Clicking on start, then all programs, then a sub category like Utilities then a subfolder like stardock takes much too long especially that since windows 7 (or may be vista) each new menu sub level is rendered in the same start menu column instead of in a new column to the right.

The suggestion is to add a checkbox to option to display submenus in additional columns to the right of the previous.

This should ideally be coupled with a second option to control or disable delay so that when hovering over a folder, it would auto open. Windows XP used to have a registry tweak to make this hovering functionality faster (no delay)

See image: note how the start menu unfolds even 3 levels deep. It is the best way.

I had previously also made a suggestion to have a third option that would dispense with having to click (all progreams) and display all programs directly in the root menu instead of the frequently accessed list.