Is founder mode the secret weapon for driving your business forward?
As an entrepreneur, you often find yourself wearing many hats. In the early days of JustFix, I was involved in every aspect of the business. From marketing to product, technology to customer service, I had my hands on all the controls, pushing forward to make things happen.
That operating style is what many now call “founder mode.” It’s a term recently coined by Y Combinator founder Paul Graham in a much-quoted essay. He was inspired to write it following a YC talk by Airbnb founder and CEO Brian Chesky, in which Chesky argued that the accepted ‘best practice’ for running larger companies was all wrong. Sadly, his talk wasn’t recorded as YC talks are always off the record to encourage candour but it proved powerful enough to spur Paul Graham on to write what could prove to be a seminal doctrine for start-ups – as well as the inspiration for some amusing memes.
Arguably the best current example of someone operating in extended founder mode is Elon Musk. His famous 2022 email to Twitter employees, giving them an ultimatum – commit to a “hardcore” culture at Twitter or leave with severance – was criticised by many. Around 6,000 people were subsequently laid off from the platform – 80% of the workforce – which helped to balance a negative cashflow situation for the company. It’s drastic and, critics would argue, has downgraded the site’s UX, but it’s indisputably a classic founder mode move which saved an unsustainable business. It’s an approach that’s served SpaceX well too, with one report claiming that the private company could beat NASA to Mars.
The concept of founder mode resonated with me because it’s something I’ve lived and continue to experience as we grow. It’s more than just multitasking – it’s about an unwavering commitment to your vision and a willingness to dive deep into the details to make things happen. In a startup environment, especially one like ours in the tech sector, you can’t simply sit back and delegate too much, too soon. The risks of slowing down or losing sight of the big picture are very real.
Balancing founder mode with management
One thing I’ve learned through my journey is that there’s a fine line between founder mode and micromanagement. It’s a common misunderstanding – people sometimes see a hands-on founder and think they’re reverting to micromanaging. But the reality is different. In the early days, founders have to be in the trenches, doing a bit of everything. No one knows the business as intimately as you do. It’s a necessity.
As you grow, classic management theory advises you to hire great people and get out of their way. And that’s true, to an extent. But here’s the catch: if you step back too far, especially early on, things can quickly get off track. It’s easy to hire talented managers who have tons of corporate experience, but they may not be suited for the chaos and fast-paced environment of a startup. They might come from big, structured organisations where resources are plentiful and processes are slow and bureaucratic.
I’ve seen this firsthand. When you hire senior talent, especially those who’ve never founded a company themselves, they might steer things in the wrong direction – diluting the vision, slowing progress or creating unnecessary layers of processes that hinder agility. Founder mode is about recognising these risks early and stepping back in to course correct.
Why founders need to stay involved
Or, if you’re built for it, then you just stay in the details – permanently. Look at the Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. He’s one of the longest serving CEOs in the S&P 500, has 60 direct reports and doesn’t do one-to-ones. “Almost everything I say,” said Huang, “I say to everybody all at the same time.” In other words, he manages as many people as he can, in order to stay on top of his business. And this is a business, incidentally, which recently took over Apple as the world’s most valuable company.
Of course, you need to be strategic about how you engage. You can’t be in every meeting, but you can’t afford to completely step back either. I’ve made it a priority to stay close to key decisions – whether it’s product direction, marketing, or long-term strategy – because no one can communicate the vision better than the founder. When the founder’s vision is communicated second- or third-hand, it often comes off as rhetoric or platitudes.
Empowering your team without letting go too soon
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is figuring out how much to let go. As a founder, you must be in founder mode, but you also need to empower your team. This is especially tricky when you’re bringing on new hires. You can’t expect them to make decisions with the same frame of reference or understanding that you have, especially early on.
A key lesson I’ve learned is that sometimes stepping back too soon can lead to drift – whether it’s strategic or in terms of timelines. That’s why founder mode is about knowing where to be most involved and how to guide your team without smothering their growth.
The truth is no one will ever sell your business like you will. As a founder, you’re the driving force behind new business, behind the vision. That doesn’t change as you scale. I’ve seen founders try to make themselves dispensable, hoping to step back into an ambassadorial role, only to watch their businesses slowly decline.
Founder mode is a mindset. It’s about always being engaged, always looking ahead and never fully letting go. For some founders, like Hubspot’s Dharmesh Shah, it’s literally the only way to operate.
For me, founder mode isn’t something you graduate from. It’s a constant state of being. Yes, you bring in great people, and yes, you trust them to do their jobs – but you never stop caring, and you never stop paying attention. That’s how you ensure your vision doesn’t get diluted, and that’s how you keep your company moving forward.