THE 3 FOUNDER MULTIPLIERS

Some companies don’t just grow. They pull away from their competitors. They enter the same market, often start with similar resources, but somehow they learn faster, move quicker, and create separation that’s hard to close.

It’s not luck or hacks. It’s mechanics. Founders who break away from their competitors are operating with three core multipliers: slope, speed, and obsession.

Slope is your ability to process complexity, spot patterns, and adapt faster than the competition.
Speed is the sheer number of cycles you put in.
Obsession is the fuel that keeps you pushing when the dopamine fades.

Read more in How Great Companies Pull Ahead: 3 Multipliers Every Founder Needs.

You can’t out-hustle a gap in slope or fake speed. Each multiplier plays a different role, and you need all three to create the kind of compounding growth that lasts.

PERSPECTIVES

“Speed is useful only if you're running in the right direction."
— Joel Barker, Futurist and Author

MARK MY WORDS

Early on, I thought the answer to growth was always more effort, more hours, and more hustle. But I’ve learned that effort only compounds when it’s aligned with your strengths.

You need people who can make sense of complexity, move fast, and stay engaged when the work gets hard. People who bring slope, speed, and obsession. The kind of people who make real progress inevitable and raise the standard for everyone around them.

Because that’s when progress compounds and separation becomes inevitable.

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD

In case you missed it, here’s more from Founder’s Framework:

Tribe-First Leadership: Building a Culture People Want to Be a Part Of

When Garry Ridge led WD-40, he replaced the word “team” with “tribe” and built one of the strongest, most committed cultures I’ve seen. In this piece, I break down what made his approach so effective and how we can bring those same principles into our own companies.

[Read Now]

This song is about doing the reps, staying obsessed, and earning the kind of progress that actually sticks. It captures what happens when slope, speed, and obsession align to achieve not just growth but a legacy.

BONUS: 2025 FOUNDER PLAYLIST

To wrap up the year, we pulled together every track featured in this newsletter into one Spotify playlist. Use it to refocus, reset, or just turn it up when the grind feels heavy.

[Listen to the 2025 Founder Playlist]