🚀 3.2.1. Why Being Delusional is my Greatest Asset (Until It’s Not) ::: Atomic Scaling
Mar 28, 2025
As I wrap up a month in Singapore with Balaji and the NS crew—leading six Atomic Scaling workshops for both seasoned and first-time entrepreneurs—I was reminded of the #1 mistake most founders make: spending too much time building and not enough time selling.
Tech founders love the world of ideas. But success isn’t just about dreaming big—it’s about testing reality. In Atomic Scaling’s 3P3R blueprint, Prediction is as important as Production.
Gabe Newell, the gaming legend behind Valve, put it best: “The most important thing you can do is to get into an iteration cycle where you can measure the impact of your work, have a hypothesis about how making changes will affect those variables, and ship changes regularly. It doesn’t even matter that much what the content is."
So let’s cut through the noise. This week’s 3.2.1 is about balancing bold vision with brutal reality.
3 Ideas
I. Live in the Idea World
Big bets require belief. Every disruptive founder starts with a vision that seems impossible. The trick? Knowing when to double down and when to pivot. If you’re not pushing boundaries, you’re playing too small.
II. Reality Check: Hypothesis vs. Measurement
Your idea is only as good as its execution. The smartest founders aren’t just visionaries; they’re experimenters. Test decisions against real-world feedback. The faster you iterate, the closer you get to product-market fit.
III. Measurement: The Hardest Part of Prediction
Most entrepreneurs struggle with one thing: knowing what actually moves the needle. Selling > building. If you’re not constantly adjusting based on measurable results, you’re just guessing. Real traction comes from the ability to quickly correct course.
2 Quotes
"It’s the iteration of hypothesis, changes, and measurement that will make you better at a faster rate than anything else we have seen.” - Gabe Newell, Founder of Valve
“It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.” - George Soros, Founder of Quantum Fund
1 Action
If you had to prove—right now—that your idea works, what’s the simplest way to do it? This week, test your biggest assumption with real customers. Don’t wait for perfection. Measure, iterate, and measure again.
Keep scaling,
Ludovic Bodin
Entrepreneur, Investor, Author of Atomic Scaling
P.S. If you’re looking to start and scale your company with intention, you can grab my book on Amazon, and if you’re interested in the audiobook, let me know—we’re working on it!
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
“Atomic Scaling offers actionable insights by using real-world case studies to drive your business’s impact and profitability. For anyone interested in scaling out their team’s impact and not their size, this is a must.”
—Matt Stonkus, Senior Data Analyst at Phoenix Labs, formerly at Electronic Arts (EA) & Hootsuite
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