Working with founders is like being the pacer in a race: you run at what feel like sprint speeds to you, yet seem almost leisurely to them. There is always a goal—an Ahab-like pursuit—and you get to run an important leg of their journey, making it your own by helping translate ambition into measurable progress.

The tools, processes, and efficiencies you bring into that environment aren’t about glory. They exist to remove monotony and eliminate time wasters, freeing the founder to focus on vision, strategy, and the risks only they are willing to take. Founders carry the idea, the courage to try, and the confidence to believe theirs will succeed—even knowing that most businesses fail. Keeping up becomes its own discipline, shaped by respect for the pace they set.

Some moments reveal the human side of that intensity. I remember once arriving very early to the office—the lamp in my room the lone dim light on the floor. A faint rustling sound, a trace of incense, and the realization that the founder was quietly blessing his business. Nothing but respect. Founders are real people too: same fears, same superstitions. Yet they move forward anyway, not by ignoring risk, but by constantly measuring and balancing it.

The satisfaction for the pacer comes from quiet victories: building sustainable processes, catching a minor sales-tax misstep during diligence that protects valuation, or making sure the machinery hums smoothly before the whirlwind of the day begins. These aren’t flashy wins, but they matter—and founders notice.

Moments outside the boardroom can make the dynamic even clearer. Playing basketball with a global CEO—not a household name, nothing close to a Steve Jobs, but someone who has built something real—reveals how energy, decisiveness, and vision ripple through an organization. Reliability matters. Presence matters. Anticipating problems before they surface matters.

In that sense, working with a founder really is like pacing a world-class athlete. Founders take risks even when the odds are long. The winners may get the headlines and the money, but for the truly driven ones, it’s never just about that. It’s about movement, momentum, and pushing into uncertainty.

Being the second person through the door—following the trail they blaze—can be deeply rewarding. Keeping up. Learning the journey. Understanding the mindset of people willing to run ahead of the pack.

The business-as-sport analogies run deep. I once crossed paths with Muhammad Ali—“the Greatest,” in his own words—at LAX, a reminder of how we’re drawn to trailblazers as crowds clamored. We sometimes forget how many others trained just as hard in the background. The lesson of the enamored crowd endures.

Winning isn’t the point. The journey is. And running alongside driven leaders, helping them focus their energy where it counts, is its own form of contribution. That is rewarding. That is the work.

What’s your experience pacing a founder? Stories—and yes, name-dropping—welcome.