Staying in Your Lane

One of the biggest mistakes early-stage founders make is trying to grow too fast — not in revenue, but in scope.

There’s a belief that the more you offer, the more legitimate you’ll look. In reality, the opposite is usually true. When you try to do everything at once, you end up showing the market that you don’t do any one thing particularly well.

Strong businesses don’t start wide. They start focused.

The McDonald’s Lesson: Depth Before Breadth

When McDonald's first launched, they weren’t trying to be everything to everyone. Their menu was simple: hamburgers, fries, soda, and milkshakes. That was it. They didn’t start with chicken sandwiches. They didn’t start with breakfast. They didn’t start with coffee drinks.

They mastered one thing: fast, consistent burgers and fries.

Only after building credibility, operational excellence, and brand trust did they expand — first into chicken, then breakfast, then McCafé, and eventually into the massive, diversified menu we see today. The expansion worked because the foundation was solid.

The Netflix Lesson: Master the First Move

Netflix followed the same pattern. Netflix didn’t start as a streaming platform. It began by mailing DVDs to customers’ homes. That was the lane. They focused on logistics, customer experience, and scale — and they did it extremely well.

When technology and consumer behavior shifted, Netflix adapted. DVDs gave way to streaming. Streaming gave way to original content. Later came games and sports broadcasting.

But none of that would have worked if they hadn’t first dominated one clear offering.

They didn’t chase every trend at once. They followed a logical sequence of mastery → expansion.

Why Founders Drift Out of Their Lane

Early founders often feel pressure to:

• serve multiple audiences

• cover every adjacent topic

• add features “just in case”

• look bigger than they are
  

The problem is that breadth without depth doesn’t build trust. It creates noise. When a founder tries to speak to everyone in a space, the message becomes diluted. The audience can’t tell what you’re actually good at.

Credibility comes from clarity, not volume. Start Where You Have Real Strength

If you’re starting a business, the first question isn’t:

“What else could I add?”

It’s:

“What do I genuinely know well enough to speak about deeply?” For example, imagine you’re launching a website that provides information on salaries and career paths. Instead of covering all industries, you might focus on one — say, artificial intelligence — especially if that’s where your background or experience lives.

That focus allows you to:

• provide detailed salary breakdowns

• explain career paths with nuance

• describe real skills, not buzzwords

• offer insight that generic sites can’t
  

You’re not just repeating information — you’re interpreting it. That’s what makes people come back. Expansion Comes After Credibility

Once you’ve built trust in one lane, expansion becomes easier and more strategic.

Using the salary-site example:

• Start with AI and computer science roles

• Build authority and depth

• Then bring in collaborators or associates

• Expand thoughtfully into adjacent fields
  

At that point, you’re not guessing. You’re building on proof.

Trying to do everything early is a losing strategy. Staying in your lane doesn’t mean thinking small. It means thinking sequentially. Do one thing well. Be known for it. Let depth create momentum. Growth that lasts doesn’t come from adding more —it comes from mastering what you already have.