About this site

About This Newsletter

Most writing about founders is either hustle porn or therapy-speak. This is neither.

Tao of Founders is a research-backed exploration of the inner life of entrepreneurship — the psychology behind why founders make the decisions they make, how identity shapes resilience, and what ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience have in common when it comes to building something that lasts.

Every insight here is grounded in peer-reviewed research. Over 107 indexed insights across 10 domains of entrepreneurial psychology. Not vibes. Not anecdote dressed up as advice. Evidence — read carefully and translated into something you can actually use.

Who I Am

I'm Guillaume Racine, a Montreal-based entrepreneur, investor, and author.

I've founded and co-founded several companies. One of them — Return Magic — was acquired by Shopify in 2018. Before that, I got fired. Multiple times. From jobs I thought I needed and companies I thought I believed in. Each time felt like proof that I wasn't cut out for this. It took years to realize those firings were clarifying, not disqualifying.

I now run Stoic Capital, an investment fund. I wrote Tao of Founders, a book published in early 2025 on founder psychology, resilience, and the inner journey of building. I also make music under the project Ghost League — because creative outlets are how I stay regulated, not how I waste time. And I'm a father to a neurodiverse 4-year-old and have a daughter on the way.

I have severe ADHD. I say this not as a disclaimer, but because it's shaped everything — how I think, how I build systems, how I fail, how I recover. Most of the research on executive function and self-regulation I've read for this newsletter I've also needed for my own life.

Why This Exists

The startup world has a psychology problem it mostly ignores. Founders face 30% higher rates of depression than the general population. Neurodivergent entrepreneurs — who are overrepresented in founding populations — face discrimination 96% of the time. Solo founders have 2.5x higher survival rates than co-founded companies, yet almost all founder advice assumes a team.

None of this is common knowledge. None of it makes it into pitch decks or board updates. And yet it determines outcomes more than almost anything else.

This newsletter exists to change that — one well-sourced, honestly written piece at a time.

What Makes It Different

This is not a newsletter about tactics. It's not about growth hacks or fundraising playbooks. It's about the interior — identity, motivation, cognitive bias, resilience, meaning, shadow psychology.

The format: a leading insight from the research, a frame from philosophy or ancient wisdom (Taoism, Stoicism, Buddhism), and a bridge to lived experience. I write from the intersection of these three because that's where the useful stuff lives.

Every claim is sourced. Every framework is tested against my own experience before I publish it. The result is something slower-paced than most founder content — and, I think, more durable.

The Book

Tao of Founders is the long-form version of what this newsletter explores. Published in February 2025, available on Amazon, in audiobook form on Audible, and through most major retailers. If the newsletter resonates, the book goes deeper.

A Personal Note

I burned out in 2024. Not dramatically — no single breaking point, just a slow erosion. I stepped away from a company I had built, took time to understand what had actually happened, and started rebuilding with different assumptions. That process is what sharpened the research focus of this newsletter: not "how do founders succeed" but "how do they stay intact while trying."

The Taoist concept of wu wei — effortless action, being at peace, preserving yourself for when effort actually matters — is more useful to me now than any productivity framework I've ever tried. That's the spirit behind this work.

If you're a founder, investor, or anyone who builds things and cares about doing it without destroying yourself in the process, this is for you.

Get in Touch

Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @GuillaumeRacin9
LinkedIn: Guillaume Racine — Montreal