There’s always more to do as a founder – whether it’s get more customers, launch new product, raise funds for growth – the list of things “to do” never ends! It can be overwhelming. But, if overwhelm sets in it can impact on your ability to make progress, or even make the right decisions! That’s why it was such a pleasure to welcome Funding Accelerator mentor Olivia Greenberg to a recent workshop run for our startup community. Olivia introduced some practical exercises that showed founders how to create calm to improve performance and creativity. Her approach is simple: shift your state first, then choose a focus and finally take specific action. Founders do their worst thinking in a stress response and their best work when the nervous system is settled enough to see options and make clean requests. As Olivia puts it, “Calm isn’t indulgence; it’s the infrastructure for good judgement.”
Why calm precedes creativity
Pressure narrows attention. When your breathing is shallow and your jaw is tight, you will talk faster, over-explain, and default to safe ideas. Creative work needs range and working memory; both are suppressed by stress chemistry. That is why “trying harder” rarely fixes a messy pitch deck or a woolly product brief. The first move is physiological, not intellectual: settle the system so perception widens and language slows. Once calm is in place, you can pick a single outcome that matters and bring your full attention to it. The return is immediate, clearer thinking, shorter meetings, and a steadier fundraising story.
Olivia’s three-step routine: shift → focus → act
You can run this practical exercise that Olivia recommends in three minutes or less. It is designed to fit into the live rhythm of a founder’s day rather than add complexity.
Shift (90 seconds). Sit or stand tall. Inhale through the nose, then exhale slowly through pursed lips. Relax your jaw and drop your shoulders. The long exhale signals safety; heart rate drops and your field of view widens. If you need a cue, look slightly further into the distance for a few breaths.
Focus (60–90 seconds). Bring attention to the centre of your chest and breathe evenly. Recall a specific moment of appreciation, something concrete, not abstract. Let your breathing and your attention settle together. Now state one clear outcome in plain language: “Agree next steps and owners on the pilot.” “Finish the pricing note by four.” Keep it short enough to remember.
Act (immediately). Picture the result once, say the first step out loud, then begin. Do not add more than one next step. Momentum comes from moving one small stone, not from writing a longer to-do list. In Olivia’s phrase, “Change your state, set your aim, then act on the smallest next step.”
Applying the routine to investor conversations
Investor calls reward clarity and pace. Run this routine before you start a conversation with investors. The shift phase cuts verbal rushing; the focus phase helps you choose one desired outcome; the act phase commits you to a useful close.
Open with a calm, concrete summary of the customer problem, the measurable result you deliver, and the evidence that supports it. Answer questions directly, then pause. Resist the urge to fill silence with extras, brevity signals command of the material. Set one outcome for the call (for example a short technical review, a data request you can send today, or a date for a partner meeting), and close by writing that next step in the chat or summary email. The conversation is cleaner, and you are easier to back.
Protecting deep work for product, pricing, and hiring
Founders need long, undistracted stretches to make non-obvious choices: refining a job-to-be-done, testing price–value logic, or writing a role scorecard. Olivia recommends this routine to enter deep work on demand.
First, reset the physiology, state one outcome for the block, and remove distractions for the first ten minutes. Start with the hardest small piece the definition that everything else depends on. If you stall, do one minute of slow breathing, restate the aim, and do the next small piece. Two blocks on busy days and three on quieter days will move the work far faster than occasional long marathons.
An exercise for focus
When it comes to focusing, Olivia recommends this 30-second attention reset using rapid left–right eye movements (“saccadic eye jumps”) while you fix two visual points—your thumbs—at shoulder width. It’s ideal before reviewing complex data, when you feel foggy between meetings, or just prior to an investor call where you need sharp focus without amping your stress. Olivia teaches it as a fast state-shift that creates calm alertness rather than adrenaline.
Why it’s useful
The drill briefly stimulates the reticular activating system (RAS)—the brainstem filter that decides what you notice—by coupling quick lateral eye movements to the neural circuits that control gaze. When your state is negative or stressed, the RAS tends to surface threats; after a deliberate state-shift it will bias toward solutions and useful signals. These rapid eye jumps help “wake up” the RAS so you process information more clearly and spot relevant patterns faster. In Olivia’s words, it’s a quick way to re-aim attention so your brain starts filtering for what helps, not what hinders.
How to do it (30–45 seconds)
Hold both thumbs straight out in front of you at about shoulder width. Keep your head perfectly still and “snap” your eyes from one thumb to the other as quickly as you comfortably can for ~30 seconds. Blink as needed; stop if you feel dizziness. This brief burst is enough to activate the RAS and create an alert, focused baseline for the next task.
Anchoring calm across the day (and across the team)
New habits stick when tied to anchors that already exist. Make the routine automatic at three moments: when you open your laptop, when you join a call, and when you switch tasks. If meetings stack up, take thirty seconds with your camera off to exhale slowly and unclench the jaw. When the team gathers for a high-stakes decision, open with a one-minute pause, then name the decision and the criteria you will use. Co-regulation sounds soft; in practice it removes noise, reduces rework, and shortens decision loops.
A one-week field test
Pick two moments a day that matter, perhaps the first hour of work and your most important meeting. Run the routine before each one for five working days. Keep a short log: what you did, how your state felt, and any measurable result (tasks finished, meetings booked, quality of conversation). At week’s end, review the notes and decide where to anchor the routine next week. Skill comes from repetitions, not from length; the point is to make calm automatic.
Common mistakes to avoid
Two errors keep founders stuck. The first is treating calm as a bonus you add when there is time. Under pressure, you will not “find” time; anchor the routine to triggers that already occur so it happens by default. The second is turning the routine into another task that grows and becomes fragile. Keep it short, run it often, and resume without judgement when you skip it. The aim is forward motion without unnecessary strain.
How this strengthens your fundraising story
Investors look for signals on how you handle pressure. A founder who can regulate, focus, and make clean requests is easier to back. Calm improves your written recaps and your follow-through, which shortens loops and reduces misunderstanding. It also improves the quality of product and hiring decisions, which shows up in traction. In short, calm makes you faster and more credible, and that makes you easier to back.
By adopting simple techniques, easily completed wherever you are, you can calm your nerves, regain focus and expand your thinking so you are ready to do your best work. As Olivia puts it “shift first, then focus, then act.” Founders cannot think broadly or communicate crisply while the nervous system is in a stress response. We hope that using the techniques above will create calm and unlock your creativity.
If you are preparing your business for investment, why not join a free, online Funding Strategy Workshop where you will hear three insights that increase your chances of successfully raising investment and you can ask any questions you may have. Book your place.
FAQs – Founder Creativity
How long should the routine take each time?
Two to three minutes is enough for a useful shift, repeat it at key moments rather than saving it for long sessions.
Will this help in investor meetings as well as solo work?
Yes, a short reset improves pacing and listening, which makes answers clearer and next steps easier to agree.
What if I forget during a hectic day?
Attach a mini reset to fixed anchors such as opening your laptop or joining a call, even thirty seconds helps.
Do I need any special tools or apps?
No, a simple timer is optional, the value comes from consistent practice tied to daily anchors.
- Creating calm to bolster founder creativity: practical tools that work with Olivia Greenberg - February 9, 2026
- Ten Funding Lessons From Just Move In’s Tom Old: How Founders Can Build Momentum and Close Rounds - January 12, 2026
- The Reality Check Your Marketing Needs: Why Measuring Marketing Success Matters More Than You Think - September 30, 2025
