Founder Coaching That Works: How I Screen Every Deal

Most founder coaching is keynote theater. A weekend workshop. A framework deck. A follow-up call in six weeks.

Ken Lundin built a different model. Screening rules that kill deals before emotion takes over.

I’ve watched founders pay 15% over market. They fell in love with a property before running the numbers. The real work isn’t motivation. It’s discipline.

It’s a system that forces you to say no. Your gut screams yes. The broker pushes. You’ve spent three weeks on diligence. Without that system, founder coaching is expensive cheerleading.

The best operators I know don’t rely on willpower. They rely on rules that make the decision before the call gets hard.

Screening Standards 5 is one of those rules. “Only four things decline a deal before pricing: a failed 1% screen, a grade-D location, a Class D asset, or a price above the mandate; subsidised income and C-grade locations are called out, not declined.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

That filter alone has saved me from chasing garbage. Garbage I would have rationalized into a deal.

Key Takeaway: Real founder coaching builds screening systems that kill bad deals before emotion takes over, not motivational frameworks that fade after the call. Effective systems use hard rules—like declining any deal with a failed 1% screen or Class D asset before pricing—to remove judgment from high-pressure moments. This approach prevents founders from overpaying by 15% or more when brokers push and diligence costs are already sunk. The work is discipline, not inspiration.

TL;DR

Founder coaching installs discipline through concrete screening steps. These force clear yes-or-no decisions before emotion locks in. 78% of CEOs say coaching was their own idea (Stanford/Miles Group 2013). But founders need systems before they believe they need help.
Insurance normalizes to the higher of actual and estimate plus 10%. Property tax normalizes to newest bill plus 4.5%. Any expense line below standard range is raised to the low end. Dollar effect is shown on page one.
Executive coaching develops a leader inside someone else’s structure. Founder coaching addresses a person who IS the structure. It changes both company and person simultaneously.
Across eight underwritten deals, stabilized NOI never exceeded about 61% of gross potential rent. When a pro forma shows 68%, it’s fantasy until documentation proves otherwise.

Step 1: Install the Four Hard Screens Before Pricing

Most founders I coach treat every deal like it deserves a full underwrite. That’s the problem.

The discipline isn’t learning to analyze better. It’s learning to say no faster. On criteria that don’t require a spreadsheet.

Executive coaching develops a leader inside someone else’s structure. Founder coaching addresses a person who IS the structure. The work changes the company and the person at the same time.

“78% of CEOs who were coached said it was their own idea” — Stanford Graduate School of Business / The Miles Group (2013 Executive Coaching Survey). That means the reflex to walk has to be installed, not imposed.

I use four hard stops. “Only four things decline a deal before pricing: a failed 1% screen, a grade-D location, a Class D asset, or a price above the mandate; subsidised income and C-grade locations are called out, not declined.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

That’s it. Everything else gets flagged, not killed.

Step 1: Run the 1% Screen First

If the deal doesn’t clear 1% of the purchase price in monthly rent, it’s out. No exceptions. No “but the upside.”

This catches the overpriced listings before you waste time on a broker call.

Step 2: Grade the Location and Asset Class

Grade-D locations and Class D assets are automatic declines. C-grade locations get a flag and a note. But they don’t stop the deal.

The difference matters. C-grade is a risk you can price. D-grade is a risk you can’t control.

Step 3: Check the Mandate

If the price is above your buy box, you’re done. Founder coaching works when it installs the reflex to walk. Before you start negotiating with yourself about stretch scenarios.

Step 4: Normalize Every Expense Line to Conservative Standards

This is where most founders lie to themselves. They take the seller’s numbers and call it underwriting.

I don’t. “Insurance is normalised to the higher of actual and estimate plus 10%, and property tax to the newest bill plus 4.5%, until a binding quote or a state reassessment table says otherwise.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

“Any expense line below the low end of the standard range is raised to the low end, and the dollar effect is shown on page one.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

If a line looks too good, I assume it’s wrong. Until I see proof. And I show the cost of that assumption up front. Not buried in a footnote.

The result: “Across eight underwritten deals, stabilised NOI never exceeded about 61% of gross potential rent, so a pro forma above that line is treated as unproven.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

So when a pro forma shows 68%, I know it’s fantasy. “No expense cut or income lift is assumed on a line the buyer cannot control, such as taxes, insurance, unmetered utilities or restricted rents, unless a document shows the mechanism.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

Step 2: Lock In Five Commitment Gates and a Hold Window

Most founders I coach can tell you the four hard screens. What they can’t do is walk away at the right moment. Once they’ve said yes to the first call.

The screening system doesn’t end at “worth pursuing.” “Every acquisition runs through five commitment steps: worth pursuing, letter of intent, purchase agreement, non-refundable exposure, closing.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

Each one is a gate. You decide whether to move forward based on what you learned since the last one. Not based on how much time you’ve already spent.

