Founder mode = conviction + grit

After the release of this essay from Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham, the concept of “founder mode” has taken off. Everyone seems to have their own definition of it, so here’s mine: Founder mode is a blend of conviction and grit.

If you haven’t read the essay yet, you should. But to summarize, Graham argues that many startup founders discover conventional management wisdom often fails them as their companies scale. The influential entrepreneur advocates being in founder mode instead, which means having a more hands-on, deeply engaged approach to running larger organizations.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Startup founders need to have both conviction and grit, considering how the odds are so stacked against them. Building a startup is an immense challenge: Around 90% fail, and more than two-thirds never provide investors positive returns.

But founder mode isn’t exclusive to the startup world. Teachers, chefs, parents, janitors – anyone with conviction and grit can be in this mode.

If you look closely, you’ll find individuals around you who just seem to make things work, no matter what. Sure, no one can win every time, but they consistently achieve the bigger goal. These people can be as impressive – if not more – than startup founders.

Non-founders ≠ founder mode?

It’s easy to understand why some non-founders may not have been enthused by Graham’s essay, especially as he seems to criticize “professional managers” for running companies into the ground.

To be sure, not all professional managers are bad, but there’s some truth in his statement. As a founder, I’ve seen how the advice to “hire good people and give them room to do their jobs” can backfire.

See also: ‘Don’t chase VC money’: Skuad’s insights from $81m exit

It all depends on how you apply this piece of advice. If someone isn’t a good fit, you have to coach them. And if doing that is still not enough, then part ways with them fast.

To build a successful company, founders undoubtedly can’t do it alone – they need a team. Graham himself acknowledges this:

“Obviously founders can’t keep running a 2,000-person company the way they ran it when it had 20. There’s going to have to be some amount of delegation. Where the borders of autonomy end up, and how sharp they are, will probably vary from company to company. They’ll even vary from time to time within the same company, as managers earn trust.”

If founder mode is a combination of conviction and grit, and “hire good people and give them room to do their jobs” is also true, then the key question is, how do we find people with founder mode in them?

Here are a few points to consider:

Not limited to work