Get out of your own way

20 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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0:38

In this monologue, Matthew Kelly reflects on the tension founders face between maintaining direct control over critical aspects of their business and delegating leadership to others. He acknowledges the validity of both perspectives: the fear that others won’t care as much and the natural tendency of solo founders to stay in the driver’s seat. Kelly argues that this self‑imposed control can become a limiting factor, especially for solo founders who become their own biggest obstacle. While such hands‑on involvement may work for those willing to stay in the trenches indefinitely, Kelly finds it misaligned with his current business scale, future aspirations, and the opportunities he sees ahead. He concludes that stepping back and allowing others to lead is necessary to achieve longer‑term growth and strategic goals.

Chapters

You get the other side of founders, and I've spoke to these, and probably more of my friends are like this, and I see both sides, and I think they're valid with nuance of like, how could you ever let anyone lead the important parts that isn't you? It just won't work 'cause they won't care, and so on and so on. I can understand that as well, and that's definitely actually ironically my natural tendency, and that was for a long time. But I do think that limits you sometimes, especially as a solo founder, 'cause you're basically always gonna be in your own way and always be the limiter. And that can be fine if you want to be in the trenches 24/7 for the next 20 years with the business. But I guess for me, that didn't feel like, given the broader context of my business specifically at this time, at this scale, about where I want to go next, what I want to do this year, next year, whatever, where I see as an opportunity for like a future outcome. That didn't make sense to me.