Article · ~12 min read

The 6 Decision-Making Frameworks That Help Startup Leaders Tackle Tough Calls

First Round Review (featuring Elliot Shmukler) · First Round Review Free Beginner

When two cofounders disagree on how big the market is, the fastest way out is to stop arguing opinions and turn the disagreement into a test. Elliot Shmukler's framework here does exactly that: instead of one of you overruling the other, you write down what each side believes, design a cheap experiment, and let the data settle it. That reframes a market-size fight from who is more persuasive into what is actually true, which is the only version of the argument worth having.

• A disagreement is usually two different assumptions about reality, so name each side's assumption before you debate the conclusion.
• Replace the verdict from whoever is more senior with a small experiment, then let the result decide, which keeps both cofounders bought in.
• This is one of six framings in the piece, so you also pick up other lenses (reversible vs irreversible calls) for the decisions you cannot test.