Here’s how I teach it:

Step 1: Worth Pursuing

You’ve applied the four hard screens. The deal didn’t fail the 1% screen. It’s not a grade-D location. It’s not a Class D asset. And the price is inside your mandate.

You commit time to underwrite it. Nothing else.

Step 2: Letter of Intent

You’ve normalized the expenses using the rules in Screening Standards 11 and 12. Insurance is set to the higher of actual and estimate plus 10%. Property tax is the newest bill plus 4.5%.

Any line below the standard range is raised to the low end. The dollar effect is on page one.

If the deal still works, you commit your reputation by submitting an LOI. You do not commit capital.

Step 3: Purchase Agreement

Due diligence confirmed what the normalized underwriting predicted. Or you repriced.

You commit legal fees and inspection costs. Still no acquisition capital.

Step 4: Non-Refundable Exposure

The inspection period ends. You go hard on the earnest money.

Now you’ve committed capital you can lose. This is the last cheap exit.

Step 5: Closing

You wire the funds.

Most founders skip step four. They go non-refundable because they’ve already spent the time. Not because the deal still meets the standard.

That’s where coaching works or doesn’t. I don’t let them confuse sunk cost with conviction.

One more thing: “Holds are evaluated at three to five years, with the controllable value creation expected in the first 12 to 24 months.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

If you can’t name what you’ll fix and when you’ll refinance or sell, you’re not ready for step four.

And “Returning investor capital by refinance within 18 to 24 months is an optional outcome, never a pass-or-fail test.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

It’s a sign the deal worked early. Not a requirement to proceed.

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FAQ

What is founder coaching?

Founder Coaching vs Executive Coaching: executive coaching develops a leader inside someone else’s structure. Founder coaching addresses a person who IS the structure. So the work changes the company and the person at the same time.

The screening system I install isn’t about helping you think better. It’s about forcing you to decide before the deal gets emotional.

I’ve seen founders who can analyze a P&L in fifteen minutes. They still chase a property for six months. Because they never built the gate that says no.

How do I know if I need founder coaching?

If you’re still in every deal conversation, you need it. Revenue is founder-dependent when the deals that close require the founder in the room. It is the constraint that caps a company long before the market does.

The signal isn’t that you’re busy. It’s that your team can’t decline a deal without calling you first. And you can’t either.

Does raising expenses to standard ranges kill deals I should take?

No. It kills the fantasy version of the deal.

I’ve never had a founder regret walking from a deal. A deal that only worked with below-market property tax.

But I’ve had three call me from closings they shouldn’t have taken. Because they believed the seller’s number.

What if the seller’s pro forma shows higher NOI than 61% of gross potential rent?

Then the seller is either running the property better than 95% of the market. Or lying to you about expenses.

“Insurance is normalised to the higher of actual and estimate plus 10%, and property tax to the newest bill plus 4.5%, until a binding quote or a state reassessment table says otherwise.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

I don’t care what their books say. I care what the expense will be when you own it. And the assessor sees the sale price.

Should I skip the 1% screen if the location is perfect?

Never. “Only four things decline a deal before pricing: a failed 1% screen, a grade-D location, a Class D asset, or a price above the mandate; subsidised income and C-grade locations are called out, not declined.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

The 1% screen exists because a perfect location at the wrong basis still loses money. And you’ll spend two years proving it instead of moving to the next deal.

How do I choose between a three-year and a five-year hold?

You don’t choose the hold. You choose the value creation. And the hold follows.

“Holds are evaluated at three to five years, with the controllable value creation expected in the first 12 to 24 months.” — Ken Lundin, Lundin Capital acquisition records and screening standards (August–October 2026 pipeline, 57 leads).

If you can’t name what you’re fixing and when it’s fixed, you’re not underwriting a hold period. You’re guessing at appreciation.

Is returning investor capital by refinance a requirement for a good deal?

No. But it’s a forcing function that separates real value creation from waiting for the market to bail you out.

I tell founders to underwrite the refi at 24 months. Not because you’ll always pull it. But because if the numbers don’t work at 75% LTV with the rent you created, you didn’t create enough rent.

The deal that only works if you sell into a better market isn’t a deal. It’s a bet.

Bottom Line

I’ve seen founders spend $40,000 on coaching that teaches them to trust their gut. The work that actually changes outcomes is installing the four hard screens. Normalizing insurance to estimate plus 10% and property tax to the newest bill plus 4.5%. And defining the five commitment gates before you ever tour a property.

Founder coaching that works doesn’t sell you confidence. It installs the screening discipline that keeps you from buying your own story.

Start with one rule: no deal moves to pricing until it passes all four screens.