The terrible mistake I see around:

(More founders are doing it)

Back to founder mode at growth stages.

Frustrated with their team, they dive back into operations. They act as overcompensated ICs.

Hard fact: Going back to builder mode for your ego doesn't scale. If it factually works for your business, fine. Show us the data, then.

But ego rarely drives better outcomes.

I get the nostalgia. I get the desire for flat hierarchies. But dodging your real responsibilities is not the way.

Your product isn't hitting your quality bar? Stop blaming others. It's an alignment issue. A vision issue. Or maybe you didn't staff right.

The fix isn't jumping back into reviewing all iterations. That only frustrates your team. Increases turnover. Burns you out.

Founder mode no longer works at scale. Your job is different now. Bigger. Harder. More important.

Ignore this stupid trend about founders playing heroes. Check your ego. Because ego serves no one but you.