Sail to Scale - by Mona Sabet & Heather Jerrehian & Maria Fernandez Guajardo (Hardcover)

About the Book

In Sail to Scale, authors Mona Sabet, Heather Jerrehian, and Maria Fernandez Guajardo offer practical advice to steer clear of the 18 common mistakes business leaders make across four pivotal waves of a startup's journey.

Book Synopsis

**2025 IPPY Book Awards Silver Medal Winner**

**2025 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist**

**2024 Best Book Awards Finalist**

**2024 Reader Views Five Star Review Recipient**

While some startups may catch favorable winds, most will encounter stormy seas that can capsize their ventures. Understanding how to navigate these choppy waters is crucial. You don't learn to captain a warship by training to sail fast on calm seas.

In Sail to Scale, authors Mona Sabet, Heather Jerrehian, and Maria Fernandez Guajardo identify 18 common mistakes that leaders make across four pivotal waves of a startup's journey. Drawing from their collective experience, they dissect each mistake, help leaders recognize the situations that create them, and offer practical advice to steer clear of them so that their businesses can overcome each wave successfully.

Through both first-hand accounts and interviews with leaders across a variety of businesses, the authors provide insight from people behind successful - and not so successful - companies, the decisions they made, and why they mattered.

Sail to Scale serves as an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to chart a steady course through critical business junctures and fluctuating market conditions.

Review Quotes

"If you're serious about navigating the tumultuous journey of building a startup, Sail to Scale is an absolute must-read! An essential book for founders or those interested in the lessons of entrepreneurship, unpacking critical and common mistakes made but also the how to avoid them in the first place. A definite winner!"

― Kara Goldin, Founder of Hint Inc.; Author of WSJ Best Seller Undaunted; Host of The Kara Goldin Show

"I got to see first-hand the mountains that the authors' entrepreneurial spirit could move. We are lucky that they decided to capture their lessons learned in Sail to Scale. I highly recommend this book for builders and anyone who wants to be in the driver's seat of innovation."

― Fidji Simo, CEO and Chair at Instacart, Board Member at OpenAI and Shopify

"A game-changer for anyone steering their business through turbulent times."

― Nolan Bushnell, founder Atari and Chuck E. Cheese

"An absolute must read for all entrepreneurs and investors!"

― Julie Castro Abrams, General Partner, How Women Invest

"A framework for recognizing and avoiding the common errors that can sink a promising startup as well as pointers to guide it to a successful outcome."

― William B. Elmore, General Partner, Handshake Ventures; Founder, Foundation Capital

"For anyone who wants to build an exponential company, is building one now, or has already built and is reflecting upon the journey."

― Amit Garg, Co-founder / Managing Partner of Tau Ventures

"Mandatory reading for everyone who wants to build and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit from a place of radical realism."

― Antonio Lucio, EVP and Chief Marketing and Corporate Affairs Officer at HP Inc. Executive Fellow at Yale School of Management.

"A literal GPS for navigating the challenging, but enormously rewarding experience of breathing life into an idea."

― Richard Mirabile, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Success Factor Systems, (now SAP SuccessFactors)

""Every founder (and VC!) should read Sail to Scale to avoid startup mistakes."

― Frode Odegard, Founder & CEO, Post-Industrial Institute

"A rare gem giving entrepreneurs the nitty gritty down-to-business guidance they truly need."

― Ellen Taaffe, Clinical Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

"A masterclass on avoiding the pitfalls that sink most startups."

― Alka Tandan, Chief Financial Officer at Gainsight

"Clear, actionable advice to avoid common pitfalls and execute successfully through the challenges of startup scaling."

― Ami Vora, CPO at Faire, former VP at Facebook & WhatsApp

"A practical guidebook to counsel and assist founding teams every step of the way."

― Laurie Yoler, Partner and Board Member, Playground Global