Canadian entrepreneur and investor Guillaume Racine has released Tao of Founders: Timeless Insights for Resilient Entrepreneurs, a thoughtful and inspiring guide that bridges ancient wisdom with modern startup life.
Drawing from the Tao Te Ching, various spiritual traditions, and his own experiences as a founder, Racine explores how entrepreneurs can cultivate calm, clarity, and resilience while navigating the emotional extremes of building a company.
Best-selling author Derek Sivers called Tao of Founders a “beautiful and crucial focus on the most important part of the start: the mindset! Every founder should read this the night before they begin.”
“One way of describing entrepreneurship is going from setback to setback with enthusiasm,” said Utkarsh Amitabh, founder of Network Capital and author of The Seductive Illusion of Hard Work. “Tao of Founders does a great job of explaining entrepreneurial resilience. It is hard to strike the balance between philosophical rigor and practical relevance, but Guillaume does a great job of it.”
By blending reflective philosophy with accessible, real-world insight, Tao of Founders invites readers to consider entrepreneurship as an inner journey as much as an external one. Through concise fables and practical lessons, Racine explores how founders can approach paradoxes—like balancing bold ambition with humility, or growth with authenticity—without losing their center.
“Guillaume masterfully bridges ancient wisdom with modern entrepreneurship, drawing from his unique experiences to create a must-read for any founder—aspiring or experienced,” said Jay Radia, serial founder and partner at Bliss Growth. “I only wish I’d read this before building my own companies.”
In Tao of Founders, Racine reframes ancient concepts such as wu wei (effortless action), shoshin (beginner’s mind), and non-duality to help founders face uncertainty and lead with presence. The book encourages entrepreneurs to let go of rigid thinking, embrace change, and find strength in fluidity—lessons that apply as much to life as they do to business.
Guillaume Racine holds an MBA from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree from HEC Montreal. He co-founded Return Magic, a startup later acquired by Shopify, and now focuses on building and investing in early-stage software and commerce companies. In Tao of Founders, his first book, Racine distills lessons from his own journey to help other entrepreneurs cultivate resilience and inner balance.
Tao of Founders is available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats through taooffounders.com; Otterpine.com, Amazon; or Barnes & Noble. A French translation is also available.
Review copies can be requested at Edelweiss. For bulk orders and media inquiries, contact Otterpine at media@otterpine.com.
