When I built Tørn, I thought I was well prepared. With a PhD in physics, two decades of leadership experience, and years of advising others, I believed I understood how to build successfully.

But startups are never that simple.

Through fast growth and hard lessons, I realised that success is not about a single answer — it’s about balance. Between mission, product, growth, people, and financial control.

That’s how the Startup Balance Model was born. It’s not a polished framework yet — it’s something I’m developing quietly, based on my own reflections and lived experiences. A way to capture the complex and dynamic nature of building a company.

Why this model — and why it’s different

At first glance, this might look like a typical business framework: product, market, financials, strategy. You’ll find the same words in most corporate org charts.

But this is not corporate thinking. In a large company, these areas are handled by departments, often working in silos. In a startup, they are often the responsibility of a handful — sometimes just one person, as was the case at Tørn in the early days.

And this is where things get real. A product problem can become a financial problem. Lack of customer insight can become a product issue. A functional product without a go-to-market plan leads to stagnation. And poor financial control? It can quietly bring down everything else.

Most startup literature focuses on raising money, but rarely discusses how to avoid needing it — or how to use it wisely when, and if, you do get it. Financial control isn’t just an outcome — it’s a core operating function. You don’t have to be a finance expert, but you need a tight grip on your business’s day-to-day operations.

That’s why I’m building this model. Not to teach, but to understand what I went through. I needed a way to reflect, process, and explain to myself what truly mattered — and how everything connected when pressure was high and resources were low.

If you’re currently figuring it out, this is for you.

In this series, I’ll explore this model more deeply—where it held, where it broke, what I learned, what I wish I’d done differently, and what I believe founders truly need beyond capital.