Every growing startup has work that keeps resurfacing.
Different people touch it. No one owns it.
This piece breaks down why unowned work quietly drains founder time, erodes morale, and turns “moving fast” into invisible drag, and how clarity becomes a competitive advantage as teams scale.
That dashboard is just the symptom. This is how unowned and unagreed upon work erodes trust in every number, decision, and handoff. It doesn’t feel like a crisis until momentum is already gone.
Real ownership isn’t motivational. It’s structural. Build systems that make results visible and follow-up unavoidable, and ownership shows up without being asked
Thank you for the article. It made me think about another dimension of unowned work: when ownership exists de jure with one person, but de facto (for any number of reasons) sits with someone else.
One has legitimacy. The other carries the true ownership.
I’ve been there. And in my experience, this setup multiplies all the negative effects you describe in the article.
Great article, Katie. Having lived through many startups I can relate to the gaps in ownership/accountability that arise in Start-Up world. It's not just the Founders who have to fill these gaps, but you need a good operational CEO, or a solid COO to actually run the business. A Founder shouldn't be the CEO if they don't know how to run a company...or hire a solid COO.
Totally agree! A lot of founders miss that. And I understand it must be hard to hand off your baby to someone else, but that’s the best way to ensure growth!
Ahem, this is my favourite type of article.
That dashboard is just the symptom. This is how unowned and unagreed upon work erodes trust in every number, decision, and handoff. It doesn’t feel like a crisis until momentum is already gone.
Exactly this. Just more for us to agree on!! 🥰
Real ownership isn’t motivational. It’s structural. Build systems that make results visible and follow-up unavoidable, and ownership shows up without being asked
When “it’s everyone’s responsibility”, it’s no one’s 🙃 and this is how many startups operate!
SO. MANY.
Uh, Katie, you have an impersonator — on the bright side, does this mean you’ve MADE IT?!
uh oh! I just got alerted to this. I was told they are shut down now?
Great point. Unowned work that keeps resurfacing is a killer of progress... and the bottom line.
I know firsthand as I spent a long time allowing that to happen. Not always easy to set the systems up to stop it, but worth the effort...
It really is! And I think it can be easier than people assume. Broken record...stupid simple systems.
It’s like a kitchen where everyone is cooking but nobody is washing the dishes.
Thank you for the article. It made me think about another dimension of unowned work: when ownership exists de jure with one person, but de facto (for any number of reasons) sits with someone else.
One has legitimacy. The other carries the true ownership.
I’ve been there. And in my experience, this setup multiplies all the negative effects you describe in the article.
Something went wrong here 😔
Great article, Katie. Having lived through many startups I can relate to the gaps in ownership/accountability that arise in Start-Up world. It's not just the Founders who have to fill these gaps, but you need a good operational CEO, or a solid COO to actually run the business. A Founder shouldn't be the CEO if they don't know how to run a company...or hire a solid COO.
Totally agree! A lot of founders miss that. And I understand it must be hard to hand off your baby to someone else, but that’s the best way to ensure growth!