The Momentum Multiplier: How Founder Speed Determines Startup Success
This article is based on a Raw Startup video. Please find a link to the video at the bottom of this article.
The Invisible Killer of Startups
Most founders believe their biggest enemies are competition, lack of funding, or poor product-market fit. They're wrong. The real threat is lost momentum - the silent killer destroying startups from within.
I know this first-hand. At Vivino, the world's largest wine app with over 70 million users, we experienced periods where we nearly failed, not because of external factors, but because we were moving too slowly while competitors were catching up fast. What saved us wasn't additional funding or better technology - it was understanding the power of momentum.
What Is The Momentum Multiplier?
The momentum multiplier is a simple but powerful concept that explains why some startups thrive while others struggle despite similar resources:
- Your speed, urgency, and decisiveness as a founder don't just add to your team's pace—they multiply it
- If you move fast, your entire team moves fast
- If you slow down even slightly, your team slows down dramatically
- The founder's pace becomes the heartbeat of the entire organization
Most founders don't realize that in a startup, momentum isn't just important, it's everything.
The Math Behind The Multiplier Effect
To illustrate this concept, let's compare two hypothetical startups with identical resources:
Team A (Fast-Moving):
- 5 team members working on tasks
- Founder makes decisions same-day
- Team members complete their parts in 1 day (mirroring the founder's pace)
- Each task takes approximately 5 days total
Team B (Slow-Moving):
- 5 team members working on identical tasks
- Founder takes 3 days to make decisions
- Team members take 3 days to complete their parts (mirroring the founder's pace)
- Each task takes approximately 15 days total
Why does Team B take 15 days instead of 8? Because when a founder takes three days to make decisions, the team mirrors that pace. Leadership behaviors cascade through the organization. People follow the leader's habits—both good and bad.
The Results Over Time:
- After 1 month: Team A completes 6 tasks, Team B completes 2 tasks
- After 6 months: Team A completes 36 tasks, Team B completes 12 tasks
- After 12 months: Team A completes 72 tasks, Team B completes 24 tasks
Team A accomplishes three times more with the exact same resources.
The Compounding Effect of Momentum
The power of the momentum multiplier doesn't stop at task completion. It creates a compounding cycle:
- Faster completion → Better product → More users → More revenue → More funding → Better morale → More hiring → Even faster progress
Eventually, Team A isn't just three times faster than Team B. They become 10 times faster, then 50 times faster, and ultimately 100 times faster.
Meanwhile, slow-moving teams face the opposite spiral:
- Slow progress → Limited product development → Few users → Difficulty raising funds → Declining morale → Talent loss → Even slower progress
Startups don't die because they run out of money. They run out of money because they die. And what kills them is lost momentum.
The Vivino Experience
At Vivino, we went through a dangerous period of lost momentum:
- Endless debates and discussions
- Delayed decisions
- Progress nearly halted
- Competition was catching up
The turnaround came when we made one critical change: prioritizing rapid decision-making.
We had a period where we moved very, very slowly. Endless debates, no decisions made. We totally lost momentum and it almost killed us. Then we changed one thing: made rapid decision-making a top priority. No more waiting for perfect information. No more endless discussions, just quick decisions and a constant move forward.
The result was a successful new product launch that saved the business.
Four Ways to Apply the Momentum Multiplier
1. Speed Over Perfection
- Perfect is the enemy of done
- Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn founder) said: "If you're not embarrassed by your first product, you've launched too late"
- Vivino's first version was so basic that Apple initially rejected it for having insufficient features—but that simple version created crucial momentum that our "perfect" competitors never achieved
2. Set the Pace for Your Team
- Your team mirrors your behavior
- If you take three days to make decisions, your team will adopt the same timeline
- The founder is the company's heartbeat—a slow heartbeat means a slow company, a fast and steady heartbeat means a company that executes at speed
3. Act Now, Adjust Later
- Indecision is the real killer, not wrong decisions
- If you need more information, set a hard deadline (e.g., "We decide by Friday, no matter what")
- You can fix mistakes, but you can't recover lost time
4. Eliminate Hidden Momentum Killers
Watch out for these momentum-killing phrases:
- "Let's revisit this later" (with no timeline)
- "We need more data before deciding"
- "Let's wait until conditions are better"
Instead, create a bias toward action in your startup culture.
The Paradox of Time
Many founders claim they don't have time to make quick decisions. I understand that feeling, and it might even be true, but here's the paradox: doing things promptly actually saves you time. When you tackle something immediately, while you're in the zone and understand the task, you'll complete it faster. A task that takes an hour today might take an hour and 30 minutes three days from now because you spend another 30 minutes just getting back into the task.
This principle applies not just to the founder but to everyone on the team. It's a multiplier on everything you do.
The Hard Truth
The most difficult pill for many founders to swallow is this: Your startup's pace is your pace. If your company moves slowly, that's on you. Your urgency equals your team's urgency. Your momentum equals your startup's momentum.
Every moment of hesitation multiplies across the team. One small delay now can lead to months of delays later.
Conclusion
Startups don't win by being perfect; they win by being fast. Momentum is more valuable than money and more important than perfect strategy. The momentum multiplier works both ways—it can accelerate your success or your failure.
The direction entirely depends on your pace as a founder. A task that took three days instead of one might seem insignificant in isolation, but the cascading effect could be the difference between success and failure.
Move fast, stay aggressive, keep the momentum going. Your startup's life depends on it.
Watch the full Raw Startup video: