For founders running $1M+ businesses
If you turned off your phone for 24 hours, what would break first?
If your answer is “everything,” you don’t have a business - you have a dependency problem.
Step Back is a 6-week Founder OS install that moves decisions off your desk and onto your team. By Week 6, you take a real Friday off. No Slack, no fires, no emergencies.
For founders running $1M+ businesses
If you turned off your phone for 24 hours, what would break first?
If your answer is “everything,” you don’t have a business - you have a dependency problem.
Step Back is a 6-week Founder OS install that moves decisions off your desk and onto your team. By Week 6, you take a real Friday off. No Slack, no fires, no emergencies.
A note from Anthony,
before you read on
Look.
If you're reading this, I already know a few things about your week.
It's likely 9pm. You're not at your desk. You're on your phone. A Slack pinged about an invoice, or a client escalation, or a hire that fell through, and you opened it because you couldn't help it. Tomorrow your calendar is back-to-back. Friday you'll tell yourself you'll switch off. You won't.
You built something real. A $1M+ B2B services business. Maybe a decade of grinding to get there. You're already the best in your field at what you do, which is exactly why the business exists. You don't have a marketing problem. You don't have a delivery problem. You have a you problem.
Specifically: every decision still goes through your head. Every fire still comes to your desk. Every hire is your judgement call. Every escalation is your weekend.
You're not the founder of this business anymore.
You're the operating system.
And you can feel it. You felt the ceiling at $1M. You crashed through it on willpower. You've been climbing on willpower ever since, and you can already see, you don't have another $2M of willpower in you. Not without losing the thing the business was supposed to give you back.
I've worked with founders like you for a decade.
Almost none of them got stuck because they were bad operators. The opposite. They got stuck because they were good operators. The thing that built the business, being the best decision-maker in the room, became the thing that capped it.
Here's the pattern I've watched on repeat.
Founder builds to $1M on hustle. Crosses $2M and starts hiring. Operations manager, account leads, project managers. On paper, the business is no longer a one-person show. In reality, every decision still flows through the founder's calendar, just dressed up as a meeting now. The team can't move on anything without a sign-off. The founder is in more meetings than ever, working the same hours, but now also paying $400K in salary for the privilege.
Sound familiar?
That's the trap. And it doesn't go away by itself. It gets worse the more you scale, because every new hire adds a new approval queue to your inbox.
So most founders try to fix it. And almost everything they try fails. Not because the methods are bad, but because they're solving the wrong problem.
You hire a COO. They show up, brilliant CV, immediately start running 1:1s with your team. Within three months, you notice something. Every meeting still ends at your desk. The COO has just become a more expensive version of the bottleneck. They prepare the decision, you still make it.
You install EOS. Or Traction. Or Scaling Up. Smart frameworks. Built for companies, not for founders. They assume you've already extracted yourself from daily decisions. You haven't. Three months in, the framework drifts. You blame the framework. The actual problem, that you're still the operating system, never got fixed.
You read Dan Martell's Buy Back Your Time. The math is correct. You calculate your effective hourly rate. It's $500. You realise you're spending six hours a week on $50 work. You promise yourself you'll delegate. You don't. Not because you're undisciplined. Because the system to delegate into doesn't exist.
You take the Founder Bottleneck Calculator on this site. You find out you're bleeding 12 hours a week. You print the report. You file it. Nothing changes.
This isn't a knowledge problem. You already know what's wrong. This is an architecture problem. The decisions don't have anywhere to go.
Here's the actual broken thing.
Delegation isn't a verb. It's a system. And nobody, not the consultants, not the books, not the frameworks, gives you the system. They give you principles. Principles don't survive Tuesday morning at a $1M+ business.
A delegated decision needs three things baked in, or it boomerangs back to you within 14 days. Owner: a named human, not "the team." Authority: Recommend, Inform, or Decide. Explicit. Trigger: the one specific testable condition that brings it back to your desk.
All three present, the decision stays moved. Miss any one, the decision comes back. That's the maths. There is no version of delegating that survives if you don't install all three on every recurring decision that hits your desk.
That's what nobody is teaching you. That's what no framework is installing for you. That's the gap.
So I built Step Back.
Six weeks. Three phases. One installed artefact every week. Not coaching. Not theory. Not another framework you adopt. A system you install on your business, with your team in the room, that ends with you taking a real Friday off in Week 6 and nothing breaking.
That's the proof. We call it the Vacation Test. 24 hours offline. No Slack. No check-ins. No quiet "let me just answer this one." If something breaks, the system didn't land. If nothing breaks, you have a Mountain 2 business.
The page below shows you exactly how it works. The six weeks. The bonuses. The guarantees. The math. The people in the room. The price. The cohort cap. Read it carefully if you want the architecture. Skim it if you just want the headline.
But before any of that, ask yourself the question I ask every founder on a diagnostic call.
If you turned off your phone for 24 hours, what would break first?
If you turned off your phone for 24 hours, what would break first?
If the honest answer is everything, keep reading. This page is for you.
If the honest answer is nothing, I'm glad. You don't need Step Back. Forward this page to a founder friend who does.
- Anthony
The Step Back Program
8 weeks
One artefact shipped per week. Operating system installed.
10 founders
Per cohort. You bring two of your senior team with you.
8+hours/week
The methodology is built to recover this much per founder by Week 6.
8 weeks
One artefact shipped per week. Operating system installed.
10 founders
Per cohort. You bring two of your senior team with you.
8+hours/week
The methodology is built to recover this much per founder by Week 6.
Where you are
You climbed Mountain 1.
Mountain 2 is different.
You built a $1M+ service firm. You ground it out over a decade. You're already leading in your field. And you're still the bottleneck. Every decision runs through you. Every day is reactive. You are, functionally, the highest-paid employee in a business you own. That's Mountain 1. The one you climbed. Mountain 2 rewards architecture. It punishes hustle. It requires a new operating system - one where the business runs through the team, not through you.
Mountain 1 · Hustle
The mountain you climbed.
You got here by running through walls. Every time something broke, you fixed it. Every time a client needed something, you delivered. You became the business. It worked - and now it's the ceiling.
Every decision runs through you
Your calendar is other people's emergencies
You can't take a real Friday off
Growth means more hours, not better leverage
You are the highest-paid employee you own
Mountain 2 · Architecture
The mountain worth climbing next.
Different terrain. Different rules. Mountain 2 rewards the founder who designs the system, not the one who carries it. Revenue compounds on operating leverage, not on your calendar.
Recurring decisions live with named owners
The weekly rhythm runs without you
Leading indicators flag problems before revenue moves
Your team carries the operating cadence
You lead direction, not daily delivery
Step Back installs the Mountain 2 operating system. In six weeks. On your business.
Where you are
You climbed Mountain 1.
Mountain 2 is different.
You built a $1M+ service firm. You ground it out over a decade. You're already leading in your field. And you're still the bottleneck. Every decision runs through you. Every day is reactive. You are, functionally, the highest-paid employee in a business you own. That's Mountain 1. The one you climbed. Mountain 2 rewards architecture. It punishes hustle. It requires a new operating system - one where the business runs through the team, not through you.
