The Startup Founder’s Blind Side: Don’t Fall in Love with Your Innovation
Many founders of tech companies find themselves “in love” with their innovation and will not accept any criticism. I have come across many founders who are in complete denial about various business (or technical) issues.
The problem is not lack of experience—although that might be part of it. It is a lack of maturity and sophistication. Sometimes, it is borderline narcissistic thinking that the innovation is truly unique and the best in the world.
When I face founders of startups who fit the image above, I remind them that they are human, and humans make mistakes.
In the past decade, I have coached and mentored over 100 startups across the globe, and I’ve found that startup founders are all basically the same. Overconfidence can lead to arrogance and that leads to ignorance and failure, even if the startup was acquired by a big company. The success is not just an exit and an M&A event; the true success is building yourself, a team, and a great product or solution that customers need; making a difference; and helping your community. In other words, creating value beyond yourself.
Founders are dreamers, which is a good thing when the dream is close to reality and not up in the sky. It is good to have a dream supported by reality and facts. Founders who are dreamers without a clear vision, mission, and strategy tend to get lost anytime there is a change in plans.
The successful startups I worked with had a great leader with a clear vision who partnered with two or three others, hired talented people, and raised modest amounts of money to start. These startups grew and were acquired, and people were happy.
The unsuccessful ones had a bad leader who managed by fear, intimidation, and lack of respect. The smart employees didn’t stick around for long; they could see that arrogance and overconfidence took control of the founder. They also noticed that the leader was surrounded by yes-men & yes-women. Leaders like this don’t win a lot with VCs, either—they’re often pushed out (with some equity) once the funding is secured.
Another common issue among startup founders is stubbornness to the point of stupidity. It’s fine to have a strong opinion, but if the other person can convince you (with data), you need to change your mind and not be stuck with your opinion. In some occasions, the startup founder is an amazing genius professor Ph.D. from a well-known university. However, the founder may not have any business experience and could easily bring down the company unless the investors intervene at the right time and make the CEO the CTO and bring an outsider who has the business experience to be the CEO.
The final fatal flaw among startup founders is the “pivot factor.” Some founders are so stuck with their ideas that they cannot and will not allow anyone to convince them of the need to pivot to another idea or product or change the market. At one startup I mentored, the CEO clashed with the biggest investor on the board. That led to the CEO being fired, the company going unfunded, and customers struggling and moving to the competition. They have legal suits against each other now for the past 10 years!
It’s important for founders to dream, but once the company gets off the ground, it’s important to stay tethered to reality, lest they wind up destroying their dream.
