On a recent episode of Startup Success, I sat down with executive coach, Techstars mentor, and NewPo founder Arielle Lechner to explore how startup founders can become stronger leaders. In a world where speed and pressure dominate, Arielle brings a refreshing perspective that emphasizes culture, clarity, and mindset as the real drivers of success. We discussed how to build high-performing teams, make better decisions, and create the mental space needed to lead with purpose instead of just reacting.
Key Takeaways:
- Culture needs both lift and thrust: Startups thrive when people feel motivated (lift) and are making progress (thrust). You need both to avoid burnout or stagnation.
- Think like a scientist: Test your way forward. Fast experimentation and clear feedback loops will lead you to the truth faster than any playbook.
- Don’t just put out fires. Go upstream: If the same problems keep showing up, the real issue is likely higher up the chain.
- Face what you’ve been avoiding: The conversations or decisions you’re putting off are usually the ones you most need to have.
From Startup Operator to Executive Coach
Arielle’s path to coaching is a story many founders will relate to because it started with taking a big risk, facing failure early, and learning by doing. She began her career in Canadian politics before diving into the startup world in San Francisco. She co-founded an app in her early twenties, and while that company didn’t take off, it opened the door to a decade spent working in and around startups, mostly in B2B SaaS.
When Arielle pivoted to executive coaching, she rebranded her practice as NewPo, short for “new possibilities.” That idea of opening up space for better thinking and leadership came through clearly in our conversation.
1. Culture: The Recipe for High-Impact Teams
I’ve heard a lot of founders on this show talk about the importance of culture, especially after a major exit or turning point. Arielle offered one of the most useful metaphors I’ve heard yet: Culture is like a recipe, and every new hire is an ingredient. The more intentional you are with each addition, the better the outcome.
She shared a framework that’s immediately useful for any founder or team leader. It came from her mentor, Robert Ellis, and it asks you to assess culture through three forces:
- Lift: What energizes and excites your team?
- Thrust: What’s pushing people forward and helping them grow?
- Weight: What’s dragging them down or causing friction?
It’s simple but powerful. I realized how much lift and thrust contribute to engagement, and how often weight and drag go unspoken. Arielle encouraged founders to ask their teams these questions directly.
2. Speed Comes from Learning, Not Just Hustle
Startup founders are constantly told to move fast. But what Arielle brought to light in our conversation is that real speed isn’t just about working harder or doing more. It’s about learning faster.
She encourages founders to approach leadership with a scientist’s mindset. That means framing every new initiative or decision as an experiment: form a hypothesis, test it, gather feedback, and iterate. The faster you can complete that loop, the faster your startup can evolve in the right direction.
“The only way to discover what’s true for you and your company is to run experiments,” Arielle explained. “Just because something worked for someone else or another company doesn’t mean it’s going to work here.”
“The only way to discover what’s true for you and your company is to run experiments.”
This experimentation mindset isn’t just about efficiency. It’s also about resilience. Arielle pointed out how many founders fall into the trap of tying their identity to outcomes. When something doesn’t work, they take it personally. That slows everything down.
“We have a habit as humans of making it mean something about us. The experiment didn’t work, therefore I suck as a CEO,” she said. “A great scientist doesn’t think that way. They say, ‘What about this didn’t work, and how do I tweak it for next time?’”
That shift from self-judgment to curiosity can transform how a founder leads. It not only enables quicker decision-making but also creates a culture where people feel safe to try, fail, learn, and grow. In Arielle’s view, that’s what makes a startup truly agile.
I’ve seen how hard it can be for founders to separate outcomes from identity. Arielle reminded me that great leaders don’t internalize every misstep. They stay curious, look for the lesson, and keep iterating.
Great leaders don’t internalize every misstep. They stay curious, look for the lesson, and keep iterating.
3. Upstream Thinking Solves Bigger Problems
We also talked about the concept of upstream vs. downstream problems. Arielle painted a vivid picture: If you keep seeing kids drowning in a river, don’t just pull them out—go upstream and stop whoever’s throwing them in.
That image stuck with me. Too often, founders focus on surface-level symptoms instead of solving the root issue. Arielle encouraged more proactive, strategic thinking. Not to avoid being reactive entirely, but to make sure it’s not your default setting.
If you keep seeing kids drowning in a river, don’t just pull them out—go upstream and stop whoever’s throwing them in.
Upstream thinking helps solve recurring issues, and it also creates the space founders need to think more strategically. As Arielle pointed out, that space won’t appear on its own. You have to be intentional about creating it.
4. Make Time to Think (Yes, Really)
As startups scale, many founders struggle to shift from doer to leader. Arielle emphasized that one of the highest-leverage things a founder can do is to protect time for deep, strategic thinking. Not managing. Not reacting. Thinking.
It’s a challenge many founders overlook, especially those who built their startups from the ground up. When your value has always been tied to action, taking a step back to think can feel like slacking off. Arielle sees this all the time in her coaching work.
When your value has always been tied to action, taking a step back to think can feel like slacking off.
“I would argue that for a CEO or a leader, one of the highest-value things you will do for your company is your thinking,” she said. “Which doesn’t necessarily have a tangible output all the time, but it’s very valuable.”
This hit home for me. Like many founders and operators, I’ve felt the pressure to stay constantly busy. But Arielle reframed it: making space to think isn’t a luxury, it’s a responsibility. Without it, you’re likely stuck in reactive mode, solving the same problems over and over.
She also called out one of the most common blockers: mindset. Founders often struggle with boundaries, delegation, and the belief that if they’re not producing something visible, they’re not being useful. But as a company grows, the most impactful work happens upstream—through decisions, priorities, and vision, not just execution.
Arielle even shared a personal example. Her husband is a CEO, and he regularly blocks off entire chunks of his calendar with “do not book” reminders so his team knows not to interrupt. That level of discipline might feel awkward at first, but it sends a clear message: time to think is sacred, and essential for leading well.
If you don’t carve out time to think, someone or something else will fill your schedule for you. And chances are, it won’t be with your highest priorities.
5. Final Words of Advice: Turn Toward Discomfort
Before we wrapped up, I asked Arielle what advice she most wanted to share with founders. Her answer was simple and powerful:
“Turn toward the thing you’ve been avoiding.”
Whether it’s a hard conversation, a delayed decision, or a gut-level fear, the thing you’ve been putting off is probably what needs your attention most. I’ve felt that weight myself. And as Arielle pointed out, once you finally face it, it’s often not as bad as you thought—and it frees up so much energy.
For coaching support that helps you lead with clarity, courage, and resilience, visit NewPo.io to learn more about Arielle’s work with founders.
If you’re navigating the pressures of leading a startup, Burkland’s strategic finance team can help you create clarity, prioritize what matters, and move forward with confidence. We offer fractional finance and HR support tailored to early-stage companies. Contact us to learn more.