Mountain 1 · Hustle
The mountain you climbed.
You got here by running through walls. Every time something broke, you fixed it. Every time a client needed something, you delivered. You became the business. It worked - and now it's the ceiling.
Every decision runs through you
Your calendar is other people's emergencies
You can't take a real Friday off
Growth means more hours, not better leverage
You are the highest-paid employee you own
Mountain 2 · Architecture
The mountain worth climbing next.
Different terrain. Different rules. Mountain 2 rewards the founder who designs the system, not the one who carries it. Revenue compounds on operating leverage, not on your calendar.
Recurring decisions live with named owners
The weekly rhythm runs without you
Leading indicators flag problems before revenue moves
Your team carries the operating cadence
You lead direction, not daily delivery
Step Back installs the Mountain 2 operating system. In six weeks. On your business.
The Problem
Three signs you're the bottleneck.
If you're running a $1M+ business, you'll recognise at least one of these in your week. They stack. Each one builds on the one above. Holidays don't fix the third. More meetings don't fix the second. You have to work top-down.
Sign 1
Making decisions.
Everything runs through you. Every pricing call. Every hire. Every escalation. You're triaging 12 Slacks before breakfast and you haven't even started your real work.
Sign 2
Fighting fires
You spend your day reacting. By the time a problem reaches you, it's already red. Never amber. Never early. Your calendar is just other people's emergencies.
Sign 3
Missing life
You can't take a week off. You can't take a proper Friday off. Because the business stops when you stop.
The Problem
Three signs you're the bottleneck.
If you're running a $1M+ business, you'll recognise at least one of these in your week. They stack. Each one builds on the one above. Holidays don't fix the third. More meetings don't fix the second. You have to work top-down.
Sign 1
Making decisions.
Everything runs through you. Every pricing call. Every hire. Every escalation. You're triaging 12 Slacks before breakfast and you haven't even started your real work.
Sign 2
Fighting fires
You spend your day reacting. By the time a problem reaches you, it's already red. Never amber. Never early. Your calendar is just other people's emergencies.
Sign 3
Missing life
You can't take a week off. You can't take a proper Friday off. Because the business stops when you stop.
The proof
The Vacation Test.
The first mountain was revenue. Zero to $1M+. The hustle. The second mountain is freedom. Founder-led to founder-free. Mountain 1 rewards hustle. Mountain 2 punishes it. Different skills, different habits, different architecture.
Week 6: You take one full day off.
No Slack. No calls. No "just answer this one thing." 24 hours of real absence. When you come back, you score it 0-10 and document what broke.
Anything 8 or above and you've passed. That's the deliverable. Most founders score 4-6 before Step Back. By Week 6 they score 8-10. That's not a vibe shift. That's evidence.
The proof
The Vacation Test.
The first mountain was revenue. Zero to $1M+. The hustle. The second mountain is freedom. Founder-led to founder-free. Mountain 1 rewards hustle. Mountain 2 punishes it. Different skills, different habits, different architecture.
Week 6: You take one full day off.
No Slack. No calls. No "just answer this one thing." 24 hours of real absence. When you come back, you score it 0-10 and document what broke.
Anything 8 or above and you've passed. That's the deliverable. Most founders score 4-6 before Step Back. By Week 6 they score 8-10. That's not a vibe shift. That's evidence.
How it works
6 weeks. 3 phases. One artefact a week.
Each week ships one tangible thing. Each artefact stacks on the last. By Week 6 you have a complete, pressure-tested operating system running without you. You don't do it alone: you bring two of your senior team into the cohort so the handoffs actually land.
Get Free · Decisions
Get Clear · Scorecard & Rhythm
Get Out · Dashboard & System Lock
Week 1
Map
Decisions
The Decision Map. 20-30 recurring decisions mapped, top 5 identified
by cost.
Week 2
Assign Ownership
5 Decision Rights Sheets. Owner + Authority + Trigger on each. Handoffs run.
Week 3
Build
Scorecard
Founder Scorecard. 3-5 leading indicators per function with thresholds.
Week 4
Install
Rhythm
First weekly team debrief. 30 min. Numbers → Stuck → Next. No you.
Week 5
Design
Dashboard
CEO Dashboard v1. One page, 8-10 metrics, updated by your team.
Week 5
Lock
System
System Lock Checklist. Vacation Test taken. Boardroom Roadmap delivered.
How it works
6 weeks. 3 phases. One artefact a week.
Each week ships one tangible thing. Each artefact stacks on the last. By Week 6 you have a complete, pressure-tested operating system running without you. You don't do it alone: you bring two of your senior team into the cohort so the handoffs actually land.
Get Free · Decisions
Week 1
Map Decisions
The Decision Map. 20-30 recurring decisions mapped, top 5 identified
by cost.
Week 2
Assign Ownership
5 Decision Rights Sheets. Owner + Authority + Trigger on each. Handoffs run.
Get Clear · Scorecard & Rhythm
Week 3
Build Scorecard
Founder Scorecard. 3-5 leading indicators per function with thresholds.
Week 4
Install Rhythm
First weekly team debrief. 30 min. Numbers → Stuck → Next. No you.
Get Out · Dashboard & System Lock
Week 5
Design Dashboard
CEO Dashboard v1. One page, 8-10 metrics, updated by your team.
Week 5
Lock System
System Lock Checklist. Vacation Test taken. Boardroom Roadmap delivered.
The Format
Three hours a week. Max.
Less than the time you're currently losing to fires.
Tuesdays ·
60 min
Group Call. Numbers → Teach → Hot-seat → Assignment. Same time every week. Never moves. You + your two team members.
Thursdays · 30 min
Pod Call. Paired with another founder. What moved? What's stuck? Accountability without nagging.
3 × 1:1s
Private sessions with Anthony. Week 1 diagnostic. Week 4 checkpoint. Week 6 Boardroom Roadmap delivery.
All 6 weeks
Private WhatsApp line. Voice-memo me anytime in business hours. Same-day reply. The closest thing to having me embedded.
Post-program
90-Day Lock-In. Three monthly 1:1s after Week 6. Days 30, 60, 90. Keeps the system locked when you get busy.
The Format
Three hours a week. Max.
Less than the time you're currently losing to fires.
Tuesdays ·
60 min
Group Call. Numbers → Teach → Hot-seat → Assignment. Same time every week. Never moves. You + your two team members.
Thursdays · 30 min
Pod Call. Paired with another founder. What moved? What's stuck? Accountability without nagging.
3 × 1:1s
Private sessions with Anthony. Week 1 diagnostic. Week 4 checkpoint. Week 6 Boardroom Roadmap delivery.
All 6 weeks
Private WhatsApp line. Voice-memo me anytime in business hours. Same-day reply. The closest thing to having me embedded.
Post-program
90-Day Lock-In. Three monthly 1:1s after Week 6. Days 30, 60, 90. Keeps the system locked when you get busy.
