For Starters

Good morning and welcome back to For Starters today. Let's talk about distribution, go-to-market, and the fabled channel, which, for channel, I'm defining as mostly sales agents, technology distributors—aka referral agents. First, as any company coming to market, one of the key things you absolutely have solved for is distribution—getting to market in a repeatable, scalable fashion.

Whether that's knocking door to door, sending your cold emails, or finding partners that can accelerate your growth, some ways that happens is going into ISV marketplaces—pretty common with AWS or Google or the cloud providers. Also, CCaaS providers, specifically in our space, tend to have app exchanges. Some of those you can be resold on their paper, and you're going to give up, you know, 10 to 20% of a deal, or they're just simply kind of a pass, or they hand off a customer to you. Either of those is okay. Each of them requires a distinctive go-to-market investment, regardless of the partner.

The other route to market, which is kind of in style these days, is going through distributors and sales agencies, where there's a bunch of these little referral companies out there that help companies select vendors—primarily in CCaaS these days. But now, with the proliferation of AI, there are some folks helping with that. The question, then, is: as a vendor, should you go to market that way?

We chose to. We actually started that way, and in 2025 have ended all of our channel distribution partnerships and will no longer be working through sales agencies. And there are a lot of reasons for that. But primarily, you know, when you go to market through a sales agency—call it Avant, or AppDirect, or Intelisys—they're all great companies. They tend to work well when there are a bunch of companies that are substitutes for each other. So, CCaaS—there's a half a dozen CCaaS providers that if you're looking for that type of solution, you know, you're gonna look at NICE, or Zoom, or Talkdesk, or UJET, or whatever—Genesys. Those guys need to get the mind share, right? They're in competitive, pretty high-margins-still markets. And what happens is that sales agent, that expert advisor, whatever they want to go by, is gonna sit down, pull out a spreadsheet, ask discovery questions, and compare your solution to four or five others. Then they help that customer, you know, make a selection, and you're gonna pay 20% of your deal forever on that.

Which means that every deal you're in, you're automatically going to have competitors, and your customer acquisition cost is going to be f*****g crazy because you're giving up 20% in perpetuity. So try to calculate a CAC on that and then sell that to an investor. The other thing that happens in that model is that your margins are going to be super compressed because they're not taking 20% of an EBITDA or even gross margins. They're taking 20% off the top, which means that's just 20%. As you walk down your P&L statement, that is just gone—20% commission forever. So imagine now trying to value your company on exit.

My sense is that those are going to be discounted cash flows by whoever's buying you, because they're not going to want to take over and assume all of that liability—again, 20% on your book of business in perpetuity—unless they're an acquirer that's used to making those kinds of deals. You're going to be in pain, is my sense. I mean, there was one year that we wrote almost a half a million dollars in checks and commissions, and so those partners were making a heck of a lot more money than we were on the same revenue, and we were delivering it, right?

The other side of that coin, too, or the thing to consider, is that every distribution channel you go through is going to require another level of investment for you. So do you want to invest in going to market where you know your competitors already are? Or do you want to invest in going to market in areas where there's still a lot of white space, where you can stand alone? Take that 20% that you would have spent handing off to some dude with a spreadsheet and invest that somewhere else. That's what we're doing.

We're investing in more strategic levels of scale and different routes to market, so that we can break through that noise. Some of those will continue to be strategic app marketplaces where we have strategic alignment—places like Zoom, frankly, where you can get to scale with a “better together” narrative and attach to some velocity. Otherwise, you're just swimming in a contingency of noise, and that's not free revenue either. So it's easy to step back and say, “Well, if I do this, I don't have to hire a bunch of salespeople,” but you do, because you still have to hire people that can manage the channel for you.

What you'll find—and I'm not dissing on the sales agents folks. There are some great ones out there, and I've got some friends that do this. And for clarity, we're a sales agency as well. We've got an advisory arm that helps customers, you know, select tech—primarily Zoom. You know, we're not shy to double down in the areas that we value and believe in. But we're creating mutual value in those cases, and we're very transparent with that. We're also adding additional differentiated services and applications around those services. So there's nothing against the model; it just tends to be value-extractive instead of value-creation, and it creates some lopsided revenue. You're going to end up with different folks that either are going to try to be a gatekeeper between you and your customer—which is a place I'm never a fan of—or they refer a deal in, they bounce to the next deal, and you never see them again, and you're writing a check every month.

