Project Management For Startups

You're not born a natural problem-solver. It's a skill that needs developing with time: Especially if you want to build a successful digital business.  Most people don't realise it,  But a founder's job is mostly just problem solving on repeat...    Day in and day out.  Over the last few years, I’ve used different problem-solving models Depending on what needed my attention:  💸 Keeping revenue consistent and predictable. 🔧 Setting a strategy that’s clear and actionable. ⭐️ Building a culture people actually want to be part of.  ⚙️ Running smooth operations, even when I’m not in the room. As you can imagine, each one requires a completely different approach. These are the four models that I return to most often 👇 🔍 First Principles Thinking ↳ Strip everything back and start from zero. 1. What do I know for sure about this problem? 2. What’s just a habit or assumption — not a fact? 3. If I had to build a solution from zero, what would it look like? 4. What if I forgot how this is “usually done”? 5. What’s the simplest possible version of solving this? 🔄 Second-Order Thinking ↳ Zoom out and see the bigger picture. 1. If this works... what else does it trigger? 2. What does this look like in 6 months? 2 years? 3. Am I solving a short-term pain or creating a long-term problem? 4. What unintended consequences could show up later? 5. What would someone smarter than me worry about here? 🧠 Root Cause Analysis ↳ Fix an entire system, not just a symptom. 1. What exactly went wrong — and when? 2. What’s the first thing that caused this to break down? 3. If I asked “why?” five times… where would I end up? 4. Where have we solved this badly before? 5. What keeps making this problem reappear? ⚡️ The OODA Loop ↳ When you just need to take the leap. 1. What’s actually happening right now — no bias, just facts? 2. What do I need to unlearn before I can move forward? 3. Based on what I know, what’s the smartest next decision? 4. What small test can I run immediately? 5. What would I change if I had to act in the next 10 minutes? It's easy to panic when an issue arises,  But it will do nothing to actually solve the problem. To problem solve like the top 1%,  You need to stop reacting emotionally... And start responding strategically. If you want to stay sharp under pressure,  My weekly newsletter will help you solve real business problems. Join Step by Step and get actionable insights every Sunday.👇 https://lnkd.in/eXSNaDiu I have other important lessons and 30+ free learning resources for you. What major problem did you solve recently, and how? Share your story in the comments. ⬇️ ♻️ Repost to help your network become better problem-solvers.  And follow Chris Donnelly for more. 

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.

I tell my founder clients to leave critical problems unsolved. Deliberately. Here's why: Your brain has two distinct problem-solving modes. Focused mode: where you actively tackle issues head-on. Diffuse mode: where connections form in the background while you're doing something else. Most founders live exclusively in focused mode. Always completing. Always closing loops. Always exhausting their cognitive resources. The neuroscience is clear: Research shows our most valuable insights happen during diffuse mode thinking. But here's what no one tells you about founder psychology: The more critical the problem, the harder it is to step away. The more urgent the timeline, the more you need to. What I teach instead is strategic incompleteness: 1. Start important work ↳ Gather information ↳ Define the problem clearly ↳ Identify key constraints 2. Then deliberately walk away ↳ Before reaching resolution ↳ When you feel momentum ↳ Right at the edge of breakthrough 3. Engage in something completely different ↳ Physical activity (I use running) ↳ Creative tasks (sketching works well) ↳ Mundane activities (driving, showering) 4. Return with fresh perspective ↳ Solutions appear seemingly from nowhere ↳ Connections form between disparate ideas ↳ Breakthrough thinking emerges naturally A Series B founder I worked with was stuck on a critical pricing strategy for weeks. His team was frustrated. Their runway was shortening. The pressure was suffocating. After implementing strategic incompleteness, the solution came to him while walking his dog. Not random luck. Cognitive science. Strategic pause. The freedom you're searching for isn't in working harder. It's in trusting your brain's natural problem-solving architecture. Your team doesn't need you to have all the answers immediately. They need you to have the right answers eventually. What critical problem could you deliberately leave unfinished today, allowing your brain to work its background magic?