Fit check
Who this is for
This is for you if…
You're running a $1M+ business and you're still the bottleneck.
You have a senior team (even just two people) that you'd trust if you knew how to set them up.
You've tried delegating before and it boomeranged.
You've tried EOS, Scaling Up, or Traction and nothing stuck.
You can't remember the last week you didn't check Slack.
You're a humble high-performer: you know what you're great at, and what you don't know.
This isn't for you if…
You're under $1M and need revenue, not architecture (Mountain 1 problem).
You're a solo operator with no team to move decisions to.
You don't have two team members you can include in the cohort.
You're an arrogant know-it-all who won't take advice (even when you've paid for it).
You like being needed and don't actually want to step back.
Fit check
Who this is for.
This is for you if…
You're running a $1M+ business and you're still the bottleneck.
You have a senior team (even just two people) that you'd trust if you knew how to set them up.
You've tried delegating before and it boomeranged.
You've tried EOS, Scaling Up, or Traction and nothing stuck.
You can't remember the last week you didn't check Slack.
You're a humble high-performer: you know what you're great at, and what you don't know.
This isn't for you if…
You're under $1M and need revenue, not architecture (Mountain 1 problem).
You're a solo operator with no team to move decisions to.
You don't have two team members you can include in the cohort.
You're an arrogant know-it-all who won't take advice (even when you've paid for it).
You like being needed and don't actually want to step back.
the promise
Pass the Vacation Test in 6 weeks. One full day off. Nothing breaks. Or I keep working with you 1:1 until it doesn't.
First · Weeks 1-2
At least one recurring decision stops landing on your desk.
NEXT · Weeks 3-4
Your team surfaces an amber issue before it hits you as a fire.
THEN · Weeks 5-6
One full day off. Nothing critical breaks. Vacation Test passed.
the promise
Pass the Vacation Test in 6 weeks. One full day off. Nothing breaks. Or I keep working with you 1:1 until it doesn't.
First · Weeks 1-2
At least one recurring decision stops landing on your desk.
NEXT · Weeks 3-4
Your team surfaces an amber issue before it hits you as a fire.
THEN · Weeks 5-6
One full day off. Nothing critical breaks. Vacation Test passed.
THE TRIPLE LOCK
Most coaches ask you to carry the risk.
I don't.
Ship the six weekly artefacts. Attend your three 1:1s. Show up to at least four of six group calls. If you don't pass the Vacation Test by Week 6, three locks protect you simultaneously.
Lock 1 · REFUND
Full refund,
no friction.
I refund every dollar of your $3,000 inside 7 days. No paperwork. No awkward exit calls. No claw-back on bonuses you've already used.
Lock 2 · Keep Working
I keep working
with you.
Your refund doesn't end the engagement. I continue 1:1 at no cost until you pass the Vacation Test. However long it takes.
Lock 2 · Keep EVERYTHING
You keep
everything.
Every template, every script, every dashboard, every recording stays yours. Decision Rights Sheets. Scorecards. Dashboards. Conversation library. All of it.
You'd walk out of this program in a better financial position than a founder who never applied.
That's the bar.
THE TRIPLE LOCK
Most coaches ask you to carry the risk.
I don't.
Ship the six weekly artefacts. Attend your three 1:1s. Show up to at least four of six group calls. If you don't pass the Vacation Test by Week 6, three locks protect you simultaneously.
Lock 1 · REFUND
Full refund, no friction.
I refund every dollar of your $3,000 inside 7 days. No paperwork. No awkward exit calls. No claw-back on bonuses you've already used.
Lock 2 · Keep Working
I keep working with you.
Your refund doesn't end the engagement. I continue 1:1 at no cost until you pass the Vacation Test. However long it takes.
Lock 2 · Keep EVERYTHING
You keep everything.
Every template, every script, every dashboard, every recording stays yours. Decision Rights Sheets. Scorecards. Dashboards. Conversation library. All of it.
You'd walk out of this program in a better financial position than a founder who never applied.
That's the bar.
The Step Back Program
The BONUSES
Seven bonuses included.
One more for fast action.
Every bonus maps to the promise: faster wins, less effort, less risk, more access.
1
Two Team Seats Included
Bring up to two senior team members (your COO, 2IC, or department heads) to every group call and into the cohort. The handoffs literally require team buy-in. This is the difference between the system landing and the system being theatre.
$5,000 value
2
Private WhatsApp Line to Anthony
Direct line for the full 6 weeks, business hours. Voice memo, same-day reply. The closest thing to having me embedded.
$2,500 value
3
90-Day Post-Program System Lock-In
Three monthly 1:1s after Week 6 (days 30, 60, 90) to keep the system locked and catch drift early.
$3,000 value
4
Your Personal Boardroom Roadmap
In your Week 6 1:1 I personally build you a custom 12-month plan based on your 8-Constraint Scorecard. Your exact next two sprints.
$2,500 value
5
Done-For-You System Pack
Notion + Google Sheets templates pre-built: Decision Rights Sheets, Founder Scorecard, Weekly Rhythm agenda, CEO Dashboard v1. Drop in your numbers and ship.
$997 value
6
Handoff Conversation Library
Verbatim scripts for the five hardest handoffs (pricing, hiring, escalations, refunds, scope changes), plus recorded role-plays.
$497 value
7
Founder Decision Calculator
5-minute pre-program diagnostic. You arrive at Kickoff with your top 5 decisions already named and scored.
$497 value
Included
60-Minute Pre-Kickoff Decision Architecture Audit with Anthony
Before Week 1 starts, we hop on a private 60-minute call. I review your Decision Calculator, audit where your week is bleeding, and tell you the exact decision to move first. Worth the program fee on its own.
$1,500 value
The BONUSES
Seven bonuses included. One more for fast action.
Every bonus maps to the promise: faster wins, less effort, less risk, more access.
1
Two Team Seats Included
Bring up to two senior team members (your COO, 2IC, or department heads) to every group call and into the cohort. The handoffs literally require team buy-in. This is the difference between the system landing and the system being theatre.
$5,000 value
2
Private WhatsApp Line to Anthony
Direct line for the full 6 weeks, business hours. Voice memo, same-day reply. The closest thing to having me embedded.
$2,500 value
3
90-Day Post-Program System Lock-In
Three monthly 1:1s after Week 6 (days 30, 60, 90) to keep the system locked and catch drift early.
$3,000 value
4
Your Personal Boardroom Roadmap
In your Week 6 1:1 I personally build you a custom 12-month plan based on your 8-Constraint Scorecard. Your exact next two sprints.
$2,500 value
5
Done-For-You System Pack
Notion + Google Sheets templates pre-built: Decision Rights Sheets, Founder Scorecard, Weekly Rhythm agenda, CEO Dashboard v1. Drop in your numbers and ship.
$997 value
6
Handoff Conversation Library
Verbatim scripts for the five hardest handoffs (pricing, hiring, escalations, refunds, scope changes), plus recorded role-plays.
