From competitive swimming to co-founding a startup — here’s what I’ve learned

Before I became an entrepreneur, I was a competitive swimmer for sixteen years — a journey that included competing at two Olympic Trials and on Harvard’s varsity swim team. Hands down, it’s been one of the most challenging, humbling, and inspiring experiences of my life.

Reflecting on those years, I’m grateful for the lessons in resilience, commitment, camaraderie, and grit that have defined the person I am today. It’s been a few years since I became a “swammer,” but as I launch a company in the midst of a pandemic, I’ve found myself circling back to many of those lessons, finding parallels between the life of an athlete and the life of a founder. I thought I’d share some of those learnings below.

The hard work is often unrecognised and unglamorous, but gratifying

In every sport, athletes grind away relentlessly behind the scenes: the alarms before sunrise, the weekends sacrificed, the days of sheer exhaustion. On the Harvard swim team, we trained more sessions each week than there were days. It was tough, but we loved it. I see the same passion among entrepreneurs, who tackle the startup journey with fierce tenacity and commitment. Like an athlete’s training, the vast majority of a founder’s time is spent on unseen, arduous work — but that, like sunrise workouts, is where the magic happens.

Focus on the fundamentals before the details

Over the years, I’ve taught many swim lessons, from kids to adults. We would often start by focusing on body position because the nuances of technique didn’t matter so much if you were fighting to stay afloat. Similarly, in launching a company, I’ve prioritised the foundations of a company before diving into the details. To me, this means big picture things like team values, the vision for the company, and co-founder working styles. In the process of finding my co-founders in the Antler startup generator program, I found the 50 Questions exercise to be extremely helpful in aligning on these fundamentals.

A unified team is stronger than the strongest individual

Based on a point system, American college swim meets are won by teams, not individuals; the structure turns a rather solitary sport into a collective endeavour. At Harvard, each of us played a key role in building a winning team, whether more literally through our event specialisations or more figuratively through our varied contributions to the team. I’ve found that the art of crafting a strong co-founding team in the startup world isn’t too different, requiring diverse and complementary skill sets. I’m fortunate to be working with two brilliant and different co-founders, each of us bringing unique experiences and strengths to the team; together, achieving more than we ever could alone.

Behind every great team is an even greater support team

Throughout my athletic career, I’ve been surrounded by incredible coaches, trainers, physios, nutritionists, teachers, and, of course, family and friends. Athletes alone can only go so far — we need the backbone of a support team to help us realise our potential, inspire and challenge us, and bring a winning team together. I’m grateful to have found this support throughout the startup journey, from coaching sessions and masterclasses in the Antler program, to the camaraderie among the founder cohort, to words of encouragement from people all around me. I’d be lost without this foundation.

Always win or learn

The sporting world is full of setbacks and I certainly experienced my fair share of disappointments. Few races resulted in a win, a best time, or something else that qualified as objective success, but as one of my favourite sayings goes, “I never lose, I only win or learn.” Swimming taught me that more important than the outcome is having a mindset to grow from the experience and bounce back stronger. I’ve found this resilience to be equally important and evident in the startup world, where failures and setbacks vastly outnumber successes.

Consistency is complacency

As a swimmer, the same training meant the same results. Getting faster demanded innovation, training not only harder but smarter. I enjoyed this challenge to constantly improve, whether trying different cross-training activities or optimising recovery and sleep. I see the same principle applying to companies — avoiding stagnancy requires chasing innovation, the lifeblood of successful startups. In the Antler cohort, I’ve loved being surrounded by fellow founders who are hungry for continuous learning and growth, and will ardently chat about it all day long!

Recovery is just as important as training

Without proper recovery, athletes face the wrath of injuries and burnout. For me, it meant spending hours on the foam roller, frequent visits to the training room, and trying to get enough sleep. In the business world, I think of recovery as work-life balance: taking the time to switch off, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy some me-time. Like recovery in sports helps athletes perform at their peak, I’ve found work-life balance is crucial for sustaining momentum, fostering creativity, and staying sharp.

You won’t remember times, but you will remember moments

As a time-obsessed swimmer, I could previously recall all my race results. Today, I don’t remember most of them. What I do remember are the priceless moments with my teammates: singing at practice (dubbed aqua-pella), conquering team sets on training trips, experiencing New Year’s in Spain. I treasure those moments more than any individual race outcome. I try to keep this perspective in mind as we build a company — that, eventually, we probably won’t recall the specific outcome of most pitches, or meetings, or interviews. Rather, my forgotten swimming times remind me to cherish the moments of growing, laughing, and learning with my team, as we tackle this incredible, rollercoaster startup journey together.

If you would like to hear more about my journey, and from four other women who chose to launch a business in 2020, join us for an upcoming event “Launch 2020”, in conjunction with Spark Festival and sponsored by Women NSW and Treasury NSW.

The panel, on Oct 21 at 5:10 pm, aims to provide insight into the female founder experience and why all five of us launched a startup this year. You can register here sparkfestival.co/register/.

Shori Hijikata has been an entrepreneur at the third Antler cohort in Sydney.

Antler enables exceptional people to create exceptional companies. If you want to become a startup founder, find the perfect co-founder and create impactful companies to shape the future, apply now and begin your Antler journey.