One phrase from an engineering leader changed how I make every decision as a founder. It saved me from countless bad hires, failed features, and wasted months. Here's why you need to adopt it too.

I was drowning in decisions. Hiring choices, product features, market expansion strategies—the typical chaos of scaling Unibuddy from a scrappy startup to a real company.

That's when Kristi Achilleos, one of the best engineering leaders I've ever worked with, dropped a phrase that completely changed how I operate:

"If it's not a hell yes, it's a no."

Simple words. Profound impact.

Because here's what I realized: As founders, we're conditioned to say yes to everything. We're optimistic by nature. We see potential where others see problems. We convince ourselves that "maybe" is close enough to "yes."

But "maybe" is the silent killer of startups.

The Hidden Cost of Mediocre Decisions

When you're moving fast—and you have to move fast—it's tempting to lower your standards. You tell yourself things like:

• "She's not perfect, but we desperately need someone in that role"
• "This feature isn't groundbreaking, but our biggest client is asking for it"
• "I'm not 100% convinced about this market, but we're seeing some traction"
• "He seems okay in interviews, and we've been searching for months"

Every single time I compromised on that "hell yes" standard, I paid for it later. Sometimes immediately. Sometimes months down the line when the consequences had compounded into much bigger problems.

Bad hires who drained team energy and required months of performance management before I finally let them go.

Half-baked features that confused users and cluttered our product roadmap.

Lukewarm partnerships that consumed countless hours in meetings but delivered zero value.

Market experiments that spread our resources thin across opportunities I wasn't truly excited about.

The thing about mediocre decisions? They don't just fail—they steal energy from the decisions that could have been extraordinary.

Why Founders Struggle with "Hell Yes"

As a founder, saying no feels unnatural. We're wired to be opportunity maximalists. Every door could be the one that changes everything, right?

Wrong.

Here's what I learned the hard way: Mediocre decisions stack. And they stack fast.

When you hire someone you're not excited about, they don't just underperform—they lower the bar for everyone else. Your top performers notice. Your culture shifts. Before you know it, you're spending more time managing mediocrity than building greatness.

When you ship features you're not passionate about, you're not just wasting development time—you're confusing your product vision. Your team loses clarity on what you're actually building. Your users get a watered-down experience.

When you pursue partnerships or markets you're lukewarm about, you're not just diversifying—you're diluting your focus. Your best opportunities get less attention because you're spreading yourself across too many "maybes."

The "Hell Yes" Framework in Action

Once I started applying Kristi's principle religiously, everything changed. Our team began punching way above their weight. Here's how it looked in practice:

Hiring: Hell Yes or No

Instead of asking "Can this person do the job?" I started asking "Am I genuinely excited about working with this person every day?"

The result? We hired fewer people, but every hire was someone I was thrilled to have on the team. Our culture became stronger, not weaker, as we scaled.

Product Features: Hell Yes or No

Instead of asking "Would this be useful?" I started asking "Are we genuinely excited to build and ship this?"

The result? We shipped fewer features, but each one moved the needle significantly. Our product became more focused, not more cluttered.

Partnerships and Opportunities: Hell Yes or No

Instead of asking "Could this work?" I started asking "Are we genuinely confident this will create significant value?"

The result? We pursued fewer opportunities, but went deeper on the ones that mattered. Our impact multiplied instead of being diluted.

How to Implement "Hell Yes" Without Paralysis

The biggest fear with this principle is that you'll become too picky. That you'll miss opportunities. That you'll move too slowly.

Here's the reality: You'll move faster, not slower.

When you're only pursuing opportunities you're genuinely excited about, you bring more energy to each decision. You execute better. You persist longer when things get tough. You attract better people because your conviction is contagious.

But implementing "Hell Yes" requires discipline:

1. Get Comfortable with Fewer Yeses

You'll say no to more opportunities. This will feel scary at first. Trust the process. Quality over quantity wins in the long run.

2. Define What "Hell Yes" Means for You

For hiring, it might mean: "Would I be excited to grab coffee with this person even if we weren't working together?"

For features, it might mean: "If this was the only thing we shipped this quarter, would I be proud to demo it?"

For partnerships, it might mean: "If I had to bet my own money on this succeeding, would I be confident?"

3. Build Hell Yes Into Your Systems

Make it part of your decision-making process. In hiring panels, explicitly ask: "Is anyone not a hell yes on this candidate?" If there's hesitation, that's your answer.

4. Apply It Progressively

Start with high-stakes decisions (hiring, major features, big partnerships) then expand to smaller choices as the habit solidifies.

The Counter-Intuitive Truth About High Standards

Here's what surprised me most about adopting the "Hell Yes" principle: It didn't make me more conservative—it made me more bold.

When you're only pursuing opportunities you're genuinely excited about, you're willing to take bigger swings. You commit more fully. You fight harder when obstacles arise.

The people you hire become advocates, not just employees. The features you build become differentiators, not just checkbox items. The partnerships you form become genuine value creators, not just nice-to-haves.

When "Maybe" Masquerades as Strategy

The hardest part about implementing "Hell Yes" is recognizing when you're fooling yourself. We're great at turning "maybe" into "strategic optionality" or "keeping doors open."

But here's the truth: Every lukewarm yes is stealing energy from a potential hell yes.

That decent candidate you're considering? They're occupying the headspace and time you could be spending finding someone extraordinary.

That okay-ish feature you're debating? It's taking development cycles away from building something that could genuinely wow your users.

That partnership you're "exploring"? It's consuming mental bandwidth you could be investing in relationships that actually move the needle.

The Compound Effect of Hell Yes

Six months after I started religiously applying this principle, something remarkable happened. Our entire team's decision-making improved.

When leadership only pursues opportunities they're genuinely excited about, it gives everyone permission to raise their standards. Engineers become more selective about technical approaches. Salespeople become more discerning about prospects. Marketers become more thoughtful about campaigns.

The culture shift was profound: We went from a team that said yes to everything to a team that said hell yes to the right things.

Your Hell Yes Audit

If you're reading this and thinking about your current projects, partnerships, and people, here's a quick audit:

Look at your last five major decisions:

• The last person you hired
• The last feature you shipped
• The last partnership you signed
• The last market you entered
• The last investor you brought on

For each one, honestly ask: Was this a hell yes when I made the decision?

If you're seeing a lot of "well, it seemed like a good idea at the time" or "we needed to move quickly," you know what to do.

The Permission to Say No

Here's what I wish someone had told me earlier: As a founder, saying no to good opportunities so you can say hell yes to great ones isn't just okay—it's essential.

You don't have unlimited time, energy, or resources. Every mediocre yes is a missed opportunity for an extraordinary yes.

So the next time you're facing a decision and you find yourself thinking "maybe," "possibly," or "it could work," remember Kristi's words:

If it's not a hell yes, it's a no.

Your future self will thank you for the opportunities you didn't pursue just as much as the ones you did.

What about you? Are you holding yourself to the "hell yes" standard? What decisions are you making from excitement versus obligation? I'd love to hear how you're applying this principle in your own company.