$497 value
7
Founder Decision Calculator
5-minute pre-program diagnostic. You arrive at Kickoff with your top 5 decisions already named and scored.
$497 value
Included
60-Minute Pre-Kickoff Decision Architecture Audit with Anthony
Before Week 1 starts, we hop on a private 60-minute call. I review your Decision Calculator, audit where your week is bleeding, and tell you the exact decision to move first. Worth the program fee on its own.
$1,500 value
the cost of inaction
You’re already paying for this program every week.
You just aren’t getting the operating system.
The Bottleneck Tax
If your time is worth $500/hour and you spend just 10 hours a week fighting fires and making decisions your team should own, your Bottleneck Tax is $5,000 every single week.
That’s $20,000 a month in lost leverage. Every month you stay where you are, the business pays that tax. The program costs $3,000 once. The tax costs $20,000 a month, forever - until you fix the architecture.
Staying where you are
$20,000/month
in bottleneck tax (ongoing)
step back investment
$3,000 once
paid back within 60 days by design
the cost of inaction
You’re already paying for this program every week.
You just aren’t getting the operating system.
The Bottleneck Tax
If your time is worth $500/hour and you spend just 10 hours a week fighting fires and making decisions your team should own, your Bottleneck Tax is $5,000 every single week.
That’s $20,000 a month in lost leverage. Every month you stay where you are, the business pays that tax. The program costs $3,000 once. The tax costs $20,000 a month, forever - until you fix the architecture.
Staying where you are
$20,000/month
in bottleneck tax (ongoing)
step back investment
$3,000 once
paid back within 60 days by design
the investment
$3,000. Paid back within 60 days by design.
Less than half the monthly fully-loaded cost of a junior project manager. The difference is, this investment makes you money. One pricing call moved off your desk per week, valued at your real hourly rate, pays the program back inside 30 days.
recommended
OPTION A
Pay In Full
$3,000
One payment.
Everything unlocked immediately.
OPTION B
Weekly Plan
$600
6 weekly payments of $600 = $3,600 total. Easier on cash flow.
What you get for $3,000
The Step Back Program (6 weeks, 3 phases, all artefacts, 3 × 1:1s)
$7,500
Bonus 1 - Two Team Seats Included
$5,000
Bonus 2 - WhatsApp Access to Anthony
$2,500
Bonus 3 - 90-Day Post-Program Lock-In (3 × 1:1s)
$3,000
Bonus 4 - Personal Boardroom Roadmap
$2,500
Bonus 5 - Done-For-You System Pack
$997
Bonus 6 - Handoff Conversation Library
$497
Bonus 7 - Founder Decision Calculator
$497
Fast-Action - 60-min Pre-Kickoff Audit (first 5 only)
$1,500
Total stack value
$20,991
Your investment today
$3,000
the investment
$3,000. Paid back within 60 days by design.
Less than half the monthly fully-loaded cost of a junior project manager. The difference is, this investment makes you money. One pricing call moved off your desk per week, valued at your real hourly rate, pays the program back inside 30 days.
recommended
OPTION A
Pay In Full
$3,000
One payment.
Everything unlocked immediately.
OPTION B
Weekly Plan
$600 upfront
6 weekly payments of $600 = $3,600 total. Easier on cash flow.
What you get for $3,000
The Step Back Program (6 weeks, 3 phases, all artefacts, 3 × 1:1s)
$7,500
Bonus 1 - Two Team Seats Included
$5,000
Bonus 2 - WhatsApp Access to Anthony
$2,500
Bonus 3 - 90-Day Post-Program Lock-In
$3,000
Bonus 4 - Personal Boardroom Roadmap
$2,500
Bonus 5 - Done-For-You System Pack
$997
Bonus 6 - Handoff Conversation Library
$497
Bonus 7 - Founder Decision Calculator
$497
Fast-Action - 60-min Pre-Kickoff Audit (first 5 only)
$1,500
Total stack value
$20,991
Your investment today
$3,000
why now
We run this tight. On purpose.
10 founders per cohort
Hard cap. With team members in the room, the group is intentionally small so every founder gets heard.
Why applications close Friday at 5 PM
This isn’t fake scarcity. Week 1 requires you and your two senior team members to complete the Founder Decision Calculator before Tuesday’s Kickoff. Applications close Friday so you have the weekend to complete the diagnostic and arrive ready to ship your first artefact on Day 1.
Pre-Kickoff Audit included
Every founding-cohort applicant gets a 60-minute private audit with Anthony before Week 1, so you arrive with your first decision already named.
Pricing locks for two cohorts
$3,000 holds for this cohort and the next. Cohort 3 onwards moves to $9,997.
why now
We run this tight. On purpose.
10 founders per cohort
Hard cap. With team members in the room, the group is intentionally small so every founder gets heard.
Why applications close Friday at 5 PM
This isn’t fake scarcity. Week 1 requires you and your two senior team members to complete the Founder Decision Calculator before Tuesday’s Kickoff. Applications close Friday so you have the weekend to complete the diagnostic and arrive ready to ship your first artefact on Day 1.
Pre-Kickoff Audit included
Every founding-cohort applicant gets a 60-minute private audit with Anthony before Week 1, so you arrive with your first decision already named.
Pricing locks for two cohorts
$3,000 holds for this cohort and the next. Cohort 3 onwards moves to $9,997.
Why Step Back Is Different
EOS and Traction didn’t stick. Here’s why.
If you’ve tried a framework before and it drifted after three months, this is almost certainly why.
EOS / Traction / Scaling Up
Built for the company. You force your business into their template. Works in broad strokes, gets generic fast. Requires the founder to already be out of the way - which is exactly the problem you haven’t solved yet.
Result: the framework installs, the founder stays the bottleneck, the system drifts within 90 days.
step back
Built for the founder. Step Back is the 6-week surgical intervention that extracts you from the daily operations first - so that any broader framework you install afterwards can actually survive contact with reality.
Your decision architecture, your scorecards, your rhythm - all bespoke to how your business actually runs. The structure is rigorous. The specifics are yours.
Why Step Back Is Different
EOS and Traction didn’t stick. Here’s why.
If you’ve tried a framework before and it drifted after three months, this is almost certainly why.
EOS / Traction / Scaling Up
Built for the company. You force your business into their template. Works in broad strokes, gets generic fast. Requires the founder to already be out of the way - which is exactly the problem you haven’t solved yet.
Result: the framework installs, the founder stays the bottleneck, the system drifts within 90 days.
step back
Built for the founder. Step Back is the 6-week surgical intervention that extracts you from the daily operations first - so that any broader framework you install afterwards can actually survive contact with reality.
Your decision architecture, your scorecards, your rhythm - all bespoke to how your business actually runs. The structure is rigorous. The specifics are yours.
questions
Frequently asked.
$3,000 - what I'm actually paying for?
You're paying for an installed Founder Operating System: decision architecture, scorecards, weekly rhythm, CEO dashboard, and a system lock. All running without you by Week 6. Plus three months of follow-on 1:1s to keep it locked.
