Too good to be true? Probably.

Look around, and it’s all quick fixes:

“Scale to 7-figures with this one strategy.”

“Follow me for the secret sauce to 10x your ROI.”

“Steal this template.” “Copy this hook.”

A new secret. A new system. A shiny fix.

Bought a few…maybe even sold some.

And if we’re being honest, when’s the last time someone said: “Thanks, I tried it, and just like that, it worked.”

Founders know how this actually goes.

The initial high. The “wait, this is harder than I thought” dip. The stretch of quiet, uncomfortable learning. The painful almost…then, slowly…

…traction.

That’s the real curve. It’s messy. It’s not viral. It’s not efficient. It doesn’t fit in a case study.

Founders often sense the distance between hype and reality because the success curve is real:

About 90% of startups fail within five years (source: Exploding Topics, Wired, LLC.org).

75% of VC-backed startups don’t return capital to investors (source: DesignRush).

Most fail due to ~34% lacking product–market fit, ~23% offering no real differentiation, and ~16% running out of cash (source: Exploding Topics).

Which is another way of saying:

The discomfort never got dealt with. The market was unclear. The positioning stayed vague. The business kept avoiding the hard decisions.

It’s easy to forget that growth is earned, not packaged. That discomfort is part of the deal. That most breakthroughs happen after the novelty wears off, before anything works.

There’s nothing wrong with frameworks or inspiration. But when the brand starts tasting like everyone else’s “secret sauce”, it usually means something deeper is being avoided.

Reflections to work through:

What “fix” changed nothing?

What discomfort got misread as a problem?

What’s being avoided by chasing new ideas?

What would shift if the next move didn’t have to feel exciting?

Feeling that edge of discomfort? Might be worth a conversation.

Let’s talk.

Ian Adams, Founder the little red sofa

Before founding the little red sofa, I led strategy and creative for brands like Jeep, HSBC, and Unilever at top global agencies and in-house teams across 8 countries. Now I work with founders to turn discomfort into sustainable growth.