Switch

Every startup founder knows the feeling: limited runway, stretched team, competing priorities, and the constant pressure to do more with less. We’re told to “move fast and break things,” to “fail fast,” to embrace constraints as forcing functions for innovation. Yet despite our best Agile practices and Lean principles, many startups still struggle with a fundamental challenge: building resilience when resources are scarce.

Thousand of books, podcasts, and earnest social media reels identify burnout and what to do about it. Very few of them tell you what happens after. After is interesting. After is what you’re actually trying to get to. As it turns out, it looks nothing like most burnout content implies. It doesn’t arrive with a blast of confetti, a sudden clarity about your life’s purpose, and an inbox finally at zero. It’s quieter and better. I know this because I’ve been on both sides of it.

06/11/26 | Career, Leadership Startup culture is fragile. Research links hyper-hustle norms to burnout, disengagement, and attrition. But that explanation doesn’t go far enough. Culture doesn’t break simply because startups move fast or face high stakes. Culture breaks because leaders do — internally, quietly, and often without awareness. Most founders care deeply about building inclusive, values-driven organizations. They articulate mission statements, commit to equity, and hire thoughtfully.

Your kid says, “I want to start a business.” Do you: A. Nod politely while suggesting they finish their homework B. Panic because you don’t know the first thing about startups C. Lean in and say, “Tell me more” If you picked C, congratulations—you’re already doing what Margot Machol Bisnow recommends. SWITCH CEO Kate Brodock sat down with Margot, mom of two entrepreneurs and author of Raising an Entrepreneur, to chat about how to raise confident, creative, purpose-driven kids in today’s world.

Leaders are the architects of organizational culture, setting the tone for what is valued and how people work together. Their actions and words carry significant weight, shaping the environment and influencing what others see as important. Organizational power and culture are deeply interwoven, with each shaping and reinforcing the other in visible and invisible ways.

I was 90% closed on my pre-seed round for my startup when the strip turned pink. After navigating a secondary infertility diagnosis for a year, and enduring nightly injections, I was finally pregnant — a Christmas miracle and, at first glance, a New Year’s tragedy for my company. It had taken me two years to get here: a solid, revenue-generating MVP, an almost-closed pre-seed round backed by a celebrity and notable advisors.

03/24/25 | Founders, Leadership Rapid scaling, the holy grail of startup culture, is often viewed as an unequivocal good. Yet, there’s an overlooked tension lurking beneath this explosive growth: the delicate balance between accelerating toward market domination and maintaining the visionary essence that sparked the company’s creation. Founders regularly find themselves at crossroads between these two competing forces, risking their organization’s long-term health and even their own sanity.

When it happened to me last May I had just left a decade-long career in the spirits industry to found my business, The Wren Way. I was ecstatic. Not only had I dreamed of moving into the coaching space for years, but I was also thrilled to bring my unique perspective of harnessing play and curiosity to help women regain their agency and joy. For anyone, that kind of bold move would invite significant challenges. I expected to hit a few speed bumps, but I felt up to the adventure.

03/10/25 | Founders, Funding Raising capital isn’t just about having a great idea—it’s about knowing how to ask for what you need, when to ask, and who to ask. In Thinking Bigger: A Pitch-Deck Formula for Women Who Want to Change the World, Sarah Dusek demystifies the fundraising process for women entrepreneurs, helping them navigate investor expectations and position themselves for success.

Why is it important to encourage children to be curious? Why does it matter if children are raised to think of new ways to solve problems? What does this have to do with future success in business? From interviews I conducted with 70 entrepreneurs, I found that successful entrepreneurs are curious. They start their company or organization because they figured out a different way of doing something. And they figured out a different way of doing something because they were raised to be curious.