At $1M+ revenue, one pricing call moved off your desk per week is worth more than the weekly payment, multiple times over. That's the math case. The goal we set for ourselves is to make Step Back effectively free within the first 60 days.
I've tried delegating before and it didn't work. Why is this different?
Because delegation alone is theatre. The work moves; the decision doesn't. The person does the task, then asks you to approve the call. You've just added a meeting.
Step Back is decision architecture, not delegation. Every moved decision has three things: owner, authority level (Recommend / Inform / Decide), and an escalation trigger. Miss any one and the decision boomerangs. All three present and it stays moved. That's the fix most founders never get to.
Why do my team members have to come with me?
Because the handoffs literally don't land if your team isn't in the room. They watch you build the Decision Map. They're there when you assign Decision Rights. They own the Scorecard updates and the weekly rhythm.
By Week 6 they're running things because they helped design them. Two team seats are included. You can rotate them through the program if you want more people exposed.
How much time do I actually need each week?
Three hours max: one 60-minute group call, one 30-minute pod call, and roughly 90 minutes shipping the week's artefact.
That's less than the time you're currently losing to fires. And critically - this isn't extra work. It saves you and your team more time than it costs.
What if my team isn't ready?
They almost certainly are. They've just never been given the framework.
We move decisions at "Recommend" authority first - they prepare, you decide - and step them up to "Inform" then "Decide" as trust builds. By Week 6 you'll be surprised how much they've been carrying.
This sounds like EOS / Scaling Up / Traction. How is it different?
Those are operating systems designed as universal templates. You force your business into their OS. It works in broad strokes but gets generic fast.
Step Back builds the OS around your business. Your value engines, your decision architecture, your scorecards, your rhythm - all bespoke to how your business actually runs. The structure is rigorous; the specifics are yours.
If you've tried one of those frameworks and it drifted after three months, that's typically why. Too generic to create ownership.
What if I can't take a full day off in Week 6?
Then I keep working with you 1:1, at no extra cost, until you can. That's the action guarantee.
The Vacation Test is the proof point. I'm on the hook for it. So long as you've shipped the six artefacts and shown up to your 1:1s and at least four of six group calls, I stay on until you pass.
What if I don't like it?
Send me an email inside the first 30 days and I'll refund you in full. No claw-back, no hard feelings. The 30-day window covers Weeks 1, 2, 3, and most of 4 - more than enough time to know if the program is for you.
Is this coaching or consulting?
Both, in the right places. The frameworks, the artefacts, the templates, the scripts - those are structured, proven, and taught like a consulting engagement. The application to your specific situation - your team, your constraints, your decisions - is coached 1:1.
You're not getting a tick-box implementation. You're not getting pure Socratic questioning either. You're getting the methodology, applied to your business, with your team.
What happens after the 6 weeks?
You leave with a complete operating system AND 90 days of monthly 1:1s with me to keep it locked.
From there you can run it on your own, or step into The Boardroom (the 12-month install at scale, where the operating system matures and your business becomes acquirable). I'll talk you through both options in your Week 6 1:1. No pressure either way.
How responsive is the WhatsApp access really?
Same business day, every time. Mornings (AEST) are usually fastest.
I treat WhatsApp as a working channel, not a 24/7 hotline. Boundaries protect both of us. In return, you get more direct access than 99% of $50K coaches will give you.
Can I talk to past participants?
This is the founding cohort, so I'll be straight with you: we're building the library of case studies with you and the other nine founders.
That's why the pricing is locked at $3,000 for this cohort and the next - it rises to $9,997 from Cohort 3 because by then the case studies exist. If you want proof-of-concept from prior clients before committing, Cohort 3+ is the right entry point for you. If the framework's logic + the hybrid guarantee is enough for you right now, you get in at the founding price.
how to apply
Three steps. 48-hour turnaround.
If the fit is right, getting in is simple.
1
Submit the application
Short form. Takes 2 minutes. We're screening for fit, not credentials.
2
Review within 48 hours
I personally review every application. If you're a fit, I'll confirm your spot. If you're not, I'll tell you why and point you toward a better next step.
3
Book your Week 1 1:1
Once confirmed, you'll book your diagnostic call and we'll begin. Founding-cohort applicants also get a 60-minute Pre-Kickoff Audit with Anthony before Week 1.
Not ready to apply yet?
Take the Founder Bottleneck Calculator first. 5 minutes. You’ll see exactly which decisions are costing you the most hours - and whether Step Back is the right fit.
how to apply
Three steps. 48-hour turnaround.
If the fit is right, getting in is simple.
1
Submit the application
Short form. Takes 2 minutes. We're screening for fit, not credentials.
2
Review within 48 hours
I personally review every application. If you're a fit, I'll confirm your spot. If you're not, I'll tell you why and point you toward a better next step.
3
Book your Week 1 1:1
Once confirmed, you'll book your diagnostic call and we'll begin. Founding-cohort applicants also get a 60-minute Pre-Kickoff Audit with Anthony before Week 1.
Not ready to apply yet?
Take the Founder Bottleneck Calculator first. 5 minutes. You’ll see exactly which decisions are costing you the most hours - and whether Step Back is the right fit.
The decision
Here's the decision you're actually making.
You just aren’t getting the operating system.
You're not deciding whether to pay $3,000. With the Triple Lock, there's effectively no financial risk.
You're deciding whether to keep being the bottleneck - or to stop being the bottleneck. That's the whole decision.
One recurring decision moved off your desk per week, valued at your real hourly rate, pays this program back inside 30 days. By design.
Every week you stay where you are, the business pays the decision tax. Every fire costs you hours. Every hour costs you money you'll never see on a P&L. The program is architected to pay for itself before the founding-cohort window even closes.
Apply. I personally review every application inside 48 hours. If you're a fit, I'll confirm your spot. If you're not, I'll tell you why and point you somewhere better - no hard feelings, no hard sell.
Inside two weeks, you'll be on your diagnostic call with your two senior team members, naming the first recurring decision that's coming off your desk forever.
That's what $3,000 buys you. One decision, gone. Then five. Then a business that runs without you at the centre of it.
The decision
Here's the decision you're actually making.
You just aren’t getting the operating system.
You're not deciding whether to pay $3,000. With the Triple Lock, there's effectively no financial risk.
You're deciding whether to keep being the bottleneck - or to stop being the bottleneck. That's the whole decision.
One recurring decision moved off your desk per week, valued at your real hourly rate, pays this program back inside 30 days. By design.
Every week you stay where you are, the business pays the decision tax. Every fire costs you hours. Every hour costs you money you'll never see on a P&L. The program is architected to pay for itself before the founding-cohort window even closes.
Apply. I personally review every application inside 48 hours. If you're a fit, I'll confirm your spot. If you're not, I'll tell you why and point you somewhere better - no hard feelings, no hard sell.
Inside two weeks, you'll be on your diagnostic call with your two senior team members, naming the first recurring decision that's coming off your desk forever.