So it's a tough topic, and it's different for everyone. But I want you, before you get all excited about going to market through sales agents or different distribution channels, to really think about the opportunity cost of that. You know, what level of effort are you going to have to invest to do it right and to gain the mindshare that you need? And what's it going to cost you in the long run? And I think you'll probably come to a different set of conclusions—that maybe, if you do have something that stands out in the market, there's probably better ways for you to get your message out than to be in a competitive situation every single day.

Working closely with seasoned professionals has a way of sharpening our business instincts, teaching us how to handle finances, and ultimately boosting our confidence to start and lead companies. This post revisits the power of in-person mentorship, how it shaped my first venture, and why creating that sense of apprenticeship—even virtually—continues to be crucial.

Leadership in startups is messy. Founders are expected to scale their vision, align teams, deliver value to customers, and pace industry transformation—all while navigating constant uncertainty. Yet leadership itself remains one of the least explored topics in startup culture.

Last fall, Paul Graham’s essay on Founder Mode brought this conversation to the forefront. Inspired by Brian Chesky’s experience scaling Airbnb, it challenged the traditional wisdom of delegating to external managers as startups grow. Founders across the ecosystem latched onto it, many interpreting it as permission to centralize control and reinforce themselves as the keystone of their companies.

This misinterpretation turned Founder Mode into an ego boost rather than the nuanced leadership tool it was meant to be. Founder Mode isn’t about being the hero or making yourself indispensable. It’s about identifying where your unique influence creates the most value and stepping in intentionally to reshape outcomes.

Leadership is about diagnosing the system. It’s about recognizing when to activate different modalities based on the maturity of the organization and the type of challenges being faced. Founder Mode is one of those modalities—a powerful one—but only when used with precision and purpose.

When Founder Mode Works

Founder Mode is most effective in moments of adaptive challenge. These are the situations where no playbook exists, where the DNA of the company is at stake, and where only the founder’s perspective can realign the organization. At Airbnb, Chesky reasserted his influence to fight mediocrity and reorient the company around its long-term vision. This wasn’t about micromanagement; it was about re-establishing clarity and alignment.

I’ve had my own experiences with this. Last year, when mediocrity and toxicity crept into one of my engineering teams, I fired the entire group in one day. That wasn’t about ego or control. It was about diagnosing a system that had gone off the rails, intervening decisively, and resetting the foundation for scale. Within hours, the organization was on a new trajectory, and today we’re in the strongest position we’ve ever been.

Founder Mode isn’t about hovering over every decision or approving every feature. It’s about inserting yourself where your expertise and perspective are critical, driving alignment, and then stepping back. Misusing it to stay at the center of everything creates bottlenecks, undermines trust, and slows progress.

The Danger of Overuse

The wave of LinkedIn posts celebrating "Founder Mode" missed the point entirely. They turned it into a badge of honor, as if being the bottleneck for every decision were something to aspire to. This isn’t leadership. It’s creating dependency and feeding a hero complex.

Bringing in outside managers can introduce mediocrity, but so can a founder who doesn’t know when to step back. Teams can’t operate effectively if they’re waiting for approval on every decision. Culture isn’t preserved through micromanagement; it’s built by embedding principles, aligning values, and empowering people to act within those guardrails.

Leadership Through Modalities

Founder Mode is just one modality of leadership. There are times when it’s essential to decentralize decision-making, allowing teams to execute without interference. There are other times when you need to observe from a distance, stepping back to identify systemic patterns and opportunities. Leadership isn’t static. It’s situational and requires constant adaptation.

At InflectionCX, I’ve learned to toggle between modalities based on the needs of the business. Early on, I assumed that bringing in experienced operators would free me to focus on strategy. What I didn’t account for was how quickly drama and mediocrity would creep in when those operators didn’t align with our culture or vision. It wasn’t until I stepped back into the weeds—coaching supervisors, restructuring teams, and engaging directly with clients—that we regained momentum.

