Bifurcation of knowledge is a fact of life in most hierarchies. People at the top understand the context. Founders, the first 15 employees, and key managers know the business, the market, the product, the customers. They hold the financial information about how the company makes money and the current financial status. Since they hold this info, they also know what the company should do -- on a strategic and tactical level. Knowledge flows down, but mostly on a "need to know" basis -- a trickle, not a torrent.