#361 - Imran Syed, CEO of Hatchproof on building companies through deep problem understanding, not solutions

This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey of finding purpose and transformation through failure. My guest is Imran Syed, CEO of Hatchproof.

After leading a high eight-figure exit at Instapage as COO, Imran witnessed how misalignment among leadership destroyed tens of millions in enterprise value during a failed product launch.

Instead of moving on, this failure became his obsession. He spent six months deeply researching why people stay at or leave organizations before founding Hatchproof, creating a company built around the belief that work should have purpose, meaning, and fulfillment.

And this inspired me, and hence I invited Imran to my podcast. We explore the counterintuitive approach of obsessing over problems rather than solutions, and why most entrepreneurs get this backward. Imran challenges conventional wisdom about scaling teams, explaining why the future belongs to smaller, tightly-aligned organizations rather than sprawling enterprises. His approach turns traditional metrics upside down, focusing on revenue per employee over headcount growth, and demonstrates how creating clear value frameworks enables sustainable business decisions.

Here is a quote that captures one of Imran's most striking business lessons:

"You have to have an obsession with the problem, not the solution. A lot of entrepreneurs are very anchored on their solution, and they struggle when the market tells them something different. If you obsess with the problem, you'll find the solution—it may not be the first one, but you'll eventually get to it."

By listening to this podcast you will learn:

How to distinguish between an "itch" and a "burning desire" when evaluating startup ideas

Why investing six months in problem research before building anything created Imran's foundation for success

How creating a simple four-value framework dramatically improves decision-making and prevents feature bloat

Why revenue per employee is becoming the critical metric for AI-era companies, replacing the traditional focus on headcount growth

For more information about the guest from this week:

Imran Syed

Website: hatchproof.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices