--- title: "Cycling to the North Cape: How to Step Away as a Founder Without Halting Your Business" url: "https://tim-koko.ch/en/blog/founder-pause/" language: "en-us" date: 2026-11-05 lastmod: 2026-11-05 authors: ["Marie Steck"] categories: ["Members","Behind the Scenes","tim&koko"] publisher: "tim&koko (Tim&Koko AG)" --- # Cycling to the North Cape: How to Step Away as a Founder Without Halting Your Business > The plan had been brewing for a long time: cycling all the way up to the North Cape. But how do you execute such an adventure when you founded your own company a few years ago and carry the responsibility for a team? The answer: It takes courage, thoughtful organization, and above all, a team that not only supports the idea but also holds down the fort with enthusiasm and expertise. ### Flexible Culture as Mutual Reciprocity As team members at tim&koko, everyone benefits from a high degree of flexibility and modern working models: Chrigu has taken extended vacation in the past, Marie traveled the world while working on the go, and Miriam took advantage of the opportunity for a workation trip to Mallorca. Now, the time was right for founder duo Sarah and Thömu to fulfill this dream as well. ### The Staged Model: Between Vacation and Remote Work To make the transition seamless for both the team and clients, the time away was split into two strategic phases: #### Phase 1: Complete Time-Off (Vacation Mode) Focus on cycling and disconnecting. Both were on vacation and checked emails only sporadically in absolute emergencies. #### Phase 2: Part-Time from the Saddle (Remote Work) With the North Cape almost in sight, Sarah and Thömu gradually stepped back in. While continuing to pedal day after day, they worked flexibly between 20% and 40%. ### Who Does What? Clear Handovers Instead of Chaos An extended absence only works when responsibility is spread across multiple shoulders. Therefore, internal operational areas were clearly divided: - **Marie:** Took over the entire back office, HR topics, taxes, marketing, as well as smaller sales tasks. - **Chrigu:** Handled technical client requests and detailed inquiries. - **Miriam:** Assumed primary responsibility for tim&koko's technical infrastructure. Alongside these internal special responsibilities, all three continued to reliably deliver their billable hours on their respective client projects. ### Well-Established Structures & Trust A key success factor: The team at tim&koko was already extremely well-aligned before the trip. Instead of reinventing the wheel while on the road, the team relied on established routines: - **Clarified Responsibilities:** Every team member knew exactly which decisions they could make independently. - **Proven Exchange Formats:** Weekly check-ins remained in place, and the customary Thursday office day continued to provide structure and cohesion for the team on-site. ### Financing: How Does a Long Founder Break Pay Off? One of the biggest hurdles of a founder sabbatical is financial feasibility. It's not just about ongoing salaries and fixed costs, but also the temporary loss of billable client hours typically delivered by the founders. How do you bridge this gap? For Sarah and Thömu, a factor built up over the years since founding came into play: Thömu had accumulated a substantial amount of overtime and vacation days. Reducing this well-earned balance formed the foundation for the journey. A reduction was therefore more than deserved. To ensure the company's liquidity, tim&koko opted for a hybrid approach: - **Phase 1 (Vacation):** Sarah and Thömu used up their overtime and vacation days while the well-coordinated team on-site kept day-to-day operations running seamlessly. - **Phase 2 (Workation):** Through a gradual return via remote work, active client projects were handled from the road, generating billable hours once again. This allowed the dream of reaching the North Cape to be financially solid and fair for the company without throwing daily operations off balance. ### Client Reactions: Transparency Beats Apprehension When you live transparency, you're in for a pleasant surprise: Instead of triggering concern or misunderstanding, the feedback from clients was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Thanks to early and open communication, everyone knew exactly who to contact for which topic during the absence. The team on-site fielded inquiries seamlessly, ensuring that the usual quality and availability remained fully intact. The feedback was clear: Many clients appreciated the bold step, enjoyed the travel updates, and extended immense trust to the entire team. ### Conclusion for Other Startups: A Stress Test as a Quality Indicator A longer break taken by founders feels like a risk at first. In reality, however, it is the best gauge of a healthy company: - **Trust Over Control:** Delegating tasks requires being able to let go. Such a journey forces you to finally shed micromanagement and put full trust in your team's capabilities. - **Putting Processes to the Test:** Where is implicit knowledge still trapped solely inside the founders' heads? The preparation uncovers gaps and makes the company sustainably more stable and independent. - **Role Model for a Modern Work Culture:** When leadership demonstrates that work-life balance, sabbaticals, and workations are more than just lip service, it strengthens the entire company culture. **Our Conclusion:** Dare to do it! A company that functions without the constant presence of its founders isn't a risk — it's the sign of a mature, functioning, and scalable business model.