On Founder Mode

I’ve been pondering Founder Mode and I have a few thoughts about it.

Paul Graham’s suggestion is that ‘career’ execs are numpties, and only super-human founders can do things that these losers can’t. It’s self-selecting nonsense. For every Chesky, there are five asshat founders driving their company and its reputation into the ground. There are incredible, transformative career VPs out there and I know this because I’ve worked directly with some, and I’ve heard the same from fellow founders. Yes, for every great VP there’ll be a laundry list of the ineffective, just as it is with every role in business. Duh.

It’s true that the great career veeps have found patterns that work, but they’re not naive enough to think these patterns apply everywhere, forcing ‘best practice’ where it doesn’t make sense. Great veeps experiment, tweak and evolve. They still take risks, just more calculated ones. They’re probably not as impulsive as an impatient, sleep-deprived and over-caffeinated founder though. Is there a problem here?

I do think an increased risk appetite would be advantageous for your typical exec, just as your typical Valleyesque founder needs to dial it down occasionally. Rolling the dice can pay off big time, but it can also leave your business in the gutter. Better to pick winners from the Fortune 500 than gamble your stake at the high rollers table.