Building Four Companies Simultaneously: Systems, Not Superhuman Effort
I run InfiniDataLabs, HireGecko, serve as COO of UMaxLife, and manage investments through Wisrem Trading. People assume I work 100-hour weeks. The reality? I work 50-60 hours, and the companies run better because of it.
The secret isn't superhuman effort—it's superhuman systems.
The Myth of the Hustling Founder
There's a harmful narrative in entrepreneurship: successful founders work 18-hour days, sleep at the office, and sacrifice everything for their companies. I did that for my first venture. It was miserable, and the company suffered because of it.
Exhausted founders make poor decisions. Burned-out leaders build burned-out teams. Companies that depend on the founder's constant presence don't have businesses—they have expensive hobbies.
"The goal isn't to build a company that needs you every hour of every day. The goal is to build a company that runs beautifully whether you're there or not."
The Four Companies
Let me give you context on what I'm actually running:
InfiniDataLabs - My flagship company. Custom AI and data solutions for enterprises. 45 employees, $12M annual revenue.
HireGecko - AI-powered recruitment platform. 18 employees, growing 200% YoY. Product-focused company with strong product-market fit.
UMaxLife - Mental health analytics platform where I serve as COO. 32 employees. I handle operations and growth strategy.
Wisrem Trading - Investment vehicle managing commodity and real estate portfolios. Data-driven investment decisions across multiple asset classes.
Four very different businesses. Different stages. Different challenges. Different teams.
And I'm not working 160 hours a week.
The System: Decision Frameworks
The key to running multiple companies is having clear frameworks for every recurring decision.
Framework 1: The Decision Matrix
I categorize every decision into four buckets:
Type A: Strategic & Irreversible
Type B: Strategic & Reversible
Type C: Tactical & Irreversible
Type D: Tactical & Reversible
Most founders get this backwards. They spend 80% of their time on Type D decisions and rush through Type A decisions. That's how you build a company that requires you constantly but never scales.
Framework 2: The Weekly Operating Rhythm
Each company operates on a predictable rhythm:
Monday Morning (1 hour each company):
Wednesday Afternoon (30 min each company):
Friday End-of-Day (30 min each company):
Total time: 8 hours per week across four companies for regular operations.
Everything else happens asynchronously or is delegated completely.
The Team: Hiring for Autonomy
You cannot run multiple companies with people who need constant direction. I hire for three things above all else:
1. Initiative Over Experience
I'd rather hire someone with 3 years of experience who sees problems and fixes them than someone with 10 years who waits to be told what to do.
Red flag question: "What should I do about [obviously fixable problem]?"
Green flag response: "I saw [problem]. I tried [solution A] and [solution B]. Solution B worked better. Here's what I learned."
2. Communication Over Proximity
Remote work isn't a perk at my companies—it's a requirement for how I want to operate. This forces everyone to communicate clearly in writing.
What I need to know:
What I don't need:
3. Ownership Over Execution
I don't hire executors. I hire owners.
Executor mindset: "I did what you asked."
Owner mindset: "Here's the outcome you wanted and three additional improvements I implemented."
The Communication System
Running multiple companies requires ruthless communication discipline.
Rule 1: Asynchronous by Default
99% of communication happens asynchronously. Slack messages, project updates, recorded videos, detailed documents.
Synchronous meetings are rare and require justification.
Rule 2: Written Communication is Primary
If it's not written down, it doesn't exist. Every decision, every discussion, every plan gets documented.
Benefits:
Rule 3: Meeting Protocols
When we do meet, meetings have strict protocols:
The Metrics: What I Actually Track
I can't watch everything, so I watch the right things.
InfiniDataLabs Metrics
HireGecko Metrics
UMaxLife Metrics
Wisrem Trading Metrics
Each company has a dashboard I review every Monday. If metrics are green, I don't dig deeper. If metrics are yellow or red, I investigate.
Time Allocation: The Reality
Here's how my typical week breaks down:
InfiniDataLabs (20 hours):
HireGecko (12 hours):
UMaxLife (8 hours):
Wisrem Trading (8 hours):
Administrative/Shared (4 hours):
Total: 52 hours per week
Notice what's NOT on that list:
What Enables This to Work
1. Strong Leadership Teams
Each company has a capable leader running day-to-day operations:
I'm the founder, but I'm not the daily operator.
2. Clear Company Strategy
Each company has a documented 3-year strategy that everyone understands. Daily decisions align with that strategy without needing my input.
When someone asks "Should we do X?" the answer comes from "Does X move us toward our 3-year goals?" Not from me.
3. Shared Operating Principles
All my companies operate on the same principles:
This means I can apply learnings across companies and don't need to context-switch completely.
4. Deliberately Different Domains
My companies are in different industries deliberately. This forces me to hire experts and trust them. I can't micromanage an industry I don't know intimately.
This is a feature, not a bug.
The Mistakes I Made (So You Don't Have To)
Mistake 1: Trying to Do Everything
When I started my second company while running my first, I tried to maintain the same level of involvement in both. I burned out in three months and both companies suffered.
The fix: Hired strong operators for the first company, stepped back, and focused on the second until it was stable.
Mistake 2: Inconsistent Systems
Each company had different tools, different processes, different communication styles. Context switching was exhausting.
The fix: Standardized core systems across all companies. Same project management tools, same communication platform, same meeting structures.
Mistake 3: Not Documenting Enough
I thought I could keep it all in my head. I couldn't. Decisions got lost, people got confused, and I became a bottleneck.
The fix: Everything gets written down. If it's not documented, it doesn't exist.
Mistake 4: Hiring for Skills Over Fit
I hired experienced people who needed constant direction over less experienced people with initiative and autonomy.
The fix: Now I hire for autonomy first, skills second. Skills can be taught. Initiative can't.
When This Approach DOESN'T Work
This isn't for everyone. Running multiple companies this way requires:
1. Capital to hire great people: You can't do this bootstrapped in the early stages
2. High trust tolerance: If micromanaging makes you comfortable, this will be painful
3. Comfort with imperfection: Things won't be done exactly how you'd do them. That's okay.
4. Strong industry networks: You need to hire people better than you in specialized areas
5. Clear personal boundaries: Without discipline, four companies will consume your life
The Biggest Benefit: Better Companies
Here's the surprising outcome: My companies perform better because I run multiple companies.
Why?
The companies are stronger because they don't depend on me for everything.
Your Action Plan
If you're thinking about running multiple ventures:
Start with one: Get your first company to a point where it runs without you for a week. Then a month. Then a quarter.
Build systems first: Don't start a second company until your first has clear systems, strong leaders, and documented processes.
Hire for autonomy: Every new hire should increase the company's ability to operate without you, not decrease it.
Document everything: If it's not written down, it doesn't scale.
Start small with the second: Don't try to run two mature companies. Run one mature company and one startup.
The goal isn't to work less. It's to multiply your impact without multiplying your hours.
*The best companies are those that run beautifully whether the founder is there or not. Build systems, not dependencies.*