#82: Zone of Genius & The Linear Standard
May 18, 2025 – DevTools Brew #82
I’m Morgan Perry, co-founder of Qovery. Every week, I share the real, often uncomfortable lessons from building and scaling devtool startups—from 0 to 1 and beyond.
In today's edition:
1. Zone of Genius
→ Why discovering and operating from your genius zone is one of the highest forms of leverage.
2. The Linear Standard
→ What Linear’s CEO taught me about building with craft, clarity, and conviction.
Two different stories.
Same outcome: clarity compounds.
Let’s dive in.
Zone of Genius
Where your energy becomes leverage
Some lessons take years to name.
This one took me five.
If I had to point to a single shift that changed everything (my energy, my clarity, my ability to lead…), it would be this:
Discovering my zone of genius.
And learning to operate from it. Every day.
Not just what I was good at.
Not just what I could do.
But the one thing that gave me energy, created leverage and momentum for others, and moved things forward - without draining me.
As founder, we’re taught to work harder.
To become well-rounded. To fill the gaps. To fix. To be everywhere at once.
But real leverage doesn’t come from being “good enough everywhere”, or fixing your weaknesses.
It comes from going all-in on your edge.
And the biggest edge you’ll ever have is your genius.
The challenge is: it doesn’t feel like genius.
Because it feels… obvious. Easy. Even small.
But for others? It changes everything.
That’s the real unlock.
Once you find it, your zone of genius becomes an unfair advantage. A superpower.
It’s not just what you do. It’s where you’re most alive, and most valuable.
So what is a “zone of genius”, really?
It’s not just what you’re talented at.
It’s not just what you love.
It’s where these three forces overlap:
→ What comes naturally to you
→ What gives you energy
→ What creates disproportionate leverage for others
It’s the place where your output is highest, your effort is lowest, and your impact compounds.
You’re not pushing. You’re pulling.
You’re not drained. You’re in flow.
You’re not reacting. You’re reshaping the game.
Most people overlook it.
Because they assume: “This isn’t special. It’s just how I think.”
Exactly.
That’s why it’s your genius, and not theirs.
What I’ve come to understand about myself?
It didn’t click all at once.
But after years of building and running a company, writing weekly for years, launching and failing many projects, running many 1:1s or helping teammates… I started to notice a pattern.
People came to me for clarity.
With time and distance, and a lot of feedback from others, I started to see it more clearly.
If I had to describe my zone of genius today (as best I can, with humility), it would be this:
I make sense of the noise… and turn it into aligned motion.
I can see what others miss:
→ invisible tensions,
→ weak signals,
→ underlying dynamics (human, market, organizational).
Where others see friction, mess or noise, I see structure and opportunity.
I name what’s stuck. I reframe it. I make it obvious.
And I rally people around it.
I’m not here to be the loudest.
I’m here to connect what matters with what moves.
To turn friction into narrative - and narrative into action - and action to motion.
It shows up in GTM moves, in writing, in product, in strategy, in hiring (or people choices), in how I help someone unlock their next step.
Not loud. Not flashy. Not performative.
But catalytic.
That’s probably my genius:
Not doing more. But finding the right point of leverage,
at the right moment,
with the right words,
so things start to move on their own.
And once I named it, everything shifted.
I stopped trying to master every function.
I started doubling down where I naturally create the most momentum.
And now, I protect that zone… like a founder protects runway.
So how do you find yours?
It takes times.
Humility. Brutal honesty.
And a lot of observation.
Start here:
→ What drains you, even if you’re good at it?
→ What gives you energy, especially when no one’s watching?
→ What do people thank you for, over and over again?
→ What do you find weirdly easy that others find hard?
Look at what you do when you’re in motion.
What you say without effort.
What you fix without thinking.
What patterns you see that others miss.
That’s where the clues live.
Your genius is often so close to you… it’s invisible to you.
But it’s not invisible to others.
Ask the people who see you in your zone.
Ask what changes when you’re around.
You’ll start to notice the pattern.
And once you do… you can build around it.
Today, this is exactly where I try to spend most of my time.
Because this is where I create the most leverage.
And where I feel most alive.
I now (try to) operate 80% inside that zone.
And my priority, as a founder, is helping others on the team discover and operate from theirs.
Not just to feel better - but to build better.
Because when everyone’s operating from their zone of genius, you stop compensating.
You start compounding.
That’s how you move from good to great.
That’s how trust compounds.
That’s how leadership compounds.
That’s how culture scales.
And once a team finds that rhythm - where everyone’s in their (genius) zone, pushing where they’re strongest - it’s a different game.
Not perfect.
But powerful.
Because nothing moves like aligned genius.
The Linear Standard
What Karri Saarinen taught me about leading with craft
“Good teams hit the brief. Great ones rewrite it.”
You can build fast.
You can build scalable.
But building with taste? That’s rare.
Karri Saarinen, CEO of Linear, has built a devtool company that’s not just respected…it’s studied. Not for its virality. Not for its GTM hacks. But for the unmistakable feel of quality.
And behind that feel is a mindset I deeply admire:
→ Craft is not a layer. It’s a foundation.
→ Quality is not polish. It’s a lens.
→ The best experience doesn’t just meet the spec. It surprises you.
Here’s what stood out to me:
1. Craft is a leadership choice
It doesn’t trickle up from ICs - it cascades down from the founders. Quality becomes the standard only if you make it the priority, again and again. You can’t delegate this.
2. Small teams, big standards
Linear doesn’t chase volume. They chase density of talent. Few people, high trust, high bar. It’s the opposite of “more headcount = more output.” It’s fewer people = sharper product.
3. No handoffs
Design. Engineering. Product. They own the thing together. That clarity removes excuses, avoids silos, and centers shared ownership.
4. The spec is the floor, not the ceiling
The best teams don’t ship what’s “done.” They ship what’s worth it. They see specs as starting points - not constraints.
5. Quality ≠ perfection
Shipping early and rough is okay. What’s not okay? Shipping careless work. At Linear, even unfinished work reflects care.
6. Reduce scope, not standards
If you can’t build something well, build less of it. Not slower but sharper. Scope is flexible. Quality is not.
7. Opinion is a feature
Linear doesn’t try to please everyone. They’re not “flexible.” They’re precise. Their clarity comes from knowing exactly who they’re for.
8. Data doesn’t lead. Taste does.
No A/B tests. No dashboards dictating direction. Just talented people, trusted to make calls. And held to a standard.
This isn’t about design. It’s about discipline.
Linear reminds me that how you build is the product.
And craft isn’t something you “add” at the end.
It’s something you protect, from day one.
Final Thoughts
Startups scale when two forces align:
→ Individuals operate from their genius.
→ Teams operate with discipline.
Your zone of genius is what gives you unfair leverage.
Craft is what ensures that leverage creates trust—not just speed.
At Qovery, that meant shifting from “doing more” to “doing right.”
At Linear, it meant making craft non-negotiable from day one.
One is internal clarity.
The other is shared standards.
Together, that’s what makes momentum compound.
That’s it for me today! :)
Thanks for reading and Happy Sunday!
— Morgan
Do you like personal lessons like this? More insights/stories from other devtool founders? Let me know, I’m always open to feedback.
You can reach out to me on LinkedIn.