March 2025

Anyone who’s worked in an office and attended a meeting can attest — some individuals are better at presenting than others. If you want to give yourself an advantage in the presentation department, one tool can help — Microsoft Visio. A lifetime license for Windows can currently be yours for just $14.97 — $235 off the usual price.

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I am an HR tech and fintech entrepreneur, and in 2015, I transformed the way employees access their pay. Through my first entrepreneurial venture, DailyPay, I invented and introduced earned wage access (EWA) to help millions of hourly workers access their earned pay when needed for an emergency or to pay a bill on time.

Today, there are hundreds of EWA providers worldwide, and the EWA market is projected to grow from $30.83B in 2025 to $242.46B by 2034. I led DailyPay as Chairman and CEO until 2022, when the company was valued at $2B.

I founded my second company, Salt Labs, in 2022 out of a deep desire to continue helping frontline workers achieve financial progress. Salt, a first-of-its-kind employee loyalty and rewards company, raised $18M in seed funding, and I sold the company to Chime Financial in July 2024.

After Chime acquired Salt Labs in 2024, I was named Chief of Chime Enterprise, a company dedicated to innovative, employee-centered financial wellness solutions. My mission to empower employee financial progress continues to reshape the workplace financial landscape.

Here are some valuable insights on founding, scaling and exiting a company (well, two companies, actually!) that I’ve learned along the way.

Related: 7 Ways to Scale a Startup Into a Billion-Dollar Business

On product

Do one thing really well. When you do one thing really well, you will have the opportunity to land and expand. Startups often die from indigestion, not from starvation. They do too many things not well enough, as opposed to doing one thing very well.

Always position your company for the next growth stage, whether that’s a capital event, an acquisition or something else. At Salt Labs, I was never looking to be acquired when we were, but it’s hard to say no to the ability to offer more great products to our customers from combined entities while providing returns to our investors and employees.

On boards

Traditional wisdom again says to keep the board small and only give your investors a seat. You want to add independents to the board as quickly as possible and pick your own independents to outweigh any investor collusion. Importantly, you don’t want the independents to be nominated by board members because that produces a quasi-investor-control mechanism. This is hard because when you’re busy building a company and dealing with all that comes with that, you may not have the capacity to think about finding a great independent board member. But you should.

Related: Finding the Right Board Members for Your Company is Crucial to Success. Here’s How to Do it.

On investors

Unless you’re lucky (unlucky?) enough to come from family money, investors are the lifeblood of your company, so it’s essential to pick the right ones.

While traditional wisdom tells us “less is more,” I disagree entirely. I think more is more. You may not believe that taking a $500k check from a small investor amounts to much, but you have no idea. In a startup, you have no idea where your help will come from and who’s connected to who. Investors in a startup are like your arms. They give you reach into the outside world, and as an early-stage founder, you always want more reach.

Some of my most significant business development leads and financing partners have come from my smallest investors. So, having a wide diversity is better because you never know where your help will come from.

On choosing an executive team

The timing around choosing an executive team depends on how quickly you are scaling. If you’re scaling at a moderate rate, take the time to recruit someone who can take you to the next level. It’s all a timing thing. If you take too long to recruit the right person, you might already be at the next level where that person is no longer the right fit. Sometimes, you just have to plug a hole rather than build a new ship.

If you have to get someone in a seat, hiring someone to fill a position is okay so long as you plan to transition them out when the time is right.

On growing staff

I enlist a specific skillset ranking hierarchy when hiring at various stages of growing a company.

In the beginning stage, it’s:

1. Commitment
2. Intellect
3. Experience

In the middle stage, it’s:

1. Intellect
2. Commitment
3. Experience

And in the third stage, it’s:

1. Experience
2. Commitment
3. Intellect

While all three of these are very important, if I had to rank them at different company stages, this is how I do it.

Related: As Your Company Scales, These Are the 8 Keys to Hiring the Right Team Members

On exit timing

Regardless of the interest rate environment, I always believe that “Cash is King.” It’s hard to exit a private company for cash, but if you ever get that opportunity, you’ll never regret selling. This applies to your own private stock and the company, and I have done both.

On yourself

You should only do the things that only you can do. As a founder, there are things that only you can do, so do those and let others do what they can only do.

It’s Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran’s birthday today.

To celebrate, the 76-year-old shared some pictures on Instagram and advice on how to be a good boss, stating in an Instagram video that, of all the top business leaders she’s ever met, she is the best boss of them all.

“I don’t mean to brag, but I am the best boss I’ve ever met, by far,” Corcoran said in the video, which was shared with her 1.1 million Instagram followers. “I don’t think anyone could be a better boss than me.”