That's what $3,000 buys you. One decision, gone. Then five. Then a business that runs without you at the centre of it.
The decision
Here's the decision you're actually making
You just aren’t getting the operating system.
You're not deciding whether to pay $3,000. With the Triple Lock, there's effectively no financial risk.
You're deciding whether to keep being the bottleneck - or to stop being the bottleneck. That's the whole decision.
One recurring decision moved off your desk per week, valued at your real hourly rate, pays this program back inside 30 days. By design.
Every week you stay where you are, the business pays the decision tax. Every fire costs you hours. Every hour costs you money you'll never see on a P&L. The program is architected to pay for itself before the founding-cohort window even closes.
Apply. I personally review every application inside 48 hours. If you're a fit, I'll confirm your spot. If you're not, I'll tell you why and point you somewhere better - no hard feelings, no hard sell.
Inside two weeks, you'll be on your diagnostic call with your two senior team members, naming the first recurring decision that's coming off your desk forever.
That's what $3,000 buys you. One decision, gone. Then five. Then a business that runs without you at the centre of it.
one more thing
Stop being the person your business can't operate without.
That's not a compliment. That's a ceiling. The founders who built $1M+ on hustle are the same founders who burn out at $3M because hustle stopped scaling. Mountain 2 rewards architecture. Step Back installs it.
- Anthony
one more thing
Stop being the person your business can't operate without.
That's not a compliment. That's a ceiling. The founders who built $1M+ on hustle are the same founders who burn out at $3M because hustle stopped scaling. Mountain 2 rewards architecture. Step Back installs it.
- Anthony
If you turned off your phone for 24 hours, what would break first?
If your answer is “everything,” you don’t have a business - you have a dependency problem. Step Back is a 6-week Founder OS install that moves decisions off your desk and onto your team. By Week 6, you take a real Friday off. No Slack, no fires, no emergencies.
Look.
If you're reading this, I already know a few things about your week.
It's likely 9pm. You're not at your desk. You're on your phone. A Slack pinged about an invoice, or a client escalation, or a hire that fell through, and you opened it because you couldn't help it. Tomorrow your calendar is back-to-back. Friday you'll tell yourself you'll switch off. You won't.
You built something real. A $1M+ B2B services business. Maybe a decade of grinding to get there. You're already the best in your field at what you do, which is exactly why the business exists. You don't have a marketing problem. You don't have a delivery problem. You have a you problem.
Specifically: every decision still goes through your head. Every fire still comes to your desk. Every hire is your judgement call. Every escalation is your weekend.
You're not the founder of this business anymore. You're the operating system.
And you can feel it. You felt the ceiling at $1M. You crashed through it on willpower. You've been climbing on willpower ever since, and you can already see, you don't have another $2M of willpower in you. Not without losing the thing the business was supposed to give you back.
I've worked with founders like you for a decade.
Almost none of them got stuck because they were bad operators. The opposite. They got stuck because they were good operators. The thing that built the business, being the best decision-maker in the room, became the thing that capped it.
Here's the pattern I've watched on repeat.
Founder builds to $1M on hustle. Crosses $2M and starts hiring. Operations manager, account leads, project managers. On paper, the business is no longer a one-person show. In reality, every decision still flows through the founder's calendar, just dressed up as a meeting now. The team can't move on anything without a sign-off. The founder is in more meetings than ever, working the same hours, but now also paying $400K in salary for the privilege.
Sound familiar?
That's the trap. And it doesn't go away by itself. It gets worse the more you scale, because every new hire adds a new approval queue to your inbox.
So most founders try to fix it. And almost everything they try fails. Not because the methods are bad, but because they're solving the wrong problem.
You hire a COO. They show up, brilliant CV, immediately start running 1:1s with your team. Within three months, you notice something. Every meeting still ends at your desk. The COO has just become a more expensive version of the bottleneck. They prepare the decision, you still make it.
You install EOS. Or Traction. Or Scaling Up. Smart frameworks. Built for companies, not for founders. They assume you've already extracted yourself from daily decisions. You haven't. Three months in, the framework drifts. You blame the framework. The actual problem, that you're still the operating system, never got fixed.
You read Dan Martell's Buy Back Your Time. The math is correct. You calculate your effective hourly rate. It's $500. You realise you're spending six hours a week on $50 work. You promise yourself you'll delegate. You don't. Not because you're undisciplined. Because the system to delegate into doesn't exist.
You take the Founder Bottleneck Calculator on this site. You find out you're bleeding 12 hours a week. You print the report. You file it. Nothing changes.
This isn't a knowledge problem. You already know what's wrong. This is an architecture problem. The decisions don't have anywhere to go.
Here's the actual broken thing.
Delegation isn't a verb. It's a system. And nobody, not the consultants, not the books, not the frameworks, gives you the system. They give you principles. Principles don't survive Tuesday morning at a $1M+ business.
A delegated decision needs three things baked in, or it boomerangs back to you within 14 days. Owner: a named human, not "the team." Authority: Recommend, Inform, or Decide. Explicit. Trigger: the one specific testable condition that brings it back to your desk.
All three present, the decision stays moved. Miss any one, the decision comes back. That's the maths. There is no version of delegating that survives if you don't install all three on every recurring decision that hits your desk.
That's what nobody is teaching you. That's what no framework is installing for you. That's the gap.
So I built Step Back.
Six weeks. Three phases. One installed artefact every week. Not coaching. Not theory. Not another framework you adopt. A system you install on your business, with your team in the room, that ends with you taking a real Friday off in Week 6 and nothing breaking.
That's the proof. We call it the Vacation Test. 24 hours offline. No Slack. No check-ins. No quiet "let me just answer this one." If something breaks, the system didn't land. If nothing breaks, you have a Mountain 2 business.
The page below shows you exactly how it works. The six weeks. The bonuses. The guarantees. The math. The people in the room. The price. The cohort cap. Read it carefully if you want the architecture. Skim it if you just want the headline.
But before any of that, ask yourself the question I ask every founder on a diagnostic call.
If the honest answer is everything, keep reading. This page is for you.
If the honest answer is nothing, I'm glad. You don't need Step Back. Forward this page to a founder friend who does.
- Anthony
The Step Back Program
You climbed Mountain 1. Mountain 2 is different.
You built a $1M+ service firm. You ground it out over a decade. You're already leading in your field. And you're still the bottleneck. Every decision runs through you. Every day is reactive. You are, functionally, the highest-paid employee in a business you own. That's Mountain 1. The one you climbed. Mountain 2 rewards architecture. It punishes hustle. It requires a new operating system - one where the business runs through the team, not through you.
The mountain you climbed.
You got here by running through walls. Every time something broke, you fixed it. Every time a client needed something, you delivered. You became the business. It worked - and now it's the ceiling.
- Every decision runs through you
- Your calendar is other people's emergencies
- You can't take a real Friday off
- Growth means more hours, not better leverage
- You are the highest-paid employee you own
The mountain worth climbing next.
