In this short but powerful Wisdom From Wizards episode, I sat down with Michael Hoy, cofounder and CEO of Atlas, to talk about a leadership principle that often gets overlooked in the chaos of scaling: the power of simplification.
As founders, we’re constantly flooded with new tools, ideas, metrics, and goals. But as Michael shares from his journey, the most valuable advice he received — and wishes he followed sooner — is this:
“As a CEO, your job is to simplify.”
Whether it’s simplifying pricing, packaging, or internal workflows, clarity drives speed. Michael highlights how even seasoned teams (especially those coming from large enterprises) can accidentally overcomplicate things. And when that happens, decision-making slows down, execution suffers, and customers get confused.
At Atlas, Michael and his team learned this lesson the hard way. But it’s become a core part of how they operate now: removing friction, trimming the fat, and making things easier for both customers and employees.
Why this matters for scaleup CEOs
If you’re leading a company from 50 to 500 employees, you’re likely seeing silos emerge, product sprawl take shape, and go-to-market motions grow heavier. Michael’s advice is timely:
Because at the pace you’re aiming for, complexity isn’t clever — it’s costly.
Wisdom From Wizards is brought to you by Caribou Strategic, where we help tech scaleups stand out and succeed.
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