Curiosity is the founder edge that hard work alone can't replace

I think and talk about founder table stakes more than most. I consider hard work and a modicum of intellect as table stakes; ie you'll find most of your peers with these. It's hard to succeed today without them.

A focus on these traits can lead to conviction and certainty. Good things, right?

Mainly - yes.

Where they'll trip you up, however, is when they get in the way of your curiosity. For most, this is what got us into being a founder in the first place: I wonder if people will buy this? How could I make this better? And so on.

A pattern I've seen often - usually between product-market fit and scaling hard - many stop being curious.

They stop asking:

• Why are we doing it this way?
• What's the real constraint here?
• If we had to 2x this in 90 days, how would we do it?

They start believing the stories they've concocted to get the thing started in the first place. And they get busy chasing tactics. Scaling complexity. And perhaps mistaking activity for momentum.

Curiosity is your edge.

I've said this before: the founders who win don't have all the answers.

They just ask better questions.

They test fast.

They challenge assumptions.

And they're willing to look wrong on the way to getting it right.

Whether you're prepping for an exit or just trying to scale without breaking your business, curiosity is what builds the bridge between strategy and execution.

A few questions to ask this week:

• If I left the business tomorrow, what would fall apart?
• What's one thing I've assumed is "working" that I haven't challenged in months?
• Where are we operating by design, or by default?

You don't need to micromanage every decision.

You just need to stay curious about the right ones.

Cheers,
Josh