The 3 Archetypes of Founders

I have been working with Founders for years, and if I had to pinpoint the single most important trait that the successful ones share, it would be this: 

They are open to the possibility that they might be wrong. 

Yes, you need to have the utmost confidence that you will be able to solve a problem. 

That you will be able to persevere. 

Even when others tell you that you are crazy. 

But there is a difference between having healthy confidence vs being delusional: 

And that’s the difference between a successful startup and a failed one.

See, there are 3 types of founders: 

1. The textbook delusional:

They believe in their idea so much that they are blind to any and every feedback along the way. 

Nobody is buying the product? => Just need to spend more on Marketing 

Nobody is investing in the company? => They just don’t get it 

Nobody in the company can articulate the value proposition? => Let’s fire the Head of Product

Eventually the company dies, but guess what? These founders typically don’t learn any lesson. 

They say things like: 

We ran out of money just before we could launch… 

We were too early… 

I didn’t have the right co-founder / investors / employees… 

Total lack of self-reflection. 

2. The one that starts off well but then the ego gets to them: 

Their original idea was good and it got them so far, but then they stall.

The company isn’t growing much. 

The lack of traction is more and more obvious. 

Investors start to wonder if the founder can actually build a business, not just a product.

But the Founder doesn’t see these warning signs. 

They believe to be genius because of their early success, and now it’s just a matter of time to succeed. 

They say things like: 

We just need some A-players

The investors just care about their return

We should double-down on what we have been doing 

3. The humble one that is open to being wrong:

They are my favorites. 

Not because they are the ones who eventually build successful companies, but because they have no idea how great they are. 

They start out with an idea, similar to the others. 

But unlike the others, they don’t let their ego get in the way. 

They don’t pretend to know all the answers. 

They don’t insist that their idea is genius. 

They don’t become rigid in their execution. 

Instead, they are open to the idea that they might be (partially) wrong. 

And build a successful company.