What Is the Biggest Problem Founders Face Now?

Shardul Shah says the biggest problem founders face is expressing themselves, and the Cartesia founder was right to ignore advice to shut a successful part of the business down.

He joined the board of Cartesia, a voice AI business, about a year to a year and a half ago. At first he gave conventional wisdom: do very few things and do them with excellence. Once he knew the founder, he saw an explorer and an adventurer, someone whose way of expressing himself is to explore and adventure. He told the founder not to run part of the business, to shut it down even though it was successful, to burn the boats, and to focus. The founder ignored him. The perspective lit a fire inside him. He got upset and wanted to prove him wrong, and he was completely right. Disagreeing and giving perspective came easily, alongside total belief to support any decision the founder wanted to make.

When entrepreneurs get supported and seen for who they are, the other work takes care of itself. Compute, where to focus the business, who to hire and when and where, and how to scale with what level of aggression into a crowded, difficult, or confusing market all follow.