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Beyond Founder-Led
5 Signs You've Outgrown Founder-Led Operations
Ep. 63
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If you're working harder than ever but your business isn't growing proportionally, you haven't hit your capacity as a leader. You've hit the ceiling of founder-led operations. And there's a difference.
In this episode, I'm walking through the 5 signs that tell me a founder is ready to transition from doing everything to building systems and leaders who can run without them.
For each sign, I explain why it happens, what it's really costing you, and exactly what to do about it.
If you recognize yourself in 3 or more of these signs, you're not failing — you're succeeding past your current operating model. That's actually good news, because the fix isn't working harder. It's building different infrastructure.
THE 5 SIGNS:
1. You're the bottleneck in every decision
2. Revenue grew but your hours didn't shrink
3. Your team executes but doesn't think
4. You can't unplug without everything falling apart
5. You're exhausted but the business isn't growing faster
EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00] The 11 PM email trap — why you're not a control freak
[01:20] Sign #1: You're the bottleneck + the decision authority matrix
[05:00] Sign #2: Revenue grew but hours didn't + the founder-dependent business model
[08:10] Sign #3: Team executes but doesn't think + the 'no naked problems' rule
[11:50] Sign #4: Can't unplug without chaos + the 'practice vacation' challenge
[15:45] Sign #5: Exhausted but not growing faster + CEO-level time blocking
[19:40] Wrap-up: Why recognizing these signs is actually good news
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• 70% of decisions your team asks about can likely be delegated immediately
• Ask yourself: If I got sick for 2 weeks, what would break? That's your vulnerability list
• Institute a 'no naked problems' rule: every problem must come with a proposed solution
• Block CEO time weekly to answer: What should we stop? What accelerates growth? Who needs development?
RESOURCES:
• Take the free Leadership Assessment (3 min)
• Book a Strategic Discovery Audit ($997 engagement)
• Learn more at thedevaincollective.com
CONNECT WITH THE DEVAIN COLLECTIVE:
• Website: thedevaincollective.com
CONNECT WITH SHEENA:
NEXT EPISODE:
From $500K to $2M: What Actually Has to Change — the treatment plan for everything we diagnosed today.
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64. From $500K to $2M — What Actually Has To Change
21:28||Ep. 64Last week we covered the 5 signs you've outgrown founder-led operations. That was the diagnosis. Today is the treatment plan.Knowing you need to change and knowing HOW to change are two very different things. The jump from $500K to $2M isn't about working harder, hiring more people, or finding more clients. It's about fundamentally rebuilding how your business operates and how YOU operate within it.In this episode, I'm breaking down the four transformations that take you from founder-powered to systems-powered: operational shifts, team shifts, financial shifts, and the one nobody talks about — founder identity shifts.THE 4 TRANSFORMATIONS:OPERATIONAL SHIFTS:• From intuitive to documented (the 20% that drives 80%)• From reactive to rhythmic (weekly, monthly, quarterly cycles)• From all-things-to-all-people to core focusTEAM SHIFTS:• From doers to leaders• From hub-and-spoke to distributed authority• From hiring skills to hiring valuesFINANCIAL SHIFTS:• From revenue focus to profitability focus• From checking the bank to financial forecasting• From founder scraps to sustainable compensationFOUNDER IDENTITY SHIFTS:• From doer to director• From indispensable to replaceable• From hero to hostKEY TAKEAWAYS:• Don't multiply your current model — transform it• Document the 20% of processes that drive 80% of your results• Hire for values first, skills second• Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity• Your goal is to work yourself out of the day-to-day job• A business that can't run without you is a job, not an assetRESOURCES:• Take the free Leadership Assessment (3 min)• Book a Strategic Discovery Audit ($997 engagement)• Learn more at thedevaincollective.comCONNECT WITH THE DEVAIN COLLECTIVE:• LinkedIn• Instagram• Website: thedevaincollective.comCONNECT WITH SHEENA:• LinkedIn• Instagram62. Relaunch — Welcome to Beyond Founder-Led
04:16||Ep. 62Welcome to Beyond Founder-Led — the podcast for women founders who are done being the bottleneck in every decision.I'm Sheena Hunt, founder of The DeVain Collective. After 20+ years in Fortune 100 operations and close to 15 years building my own businesses, I've watched the same pattern play out hundreds of times: brilliant, capable founders hitting a wall. Not because they lack vision or work ethic, but because they've outgrown founder-led chaos and don't have the systems or leadership capacity to scale sustainably.That's what this podcast is about — what comes after you can't be in every meeting, make every decision, and personally deliver to every client.Each week, I'll share frameworks, client stories, and interviews with founders who've successfully made the transition from doing everything to leading everything. Real talk for women-led businesses doing $500K to $5M who are ready to scale without sacrifice.IN THIS EPISODE:• Why I rebranded this podcast around the founder-led problem• My background in Fortune 100 ops + entrepreneurship• What to expect from Beyond Founder-Led• How to know if this podcast is for youRESOURCES:• Take the free Leadership Assessment (3 min)• Book a Strategic Discovery Audit ($997 investment)• Learn more at thedevaincollective.comCONNECT WITH SHEENA:• LinkedIn• Instagram• Website: thedevaincollective.comNEXT EPISODE:5 Signs You've Outgrown Founder-Led Operations — the diagnosis you need before you can fix anything.
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