Summit Guide for Founders

Startup Cairns helps founders reach their summits.

Like cairns marking a mountain path, these insights help startups achieve their summits

More insights for entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Expanding Your Luck Surface Area

Serendipity involves both choice and chance as fortune favors the prepared mind. An Entrepreneurial Mindset expands Luck Surface Area augmenting talent to seize opportunity.

Atomic Habits: Forcing Functions to Form Good Habits and Fulfill New Year's Resolutions

Simple steps to build lasting habits and achieve your goals by making small daily changes.

Founder Fit: Insight Driven Entrepreneurship

Founder Fit should focus on insights, acumen and mindset rather than experience. We offer here a Founder Fit framework and guide how to use it.

Founder's Dilemmas: Strategies to Anticipate and Avoid the Pitfalls that can Sink a Startup

Resilient founding teams align on three Rs: Relationships, Roles & Rewards. Misalignments are hidden, ticking bombs that explode in crucible moments. Here are six strategies to avoid cofounder pitfalls that can sink a startup.

Be Exothermic! Igniting and Accelerating the Startup Flywheel

Radiating positive energy and enthusiasm helps startups build strong cultures, attract talent, and accelerate growth.

Founder Fit: Experience vs. Insight

Insight beats experience for identifying disruptive startup founders.

Serendipity Mindset: Ten Strategies to Expand Your Luck Surface Area

Ten practices to expand your luck surface area.

Crucible Moments: Surviving and Thriving in a Downturn

Having invested through five downturns, Paul Asel discusses how CEOs can lead effectively and startups can survive and thrive through crises.

Exit Strategy: Reverse Engineering Successful Outcomes from the Outset

Successful exits start with the end in mind. Here are six strategies to prepare for a successful exit, including one exercise before you start your business.

Startup Cairns Mission

Startup Cairns helps startups reach their summits. Cairns are landmarks that guide climbers' ascents — frameworks and mental models from two decades at NGP Capital to help entrepreneurs navigate steep, treacherous terrain.

Social Capital: The 10X Multiplier on Human Capital