The Founder's Prerogative

As a founder, you have the freedom to make decisions no one else can—but that freedom comes with risk. In this episode, I reflect on a recent conversation with Greg Glassman that reminded me of the unique privileges and paradoxes that come with building a business from scratch. Founders can give generously, preserve legacy pricing, or avoid lucrative but misaligned partnerships. But they can also break things—radically changing what already works out of boredom or unchecked curiosity. I’ll walk through real examples of when Tinkers over-experimented and damaged their businesses, and I’ll offer practical strategies to manage the founder’s paradox: from hiring a CEO, to building a trusted board of advisors, to simply stepping back for a quarter to regain clarity. At this level of gym ownership, there are fewer tactics and more paradoxes. Being aware of that is the first step.