We love to believe that success is all about effort (it’s a part of our founder DNA). If you care enough, work hard enough, and iterate fast enough, you can build anything, right? I’ve believed that, too. Still do — mostly.
But there’s a catch. Not every opportunity is created equal. And more importantly, not every opportunity matches what we bring to the table.
It’s a tough truth, especially for high-agency founders who believe we can outwork or outlearn our way through any challenge. Sometimes we can. But sometimes the opportunity itself has a path that’s steeper than your capacity to climb it.
That doesn’t mean you’re not a good founder. It just means you need to understand the game you’re playing. The rules of the game matter, and if you’re playing the wrong one, no amount of hustle is going to change the outcome.
Every opportunity has its own physics. Some require brute execution. Others demand long-cycle thinking or higher cognitive range. When you understand the true nature of an opportunity, you can stop trying to muscle through and start designing your way forward.
It’s your job to get real about the opportunity in front of you. It’s not just about pushing harder — we have to get sharper about what each opportunity demands and how to rise to it. That’s how great companies get built. Not by grinding through the wrong fit, but by matching ambition with alignment.
Every Opportunity Has Its Own Demands
Not all opportunities ask the same things of us. Some are execution games — straightforward, high-activity, fast cycles. A market is established, the need is clear, and the model works as long as you operate efficiently. In those scenarios, momentum comes from focus and precision. You run faster, optimize better, and keep the system humming.
But other opportunities are a different beast entirely. They’re long-horizon bets that involve more ambiguity and more questions. They demand pattern recognition across time, the ability to stay grounded when the path forward isn’t obvious, and a level of patience that doesn’t come naturally to most. You’re not just solving problems — you’re constantly redefining what the problem even is.
Different kinds of opportunities call for different muscles. When founders fail to account for these differences, they try to power through complexity with hustle. But you need more than just energy and drive. You need range, discernment, and perhaps most importantly, to be okay not knowing exactly when or how things will pay off.
This isn’t about working more or less. It’s about working differently. Because the hard truth is, some opportunities can’t be cracked through repetition alone. They require a higher level of thinking, broader time horizons, and a willingness to stay in the game long enough to learn what it’s actually asking of you.
The Three Dimensions of Opportunity
Once you start paying attention, you'll realize most opportunities stretch you in a few core ways. And while every business is different, I’ve found that most of them test you across three dimensions. Knowing which one you're actually up against helps you stop guessing and start making better decisions about what to build and how to build it.
So let’s look at three factors that shape the nature of an opportunity:
- Cognitive Complexity: Some problems are pretty clear. You know the customer, the solution, and the path to get there. Others are messier. You’re solving things that don’t have obvious answers, and the decisions only get harder as you grow. Those opportunities require sharper thinking, or what I call a higher slope — not just about what’s in front of you, but what’s around the corner. Before taking on something new, we need to ask ourselves: How much intellectual range does this opportunity demand?
- Time Horizon: Some opportunities move fast — feedback is instant, decisions are quick, and progress is easy to see. But other opportunities play out over years (or even decades). You won’t know if your bets are right until much later, and that’s a different kind of leadership. You have to keep your team focused when the payoff’s not immediate. Evaluate opportunities by asking: Is this a fast-cycle business or a long-cycle one? Opportunities with long time horizons require founders who can stay grounded without quick wins. They also require teams (and investors) who understand what it takes to build in seasons.
- Execution Load: Some businesses are built on volume — calls, tasks, shipments, meetings. Others are built on depth. You don’t need to be busy every minute, but the work has to be right. What matters is knowing what kind of effort the opportunity requires and whether your team is built to handle that load day after day, quarter after quarter. Does success require relentless activity, logistical excellence, and operational focus? Or is it more about shaping ideas and leading conversations? Know what kind of grind you're signing up for.
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
Be Honest About What You’re Built For
We all want to believe we can rise to meet any challenge. But founders who build enduring companies aren’t the ones chasing the hardest problems just to prove something. They’re the ones who understand what they’re built for and shape their work accordingly.
So here’s the question we all have to answer:
Am I built for the opportunity in front of me?
If you thrive in fast feedback loops with visible progress, you’re going to struggle in long-cycle businesses where the payoff can take years. If you’re wired for deep thinking but easily drained by daily operational demands, don’t take on an execution-heavy opportunity unless you’ve got a team who loves that kind of grind. If your strengths are in systems and synthesis, but the business requires selling all day, every day, that mismatch will catch up with you.
This isn’t about playing big or small. It’s about playing smart. You don’t have to change who you are, but you do need to know who you are. Because when you misread the nature of the opportunity, or accept an opportunity you weren’t built for, you burn time, energy, and credibility trying to force a fit that just isn’t there.
If the opportunity challenges you to grow in meaningful ways, lean in. That’s part of what makes the work worthwhile. But if there's a mismatch, that’s when you need to rethink the model, reshape the team, or realign your ambition. You can’t lead well if the work itself is misaligned with your strengths and wiring.
What You Can Control
You don’t get to change the nature of the opportunity. But you do get to decide how you respond to it. You choose the game you’re playing, who’s on the team with you, and how you spend your time.
Opportunity is the terrain. Some paths are steeper. Some take longer. And some demand a different kind of thinking altogether. The best founders don’t just push harder — they make smarter, more deliberate choices about the work they take on. They know what they’re good at, what they care about, and how to build a business that reflects those truths. That’s not luck. That’s alignment.
So before you double down on effort, ask yourself: Does this opportunity match what I bring to the table? Are my strengths built for this terrain?
You can’t force an opportunity to fit you, but you can choose one that does (or design one that stretches you in the right ways).
That’s how great companies get built. Not by chasing someone else’s playbook, but by owning your path and playing the game with purpose.
