Founder Files | Issue 4

Written By Ashley Green

The Messy Middle of Growth (And Why It’s Normal)

By Two Registered Nurses turned Nonprofit Co-leaders

No one warns you about the middle.
The chaos after the launch, before the stability.
The part where you’re not new anymore — but you’re not “established” either.
Where things are working… but not smoothly.

That’s the messy middle.

We’re writing this from it.
And if you’re in it too — you’re not alone.

What is the messy middle?

It’s when:

  • Your team is growing faster than your systems

  • Your vision is clear, but your capacity isn’t

  • You’re training people while still doing the work yourself

  • You’re too big for some grants, too small for others

  • You know what needs to change, but you don’t have the time to fix it yet It’s frustrating. It’s chaotic. And it’s completely normal.

What growth actually feels like

Growth sounds exciting — until you're inside it.

It feels like:

  • Never quite catching up

  • Being both proud and overwhelmed

  • Not knowing who to hire first

  • Wondering if you're scaling too fast or not fast enough

  • Being in more meetings, with less time to think

Growth is not just a goal. It’s a season. And like all seasons, it’s messy and transitional.

What we’ve had to unlearn

We thought growth would feel like:

“We’ve made it.”
“This is the fun part.”
“Things will be easier now.”

But it didn’t.
And that doesn’t mean we’re failing. It means we’re adjusting.

We had to unlearn:

  • That we needed to have it all figured out

  • That we could control the pace of everything

  • That we needed to say yes to prove we were still “hungry”

Now, we give ourselves permission to be in process.

What’s helped us through

1. Simplicity over perfection

We don’t need a perfect system. We need a usable one.
Sometimes a shared Google Doc beats a custom software platform.

2. Hiring for values, not just experience

We look for people who can grow with us — not just people with polished resumes.
Alignment matters more than credentials.

3. Naming the season we’re in

Instead of pretending things are stable, we say:

“This is our building season.”
“We’re still in transition.”
“It’s okay if not everything runs like clockwork.”

That honesty helps our team settle into the moment — instead of chasing some imaginary “fully built” future.

4. Letting go of our founder guilt

We can't hold it all anymore. And that’s not weakness — it’s growth.
We’ve learned to release the parts that don’t need us — and trust others to carry them.

What we’re still figuring out

We’re still figuring out how to:

  • Protect our time for visioning

  • Give our team what they need without burning ourselves out

  • Build systems that grow with us, not slow us down

  • Stay focused when new opportunities come in weekly

We’re learning to ask:

  • “What’s essential this season?”

  • “What can wait?”

  • “Where are we holding things we don’t need to?”

We’re learning to be okay with not being done.
Because the truth is — we’re not supposed to be.

If you’re in the messy middle too…

Let this be your reminder:

  • You’re not behind. You’re building.

  • You’re not disorganized. You’re growing faster than you planned.

  • You’re not scattered. You’re solving real problems in real time — with limited time, money, and people.

This is what building something real looks like.

You don’t need to hide the mess.
You need to give it language. And space. And grace.

📥 Lead Magnet Coming Soon:
 We’re putting together a “Messy Middle Survival Map” — a one-page check-in tool to help you name your current season, set boundaries, and reset expectations.

🗣️ Tell us — what’s your “messy middle” moment lately?
 Let’s normalize the in-between.

Ashley Green
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Founder Files | Issue 3