We built MudLabs because we kept watching talented founders break under pressure—not from bad ideas, but from burnout, identity crises, and emotional depletion. The industry was solving the wrong problem.
Accelerators taught founders how to pitch investors, build MVPs, and scale quickly. But they ignored the founder's capacity to sustain execution under pressure.
Executive coaches offered emotional support and mindset work. But they lacked structured business operating systems.
The result? Founders burned out, businesses collapsed, and the cycle repeated. 65% of startups failed from people problems, not product problems.
We knew there had to be a better way.
of startups fail from founder burnout and people problems
of accelerators systematically address founder emotional health
The balance we knew was needed: business development + founder formation
From recognizing the problem to building the solution that works.
After watching dozens of talented founders burn out despite having viable businesses, we realized the industry was solving the wrong problem. Accelerators taught pitch decks. Coaches offered support. But no one was systematically addressing both business execution and founder health.
We studied the data: 65% of startups fail from people problems—founder burnout, co-founder conflict, identity crises, and emotional depletion. Not from bad products or markets. The founder breaks before the business does.
We developed the Founder OS: a systematic approach combining customer-first business development with founder formation. The Four Fundamental Questions, Root Motivations Assessment, and weekly health check-ins became core components.
We launched with 20 founders. The results were clear: founders who addressed both tracks simultaneously reached customers faster, pivoted smarter, and sustained execution longer. The 50/50 balance worked.
We trained advisors in dual expertise: business operations and founder formation. Every advisor now brings both skill sets. We refined the weekly oversight model and built the platform tools.
Over 200 founders supported. The only program with systematic 50/50 balance. Customer-first business development paired with founder heart health, governed by weekly advisor oversight.
These principles guide every decision we make and every founder we support.
We treat founder health as an operational priority, not a nice-to-have. If the operator breaks, the business breaks.
We believe customers are the source of truth. Every decision must be validated by real customer conversations and evidence.
We build strategies that produce evidence quickly. No endless planning, no investor theater—just the shortest path to customer truth.
We provide real oversight, not content libraries. Decisions are pressure-tested before you act, and execution is governed weekly.
Because we believe that sustainable business success requires both customer-first execution and founder health. Both tracks. One operating system. Governed by advisor oversight.
Take the free Founder Baseline Assessment and start building a business that doesn't break you.