As founders build, they will regularly encounter unfamiliar situations. They won’t know how to deal with many of them, and that’s OK: it’s difficult to navigate circumstances you’ve never been exposed to. Founders can acquire the experience they need through trial and error or by leaning on others who already have it. I’m a fan of the latter approach—I found it invaluable during my founder days. Talking with people with experience in what I was trying to do helped me make better decisions.

As my company grew, I had to make more decisions that were complicated and had long-lasting implications. Think contracts and other legalities. The stakes were high. Some of these decisions, once made, couldn’t be undone. To navigate them, I hired professionals whom I thought of as my supporting cast. I was looking for them to fill my knowledge gap so I could make the best decision possible in a high-stakes situation. I wasn’t looking for someone to tell me what to do, but rather for someone who could help me understand the ramifications of all my options. I cycled through a few people and firms, which contributed to some bad decisions in the early days. Over time, I learned to look for service providers who had specific experience helping clients make the types of decisions I was faced with. I found that people who had lived it with other clients were able to easily explain the pros and cons of all the paths I was considering.

It took time, but I ended up building a great supporting cast of service providers. Their knowledge was invaluable; it helped me make the right decisions in critical areas.

If you’re a founder with some high-stakes calls in your future, consider building a supporting cast of service providers who’ve helped others navigate your exact situation. No need to learn the hard way or work with people who are learning on your dime.