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Founders, this is the phase nobody prepares you for.
- Steve Walsh
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
The part where something ends…
and you don’t fully know what comes next.
A few weeks ago, I ran into a close friend of mine, Mike, at a dance competition in New Hampshire.
We spent years together at Comcast. He had a 20-year executive run. Built a serious career. Led at a high level.
And now, he’s in that in-between phase.
The space where most people start to panic.
“What’s next?”
“What should I be doing?”
“How fast do I need to move?”
I’ve seen this movie before.
Because I lived it.
Almost ten years ago, I stepped away from my corporate career.
On paper, it looked like a huge moment.
And it was.
But what people don’t talk about is what comes right after.
The quiet.
The lack of structure.
The uncertainty.
The pressure to have it all figured out immediately.
That’s where most people get it wrong.
They rush.
They fill the space too quickly.
They grab the next thing just to avoid the discomfort.
Mike’s not doing that.
He’s leaning into it.
Spending time with his kids.
Flying to Opening Day with his son.
Showing up for his daughter doing something she loves.
And that’s the part most people miss.
This phase isn’t about what’s ending.
It’s about what’s beginning.
And if you don’t give yourself the space to reset, you carry the same thinking, the same habits, and the same patterns into whatever comes next.
For founders, this shows up all the time.
You exit something.
You step away from a role.
You hit a natural breakpoint in your company.
And the instinct is to move immediately.
Raise again.
Start something new.
Jump into the next opportunity.
But the best founders I know do something different.
They pause.
Not forever.
But long enough to think clearly.
Long enough to ask better questions.
Long enough to decide what they actually want the next chapter to look like.
That’s where clarity comes from.
Not from speed.
From space.
If you’re in that phase right now, here’s my advice:
Don’t run from it.
Don’t rush past it.
Lean into it.
Because this is where you reset.
This is where you get honest with yourself.
This is where the next chapter actually starts.
Mike’s got a ton of runway ahead of him.
And I’m excited to see what he builds next.
Not just professionally.
But personally.
Because at the end of the day, that’s the part that actually matters.
Until next time—keep building.
Cheers,
Steve Walsh
Hands On Angel
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