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Your company shouldn't need you for everything.

We help startup and scale-up founders build the systems, owners and routines that keep the business moving without waiting on them. You get your time back. The company gets faster.

Book a free 30-minute callNot sure? Take the 1-minute check
  • For startup and scale-up founders
  • Based in Istanbul
  • Working with founders in Turkey and abroad
TodayAfter
Illustration. Today vs. after.

What often waits for the founder

  • Discount approvals
  • Hiring decisions
  • Customer escalations
  • Supplier payments
  • Roadmap calls
  • Expense sign-offs
  • Contract reviews
  • “Quick questions”
  • Social posts
  • Pricing exceptions
  • New-hire onboarding
  • Weekly reports

Sound familiar?

  • Decisions wait for you.

    Nothing big moves until you've seen it. Some small things don't either.

  • Every problem finds its way back to you.

    Your team is capable. The questions still land on your desk.

  • The way things work lives in your head.

    You're the process, the manual and the backup.

  • Time off comes with a laptop.

    A day away means checking in anyway, just in case.

That's normal when a company grows fast. It just doesn't have to stay that way.

Are you the bottleneck?

Six questions. Answer honestly; nobody sees this but you.

Nothing you click here is saved or sent.

If you were unreachable for two weeks, would important work stop?
Does your team bring you problems they could solve themselves?
Do you approve small things (purchases, posts, minor hires) yourself?
Do key processes live mostly in your head?
Do you answer work messages most evenings or weekends?
When you take a day off, do you check in anyway?

Answer all six to see your result.

0–1 yes

Your company already runs without you in every room.

That's rare. You probably don't need us. If you want a second look anyway, we're happy to talk.

2–3 yes

You're becoming the bottleneck.

It's early, which is the best time to fix it. A few clear owners and decision rules can change a lot.

Book a free 30-minute call

4–6 yes

Your company runs through you.

You're carrying more than one person should. The good news: this is a structure problem, and structure can be changed.

Book a free 30-minute call

How we give you your time back

We don't hand you a report and leave. We work alongside you and your team until the new way of working holds.

  1. Listen and map.

    We talk with you and your team and map where your time goes. Then we measure where you stand today.

    You get: A map of where your time goes, and your baseline numbers.

    More about this step
    What we do
    One-on-one talks with you and the people who run each area. We list the decisions, approvals and questions that come to you.
    What we need from you
    A few hours of your time, and introductions to your team.

  2. Find the knots.

    We follow real work and find the places where things stall without you.

    You get: A short list of the knots that cost you the most, in order.

    More about this step
    What we do
    We follow a few real pieces of work from start to finish and note every point where they stop and wait.
    What we need from you
    Access to the people who do the work, and honesty about what isn't working.

  3. Design the system.

    Clear owners, decision rules, workflows and a weekly rhythm, built for your company.

    You get: A decision map, clear owners, workflows and a weekly rhythm.

    More about this step
    What we do
    For each knot we set an owner, a decision rule and a simple workflow, plus a weekly rhythm that replaces "let me ask the founder."
    What we need from you
    Your call on what you want to keep for yourself.

  4. Roll it out together.

    We put it in place with your team and adjust until it runs on its own.

    You get: A way of working your team already uses, not a document on a shelf.

    More about this step
    What we do
    We introduce the new way of working with your team, join the first meetings and fix what doesn't work.
    What we need from you
    Your team's time, and some patience while you hand things over.

  5. Step back.

    You step back. We measure again and compare with where you started.

    You get: Before and after in numbers, and a handover plan.

    More about this step
    What we do
    We measure again, the same way as at the start, and compare.
    What we need from you
    Two more weeks of the same short time and decision log.
See the full process

What stays when we leave

  • A decision map. Who decides what, and what still needs you.
  • Clear owners. One name per area, so questions stop landing on you by default.
  • Workflows and playbooks. The way things work, written down and used.
  • A weekly rhythm. The meetings and short reports that replace "let me ask the founder."
  • Simple dashboards. So you can see how things are going without asking.
  • A handover plan. So the system keeps running after we're gone.

The goal: about half as much of you

If the business needs you for most of what happens today, our goal is to cut that roughly in half. Not to remove you. To give you back the time you choose to spend somewhere else.

How we measure

  • Hours per week you spend firefighting

    For two weeks you keep a short time log: what pulled you in, and for how long. A few minutes a day.

  • Decisions that need you

    A simple decision log for the same two weeks: every decision that came to you, and who else could have made it.

  • How long work waits for you

    From the same logs: when work reached you, and when it moved on. The gap is the wait.

We measure at the start and at the end, together. You'll see the before and after in numbers.

Illustration of the goal, not a result.

Time for that side project. For long-term strategy. For your family. For whatever you keep postponing.

Is this for you?

For you if

  • You founded or run a startup or scale-up that's growing.
  • Your team is capable, but work still waits for you.
  • You want to step back from the day-to-day without slowing the company down.

Probably not for you if

  • You love being in every detail. That's a fine way to run a company, and we won't try to talk you out of it.
  • You're looking for someone to fix one tool or write one document. We work on how the whole company runs.

Who you'll work with

Acealen is a small practice based in Istanbul, with more than 15 years of experience inside large organizations. You work directly with the person who started it, not a junior team.

More about Acealen

Questions founders ask

Something else? Write to us

Do I have to stop being involved?

No. You choose where you stay involved. We take away the involvement you don't choose.

Is this coaching?

Partly, but mostly it's building: owners, rules and workflows your team actually uses.

How long does it take?

It depends on the size of the company. We'll give you an honest estimate after the diagnostic, a short first look at how things run today.

What does it cost?

It depends on scope. We'll give you a clear proposal after the first call.

Do you work with companies outside Turkey?

Yes, in English, online.

What happens on the first call?

You tell us how the company runs today and where your time goes. We ask a few questions and tell you honestly whether we can help. No preparation needed.

What do you need from us?

A few hours of your time at the start, access to the people who do the work, and honesty about what isn't working.

Let's look at where your time goes.

A free 30-minute call. You tell us how the company runs today; we tell you honestly whether we can help.

Book a free 30-minute call

No preparation needed.

On the call

  1. You tell us how the company runs today.
  2. We ask where work waits for you.
  3. You get an honest answer: whether we can help, and how.