Founder Mode worked because it was targeted. Once alignment was restored, I transitioned to a different modality, allowing the new team to execute while I focused on growth.

Moving Beyond Founder Mode

Leadership isn’t about staying in Founder Mode indefinitely. It’s about knowing when to activate it, using it to realign the organization, and then shifting focus. Effective founders don’t cling to control. They diagnose, intervene where their influence is most valuable, and build systems that scale without them.

This requires humility. Leadership isn’t about flexing or making yourself the center of attention. It’s about creating conditions where your team and organization can thrive—whether you’re in the room or not.

Conclusion

Founder Mode is a tool, not an identity. Use it when the stakes demand your unique perspective. Step back when the system needs room to grow. And most importantly, lead with humility and adaptability.

The strongest organizations aren’t built around a single person. They’re built around a culture of excellence, alignment, and trust. Founder Mode can help you get there, but only if you know when to put it down.

Welcome back to For Starters. This week is all about tough love for my fellow entrepreneurs, and today we’re taking on hustle culture.

Many of you post daily about grinding, sacrificing, and working 20-hour days to make the world a better place. Let’s be honest—that’s your ego talking. It’s really more about building your wealth and chasing status.

Meanwhile, the real grind is happening elsewhere. It’s the single moms working two jobs to keep their families fed. It’s the dads working overtime after being laid off in corporate downsizing. Often, those are the same jobs your startup is trying to automate—or maybe improve—while you carry a martyr complex about your “sacrifices.”

Let’s be clear: you’ve probably never held those jobs. You’re not an agent in a call center, and you’ve never driven an Uber. You went to college, came out in a position of privilege, and had the freedom to take risks. That’s not diminishing your hard work, but thousands of people who are just as capable will never have that opportunity because they’re too busy surviving.

So here’s what founders need to do: strip away the ego. Stop pretending to be the chosen one. I’m not, and neither are you. Focus on creating real value by engaging with the people who live the realities you claim to care about.

Talk to the single moms, the drivers, the agents—not the tech. Their challenges, insights, and realities should shape the solutions you build. That’s the work that matters.

Skip the performative LinkedIn posts and show real progress. Insights, actions, and outcomes—not lattes skipped or hours worked—are what make a difference.

Chris Crosby discusses the importance of ecosystem-wide growth and unlocking exponential potential. He highlights the limitations of traditional hub and spoke models in partnerships and ecosystems, where applications or products create new silos and require integration. Instead, he advocates for interconnected systems of complementary applications that create new value and systems. He uses the example of his company, endeavor Cx, which connects CX vendors and partners with other companies in the ecosystem to create a more integrated and valuable solution for customers. This approach, he believes, will lead to growth and success in the market.

Hi everyone, and welcome to Day One of For Starters: Unfiltered Perspectives on AI, CX, and Startups. This is a mostly daily podcast, starting today, where we’ll cut through the noise and jargon surrounding these topics and focus on what’s real.

I’m Chris Crosby—entrepreneur, builder, and someone who’s been deep in startups and technology for over two decades. This podcast won’t be about clichés, AI apocalypses, or overhyped trends. Instead, it’s about real strategies—what works, what doesn’t, and why.

For those who know me, you’ll know I don’t shy away from calling it like I see it. Whether I’m right or wrong, the goal is to bring fresh perspectives and challenge the status quo with a bit of a contrarian edge.

Here’s what you can expect:

* Daily takes: 3-5 minutes on tough topics.

* Guest appearances: Occasionally, we’ll bring in guest hosts for deeper dives and more heat.

* Portfolio highlights: I’ll introduce you to VenturesCX, the portfolio of companies I run. We’re tackling challenges at the intersection of AI, contact centers, and outsourcing, while pushing into new markets in 2025.

This podcast is where we experiment, learn, and push boundaries. Bring your questions, your feedback, and your curiosity. Tomorrow, we dive in. Let’s get started.