Startup Growth

When Everything is on Fire, Founders Sometimes Struggle to See the Wood for the Trees

In 1949, a crew of elite smoke-jumpers parachuted into Montana’s Mann Gulch to fight what looked like a routine wildfire. But within hours, the fire turned deadly. As the flames roared up the slope, their leader, Wagner Dodge, made a radical move: he lit a fire of his own. By burning the grass ahead of him, he created a patch of scorched earth the wildfire couldn’t cross. He lay in the ashes as the main fire swept over.

Seven Hard-Earned Lessons for First-Time Founders

Starting a company is a crash course in humility. You’re juggling 100 decisions a day, half of which you’ve never faced before. You’re trying to build a product, grow a business, and stay sane—all at once.

Here are seven principles I’ve seen trip up first-time founders (myself included). If you're just getting started, I hope this saves you some scar tissue.

The Founder’s Vision Trap: Why Culture Beats Tech Every Time

It starts, as these stories often do, with a bold vision.

A founder has an idea — one they’re convinced is going to change the game. It’s innovative. Disruptive. The kind of idea that turns heads and opens investor checkbooks. Before long, there’s money in the bank, a team in place, and the runway to bring this vision to life.

From the founder’s perspective, the stars are aligning. The idea has been validated — after all, someone just put money behind it. Now it’s just a matter of execution.

But this is where things often go wrong.

Why Hiring Ex-FAANG Employees Might Be a Mistake for Early-Stage Startups

For many early-stage founders, hiring team members from FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) companies feels like a shortcut to success. "These folks excelled at Google! Surely they'll turn my fledgling startup into the next unicorn!"

But reality often has other plans. Here’s why hiring FAANG alumni might not be your startup’s golden ticket:

How Optimising for Value Delivery Unlocks Startup Growth

In my recent talk on The Growth Equation, I shared the story of Marta, a founder archetype whose journey reveals a common but often overlooked challenge in early-stage startups. Marta stands out because she excels where many founders struggle—at customer acquisition.

A Simple Framework for Startup Growth

One of the most common—and deceptively simple—questions founders ask is: “How can I grow my business faster?” It feels like the kind of question that should have a straightforward answer. Yet, as many CEOs discover, growth is rarely straightforward. It’s a balancing act between multiple forces, each pulling in different directions.