First-time founder says hiring a business coach was her smartest move

Daniela Corrente, founder and CEO of the
personal-finance app Reel.
Reel

• First-time CEO Daniela Corrente said hiring a business coach
  was the smartest move she’s made since founding the
  personal-finance app Reel.
• Business
  coaches help executives grow their companies and clarify
  their visions.
• They’re part of a growing industry, but Corrente said hiring
  one can carry a stigma.

Running a business is harder than it looks, and it pays to have
someone show you the ropes. 

That’s why Daniela Corrente, a first-time CEO who founded the
personal-finance app Reel,
said the smartest move she’s made in her career so far is hiring
a business coach.

Business coaches are personal mentors who help executives grow
their business and clarify their vision for the company. They’re
part of a
rapidly growing industry, but as Corrente puts it, hiring one
still carries something of a stigma for early-stage companies.

“I know plenty of successful people that use a coach, they just
don’t necessarily admit it or say it out loud,” she told Business
Insider.

Corrente said she meets with her coach once a week to discuss
everything from hiring strategy, fundraising, and establishing
company values. The biggest help came with developing measurable
benchmarks for her office of six employees, she said. 

“Nobody tells you when you have an idea and you want to bring it
to life that all of a sudden you have to become an accountant,
HR, so many things in the beginning, especially as a first-time
founder,” she told Business Insider. “There are so many things
you have to manage to keep the train running.”

Read more:

A business coach who’s taught thousands of people explains why
it’s OK to be a jack-of-all-trades instead of knowing exactly
what you want to do

On top of that, her coach even recommended she start meditating,
something she says has made her more patient and less stressed.

“A big part of being a good CEO is investing time developing your
personal skills so you can evolve as your company evolves,” she
said. “The founder you are when you have one employee has to be
fundamentally different to the founder you need to be when you
have 50 employees.”

Reel, founded in 2016, aims to help users afford big-ticket
fashion items. Users select clothing and accessories they want
and are prompted to link their bank account and allocate a
certain amount of savings to the purchase each day or week. When
they hit their target, they can buy the product.

Corrente knew she didn’t have the business pedigree other company
founders might, having studied industrial design and
communications in school. That made hiring a coach an easy
decision.

“Most companies fail not for lack of capital, but for lack of
good leadership. So I’m highly invested in being the best leader
I can be for my team and for the success of Reel,” she said.