#217 Work-Sharing: Opportunities and Challenges (02/07/2026)

In any startup, a common problem for founders is delegation. It seems that startups often swing between two extremes. On one hand, some people start by over-expanding, hiring many people for various roles. "You handle this, I'll handle that." But then the business's finances don't quite balance out, so they might have to seek funding, and the business becomes a struggle, constantly needing to find money. That's not very healthy. On the other extreme, everything is founder-led. The founder has control issues. They know they need to let go, but they feel they can't, because others can't do things the way they want. So they constantly scold people, naturally making themselves unhappy, and those working with them also suffer. Everyone is miserable.

Some people are eager to delegate, loving to quickly make the company large-scale and give themselves a grand title. The main reason, of course, is to show off and look good, but perhaps the money isn't flowing in enough to balance the outflow. Others are practical and hardworking, still doing everything themselves. But when it comes time to delegate, they haven't been able to, making themselves the bottleneck of the company. Of course, this also depends on the company's financial situation. Sometimes, it's not that the founder doesn't want to let go, but that the company has no money. No money naturally means no staff. If they struggle to even support their own basic life, there's no point in being an unethical employer who hires people cheaply. It's better to just take on more work themselves. I admit I am the latter. And of course, after a certain point, you'll find that this situation really caps your development. Doing everything yourself means the company can't grow fast, and everything gets stuck. While you might be considered stable, it also means it's difficult for you to expand.

Like this week, I really wanted to let my colleagues handle more things, so I could step back to do product improvement research and create explanatory videos, or seriously consider entering the mainstream. But there are still many fragmented tasks that I have to do myself (for now). I hope things will get better later, after all, defense is key to a better future. But I also need to ensure that others can follow through and do things well before I can confidently let go. Many companies fail because poor follow-up causes things to go awry. This is a profound subject.