One Year of Powerlifting: What It Taught Me About Founding and Leadership

It’s hard to replicate the feeling of finding something you’re truly passionate about, in work or in life. I often think about the silliness of expecting 18-year-olds to make choices that define the rest of their lives. I consider myself lucky to have found a path that felt rewarding every step of the way and ultimately led me to start Near Space Labs. Dropping out of my PhD right before my pre-defense felt like a no-brainer, because I knew I’d regret not going for it. But that’s a story for another time.

Last year, luck found me again. After years of searching for a training program that would keep me engaged, I stumbled into powerlifting. I discovered I love lifting very heavy things and what started as a fitness routine has become a tool I use to stay grounded as a founder. Here are a few lessons from one year of powerlifting that translate directly into building a company.

Trust

When you’re pushing yourself, whether under a barbell or as a founder, the weight of daily challenges can feel overwhelming. In both cases, trust is essential.

In the gym, I’ve had to learn to trust my coach’s program. Progress doesn’t come from maxing out every set; it comes from following a structured plan, even on days when I want to do more. In the startup world, it’s the same: you can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything yourself. Trusting your team by giving them ownership, responsibility, and the space to shine is what allows a company to move forward.

Trust isn’t easy, and I’ll admit it’s still a struggle. But both in powerlifting and in entrepreneurship, it’s the only way to build something that lasts.

Journey Before Destination

In Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive, the First Ideal of the Knights Radiant is:
“Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.”

The Radiants carry the crushing responsibility of saving their entire world from destruction, a goal so vast and terrifying that it would paralyze anyone who tried to hold it in their head all at once. The beauty of the First Ideal is that it grounds them. Instead of obsessing over the impossible scale of the fight, they commit to the path: protecting one life at a time, showing up each day, making the next right choice.

Powerlifting works the same way. The “destination” is simple: max out your squat, bench, and deadlift on meet day. But if you obsess over the end goal every single training session, you’ll break yourself. Strength isn’t built in one heroic lift, it’s built in thousands of unglamorous reps, showing up even when you’re sore, tired, or when you feel like you’re plateauing.

The same truth applies in startups. The vision, building a company that changes an industry, can feel as daunting as saving the world. If you fixate only on the enormity of that goal, it can be overwhelming. Instead, founders learn to narrow their focus to the present: solving the problem in front of them, celebrating small wins, and trusting that those steps will eventually add up to something transformative.

Patience and Consistency

Strength doesn’t develop overnight. Every compound lift requires countless reps for your body and mind to learn the movement. Likewise, in a startup, progress often feels slow, you’re learning new things every day, but the payoff takes time.

That’s where consistency comes in. Improvement rarely comes in leaps, but through small, steady gains. A 1% improvement week over week may sound trivial, but over a year it compounds into nearly 68% growth. This shift in perspective is powerful: patience keeps you in the game, and consistency transforms those small efforts into something extraordinary.

Putting Your Oxygen Mask on First

Startups have a way of consuming every part of your identity. It’s tempting to tie your entire sense of self to your company’s success. But just like in leadership, in lifting I’ve learned that you can’t pour from an empty cup. Prioritizing your own physical and mental health isn’t selfish, it’s essential.

By staying grounded, you can support your team, lead with conviction, and keep moving forward no matter how heavy the weight feels.

Closing

One year of powerlifting has taught me as much about building companies as it has about building strength. It’s about trust, consistency, patience, and remembering that the journey itself is where growth happens. Whether under a barbell or in a boardroom, the lessons are the same: show up, do the work, and let small improvements compound into something extraordinary.

(Halting Deadlifts at 95kg / 210 lb 4 times with 2 reps in tank left. The days total load was 27,000 lb)