Founder Mode: A sign you have yet to, or failed to, hire the right people and build the right…

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the concept of "founder mode" in growing a business, and why the author believes it is not a good long-term strategy.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Why founder-mode is a cop out as you grow your business

1. What is the author's main argument against the "founder mode" concept?

• The author argues that "founder mode", where the founder manages every important decision in the company rather than delegating to others, is not a sustainable or scalable long-term strategy. It is a "failure of leadership" and a "cop-out".
• The author states that the problem of founders feeling that hired managers do not drive the business the same way they would exists, but going back to "founder mode" is not the solution.

2. What are the author's reasons for why "founder mode" is not a good long-term strategy?

• It is based on a single point of failure (the founder) and is limited by the bandwidth of a single person (the founder).
• It can create a toxic ego trip and attract "drones" rather than creative people, as founders want everything done exactly their way. Talented people may feel strangled and leave.

3. What does the author suggest as an alternative to "founder mode"?

• The author suggests that a great company is one where every manager, leader, and employee is in "founder mode" when needed - it's a "Day One culture", a "Dive Deep culture", and a "We're all in this together" culture.
• The author advises against taking the "cop-out route" and "ego trip" of "I can do it all", and instead recommends hiring amazing, driven people and building a culture that outlasts the founder.

[02] The benefits and drawbacks of "founder mode"

1. When does the author say "founder mode" can be beneficial?

• The author states that "founder mode", or diving deep, is a fantastic concept that successful founders use to find places where things aren't working, fix them, and make sure they're staffed with the right people, before reaching product-market fit and scalable sales motion.
• The author also says "founder mode" might be beneficial for "war-time CEOs", when there is a monumental market shift or a crisis affecting the company.

2. What are the drawbacks of perpetual "founder mode" according to the author?

• It is not sustainable as it is based on a single point of failure (the founder) and not scalable due to the limited bandwidth of a single person (the founder).
• It can create a toxic ego trip and attract "drones" rather than creative people, as founders want everything done exactly their way. Talented people may feel strangled and leave.