success. Vulnerability is refreshing.

The most important question for me is, "How do I want to spend my days?" And the answer is: I want to spend my time thinking, creating, and ideating with a small group of people to build a beautiful, creative, values-aligned business. I am not interested in 14-hour work days, back-to-back meetings that deplete my energy, can’t catch a breath to-do ... See more

Being honest also helps. Every time I’ve shared the burdens and realities of what I’m going through with others, either 1:1 or publicly, the universe finds mysterious ways to help. People are tired of filters and polished stories of overnight success. Vulnerability is refreshing.

Lastly, I read something recently (I don’t know where) that I jotted ... See more