Recently been speaking with a few start up founders in my course of coaching executives and Founders. I love being around Founders because the are usually very clear about what they are tackling in the world. 

My go to question when meeting Founders, "How many Start Ups have you lead before?". For almost all, the response is "My first". The conversation usually starts off with all the positive aspects of being a Founder. The go after your dreams mentality, the change the world mantras, and how their team is the best and will outwork everyone. 

I then turn the conversation and ask, "What is not working?" The pause follows the question. The response tends to be...Well, the product is not working just like we thought, it is taking way longer than we modeled, customers are not responding the way we planned, money is going fast, hard to find the right team, and feeling burned at both ends. All wrapped in the feeling of Doubt. These are the things we should expect when you...