Four unsettling learnings from the school of startups: Leadership Edition If you think you learn a lot during a PhD, just wait until you join a fast-growing startup 🙃 Lately I've been thinking about the staggering amount I’ve learned over the past four years. Hopefully my reflections are helpful if you're considering making the jump or are already in the trenches. A leadership role is a very cool opportunity to impact both the company and the careers of your direct reports. Done right, this role is a privilege and incredibly rewarding. Still, the following realizations initially threw me for a loop! _________ 1️⃣ You will never have everything under control. I used to have trouble relaxing when work was undefined or unfinished. If you’re like me, your instinct is to work ruthlessly until there’s a solid plan and you’re confident you’ll meet your goals. This is (mostly) great as an individual contributor. You can even get away with it when you have a small team. Once your team hits 15+ people, it’s just not going to happen anymore. Something, somewhere is at least moderately on fire 🙃 ➡️ Pick your top 2-3 priorities, make sure they’re sorted, then commit to living with the minor fires. _________ 2️⃣ Your calendar will be packed with meetings, but you’ll feel more lonely than as an individual contributor. The toughest challenges filter up to you for a decision. You’ll want to avoid burdening your teammates and many of these problems shouldn’t be shared internally anyway. ➡️ Find someone in a similar role at a different company. Having a sounding board who fully understands is really useful. _________ 3️⃣ You haven’t changed, but your job title carries weight. At a baby startup, there are a lot of unknowns. As the company grows, the problems change and your role changes. What doesn’t change is that feeling of “Oh, this is new. How do I solve this one?” Internally, you’re still feeling clueless on a regular basis. Externally, that baby startup - and your role - grew up. Weird as the concept feels, you might be seen as intimidating. ➡️ Actively keep relationships warm and build new relationships. Otherwise, your team won’t feel comfortable challenging you or sharing bad news → a huge problem if you want to do your job well. _________ 4️⃣ Every member of your team will not always like you. You will need to make unpopular decisions. You will lean into conversations that aren’t much fun for you or for the members of your team. If you’re like me, you’ll spend (way too much) time worrying about those conversations. My guiding star: would I feel okay about publicly walking through my decision? ➡️ It’s another permutation of the age-old challenge: decouple your self-worth from what other people think of you. You’re doing your best.

Last week, I watched a founder burn through ₹1.6 crore trying to “power through” a problem that had at least 12 easier solutions. Most people think entrepreneurship is about being brave, bold and relentless. But here’s the part no business coach puts on a PowerPoint - Startups don’t die because the problem is too big but because the approach was wrong. 90% of failed founders kept charging at the same bull in the same way and yet expecting it to magically move. So here’s what those 4 approaches actually look like in real business: --> GO THROUGH IT - Sometimes brute force works. Most “I’ll figure it out” moments are just stubbornness. Your energy isn’t unlimited so spend it wisely. --> GO AROUND IT - The best founders are the most resourceful. A clever workaround can save you months of burn and thousands in cash. --> GO OVER IT - This is where real strategy happens. Instead of asking, “How do I fix this?” ask: “How do I redesign the system so this never exists again?” --> DON’T GO NEAR IT - Sometimes it’s simply choosing a different battle. Not all problems deserve your time and not all opportunities are meant for you. Entrepreneurship isn’t about fighting every bull but knowing which fight actually moves you forward. If you’re stuck on a problem right now, see if you are going through it, around it, over it or should I not be near it at all? Your answer might save your startup.

While auditing content for an Entrepreneurship course at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture I discovered a secret. The secret to enhanced user-centric innovation: We often get "stuck" with what we're taught, and this sometimes affects how we think. We all learn about Design Thinking as a standalone tool, but there's MUCH MORE to it. Integrating Design Thinking, Lean UX, and Agile methodologies creates a powerful framework for driving user-centric innovation. Here's how it works: → Design Thinking: for deep empathy and problem definition → Lean UX: for rapid prototyping and validation → Agile: for iterative development and delivery ... And what happens when each is missing? • Without Design Thinking = "Misunderstanding" • Without Lean UX = "Wasted Effort" • Without Agile = "Stagnation" Combining these methodologies offers a holistic approach. Concept Exploration + Iterative Experimentation = Needs-and-Pain-point Discovery The initial stages emphasize brainstorming and prioritizing insights, leading to hypothesis formation that guides subsequent experiments. Continuous experimentation allows for the revision of hypotheses based on real user feedback, creating a dynamic loop of learning and adaptation. Here's how to integrate them: 1/ Design Thinking: Start with empathy. Understand your users deeply before defining the problem. 2/ Lean UX: Prototype quickly. Validate your ideas with real users early and often. 3/ Agile: Iterate. Develop in short cycles and adapt based on feedback. As teams build and explore new ideas, they foster collaboration across disciplines, leveraging diverse perspectives to refine solutions. This integrated framework not only enhances the customer experience but also drives sustainable growth. This helps founders ensure they remain competitive and relevant in their respective industries. George Dr. Kelsey Burton Yenni 👀 LESSGO!

