Here’s a brutal but necessary question every founder must face:

What happens if you disappear for six months?

If your business stalls, breaks, or dies, it’s not a business.

It’s a liability in disguise.

This episode introduces the six-month founder test, a clear, high-stakes filter to assess whether your business is truly scalable or dangerously founder-dependent.

Key insights from the episode:

1. Founder dependency kills valuation. If your business relies on you to function, it’s not sellable at a premium. Investors and buyers see the risk immediately and discount accordingly. The more you’re needed, the less your company is worth.

2. A real business functions without you. Systems, not personalities, create sustainability. If decision-making, client delivery, or internal operations stop without your daily input, you’ve built a bottleneck, not an asset.

3. Freedom is earned through delegation and design. Entrepreneurs crave freedom, but most trap themselves in operations. The test exposes where you need to install structure, upgrade leadership, and document processes to gain absolute control through release.

4. The six-month absence lens clarifies your weak points. Imagine you’re gone for half a year, no calls, no emails. Where would things break? That’s your roadmap. The weak spots exposed by this mental exercise are your most urgent priorities.

Final Note

If your company can’t pass the six-month founder test, you don’t need more effort.

You need more structure.

This episode shows you exactly where to start and why fixing founder dependency is the fastest path to value, freedom, and real growth.

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction: The Six-Month Founder Test

00:10 Understanding Business Dependency

00:20 Evaluating Company Valuation

00:24 The Final Question

Links:

Website: https://www.marcogrueter.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcogrueter/