Should startup founders learn acting?

As a startup founder, you're on "stage" all the time, presenting to customers, pitching to investors, inspiring the team. But is there more?

I have been thinking about writing this piece for a while and a recent initiative my good friend, Diana Di Mauro, started triggered me to finally do it. She has been one of the active participants in our startup mastermind circles, and has always shared insight that surprises my brain. She always sees the world from an angle that my too-logical brain fails to notice. So, once I asked her “what’s your secret for being so in touch and comfortable with your feelings even if they really stink”. Her answer was “oh, as an actor I’m trained to do that”. And there was a mix of silence and ongoing conversation in my head for a few minutes! “wait! what does that even mean? like you can train yourself to be ok with hearing rejection after rejection and still be able to function? that’s surely crazy, right?” …

A while later I asked her (and myself), so should startup founders and small business owners learn acting? There are some obvious cases like as a startup founder, you're on "stage" all the time, presenting to customers, pitching to investors, inspiring the team. And that’s perhaps why a lot of startup founders do “improv” both as a hobby and as a way to learn how to handle spontaneous situations better. But there seems to be more!

Credit: Diana Di Mauro

Running a business can be an intensely demanding endeavor, often leaving founders and small business owners feeling stretched thin as they navigate the pressures of leadership, decision-making, and relationship management. Engaging in acting offers a unique and refreshing way to step outside the routine of business as usual, fostering not only mental and social well-being but also critical skills for professional success. Acting provides an opportunity to disconnect from the daily grind, practice creativity, and connect with others in an entirely different context. This break from the norm can help reduce stress, build confidence, and improve overall mental clarity, empowering founders to approach their work with renewed energy and focus.

Beyond its immediate mental and social health benefits, acting also develops essential business skills in profound and practical ways. It helps founders and business owners improve their communication, storytelling, and improvisational abilities while fostering critical qualities like empathy, adaptability, and resilience. These are the very traits that drive successful leadership, collaboration, and decision-making. By practicing acting, entrepreneurs gain hands-on experience in these areas, strengthening their ability to navigate the dynamic and interpersonal challenges that come with running a business.

Practicing these skills in the context of business as usual often comes with high stakes, where mistakes can lead to lost deals, damaged relationships, or missed opportunities. For example, fumbling through a critical investor pitch or mishandling a sensitive team conflict can have real consequences for the business. Acting, on the other hand, provides a low-stakes playground where individuals can hone these same skills without the fear of high-stakes failure. In a theater exercise, a founder might practice delivering an emotional monologue to connect with an audience—an experience that translates into engaging and impactful storytelling for investor presentations. Similarly, role-playing improvisational scenes helps build quick thinking and confidence, skills that are invaluable in negotiations or unplanned client interactions. Acting gives entrepreneurs the space to experiment, learn, and refine their approach in a supportive, consequence-free environment.

Concretely, here are some benefits:

• Technical Aspects of Acting

  • Pitching and Presenting

    • How Acting Helps: Acting techniques such as voice modulation, physicality, and focus enable clarity, engagement, and impact during presentations. Actors use vocal exercises to project their voice and control tone, which is directly transferable to speaking confidently in front of an audience.

    • Concrete Example: A startup founder preparing for a pitch can use the technique of mirroring (where an actor mimics the movement of another person) to feel more confident and comfortable in front of investors. They can practice vocal exercises and gestures to make their pitch more dynamic and persuasive.

  • Storytelling

    • How Acting Helps: Acting is built on the arc of a character—where they start, how they grow, and the challenges they face. This technique teaches the art of constructing a compelling narrative. Actors also use emotional recall to make stories feel authentic and engaging, which is crucial for effective storytelling in business.

    • Concrete Example: When sharing the business’s origin story or explaining the product’s journey, a founder can apply the actor's technique of "beats"—breaking the story into key emotional or narrative shifts—to captivate an audience and keep them invested.

  • Improvisation

    • How Acting Helps: Improvisational techniques, like the "yes, and" principle, encourage quick thinking and adaptability, vital when situations change unexpectedly. In business, improvisation helps with making decisions in the moment, without a scripted response.

    • Concrete Example: A founder who is faced with an unexpected question from a customer or investor can use improvisation skills to confidently adapt their answer while staying aligned with the overall message, maintaining composure even under pressure.

• Emergent Aspects of Acting

  • Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

    • How Acting Helps: Actors develop deep empathy by embodying a variety of characters and situations, learning to understand different perspectives. Through this practice, they cultivate emotional intelligence, which helps them respond sensitively to the emotions and needs of others in real life.

    • Concrete Example: A founder who has practiced stepping into multiple roles might better understand the perspectives of their team members or customers, leading to more thoughtful and responsive leadership. By embodying a character’s motivations, they can navigate challenging interpersonal dynamics with greater empathy and effectiveness.

  • Resilience Under Pressure

    • How Acting Helps: Repeated exposure to performing in front of an audience teaches actors to manage nerves and remain poised in high-stakes environments. Techniques such as breathing exercises and relaxation routines help actors maintain composure, which is a critical skill for leaders during stressful moments.

    • Concrete Example: A business owner facing a difficult negotiation can apply acting techniques, such as deep breathing or visualization (common in performance prep), to stay calm and collected, ensuring they don’t let stress dictate their responses during tense moments.

  • Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt

    • How Acting Helps: In acting, embracing vulnerability and taking risks is central to a performance. Actors confront their self-doubt regularly by practicing in front of others, which builds a mindset of acceptance and resilience. This process is crucial for founders when they need to take bold steps or face rejection.

    • Concrete Example: A founder giving their first major public speech may feel nervous, but acting exercises like "being present" (focusing entirely on the moment and the audience rather than internal fears) can help them push through self-doubt and deliver a more confident performance.

A lot of this might be things that either you already try to practice in other context on your own, or things that you know you should but you can’t create the environment to do them in a sustained way. So, trying to do them as part of a fun side hobby like acting, might introduce a way to sharpen these skills, and in turn become more successful in your work and life.