We need "Entrepreneurial Leaders"; not just entrepreneurs or leaders. I meet many founders & business leaders and observe one aspect, that if changed can create huge benefits for the business world. Not all entrepreneurs are leaders. Not all leaders are entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurs are often idea machines; they dream big, move fast, break things, build things. But not all of them know how to lead people, build culture, or scale sustainably. Leaders, on the other hand, are great with people, process, and progress.They inspire, align, and are expert at driving execution. But many aren’t wired to take risks, challenge norms, or act with the urgency that innovation demands. The impact we see on both sides, Startups led by entrepreneurs grow fast but burn out even faster.They crash from chaos, teams burn out or tune out. Whereas corporates led by traditional leaders may stay stable but become irrelevant. They get stuck in comfort zones, growth slows, Innovation dies. But what if we foster mindset shift that creates "Entrepreneurial Leaders." People who can: - Think like a founder - Lead like a coach - Move like a startup - Build like a strategist One can certainly see that, it's the mindset problem, not DNA and hence can be altered. In my view here's how entrepreneurs & leaders can drive the shift; in thinking & in actions- Mindset shift for entrepreneurs: From “I’ll do whatever it takes” → to “I’ll build systems that scale without me.” From “It’s my vision” → to “It’s our shared mission.” From “Speed at any cost” → to “Sustainable, repeatable growth.” Mindset shift for leaders: From “Let’s avoid risk” → to “Let’s manage risk while trying new things.” From “Here’s the plan” → to “Let’s experiment and iterate.” From “Keep the business stable” → to “Let’s challenge the status quo.” Businesses, startups or small, medium & large corporates will see higher success & sustainable future when entrepreneurs will learn to lead & leaders will learn to think like entrepreneurs. I firmly believe that the future belongs to those who can both invent and inspire, build and lead, dream and deliver. So whether you're a founder, CXO, or functional leader, ask yourself: How can I build the muscle to be an entrepreneurial leader? #entrepreneurs #leaders #mindset #growth #success

Breaking Down the Crypto Growth Funnel ✅ Awareness / Lead Generation Like in any funnel, awareness is the starting point. You’ll measure reach and CAC, but the key challenge is filtering hype from genuine intent—are users curious, or ready to commit? ✅ KOLs & Influencers Not all influence converts. Paying a random KOL rarely drives authentic engagement, especially if their audience doesn’t trust the endorsement. Instead, partner with aligned micro-influencers or internal experts who naturally advocate for your project. ✅ Advertising Crypto ads face restrictions from Google, Meta, and others, plus community skepticism due to scammy ad formats. Yet, marketers find success on X, Reddit, TikTok, LinkedIn, or even crypto-native platforms like Brave ads, Spindl (in Coinbase/Base), and Farcaster MiniApps. Some even optimize content for AI search visibility—a new acquisition frontier. ✅ Referrals Referral programs thrive in crypto because rewards are instant and onchain, creating transparent and aligned incentives. Projects like Blackbird turn referrals into lasting loyalty loops and community engagement. Word-of-mouth is a core driver—users evangelize products they genuinely enjoy. You can track this via Net Promoter Score (NPS) or signup surveys. In crypto, referrals form an inverted funnel: users bring in more users, powering compounding network effects. ✅ Tokens as a Growth Driver Tokens remain the most distinctive growth lever. They attract users, developers, and liquidity—helping projects overcome the cold-start problem. While speculation isn’t the goal, rising token prices can signal community strength and momentum, making ecosystems more attractive to builders. ✅ Consideration / Interest This stage is where education wins. Crypto decisions—buying tokens, staking, or using wallets—require trust and understanding. That’s why players like Coinbase Learn or Alchemy University invest heavily in educational content. Effective education goes beyond features; it explains security, governance, tokenomics, and usability. Interactive onboarding, tooltips, demo environments, and testnets help users explore safely before committing. Smart teams also optimize for LLM visibility, ensuring AI tools can reference their documentation. Qualified interest is shown not by clicks but actions of intent—joining a waitlist with a wallet or depositing test funds. ✅ Conversion Conversion means completing the intended action—downloading a wallet, buying a token, or deploying code. Define it precisely for your goals and track by channel to optimize ROI. Attribution is tougher in crypto, where users move from offchain to onchain. New tools like Addressable now link campaigns to wallet actions, offering a clearer view of performance. While web2 tracking faces privacy hurdles, onchain transparency (without exposing identity) provides an edge: crypto marketers can finally see how awareness turns into real, measurable adoption. Source: a16z