Related: Barbara Corcoran Needed to Make Job Cuts. Here’s Why She Fired Her Mom First.

Corcoran explained that being a good boss meant taking action from “the very first day” on a simple grounding principle: You work for who is working for you. In other words, the boss works for the benefit of the employee.

Corcoran has more than half a century of experience managing employees. She founded and ran The Corcoran Group, a New York City-based real estate brokerage, for nearly 30 years. When she sold the company in 2001 for an estimated $70 million, its ranks had grown from seven agents in 1973 to a staff of about 700 brokers in 2001.

Corcoran now makes about $4.5 million a year from her investments, including profits from some of the more than 650 deals she’s made on “Shark Tank” while appearing as an original cast member for 16 seasons.

Corcoran says her perspective is always rooted in what she can do to help her employees.

“That’s my attitude my entire life,” Corcoran said in the Instagram video. “What can I do for you?”

Corcoran asks her employees what they want, where they would like to work, and how she can make their jobs easier. She then follows through by giving them what they ask for and taking action to help them advance in their careers.

Though Corcoran stated that she acts “selflessly” toward her employees, she also acknowledged that her actions help her get ahead as a boss. As her employees become stronger and move up the ranks in their careers, she gets to stay solidly connected to them and tap into that connection wherever they end up. That future bond grows stronger because of Corcoran’s interest from the start in serving the employee.

“I shower my people with anything they need selflessly,” Corcoran stated, adding that as employees advance in their careers, “they carry me for a free ride along with them.”

Related: ‘Do You Know What a First Class Ticket Costs?’ Why Barbara Corcoran Flies Coach

The debate around founder mode has been raging for a while now. On the one hand, there are fans like Jensen Huang (at Nvidia) and Brian Chesky (at Airbnb) who believe leaders should maintain a hands-on approach at every level of business. Taking this to the extreme is Elon Musk, who apparently has access to a “demon mode,” too.

On the other side of the debate are supporters of “manager mode” — those who believe in the power of delegation and rely on their teams to deliver on the founder’s vision.

As the founder of a consumer finance company in a fast-paced industry, I confess that I find founder mode deeply appealing. The approach pushes me to operate at a high level of output, optimize my life and embrace a growth mindset. I love that it solves management clogs and ramps up the speed from decision to action.

Building a number of businesses has taught me, however, that a more nuanced and targeted application of founder mode is vital to avoid certain pitfalls.

It begins with a little psychology: understanding that every founder has a fear of losing control as their company grows. (After all, it’s your painstaking approach that got you to where you are today, right?) But ask yourself: Are employees frozen as they wait for your approvals? Are pipelines clogging up because you’re “the only one who can do it”?

If the answer is yes, it might be time to question the value of the very mindset that served you so well when you launched.

For any founder still figuring out their approach, here are the essential questions that are helping me fine-tune those founder-mode instincts and evolve my role to match my growing company’s needs.

Related: Investing in Your Happiness Is the Path to Success

Am I deeply involved, or am I a micromanager?

The main characteristic of founder mode — the need to be deeply involved in every aspect of the business at all times — is a double-edged sword. The same ability to quickly diagnose problems and “do it all,” which can be critical at the early stage of a venture, can curdle into micromanaging as the business grows.

Sure, the Brian Cheskys of the world will shrug and say micromanaging is actually a good thing. But, generally, micromanaged employees sag under excess meetings; their creativity is stifled; and their productivity plummets.

My antidote? Every morning and every night, I check custom dashboards that chart our core KPIs. If the metrics look healthy, I can have faith that department heads have things covered, and there’s no need to meddle.

I’ll only switch on founder mode and roll up my sleeves if the numbers warrant it.

Related: Founder Mode Can Fail Your Business — Lead This Way Instead

Am I focused, or is this tunnel vision?

During my daily dashboard reviews, I’ll inevitably notice an underperforming KPI. My instinct, of course, is to dive straight in and fix it. Get it done. But I force myself to pause and really ask why those numbers are off.

Is it an external issue? A product issue? (In either case, I will give myself permission to switch to founder mode and tackle the problem myself.) But what if the problem is actually my own assumptions?

If it’s the latter, then founder mode is a losing strategy because the solution lies outside of me. I need external input. Maybe I need advice from department heads. Or maybe I need to tap into the collective wisdom of my board, a tactic that’s had a significant impact at pivotal moments in my business growth.

I remind myself that soliciting feedback will lead to a helpful course correction, not a brick wall.

