Founder decisions
Diagnose before you build: the discipline founders skip
The problem you name is usually not the problem that matters. Founders jump to solutions; advisors find the real constraint first. Here's how to do the same.
The presented problem isn't the real one
A founder says "I need more traffic." But if the users they already have don't stick, more traffic is wasted money. The problem they named — acquisition — isn't the problem that matters — retention. Jumping to solve the stated problem is how founders spend months fixing the wrong thing.
Find the binding constraint
Before you build or spend, find the single thing most holding you back. Walk the funnel: are people arriving, activating, converting, staying, paying? The first place it breaks is your constraint. Everything downstream of a broken step is wasted effort until that step is fixed. Fix the funnel before you fill it.
Ask questions before you prescribe
Diagnosis means resisting the urge to immediately act. Ask what you need to know to locate the real bottleneck, get the actual numbers, and only then decide the move. It's slower for a day and far faster over a quarter, because you're solving the problem that's actually blocking you instead of the one that first came to mind.
- The problem a founder names is often not the one that matters.
- Find the binding constraint by walking the funnel — the first break is your target.
- Diagnose before you prescribe; it's slower for a day and faster over a quarter.
Diagnose your real bottleneck
Cadenly's Startup Advisor finds the one constraint holding you back before it prescribes a move.
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