Your Series A startup has product-market fit. Your customers love your product. So why aren't your marketing channels delivering? After hundreds of mindset interviews with tech customers, I've discovered something counterintuitive: Most founders are running their customer research like a product survey when they should be running it like a documentary. Product surveys ask 'Do you like our solution?' Documentary-style mindset interviews ask 'What was happening in your life when you first realised you needed this?' The problem: Surveys capture a moment in time. Documentaries reveal the entire journey, including all the places your marketing should be, but isn't. Here’s what I mean: 1. The Real Customer Timeline When founders think 'awareness → consideration → purchase,' customers think 'frustration → research → false starts → eventual discovery' 2. The Hidden Decision Points Your customers encountered 5 to 6 touchpoints before finding you. But you're only investing in channels from touchpoint 4 to touchpoint 6. 3. The Context Gap Your product solves the right problem. But your marketing speaks to where customers end up, not where they begin their journey. This is why Series A companies drain runway on channels that seem perfect on paper: they're reaching the right audience at the wrong moment. Here’s the high-level framework you can use to run documentary-style interviews: 1. Start with Struggle: "Tell me about the day this became a priority" 2. Track the Search: "Where did you look for answers? What led you there?" 3. Map the Moments: "What made you reject earlier solutions?" 4. Find the Switch: "What finally convinced you to try something new?" Want sustainable channel growth? Start by understanding the documentary of your customer's life, not just their product feedback. ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost to share with your network.   ⚡ Want more content like this? Hit follow Maya Moufarek.

Your business shouldn't collapse when someone takes vacation. Yet most creative firms operate exactly this way. While building Essajees Atelier, I took pride in our personal approach. Every project relied on - individual expertise - relationships, and - institutional knowledge in people's minds Then reality hit. When a key team member called in sick or left, projects would stall. Our trusted contractor handled approvals seamlessly, but when he moved on, we realized we had no documentation of his process. It's like being just one resignation away from chaos. That's when we got feedback from one of our clients, which stung, but it was accurate. Our business depended entirely on people being available and engaged. That's not scalable and definitely not sustainable. We went from being people-driven to systems-driven. 1-This meant documenting everything: When that contractor handled approvals, we had to break down every step he took. What documents he reviewed, whom he notified, and which checkpoints he monitored. The level of detail required was exhausting. 2-We started tracking clear metrics at every handoff: This included timelines met, budget variances, client satisfaction scores, and error rates. These numbers showed us whether our process changes actually improved consistency. Because the devil is really in the details. The hardest part isn't building systems. It's enforcing them. People naturally revert to old habits when they've developed their own shortcut.  I had to find a way to keep us all aligned. » Every morning we review which workflows stalled overnight and why. » When someone deviates from documented procedures, we coach them. » This cycle of build, audit, and adjustment became our daily discipline. That's how you scale without sacrificing quality. I discovered that I love designing systems because it's creative problem-solving. Making people follow them requires different skills entirely. You have to make a system so clear and useful that following it becomes an instinct. Now when team members take time off, projects continue smoothly. Our knowledge lives in systems, not just in people's heads. Do you run a people-driven or systems-driven business? #business #systems #operations #entrepreneurship