Related: Founder Mode Means Being a Strategic Micromanager — Here’s Why That’s Actually a Good Thing

Am I enabling a growth mindset, or am I causing burnout?

Like most founders, I’m ruthlessly focused on growth — treading water just isn’t an option, especially in the first few years of your company’s life, when you’re securing market share and establishing your brand. Sometimes, that growth mindset has meant sleeping on the office sofa or skipping weekends.

But all that’s counterproductive if my focus on growth encourages a culture of burnout. Researchers have been clear on this one: when workers are pushed to the edge, it usually backfires for the whole company. Similarly, those who try to “maximize” their productivity through multitasking life hacks often get less done.

Bringing balance to that growth mindset is the only sustainable path. Leaders can encourage their teams to create long-term plans that let them hit a sprint when necessary while pulling back when they can. Letting employees curate their own schedule allows for more productivity in the long run — and it reduces costly turnover, too.

Modeling that balance can go a long way. The truth is, my business would easily survive if I took a three-week vacation, and everyone should feel that way about their own role. We’re all going farther together when we give each other permission to fuel up.

Related: In the Age of Instant News, a PR Crisis Can Erupt at Any Moment — Here’s How Entrepreneurs Can Stay Ahead

Am I charging forward, or am I forgetting to celebrate past wins?

When I’m “heads down” in founder mode, it’s easy to become solely focused on the next goal. Pausing to recognize what’s already been achieved can feel like a distraction or, worse, a loss of momentum.

But not everyone’s the same. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, Gallup’s researchers have shown how a bit of positive feedback along the way increases profitability, productivity and employee well-being. Company-wide, the drive associated with founder mode will eventually sputter out if we forget to mark those wins.

Always build in time to call out success with the team. Just as important: help the team see how past wins set them up for future wins, too. After all, acknowledging what went right doesn’t mean you’re slowing down; you’re actually just adding more wind to your sails.

It’s not about you — It’s about the goal

Founder mode has so many positives (holistic understanding, lightning decisions, lean org charts), but its main failing — its original sin — is that it’s all about the founder. And — once your startup leaves the garage — no one person can really do it all.

Asking myself those tough questions is what helps me target my finite time and energy toward areas where they’re most needed. And, on the flip side, answering those questions tells me when my founder mode energy may be hurting more than it’s helping.

Here’s what’s truly surprising for those of us who wish we could stay “obsessively” involved with every aspect of the company we created: being judicious about founder mode won’t dilute your impact at all — focusing that superpower on the right moments and the right problems actually makes you more effective than ever.

On Wednesday, March 26th at 3 PM ET, the Founder of SotoMethod, Hilary Hoffman, joins us in our next Entrepreneur+ Subscriber-Only Event!

In this exclusive event, Hilary will reveal the strategies she used to skyrocket her business growth by 1000% in just eight months, and how you too can turn your side hustle into a thriving business.

Whether you’re nurturing a budding side hustle or contemplating full-time entrepreneurship, you will walk away from this Entrepreneur+ event with the tools to confidently scale your business.

What You’ll Learn:

• Stealth Mode Mastery: Discover how to grow quietly while gathering crucial feedback

• Pivot Power: Recognize the perfect moment to go all-in

• Financial Roadmap: Set clear goals and track vital growth metrics

• Low-Cost Marketing Tactics: Scale your business with minimal marketing investment

• Pricing Prowess: Master the art of pricing and business model experimentation

This event is only for Entrepreneur+ subscribers, but you can become a member for just $1/week! Sign up and unlock all access to Entrepreneur.com, including our premium content and the ability to participate in our Subscribers-Only Event.

What is a Subscriber-Only Event?

Subscriber-Only Events are exclusive interviews in which we feature a special guest to help create actionable content for Entrepreneur+ subscribers. We set up events with today’s most prevalent CEOs, entrepreneurs and celebrities — so that we can provide a productive, exclusive experience for our most dedicated readers and entrepreneurs worldwide.

How to access as a subscriber:

There are two ways to make sure you don’t miss out on this event. Follow this link for easy setup on your Entrepreneur+ homepage. Or, check your inbox for an email that contains the private link to the event. We will also notify your email as the event goes live to make sure you don’t miss out.

Having issues signing up for the call? Email us at subscribe@entrepreneur.com.

