Most founders believe time freedom comes after the exit.

But in reality, it’s a prerequisite if you want to scale or sell at a premium.

In this episode, we unpack a real-world case where a founder cut 30 hours per week from their schedule before selling the company. And not only did the business survive, it grew.

1. The core question that changed everything. It started with this: “What breaks if you step away?”That one question exposed the true bottlenecks in the business. Not pricing. Not market fit. But founder-dependency.

2. A ruthless schedule review. We broke down the founder’s weekly calendar and flagged every task that shouldn’t be on their plate. Meetings, approvals, operational babysitting, all of it was systematically identified and challenged.

3. Delegation that doesn’t collapse. Instead of handing things off and hoping, we built a system of delegation the team could actually run. Clear roles. Guardrails. Authority to act. No more waiting for the founder to sign off.

4. A business designed to operate, not orbit around.

In 90 days, the founder reclaimed 30 hours per week. With no operational breakdowns. That time was reinvested into leadership, strategic preparation for exit, and long-term value creation.

This isn’t theory. It is designed. You don’t scale by doing more. You scale by doing less and building better.

Want to know where your time is leaking?

Start with the CEO Time Audit.

In under 3 minutes, you’ll know exactly what to eliminate first and finally lead at the level your company needs.

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction: Time Freedom Before Exit

00:15 The Key Question: Identifying Bottlenecks

Links:

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

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