Most Advent calendars give you chocolate. Ours gives you a roadmap.
December is a strange month for founders. It’s a chaotic mix of holiday parties, family obligations, and the mad dash to close out the fiscal year. Amidst the noise, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. We often stumble into January exhausted, rather than prepared.
That is why, this year, SWL launched The Founder’s Advent Calendar.
What is The Founder’s Advent Calendar?
From December 1st to December 24th, we are sharing one high-impact idea every single day on our social media channels.
The goal is simple: To help you, your business, and your team finish 2025 strong and hit the ground running in 2026. We are covering everything from mindset and mental health to legal compliance and operational efficiency.
If you haven’t tuned in yet, you have already missed Week 1. But don’t worry—here is what we covered.
Week 1 Recap: Reflections Week
We started the series with a counter-intuitive idea: To move forward, you first have to look back.
As founders, we are addicted to the future. We obsess over the gap between where we are and where we want to be. But if you don’t stop to analyze the data from the last 12 months, you are destined to repeat the same mistakes.
In Week 1, we challenged our community to:
- Audit their Circle: Identifying who was “in their corner” this year and who was draining their energy.
- Analyze the Failures: Looking at the “losses” of 2025 not with shame, but with curiosity to find the lessons.
- Celebrate the Wins: We ended the week with the “Champagne List”—forcing ourselves to stop moving the goalposts and actually celebrate the victories of 2025.
What’s Coming Next?
We have officially kicked off Week 2: Annual Review Week.
We are shifting gears from mindset to mechanics. For the next 7 days, we are walking you through the essential “Annual Reviews” that every business owner needs to conduct. We are talking about:
- Financial Audits: Stopping “SaaS Creep” and wasted spend.
- Legal Compliance: Reviewing your Employee Handbook and contracts (and why the Ontario OHSA requires it!).
- Operational Health: Ensuring your business processes are scalable.
Don’t Miss a Day
The best way to participate is to follow the daily countdown on our social media channels. Join the conversation, share your wins, and get your daily dose of founder strategy.
Follow the countdown here: 👉 Follow Samantha on LinkedIn 👉 Follow us on Instagram
Let’s make 2026 your best year yet. See you in the comments!
