From Podium to Profit: Why Winter Olympians Excel as City Entrepreneurs
Olympians and entrepreneurs share a remarkable number of characteristics, creating a natural pathway for elite athletes to transition into the competitive world of business. Both groups are intensely driven, relentlessly pursuing their objectives with unwavering dedication. This explains why numerous top-performing athletes, upon retiring from full-time sport, gravitate towards start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. High-achieving individuals require an outlet for their energy, and when competitive sport is no longer an option, entrepreneurship frequently becomes the chosen vessel.
Establishing a business, much like competing at the highest sporting level, demands significant commitment, personal sacrifice, and profound resilience. In 2016, I personally made this transition, moving from competitive skiing to co-founding the ski and snowboard instructor booking platform, Maison Sport, alongside fellow ski racers Olly Robinson and Nick Robinson. Both Nick and I had represented the British ski team, channelling the energy and commitment honed during our international racing careers directly into building our company.
Identifying Market Gaps and Building Solutions
We identified a clear problem within the ski instruction market and developed a technology-forward platform designed to make personalised ski lessons easily accessible. This competitive edge is evident across the wider business landscape. Consider the commercial success of David Lloyd, for instance; the former tennis professional has built a gym brand now more widely recognised than his sporting achievements. Another inspiring example is Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill, whose health and performance platform, Jennis, has become an authoritative voice in women's fitness and wellbeing.
But which specific characteristics of elite athletes translate most effectively into the business world, enabling them to carry success from the sporting podium into the corporate boardroom?
Relentless Discipline Forged in Sport
Our early mornings, repetitive drills, strict routines, and long-term commitment were forged through years of elite competition. That environment established the gold standard for discipline long before we ever contemplated building businesses. Entrepreneurship demands an identical grind. We are already conditioned to trust the process, even when progress seems invisible, because that mindset was embedded through countless hours of training and competition.
Learning from Failure and Setbacks
Our journeys as athletes were shaped as much by failure as by success. Missed qualifications, injuries, and lost races were unavoidable experiences that taught us failure was never a final endpoint—it was valuable feedback. Building a business involves similar challenges: false starts, slow traction, and ideas that fail to resonate. We are equipped to absorb these setbacks without losing confidence, learning quickly, and adjusting our course accordingly.
Goal-Setting Under Immense Pressure
We learned from an early age how to break long-term ambitions into daily, measurable objectives. Race preparation required years of meticulous planning, where a single performance could define the entire outcome. Entrepreneurship brings analogous pressure—during critical investor pitches, major product launches, and pivotal strategic decisions where flawless execution is paramount.
Coachability and a Continuous Learning Mindset
We never succeeded in isolation. Olympic performance depended on close collaboration with coaches, nutritionists, physiotherapists, and performance analysts, operating within constant feedback loops. That openness to coaching now underpins how we build companies. We actively seek input from mentors, advisors, investors, and customers, understanding that genuine progress comes from listening, adapting, and continuously improving.
Embracing Accountability and Team Dynamics
Even in individual sports, we were integral parts of multi-layered teams. Accountability extended beyond personal performance to encompass how our actions affected everyone, contributing to a shared, collective ambition. Olympian Andy Murray serves as a prime example. His pursuit of an Olympic medal required not only elite performance but deep trust, alignment, and accountability within his entire training team leading into the London 2012 Games.
As founders, we are accountable for setting the strategic direction, inspiring belief in our vision, and taking responsibility when challenges arise. When channelled effectively, the leadership, goal-setting, and accountability developed through elite sport translate directly into business success.
Applying Principles to Achieve Commercial Growth
At Maison Sport, we have applied these very principles to become Europe's leading ski lesson booking platform, achieving a significant 40 per cent increase in total revenue for the 2024-25 season. Our sporting experiences fundamentally shape how we conceptualise leadership in business. From an early stage, athletes are encouraged to think ambitiously—Olympic medals, world titles, and podium finishes often seem unrealistic at the start of a career, yet they provide a crystal-clear long-term target. That identical expansive mindset is equally applicable, and indeed vital, in the world of entrepreneurship.