About the Speaker:

After nearly a decade in finance, spending her time most notably at Goldman Sachs and Oaktree Capital Management, Hilary Hoffman launched her fitness platform The SOTO Method in 2021. The SOTO Method is a program she initially created for herself; strapped for time, she craved a more efficient burn. The workout needed to reflect her reality: she had only 35 minutes, and every single second needed to count. Through Hilary’s extensive knowledge of isometrics, SOTO delivers approachability, efficiency and results. In class, you will be reminded to stay in the “can” mindset time and time again. This means physical strength starts with believing four words, “I can do this.”

Job searching can be exhausting. The endless cycle of searching, filling out applications, tweaking resumés, and waiting for responses can be tedious and inefficient. Every job seeker has felt the frustration of spending hours applying, only to hear nothing back. But what if you didn’t have to do it all manually?

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For entrepreneurs, coming up with a great idea is, unfortunately, the easy part. Even after you’ve had your lightbulb moment, conducted market research and created a business plan, you still have to figure out how to attract your first customers.

The harsh reality is that an amazing idea isn’t actually amazing if you have no way to get it in front of people. It’s called a “cold start problem” — the challenge of building momentum when a business, product or platform has no initial user base or activity. It’s especially relevant for companies relying on network effects — think Airbnb or eBay — where the value of the product or service increases as more people use it.

While the cold start problem may be extra tricky for two-sided platforms, it’s something every entrepreneur should be thinking about.

Related: The Step-By-Step Guide to Finding Your Niche and Target Market

Build a minimum viable product (MVP)

The advice I find myself sharing again and again? Build an MVP.

I borrowed the idea of MVPs from thought leader Eric Ries, who defines the term as a version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least amount of effort. The purpose, in other words, is to test an idea at a minimal cost that will elicit a response from the target audience, which can help pave the way for future iterations.

Once you’ve built your MVP, making it free is the best way to gain traction. Even if you only get a few people visiting your website, some will likely become users. These users will provide valuable information: How active are they? Are they continuously using the product for a long time? If not, why?

The great thing about MVPs is that they’re quick to build and provide a lot of essential data. But even better, building a cheap, imperfect version gives founders a chance to try their hands at all sorts of new skills they’re going to need as their business grows, like design. Without the pressure of getting it just right the first time, you’ll have a chance to experiment, collect feedback and improve so that every future version is that much better.

Another hard truth: If you’re not having any luck with your MVP, you’re probably not going to with a more souped-up version, either. I had lots of startup ideas before I landed on Jotform, the form-building company I’ve run for the past two decades. But if after six months of trying, it hadn’t taken off? I would have tossed it in the dustbin with the other ideas and started on something else.

Build in a hot market

Timing is everything, and the success of a startup often hinges on it. Take Instagram, for example: Released in 2010, it capitalized on the enhanced photo capabilities of the iPhone 4 and the growing demand for instant photo sharing. Contrast that with the 2013 debut of Google Glass: Wearable technology hadn’t yet become mainstream, and many saw the idea of strapping a computer to your face as creepy and dystopian. While other factors contributed to Glass’s failure, a major issue was the lack of a market primed for that product at that time.

By building in a hot market, you boost your product’s chances of attracting users. Right now, AI is everywhere, and people are actively looking to adopt AI products and services. Paying close attention to trends pays off: I launched Jotform amid a surge of interest in online products, driven in part by the impressive debut of Gmail.

Of course, launching in such a market also comes with risk. Competition can be stiff, so you have to have a unique value proposition to stand out. There’s also the risk of market saturation. Neither of these things are deal breakers, however — Google entered the forms ring shortly after I launched Jotform, and we survived. The key is to make an excellent product, one that people will still choose to use even in the face of alternatives. After all, if many similar products have roughly similar functions, but none have taken off, it means none are doing it all that well.

Related: 8 Winning Strategies for Succeeding in a Hyper-Competitive Market

Learn to love the 50/50 rule

One principle that I live by is called the 50/50 rule, which dictates that startups spend half their time on product development and the other half on marketing. As a developer, this was a painful revelation since I preferred to focus on building alone. But if an idea is a product plus marketing, you absolutely can’t neglect either variable.

Attracting and converting users can be done through targeted marketing, which involves knowing your target audience, their pain points, what messaging will resonate with them and how to reach them. At Jotform, we’ve had a lot of success reaching users through blogs, which we strategically post on platforms that they frequent. Feedback is your best friend — there’s no better way to learn whether you’re successfully implementing the 50/50 rule than communicating with the people you want to use your product.

Attracting — and keeping — users requires strategic thinking: build an MVP to test your idea, launch in a market that’s ripe with opportunity and iterate based on real-world feedback. Timing, persistence and adaptability are key. Even if your first attempt doesn’t take off, it’s a stepping stone toward finding something that works.

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