I'm Ellen Donnelly and I am the Founder of The Ask® where I offer certified coaching to founders building new businesses, seeking clarity and direction in the process.
Before launching The Ask I was the Head of Talent at startup accelerators and VC-backed tech companies and exec recruiting. I support startups as a coach and talent consultant and I love nothing more than figuring out how people tick and guiding them to choose the right career path for them. In entrepreneurial environments, there is no set path to follow. This is why I built The Ask® and trained as an executive coach as it comes down to asking the right questions.
These questions are designed to help founders build businesses as unique as they are. My coaching is for new business owners seeking clarity in their unique vision, mission, and purpose. This comes by first understanding themselves.
I've learned some foundational truths in my work:
Clarity precedes confidence, which creates momentum Until you are clear on WHAT you are building and what goals to pursue, you will struggle to find confidence in your decisions and direction, then overthink and procrastinate
Your WHY should stay the same but your HOW will shift Most founders have a vision for their business but are unclear on the steps to take in the process. Coaching can help you stay the course through the bumpy (and often lonely) ride of figuring this stuff out.
Build a business aligned to your values, strengths, and purpose When there are so many directions to choose from, working on something you are uniquely placed to solve in the world is critical to drown out the noise and stay in your lane.
I look forward to answering your questions about the early stages of company building, knowing which business to build, and creating the right conditions to bring your best self, skills, and talent to the table in your journey.
Join me for a conversation (in writing) in the next hour. Post your questions below 👇
Hi Ellen! Thanks for making the time. Currently toying with different business ideas in the healthcare space but worried about that elusive founder market fit. Do you have any tips to help someone figure out which business to build?
Founder-market fit or “Product-Founder Fit” as I like to call it is as much about figuring out what makes you uniquely placed to work on this business. It could be a passion for solving the problem specifically — which is that mission led peice, or it could be a unique insight you’ve gained about the problem itself that others do not have, or unique network or access. If you could up short finding a fit with the above points, you can also consider how your skillset matches the roles and responsibilities of the founder profile itself. You will gain knowledge and passion for the problem you're solving during the process of building the company, but if you start with one of the above points it makes it all that much easier.
For anyone in the community exploring some of these deeper questions who would like to discuss on a 1-1 basis feel free to book a time in with me for a quick chat here https://bit.ly/ellen-theask-30min or drop me a note in Slack!
Hi Ellen! Love this. I'm currently in VC but thinking about a move into being a founder myself. After being on the funder side of the table for so long, I'm having trouble committing to one idea. Any advice for how to... well... start? Taking the first few steps seems particularly scary for someone who hasn't been an operator before (or at least in a really long time).
Hi Rebecca, thanks for your question -- I wouldnt force yourself to commit, but as you say take some small steps, one foot in front of the other.
Most importantly..
-Defining your 'why' for company building is a way to tie back your actions to this when you have wobbly moments
-Getting inspired and curious, connecting the dots between what you know, care about, see as problems and build up some ideas to take to potential users
-Set some goals and deadlines and get accountability (buddy/coach/mentor) is key
Re the idea itself, narrowing down areas based on where you have specific leverage or advantage eg intel or passion as I said to Asta. Often the 'hunch' about the product or idea turns out to be wrong in some way, and the market decides whether your idea will ultimately make it, so rather than feeling you need the perfect thing, carve an area you're excited to work on for a long time in whatever form it ends up ultimately taking, and this will come down to a love of it as much as the logic.
Happy to have a call with you when youre excited to jump two feet in and help you think through these steps too
I have an idea for a tech business but I’m non-technical. I’m keen to go it alone but wondering if I should try and find a tech co-founder at an early stage instead?
Hi Hazel, thanks for your question! Thats exciting!
This is a common misnomer to look for a technical cofounder from the get go. It can seem like a comfort blanket but is not always the solution. Not to mention how hard it is to get technical people on board with this without money in the bank or a validated product market fit to run with, unless they are a trusted contact etc excited by going from zero to one with you..
So if you dont have a tech person you can begin with looking to prove/disprove the validity of your idea. If it does have legs can you build an MVP or create something to put into the hands of users. Then if it still has the greenlight, you can get a technical cofounder/employee/or hire a software dev agency depending on what makes the most sense. Again happy to discuss 1-1 further :)
Hi Ellen! Thanks for making the time. Currently toying with different business ideas in the healthcare space but worried about that elusive founder market fit. Do you have any tips to help someone figure out which business to build?
Hey Asta, excited to hear you’re exploring!
Sure, this is a big one for me so plenty to say..
Founder-market fit or “Product-Founder Fit” as I like to call it is as much about figuring out what makes you uniquely placed to work on this business. It could be a passion for solving the problem specifically — which is that mission led peice, or it could be a unique insight you’ve gained about the problem itself that others do not have, or unique network or access. If you could up short finding a fit with the above points, you can also consider how your skillset matches the roles and responsibilities of the founder profile itself. You will gain knowledge and passion for the problem you're solving during the process of building the company, but if you start with one of the above points it makes it all that much easier.
This Founder-Model Canvas resource I’ve created should help :slightly_smiling_face: https://the-ask.uk/resources/founder-model-canvas or this newsletter post on the topic https://the-ask.blog/product-fit-founder/
Thank you so much! Will do the founder model canvas :)
For anyone in the community exploring some of these deeper questions who would like to discuss on a 1-1 basis feel free to book a time in with me for a quick chat here https://bit.ly/ellen-theask-30min or drop me a note in Slack!
Hi all 👋 excited to chat about any of above, I'll be here answering questions over the next hour!
Hi Ellen! Love this. I'm currently in VC but thinking about a move into being a founder myself. After being on the funder side of the table for so long, I'm having trouble committing to one idea. Any advice for how to... well... start? Taking the first few steps seems particularly scary for someone who hasn't been an operator before (or at least in a really long time).
Hi Rebecca, thanks for your question -- I wouldnt force yourself to commit, but as you say take some small steps, one foot in front of the other.
Most importantly..
-Defining your 'why' for company building is a way to tie back your actions to this when you have wobbly moments
-Getting inspired and curious, connecting the dots between what you know, care about, see as problems and build up some ideas to take to potential users
-Set some goals and deadlines and get accountability (buddy/coach/mentor) is key
Re the idea itself, narrowing down areas based on where you have specific leverage or advantage eg intel or passion as I said to Asta. Often the 'hunch' about the product or idea turns out to be wrong in some way, and the market decides whether your idea will ultimately make it, so rather than feeling you need the perfect thing, carve an area you're excited to work on for a long time in whatever form it ends up ultimately taking, and this will come down to a love of it as much as the logic.
Happy to have a call with you when youre excited to jump two feet in and help you think through these steps too
Thank you! I may take you up on that :)
Hi Ellen,
I have an idea for a tech business but I’m non-technical. I’m keen to go it alone but wondering if I should try and find a tech co-founder at an early stage instead?
Thanks
Hi Hazel, thanks for your question! Thats exciting!
This is a common misnomer to look for a technical cofounder from the get go. It can seem like a comfort blanket but is not always the solution. Not to mention how hard it is to get technical people on board with this without money in the bank or a validated product market fit to run with, unless they are a trusted contact etc excited by going from zero to one with you..
So if you dont have a tech person you can begin with looking to prove/disprove the validity of your idea. If it does have legs can you build an MVP or create something to put into the hands of users. Then if it still has the greenlight, you can get a technical cofounder/employee/or hire a software dev agency depending on what makes the most sense. Again happy to discuss 1-1 further :)
That’s amazing thank you. I’m in the process of trying to get my idea down on paper so that I can build an MVP but struggling!