Founder mode vs delegation theater
Sat Feb 07 2026
Hey friends 👋
This week we’re tackling one of the hairiest questions in early-stage startups: when do you stop doing everything yourself?
JDM’s calling in from 30,000 feet (but not really), and we dove deep into the psychology behind premature delegation. You know the pattern: founder gets scared of sales calls, hires a “head of sales” at 28 customers, then wonders why growth stalls.
We break down the progression from founder-only → founder-led → founderless work. And… most jobs need to stay in founder mode WAY longer than you think. Because you’re not just selling or building—you’re gathering evidence about what actually works.
Delegate too early and you speed up your burn while slowing down your learning.
We put three startups through our conviction scorecard. One founder was “focusing on product and vision” (red flag alert) while their sales guy closed deals and engineers built whatever customers asked for. Yikes.
Another had both co-founders deep in the trenches, documenting processes before hiring. Night and day difference.
The episode gets spicy when we make Claude generate revenue numbers in real-time for a marketplace startup, and Cameron calls out JDM’s bias.
Plus, frivolous thoughts: JDM’s master plan to game toddler psychology with wheeled luggage, and Cam mourns another Kings losing streak.
—Cam and JDM
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zerototraction.substack.com
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Hey friends 👋 This week we’re tackling one of the hairiest questions in early-stage startups: when do you stop doing everything yourself? JDM’s calling in from 30,000 feet (but not really), and we dove deep into the psychology behind premature delegation. You know the pattern: founder gets scared of sales calls, hires a “head of sales” at 28 customers, then wonders why growth stalls. We break down the progression from founder-only → founder-led → founderless work. And… most jobs need to stay in founder mode WAY longer than you think. Because you’re not just selling or building—you’re gathering evidence about what actually works. Delegate too early and you speed up your burn while slowing down your learning. We put three startups through our conviction scorecard. One founder was “focusing on product and vision” (red flag alert) while their sales guy closed deals and engineers built whatever customers asked for. Yikes. Another had both co-founders deep in the trenches, documenting processes before hiring. Night and day difference. The episode gets spicy when we make Claude generate revenue numbers in real-time for a marketplace startup, and Cameron calls out JDM’s bias. Plus, frivolous thoughts: JDM’s master plan to game toddler psychology with wheeled luggage, and Cam mourns another Kings losing streak. —Cam and JDM This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zerototraction.substack.com