Different terrain. Different rules. Mountain 2 rewards the founder who designs the system, not the one who carries it. Revenue compounds on operating leverage, not on your calendar.
- Recurring decisions live with named owners
- The weekly rhythm runs without you
- Leading indicators flag problems before revenue moves
- Your team carries the operating cadence
- You lead direction, not daily delivery
Step Back installs the Mountain 2 operating system. In six weeks. On your business.
Three signs you're the bottleneck.
If you're running a $1M+ business, you'll recognise at least one of these in your week. They stack. Each one builds on the one above. Holidays don't fix the third. More meetings don't fix the second. You have to work top-down.
Making decisions.
Everything runs through you. Every pricing call. Every hire. Every escalation. You're triaging 12 Slacks before breakfast and you haven't even started your real work.
Fighting fires.
You spend your day reacting. By the time a problem reaches you, it's already red. Never amber. Never early. Your calendar is just other people's emergencies.
Missing life.
You can't take a week off. You can't take a proper Friday off. Because the business stops when you stop.
The Vacation Test.
The first mountain was revenue. Zero to $1M+. The hustle. The second mountain is freedom. Founder-led to founder-free. Mountain 1 rewards hustle. Mountain 2 punishes it. Different skills, different habits, different architecture.
Week 6: You take one full day off.
No Slack. No calls. No "just answer this one thing." 24 hours of real absence. When you come back, you score it 0-10 and document what broke.
Anything 8 or above and you've passed. That's the deliverable. Most founders score 4-6 before Step Back. By Week 6 they score 8-10. That's not a vibe shift. That's evidence.
6 weeks. 3 phases. One artefact a week.
Each week ships one tangible thing. Each artefact stacks on the last. By Week 6 you have a complete, pressure-tested operating system running without you. You don't do it alone: you bring two of your senior team into the cohort so the handoffs actually land.
Three hours a week. Max.
Less than the time you're currently losing to fires.
-
Tuesdays · 60 minGroup Call. Numbers → Teach → Hot-seat → Assignment. Same time every week. Never moves. You + your two team members.
-
Thursdays · 30 minPod Call. Paired with another founder. What moved? What's stuck? Accountability without nagging.
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3 × 1:1sPrivate sessions with Anthony. Week 1 diagnostic. Week 4 checkpoint. Week 6 Boardroom Roadmap delivery.
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All 6 weeksPrivate WhatsApp line. Voice-memo me anytime in business hours. Same-day reply. The closest thing to having me embedded.
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Post-program90-Day Lock-In. Three monthly 1:1s after Week 6. Days 30, 60, 90. Keeps the system locked when you get busy.
Who this is for.
This is for you if…
- You're running a $1M+ business and you're still the bottleneck.
- You have a senior team (even just two people) that you'd trust if you knew how to set them up.
- You've tried delegating before and it boomeranged.
- You've tried EOS, Scaling Up, or Traction and nothing stuck.
- You can't remember the last week you didn't check Slack.
- You're a humble high-performer: you know what you're great at, and what you don't know.
This isn't for you if…
- You're under $1M and need revenue, not architecture (Mountain 1 problem).
- You're a solo operator with no team to move decisions to.
- You don't have two team members you can include in the cohort.
- You're an arrogant know-it-all who won't take advice (even when you've paid for it).
- You like being needed and don't actually want to step back.
Pass the Vacation Test in 6 weeks. One full day off. Nothing breaks. Or I keep working with you 1:1 until it doesn't.
At least one recurring decision stops landing on your desk.
Your team surfaces an amber issue before it hits you as a fire.
One full day off. Nothing critical breaks. Vacation Test passed.
Most coaches ask you to carry the risk. I don't.
Ship the six weekly artefacts. Attend your three 1:1s. Show up to at least four of six group calls. If you don't pass the Vacation Test by Week 6, three locks protect you simultaneously.
Full refund, no friction.
I refund every dollar of your $3,000 inside 7 days. No paperwork. No awkward exit calls. No claw-back on bonuses you've already used.
I keep working with you.
Your refund doesn't end the engagement. I continue 1:1 at no cost until you pass the Vacation Test. However long it takes.
You keep everything.
Every template, every script, every dashboard, every recording stays yours. Decision Rights Sheets. Scorecards. Dashboards. Conversation library. All of it.
You'd walk out of this program in a better financial position than a founder who never applied. That's the bar.
Seven bonuses included. One more for fast action.
Every bonus maps to the promise: faster wins, less effort, less risk, more access.
Two Team Seats Included
Bring up to two senior team members (your COO, 2IC, or department heads) to every group call and into the cohort. The handoffs literally require team buy-in. This is the difference between the system landing and the system being theatre.
Private WhatsApp Line to Anthony
Direct line for the full 6 weeks, business hours. Voice memo, same-day reply. The closest thing to having me embedded.
90-Day Post-Program System Lock-In
Three monthly 1:1s after Week 6 (days 30, 60, 90) to keep the system locked and catch drift early.
Your Personal Boardroom Roadmap
In your Week 6 1:1 I personally build you a custom 12-month plan based on your 8-Constraint Scorecard. Your exact next two sprints.
Done-For-You System Pack
Notion + Google Sheets templates pre-built: Decision Rights Sheets, Founder Scorecard, Weekly Rhythm agenda, CEO Dashboard v1. Drop in your numbers and ship.
Handoff Conversation Library
Verbatim scripts for the five hardest handoffs (pricing, hiring, escalations, refunds, scope changes), plus recorded role-plays.
Founder Decision Calculator
5-minute pre-program diagnostic. You arrive at Kickoff with your top 5 decisions already named and scored.
60-Minute Pre-Kickoff Decision Architecture Audit with Anthony
Before Week 1 starts, we hop on a private 60-minute call. I review your Decision Calculator, audit where your week is bleeding, and tell you the exact decision to move first. Worth the program fee on its own.
You’re already paying for this program every week.
You just aren’t getting the operating system.
The Bottleneck Tax
If your time is worth $500/hour and you spend just 10 hours a week fighting fires and making decisions your team should own, your Bottleneck Tax is $5,000 every single week.
That’s $20,000 a month in lost leverage. Every month you stay where you are, the business pays that tax. The program costs $3,000 once. The tax costs $20,000 a month, forever - until you fix the architecture.
$3,000. Paid back within 60 days by design.
Less than half the monthly fully-loaded cost of a junior project manager. The difference is, this investment makes you money. One pricing call moved off your desk per week, valued at your real hourly rate, pays the program back inside 30 days.
One payment. Everything unlocked immediately.
6 weekly payments of $600 = $3,600 total. Easier on cash flow.
What you get for $3,000
- The Step Back Program (6 weeks, 3 phases, all artefacts, 3 × 1:1s)$7,500
- Bonus 1 - Two Team Seats Included$5,000
- Bonus 2 - WhatsApp Access to Anthony$2,500
- Bonus 3 - 90-Day Post-Program Lock-In (3 × 1:1s)$3,000
- Bonus 4 - Personal Boardroom Roadmap$2,500
- Bonus 5 - Done-For-You System Pack$997
- Bonus 6 - Handoff Conversation Library$497
- Bonus 7 - Founder Decision Calculator$497
- Fast-Action - 60-min Pre-Kickoff Audit (first 5 only)$1,500
- Total stack value$20,991
- Your investment today$3,000
We run this tight. On purpose.
