When the hardest part isn't building—it's leading
What founders get wrong about vision, clarity, and purpose.
Everyone loves the early days of a startup.
The energy is raw. The team is small. You’re building fast, solving problems, doing things no one’s done before. There’s pressure, yes—but it’s the good kind. Everyone’s focused. Everyone’s moving.
And then something changes.
Usually after the first real funding round.
Now you can finally hire. Expand. Go faster.
But this is where it gets harder, not easier.
Because suddenly, you’re not just building a product.
You’re leading a company.
And leadership at this stage isn’t about inspiring speeches or pitch decks.
It’s about making decisions that bring clarity when everything around you is getting noisier.
Strategic clarity isn't a bonus—it's the job
Too often, this lack of direction is brushed aside.
“We’re a startup. We have to chase opportunities.”
Sure. That makes sense early on—when you’re still trying to get your first real customers. But if you keep operating like that, it becomes a problem. You spread yourself too thin—across focus, across purpose, across resources.
And startups don’t have a lot of any of those.
What’s missing in these moments is strategic clarity.
Not big words or long decks. Just the ability to say:
This is the value we deliver
This is who it’s for
This is why it matters
This is what we do differently from everyone else
And this is what we’re not doing
That clarity has to come from the founder.
Vision isn’t optional—it’s the operating system
Without a shared sense of direction, even talented teams end up working against each other.
Marketing pushes in one direction. Product builds something else. Sales improvises. The founder keeps switching gears based on who they spoke to last.
Startups don’t fail from lack of activity.
They fail from lack of alignment.
Vision, clarity, and purpose aren’t “nice-to-haves” once the product is working.
They’re what keep the company coherent as it grows.
They help people make better decisions.
They focus your limited resources.
They give the company a spine.
Not every founder is naturally strategic—and that’s okay
Some founders are builders. Others are great with people.
Very few are naturally good at zooming out, creating clarity, and helping the rest of the team see the same picture. That’s not a flaw. It’s just how people are wired.
But it does become a problem if you don’t recognize the gap.
You can’t outsource vision.
You can get help to sharpen it, sure. But if you don’t own it, the team ends up guessing.
And eventually, guessing leads to friction, confusion, and wasted energy. don’t have to do it alone—but you do have to own it
You don't need to be perfect—but you need to show up
This part of the job isn’t glamorous. It won’t feel urgent until things are already off track.
But it matters.
Because without vision, clarity, and purpose—
even a strong team with good funding ends up drifting.
And when you’re a startup, you don’t have the luxury of drifting for long.
One of my own paintings. It often reminds me of what a startup can feel like once it starts growing fast—momentum, noise, energy, but no clear direction. And without clarity, speed doesn’t help.