How to Identify Business Bottlenecks as a Founder

There are so, so, SO many ways to waste time at a startup. And most of them don't *feel* like we're wasting time. So many things seem important at any one point in time. That blog post, that follow-up email, that event, fixing the website, building that new feature. Everything competes for our attention, every moment. It's hard to know what's most important at any one time. Given that we can do theoretically anything, what's the ONE thing that matters? I have a weird way of thinking about this -- I view my business as, essentially, a factory. My business factory produces case studies - really, it replicates one case study again and again. Stick with me here. The "factory line" is a set of steps that turn potential customers into actual customers into "hell yes" customers. When I look at my business as a case study factory, suddenly the million things I *could* do fit into the factory - everything I could do impacts different parts of the line. As I look at the factory, I can see where the factory's bottleneck is: -> Maybe it's that I'm not talking to 5-10 customers per week -> Maybe it's that I'm not turning customer conversations into actual customers, or maybe it's that each sale requires a lot of heroics -> Or maybe it's something post-sale - customers are churning, or onboarding isn't getting people to value fast enough When I know what my bottleneck is, that tells me exactly where I should focus. Focusing on things other than the bottleneck don't make a big difference. This tells me what's going to make the most impact on the business. From here, I can sort out my priorities for the day or whatever. But starting from a massive task list and trying to make sense of what's going to the needle, that feels backwards. There are a lot of other benefits of viewing a business as a system for replicating case studies... but that's for another post!

Most founders think growth means working on dozens of things at once. I used to think the same way. Then our activation rate dropped from 80% to 35% over 4 weeks, meaning 65% of new users never came back. We had been "busy" working on different initiatives: → I was focused on driving new signups → Developers were building new features   → Designer was split across multiple projects But we were missing the forest for the trees. That painful moment led to a breakthrough: At any point in time, there's always ONE constraint holding your entire business back. Once we identified it was activation (not acquisition or features), we implemented a radical new way of working: **80% of our attention on breaking the key constraint** **20% on everything else** The result? We solved the activation problem in 2 weeks with a simple video guide. This experience became our 5-step framework, which has helped our 3-person team build products now used by millions. The framework works because it forces you to: ✓ Identify the real bottleneck (not just symptoms) ✓ Align your entire team around one priority   ✓ Test ideas based on evidence, not opinions ✓ Make small bets with quick feedback loops Most startups fail not because they don't work hard enough, but because they work on the wrong things. What constraint is holding your startup back right now? Watch the full breakdown of our 5-step constraint-breaking framework: https://lnkd.in/gSnRGxgz

90% of startups don’t fail because of: Bad marketing, a weak team, or even a poor product. They fail because they lack a repeatable decision-making process. Here’s the framework I use to make better, faster decisions in business. I call it “The Iteration Loop.” It’s a structured way to identify what’s working, what’s broken, and what to do next, without getting stuck in endless guesswork. It gives you a systematic way to eliminate bottlenecks, optimize execution, and scale with clarity. Here are the 6 phases: 1. Bottleneck Identification 2. Clarifying the Goal 3. Solution Brainstorming 4. Focused Execution 5. Performance Review 6. Iterate & Improve 1️⃣ Bottleneck Identification Before you can fix anything, you need to identify the real problem. Most entrepreneurs spin their wheels solving the wrong issues because they never dig deep enough. To get clarity, ask: + What's the biggest constraint stopping growth right now? + What metric, if doubled, would create the biggest impact? + What’s preventing us from getting there? If you don’t identify the root problem, every solution you apply will be wasted effort. 2️⃣ Clarifying the Goal Once you know the problem, define the exact outcome you’re solving for. I use a simple Three-Part Goal Formula: 1. What are we trying to achieve? 2. By when? 3. What constraints do we have? Vague goals lead to vague actions. Precision forces progress. 3️⃣ Solution Brainstorming Now, generate every possible solution—without filtering. Most people limit themselves to their existing knowledge, which is why they get stuck. Instead, ask: “If there were no rules, what would I do?” This opens up better, faster, and often simpler solutions you wouldn’t have otherwise considered. 4️⃣ Focused Execution Don’t test everything at once—test one variable at a time. Most teams waste months by making too many changes at once, leading to messy, inconclusive results. Instead, break it down: 1. Test one key assumption. 2. Measure one KPI that proves or disproves it. 3. Execute for a set period, then review. 4. Speed matters. Complexity kills momentum. 5️⃣ Performance Review Your data isn’t just numbers—it’s feedback on your decision-making process. Your job is to analyze: + Did the solution work? + Why or why not? + What does this tell us about our business? Every test refines your ability to make better future decisions. 6️⃣ Iterate & Improve Most companies don’t fail from making the wrong move—they fail from making no moves at all. The only way to win long-term is to keep iterating. Instead of fearing failure, build a culture that rewards learning. Failure + Reflection = Progress. If you aren’t improving your decision-making process, your business will eventually hit a ceiling. That’s why I built The Iteration Loop—so every problem becomes an opportunity for better, faster execution. P.S. If you want the scaling roadmap I used to scale 3 businesses to $100M and beyond, you can get it for free from the link in my profile.