10 founders per cohort
Hard cap. With team members in the room, the group is intentionally small so every founder gets heard.
Why applications close Friday at 5 PM
This isn’t fake scarcity. Week 1 requires you and your two senior team members to complete the Founder Decision Calculator before Tuesday’s Kickoff. Applications close Friday so you have the weekend to complete the diagnostic and arrive ready to ship your first artefact on Day 1.
Pre-Kickoff Audit included
Every founding-cohort applicant gets a 60-minute private audit with Anthony before Week 1, so you arrive with your first decision already named.
Pricing locks for two cohorts
$3,000 holds for this cohort and the next. Cohort 3 onwards moves to $9,997.
EOS and Traction didn’t stick. Here’s why.
If you’ve tried a framework before and it drifted after three months, this is almost certainly why.
EOS / Traction / Scaling Up
Built for the company. You force your business into their template. Works in broad strokes, gets generic fast. Requires the founder to already be out of the way - which is exactly the problem you haven’t solved yet.
Result: the framework installs, the founder stays the bottleneck, the system drifts within 90 days.
Step Back
Built for the founder. Step Back is the 6-week surgical intervention that extracts you from the daily operations first - so that any broader framework you install afterwards can actually survive contact with reality.
Your decision architecture, your scorecards, your rhythm - all bespoke to how your business actually runs. The structure is rigorous. The specifics are yours.
Frequently asked.
You're paying for an installed Founder Operating System: decision architecture, scorecards, weekly rhythm, CEO dashboard, and a system lock. All running without you by Week 6. Plus three months of follow-on 1:1s to keep it locked.
At $1M+ revenue, one pricing call moved off your desk per week is worth more than the weekly payment, multiple times over. That's the math case. The goal we set for ourselves is to make Step Back effectively free within the first 60 days.
Because delegation alone is theatre. The work moves; the decision doesn't. The person does the task, then asks you to approve the call. You've just added a meeting.
Step Back is decision architecture, not delegation. Every moved decision has three things: owner, authority level (Recommend / Inform / Decide), and an escalation trigger. Miss any one and the decision boomerangs. All three present and it stays moved. That's the fix most founders never get to.
Because the handoffs literally don't land if your team isn't in the room. They watch you build the Decision Map. They're there when you assign Decision Rights. They own the Scorecard updates and the weekly rhythm.
By Week 6 they're running things because they helped design them. Two team seats are included. You can rotate them through the program if you want more people exposed.
Three hours max: one 60-minute group call, one 30-minute pod call, and roughly 90 minutes shipping the week's artefact.
That's less than the time you're currently losing to fires. And critically - this isn't extra work. It saves you and your team more time than it costs.
They almost certainly are. They've just never been given the framework.
We move decisions at "Recommend" authority first - they prepare, you decide - and step them up to "Inform" then "Decide" as trust builds. By Week 6 you'll be surprised how much they've been carrying.
Those are operating systems designed as universal templates. You force your business into their OS. It works in broad strokes but gets generic fast.
Step Back builds the OS around your business. Your value engines, your decision architecture, your scorecards, your rhythm - all bespoke to how your business actually runs. The structure is rigorous; the specifics are yours.
If you've tried one of those frameworks and it drifted after three months, that's typically why. Too generic to create ownership.
Then I keep working with you 1:1, at no extra cost, until you can. That's the action guarantee.
The Vacation Test is the proof point. I'm on the hook for it. So long as you've shipped the six artefacts and shown up to your 1:1s and at least four of six group calls, I stay on until you pass.
Send me an email inside the first 30 days and I'll refund you in full. No claw-back, no hard feelings. The 30-day window covers Weeks 1, 2, 3, and most of 4 - more than enough time to know if the program is for you.
Both, in the right places. The frameworks, the artefacts, the templates, the scripts - those are structured, proven, and taught like a consulting engagement. The application to your specific situation - your team, your constraints, your decisions - is coached 1:1.
You're not getting a tick-box implementation. You're not getting pure Socratic questioning either. You're getting the methodology, applied to your business, with your team.
You leave with a complete operating system AND 90 days of monthly 1:1s with me to keep it locked.
From there you can run it on your own, or step into The Boardroom (the 12-month install at scale, where the operating system matures and your business becomes acquirable). I'll talk you through both options in your Week 6 1:1. No pressure either way.
Same business day, every time. Mornings (AEST) are usually fastest.
I treat WhatsApp as a working channel, not a 24/7 hotline. Boundaries protect both of us. In return, you get more direct access than 99% of $50K coaches will give you.
This is the founding cohort, so I'll be straight with you: we're building the library of case studies with you and the other nine founders.
That's why the pricing is locked at $3,000 for this cohort and the next - it rises to $9,997 from Cohort 3 because by then the case studies exist. If you want proof-of-concept from prior clients before committing, Cohort 3+ is the right entry point for you. If the framework's logic + the hybrid guarantee is enough for you right now, you get in at the founding price.
Three steps. 48-hour turnaround.
If the fit is right, getting in is simple.
Submit the application
Short form. Takes 2 minutes. We're screening for fit, not credentials.
Review within 48 hours
I personally review every application. If you're a fit, I'll confirm your spot. If you're not, I'll tell you why and point you toward a better next step.
Book your Week 1 1:1
Once confirmed, you'll book your diagnostic call and we'll begin. Founding-cohort applicants also get a 60-minute Pre-Kickoff Audit with Anthony before Week 1.
Take the Founder Bottleneck Calculator first. 5 minutes. You’ll see exactly which decisions are costing you the most hours - and whether Step Back is the right fit.
Take the Free Calculator →Here's the decision you're actually making.
You're not deciding whether to pay $3,000. With the Triple Lock, there's effectively no financial risk.
You're deciding whether to keep being the bottleneck - or to stop being the bottleneck. That's the whole decision.
Every week you stay where you are, the business pays the decision tax. Every fire costs you hours. Every hour costs you money you'll never see on a P&L. The program is architected to pay for itself before the founding-cohort window even closes.
Apply. I personally review every application inside 48 hours. If you're a fit, I'll confirm your spot. If you're not, I'll tell you why and point you somewhere better - no hard feelings, no hard sell.
Inside two weeks, you'll be on your diagnostic call with your two senior team members, naming the first recurring decision that's coming off your desk forever.
That's what $3,000 buys you. One decision, gone. Then five. Then a business that runs without you at the centre of it.
Stop being the person your business can't operate without.
That's not a compliment. That's a ceiling. The founders who built $1M+ on hustle are the same founders who burn out at $3M because hustle stopped scaling. Mountain 2 rewards architecture. Step Back installs it.
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