The Search Intent Trap
The kind of help a stuck founder needs depends on their actual problem, not the job title they happen to search for.
The mechanism
A four-box square sorts helpers by two questions: an ongoing relationship versus a one-time answer, and diagnosis versus doing the work. Coach and Agency sit along the top; Consultant sits in the lower-left box, shaded to mark where a stuck $1M–$3M founder actually belongs. A red arrow curves from the Agency box down into that consultant box, warning that searching pulls you toward hiring hands to do the work when you first need someone to tell you what's wrong. Match the help to what's actually stuck, not to the title that shows up in search.
Part of Persistence. Infrastructure that keeps growth compounding past founder heroics.