If you ask most people how to build a massive company and be a present husband and father, you get one of two answers.
Neither is helpful. The first is defeatist. The second is the kind of vague advice that sounds wise but means absolutely nothing when you're in the trenches - 40 contractors, a growing pipeline, and you can't tell on any given Tuesday whether you're on the brink of something big or it's all about to fall apart.
This newsletter exists because I think there's a better answer. A practical one.
I believe you can build a $50 million company in 5 years while working 40 hours a week or less. This newsletter is my personal journal of sorts to see if I can.
But if I do, I believe it will be because of my constraints, not despite them.
Here's why: when you refuse to work 80-hour weeks, you're forced to learn leverage. You have to delegate. You have to build repeatable processes. You have to stop doing things that don't matter. And those are the exact skills that scale a company.
Hustle doesn't compound. Leverage does.
That's what a System Driven Founder is - someone who embraces the constraint and lets it shape how they build. Someone who designs their life and business with intentionality instead of hustling and burning their lives down.
I'm Aaron. I run FreedUp, an executive assistant and founder systems company. In 2020, a business I'd spent four years building collapsed. Those four years overlapped with my kids' first through sixth birthdays - years I spent stressing about work instead of being present. Then it all fell apart anyway.
So I rebuilt. But this time, I decided to design it instead of letting it design me.
Last year, in it’s first full year of ops, the business did $885,000. Based on current MRR, we’re on track to double in 2026.
No U.S. employees. Bootstrapped. Healthy margins. And I'm home by 5.
Not sure if I'll get to a $50M valuation by 2030. But I know that the systems I'm building to try will make me a better founder, husband, and father along the way - and that's not a bad floor.
Every Friday, one tactical system, tool, or strategy you can actually use. No fluff. No "just find balance." We go deep on the boring stuff that actually works:
There's no silver bullet in any of it. Just diligence, consistency, and small iterations that compound over time.
You're a steward, not a miracle worker. Cast massive vision. Enjoy the process. Be diligent and faithful today. And let the compounding do its thing.
If you're new, welcome. If you've been here a while, thanks for sticking around.
Let's build.