The 1 thing successful founders all do

After working with 80+ founders at the $0-1 stage, there’s a pattern I’ve noticed:
the ones who consistently make progress — and I mean meaningful progress on growing happy paying customers, not vanity metrics?

They know what their singular focus should be, and they keep it visible.

When you’re a new founder, there are a billion things that feel ‘important’.
But, once you have a clear go-to-market plan, you can identify one single focus.

Here’s an example of a singular focus: “10 research-sales calls to validate customer segment and positioning, success = 1+ paid conversion”.

This is a real example that empowered this founder to eliminate several items from their to-do list, and confidently prioritize their time on the right activities.

Next, you need to be able to consistently execute against that priority.
And, to do that you need a simple source-of-truth.

Not scattered across notes or Slack threads. Not buried in a pitch deck.
Just one clear tracker for how you’ll hit your next milestone.

Enter: Go-to-market (GTM) tracker

Don’t let the name intimidate you. This isn’t some complicated dashboard.
It’s a focused, living google doc (yes!) where you track:

• Your GTM summary — who it’s for, what you’re offering, what makes it better

• Your current focus — the one thing you’re prioritizing right now

• What you’re testing — and how you’re testing it

• What you’re doing — a short list of activities tied to your focus

• What you’re learning — wins, surprises, blockers, or ideas to revisit

This tracker is the newest tool I created for founders in the Founder-Led Marketing Club — and I wanted to share the core takeaway with you all here:

✅ Clarity compounds.
✅ Progress requires focus.
✅ You need a single source of truth to spot what's working and what’s not.

Here’s a pro tip: Inside the tracker, I also included an AI prompt to help founders generate a v1. I already tested this using a ‘finalized’ GTM plan for a founder, and I was very impressed with the results. AI can be a powerful tool to operationalize your GTM once you’ve thought through your fundamentals!

Here’s your action item for today: identify the single priority in your business that will help you hit that next major milestone, then build a simple tracker to stay focused on it. If you’re a FLMC member, check the #share-resources channel to access the GTM Tracker including the AI prompt to create yours today.

Does this idea of a singular focus in your business resonate? Hit reply and share your thoughts. I read and reply to every email I receive!

Rooting for you,
Sweta
CEO @ Happy Paying Customers

P.S. If you haven’t yet created a clear GTM plan, do that first. I recently launched the GTM Design Pack as a stand-alone product for founders who want to DIY it. It will help you clarify your customer segment, offer, positioning, and core GTM hypothesis so you can then have a singular focus to make meaningful progress this summer.

Oh, and the next 10 founders who use the GTM Design Pack will receive complimentary feedback from me on your GTM plan and focus area. Design your go-to-market today.