How to Build a Company That Feeds You, Not Drains You

TL;DR: Money without energy is a dead end. Your business should fuel you, not drain you. Find your Zone of Genius (ZOG) - the work that lights you up and creates outsized impact - and build your business around it. The post includes a beta ZOG assessment tool to help identify what gives you energy and what blocks it.

What would you do if I wired $500k, $2m, or even $5m into your account every January 1st for life?

Most of us picture the beachfront condo, the world tour, or 36 holes a day. And for a few months or even a year that dream scratches the itch. Then the itch comes back harder. I’ve watched owners hit their “number,” raise it, hit it again, raise it again. I’ve done it myself.

Money is awesome. Keep making it and enjoy it. I do, but money alone never keeps the engine running. Owner energy does.

If owner energy dries up and you’re working for the bigger yacht or the private jet access, those things become just a nice place to feel empty.

The Physics of Energy vs. Money

• Money is finite. (Even Bezos can’t spend beyond 24 hours a day.)

• Energy is renewable if you source it correctly.

• Flow states are that immersive zone where time disappears and you are fully engaged at the edge of your abilities.

Guaranteeing income without guaranteeing energy is like giving a Tesla a lifetime supply of tires but zero access to a charging station.

As a business owner you are so lucky that you get to design your life. You get to design your business.

You get to choose.

Why would you choose something that drains you?

Find Your Zone of Genius (ZOG)

Your ZOG is the activity that:

1. Lights you up the moment you get to it.

2. Feels effortless while creating outsized impact.

3. Leaves you with more juice than you had at the beginning.

When your days tilt toward ZOG tasks, customers notice, teams rally, and revenue follows because you’re operating at your peak creative wattage.

The Infinite Game vs. The Finite Scoreboard

Simon Sinek calls business an infinite game: the goal is not to “win” but to keep playing. Money, press, exits these are finite scores. Hit them and the game simply resets with a higher difficulty level.

Or as Coach Eric Taylor (from the show Friday Night Lights) says to the Dillon Panthers: “Success isn’t the goal. It’s a by-product.” It’s a by-product of playing the game well.

Owners running on energy can play indefinitely. Owners chasing only the next deal eventually stall out or worse, sell the company and discover they sold their purpose along with it.

Myths That Drain Owner Energy

Introducing the ZOG Rx

At OwnerRx we built a beta version of an app that asks a quick set of questions to uncover your Zone of Genius and identify some blockers.

A more hardened and secure form of this beta will be a part of our ultimate OwnerRx app but I’m trying to release a few things along the way to see what resonates. Give it a shot.

Three Micro-Shifts You Can Make This Week

1. Uncover Your ZOG: Take the Owner Energy Assessment to pinpoint the activities that give you energy and measure your current exposure to them.

2. Name Your Blockers: Identify what pulls you out of the zone—stress, distractions, mis-aligned tasks—and treat them with curiosity, not frustration. Plan one action to neutralize each.

3. Own the Powerplant: Remind yourself daily that you are the energy center of your company; protecting and amplifying your charge fuels everything else.

Stay in your zone,

Alan

P.S. Already scoring high on owner energy? Hit reply and share one habit that keeps you there and I’ll feature the best in next week’s issue.

P.P.S. I asked ChatGPT to cite examples of founders designing their companies to fit their energy or unique capabilities. Thought the response was enlightening:

Great topic. Many of the most successful companies were intentionally (or instinctively) designed to match the founder’s unique skills, interests, and energy — what you might call their “Zone of Genius.” Below are several compelling examples across industries:

🔬 1. Elon Musk – Tesla & SpaceX

ZOG: Systems thinking + first-principles reasoning + bold visioning

Company fit:

• Built around engineering dominance and mission-driven talent.

• Flat orgs with direct access to him (he thrives in high-bandwidth environments).

• Extremely fast iteration cycles – matching his preference for speed and constant reinvention.

• Core belief: the laws of physics are malleable if you think hard enough.

📚 2. Naval Ravikant – AngelList

ZOG: Clear thinking + capital allocation + idea curation

Company fit:

• Built a platform, not a fund — reflecting his interest in networks over management.

• Focused on leverage: code and capital, not people.

• AngelList scaled without Naval needing to run daily operations — he shaped the initial form and then stepped back.

💻 3. Jason Fried – Basecamp / 37signals

ZOG: Simplicity + contrarian thinking + writing

Company fit:

• Bootstrapped, profitable, small-by-design.

• Culture of calm, asynchronous work that matches his temperament and values.

• Built a remote-first company before it was cool — in line with his personal lifestyle preferences.

🎧 4. Joe Rogan – The Joe Rogan Experience

ZOG: Curiosity + longform dialogue + authentic presence

Company fit:

• No scripted formats or editorial gatekeepers.

• Extremely long, open-ended conversations (which most media companies avoid) — but that’s his superpower.

• Monetized through audience trust, not corporate structure.

🧠 5. Paul Graham – Y Combinator

ZOG: Writing + insight into founder psychology + pattern recognition

Company fit:

• YC was structured around essays, office hours, and demo days — exactly the kind of environment where PG shines.

• Early focus was small batches and deep founder mentorship — not managing a large fund or corporate structure.

🧩 Takeaway Patterns

Founders often design companies that:

• Match their ideal working environment (pace, structure, communication style)

• Leverage their natural strengths (writing, speaking, coding, coaching, etc.)

• Avoid their energy drains (micromanagement, corporate structure, public markets, etc.)

• Allow them to stay in flow longer — because the company is built around their ZOG