Angela Shurina, Executive Coach, Founder
What if you planned for success in 10 years?
Statistics show most startups don’t make it past 2-5 years. I believe this happens because of what
I call “sprint thinking.”
Let me share a story.
While mountain hiking with founders, I noticed a friend carried no water.
He rushed ahead, confident it was a short climb. When I asked about water, he brushed it off.
The day got hotter. The climb was longer than expected. On our way down, he fainted and we
had to carry him back.
After a few years of mentoring tech startups, I’ve observed this same short-term sprint mentality
causing many failures, burnouts and broken dreams.
It’s impatience at a macro level.
Here’s the reality:
Most businesses won’t become profitable in their first few years. Good strategy and decision-
making typically need 3-5 years just to reach self-sustainability – like raising a child to
independence.
Yet first-time founders often believe their idea must succeed within 1-2 years. They plan to
sprint the whole way, leading to:
- Taking on mismatched clients (no product-market fit)
- Partnering with wrong investors (losing freedom and leverage)
- Hiring ineffective teams (burning money with little ROI)
They parrot Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” without understanding their local
market or current economic conditions or what things are ok to break. Sure, sprint occasionally –
but don’t push to the point of burning bridges to your long-term success.
What if you planned for a decade-long journey instead?
Ask yourself:
- Which clients would truly align with your vision?
- What partners would support your long-term growth?
- How would you build a team that endures and saves resources long-term?
- What lifestyle changes would help YOU thrive rather than burning out?
- How could you build enough resources to weather any crisis, with no need for luck?
- What would keep you and your team happy for years to come VS praying for a buy-out?
Jim Collins’ Great by Choice studied companies that achieved 10X returns over decades in
volatile markets. Their success came from: - Following disciplined strategies to outlast, not outrun
- Taking only validated risks through small, strategic bets
- Building sufficient reserves to keep growing when others failed
As an Executive Coach 360 – Health/Mindset/Performance Mentor – I help build anti-fragile
founders.
Don’t burn out. Stay open to learning. Execute with a decade-long vision.
I’ve learned that in life most worthwhile achievements require decisions that seem illogical for a
sprint.
Life is a marathon.
What would your strategy look like if you planned for success in 10 years?
Deploy & Enjoy,
Angela,
Rooting for Your Long-Term Success