Focus less, grow faster: the cost of spreading too thin

Executive overview

Saying yes to too many ideas creates a backlog of half-committed projects that drain attention without delivering results. Both founders in this conversation learned the same lesson: narrowing focus to fewer things accelerated growth more than any new product launch.

Doing less, with full attention, compounds faster than doing more with divided attention.

The focus problem

• Seeing potential in ideas leads to launching things without the time to execute them properly
• Underfunded projects sit unfinished, occupying mental space without generating returns
• A clothing company example: started, partnered, never given enough time to make sense
• Josh Bazzoni's rule: cap active focus areas at three maximum

What concentrated focus actually did

• Promoting key supplements individually — rather than the full suite — propelled growth
• Treating a few products as their own companies created the bandwidth for real attention
• Doubling down on AppSumo's core value (amazing products, not daily cadence) doubled the business
• Focusing Sumo on email growth produced the same compounding result

Where the insight comes from

• The most important strategic moves often surface as offhand jokes or passing comments
• Structured brainstorming sessions are less likely to surface the real answer than casual observation
• Noticing what you keep returning to is a signal worth acting on