Hacks & Hobbies

When the funding hits the bank, everything changes — your team, your decisions, your sleep. In this raw, curious conversation, Michael Haskell pulls back the curtain on the moment every founder either becomes a leader or gets eaten by growth. He explains how to spend with discipline, hire with rigor, and keep the sense of urgency that made you successful in the first place. In this episode of Hacks and Hobbies, Michael and I dig into the fragile period after fundraising: the temptation to hire fast, the danger of diluted standards, and the single-minded focus that preserves runway and sanity. Michael shares the practical metrics, psychological habits, and leadership plays that let founders scale revenue without burning culture or cash — and why going “deep and narrow” beats globe-trotting growth streaks. Five key takeaways Treat your war chest like a loan to yourself: spend to accelerate proven revenue engines, not to chase shiny new initiatives. Keep the bar high: scaling often erodes conversion and qua