Hidden Value with David Sherry

In this Hidden Value session, Tanya Moushi and I explore the themes of creativity, freedom, and the complexities of personal and professional responsibilities. Tanya shares her struggles with creative paralysis and the desire to compose music, while I encourage her to prioritize her desires and define what freedom means to her. We discuss the importance of intentional planning, the weight of famil...

Andrew Fink left a stable career in management consulting to build a solo writing practice helping founders turn their ideas into newsletters, LinkedIn content, and now even books. His business is working. He makes a good living, has freedom to travel, train for races, and design his days. But lately, he’s been wrestling with a big question: should he grow this into an agency for more financial up...

Mohammad Khan helps deep tech founders make their complex ideas understandable and compelling. But lately, he’s been facing the same challenge he solves for others: how to articulate the unique value of his own work. When AI can write copy and marketing teams can polish messaging, where does his kind of storytelling fit? In this conversation, Mohammad and David uncover the real tension beneath tha...

In this episode, I sit down with Cris Valerio, a former journalist turned tech innovator, as she shares her career journey from the newsrooms of New York City to the tech scene of Silicon Valley. Cris opens up about her midlife transition into entrepreneurship, driven by a desire to create meaningful impact beyond the corporate ladder. We explore how she's redefining success by focusing on relatio...

In this Hidden Value session, David sits down with Latham to explore his journey from engaging in the education of his child through homeschooling to aspiring to turn his insights and experiences into a community-centric business. Latham shares his passion for education, the challenges of transitioning his ideas into a business, and the importance of understanding his potential market through mean...

When Charlie Ward built Ramen Club (an online community for SaaS founders) and Ramen Space (a physical coworking hub in London), he found himself running two thriving but different businesses—one online, one offline. In this Hidden Value conversation, David Sherry and Charlie explore what it takes to scale a hybrid business model, balancing physical operations with digital growth. Together, they u...

When Saara Lampwalla left her corporate role to build something of her own, she entered a season defined by visibility, vulnerability, and the courage to be seen in a new light. In this episode, David and Saara explore what it means to align your inner values with how you show up in the world — and how that alignment shapes both your fulfillment and your freedom. Key Takeaways Visibility is a doub...

I spoke with someone recently who was *really* stuck. I’ll call him Joe. Joe was not just stuck professionally, but with his relationship (on again off again) and with his work (not sure if he should change careers or Not just professionally. When some people get stuck.. they get really… really… stuck. They find that multiple areas of their life start to feel stagnant. They can’t choose where to l...

Join David Sherry in this episode of Founder Therapy as he discusses the crucial distinction between intuition and fear in decision-making. Learn how to recognize whether your decisions are driven by genuine intuition or by underlying fear, and discover strategies to navigate discomfort when stepping into unknown territories. David shares practical insights from his experience working with success...

One of our earliest photographers at Death to Stock was Patrick Chin . Patrick had built a business in the luxury hotel and fine dining space. This meant that Patrick had to fly around to take photos at beautiful beachside hotels, or snap images of Michelin star Chef’s beautiful creations…getting to taste the dishes afterwards.  Poor Patrick. Patrick showed me that who you choose as your customers...

One of the compliments I receive most often in my work is something along the lines of: “You ask such great questions.” This probably comes after I ask someone some questions that I’m curious about. You get better at asking questions when you begin seeing them as a tool to have better and more valuable conversations. Questions set the frame of the discussion, and so leading someone is often about...

“ What are the levers that I can pull that are going to help me create more value?” Say you want to charge more, be more known, get better testimonials, get more respect from others… the simplest pathway is to expand the value you create for others. Value creation is often thought of as a skillset, but what if how you think about value shifts your potential for creating more of it?  Here are some...

Creating Streaks Streaks have always been helpful to me, building a chain of habits that help you see your own progress. For entrepreneurs, they are especially important because it’s so easy to feel like you aren’t making progress. Many entrepreneurs tell me,  “I get to the end of the day and it feels like the scoreboard is reset to zero.”  Yikes . Jerry Seinfeld was always a big proponent of this...

Time to “Buckle Down” I was talking to a client today, and we discussed the opportunity to resolve a major problem in their business that needed attention.  The tone of the team and the discussion centered around the idea that now was the time for them to “Buckle down, get to work, roll up their sleeves, and make sacrifices for a little while to resolve the issue.” I questioned the idea that this...

When I talk with clients, there’s always a dance – where is this conversation most exciting for them? Where is my excitement? What is productive? Where are we going? I notice the subtle ways in which my body opens up, or closes down, how certain topics create constriction in me or the other person.  This type of awareness can itself be draining; rather than being fully relaxed in a conversation, I...

People launch businesses for wildly different reasons… Escape the corporate life Make a lot of money Create a meaningful product or service Have flexibility in daily life Build relationships and be seen They’re chasing something that they believe that business, as a vehicle, can give them. But once you're in the midst of creating the business or doing the new type of work, you realize it might not...

What opportunities do you have for creating more connection in your life? A big theme of mine this year is exploring connection – how we connect with others, how we open up to connection, and what forms of communication lead to connection. I became more seriously interested in this area of my life after spending a week in Costa Rica with a group of people with the highest quality communication ski...

What if your best creative ideas show up when you let go and disappear into your work? I’ve been testing a new approach to writing, thanks to my work with the amazing writing coach and friend Azul Torronez. It feels entirely different. I let the writing come through me rather than forcing myself to come up with ideas. I sit down to write with no preconceived plan, and as I write I explore what’s o...

You're always starting something new in business, or testing new waters. You did it before, you can do it again.

What do you do when you've changed, but your business remains the same? Time to evolve..

“I’m always telling myself that things will be easier ‘once I get through this next phase’—but that phase never ends.” When I ask you, “How are you doing?” I don’t mean as a founder. I mean as a person. Often, those two selves give very different answers. The entrepreneur might say they’re making major decisions, hiring, pivoting, scaling. The person might say they’re exhausted. That they feel lik...

Productivity is a byproduct. The most productive people you know aren’t focused on systems and hacks. They are driven, energized, and enthusiastic. They do a lot all of the time without really thinking about productivity. They make tweaks here or there to enjoy themselves more.  Productivity hacks are what we use when we don’t have intrinsic motivation.  Productivity is obligatory and external. Th...

Delegation is a challenge for many entrepreneurs.  You either: Struggle to figure out what work to hand off. Have a ton of work but don’t know how to communicate what needs to get done. Or (less talked about) even feel a little guilty about giving work to someone else... Delegation, when done right, isn’t a burden—it’s an opportunity to align your team with the highest-impact work. 1. The Telescop...

If you’ve ever felt stuck, frustrated, or like you're spinning your wheels despite putting in effort, this might be what's happening beneath the surface…. You might rationally know what you want —whether it’s raising your prices as a freelancer, launching a new project, or taking a big step forward . But despite your conscious desire, something always seems just out of reach… The way to recognize...

The idea that one day your business will be "stable" and free from uncertainty is a myth. Markets shift, customers change, and what worked yesterday won’t necessarily work tomorrow. There is no finish line where you finally “made it” and get to stop adapting. The real safety net? Trusting yourself to respond.