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Hey, I’m Tim! ☕

Every Mon and Fri, I help you become the cofounder your startup deserves.

• Actionable advice: Practical tips you can start applying today.

• Relatable stories: Real-life experiences from people just like you.

• Unique insights: Fresh perspectives that you won’t find anywhere else.

PS — If you really want to answer the unGoogleable questions, book time with me for free. I’ve coached dozens of pre-seed/seed stage cofounders.

On Course

You’re on a ship.

You see an iceberg in the distance — and you’re headed straight for it.

It’s not enough to just point it out if the ship doesn’t change course.

Because by the time you say “I told you so,” you’ll be in the water.

Cofounders face the same reality.

I recently chatted with Alon Shrier, cofounder & CEO of bazarr.ai.

He’s also the former captain of an Israeli combat ship and the naval academy’s head of advanced training.

He knows how to steer a crew through rough waters, both at sea and in startups.

During our convo, the ship analogy kept coming up. A few things stood out.

Same Destination, Different Designation

The captain might set the course, but the navigator charts the path, the engineer keeps the machine running, and the crew handles the sails.

In organizations, people often start caring more about credit than collaboration.

Raises, promotions, and opportunities reward those who look like they’re doing a great job. Sometimes, that means pointing out when others aren’t.

But on a ship, that won’t fly. It doesn’t matter if the navigator was off course or the engineer miscalculated because “you’re all on the same ship.”

If one person fails, everyone sinks or ends up on the wrong island.

The difference is you can’t jump ship in the middle of the ocean but you can with a job.

The Compass Doesn’t Care

Arguing about which way is north doesn’t change where north is.

Cofounders can debate strategies, but the market decides what works. Fighting to be "right" wastes time when you should be iterating.

It also chips away at the psychological safety of the team.

Shared Experience

Alon’s cofounders, (a different) Alon and Jonathan, also served in the Israeli Navy.

They have a mutual understanding of the first two principles.

There’s an unspoken set of values and operating procedures that they’re all accustomed to. That smoothens the startup operations.

To build that for yourself, be explicit about foundational values early on.

I’ll admit, the whole company core values thing is kinda cringe. Instead, I like to think about “if this, then that” statements.

With this approach, you can get as specific or as broad as you need:

• If we vest equity over 4 years with a 1 year cliff, that’l align incentives.

• If we disagree on something, we’ll gather data first and then reconvene.

Core values basically map out what the tolerated/encouraged behaviors are anyway but putting them into IFTTT statements somehow makes them more manageable.

That’s all for now,

Tim He

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