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Dalton + MichaelDalton + Michael

Process vs Chaos In Startups

In this episode of Dalton + Michael discuss their age old debate of how much process is too much vs too little. When you are designing a process are you creating art or manufacturing bolts? Dalton + Michael is brought to you by @Standard_Cap You can find Dalton Caldwell on X here: https://x.com/daltonc and Michael Seibel here: https://x.com/mwseibel

Michael SeibelhostDalton Caldwellhost
Oct 21, 202512mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

When startups need process, when chaos drives real innovation forward

  1. Good process is measurable, repeatable, and improves outcomes—like an assembly line producing consistently high-quality “bolts.”
  2. Bad process behaves like self-serving bureaucracy, expanding headcount and control while shrinking actual product output.
  3. Founders often reach for process when the same problem repeats or when fear/anxiety makes planning feel safer, even if it doesn’t improve results.
  4. Innovation and creative work often start with chaos and rule-bending, while operational work (legal, finance, reliability) benefits from disciplined “bolt-like” process.
  5. Startups must embrace risk and path-blazing rather than adopting big-company carefulness that prevents them from exploring disruptive opportunities.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Judge process by outcomes, not by how organized it looks.

A strong process produces consistently good results and gets better over time; “organized” bureaucracy can still generate worse output or slower execution.

Process should be treated skeptically because it naturally expands.

Without a devil’s advocate, procedures accumulate, more people are hired to maintain them, and the process can become the goal instead of the product.

Match the level of process to the work: bolts vs art.

Repeatable, measurable activities benefit from standardization; creative/innovative work resists optimization-by-checklist and can be damaged by “MBAification.”

Process is often an emotional coping tool, not a performance tool.

Fear and anxiety—especially when doing something new—push teams toward planning and procedure for comfort, even when it doesn’t improve output.

Pick a few areas to innovate; don’t try to be “creative” everywhere.

Founders should decide where differentiation truly matters and spend “innovation points” there, while running the rest with reliable, bolt-like practices.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

You can end up where the process becomes this big, and the actual product is this big.

— Dalton Caldwell

A lot of process comes from people being afraid and anxious and wanting the comfort.

— Michael Seibel

If you were to ask me... the biggest innovations... they've all started with chaos.

— Michael Seibel

The more something looks like producing bolts, the more process works... the more it looks like producing art... the less you can.

— Dalton Caldwell

You are chopping down things... you're blazing the path... you represent the risk in the economy.

— Michael Seibel

Good process vs bad bureaucracyBolt factory metaphor for repeatabilityProcess as anxiety reductionChaos as source of innovationArt vs manufacturing continuumIterating and improving processInnovator’s dilemma and AI disruptionBig-company carefulness vs startup risk-taking

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