In today’s world, not every founder possesses a technical background, but that’s no longer a significant hurdle. With AI expected to expand by 28.5% by the end of the decade, even experts are struggling to keep pace with new innovations. In such a rapidly evolving landscape, expecting anyone, whether a founder or not, to master every aspect is both unrealistic and detrimental.

The truth is this: Coding isn’t necessary to thrive in tech, but the ability to translate is essential. Bridging the gap between various fields has become the most crucial skill to cultivate — not just for building a company, but also for leading one effectively.

My experience in the NBA taught me that any strong team consists of adept translators: individuals who grasp both the on-court dynamics and the business side, coaches who can communicate with data analysts and players, and leaders who can transform strategy into action. Unsurprisingly, tech startups require similar capabilities.

Clarity beats jargon

When I embarked on building Tracy AI, I quickly realized that trying to sound too technical was counterproductive and slowed our progress. Expressing product decisions in straightforward, outcome-focused language allowed us to accelerate our pace. It wasn’t always necessary to create models from scratch, but understanding their objectives was crucial. This is the key difference between technical literacy and technical fluency: One relates to credibility, while the other pertains to clarity. When everyone understands the goal, alignment improves, and products enhance.

This method enabled us to incorporate external experts, test assumptions early, and avoid costly mistakes often resulting from internal echo chambers. Whether or not your team is well-versed in Python, clear communication across complex areas is what ultimately propels a company’s forward momentum.

Hire smart

I once came across a quote by David Ogilvy that resonated with me: “Hire people who are better than you are, and then leave them to get on with it.” In the tech realm, this involves surrounding yourself with talented engineers, designers, and product thinkers, while directing your own efforts towards ensuring alignment, setting direction, and making decisions.

Building a company is about asking better questions, setting the right priorities and making sure your team is rowing in the same direction. That requires trust, communication and discipline, not technical depth. It also means knowing how to translate business needs into technical priorities, and vice versa.

When it comes down to it, a founder’s job is to build bridges. Between vision and execution. Between product and people. Between strategy and reality. The most valuable skill in business isn’t your ability to code; it’s your ability to connect. Not being afraid of connecting strong, self-motivated individuals in your business is not only a recipe for success — it’s just good business sense.

Letting go

Rapid-growth companies face a specific leadership challenge: knowing when to direct and when to step back. For founders, especially those without technical backgrounds, there’s a strong temptation to stay hands-on with every detail. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 58% of founders struggle to let go of control, often remaining stuck in what’s known as “founder mode,” even when the company is ready to scale.

Being stuck in founder mode can slow down progress, stifle creativity and burn out the very experts hired to build. The job of the founder is to hold the vision and define the “what” and “why,” while trusting the team to figure out the “how.” That means giving engineers autonomy to explore solutions and trusting their understanding of the mechanics.

At the same time, it’s important to stay connected to the people you’re building for. From my experience, I made sure to spend time with athletes, coaches and trainers — not just as a former player, but as a product owner committed to learning. That user feedback wasn’t just helpful; it became a compass for the tech. Just because we may need to let go of day-to-day, doesn’t mean we can’t get involved in other ways.

At a certain point in any startup’s life, there is a transition from idea to alignment. Engineers speak in sprints and system architecture. Investors speak in ROI and risk. Users speak in frustrations, workarounds and outcomes. As a founder, your job is to be the connector between all of them, bridging the gap between engineers, users and investors, often speaking three very different languages in the same meeting.

That means being able to explain what users actually want to your developers, breaking down technical constraints in a way your investors can understand and communicating a vision clearly enough that everyone in the business can see where they fit in. This is what makes a product usable, turns a group of builders into a team and ultimately transforms a good idea into a lasting company.